Two Laps with Amy Feit - 5th Edition - Time for that icing on the cake

I love training. I love putting in all the hard work, the early morning miles, the gut wrenching workouts, the many hours spent on my feet for the long run, the strength training and all the other many little things done to keep my body on the roads as much as possible. I truly do enjoy it all.

I also love having races to focus all the training efforts towards. I like to look at racing as the icing on the cake. For someone who enjoys the training as much as I do, it is equally enjoyable to spend many of those hours training thinking about how it will pay off during a race (the icing). It is the apex of a training block and there is nothing quite lining up at a race after months of training feeling ready to roll.

2020 has been a challenging year for runners. So many races canceled, so many uncertainties. Yet I feel fortunate that I love the process of training for races as much as I do. This has helped bring some normalcy to a year that has been anything but normal. Regardless of what has been happening, I have continued to train. I have also continued to love that training. I also have continued to dream about finish lines, goals being reached and all the other fun and exciting feelings that go along with racing. The only difference this year is that I am just uncertain of when I will get to put that icing on the cake.

My 2020 racing calendar has been anything but normal. Not normal is not all bad though. I was able to time trial a 5k and crush my previous PR. I was lucky enough to be able to participate and win one of the few in person races in the country – the Sioux Falls Half Marathon. I then followed the half up with running the virtual Boston Marathon six days later on whim (contemplated and decided partway through a run to complete the 26.2 mile virtual race 😊).

As far as what the rest of my 2020 racing calendar holds, much like the rest of 2020, it is uncertain. Each of the fall marathons I have eyed and registered for have since been canceled. For now, my plan is to continue to do what I love – train hard, keep showing up and enjoy the process. I have watched this plan pay off for some of USA’s best marathoners –i.e. Des Linden at Boston and most recently Sara Hall at London. I know if I continue to put in the work, I’ll eventually get to put the icing on the cake! ~Amy Feit

Update: Amy is running the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon Sunday, December 13th in Biloxi Mississippi.

Sioux Falls Half Marathon

Winter training run

Running buddy Wallace