Category: - Why Run Now?

The power of believing

5/19/2014

I feel that my best performances over the years have been under the guidance of coaches that have won my trust & heart. I have strongly believed in their training programs but most importantly I have felt that beyond any doubt, they have believed in me.

"Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true".
That trust isn't limited to coaches, however. Teammates, training partners, and friends throughout the years have made the difference between good seasons and unforgettable ones because there is something about not wanting to let these people down that keeps you fighting when you want to give in or give up. Runner's edge posted this picture the other day, and in the caption, they wrote, make sure that that someone IS YOU! It reminded me of what a very wise man (my high school XC coach) once told me: "If you believe 1/10 of 1% of what I believe in you, you are going to surprise yourself (and a lot of other people)...but not me. I know what you are capable of".

"If you believe 1/10 of 1% of what I believe in you, you are going to surprise yourself (and a lot of other people)...but not me. I know what you are capable of".
- Ary Montalvo

If you have a coach who believes in you and that you trust blindly, people around who are on similar or parallel path to yours, and you believe in yourself...then you may have that little extra that can not only turn your training, but your life in every aspect from ordinary to extraordinary! The secret to training (and everything else for that matter) lies in the power of belief.

With a new week of training just opening, here are some questions for you to toss around on your next run, ride, or swim:
Who are you surrounding yourself with?
Who is guiding your training?
Do the people you train with make you a happier/stronger athlete?
Are you your biggest fan and supporter?

Repost from Jackie Gonzalez's Instagram:

In our sport, it's not about what you've done, it's about what you ARE doing. And it's not as important where/what you've run, as where/what you are running to, because in the end, it's not about who you are....it's about the person you are becoming.

So believe in yourself. Surround yourself with training partners, teammates, friends, and coaches who believe in you. Feed off of them when your self doubt creeps in, and believe in yourself so that those goals you set lead you closer and closer to that moment when you can scratch them off your Life To-Do List.

The Course isn't always marked

4/24/2014

"The course isn’t always well marked; cones are moved, volunteers are unsure of
instructions, markers may be too spaced apart or obscure, and moments of
discouragement or lack of inspiration to create, achieve, and even run, are
realities we all encounter but not ones we are doomed to live with.

So I had been in a training slump. I had been having trouble getting into a rhythm and even writing; Most of my article ideas seem to surface
through my pores along with the run induced sweat. I was a couple days from deadline for RUN SOUTH FLORIDA Magazine, when it occurred to me. I NEED to find my inspiration!

Where had my inspiration gone?

"The word INSPIRATION (IN-SPIRARE) literally means the ‘act of breathing in or inhaling’. Without Inspiration, divine guidance that enables us to look for the path we were on or a new path that has the potential to lead us to a better place, we feel lost. "

As I started writing, I realized that I needed to follow my own advise:
" Dive into a NEW discipline, complimentary sport, or challenge yourself to tackle a longer distance. "I have decided to do my first IronMan70.3 . We always think that another time
will be a better time to train, but reality proves otherwise. The grass isn't always greener. We have to make NOW be a good time to train. With all there is to do, I will try and track my journey from Mom to IRONMOM here. I am tracking my training more for me, than for anyone else. I need to keep myself accountable, I need to trick myself to staying on COURSE =).

Apparently I wasn't able to figure out where exactly my inspiration had gone, but I'm glad to say that I didn't wait for it to come back, I set out to find it.... and was surprised at how quickly our paths realigned. It's almost as if he was just playing hard to get. Deep down inside, he never wanted to leave my side to begin with.

Here's to new goals!

Racing Tips

1/30/2014

T-3 days! I thought I'd Repost this article that I wrote for Examiner.com: Racing Tips.
Here are some racing tips to keep in mind when approaching a big race. Take these for what they are, suggestions.

Photo Credits: Miami Marathon

Pace yourself. The excitement of being surrounded by other anxious runners corralled at the start line, like horses on a race track, gets to everyone. The key is to stay calm. Get out ahead of the craziness but not too far where you expend your energy for no reason.

Be efficient. Remember to keep your form; head straight, jaw relaxed, shoulders down, arms swinging back and forth by your hips without crossing in front of your torso, good even stride, and quiet landing. [Easier said than done.]

