McMillanElite :: Tracy McMillan

Entry #62
Week of September 15, 2008
by Tracy McMillan

I thought I would write a bit about the 3 constants in my life right now - family, team and food (no, I am not pregnant again but I do love food!).

Family: We had a wonderful summer with lots of family and friends visiting. My mom and stepdad just left last week, and now we are in recovery mode until the holiday season and more visitors arrive. Greg treated me again to a wonderful birthday this week. For some reason, this birthday has made me feel old. Maybe it is having a baby when you're 37? Or hanging around early 20-somethings all the time who didn't just have babies and are fit and trim?! I'm working on the fit and trim part. Angus and I are now doing a mom & baby exercise class in beautiful Buffalo Park - Stroller Strides! I am shocked at how sore I am sometimes - it is quite a workout! The first time I went I thought "why do I want to work out around all of these crying babies?" (not Angus, of course...:-)). But you know, there is a nice camaraderie that has developed amongst the moms, and I find myself now confident to ask questions about being a new parent to the other women rather than just searching for answers or support on the internet. It's nice. Plus (leading into my second constant), I think the team gets a kick out of seeing all of us moms and babies in strollers when they do their Wednesday workouts at Buffalo Park!

Team: Everything with the team has been exciting so far. It is incredible how we've essentially doubled in size this summer. We finally became complete last week with the return of Lemon. Everyone is here now, and it is wild to see the team runs - such a big group. However, with the training underway another emotion arrives as well - race anxiety. Not them - me! I get so nervous when they race! I want them to do so well, for themselves, for the team, for Greg. Of course, they do as well. In the past I traveled to races as often as I could but that decreased somewhat this year with the pregnancy and the baby. Now I am forced to endure restless nights and early morning searches of the message boards, waiting for the first word of results (the downside of living in the west!). Luckily, the U.S. 5K Championship race started at 11:15am east coast time this past Sunday, so we got to sleep in a bit (great race, Ian!). This is just the team - how in the world will I be if/when Angus competes in sports?!

Food: Finally, food. I am a self-admitted foodie. I love food - preparing it, eating it, sharing the experience with others (this surprises my mother who claims I hardly knew how to boil water growing up). One of the things I love about the team is the group dinners. Sometimes we do potluck, but other times I just make the whole meal because I love thinking through the menu and striving to prepare a meal that is healthy, fresh and nutritionally well balanced for them (there may also be some deep-seated control issues popping up here...). However, this has become more challenging as the team has grown. The menu options change when you go from feeding 8-10 athletes to feeding 20-25! So, as I prepare for another team dinner next week, I am making a request to all those who read our blog: if you have a good main meal recipe to serve a group, please pass it along! Remember the criteria above: healthy, fresh and nutritionally well balanced (carbs, protein, fat). You can send it to me at tracy.mcmillan@pphpartners.com. I'm making dinner Monday night so any ideas are appreciated! Have a great weekend.

First, thank you all for being great people. We always said that we didn't just want talented runners; we wanted talented runners who are good people and I think we achieved success in that regard. I can't think of a better group of folks to spend my days with and I'm always proud as you head out to races because I know that no matter how the event goes the race will enjoy having you because of your good spirits. You make promoting the team easy, and make our lives fun.

Secondly, thank you for being understanding and helpful in so many ways as Greg and I took on the challenge of becoming parents this year. From the minute Angus arrived in our lives you've greeted him with smiles and laughter and he is such a good-natured little boy because of his daily experiences with all of you.

Finally, thank you for your patience, support and participation as the team has developed over the past year or so. Obviously you can't have a running team without athletes but you've all contributed so much more than just your race performances over this period of time. In so many ways, we couldn't do this without you.

Some people wonder what motivated Greg and I to form this team. There are so many reasons, too many to list in this blog, but each day I am around the team I am reminded of the most important one. It is a labor of love, and I truly love my new extended family—all of the members of McMillanElite.