Remember when you were little and you ran EVERYWHERE. All around the house, from the one end of the playground to the other, to the car, to the beach, to the cereal lane in the grocery store, to each other, and away from each other. We would run and run and run without a care in the world...not our nutrition, not our compression socks, not our pace, not our time....we would just run until we felt like stopping.

On Sunday, I participated in the Wings for Life Event,  a WORLD WIDE EVENT where runners in  35 countries on 6 contients were running simultaneously  to raise funds for Spinal cord injuries. I ran it with a friend and teammate, Lupe Merlos, and a couple 100 other runners, who would also agree it was an incredible experience.

We ran until we were tagged.  No pace, no distance calculator, no real goal past what we had originally set out to run (13.1 miles- we hit at 1:34). We just followed the road and WFL signs--not knowing what lied ahead in the remaining miles, but NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT EITHER.

Check out minute: 3:58:54 in the live stream above and some cool cats we spent the day with below:

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. 

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.

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!

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.

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!

We overcompensate for our weaknesses by dedicating more time or energy to the things that we are better at because facing the weak aspects of ourselves may be too overwhelming or too difficult. Ignoring or pushing aside these aspects of ourselves that are sub-par will only lead to deeper and more permanent injuries that will be harder to recover from in the future. 

“Don’t look down...I’ve picked up all the pennies.”
That’s what my High School coach would always say when we were running. It has always been recommended by coaches throughout my running career that it is extremely important to look forward towards the ground a couple feet ahead. Benefits include better posture, easier decision making, and keeps you focused --with you eye on the prize.
Failed attempts at projects and investments, along with the painful love strike-outs, among other mishaps cause us to look down, when in those times is when we should maintain our focus fixed on the goals and horizon ahead to lead us out of those dark moments. The obstacles, difficulties and strains of life’s wear and tear on us make giving up a tempting option. At times we get bogged down with our very present current situation, but looking up and slightly forward could be just the perspective shift that we were yearning. 

Don’t overdo it: 
Hard part about this is making the distinction between overdoing it and pushing your limits. That’s where having  a plan to guide you is always beneficial. Signs of overdoing it may be constant fatigue that drains all your energy stores. You may experience signs from feeling easily irritable or  unable to stay focused/centered, to more drastic situations like injuries or even illness. As runners we will constantly struggle with the questions: Am I doing too much? or Am I doing enough? The answer lies in listening to our hears and bodies. Unfortunately, when testing for TOO MUCH vs ENOUGH, it's a grade that we can only give ourselves when we are able to strip away the mess that surrounds our lives and get to our core. 
Whether its food, training, loving, spending, nagging,..OVERDOing  things is never a good game plan. As the saying goes, “Everything in moderation”, is the best plan of action, though most times easier said than done. Especially as runners, we are known to have “go-overboard” kind of personalities. No one is perfect, and maybe its a weakness that you too, like myself, need to work on.

Every run we take we are working on breaking through these DON’Ts. We are practicing habits that will not only make us stronger runners but stronger people. We are working on our weaknesses- whether it’s endurance, speed, leg cadence, our kick, or our listen skills, ability to forgive, willingness to allow ourselves to be loved, or having the courage to trust. Every time we look up we are reminded that it may be too late to change where we are stepping at the current second but we are just in time to make better decisions as to  what ground our next footplant will strike. Steering clear of these DON'Ts may lead to more fulfilling running experiences and who knows, may also lead to happier, more peace-filled lives.
 
                                                                                                                                                                        -Happy Growing =)

Who remembers that game: Keep in Rhythm, jolly jolly rhythm...Ready OH, Lets Go….Starting with ZERROOOOO…??If you don’t, you had no childhood! I’m kidding, but for real, how did you not ever play that game during recess with a group of friends?

Anyway. The point of the game was to keep in rhythm as you said different numbers and each person was assigned to represent a different number.  At the beginning it was easy because the numbers were in order. But as the game advanced, the numbers started getting OUT of order and when people would mess up, they would get kicked out/eliminated from the game. Besides the ORDER changing, the game
would start picking up it’s tempo as well which added to the intensity.

At the beginning of the workout,  I started questioning if I was going too hard or too fast for what I should be doing. I remembered its all about perspective. There used to be a time a couple years ago where runs and workouts like these were part of the everyday- literally. When I started thinking that this needed to feel normal, that this pace should feel okay, I  was able to shift to my “keep-in-rhythm-game” mode; my breathing calmed, my mind settled, and my legs started doing what they knew they could.

 After the 6th lap, I wanted to keep going and I felt like I could but I knew there was enough in the gas tank, but I finished what I had set out to do. It took me the mile cool-down to realize that I had just matched my 10k PR, in a controlled, level-headed, fun (game-like) manner.

If you try the keep-in-rhythm Game, let me know how it works out for you! But remember, one of the keys to the game is to keep in rhythm with the right person and trusting that your body is capable of more that we give it credit for.

Last night, at 6:55pm, after a long day at work, with blisters adorning my achilles and consequently sending currents of pain up my leg, I taped up my feet, put my compression socks on, and strapped on a smile that would later turn into a game face.

As we started the mile warm-up, my legs felt heavy and I wasn't expecting too much out of my body for the workout, besides going through the motions,  which I knew would be good for me- quicker turnover, faster cadence-style running.

When we got into the bread and butter--the 300s, I thought: "Shoot, this may be a little harder than I was expecting." But then I looked around and saw all the other people who were doing the workout and realized that it really is ALL MENTAL. Our perspective of the situation at hand. I shifted to focusing on what was my original intent...working on my stride length, which is what I had come to do. I felt like I was chopping my steps, since my stride is usually much longer. It felt awkward, almost robotic....but I was going faster. The repeats just seemed to pass me by. By the time I asked how many sets we had left, we were 2 away from being done and I felt stronger than ever.

When the 300s were over, the workout wasn't. We still had a 2 mile tempo run left. I saw two guys take off and without letting my doubts creep in, I followed. Jokingly I said under my breath to a couple other girls who were taking off on the tempo: Anything they can do, we can do---or we'll die trying. I guess a part of you has to believe that in order to attempt to try and run with them. They do have more muscle strength, they do have more speed....but us girls...we can be fierce when we want to be.

Turns out  I didn't die. I felt great. I even started to have thoughts about how fast I could race if I actually continued to train like this. In races, I guess we hold back because we feel like we are going to DIE...but workouts are a little different. That fear of dyeing is somewhat suppressed by the fact that the outcome of the workout doesn't matter as much since it's "just a practice". 


 I thought of Aristotle's' quote:  "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." And therein lies the problem--maintaining that level of intensity, pushing yourself in workouts till you feel like throwing up,  finding the inspiration to stick with it, not let up,  and not being scared of being EXHAUSTED---those are the habits that are hard to develop! 

- Happy training

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