On November 3rd 2019, Molly Caughlan completed the New York City Marathon for the very first time! We at Beyond Basics are so proud and overjoyed for her! She ran to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. Read her last update before the big race, here! I sit here writing this blog with just 6 days left to go before the big race. I’ve been tapering down milage, taking time to rest, stretch, and strengthen. The forecast, fingers crossed, is looking very ideal with highs in the mid 50s and looking like sunshine all day. I’m nervous, excited, and feeling confident that I’m going to cross that finish line. Since my last blog, I’ve hit just a few bumps in the road with my training. In September right before a critical long run (my first 18 mile run), I had an acute onset of posterior tibialis tendonitis that made it difficult to even walk on. I was devastated and had to hold on running any distance all together. I was feeling incredibly anxious because of how close I was getting to the big day and at the thought of skipping such an important training notch. While I was healing, I did a Hot Vinyasa class that I hadn’t done in a while that help me hit a reset button and set up a strategy to manage these symptoms. I took a whole week off from running and had two sessions with Tina as well as doing some self treatment with modalities (ice/heat). I also had an acupuncture treatment with something called dry needling to my calves with a treatment for chi energy deficiency. With ALL of these treatments combined, the first run I did I was FLYING! I had so much energy and was going at such a fast pace that I shaved a few minutes off of my traditional 5 mile run. Things have been looking up since that week in September and looking back now, resting was the most important treatment I could have done. As part of my training, I ran the New York Road Runner’s Brooklyn Half Marathon October 19 and had such an amazing time. The end of the race was in Prospect Park, which is essentially my back yard and where I’ve been doing a lot of my training. This helped me to finish strong and break my own personal record for a half marathon with a time of 2:07.
As the days wind down, I’m looking forward to having some of my family members come visit just so they can support me on Sunday. I’ll have support from my local friends on the sidelines and, with the help of modern technology, will have the spiritual support from friends across the country. I’m eager to see all of the other anonymous supporters with their signs and I’m excited to have all of this energy boost me across the finish line. Last but not least, I must say that I am still working on my $5000 fundraising goal and I’m 71% of the way there. I’m sponsored by an organization called Team Tisch MS that performs groundbreaking research to discover the cause of Multiple Sclerosis, understand disease mechanisms, optimize therapies, and repair the damage caused by MS, as well as offering patient access to the best and most advanced treatment possible. Support Team Tisch MS by donating to my fundraiser! .
