Marathon Training and Fundraising Journey: Follow Gina’s Progress

Gina has been marathon training and fundraising for the New York City Marathon in November. This will be Gina’s first marathon but that isn’t all. She is not just training, but also fundraising for Eluna, an organization that supports children impacted by a loved one’s addiction. Gina works as a program manager for an intensive children’s mental health program, as well as running an overnight camp for children who have been affected by addiction in their families. Some days can be stressful and, along with being on call, this can affect her running. You can read her first interview here.

How Has Training Been Going?

I recently started a new training plan with Lift Run Perform, and so far, so good! The volume this first week (and next, from what I can see) starts right around where I’ve been training.

I’ll end with about 27-28 miles for my first week, a ten-mile long run, and a couple of easy workouts—hill repeats and fartleks. It’s been pretty good for my confidence; I was nervous to start “marathon training,” but it’s just running!

My training plan has a strength training component that is harder for me to get excited about. I know strength is essential, but it’s not my favorite. I hope to consistently get two to three days of strength training throughout this training cycle.

Why Did You Want a Plan With Strength Training? 

I have started and fallen off strength training so many times! At the end of my last race, I could feel the lack of strength in my legs and core. The result is that I know that strength training is essential. During that race, I felt aerobically fine, but I didn’t have the power to sustain my pace. I’m committed to at least two days a week in this plan. My plan has three days, but I’m trying to be realistic.

What Is The Hardest Part of Training Right Now?

Lately, it’s been the heat. I’ve made some poor choices with timing on my runs. Last week, I started my long run around 1 p.m. which was not the best time of the day, but I keep telling myself that running in the heat of the day builds character and is good mental training! 

How Has Work Affected Your Training This Summer? 

Work is okay. It’s busy but not the most active season; we’ll pick up in the fall. Work does impact when I run, though. I try to train before work, which gives me a good one and a half to two hours (reasonably). If I don’t get it in before work, and play the game where I say I want to do it after, I am always full of regret. I’m just so tired after work and, although I’m usually off around 5:30p, sometimes it’s more like six o’clock. At that point, it’s pretty late by the time I get home and finish my run. I have had some success doing strength training after work!

The other factor is that I’m not super fast, so running anything over five or six miles takes well over an hour. This impacts what I can get done before work and I have to plan longer workouts thoughtfully.

Marathon Training and Fundraising Isn’t Easy. How Is The Fundraising Going? 

Fundraising is going well, sort of! I haven’t made a big push on fundraising so far. With what I’ve done I have been able to get approximately 1/3 to my goal. I’ve just started documenting my training on social media and plan to include my fundraising and my “why” for picking this particular organization to run with. I’m hoping that will garner some interest. I have learned that it’s hard for me to ask people for things. Perhaps not the best since I have a fundraising goal, but I’ll figure it out!

We’re going to keep following Gina’s marathon training and fundraising as she prepares for the NYC Marathon. Plus, next time we’ll look at how strength training is helping her run and how she is enjoying training for a marathon in the late summer and early fall.

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