I get little time these days to add to my running blog but I try to hold on to all the things I wanted to put down on paper. I ran my 3rd 5k this month yesterday and it came at the worst time possible. After a crash on my bike last week, I got up the day after in more pain than I expected. My back was so stiff that I couldn’t even bend over to put on my shoes and socks for work. I kept trying to fight through the pain only to make the pain worse but in true fashion, I refused to miss the race yesterday. Call it pride, call it stupidity but I like to say I am just competitive to a fault. I knew it would be a tough morning after I hopped on my bike to ride to Westchester for the race. My back hurt too much to really ride the way I wanted but when I got to the race and I saw all the other runners warming up and sliding into position to show off their running abilities, I got a boost but that only lasted so long. When you haven’t run in over a week, the reality is you just cannot expect to blaze down the course but I held my own for about 2 miles and my body called it quits. I finished 6th in my division and though it is respectable, it doesn’t satisfy my appetite and ego and after the race, it reminds me why I keep running. I seem to still think I can do this thing and I can get better. Sounds crazy but it is what keeps me going.
Running is serious work, especially for someone my size and I hear it all the time. Years ago, I really did not appreciate the older runners who tried to give me advice on training and preparing for races. When you are younger, you just think you can wake up and run and do little to no preparation for races but I have learned that the only way to perform well and to be successful is to be consistent in your approach and the real work happens leading up to the race. Training until you are exhausted, running on the hottest days of the year and just pushing as hard as you can. I was that kid just some years ago telling someone I could run a certain time in a race and they would just laugh at me. Now I realize I was an idiot. I am insulted now when people think I just wake up and run or that running is easy. It’s a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice. That is why it is such a reward. There is nothing better than running a race where it all comes together. You could care less about your time or placing because to have that race where you feel like a million bucks, no problems and you finish strong is priceless.
I believe I have a lot of running life left and I am just scratching the surface and I am looking forward to spending the next three weeks on the trails preparing for a trail race that I have been looking to win my division for the last four years. I know it will not be easy but I am ready to work.
For now I will rest and recover and lace up the shoes for my next adventure.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Lucky Number 12
My last post was on February 27th. I was really in a different space and time because I was feeling the pressure and anxiety as the LA Marathon was approaching. How fast time flies! Seven days after the race, I get a chance to sit and reflect on the race. I guess being sick helps because I have a lot of time to sit here and just do nothing. Can I say my 12th LA Marathon was filled with tons of just anxiety? I think because I knew that my longest run was a miserable 12.5 mile run that left me stuck in my tracks. I was so discouraged after that run that I pondered whether or not I would need to withdraw from the race but I took a few days off and just reloaded and went out for some shorter runs and felt pretty good. I focused so much on what I had not done in terms of miles that it began to dominate my mind along with all these people who were telling me what I could and could not do in the race. I decided to say “wait a minute”. I am the one who has run this race eleven years in a row and I decided to just go into this race with the mindset of one step and one mile at a time.
Any week leading up to a marathon is difficult. You try your best to relax and rest but that is easier said than done. For me, it just happened to be the busiest weeks at work and the fact that you are running a marathon is lost on pretty much everyone at work. It is generally, “Oh, you are running a marathon, that is cool, now keep breaking your back with work”. All I could do is focus on my hydration which is something that gets me each marathon and knowing we were expecting 90 degree weather, I really upped my fluid intake. Walking to the expo from the metro train on Friday I knew the heat would be a problem. I was sweating and I had barely walked about ten minutes. I didn’t linger much at the expo. I grabbed my race packet and got my ass back home. I tried to chill as much as possible on Saturday. You pretty much cut yourself off from the world to try and focus and before you know it, your alarm is going off at 3:00am.
