Kate Grace's Comeback From Long COVID, Having A Baby, Injuries And Becoming Self-Coached To Give Herself A Shot At The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials

"I basically started my comeback then and said, let's try to get as much fitness as we can until October. I had this whole theory. You know how Norwegian threshold training is so ‘in’? I was like, this basically is threshold training because the only thing [the doctors] tell you is, ‘don't get your heart rate over 85%.’ So I was like, ‘I'm just the pregnant Jakob.’ I'm glad I kind of tempered it. I didn't actually do double threshold, but we did a lot of threshold work… My theme was like, ‘Well, I would never in my career otherwise have two years to do threshold training, so why not now?’"

Kate Grace is in the midst of what most mid-30-somethings with a young child could only dream of – a late-career resurgence as a professional athlete. After a 2021 outdoor campaign that saw her go on a sub-two tear across the Diamond League circuit after just missing an Olympic team, Grace’s training and racing was derailed by a bout of injury and long Covid. She then became a mother, giving birth to her son in March of 2023. But now, here we are in May of 2024 and she’s got a fighter’s chance at an Olympic berth in the 800m once again.

Grace joined the podcast to talk about the past three years of her life, the ups, the downs, and her unique take on training at the moment. It’s always fun to hear about an athlete who is taking a different approach to the sport, and it’s even more enjoyable when that athlete is so candid in discussing their experimentations with training.

Time stamps:

4:45 - What’s kept her in the sport for so long.

6:28 - Why she took a break from competing and the reasons she returned to it.

8:24 - How she dealt with long COVID + how she trained throughout her pregnancy.

15:01 - How she’s approaching training + her mindset heading into the rest of the season.

17:50 - Reflecting on her 800m opener at the LA Grand Prix.

19:56 - Why she’s going all-in on training for the 800m

21:54 - Her perspective on how the women’s 800m scene has evolved.

23:09 - Her 800m racing strategy.

24:54 - Unpacking her experience training with Team Boss and Joe Bosshard + her experience coaching herself.

28:48 - What a typical week of training looks like for her.

31:04 - Sharing her experience with “The Track Club” in Boulder.

32:27 - Where her next few races will be leading up to the U.S. Trials.

33:19 - Her interest in coaching.

34:40 - How long she intends to continue running professionally.

36:05 - How she wants the rest of her running career to unfold.

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