This Full-Time Attorney Started Taking Triathlons Seriously in 2018, and She’s Already a Top Contender
Laura McDonald’s alarm goes off almost every morning at 5 a.m. To some, it may seem like a dreadful hour to wake up at, but for McDonald, it’s the best time to get in her usual morning workout before she heads into the office. The Los Angeles-based talent agent and attorney is training for some big races coming up in 2022: the USA Triathlon National Championships, the ITU Triathlon World Championship Series, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, and the Ironman World Championships.
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, McDonald, 39, started swimming at the tender age of 3. A self-described tomboy, she was always outside and playing sports, and in high school, she competed on the varsity track, cross-country, and swim teams. And while she wasn’t on any sports teams during her undergrad years at the University of Notre Dame, she still worked out regularly.
After graduating, McDonald returned to her home state of Colorado, where she started getting into marathons. That ultimately led to triathlons.
“I was working in Boulder at the time, which is the triathlon capital,” she told Runner’s World. “People were constantly telling me, ‘You swim, you run, you should just get a bike!’”
So, in 2012, McDonald bit the bullet and entered some local triathlon races.
When McDonald decided to go to law school, she shifted most of her focus away from racing and on her studies. But when her mom passed away in 2018, she knew she had to take racing more seriously and make it a priority.
That year, McDonald PR’d at every triathlon distance, qualified for Nationals, and won her age group.
“My mom would always come to my races, and I always told her I’d do an Ironman. So I wanted to get back into it for my mom,” she said. “I’m fiercely competitive and Type A, and ever since then I’ve had the bug. I was hooked.”
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Training and Lawyering
With a demanding career and an intense training and racing schedule, it’s not always easy for McDonald to balance it all.
A typical weekday for McDonald during triathlon season, starts before dawn; she either swims, bikes, runs, or strength trains—depending on the day—for an hour or so before work. Then, she’ll do a second hour-long workout sometime during the day or evening, when she has a break from work and can fit it in.
On the weekends, she’ll train for three to four hours on Saturday and one to two hours on Sunday. If McDonald is training for an Ironman, though, she’ll train for six hours a day on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.
“I don’t have enough time in the day. I used to sleep four or five hours a night because I could be working until 10 or 11 p.m., and then I’d get up at 5 a.m. for a workout.” she said. “I don’t want my work to suffer because of my training, and while I’m getting better, I don’t think it’s possible to be fully balanced.”
McDonald still makes time for things like traveling, but her training still has to come first.
“My friends and family get it—sometimes I just have to get a 12-mile run in. It’s about finding that balance and trying to have a social life. ... My coach has told me that it’s amazing how good of an athlete I am with the work schedule I have and life that I lead.”
Through it all, McDonald says her job and chosen sport complement each other well.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself,” she says. “In my job and in triathlons, you need to have mental toughness. During a race, I can always push myself harder than the limits my mind has set for itself—if you set a goal, you can accomplish it.”
You Can’t Do Everything
Another thing McDonald has learned? Boundaries—particularly when it comes to saying no to certain races.
McDonald has sustained a couple of overuse injuries over the course of her training. Most recently, she fractured the talus bone in her ankle in 202o, which left her unable to bear weight on her foot for two months, unable to bike for four months, and unable to run for six months. While it was hard for her to not be able to train for that amount of time, McDonald now considers her injuries a blessing in disguise, since they’ve taught her a valuable lesson in not taking on too much at once.
“There are days where I’m like, ‘What am I doing? Why am I doing this?’” she said. “But you have to stick with it and figure out how to make it better the next day.”
Although McDonald’s ankle is still on the mend—she’s been doing a lot of swimming to maintain her fitness—she competed in three races in 2021 with great results: USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals, where she placed second in her age group; USA Triathlon Long Course Aquabike Championships, where she placed third overall; and the Herbalife Los Angeles Triathlon, where she was the first woman to finish.
Now, She’s Training For...
McDonald has a stacked competition schedule ahead of her from now into 2022. She’s planning to race at the upcoming Clash Daytona Half distance in December, then recover for next year’s USA Triathlon National Championships, the ITU Triathlon World Championship Series, Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, and the Ironman World Championships.
“Fingers crossed my ankle is healed by then,” McDonald said. “My doctors—all four of them!—and I are optimistic we will get it figured out.”
But she tries not to take it all too seriously.
“At the end of the day, we’re doing it for fun,” she said. “You put in your best effort, and you do what you can. I feel very lucky to be doing this.”
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