I made so many rookie mistakes for this race that I needed to be slapped. I wore a brand new pair of shoes then tried to park in my usual parking spot in SM without checking the day before so did not know the meters changed and I was forced to park about a half a mile away and walk to the shuttle where I had to stand in line for forty-five minutes. It just seemed like the morning was a disaster. When I finally got to Dodger Stadium, it was 6:15 and they were calling for people to get prepared to line up. I hadn’t got my mind right nor anything else but before I knew it we were off and running and I am not sure I had more than a five minute stretch period. It was insane. When the race started and we began to run, I felt calm and relaxed. I hit the miles and didn’t think about much except taking it easy and hydrating as best as I could. I always have indicators of what kind of day it is going to be and when I hit mile 6, I felt like I was gliding and started to say to myself “stay in the flow and find your zone”. We all worried about the heat but it was nowhere to be found and I knew we were being blessed because had the heat shined down the way it did on Saturday this race would’ve have had a different feel and outcome.
My best time in the marathon was 4:28 back in 2010. I surpassed that performance this year. I did not surpass the performance in time but just the way I felt and the way I executed the race plan I had set out to execute. I had told myself that 12-14 miles would be all that I had in the tank but I blew through those miles feeling like a million bucks. When I ran into my buddy Tendo around mile 16, I was feeling great and in a zone that I did not expect but when that happens, you just ride the wave. There were moments when I felt doubt and fatigue but that really didn’t come until mile 21. Just before mile 21, I saw a little Latino man give someone a can of coke. I needed a can of coke bad. I ran up to him and said to him “senor, tienes uno mas para mi?” and the little man responded si! He ran and got a can of coke for me, then gave me a hug. I thanked him and that moment not only carried me the rest of the race but it just added to why this race and day was special. It was as if everything aligned just right on this one day and my faith in who I am and what I can do rang true. When I crossed the finish line, I gleamed with joy and content that I had just run a perfect race. People will look at my 4:57 time and wonder what I am talking about but you have to be a runner to appreciate what I did.
My longest training run as I mentioned before was 12.5 miles but I realize that how I train where I train is what gave me the strength to go further than the miles that most kill themselves trying to do all year. When I go out for my training runs, I go around noon when it is already warm. I always run with a hydration pack that contains about 2-pounds of water on my back so I voluntarily made my training runs harder and harder. Why? I know that running just to run doesn’t prepare you for the rigors of 26 miles. You have to train in miserable conditions so when the race comes you are not surprised about weather, terrain or anything else. I also knew that the past year I just beat up my legs so I went back to weight training and smashing killer lunges and squat workouts. So when it all comes together on race day, you are blown away and ecstatic! You get one chance to do to this and do this right.
Most important thing in life is to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who support and love you because that is all that matters!!!
Life is one day and one mile at a time!
Any week leading up to a marathon is difficult. You try your best to relax and rest but that is easier said than done. For me, it just happened to be the busiest weeks at work and the fact that you are running a marathon is lost on pretty much everyone at work. It is generally, “Oh, you are running a marathon, that is cool, now keep breaking your back with work”. All I could do is focus on my hydration which is something that gets me each marathon and knowing we were expecting 90 degree weather, I really upped my fluid intake. Walking to the expo from the metro train on Friday I knew the heat would be a problem. I was sweating and I had barely walked about ten minutes. I didn’t linger much at the expo. I grabbed my race packet and got my ass back home. I tried to chill as much as possible on Saturday. You pretty much cut yourself off from the world to try and focus and before you know it, your alarm is going off at 3:00am.
I made so many rookie mistakes for this race that I needed to be slapped. I wore a brand new pair of shoes then tried to park in my usual parking spot in SM without checking the day before so did not know the meters changed and I was forced to park about a half a mile away and walk to the shuttle where I had to stand in line for forty-five minutes. It just seemed like the morning was a disaster. When I finally got to Dodger Stadium, it was 6:15 and they were calling for people to get prepared to line up. I hadn’t got my mind right nor anything else but before I knew it we were off and running and I am not sure I had more than a five minute stretch period. It was insane. When the race started and we began to run, I felt calm and relaxed. I hit the miles and didn’t think about much except taking it easy and hydrating as best as I could. I always have indicators of what kind of day it is going to be and when I hit mile 6, I felt like I was gliding and started to say to myself “stay in the flow and find your zone”. We all worried about the heat but it was nowhere to be found and I knew we were being blessed because had the heat shined down the way it did on Saturday this race would’ve have had a different feel and outcome.
