Boston 2020 – Training Update
January 21, 2020
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. It has been a few months since my last training update, so I would say I am overdue for one!
We are 90 days from the Boston Marathon (as of January 21st), and we’ll just say my training has gotten a little off track. Late this fall, Jason and I received some really exciting news that we are pregnant and our little family will be growing by one in July 2020! Initially, I planned on continuing to train but slowing down and taking most of my runs indoors to avoid the snowy Minnesoata sidewalks. Between all the lovely first trimester symptoms, I couldn’t complete much of my training at all, and after a discussion with my doctor recently, we’ve decided it is best to postpone my Boston Marathon to a later year.
Now I’m sure this news has a lot of you curious about what’s next! Team in Training has been very supportive and is very excited for Jason and I. They are allowing me to defer my race for 2020 and will hold onto all your very generous donations and fundraising that we have done so far. I am planning on reapplying for a 2021 Boston Marathon bib and should be able to re-start fundraising later in 2020 starting with what we have already raised. And let me say we have a few fun events planned for when I do kick-off fundraising and training again!
Words cannot really express how thankful I am for all of your support and kind words since I began my training and fundraising for Team in Training. I have been blown away by all of it! We have already helped make an impact in fighting blood cancer and I am very excited for continuing to do that with you.
With love,
Laura
P.S. I’ll also plan on a few additional training updates later this year when I kick-off my training again.
Building A Strong Base
November 3, 2019
T-169 days (from Sunday, November 3rd) until the Boston Marathon. That seems so far away, but I’ve already started fundraising and a little bit of training!
Since I have not been running much on a weekly basis (maybe 2-5 miles if I’m being honest), I knew I needed to start doing a little bit of base building before the official TNT training plan starts on November 4th. So I made up my own little training plan! The last three weeks looked something like this…
Monday – 1/2 to 1 mile warm-up run then my co-ed Volleyball league game
Tuesday – Alchemy Class
Wednesday – Off
Thursday – Alchemy Class
Friday – 2 mile run
Saturday – Alchemy Class
Sunday – 3ish mile “long” run
Alchemy classes were what got me back into working out this past spring. The class formats are based on a combination of yoga, strength training, conditioning with more yoga at the end…all the types of workouts I love! I was drawn to how supportive and encouraging the coaches were, the music during classes and how I was able to zone everything else out and just focus on being in the studio and pushing myself. (If you’re in the Minneapolis area and want to give it a try, let me know, I’ll glady go with you!)
In all my prior training blocks, strength training is something I’ve always cut out or skipped due to time constraints, even though it is so good for runners to strength train to help prevent injuries! One of my goals going into this training cyle is to make sure I’m keeping up with strength training, and I think making sure I get to Alchemy classes regularly will help! So, what better way to make sure I do this then to start now!
I was a little nervous about how I was going to feel getting outside and running again, but I was pleasantly surprised how good it felt! Yes, the first few runs were tough…I was sucking wind, my legs felt heavy, I wanted to stop and walk and my brain kept thinking about how “out of shape” I was. But, something clicked over the last week or two and now my runs feel much better! Breathing isn’t as hard, my legs feel strong (hills are still hard…I think they always will be), and I’ve been really pleasantly surprised at how I feel afterwards! My calves have been a bit cranky, which I am not happy about this early in my training, but I’m trying to look at it as a reminder that I also need to be foam rolling and “pre-habbing.” Good thing we have at least 3 foam rollers in our house!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I actually need to get out and get my run in!
P.S. Thank you to everyone that has supported my Team in Training fundraising efforts so far! I am blown away by your generosity. Please visit my TNT page here for more information on why I’m running the Boston Marathon and to help support me and patients battling leukemia and lymphoma.