Breast Cancer Survivor Gail Konop Baker on Training for Chicago Marathon Events

Q–What events are you running in Chicago and when are they?

Gail–I am training for the Chicago Marathon on October 11th. I also plan to run the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon on August 2nd.

Q–How often do you run and train a week and what does it involve?

Gail–I run 4 days a week but work out every day. On Mondays I run 6 miles. On Tuesdays I cross train which usually involves hot yoga (I’m also a yoga fanatic) and now I’m adding cycling. Wednesdays I run 10 miles. Thursdays is Track Day meaning speed or interval training that might be 45 minutes to an hour of short timed runs with recovery time in between or hill repeats. I did hills today and ran 14 1.20-minute steep uphills using the downhill for recovery. Friday is another cross train day like Tuesdays. Will probably do yoga tomorrow and bike all=2 0my errands. Saturday is my long run day. I’m up to 11 miles this week but every week I will add 2 miles until I reach 22. Sunday is another cross train day when I usually do yoga and hike with my husband and the dogs.

Q–How has time speed training helped and how long have you been doing it?

Gail–I started the speed training about 4 weeks ago (in May) and I love it! It makes me feel stronger and faster and it gives me an amazing endorphin rush that lasts for hours. I told my husband I love it so much I wish I’d been on the track team in high school (even though I didn’t run then nor was I very athletic). Then I asked him if there was a track team for 40 something women… He sort of rolled his eyes… I think he thinks I’m getting a little compulsive about my training…

Q–Were you a runner before you had cancer?

Gail–Yes. I started running after the birth of my third child. I was 37 and I’d had an emergency c-section and lost a lot of blood and was very weak. I’d sit on the couch nursing my son and watching people run up the hill that ran next to my house and I thought, I want to run. I want to be a runner. As soon as I had my strength back, I started jogging. Slowly with a lot of walking in between. It took me a about a year to work my way up to 3-4 mile runs. Then about 7 years ago I started running with a woman who had a reputation as the neighborhood athlete and I asked if she wanted=2 0to run together (I guess I was looking for another challenge!). At first I could barely keep up but eventually she pushed me to run longer faster and harder than I ever had or thought I was capable of. She also got me into racing. I ran my first 10k with her and also my two half marathons.

Q–How did cancer change your running ritual?

Gail–While I was recovering from surgery I didn’t feel like running. Didn’t really feel like a runner. But I knew my kids thought of me that way. My son had always bragged to his friends, “My mom is an athlete. She can run up all the hills in the neighborhood.” And even though I didn’t feel like running at all, I forced myself in order to prove to him and my daughters (and myself) that I was strong and would be not only survive but thrive. So maybe 6 weeks after surgery, I started training for my first half marathon at the urging of the friend I mentioned. The following year I ran another half with my two teen-aged daughters. Now I’m training for my first full. And feeling stronger and healthier than ever!

Q–How did you perform in the recent Madison, Wisc. Race For The Cure 5K?

Gail–Better than I expected. My time was 24.21…9th in my age group (and I’m at the very high end of my age group!!). So I was very happy about that but as soon as I crossed the finish line, I also came up with a million reasons I could have been faster and strategies for shaving off a few minutes from my next race. I say I’m not competitive and don’t care about my race times… but I’m lying…

Q–How big a role does your diet play in your training?

Gail–I’ve always been very careful about my diet… not that I diet. I don’t believe in dieting. I love food and eating and cooking and the ritual of sharing of meals too much to diet, but I do believe in making healthy choices and that includes mostly organic and lots of fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains (and red wine and chocolate of course!). Since I started training for the marathon, I’ve had to be careful about what I eat before my longer runs and before races and that’s something I’m still perfecting through trial and error. I’m learning for me, less is more. I run best if the night before a long run or race I eat an early dinner and no wine and hydrate with a watered down sports drink (an all natural one) and in the morning eat a banana and drink a cup or two of coffee about two hours before I run and keep hydrating. If the run lasts longer than an hour, I’ll eat some Gu (special kind of gross tasting energy packs designed for endurance athletes) and electrolyte water or watered down sports drink every 15-20 minutes depending on the heat and humidity. And after a hard long run I try to eat something within 30 minutes since that helps your muscles recover for the next run and it also burns at a much higher rate so it’s almost like calorie free food. Gotta love that!–

Gail Konop BakerAuthor of CANCER IS A BITCH: Or, I’d Rather be Having a Midlife Crisis

“…smart, funny, hopeful… I loved this book: Read it!” –Sara Gruen, author of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

   www.gailkonopbaker.com