Cuban Running Crisis

It's been a good minute...

2012-02-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Since I last posted. I didn't think I would go this long again but life got in the way and well the blog got set aside. One of my goals is to make writing in this blog more of a habit and some of my other goals might help with this.
My lack of updating has given me that feeling like a need to catch up with an old friend. But since this is all about my running and fitness journey let me provide a short recap about what's going on in that world of mine. And then hopefully some of my future posts will have more focus.
Since 2012 has started I have completed marathon #2. Yes, I finished the Miami Marathon. It was hard work. I never expected it to be easy however I have made some huge realizations since that race. I PR'd but not exactly how I was hoping I would. My time was 6:10, which was upsetting. :(

I have put the upset aside and am now only focusing on learning to overcome the realization I learned. Here they are:
1-I may or may not have a serious attitude problem at certain stages of a marathon.
2-I trained better than I did for Chicago but it still didn't help me defeat the wall.
3-With more experience, I can learn to make a marathon enjoyable. The first 18 miles of Miami proved this.
4-I will not sign up or train for any marathons unless I feel like I am faster, stronger and leaner before training begins.
5-I want to feel confident I can beat Oprah's time the next time I sign up for marathon #3.

I have several upcoming races that I have overbooked myself for i.e. Gasparilla and Sarasota. Once those are complete, my focus will be solely on building muscle, leaning out and getting faster. I am EXTREMELY tired of being the slow poke! I don't feel that I have ever solely focused on speed, so starting in April I will focus on lowering my mileage and incorporating some speed workouts. I will also restart the New Rules of Weightlifting for Women.

I know it's a lot but I if I clear out my race schedule and focus on what I really want, I can make all of this happen.

Wishing for a great week!

Why I don't run well with others

2011-12-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I am a running loner!
Not exactly by choice but because my brain has issues. I have learned the hard way that my brain gets me in trouble while running with others. The first signs of this issue were while training for Chicago, I ran with a group.
While running in the group, I loved the camaraderie. I met some great people. But I sort of had an issue - I got too competitive. You could say my brain got the best of me. I would get bummed if I got left behind. Or I would try to keep up with people even when I knew they were running faster than my usual pace. I would be extremely hard on myself and think "well they are way older than me, why are they running faster?"
Stupid I know.
Rationally, I could say it was because they have been running longer but the rational never stuck. Needless to say, my running in a group DID NOT last long. I had to call it quits and work solo. I was inches away from getting injured.
Since the group, I have mostly gone running solo with the few exceptions of when I have gone out with the bestie or fiance. But I have issues there.
Recently, I was reminded of my issue when I ran the Turkey Trot last week. I signed my future BIL (brother-in-law) up for the race. He had never done a race before and was starting to get into running. I decided to help him out. After only running a few months he was already faster than me. The day of the race, I told him I would hang on for as long as possible and for him to feel free to jet off when he was ready. We ran together for a whopping 9 minutes, in which, we did the first mile. Let me just say, I don't think I have ever ran a 9 minute mile. I was sucking major wind and found myself having to slow down. He went off and I ran the rest of the race on my own.
I was bummed!
Although I knew it would happen, I couldn't help the feeling. It was also sad because he is such a funny guy that it would have been great to keep up with him. He was cracking some hilarious jokes and was just so happy to be running his first race that I felt like I missed out on some major bonding time.
Ironically, I felt bummed even though I ran the fastest 5k in a long time. I should have been ecstatic! It wasn't a PR but I did pretty well for myself and finished in 35 and change. But I knew that I pushed myself more than I should have because I didn't want the family to have to wait that long.
The truth is I want to be able to run with others. I want to get to a point where I don't have these major insecurities while running. I want to be able to shut off the stupid little voice in my head that say, "Hey you are only 31," "You should be faster and stronger," "These are some of the best running years in your life and you are blowing them by being such a slow poke."
But I don't know how to do any of this. And the truth is I have several more long runs coming my way in the next few weeks including a 16-miler tomorrow. It would be great to not have to do it on my lonesome but I need to conquer my inner demons first!