My best time in the marathon was 4:28 back in 2010. I surpassed that performance this year. I did not surpass the performance in time but just the way I felt and the way I executed the race plan I had set out to execute. I had told myself that 12-14 miles would be all that I had in the tank but I blew through those miles feeling like a million bucks. When I ran into my buddy Tendo around mile 16, I was feeling great and in a zone that I did not expect but when that happens, you just ride the wave. There were moments when I felt doubt and fatigue but that really didn’t come until mile 21. Just before mile 21, I saw a little Latino man give someone a can of coke. I needed a can of coke bad. I ran up to him and said to him “senor, tienes uno mas para mi?” and the little man responded si! He ran and got a can of coke for me, then gave me a hug. I thanked him and that moment not only carried me the rest of the race but it just added to why this race and day was special. It was as if everything aligned just right on this one day and my faith in who I am and what I can do rang true. When I crossed the finish line, I gleamed with joy and content that I had just run a perfect race. People will look at my 4:57 time and wonder what I am talking about but you have to be a runner to appreciate what I did.
My longest training run as I mentioned before was 12.5 miles but I realize that how I train where I train is what gave me the strength to go further than the miles that most kill themselves trying to do all year. When I go out for my training runs, I go around noon when it is already warm. I always run with a hydration pack that contains about 2-pounds of water on my back so I voluntarily made my training runs harder and harder. Why? I know that running just to run doesn’t prepare you for the rigors of 26 miles. You have to train in miserable conditions so when the race comes you are not surprised about weather, terrain or anything else. I also knew that the past year I just beat up my legs so I went back to weight training and smashing killer lunges and squat workouts. So when it all comes together on race day, you are blown away and ecstatic! You get one chance to do to this and do this right.
Most important thing in life is to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who support and love you because that is all that matters!!!
Life is one day and one mile at a time!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Training Wall
A week ago, a Med Student and I were talking about running and how people think that if you are a runner things just seem to flow on each run but if they were runners, they would know just how far from the truth that statement really is. Today, I may have had my worst run ever and with just 15 days from the LA marathon, it couldn’t be more discouraging and what was even more discouraging was I generally have a way of working my way out of bad runs. I am generally terrible at the beginning of all my runs but by the second half, I can pull it together but today felt like I was running the second half of a marathon when things go to shit and you can’t run another step but you keep trying to convince yourself that all you need to do is put one foot in front of the other but today my mind, my body and spirit were not up to it and before I knew it, I was dragging and going slower and slower and my legs were like lead. At one point, I thought I was running with a refrigerator on my back. I stopped probably 7 times to try and get it together but mostly because I needed to and couldn’t run anymore. All my years of running, I never thought I would need to pull out of the Marathon but during my run today, I thought there is no way in hell I can make it through the race feeling the way I did.
Few days ago, I watched the 2014 recap video the Ultra Du Mont Blanc race in Chamonix, France. 103 miles up the alps with elevation gains that could be deadly for the average runner but people do each year. One of those people is Anton Kuprika who is one of the top ultra-runners in the world and after having to pull out of the race in 2013 around mile 70 because of injury, he was attempting to run the race for the second year in a row in 2014. He went out hard the first half and hit a major wall. Anton wasn’t feeling good at all. He couldn’t eat and he was on the verge of calling it quits but he decided to take a nap and when he got up, he felt better and his stomach was settled and he was able to eat some food and before long, he was back up and running and he able to finish the race for the first time. This is a guy that has won hundred mile races before and 20-30 miles are walks in the park for him but on this day, it just was not working but as he put it in the video, he does these races to challenge himself and to see how far he could push it and not necessarily to win.
