On February 29, the best marathon runners in the nation will be competing at the US Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Atlanta, GA. Our very own coach, Cindy Anderson, mom of two boys, a full-time Postdoctoral Scientist, and the sweetest and humble personality will be one of them! She qualified for the trials this past December, after competing in her second marathon ever. The first one was 12 years ago! Unbelievable, right?! How does she do it all?!
Well, we will let her share…
How did you qualified for the Olympic Trials?
I qualified for the US Olympic Team Marathon Trials at the 2019 California International Marathon (CIM) on December 8th. The qualifying cutoff time was 2:45:00 and I just made it with a time of 2:44:46!
How was your training?
I felt really good and stayed injury-free throughout my training leading up to the race. I have always incorporated a lot of cross training into my weekly training and do not run every day. To prepare for the marathon, I typically ran 4 days a week (with cross training on the other days) and included a mix of speed/tempo workouts, sustained runs at marathon goal pace, and long runs. I kept my weekly mileage lower around 40-45 miles per week. The Honolulu Marathon Readiness Races from August-November were also fit perfectly into my training and really helped me prepare for the big race!
How do you balance motherhood (two boys), full time job, coaching, and everything else?
I try to manage my time as efficiently as I can and keep a weekly calendar to help organize tasks and goals. My husband and I rely on each other and are supportive of the extra endeavors we both enjoy being involved in. I wake up very early to get my training in and I try to do a lot of family meal planning/preparation and other tasks in advance on the weekend to help prepare for our busy work and school weeks.
What motivates/inspires you to keep pushing your limits?
I felt a big improvement in my running over the past year and really wanted to work hard and challenge myself to see what I was capable of. I have always been more of a 10k and half marathon type of runner and never really a marathoner. I ran one marathon about 12 years ago (2008), so the CIM was my second one. To see the training pay off and qualify for the Olympic Team Trials in this race was truly a dream come true and has been the highlight of my running career!
I love that you can run almost anywhere! I also love the challenge of running. I find it very rewarding to set goals, implement the training to work towards those goals, and then achieve what I sought to accomplish.
What do you love about running?
I love that you can run almost anywhere! I also love the challenge of running. I find it very rewarding to set goals, implement the training to work towards those goals, and then achieve what I sought to accomplish.
What are your goals/hopes for the trials?
I am so excited for the opportunity to compete in the trials and I will give my best effort in race. I would love to improve on my qualifying time, but my main goal is to feel strong and work to keep an even pace and rhythm throughout the race.
One tip for mothers (or anyone) that wants to do it all!
Running keeps me feeling energized physically and mentally! Being active helps me to feel my best and my strongest. One tip I have is that you can accomplish a lot even if you are limited on time. Shorter workout efforts at higher intensities can be great options. After becoming a mother, I ran for several years with a stroller (and then a double stroller!), which my sons loved to do with me and was also a tremendous workout!
Best of luck Cindy!
photo by Marissa Phillips & Cindy’s personal archive