Finally some perspective!

2011-11-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

* Sorry it's a long one but I needed to vent.
Sometimes you realize that there are certain little things in life that you take for granted. For the past two or three weeks, I have been a little down in the dumps.
I have so many great things happening around me (i.e. getting engaged and having a wonderful daughter who inspires me everyday), but I have a few things that aren't so great, one of them being work. Then you add a semi-set back to running and a super terrifying scare with my brother and what do you get? Me turning into a Negative Nelly.
It's sad, I know. This happens to me ever-so-often. I am a negative person by nature and have to fight with myself all the time to look at my glass half full and not half empty.
And although my work status hasn't changed, we are once again facing the possibilities of layoffs (this is the fifth-round of layoffs in the last five years) the other two things that have happened sort of helped me see a bigger picture, if you will.
In short, these eye opening situations led me to waking up on the left side of bed this morning, which FYI since I am a lefty that's the right side of bed for me. Ha!
Let me elaborate on my two eye opening moments:
Last week, I received the scariest call from my older brother at 4:30 a.m. My brother has type 1 diabetes and on that morning experienced a huge blood sugar drop while sleeping. By some miracle, he managed to wake up, which I read is not an easy feat, and call me. Some diabetics can actually sleep through this and fall into a diabetic coma. Thankfully, the paramedics beat me to his house and they were able to jack him up with some sugar and bring him back to normal.
Needless to say, it was one of the scariest days I have had in a long time.
Somehow this terrifying day started turning the wheels in my noggin and helped me start to gain some major perspective.Although I didn't notice this last week. But already my my work situation didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. Neither did the fact that my leg was acting stupid and I was unable to run for the week at the time.
Prior to that scary day, all I could think about was "Crap this injury is going to keep me from running a marathon I already paid for" and "My stupid job is going to lay me off."
I guess, you can say I was caught up in my own little world.
For the next couple of days after my brother's incident, I was pretty shaken up.
But on that day something else happened that I didn't even notice because I was so caught up in the scary moment. My leg didn't hurt.
I ran out of my house when I received my brother's call. I ran down the stairs. I raced into his house. And I even ran up and down the stairs all day while I was caring for him.
And I didn't feel a thing. In fact, I didn't even notice until way late in the day that I even had an injury that had kept me from running.
Fast forward to yesterday, and my second eye opening moment happened when I finally got to head out for an easy jog. I was just SO happy to be out there that I didn't worry about anything else.
Since I committed to signing up for the Miami Marathon, I have been doing nothing but living in FEAR. Worried about whether I will be able to improve my time. Worried about whether I will get injured. And also being envious about all the other runners that I read about that run fast with what appears to be no issues.
Somehow I got lost and didn't realize that I was starting to forget what running is all about for ME.
Finally today, everything dawned on me. And when I woke up, as cheesy as it sounds, the first thing that popped into my mind was "Hakuna Matata." You know that cutesy phrase from the Lion King. Yea that was my first thought. Everything came 'round in full circle. At least in my mind it did. It hit me with the force of on of Rocky Balboa's punches that I need to STOP worrying and enjoy the good things.

Things like:
-my brother almost being in a coma
-being fast or getting injured
-getting laid off
don't matter in the grand scheme of it all.
What does matter is that I enjoy every minute I get with my bro and that I enjoy the peace and tranquility running gives me.

As for work, well I just have to remember that I am already doing the best that I can and I should be confident that this small fact will make all the difference. And if I do get laid off, well, things happen for a reason and that just means something much better is waiting for me out there!

I end the post with this:

Because I haven't been able to get it out of my brain. I plan on taking Timon and Pumbaa's advice and making this my motto to help keep this Positive Polly in check.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like Finch from American Pie while running!

Wishing I was in Chicago

2011-10-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Call it the birthday blues or just plain emotionalness but this week I have not been able to stop thinking about my 30th birthday and my marathon debut last year.

It doesn't help that several people I know are turning 30. And it doesn't help how many people are also heading to Chicago to run the 2011 marathon.

