MIDDLE-DISTANCE STAR CHANNELLING HER MOM STRENGTH
Bishop-nriagu finding work-life balance as she strives to land Olympic spot in Tokyo
Motherhood hasn’t slowed Melissa Bishop-nriagu’s pursuit of a berth in the Tokyo Olympics next summer.
It has instead made her more efficient at the track — moms are world-class multitaskers, after all — and she is quite sure it will make her faster, too.
“I don’t think I’m at my best yet. I think being a mom, I have a little more strength now. I don’t know what it is, but when you — and I’m speaking to the moms here — when you have a baby, you’re just like extra strong and I’m really excited to see what else we can do leading up to Tokyo,” she said Thursday.
The former Canadian champ at 800 metres, who will soon be 31, gave birth to Corinne last
July 2. Just over a year later, Bishop-nriagu will be aiming to reclaim her national title from Lindsey Butterworth this weekend during the Canadian Track and Field Championships at Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard in Montreal.
But win or lose here or next week or at the worlds in the fall or Olympics next summer, Bishop-nriagu will have a different, arguably healthier perspective on it because of the lifestyle changes that come with motherhood.
“If I have a bad result, I’m always going to be disappointed, but maybe I won’t dwell on it for as long. I have to go home. Corinne doesn’t know if I’ve had a good or bad day. She just sees mom and it’s like ‘Oh my God, she’s here,’ you know?”
She has made necessary shifts in perspective and time management, scheduling workouts around Corinne’s nap time, for instance. Her husband Osi Nriagu has been an immense help, too, pushing Corinne around in a stroller at the practice track in Windsor as he gives Melissa split times.
They have been a support team and a family unit and have drawn a healthy line between the two.
“I think, if anything, it has helped leave track at track and not be completely enthralled with it, whereas before I was living in this track bubble 24/7,” said Bishop-nriagu. “Family and having children really changes that. It puts life in perspective. It’s for the better.
“I appreciate the time I have at the track, just to kind of be alone, too, but to also get in and get the work done and get home. It’s been a balancing act, but we’re only a year into it, so we have a lot to figure out yet.”
It hasn’t been the smoothest return, starting with her weight. She couldn’t keep it on. Yes, that’s not a misprint.
“I lost it so quickly nursing and training at the same time. It came off very quickly and I was struggling to keep the calories in. As a mom, your time is so focused on your child, sometimes feeding (yourself ) and sleeping, those aren’t my priorities anymore and that’s been the struggle, keeping my needs as an athlete a priority, but also Corinne’s. I have to do both if I want to succeed in this career.”
It would be unwise to bet against her. She was run-walking six weeks after delivering her baby. She ran two minutes 1.10 seconds in June in Guelph, Ont., in her only 800 metres post-pregnancy and that caught the eye of Athletics Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert.
“You’ve got to think the fact that she competed at Guelph and ran 2:01.10 after just having a child is phenomenal in its own right. Melissa is clearly world class. The 800 is quite a deep event, so it’s not going to be a cakewalk by any means, but certainly for her, the more running she gets the better she’s going to get. That’s what it’s about at this stage. It’s not necessarily anything bigger than kind of racing yourself back into world-class shape and that can come.”
Bishop-nriagu’s personal best in the 800 is 1:57.01, so there is work to do. She has run just the one 800 in Guelph — a hamstring tweak forced her to pull out of the Harry Jerome event in Burnaby, B.C. — and she needs to dip back under two minutes to get a lane at the big international meets that will aid her comeback. So she isn’t sure when or where she will run next and it could well depend on her results in Montreal.
But she is happy with her race shape, her work-life balance and the decision to keep running down the path to Tokyo.
“I’m really itching to get back out there. The year off was nice just to kind of focus on Corinne and the family kind of thing, but I’m ready to run fast again. I still love it, I still have that drive and I’m really looking forward to being back on the track.”