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Less Than 40 Days Till The Trials

By Leigh Anne Sharek

January 24, 2020

At the behest of Chris Chavez, I am going to start writing down a few thoughts as training for the Olympic Marathon Trials continues.

We are a little under 6 weeks out now; so about halfway through training. This means that my legs are constantly tired and sore. I am hungry all of the time and I am playing a constant game of catch up with sleep, recovery, and nutrition. Despite all of this, I am actually really enjoying this training cycle – if that may hard to believe. Some of you may not know this but I was hurt during my training ahead of last September’s Berlin Marathon. I had to take time off and when running plays a big role in your life, it can be hard. It was not my traditional build-up in training. I was just trying to cram fitness into about 4 weeks leading into Berlin (Note: not the smartest idea). I ended up running 2:46, which wasn’t a personal best but hard to be disappointed about given the cards that I was dealt with.

This time around, I am healthy. I feel strong and fit. I’m running more miles than ever before and hitting workouts and long runs. I am extremely lucky to have so many supportive and willing people around to run with and to get me through these high mileage weeks. It’s one thing to run the workouts and hit the paces but to actually enjoy it and have people around (to suffer with you) is gratifying.

Along those lines, this past week I was able to link up with a few women who are also training for the Trials. I can’t recall where I may have heard or seen it from Mary Wittenberg that one of the most impressive things is how the women of this city continue raising the bar for one another. Perhaps the first time, we are all training for the same thing. We have different schedules and coaches and plans, but we are a small community within the much larger New York City running scene so it’s special when we can get together. I think that the more time we spend together – the more enjoyable this training cycle will be. Hearing Lauren Perkins, Jenny Donnelly, and Brendan Martin talk about their perspectives and goals reminded me that this is an exciting thing to be a part of and that the running community in New York is excited for us and wants to see us all succeed.

We have a few more weeks of work before we can show the rest of the country what’s been brewing for years here.

I’ll be sharing more thoughts in the coming weeks as part of the Runners of NYC newsletter. Subscribe now.

Leigh Anne Sharek

Runner for the Brooklyn Track Club, 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier (2:41:59, CIM 2018), Runners of NYC Podcast host, full-time forensic scientist