Treeline Journal

Episode 17: Ashley Nordell on Training and Racing Postpartum

by Nikki Parnell — July 24, 2020


This week we get to chat with Ashley Nordell, a mother of two girls, a preschool teacher, a coach, and a very accomplished Central Oregon ultra runner with many race wins and FKTs to her name. We hear about how Ashley grew up in a running family (her dad still runs ultras!) and how her love for the sport grew out of a dislike but blossomed into a lifetime passion once she chose it for herself. Her running has evolved over time and she shares how ultimately, having kids helped her longevity in the sport because her pregnancies forced her into resting more than she normally would as a runner. She had to find out the hard way that running postpartum requires more patience than many of us would like to admit and after doing too much too soon in the first year after her first child, she learned to focus on quality training vs. quantity of mileage.

And when she says she did “too much too soon” she truly did a mindblowing amount of running and racing! She tells a funny/ cringe-worthy story of pacing a friend 3 months postpartum in a hard 100k (while trying to pump!), she did a 50 miler at 10 months postpartum (and did so well that she won a golden ticket to Western States) so then of course she ran Western where she got top 10 for women, and then went on to run Leadville at 15 months postpartum. She had an AMAZING year but then describes how the following year caught up to her and was a struggle. She was more careful with her second daughter when returning to racing and learned the art of checking in with herself and looking for signs that she was overdoing it (ending runs with cramps, breathlessness, spiked heart rate, etc.) and backing off when needed.

We discuss that never-ending mom guilt we all feel and some of the tools Ashley uses to cope. Examples include: taking her kids to races and not being away from them, her husband meeting her at trailheads so she could nurse when her babies were little and still to this day doing trailhead swaps where she or her husband runs somewhere cool (to the mountains or a lake) and the family will meet them out there and have a picnic or lake time and then the other partner will run home. Brilliant! This way the whole family is involved, the guilt is lessened, the kids are in on the adventure, and there is some built in family time.

One thing that stood out to Stef and I was how Ashley shared that people often think you have to do massively long training runs before running a 100 miler but really, at least for her, that’s not the case and even 20 milers can be totally sufficient (maybe with some back to backs or fun adventure runs mixed in here and there) but otherwise, it makes running 100 miles seem a little more doable. And with that mindset it would help a busy mama enjoy the training process, sustain herself during the buildup and not be away from family way more than necessary!

Ashley describes what it’s like to do a Fastest Known Time on the Ozarks Highland Trail and the logistics and running community that made it happen. We also get to hear a little about her favorite stage race of all time – Three Days of Syllamo, coaching with Team RunRun, being a preschool teacher, tips on getting kids outside (decompressing walks home from school, Geocaching, etc!) and balancing exercise schedules between her and her husband who is also an athlete (and coach and teacher!) They have a busy and fascinating life and it was truly inspiring to see how Ashley does all this!

You will be inspired. Plain and simple. And you will get so many great takeaways that will enhance your mother runner life! To listen, click the button below or search “Run Hard Mom Hard” anywhere you get your podcasts! Don’t forget to subscribe and share this with your fellow running buddies! Thank you for listening!

Show Notes:

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