The reason why I continue to run the LA marathon is because I know I will need to go through hell and at some point I know I will need to challenge myself to go beyond the pain, beyond the exhaustion and beyond my limits. People often question why I would put myself through that but it is such a great feeling when you are in the moment and you are trying to find that unknown factor to get you through that part of the race when you just feel like you can’t take another step but you have 10 miles to go and you have one only one decision in my mind and that is the finish line. How do you do it? It doesn’t matter but you have to finish. You may lose some toenails, you may be severely dehydrated, you may have to run through the worst pain ever but if you cross the finish line, you then know you can accomplish any and everything.
Miles hurt but quitting hurts even more!
Few days ago, I watched the 2014 recap video the Ultra Du Mont Blanc race in Chamonix, France. 103 miles up the alps with elevation gains that could be deadly for the average runner but people do each year. One of those people is Anton Kuprika who is one of the top ultra-runners in the world and after having to pull out of the race in 2013 around mile 70 because of injury, he was attempting to run the race for the second year in a row in 2014. He went out hard the first half and hit a major wall. Anton wasn’t feeling good at all. He couldn’t eat and he was on the verge of calling it quits but he decided to take a nap and when he got up, he felt better and his stomach was settled and he was able to eat some food and before long, he was back up and running and he able to finish the race for the first time. This is a guy that has won hundred mile races before and 20-30 miles are walks in the park for him but on this day, it just was not working but as he put it in the video, he does these races to challenge himself and to see how far he could push it and not necessarily to win.
The reason why I continue to run the LA marathon is because I know I will need to go through hell and at some point I know I will need to challenge myself to go beyond the pain, beyond the exhaustion and beyond my limits. People often question why I would put myself through that but it is such a great feeling when you are in the moment and you are trying to find that unknown factor to get you through that part of the race when you just feel like you can’t take another step but you have 10 miles to go and you have one only one decision in my mind and that is the finish line. How do you do it? It doesn’t matter but you have to finish. You may lose some toenails, you may be severely dehydrated, you may have to run through the worst pain ever but if you cross the finish line, you then know you can accomplish any and everything.
Miles hurt but quitting hurts even more!
Monday, February 16, 2015
This sport can be unkind
While I was out on my so called long run on Saturday, I started thinking about blogging. The first thing that came to mind was just hard this running shit can be. It was 85 plus degrees Saturday and here I was out running at noon time. I stuffed my small hydration pack with a large bottle of half frozen water and I carried another bottle of cold water to pour over my head to try and keep my body cool. You always know the level of heat when you are the only nut job out running and around the places where most runners should be. I struggled from the first five steps until the final steps of the lame ten and a half miles I ran. Why would anyone put themselves through the agony you ask? Sometimes I am not sure but I continue to try and win this battle between runner and all that stands in our way and I have no idea why but each year it has been a struggle to just make it to the starting line of the LA Marathon but somehow I do only to struggle through the race.
Why run in 85 degree heat you ask, I don’t think I had a choice. I was having the best training runs ever through Christmas and just when the New Year hit, the flu hit me. Not much I could do except waive the white flag and just deal with it. 2 weeks of nothing but agony and no exercise or running. When I finally felt like I could walk without my lungs feeling like they were going to collapse, I took off for a run I was away for work up in Monterey. I managed 6.2 miles but it felt like 20.2 but I knew I had to start somewhere and when I was just thinking this would be the climb back up that mileage ladder, I woke up days later feeling like someone or something was trying to tell me that I am not running this marathon. This time around, I didn’t have the flu but I had a small cold that was bad enough to keep me from running another week and a half. It has taken a lot of mental energy to stay positive and focused on what I need to do but I kept telling myself that I have done this race enough times now that I having nothing to fear but one of the bad things about having run this race multiple times is that I am no longer fooled by anything. I know the course, I know the miles, I know the pain I will need to ignore and I know what to expect so for me, the training becomes that much harder.