Replenish during the race. Depending on the distance of the race, you might want to consider eating a snack. However, race day is not the day to start experimenting. Eat things that you have already tested during your training and have found that work well for you.

Look forward. Not just for your form, look forward toward your target or goal. Give yourself little goals to reach during the race. This will not only keep you motivated, but will help the race go by faster. Before you know it, you'll be sprinting toward the finish.

Pass with authority. Once you decide you want to pass someone, make the pass and don't look back or second guess yourself. The slower you pass someone, the higher the chances are that he are she will try to stay with you. Every person you pass COUNTS.

Picture from internet

Finish strong. The reason you paced yourself at the beginning was so that you could progressively get stronger and faster throughout the race. Toward the finish, you want to "empty the gas tank", as most coaches like to say. There is no more need to store energy. As you become a stronger racer, you will be able to pick up the pace further and further away from the finish.

See you at the starting line!

To read more, check out other articles and publications HERE.

RACE WEEK TIPS:

1/28/2014

A couple days out from RACE DAY and race anxiety is starting to kick in. Everyone is posting pictures of "last run", "last workout", "last [insert activity]"....and the T-(whatever day) posts aren't helping either. Whether we are ready or not, come Sunday! It's Race time.

Feeling a little more in-control this week, may help with the race anxiety. We all know that we need to get rest, hydrate, and eat right. What we may not realize is that we are CREATURES OF HABIT! We need to continue in our same routines. Any abrupt change in our routine may have detrimental effects on our performance.

Here are some common mistakes runners make:

TAPER TOO MUCH:
Taper: (verb) to diminish or reduce/ to reduce in thickness toward one end.
In our sport, it means to reduce the amount of running in the couple days leading to a big race. I listed this one first because it's the one that everyone has been talking about. "How much are you running this week?". This week shouldn't be too different than past weeks! One of the biggest mistakes runners make before a big race is TAPERING TOO MUCH. Yes, you can ease-off the intensity and mileage A LITTLE, but you don't want to shut down. You need to keep your finely tuned machine well OILED and ready to roll when the gun goes off on Sunday. If you taper too much, your body may start going on Vacation Mode.

GET EXPO-CRAZY:
Friday and Saturday, The Miami Beach Convention Center will become Disney for runners! It will house hundreds of the latest running wear options, thousands of nutrition products, and have millions of tempting options to derail you from what YOU ARE USED TO! Don't go EXPOCRAZY. Just because Mo Farah runs in a certain Nike racing flat, doesn't mean that you need to as well. There will also be lots of informative talks at the Expo. They are there to provide information, but keep in mind, they are opinions or points of view of certain runners. NOT EVERY TIP needs to be IMPLEMENTED on race day!

Image from RunnersConnect

CARBO-Loading disaster:
All of us know that we need to load up on carbs before our half and full marathons because they are a great source of energy, but HOW and WHEN to LOAD could mean the difference between "hitting the wall" or "charging towards the port-a-potty". In order to keep our body fully stocked for race day, we need to start carbo-loading 2-3 days before. By Thursday, our diet should consist of 85-95% carbs. CAUTION:This doesn't mean that your diet should consist of 85-95% pasta. There are other great sources of carbs found in sports drinks, snacks (cereals, oatmeal, granola), fruits (though they also have high fiber) and starchy vegetables. Also, keep in mind that eating after our easy taper runs is the best time to replenish our glycogen stores.

Most importantly, the biggest mistake runners make is going for a late pasta dinner with friends and fellow runners the NIGHT BEFORE. You want to EAT early on Saturday so that you have enough time to digest your food. If you wake up hungry on Sunday morning, YOU DID WELL! You definitely don't want to wake up still stuffed from Saturday night's dinner. Race morning breakfast should include 100-150 grams of carbs. Tortillas, oatmeal, bread, pancakes, waffles, bagels, yogurt, and juice are all easy-to-digest options. It's recommended that you eat this meal around 2-3 hours before the race start. It sounds like a long time but if you eat AS SOON as you get up, you'll be within the correct window.

Disclaimer: Not my toes.

