Well, it happened. On April 21st around 9:30pm, my wife and I welcomed our beautiful daughter, Elizabeth James Hunter into the world. As I alluded to in the last post, life has changed forever and I want to talk about that change, what feels stable, and where I’ll be going from here as a Dad and a runner.

The gift that keeps on giving

Throughout the whole pregnancy, we felt like we half knew our kid. Babies in utero have all these signs of a normal adult (hiccups, movement, etc…) but you you don’t know who they will be or what will make them happy or sad. It’s wild. Then on a seemingly normal day your life changes forever.

The labor was textbook. Sandy’s water broke around 5:30pm. After getting the car packed and picking up some Indian food (s/o to Mt. Everest in Boulder) we got ourselves over to the hospital by about 7pm. We had already established that we wanted as calm, natural, and prayerful a birth experience as possible, so we kept things light and humorous walking in. That’s just about when Sandy’s contractions started really picking up.

We got into our birthing room equipped with a bath, some essential oil diffusers, and the best birthing team out there (thank you, Boulder Foothills Community Midwives, you guys rock) - everything happened quick as light after that. With each contraction, I tried to help Sandy keep her body relaxed and her mind focused on the end goal. We later reflected that this was similar to the ideal mindset in a race: calm, focused on the finish, and confident that your body can do this. Adrenaline kicks in hard when your mind knows your body was built for something regardless of whether or not you’ve done it before; hence why records will forever continue to be broken.

Sandy was ready to push after about an hour or two of contractions and baby Ella was born 25 minutes later. A smooth pace with a quick kick. Perfect racing skills already, kid.

Dad life.

I have always wanted to be a dad but I hadn’t ever envisioned what it would be like. Here I am a month in, and I get to show up and best version of myself because I want absolutely nothing less for my daughter. Scary, but the best privilege. Life with Ella is so rewarding. And as crazy as it sounds, I don’t really look back at life before. Every precious little moment with her captivates my full attention. Our quiet mornings, short sunlit walks to the mailbox as a family, and especially seeing Ella at the track. These matter more than anything I’ve done in the past. I have found it easier than ever to look at what’s right in front of me and not obsesses about the past or the future. So like I said, it feels like the best version of me is here (on and off the track.)

As for Sandy, I’m sure she can speak similar words. Although we both grew up in massive families (families of 11) being a mom was the last thing she thought about most days. She had exciting career ambitions, had a great friend group back in D.C. and obviously her own big family that took up her time. Not a day goes by when she doesn’t talk about how in love she is with Ella, and how amazing it is to be a mom. She’s glowing more than ever, and that’s with half the sleep she used to get! She is constantly reminding me of how grateful she is we didn’t wait for “the perfect time” to have a family. Hint: there is no perfect time. We felt like us getting pregnant was the best blessing and now we’re being rewarded from that fruit.

A big goal of ours is to live life normally as we would, and include Ella in everything as much as possible. We don’t want to have Sandy all alone at the house every day and secluded from my activities. So, we’re getting in a good routine of still having friends over for dinner, going to track practice to walk around, and see family as much as possible. We just get to do it with a little baby with us now, and I think that makes it even better. Our family day is always Sunday, and we get to go over to my parents house every Sunday and that has been incredible. Seeing your own parents love your own daughter and be present with her, frequently, is a special type of birthright I constantly feel like I don’t deserve.

Okay, back to running.

I do know that this newsletter is mostly about running, so I wanted to talk about my first few weeks with Ella and how that has affected my running.

The day Sandy went into labor we had a harder track session in the afternoon. I was able to warmup, and then her water broke right after that so I obviously missed that workout. The ongoing joke is that my mom REALLY wanted me to get my hard 800m rep in. Sorry Coach! I don’t think Sandy found that funny. Also, Citius Mag was out filming that day, so Mac Fleet had a front row seat to all the drama. Hey, you know what they say, all publicity is good publicity.

The following few days, I ran what felt do able. A good part of having my mom as my coach is: 1. she’s your mom. 2. She’s had 9 kids; so she knows what its like to not sleep, eat properly, or stretch for a few days. I have the best wife ever, and so when we got home, we got into a good routine of Sandy taking night shifts, so I could sleep a little more and hopefully recovery enough to get back to track workouts. My first workout back was 3 ish days after Ella was born (ain’t no paternity leave for an endurance athlete, folks.) We did a few easy 800s and a short track breakdown after. I was FLOORED. Believe it or not, my body felt okay, I just wanted to literately lie down and sleep between every single rep. But, things have gotten a lot better from there.

I would say it took about two weeks but now I have been getting good sleep (once again, best wife ever.) and feel like all my training is on prep to have me at my best by July. Coming off the birth, the focus has been on quality over quantity. Getting out every easy day for 10 miles in the am, and 4 miles in the pm is not necessary if it’s eating into the recovery going into your next track sessions. So, my goal has been to show up to the track ready to run fast, and the wheels have been coming around (finally) and I feel as if I am in really solid shape. SO many years I have prioritized being 5000m strong, but this feels like the first year I am really going all in on the 1500m, and that means running fast from time to time. I just ran 66 seconds for a 500m in practice, which is good for me!

Running with Ella.

The last month of my life has been the most grateful I have ever been for running. It’s hard to imagine a better situation for me as an athlete and dad. I get to wake up early, hang out with my daughter before I head out for training, and then spend time with her during the day between runs. I’m not missing out on the poopy diapers, the little noises she makes, and the fun smiles I get to see from her everyday. I’m so blessed that I can continue to do what I do, without sacrificing time with my family. Ella is currently napping right next to me as I type out this newsletter. This really hits home, knowing how much my dad sacrificed for his own family; his goal was to spend as much time with his kids while financially supporting everyone. Not easy to do with 9 children.

We already had our first race weekend since Sandy gave birth. While it was difficult to be away, (I could even smell Ella’s scent) it went smoothly. With only a little over year left until the Olympics, I want to include Sandy and Ella in as much of my running journey as possible. Obviously, Ella has no idea what’s going on or cares (unless my prize money is milk.) However, I would love to look back on this time of my life as one that was spent together at track meets. This will have to wait this Summer, but I am hoping that at next years Olympic Trials, win or lose, I have Sandy and Ella to hug right after my race. The biggest barrier I’ll face this Summer is when/where to race in Europe this Summer after USA champs. I want to be strategic about the races I go to, specifically going after races that have the potential of being 3:34 or faster 1500m races. I also have to balance being a Dad, and not spending too much time away from Sandy and Ella. Looks like I’ll be using those United Miles for a Polaris Upgrade so I can fly right into races this summer.

Finally, I have to talk about the mental side of things. The last few weeks have been a battle to get the mind right again. I have forgotten arguably the most important component on the starting line— what goes on between the ears. It’s not as If I have neglected it, I really haven’t given myself space to be alone for 15-20 minutes to race visualize and go through what helps me rise to a new level on the starting line. However, the last few days, I have made some time (epsom salt bath and aqua jog) to really dial in on the mantras and confident mindset. I like to go through my race plan visually (as best you can predict) and really dial in on myself and what I want to accomplish during the race. Once I am on the starting line, I feel so much calmer knowing I have been there before mentally. This year is a big year for me to let go of the outcomes of each race. This is especially hard in a sport where everyone and their mother is running lights out every weekend. I believe I am doing everything I can to be the best runner I know how to be; so regardless of the time/place I am gonna walk away from each race grateful I get to do this.

I am ready to tackle championship season head on, with a ton of confidence and a ton to run for. Lets get going! Thanks for reading.

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