Dr. Andrea Toppin recently ran her first marathon in 2 years since the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. Throughout the pandemic, finishing chiropractic school, and moving from Minneapolis, MN to Denver, CO she has had a lot on her plate and decided to step back from training until this past February.
Here is a little update from Andrea on how she felt about the race, and what is next to come!
"We can do hard things.
The last 2 years have been filled with uncertainty, stress, anxiety, trauma, a lot of change, and not a lot of consistent training. Initially, I thought I would be lucky to break 3 hours and I winged a 2:42 marathon matching my PR that qualified me for the Olympic Trials back in 2020. Back then I was super fit, worked hard for that time, and had weeks of consistent training. I started actually gradually training again in February 2022 for this build after barely running in 2021 and majority of 2020. I have not had a consistent uninterrupted build since spring/summer 2019.
At Grandma's Marathon, I knew I wouldn’t get the NEW Olympic trials qualifier of 2:37 and under but I knew I could finish the marathon, have fun, and hopefully regain my love for racing and for the marathon. With the support of many friends/family I was able to run a 2:42 with a smile across my face - the first since I qualified back in 2018.
In the 2020 Olympic Trials I dropped out at mile 18 and have dropped out of a lot of races since then. Yesterday was a victory - breaking down that mental block.
I am so proud of myself. I was on 2:39 pace (PR pace) until I dropped my fuel bottle at mile 19 - and I hit a wall from miles 20-26.2, but still managed to run slightly over my marathon PR. Finishing my 3rd marathon. Ready for a good break and then I’ll really dive into my base training, strength work, nutrition, sleep, and managing my stress.
Let the comeback commence!"
Dr. Toppin will continue training towards the 2024 Olympic Trials qualifier time throughout the summer and fall. She has some shorter "tune-up" road races planned throughout the fall in preparation for her next big marathon in California this December!