Running Home: Preparing to ‘Win’ the Race
Dominique Burton (Nique) is training for her next marathon with a rigorous, six-day-a-week program to prepare for a personal victory on race day.
Culture
Fleet Feet is tracking native-New Yorker-turned-DC resident Dominique “Nique” Burton as she runs a marathon in New York City this November. Nique is one of six co-founders of RUNGRL, a digital media and events platform for Black women that uses running as a vehicle to impact wellness in the community.
When we last checked in with Nique, she had big plans to make this marathon better than her last. She’s off to a good start with her training schedule. She’s been intentionally checking in with herself to establish a healthy balance of life and training. Included in that is her focus on valuing her efforts each step of the way. Her rigorous, six-day-a-week program is a series of calculated steps in helping her prepare for a personal win on race day.
Here, Nique shares what ‘winning’ on race day means to her, what she’s learned from her training so far, and her tips for balancing training with a busy life.
Schedule for Success
Adjusting your lifestyle and responsibilities is a big part of balancing a marathon training schedule. As a swim coach who also has a full-time job, Nique is making it her priority to fit in training for the marathon with the help of her (very detailed) calendar.
During the week, she gives herself permission to switch around specific workout details, as long as everything gets done. “There are days when I end up running mid-day in the summer, but I try to avoid that by sticking to morning workouts or evening runs,” says Nique.
Her calendar is jam packed, which Nique says concerned friends and clients have pointed out to her.
It can be tempting to want to go too hard while training for a marathon, but Nique combats this temptation by intentionally scheduling down time for recovery.
“In order to make recovery a priority, sometimes I have to make the time. That means setting it aside just like I would for a workout or a work meeting,” she says. Each time she completes a training week where she checked off all of her workouts and her rest days, she counts that as a win.
Celebrating Small Wins
Not every run goes your way, and it’s important to take time to celebrate the ones that do. As a Black woman, Nique understands the feeling that she has to do everything ‘exceptionally well’. That feeling can often be amplified in distance running, where Black women have traditionally been underrepresented.
Running USA’s 2020 National Runner Survey found that only three percent of all U.S. runners are Black. Each year more trailblazers are added to that list, especially Black women. They are breaking barriers and putting themselves first.
It’s important to Nique that her efforts demonstrate to other women like her that they can do it, too. With that in mind, she likes to celebrate each successful run as a win, and each tough run as a hurdle crossed.
“Some people don’t realize how up and down training runs can be,” says Nique, who has several tools she uses to keep herself consistent during weeks of challenging workouts.
In preparing for a big finish on race day, Nique makes it a point to celebrate even the smallest signs of improvement, which is something she knows can be hard for those who have often been taught to minimize themselves or to always put others first.
“It’s sometimes hard for Black women to celebrate the small wins,” she says. “Be kind to yourself, allow yourself grace, because this is hard! Celebrating myself has been a tool towards resiliency. It’s a reminder of my power and courage during this marathon journey.”
Nique likes to celebrate finishing her longest training runs with a bouquet of flowers she buys at the weekend farmers market. Some days, she posts a celebratory snapshot on her social media for friends and family to cheer on her progress. And she supports fellow runners and marathoners-in-training with congratulatory remarks on their mini-milestones as well. Each small celebration helps her and her community to push through to the next win.
Nique also finds it helpful to keep a gratitude journal as a motivating tool for the hard days. She likes to refer back to her notes when she needs a reminder of how far she’s come. Whether she’s jotting down a new personal best time or reflecting on a mental hurdle she’s overcome, Nique is visualizing the big picture by making note of the small achievements that will lead up to the finish line.
“The little things matter and it all adds up to the motivation that will carry me through race day,” she says.
This month, RUNGRL is featured in the Humans of HOKA Project presented by HOKA and Fleet Feet, which showcases the resiliency of the human spirit. Through thoughtful content and events, RUNGRL is inspiring the next generation of Black women to invest in themselves by creating the healthy, wealthy lives they deserve.
Winning at Rest
Each week, Nique is getting stronger and faster thanks to her dedication. Her commitment to showing up in the days ahead will prove to runners everywhere that we can do hard things.
”Sometimes, life is just ‘life-ing’. It has ups and downs, but it’s how I push through that counts!” says Nique.
There are some days, however, where she knows pushing through isn’t the right move, and she doesn’t beat herself up if she has to switch up her schedule to take care of herself. Each time she commits to saying no to something in favor of rest, she considers that a win, too.
Looking for areas where she can simplify her calendar and spend quality time training is key, not only for having a great race, but for the ability to keep her schedule flexible where needed. Sometimes, that may mean including a few two-a-day sessions with workouts to make room for important appointments, or just getting some rest when her body is telling her it’s needed.
The Big Win
As for exactly how well she’ll do, Nique plans to keep her expectations realistic. For her, a win will be less about certain numbers or placing. For this marathon, she says, a win will feel like “alignment”.
“I want to have a strong race, a strong run. Where everything aligns and I power through each mile. You just feel it, when a run is strong. Your form is on point, your strides are right, there’s no walking, and you’re fully enjoying the race.”
Nine weeks stand between her and the finish line, and there is no doubt that her path will lead to just such a win.
RUNGRL and Fleet Feet will be checking in on Nique’s marathon training this season in this monthly series we call Running Home. Check back in to follow her journey each month on the road to New York.