DON'T CUT THEIR NAILS:
Last but definitely not least. In the craziness of Race Week, planning meals, filling water bottles, icing legs, and massaging calves, it may slip our mind to give ourselves a PEDICURE. You may laugh, but you will thank me for the reminder on mile 11 when you look down at your foot and DON'T SEE BLOOD! Fact: RUNNERS loose nails. Having your toe nails nicely trimmed will minimize your chances of walking away from Bay Front Park with purple toe that will eventually turn black, and slowly slide off in the following 2 months making it difficult for you to wear sandals or heels if you remotely care about what people think of your feet. I did say- GIVE YOURSELF a pedicure. Call me paranoid, but I strongly encourage you to do it yourself because if you go to a salon, you may happen to get the nail lady on a bad day when she is out to save the world one cuticle at a time. You definitely don't want that! Safest bet, do it yourself and book a real "pamper-your-feet" Pedicure with your friends for anytime after Sunday Morning.

Long story, short...DON'T CHANGE your routine too much. Drink what you are used to, eat the supplements you have been eating while running, and wear the clothing/shoes you have been training with. RACE DAY is not the day to experiment! In order to perform at your best, make sure your ENERGY STORES are stocked up with the right foods to HELP, not HINDER, your race day performance. And lastly, double check that your toe nails are trimmed and ready for the BIG DANCE!

Hope these tips help....5 days to Go!

Happy New Year!

1/1/2014

Biking the other day (last year actually) with some friends, I looked down and thought about how nice it would be to have a water bottle holder between my aero bars, with a straw. Then thought, since we are dreaming anyway, I would also like to have a cat eye on my bike to let me know how fast(or slow) I'm riding.

But those thoughts quickly dissipated when I remembered a conversation that I held a couple months back. I had gone to tune-up my bike for the Escape to Miami and I mentioned to the mechanic at MAC CYCLE how I felt about new additions to my handlebars. His response was very clear:

“Even if I tried, you wouldn’t be able to fit anything on your bike. There is no space!”

"Sometimes, no matter how badly you want to add something new to your life, you simply can’t, if you don’t make the necessary adjustments and/or eliminations."

I constantly find myself trying to fit things in where there’s no space, no time, or not enough energy left. My goal for this year is to get rid of unnecessary clutter and make some space--in all aspects. May your 2014 be de-cluttered so that you can FIT all the things you really want in your life, especially time to log those miles and to spend with loved ones!

Cheers!

Necessary alignments...

12/19/2013

Ever finished a run with a hand and arm cramp?
Yea that just happened!! 6 miles felt like 12, not because I was pushing an almost 40-pound wiggling toddler but because my stroller wasn't aligned! It kept pulling left. I'm exhausted, sore, and downright wornout!

Can u imagine the toll it must take on our bodies to be dis-aligned? If we have our leg pulling one way while our hip pulling the other direction? Or worse, if we are pushing our bodies in one direction and our other life choices are pulling our body in another direction?!?! (I know it sucks...I've been there!)

I need to take a stroller to get re-aligned ASAP! There are times when we need to make some LIFE TUNE UPS too; Tweak a couple things here and there so that WE TOO can start running in a straight line.

Since September I have dropped my time 1 min and 19 seconds in the 5k, PRed in the 10k, by 2 minutes, and 2 weekends ago I swam/bike/ran my way into the OVERALL slots of a Triathlon placing 3rd with the fastest 5k time in the run (for male and female competitors). Keep reading--THERE IS A POINT, and it's not for you to hate me. The reason I am telling you all this is because in the last couple months I've changed a couple things, made a couple adjustments that I wanted to share with you. You can read and become informed, read and disregard, or read and perhaps try some yourself and see what results you get.

Change 1- MY SOCIAL LIFE- I've tamed the social life down a notch (just one, don't worry- I am still a good time). Burning the candle at both ends isn't sustainable. And though possible to go out on a Friday with one group of friends and still mange to get by on a long run on Saturday morning with another group of friends...It's much more enjoyable to pick one of the two and do it well. I've been opting for the "enjoy the Saturday morning long-run" and notice that it's a lot EASIER with a full night's rest.

Change 2- MY EATING HABITS- Using Herbalife shakes for breakfast and cutting down on bread (which I love), I've managed to shed 17 pounds in the last 3 months. Notice that it wasn't like the ads in Facebook that say, 20 lbs in 20 days or the miracle pill for 3 sizes in 1 week... blah blah blah. It has been 3 months. meaning about 5.5 lbs a month. Just to give you some food for thought. Try running around with a gallon of milk everyday you go for a run/workout. A gallon of milk weighs a little over 8 lbs! CRAZY HUH! It's WEIGHT that you have to carry around with you...FOR A LOT OF MILES. Make your runs easier for yourself by making the dietary adjustments that you can! Your body and your running will love you for it.

