All Smiles

Frank Tomlin Memorial - Brantford's Sportsperson of the Year.

Team DuChene.

What an honour is was, to receive the Frank Tomlin Memorial - Brantford's Sportsperson of the Year Award. Being with my family to receive this was very special. (And it was much better than what I did last year on this day, breaking ribs while skating with the school on Micah's birthday!). Thank you for the recognition, Brantford. Much more to come.

Frank Tomlin Memorial, past winners, see below.

Brantford Expositor story here. by Brian Smiley.

Brant News story here by Sean Allen.

Although Jonathan missed most of my little acceptance speech, because of course one of the kids had to use the washroom, he was there for the part where I was able to thank him for his leadership in our home and successful job that allowed me to pursue running as my full-time career. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak, I want it to have meaning. So to the group of athletes, coaches, volunteers, and my own kids, I spoke about how being an athlete helps build character that can be used in so many aspects of life:

Patience - it has taken 11 years and 10 marathons with 3 kids to get from a 3:28 to a 2:28 marathon.

Respect -wise athletes must appreciate and value the fact that their competition is working just as hard as them.

Obedience - we must listen to and follow through with recommendations made by our coaches and therapists, even if we don't want to.

Humility - it is important to be gracious when you win, or don't win. Even on the way to the banquet, one of my kids asked, "Well, shouldn't Lanni get the award because she beat you?"! My dad used to say, "You can always win if you lose with a smile.".

Lastly, I thanked God for this gift.

"With three children under eight years old active in sports of their own, a husband of 12 years with a busy career of his own, as well as a commitment to her church and community, DuChene performs a balancing act that is rare in the world of elite athletes."

I explained that I know it's not normal to be excited to go to bed at 9:30 pm, to get up at 4:30 am to run 35 km. God gives me the passion and ability to do so, and I am grateful!

It's been a few weeks since posting. January was a busy month; we had some sort of event (s) happening every weekend: 1. We had our, "Evening Out with Friends Party" to thank those who have supported my running. 2. We traveled to Newmarket for our 7 yr old's hockey tournament. 3. I returned to Newmarket to do a presentation for the Husky running group. 4. Jonathan and I hopped on a plane to go to Jamaica for a week with a bunch of his co-workers!

It has certainly been one of the harshest winters in several years but that hasn't stopped me from sticking with the training plan. Training in the Jamaican heat was a nice break and get-away but honestly, I didn't mind returning to snow (and not such frigid temperatures as the -30 we left behind). After all, I am Canadian and started my athletic career at the age of 4 with hockey, ice hockey. 

While in Jamaica, I ran the bulk of my mileage in the mornings on the treadmill, and finished with shorter runs in the late afternoon on the road. I was grateful for the treadmills (and my own little group of 7:00 am regulars at the gym) since the only safe place to run outside was a 2 km loop, to and from the main road. Rick had scheduled an "easier" week but it certainly didn't feel that way. Being out of routine with a change in rest, diet, therapy, and sleep, and high humidity made nearly every run challenging. I've never done altitude training but from what I can guess, it seemed similar. I wanted to enjoy the week - that Jonathan worked hard to earn, yet not lose any fitness - that I worked hard to earn. And that I did. Upon arriving, after a long travel day, I shook out the heavy legs with a 3 km run. Then after the first full day, I knew I would be able to maintain a decent routine. Running doubles (not something I do at home since all my mileage is run at once in the a.m.) and being in the ocean (pool running or swimming) for 20-60 minutes daily allowed me to log the minimum 2 hrs/day I set to achieve. And I stuck to my plank/stretching/rolling/strength routine too, which was great. 

I've averaged about 127 km/wk (108-145 km) since early December. Certainly nothing extraordinary for marathoning but that's not the plan right now. I'm still cross-training, strength-training, and focusing on speed work. Time will tell when I lace up the flats for my first race. We still have yet to confirm my races but it's going to be different. I needed to get out of my comfort zone, switch up the races, and focus on the short term goals. The plan is to do a shorter race on the track before I attempt my debut 10,000 m on the track in April. It's hard to believe but it's likely been about 20 years since racing on the track! It should be interesting. Real interesting!

Beauty of a view along the beach in Jamaica.

From sand...

...back to snow.

Leah's, "Baby Cassie" enjoyed her first time on the ice.

The snow and ice selfie upon my return from a 4:50 am, 20 km run in -30 temp. Stronger for sure.

Always following mommy's actions.

Thanks for asking me to speak, Brantford Police. Always a pleasure.

Two great guys with the Newmarket Huskies. Was glad to present to the group, Ron and Hugh.

Keeping me fast and in one piece. Rick and Paul came to do a little analysis of my running. It's amazing how physiotherapists can see even the slightest things.

Olympics

Eight years ago in February, I became a mom when our first baby was born on Superbowl Sunday (despite the fact that my water broke Thursday night!), which was also the 2006 Winter Olympics.

By the next Olympics in Vancouver, 2010 we had two boys! Here's a picture of our three men watching the hockey game. Can't remember which gold medal game it was!

In Vancouver 2010, Maelle Ricker was the first female to win gold on Canadian soil. We liked the names, "Elle", "Ella" and "Mae" so thought "Maelle" was perfect if we ever had a girl. One year later, we had our baby girl and named her "Leah Maelle"! Go for gold again, Maelle!

The kids' school is starting to do some fun Olympic events. It was easy for the boys to find something to wear on their Olympic themed dress down day last week. I look forward to watching our athletes compete in Sochi, Russia this month at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games with the hope that I will be at the next Olympic Games!

Just had to take this picture at the airport before leaving.

The housework can always wait. And after logging 50 km in two days upon my return from Jamaica, it did wait. Leah napped both days so I took full advantage of that! Ooooh, I love my napping couch. And I needed it. 

 

Frank Tomlin Memorial Brantford’s Sportsman of the Year Winners

1	1976	Bill moffat	Baseball
2	1977	wally kalichuk	hockey
3	1978	gary summerhays	boxing
4	1979	wayne gretzky	hockey
5	1980	liz polyak	track & field
6	1981	dave cheetham	baseball
7	1982	wayne gretzky	hockey
8	1983	frank bricker	boxing
9	1984	ted weirda	baseball & basketball
10	1985	rick mannen	long distance running
11	1986	edith hayman	badminton
12	1987	steve brown	games for disabled
13	1988	kevin sullivan	track & field
14	1989	lydia vamos	soccer
15	1990	bob & laurel barnes	baseball & hockey
16	1991	beth richardson	badminton
17	1992	julie howard	swimming
18	1993	kevin sullivan	track & field
19	1994	roger davis	overall contribution
20	1995	paul pollilo	hockey
21	1996	julie howard	swimming
22	1997	walter gretzky	overall contribution
23	1998	ted decoteau	overall contribution
24	1999	pat shewchuk	sports promotion
25	2000	kevin sullivan	track & field
26	2001	dennis kings	coaching contribution to basketball
27	2002	jordan szoke	motorcycling road racing
28	2003	natasha filliol	triathlon
29	2004	david hearn	golf
30	2005	cindy eadie	softball & hockey
31	2006	nick kaczur	football
32	2007	Mike beres	badminton
33	2008	Peter Ham	Hockey
34	2009	Jennifer Kirby	golf
35	2010	Paul Aucoin	Baseball
36	2011	Aaron Carpenter	rugby
37	2012	Adam Henrique	Hockey
38	2013	KRISTA DUCHENE	long distance running