"I set this goal. I made a promise to myself that I wanted this, so I’m going to do it. And no, that’s not always fun. Maybe that means a late treadmill run or whatever it may be. But those little wins against your brain — and the battle to not do something — help you on race day. Because when it gets hard, you’ve already practiced doing it when you don’t want to, or when it hurts, or when the conditions aren’t ideal, or when you’re not comfortable."

In 2018, Laura Galeazzo — then Anderson — came on the Ali on the Run Show to talk about getting back on the run after having her first daughter. That year, Laura returned to running with a big literal win, breaking the tape in 2:57 at the Buffalo Marathon. Now, seven years and another daughter later, Laura returns to the show to talk about smashing a goal nine years in the making. 

At last weekend's McKirdy Micro Marathon, Laura took down a longstanding dream of running sub-2:50, finishing the 26.2 miles in a five-minute personal best of 2:49:32. In this episode, the 23-time marathoner talks about how she has taken nearly an hour off her marathon time, about why this particular race was so significant, and about how she's built so much mental strength to get where she is today.

FOLLOW LAURA @losingrace

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IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Laura is feeling after running 2:49 at the McKirdy Micro Marathon, and what she's done to prioritize her recovery (2:00)
• A timeline of Laura's marathon history (6:00)
• Laura's take on flexibility in training (16:40)
• How Laura connected with her coach, John Raneri, and what their coach-athlete relationship is like (21:10)
• Why Laura wanted to run the McKirdy Micro as her goal race (25:40)
• Laura's decision to race in the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Pacer (29:45)
• What Laura wrote on her bottles for the marathon, and how they helped her along the way (35:00)
• Why Laura chose not to have her two daughters there with her on race day (43:30)
• "Don't think. Just do." Laura's [very wise] decision to watch Top Gun Maverick the night before the marathon (48:45)
• Laura breaks down the pivotal moments from her 2:49 marathon (52:35)
• Now what? (1:02:15)
• A pep talk from Laura (1:08:00)

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