“And she’s moving on!”
After several rounds of voting, West Michigan’s Amber Powell has cracked the Top 5 in voting for the title of, “Ms. Heath and Fitness 2024”.
While it is easy to hit the “vote” button to help her pursue the title, I think it’s important to know Amber’s backstory.
Amber, what got you into running?
“I remember exactly what got me interested in running, yet I still don’t know why
. I was in the back of my mom’s car driving home from the store and we saw a group of ladies running on the side of the road. I asked my mom what they were doing and she said, “it’s probably the cross country team”. I said, “I want to do that!” I was only 11 years old, but my mom signed me up for cross country that year in 6th grade.”
Who was the athlete that you looked up to when you began running?
“Steve Prefontaine was the runner I looked up to! He had so much guts and grit during his races. His mentally toughness and, “never give up” attitude made him the best. We used to watch the movie “PRE” every year before the state finals for track in high school.”
Less than 1% of the American population has run a Marathon. What was your first Marathon like?
“My first marathon was in 2013. I had just started getting into running competitively again after my collegiate career ended in 2011. I worked with a doctor at the time who also ran and told me “you should run a marathon and try to qualify for Boston.” This didn’t mean much to me then, but I was up for the challenge.
I had NO idea what I was doing. I looked up training plans on google and landed on good ‘ol Hal Higdon. I followed that plan to a “T.”
I toed the line in downtown GR (Grand Rapids) on a chilly October morning to run my first marathon. I had no idea how important nutrition and hydration were and took only 2 gels and zero water!!
I got a little too confident around mile 10 and my pace went below 7:00. It wasn’t long after that that I hit “the wall.” I was really struggling around mile 16! I had so much lactic acid built up in my entire body.
I was on the verge of walking and this guy came up to pass me and said “you’ve got to slow your breathing down, you’ve got this! Keep going.” And I did.
I remember rounding the corner in GR and hearing my Dad’s loud yell and seeing my whole family…instant tears! I ended up finishing in 3:24 which was a BQ (Boston Qualifier) by 11 minutes!!! I remember crossing the line and saying to myself “I’m never doing that again!”
What advice do you have for someone thinking about getting involved in running?
“Advice for people wanting to get into running: it’s hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it. BUT it’s so worth it. Give yourself grace and build slowly. You can’t go out and bust out 5 miles if you’ve never run before. Focus on YOU and what success looks like to you.
Don’t play the compare game. That will defeat you every time. Start small with run/walks, then slowly increase the time you spend running and decrease the time spent walking. You’ll be able to slowly build up your endurance and go farther and farther.
Find a friend or a running club. It’s so much easier with a friend. I spent a lot of my 25 years running alone. Now I’m part of a team and have a best friend that runs with me and it’s so much better!!
Amber, how do you juggle mom life, wife life, and running life?
“Oh man, juggling it all is so hard! I make it work because running is my outlet and I can be a much better wife and mother after a good run!
I have a strict bedtime to ensure I get 7-8 hours of sleep and then get up in the morning and get it done before anyone else wakes up.
This does make it tricky to be a good wife because by the time the kids are in bed, we have maybe an hour to spend together, but we just make the best of that time and try to be as purposeful as possible with what time we do get!
There’s definitely mornings I choose to sleep in, but then I run out of time after work to get it in because I may still be charting or having sports to get to!
We all have to choose our “hard” cause let’s face it, life is hard. It’s hard to wake up at 5am to run, but it’s also hard to wake up and be cranky because you slept in. You have to choose your hard.”
So we’ve learned about making time for “mom-ing” and “wife-ing”, how do you carve out time to grow in your faith?
“I carve out time every night (no matter how exhausted I am) to get into my Bible. Right now I’m actually reading “Imagine Heaven” by John Burke. Ending my day with God helps me get a peaceful sleep.
I also volunteer at my church several Sundays a month in the kiddos room and absolutely love sharing Jesus with them!
While we do have to, “choose our hard”, choosing to vote for Amber is easy. Would you join me in helping Amber make it one step closer to winning the title of “Ms. Health and Fitness 2024”?
Cast your vote here.
Choose your hard. Go make a difference. Always Run By Faith.
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