I began to analyze my strategy and how I plan to succeed without being able to achieve the time and goal I had a few months ago but then I have days like today where I’d planned to rest and do nothing but something told me to lace up the shoes and I did and things just clicked. My legs were a bit tired but I was in a groove and a flow. Sometimes when you are starting back with running after any kind of layoff, the hardest thing to establish is the flow and groove you may have had before which is so important. When I am in a groove, I can just run and feel like I am out there enjoying the run and feeling like I can go as far as I want but for the last few weeks, it has been the opposite. Most of my runs have been tough from the outset. I consider myself a second half runner so I generally suck in the first part of my runs or races but I am able to just fight through that and put it all together but for some reason my last few runs have been pure grit and me just trying to grind it out. That is no way to run and no way to enjoy running at all so I am glad I went out today. This is why this sport is just so damn tough. No run is ever alike. You have many ups and plenty of downs and sometimes it doesn’t work or it is hard and you are just incredibly frustrated and most of all challenged beyond your limits but for me, there is never any doubt or the word quit in my mind.
I am not sure what or how I will do this coming marathon but I know that I will be at the starting line and I will make it to the finish line as always. I am hoping for a little magic in the race to give me that extra boost.
Why run in 85 degree heat you ask, I don’t think I had a choice. I was having the best training runs ever through Christmas and just when the New Year hit, the flu hit me. Not much I could do except waive the white flag and just deal with it. 2 weeks of nothing but agony and no exercise or running. When I finally felt like I could walk without my lungs feeling like they were going to collapse, I took off for a run I was away for work up in Monterey. I managed 6.2 miles but it felt like 20.2 but I knew I had to start somewhere and when I was just thinking this would be the climb back up that mileage ladder, I woke up days later feeling like someone or something was trying to tell me that I am not running this marathon. This time around, I didn’t have the flu but I had a small cold that was bad enough to keep me from running another week and a half. It has taken a lot of mental energy to stay positive and focused on what I need to do but I kept telling myself that I have done this race enough times now that I having nothing to fear but one of the bad things about having run this race multiple times is that I am no longer fooled by anything. I know the course, I know the miles, I know the pain I will need to ignore and I know what to expect so for me, the training becomes that much harder.
I began to analyze my strategy and how I plan to succeed without being able to achieve the time and goal I had a few months ago but then I have days like today where I’d planned to rest and do nothing but something told me to lace up the shoes and I did and things just clicked. My legs were a bit tired but I was in a groove and a flow. Sometimes when you are starting back with running after any kind of layoff, the hardest thing to establish is the flow and groove you may have had before which is so important. When I am in a groove, I can just run and feel like I am out there enjoying the run and feeling like I can go as far as I want but for the last few weeks, it has been the opposite. Most of my runs have been tough from the outset. I consider myself a second half runner so I generally suck in the first part of my runs or races but I am able to just fight through that and put it all together but for some reason my last few runs have been pure grit and me just trying to grind it out. That is no way to run and no way to enjoy running at all so I am glad I went out today. This is why this sport is just so damn tough. No run is ever alike. You have many ups and plenty of downs and sometimes it doesn’t work or it is hard and you are just incredibly frustrated and most of all challenged beyond your limits but for me, there is never any doubt or the word quit in my mind.
I am not sure what or how I will do this coming marathon but I know that I will be at the starting line and I will make it to the finish line as always. I am hoping for a little magic in the race to give me that extra boost.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Greatest of All Time
We all reach for inspiration and the motivation to keep lacing up our shoes day in and day out. Since I started running in 2004, I have used my Dad as my inspiration and then along the way I found little things here and there. I have always been a solo runner. I was never really into running in a group. I always felt like I could get it done alone but when I least expected it, I had a runner partner that I call GOAT (greatest of all time). I thought I was a good runner, I thought I was fast, and I thought no one was tougher but GOAT proved me wrong. It started out as just a simple run and it blossomed. I cheered GOAT on at races even if we running different distances, I knew where they were at all times.