Change 3- My HARD WORKOUTS- I have become more disciplined about workouts. At least once a week I've been doing harder/longer workouts at race goal time pace--not to mention trying to keep up with the boys that show up. It's really made a HUGE DIFFERENCE. Though recovery days, easy days, and steady long runs are a very necessary part of the equation, HARD RUNS where you are training your body to run at the pace that you want it to run at are ALSO a necessary evil! I remember my High school cross country coach would always say: "LONG SLOW RUNS equals LONG SLOW RUNNERS". Give yourself a chance to impress yourself; try incorporating these faster workouts into your routine! (Check below for some info on workouts around the city.)

"Sometimes we are putting in the work, just not in the right way. All we end up doing then in wearing ourselves out! "

These alignments are just the beginning. There is still a lot of work to be done and adjustments to be made! Just like we take our bikes in to get tuned up every couple months or before races, our lives and our running need the same TLC. Give yourself a gift this holiday season and take the time to make some alignments- personal, professional, emotional, and physical!

-Happy Holidays

For a great physical alignment: Check out
Dr. Flores
Chiropractor, runner, and friend

4150 Nw 7th St Ste 200
Miami, FL 33126
Neighborhood: West Flagler
(305) 240-0929
floreschirogroup.com

Track Workout Options

Mondays

FDC/ Solerunners Marathon and Half Marathon Track Workouts at Tropical Park at 6:45pm
Call Store for more details:
(305) 595-7867

IRun Speed Workouts at IRun Store at 6:45pm

Tuesdays

Wolfpack Tempo Run at Tri-Beach at 6am

Picture by Bryan Huberty

Thursdays

Wolfpack Track Workouts at Miami Country Day School at 6am

IRun Marathon Training Speed Workouts at AWP at 7pm
Call Store for more details: (305) 751-9440

November, off to the races...

11/1/2013

Not sure when November got here, but it's here! There are more than enough opportunities to race this month. With the weather starting to cool off just a smidget, and the upcoming binge eating festivities that the end of the year bring along with its arrival, what better way to set your weekends off to a great start with some healthy events that will be fun for family and friends! Pick a few and test yourself; See where you are at! Here are 17 options for you:

November 2, 2013
Reasons to Run 5k-
At Deering Estate at 8am
to Benefit Cancer free kids

Ironman Florida
In Panama City Beach Florida

November 3, 2013
New York City Marathon

Coconut Grove Bed Races
(http://runningintheusa.com/Race/View.aspx?RaceID=74124)

November 8th, 2013
Waterford 5k
At Blue Lagoon at 6:45pm
( 6100 Blue Lagoon Dr, Miami, FL 33126)
Benefiting Miami Children's Hospital

November 9th, 2013
DareDevil Run
At Bayshore Park inDowntown at 4pm
Benefiting Men's Health Network

KeyBiscayne Lighthouse Run 5k/10k
At Bill Baggs Park at 7:30am

Gobble Wobble 5k
At Barry University- Thompson Hall Plaza

Miami Veterans Day 5k
At Tamiami Park at 8am
Benefiting wounded warrior project

Miami Wild Run
At Miami Zoo at 7:30am

November 10th, 2013
Miami Man International &Half Ironman
At Larry & Penny Thompson Park and Zoo
Miami at 7am

Allstate 13.1
At 163 SW 1st Ave at 6:35am

November 16th, 2013
Miracle Walk/Run
At Miami Zoo at 7am
For Organ donor awareness

November 23, 2013
Steps for healing 5k-
At Miami Metro Zoo at 8am
Benefiting the Children's Bereavement Center

Electric Run 5k-
At Homestead Speedway at 7pm

November 28th, 2013
Turkey Trot 5k/10k-
At Tropical Park at 7:30am
Kid's race- 9:00am

Jungle Island Turkey Trot 5k
At Jungle Island at 8am

So lace up ladies and gentlemen!

