JOLENE MOORE, A 41-YEAR-OLD Northbrook mother of three, is one of the nation’s top-ranked race walkers. But she came to the sport only in the last few years.
Growing up in Michigan, she ran track. She studied teaching, but eventually became a stay-at-home mother. In her 30s, she was diagnosed with a degenerative disc disease and was told she’d never run or play sports again. She proved them wrong.
This year, Moore competed in the Pan American Race Walking Cup and the Pan American Games. Now she’s aiming for next summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
Moore talked recently about how she juggles motherhood with careers in race walking and life coaching, all while managing a healthy diet and taking a pass on dating.
So what’s a 41-year-old divorced mother of three doing working out several times a day and seriously competing for a spot on an Olympic team dominated by athletes in their 20s and 30s?
Why not? It’s not like I’m investing thousands of dollars in a stock market that’s going to crash. I’m only getting benefits out of this. I’m not contending for an Olympic medal, to be realistic. My goal is to make an Olympic team. I have nothing to lose.
You didn’t get into race walking until you were 35. How’d that happen?
Something was wrong with my back. The doctors thought it was due to what pregnancy does to your body. They said degenerative disc disease. At one point, one doctor said: Quit running. I remember walking out the doctor’s office with my kids, trying to maneuver a double stroller and thinking: “What’s my life going to be if I’m not an athlete?” I didn’t know who that was. There was a surreal moment when someone tells you you’re done. For some time, I accepted what they said. I mourned the loss of who I was supposed to be. But after a year, I said to myself, “I’m an athlete.”
But how’d you get into race walking?
A: In 2000, I saw race walking on the Olympics, on TV. I remember thinking, “They told me I couldn’t run, but they didn’t tell me I can’t race walk. I started in 2001, and made it to nationals in 2002. If I’d listened to someone, I may have missed out on this incredible opportunity.
What’s the main difference between race walking and simply walking fast?
In race walking you always have to have one foot in contact with the ground. The other rule is, you have to land with a straight leg–you can’t have a bent knee. You land on your heel.
What did you know about race walking before you got into it?
Nothing. Have you ever seen a race walker? I hadn’t. Now, in Northbrook, everyone knows me. They’ll say, “Oh, you’re the lady who race walks.” I look kinda crazy. I’m outside at all hours, in all weather, even in the snow.
Have you heard some folks say race walkers look like ducks?
I’ve never heard the “walk like a duck” joke. It just looks funny.
You sometimes work out five times a day, starting at 6 a.m. Between motherhood and your two careers, how do you keep up?
You know, I’m high energy. Sometimes, I have to step back and say, “I can’t do it all.” In the last couple years I’ve had to drop volunteer community and church work. That’s a huge factor in my life. I have to be OK with saying, “Work is not 100 percent.” I wake up by 5:30 a.m. and am in bed by 10 p.m. There’s not a minute of my day that’s not accounted for.
Let’s be real. Do you ever burn out?
By 5 p.m., I get really tired. No one can be at this level with a lot of balance. You have to push. You have to put so much time into your sport. Your social life is not crazy, although I do have time with my friends.
So do you date?
I’d like to. This is my scenario: It’s Friday night, and my kids are at their dad’s. Should I go out and get to know someone, knowing I’d have to get all dressed up and be at home by 10 p.m. because I have a workout the next day? The other option: Do my workout at 7 p.m., take a shower and just take a deep breath, sit in front of the TV and be rested for the next day’s workout. . . .
Well, what did you do last Friday?
Okay, I’m a loser. But here’s the thing: I’m not willing to sacrifice my career. I don’t know who’d have the patience to deal with that. Last weekend, it would have been fun to go out. But I cleaned up the house on Saturday and watched “24.” Plus, I’m still a little gun-shy about dating.
How’d you begin the process of reaching an elite level in race walking?
I just went to the people who were going to tell me how to get to what I wanted. I e-mailed as many people as I could find. I e-mailed a group in Wisconsin that trained. The coach said I could work out with him.
How often did you drive up to Wisconsin? And again, how’d you do it, with the kids?
A: On the day I went to Wisconsin, I had a baby-sitter for four hours. My training couldn’t interrupt my husband’s schedule. In the beginning, I wasn’t doing twice-a-day workouts. If there was nap time or a half-hour of TV, I did my training. I’m now a single parent, which makes it harder. I was a stay-at-home mom to raise my children, to give them the best quality of life I thought I could give. I wasn’t going to interrupt that with my training.
You often travel five days a month, sometimes 12 days at a time abroad. Who watches the kids?
I have the best women look out for my kids. My parents will come into town and watch my kids. My ex-husband is very involved. My kids are so well-loved and cared for that I can travel at ease.
How do you manage what you eat, given your regimen?
I have bad days, where I eat anything I want. I don’t diet. If I’m going to have a tough workout–say, a 25K–I’ll eat pasta with green vegetables and protein. People think you have to go for more carbs, which means pastas and rice. But I’ve added more healthy proteins, vegetables. When those Munchkins come in the house, I can’t resist. And I do enjoy a glass of wine
Some people eat small meals throughout the day or a large lunch. How about you?
That’s the hardest thing, because I get busy. I don’t make a production over food. I’d rather sit at my computer and think about what I’m going to do for my next job. Today, I was eating a bowl of cereal while driving. There’s not enough time to eat right. If I’m going to do a hard workout, I have to eat at least two hours before–often a piece of bread with peanut butter, or a bowl of cereal. I can’t eat that turkey sandwich 45 minutes before a long run.
How has race walking changed your body?
Well, I’ve turned 40 and had three kids. Race walking has allowed me to run again and lead a relatively pain-free life. I’ve been able to strengthen whatever abdominal muscles were trashed during pregnancy or child birth. I know my limitations, and know what to do to keep my back from going into spasms. I still have a back problem. But what I don’t have are the limitations that someone else put on me that I couldn’t do it.
So who’s in your iPod now?
I have the Shuffle and it’s great, but it doesn’t switch enough for me. I get tired of stuff quickly, need new music. Sirius [radio network] makes a portable radio. I much prefer the radio to anything I have recorded.
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JOLENE MOORE’S TRAINING TIPS
1) You have to have a plan. Write it in your date book, just like a meeting or recital.
2) Find a group or a training partner. Find someone who, when you say you’re going to meet at 6:30 a.m., will be ticked off if you don’t show up.
3) Mix it up, make it fun. Don’t say you’re going to work out for 30 minutes every day. Do that one day; the next, go out as fast as you can for 20 minutes and then be off to the next thing.
4) Someone who wants to race walk needs a lightweight running shoe with a low heel–you want to stay as close the ground as possible. You can buy a good lightweight trainer for $60.
–Steven Gray
