Haley Duke Is Finding Her Balance In Motherhood, Running, and Life
My guest on the show is a constant work in progress between balancing motherhood, running, and a healthy lifestyle.
Haley Duke
She recently began pacing and hopes that she can give back to the sport what it has given to her.
Today I will go a few easy miles with Haley Duke.
Juggling Motherhood and Training
Haley was always an athlete growing up but was never terribly fond of running.
While working in the restaurant industry as an adult, Haley found herself putting on weight.
Before she could attempt to shed her access weight she found herself pregnant with her first child.
Haley was not very active while pregnant with her first child and gained about 55 pounds.
After her daughter was born, Haley was committed to running her first half marathon to get into shape.
Once Haley crossed the finish line of her first half marathon in 2012 she was hooked.
Admittedly Haley was fortunate that her first child slept well which made training for races easier as a new mom.
That first year of being a mom Haley ran 6 or 7 half marathons.
Less Than Ideal Circumstances
Around the time Haley found out she was pregnant with her second child she also found out she got into the NYC marathon via the lottery.
Knowing her son would be born within 2 months of the race she chose to defer her entry until the following year.
Haley did things much differently while pregnant for a second time.
While pregnant with her son she completed 3 half marathons and ran until days of giving birth.
Her weight gain was also about 20 pounds less than with her first pregnancy.
Training with a newborn the second time around did not go as smoothly as the first time.
The NYC marathon would be her first full and she was determined to run it the following year.
Haley managed to do the bare minimum during training while dealing with a child that presented challenges to her sleep schedule.
Right On Pace
The challenges of motherhood have not slowed Haley down from working towards her goals.
One large goal Haley is close to achieving is running her 40th half marathon before her 40th birthday.
In total Haley has completed 4 marathons to date with NYC being her first in 2015.
Haley recently ran as a pacer for a race and found it to be a fulfilling experience.
Haley Duke
She takes her responsibility seriously and makes it a point to find out what each individual in her group need/want in a pace group.
It is rewarding for her to watch people achieve their goals.
On the flip side, she had to prepare herself for also watching runners drop off the pace and not have an ideal race day.
Someday Haley would love to pace a marathon, but she admittedly is not at that point yet.
Keto Isn’t For Everyone
Haley did not set out to eat strictly Keto.
While nursing her son she was forced to cut out most foods from her diet due to his severe food allergies.
She was eating a limited diet and minimal calories during marathon training which wreaked havoc with her metabolism.
Once she was done nursing she was finding it challenging to lose weight.
When she first began Keto, she adhered strictly to it and was successful in losing weight.
After being on the specialized diet for a few years, she has found the balance that works for her.
Restricting carbohydrates while training for a marathon has been trial and error.
Her body responds well when racing on a low carb diet as long as the race is less than 3 hours.
Running has allowed Haley to be the best version of herself possible while also finding balance.
Mentioned In This Episode:
Stay connected with Haley by checking out her Website and following her on Instagram and Twitter.
For Haley Duke, being a part of the #running community, whether online or in person, gives her a chance to help others with her experience. #runchat Click To Tweet
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