When we hit the trails, I just knew I had the edge but GOAT had me pegged. GOAT could climb hills like no other and I could only sit back and watch in shame. Nothing I could do worked. I was challenged day in and day out. I had met my match in the running world. What a combo we were out on the road or on the trail. I had someone who pushed me in every possible way and even though I said I would never team up, I did and I enjoyed it. There came a time when GOAT could no longer run and it left me in a world of confusion. I think in 2012 and 2013, I lost a lot of my edge and I lost my drive and I lost that feeling I once had when I had that running partner who challenged me and who I knew would be out there running either alongside me or somewhere out on the course. I really found myself void of that desire and hunger to run but I kept at it and it was tough. I never gave up on a race but my passion and my performance suffered. I had to finally come to grips that I would have to find a way to get back to running solo like I did for so many years and it was hard.
Most would ask why I am even writing this blog but one, it is my blog and two, when I laced up my shoes today, half of me wanted to just stay home and do nothing. For about two miles I just felt like I was running with a refrigerator on my back. I was tired and I was running in a rut and I had the goal of running 8 miles and I was huffing and puffing like a person who smoked two packs of cigarettes. I thought back to the days of when GOAT ran with me and watching the passion and desire in which they ran with and how they made it look so easy. I remember how I missed those days of having that partner besides me and challenging me each step. I don’t think they really knew how important to me they really were. As I kept running, I got stronger and stronger today and I felt like I wasn’t even running anymore. I just enjoyed being out in the sun and running up and down hills and into and around neighborhoods. I felt strong and energized and I felt like I could go and go. All in all, I cranked out 9 and a half miles when I planned on 8 and early on I really felt like I would be able to get maybe 3 miles or maybe 4.
I am writing this blog more for me. Sometimes I need to look back at what got me to this point but more importantly to thank those who helped me along the way. They will be out there with me each and every day.
Sometimes God hands us gifts from above that changes our lives forever…
When we hit the trails, I just knew I had the edge but GOAT had me pegged. GOAT could climb hills like no other and I could only sit back and watch in shame. Nothing I could do worked. I was challenged day in and day out. I had met my match in the running world. What a combo we were out on the road or on the trail. I had someone who pushed me in every possible way and even though I said I would never team up, I did and I enjoyed it. There came a time when GOAT could no longer run and it left me in a world of confusion. I think in 2012 and 2013, I lost a lot of my edge and I lost my drive and I lost that feeling I once had when I had that running partner who challenged me and who I knew would be out there running either alongside me or somewhere out on the course. I really found myself void of that desire and hunger to run but I kept at it and it was tough. I never gave up on a race but my passion and my performance suffered. I had to finally come to grips that I would have to find a way to get back to running solo like I did for so many years and it was hard.
Most would ask why I am even writing this blog but one, it is my blog and two, when I laced up my shoes today, half of me wanted to just stay home and do nothing. For about two miles I just felt like I was running with a refrigerator on my back. I was tired and I was running in a rut and I had the goal of running 8 miles and I was huffing and puffing like a person who smoked two packs of cigarettes. I thought back to the days of when GOAT ran with me and watching the passion and desire in which they ran with and how they made it look so easy. I remember how I missed those days of having that partner besides me and challenging me each step. I don’t think they really knew how important to me they really were. As I kept running, I got stronger and stronger today and I felt like I wasn’t even running anymore. I just enjoyed being out in the sun and running up and down hills and into and around neighborhoods. I felt strong and energized and I felt like I could go and go. All in all, I cranked out 9 and a half miles when I planned on 8 and early on I really felt like I would be able to get maybe 3 miles or maybe 4.
I am writing this blog more for me. Sometimes I need to look back at what got me to this point but more importantly to thank those who helped me along the way. They will be out there with me each and every day.
