Category: Compassion International

30 Days Out

~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” ~ H. G. Wells

Today was day 214 of marathon training and it looked a lot different than day 214 of my training plan. Getting sick and the recovery required weren’t on the schedule. My runs the past two week have been hard and not even close to enjoyable. I was feeling not so great about this marathon. All the motivation I had left was because this is most likely my one chance at a marathon and I really want to finish. Thankfully, today’s run felt better. Maybe lowering the volume and intensity will pay off.

I do have some doubts. Volume and intensity have taken a big hit. I have accepted that they are what they are, but have some concern around how prepared I will be on the day. I think I hit my highest volume 3 weeks ago and that feels like it is way too early to peak. My current goal is to maintain. I know that 3 weeks ago I was able to do 16 miles, but I currently don’t know what my final long run will be. I’m hoping for 18 miles, but I don’t want to get to taper so beat up that I end up exhausted on the day.

The mental battle of this marathon is unquestionably the hardest thing I have chosen to do in a long time, maybe ever. Most of the time I feel like it’s a very solitary struggle. I run alone. I come up with my plan alone – with the help of google and Hal Higdon, oh and also Chat GPT. I do confer with my medical team. I share my struggles with family and friends and I make it accessible for anyone who has access to the internet. But when I walk out my front door for whatever run I aim to do that day it is just me. And it is hard.

This will be my last push for my fundraiser. I have met my goal, but I’m okay with going above and beyond.

Another Ask

~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. ~ Mother Teresa

I was really uncomfortable starting this fundraising thing. I didn’t have much confidence that it would go anywhere. I sorta figured I’d ask and then the post would get lost out there in the interwebs and we wouldn’t talk about it again. But people did donate and I discovered something interesting. When people donated to a cause that I believe in and they were also showing support for a challenge I’m tackling it felt really personal. Like I now have a team behind me. So I set a goal to do a monthly ask and see if I could continue to grow my team.

Today I’m 6 months out from marathon day. In the past 2 months I have run/walked/hiked 132.5 miles. My toe is better. It’s still swollen and a little tender to the touch, but I can run on it without pain. I completed a 5k, set a PR, and have the medal to show for it. I’ve gotten the programmed strength training done and I’m having fun. The mornings are getting warmer, but I’m still wearing long sleeves for most runs. That will change soon. Truth be told I enjoy the process.

Now a fundraising update. I’m raising money for Compassion International, specifically to go towards providing vulnerable children living in poverty access to clean and safe drinking water—preventing life-threatening diseases and allowing them to stay in school and focus their energy on overcoming poverty. My goal is set for $1500. I’m currently at $950. I’m pretty pleased with that. I’d love it if you would consider joining team #luxuriouslyhard (yes, I do hope that becomes a thing, because I think it’s super funny. If you want to know what it means you can read about it here.) If you’d like to donate follow this link And maybe you could share it with a friend or two.