I mentioned two posts ago that I have taken time off from marathons and focused instead on the shorter distance events. My last marathon was Ely in the fall of 2021. For the past 5 years, I have not had the desire nor the time to commit to training for 26.2 miles. Well, after leaving my full time job in January, I have really gotten the bug to have a goal to work towards. Something with which to challenge myself and find reward daily. I couldn’t stop thinking about doing Grandma’s marathon in June and wondering if I could do it. The biggest issue was that Grandma’s has been filled for months, with both the half and full selling out in record time. However, in mid-January, I was talking to a neighbor who mentioned he had just signed up for a charity bib and was going to raise money for the Brave Like Gabe (BLG) Foundation, thereby securing an entry to run the race. He grew up in the same town as Gabe and was doing the race in her honor. That really got me thinking; I could do the same. I started looking over the options for fundraising and narrowed in on BLG and Girls on the Run (GOTR). Since I already volunteer as a coach for GOTR, thereby donating my time, I opted to go with BLG. My connection with Gabe is not as direct as my neighbor’s but I have followed her story since 2017 and was always very moved by her courageous cancer battle. When she passed away in 2019, I was very sad. With a friend, I attended the run they held after her funeral. She touched so many people in so many ways. I decided this was a chance to challenge myself by committing to a marathon training plan as well as brushing up on my fundraising skills and contributing to her mission.
As I write this, I am in Week 7 (out of 18) of my training plan. I am very much looking forward to my 14 mile run tomorrow morning. This will be the furthest I have run since training for Ely in 2021. Spring weather in Minnesota presents another layer of complexity to marathon training. We get a little bit of everything- snow, ice, rain, freezing temperatures, a few hot days, and wind. Actually, wind is pretty much a constant. The good thing about my workfree schedule is that I can plan my runs around the weather, or for that matter, I can plan around most things. My preferred time to run these days is late morning. I wait for the temps to warm up a little bit and for added bonus, I can run while everyone else is working thereby reducing the trail traffic. Once the warmer weather arrives, I will adjust as necessary.
The key to my conditioning is keeping up with my strength training. I’m fortunate to have a gym in our apartment building with great equipment. I try to get in there at least once a week, twice when time allows.
Next week, the spring season of Girls on the Run begins. I am one of the coaches at Marcy school in Northeast Minneapolis. This will be my fourth season with this school. The school is just over a mile from my apartment, so I can walk or run over there. It’s a really fun program that gets girls excited about running and over the course of 8 weeks, they prepare to run a 5K at the end of the season. It’s exciting to pass along my love of running to the younger generations.
Cheers to spring and all things running!