Sometimes God hands us gifts from above that changes our lives forever…
Sunday, November 30, 2014
My Friend For Miles
Holiday’s always bring back memories. Some good, some bad but nonetheless they are memories and we need memories to remind us what is most important to us like our real friends and our family. I wrote about my friend Rhiannon Meier in 2010. Rhiannon was a great friend and an amazingly spirited person and on December 9th, 2007 she was killed by a drunk driver. I sit here more than 6 years later remembering what an incredible friend Rhiannon was.
When it came to running, I was still a novice if you ask me but around the time I met Rhiannon, things started to click. I was accepted to run the NY marathon in November of that year and Rhiannon was probably more excited about me running the race than I was. She had been toying with the idea of running the LA marathon so I agreed to go running with her which was a huge commitment because I hated getting up early in the morning and Rhiannon wanted to go running at 6am. I had to drive and meet her down in Santa Monica at her place right around Ocean Blvd which just happened to be my favorite spot to run. She was a beginner runner in senses of the word but I didn’t mind. We got a chance to run and talk about her job and we got to know each other better. No one supported me more than Rhiannon. I recall her coming to a 5k of mines and I was so embarrassed. She screamed, shouted and cheered for me as I crossed the finished line and I remember thinking she really is a good friend to get up early and come sit and cheer for someone running a 5k especially since my own family barely came and supported me at anything. When it came time got to NY for the Marathon, Rhiannon insisted on taking me to the airport because she said it was a special occasion and she wanted to see me off. When I look back at all the love and support she gave me and that is something that I truly miss but what I miss more is my friend.
In 2007, Rhiannon started training with the LA leggers so that she could get in a group that ran a comfortable pace for the 2008 LA Marathon. She bugged me over and over to come join her one Saturday with the leggers. I agreed and I remember it being the longest Saturday ever because she was in the 11 minute run group. They ran and walked and that day we were doing 9 miles but sometimes friends sacrifice for friends. Rhiannon always supported me so I did the same. I had never seen her so happy and ready to run the marathon in March. Well, she never got that chance. What that drunk driver took was my friend and a person who lived life each and every day with a smile on her face and she would do anything for you if you asked her to and sometimes when you didn’t ask. My friend isn’t coming back but I always said that I would keep her memory alive by talking about her and remembering her each time I lace up my shoes for the Marathon. I know she is still there cheering me on every mile and at the finish line.
I was never a big cliché person but I do believe people never get the flowers while they can still smell them. If you get the chance to tell someone you love them or care about them, don’t wait because you never know what tomorrow may bring and those who do not understand that, don’t deserve to be in your circle.
Great people only come around once in a lifetime….
When it came to running, I was still a novice if you ask me but around the time I met Rhiannon, things started to click. I was accepted to run the NY marathon in November of that year and Rhiannon was probably more excited about me running the race than I was. She had been toying with the idea of running the LA marathon so I agreed to go running with her which was a huge commitment because I hated getting up early in the morning and Rhiannon wanted to go running at 6am. I had to drive and meet her down in Santa Monica at her place right around Ocean Blvd which just happened to be my favorite spot to run. She was a beginner runner in senses of the word but I didn’t mind. We got a chance to run and talk about her job and we got to know each other better. No one supported me more than Rhiannon. I recall her coming to a 5k of mines and I was so embarrassed. She screamed, shouted and cheered for me as I crossed the finished line and I remember thinking she really is a good friend to get up early and come sit and cheer for someone running a 5k especially since my own family barely came and supported me at anything. When it came time got to NY for the Marathon, Rhiannon insisted on taking me to the airport because she said it was a special occasion and she wanted to see me off. When I look back at all the love and support she gave me and that is something that I truly miss but what I miss more is my friend.