-Happy Racing

Look up...You aren't swimming alone out there.

10/17/2013

Yesterday was a day filled with mixed emotions and lots of thought provoking, tear jerking, questioning and reflecting. By five o'clock I knew the only way to relieve some of the heaviness weighing on my heart would be to take my emotions out for a nice long open water swim.

When I first got out there I completely forgot about everything that had transpired throughout the day. I could only focus on getting my breathing and kicking into a good rhythm. Taken back by the beautiful sunset I was getting to witness at water level, I knew that this was exactly what I needed.

Throughout the swim I would often find myself either going towards shore or heading out towards the sunset. I would try and swim in a straight line but I would often have to look up and correct my direction. On the way out I didn't really have a good focal point (which made things a little harder) but on the way back I was using a the biggest building in the Brickell area to guide me which made things much easier (though I still did swerve).

By the time I was making my way to the starting point, the sun was spectacularly setting with a bright red hue that almost made it seem as if Miami was burning. Only problem was that I was quickly starting to notice the water getting darker. The group of swimmers had spread out a lot and so there were points where I felt all alone. That's when I stopped to tread water for a second and look around for the other swim caps. They were all still out there. From water level I couldn't really see them but as I lifted my head a little more, the kaleidoscope of colored swim caps appeared and disappeared before me.

I came to the conclusion (at about the 3rd booey from the finish) that it's okay to swerve, lose sight of your focal point momentarily, even panic when you feel all alone in an ocean that is quickly getting darker....as long as in those moments we try lifting our head a little more to notice that we are actually surround by many others---just like us, going in the same direction, with their eyes on the same goals. We are not alone on this journey. And sometimes, all it takes for us to regain perspective is a little pause, a couple seconds of treading water, for us to be able to continue confidently in the direction we were headed.
#justkeepswimming #lookup #lookaround #harddays #theraputictraining #itsofficial

#tbt Marathon Reflection

10/17/2013

Since today is throw-back Thursday (#tbt), I thought I'd repost a reflection that I wrote back in 2012. A little background before you read the post. At that time, I was a couple days away from running the LA MARATHON, my first (and only to date) marathon-EVER. I had also just gotten into a head-on collision with another biker that sent me to the hospital, the FIRST EVENING that my son was spending the weekend with his dad proceeding our very recent separation. That was a loaded sentence...Did you get all that?
Enjoy...

Here's the Re-Post:

So this morning, a friend (Brittany) sent me an email that really made my day! She sent me a PDF of a presentation she saw...where the subject was RESILIENCE. She told me: "Each of us has our own story, our own setbacks and our own triumphs...and its all apart of our journey through the "human condition. Its amazing to see how resilient humans are and can be."

So I looked up the definition of RESILIENCE and this is what I found: Getting stuff done when s *** (aka poop) happens!
(keep in mind I have a 2 year old YAK BACK that records and repeats everything I say, so I must
now START SPELLING things...lol)

What a great word! Seriously!

Resilience truly is the ability to recover or adjust to misfortune or change (I don't know about the easily part)....and I hope that it means the capability of a strained body to recover--to bounce back--after being subjected to all kinds of stress-- like ASPHFAULT, ANOTHER BODY, and NO SLEEP!!

This slide was so beautiful I just had to share it all! Resilience is what enables us not only to survive but to thrive despite our changing environment. That's the thing about CHANGE...it's the only CONSTANT IN OUR LIVES. Nothing ever remains the same....I guess that's why my blog's description says:
IN ONE MINUTE, MY WORLD CHANGED! NOW I BEGIN TELLING MY STORY OF HOW I CHANGED WITH IT.

There are a lot of things that I thought I would never be able to do, but just as this marathon keeps proving to me, THE HUMAN CONDITION is INCREDIBLE....I'm amazed at what I have been able to achieve and continue to do besides the emotional and physical setbacks. I don't want to be a person that is constantly blaming those circumstances that surround me...for my inability to live a fulfilling life! It's always our choice! It's our choice to thank those around us who give us the opportunity to stop everything and start over from scratch. It's our choice to look at the things that are making us suffer or causing internal conflict when we look in the mirror and CHANGE that about OURSELVES. We are the only ones that should be amazed at who see see staring back at us in the mirror every morning (wink wink).

