by Lauren M.

For the past few years, It’s been a goal of mine to run a spring break marathon abroad. Last year, I ran the Rome marathon in Italy. It gives me something to look forward to during our winter months and keeps me running!

This past training cycle was my first time using a coach. I hired Coach Christa with Experience Triathlon Coaching Services. I’m sure we all believe our schedules are busy, but I truly think mine is extra chaotic. Given this, I wasn’t sure how a more formal, structured training schedule would look, since I need to take it day-by-day sometimes and also be able to adjust workouts unexpectedly often enough. Given that, I’m pleased with how my training as a coached athlete went. Coach Christa incorporated much more biking and swimming into marathon training than I have ever done before (as I am also training for a Half Ironman in September) and less running than I was used to in order to balance everything out.

There were some good “life” road bumps/curveballs along the way, and Christa was great at helping me navigate! I trusted the process, and I ended up with a Personl Best in the marathon on the day of the race in France. This was despite high winds, a hilly course, unfamiliar terrain, and a foreign country that spoke a language I don’t! It was the BEST marathon ever! And so beautiful!