In 2007, Rhiannon started training with the LA leggers so that she could get in a group that ran a comfortable pace for the 2008 LA Marathon. She bugged me over and over to come join her one Saturday with the leggers. I agreed and I remember it being the longest Saturday ever because she was in the 11 minute run group. They ran and walked and that day we were doing 9 miles but sometimes friends sacrifice for friends. Rhiannon always supported me so I did the same. I had never seen her so happy and ready to run the marathon in March. Well, she never got that chance. What that drunk driver took was my friend and a person who lived life each and every day with a smile on her face and she would do anything for you if you asked her to and sometimes when you didn’t ask. My friend isn’t coming back but I always said that I would keep her memory alive by talking about her and remembering her each time I lace up my shoes for the Marathon. I know she is still there cheering me on every mile and at the finish line.
I was never a big cliché person but I do believe people never get the flowers while they can still smell them. If you get the chance to tell someone you love them or care about them, don’t wait because you never know what tomorrow may bring and those who do not understand that, don’t deserve to be in your circle.
Great people only come around once in a lifetime….
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Running Season is back!!
I seem to always write about running 5k’s and I am back to talk about it again. Today I was back running a 5k at the Jet to the Jetty 5k down in Playa Del Rey. I ran this race in 2012 and just skipped running in in 2013. The course is a course I have run several times so there is little to the imagination to this course but there has always been a mystery to running the 5k no matter the course or how many you’ve run. Early when I began running ages ago, I just ran the race without thinking too much. Then I came up with all these strategies which really did not work and I got into a habit of trying to run out front with the pack and there was someone in the race where I just burnt out and couldn’t recover and in a 5k, there is little to no time to recover. In 2010, I was running an average 22 minute 5k and I won my division a few times and then I just fell apart. I was doing more trail runs and longer and grittier races and really did little to no speed work so when I did run a 5k, I couldn’t’ get back to the formula that helped me run at my best and my ego was too big to just lay back and run from the back but today, I returned back to my old form. I biked to the race so I would have a nice warm-up which made me conscious of trying to conserve my energy. I felt so relaxed when the race started because I was in the back and ran around the slower people and really I was able to just gauge my tempo and what pace felt good and before I knew it, we were on the turnaround going the long stretch towards miles 2. I saw a guy I had not seen in years and he is an older guy who runs with a shuffle as if he has no knees but he runs at a very consistent pace. I remember never being able to pass the guy in several races until the later part of the race. The guy whos name is Bullet by the way, was up about 20 yards and I resisted the urge to pass him right away. Instead, I decided to lay back and find my groove and before I knew it, I was slowly creeping on him and it wasn’t long before I passed him and once I passed bullet, I passed a few other people. This is a part of the race where there is about a mile and some change left and occasionally I have just slowed and slowed and that is the worst because you end up being caught by all the people you passed up but today, I kept my composure and told myself to just keep pushing and stay smooth. I had one guy to beat and once I got passed him and saw that he had nothing left in the tank, I was home free.
I missed running 22 minutes by 16 seconds but I was more pleased with the fact that I ran the race I had been trying to get back to running. After the race, bullet came up to me and said I looked like I was in a groove and I ran a perfect race. I knew that laying back in the beginning is what helped. I never felt rushed in this race. I felt a bit of fatigue in the end and I knew that came from biking to the race but I will take it. When it all comes together in a race, you don’t worry about the time or anything else. It is about the satisfaction you get from running hard and running to your capabilities. I learned that I had to go back to the beginning to get me back on track.
Coming back to form!
I missed running 22 minutes by 16 seconds but I was more pleased with the fact that I ran the race I had been trying to get back to running. After the race, bullet came up to me and said I looked like I was in a groove and I ran a perfect race. I knew that laying back in the beginning is what helped. I never felt rushed in this race. I felt a bit of fatigue in the end and I knew that came from biking to the race but I will take it. When it all comes together in a race, you don’t worry about the time or anything else. It is about the satisfaction you get from running hard and running to your capabilities. I learned that I had to go back to the beginning to get me back on track.
Coming back to form!
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