As the reality of this marathon creeps closer and the pain from my bike accident 14 days ago still hasn't
allowed me to run more than 8 miles...I realize that success and failure are subjective. Sunday morning's race will be run to push my limits--obviously the physical ones, but my limits of courage as well. I'll be
needing a MONUMENTAL amount of courage for this next chapter as one story ends and another one beautifully begins. I will need courage to not back out, and NOT GIVE UP on myself, on my goals, on my dreams, and on the future that I see! I need courage to continue to love my life and be thankful for all the amzing people in it who challenge me everyday to BE BETTER.

"Each of us has our own story, our own setbacks and our own triumphs...
and its all apart of our journey..."
-Brittany Love Brome

I hope that you all get to experience a "MARATHON" challenge that will force you to PUSH YOUR LIMITS....a challenge that will humble you and at the same time help give you a LIVING reminder of what RESILIENCE truly means!

With that said....HERE's
to an amazing MARATHON--rain or shine!

- Happy Marathoning!

Originally posted: Expecting the Unexpected March 16, 2012

Good Luck Marathoners!

10/10/2013

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is the pinnacle of achievement for elite athletes and everyday runners alike. On Sunday, October 13, 2013, runners from all 50 states and more than 100 countries will set out to accomplish a personal dream by reaching the finish line in Grant Park.

With the craziness of the last couple days, I haven't had a chance to work on a good luck packet that I wanted to put together for some friends running the Chicago Marathon this Sunday and the Southernmost Half/Full Marathons this Saturday in Key West.

There are millions of people that have been preparing for these races. A couple of which are from my neck of the woods and have been able to witness THEM IN TRAINING: weekday mornings swarming Alice C. Wainwright Park (AWP) left and right (literally), and weekends rushing the streets and sidewalks of Miami like if some secret adventure race was going on.

Some of the runners competing I've just recently had the pleasure of meeting while a few others have been inspiring, pushing, and racing for years (coming up on 14 years Danny!).

From the bottom of my heart I wish you a STRONG, cramp free, lactic acid build up free, bowl-movement free, blister free, chafe free SPECTACULAR RACE! Since most of the people I know who are running are either heading to the airport right about now, are already on a plane to O'Hare (CHI), or are packing up to leave to Key West bright and early, I wanted to give you a little something to entertain your travels.

Dear Marathoner friend ____________________<----Insert your name there,

Whether it's your first or your twenty first marathon, the experience will be unforgettable, not only for the miles and miles or markers you will pass, but for the memories that you have built and the person you have become on this journey to this race.

It is going to be hard....but you will not die. In fact, if you trust your training and the crazy guys that are training you, you will be happily surprised at what you will accomplish. When in doubt...always repeat out loud...I will finish ;)

TAKE in the WHOLE ADVENTURE! From the traveling to the dinners, from the warm-up to the post race freebies! Enjoy it all! For this small fracture of space in time, you will be living in a RUNNER dream world

TAKE IN THE CROWD! Be encouraged by the voices of people, ones you know and others you've never met, cheering for you as if you were a superstar! According to Wikipedia (not the best source-I know) "Superstar is a term used to refer to a celebrity who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent or successful in some field." GUESS WHAT? To many people back here in Miami, you are just that! Let their celebrations of your accomplishment along the course serve as fuel to get you through the tough parts of the race.

TAKE IN THE GLORY! The pain, you'll feel, the cramps, you'll deal with, and the millions of voices in your head making you question why you are out there will be ALL BE GONE minutes after you cross that finish line...well maybe not the pain in your legs (details details), but the glory of your finish will last forever. Knowing that what you've accomplished is no small feat by any means--NOT just in completing the race but following through with/committing to the training---that is what sets you apart from everyone else!

The hard part is done...
Now you get to race and CELEBRATE!

Chicago Marathon
Grant Park, Chicago

Wave 1 Start 7:30 a.m.
Wave 2 Start 8 a.m.

27th Mile Post-Race Party 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Southernmost Half/Full Marathon: Key West
Rum Barrel, 528 Front St.

Race Day: 6:30am (Full) 6:45am (Half)
Breakfast for fans @ Rum Barrel 6-9am

Finish line party: Saturday, October 12: 10am-1pm

From Miami...GOOD LUCK MARATHONERS!!!
-Happy Racing