On this day one year ago, I was boarding a plane headed to my favorite city. I spent four glorious days in Chitown with my bestest friend. And I tear up just wishing that I could do it all over again or be there now even if it was just to spectate. The city is amazing...it's my favorite month and time of year...and just the marathon atmosphere blew me away.

If you have never been to Chicago the city greets its marathoners from the moment you get off the plane.

I can't say enough great things about my experience. Yes, my marathon didn't turn out exactly the way I planned. Yes, I left Chicago hobbling. Yes, running/walking 26.2 was an emotional roller coaster.

But would I do it all over again and not change a thing? Hell yea!!

I might not have realized it then but going to Chicago and having the train wreck that was my race was exactly what I needed. The whole experience has made me a better runner and overall better person. I learned so much about myself. I know now that I am not a quitter - no matter how tough the going gets.

I also learned to respect the distance and the training process. This is the part that makes me scared about doing another marathon. If you want to have a decent race you can't mess around. Everything you do during training shows its face during your race. It will come back and bite you in the arce.

Thankfully, I learned all this from just 6 hours and 30 minutes of run/walking the Chicago marathon. And one year later, as I train for Miami (my second marathon) I can remember all those mistakes I made and recognize that I ~~can not~~ will not do them again. I want a great race experience from Miami. I could care less if I have fun in the city or if I go sightseeing. I was born and raised there and moved away, so really I could care less. But I do want to go to Miami and leave afterwards and say I trained well and respected the marathon. And because of that I had an amazing race!

For reminiscing purposes here are some pictures:

Aw the fall colors.

The coolest shirt eva!

Went to my first NBA game on Friday.

One of my errors...probably did more drinking than I should have.

Race morning.

Still running with a smile at mile 3. LOL

It's finally over!!

Posing for the photos.

What I did all the work for!

And after a long painful name I went to enjoy my bday dinner!

Happy Friday

2011-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, today I am an extremely happy camper making today a happy Friday! Why am I so happy? Well to begin with I am off from work. Actually I don't go back to work until Wednesday. Woohoo! I don't have much planned but I am excited for the time off. Work has been extra bonkers.

So far today, I ran 8 miles, had some delicious lunch at Chipotle (my fav), watched a movie "The Royal Tenenbaums" and took a nap. Gosh it sounds like a great day! I am jealous of myself. Ha!

To add to the wonderfulness my besty will be arriving in about two hours. :)

I did pretty good on my run this morning. This is an accomplishment for me. I ran on a trail, which offered some nice shade and was feeling so good I included some bridge work in there. I am a little sore now but nothing major. The reason I treated myself to some Chip is because I have hit all my workouts for two weeks. Marathon training starts soon so I need to keep all this work up.

I have also been doing the abripper workout from P90X twice a week and it has been helping with my running. It's amazing how a little strength goes a long way towards improving your running.

On a side note, today I have started my own little challenge. I found a list of 100 books everyone should have read in their life and plan to go down the list. Somehow my education missed loads of classics and I think it's about time I catch up. First book on the list, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot.

Off to reading some blogs I go. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day!

Inaugural Thankful Thursday

2011-08-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right - it's my very first thankful thursday post. I couldn't miss taking advantage of the thankful day considering that lately I feel like I have A LOT to be thankful for. So here goes (and since it's a little late and I need to get to bed early so I can run tomorrow, I will be thankful in list-style):

Shoes - I finally received my free bad boys in the mail yesterday. I entered a contest last week courtesy of B.o.B herself and guess what I won. Shocker, right? I never win anything. Seriously! If I were ever to choose a contest to win though, free running shoes would be my first choice. OK, maybe, I wouldn't mind winning the Lotto but I am to cheap to play. Heh. This is besides the point. I got my free New Balance Minimus and, of course, I had to take them out for a stroll and so far, I must say I am in love. Those puppies are extremely lightweight and have a Vibram sole. I feel like my Saucony Kinera got into a fight with my Vibram Five Fingers and viola I got the Minimus. Those shoes are so awesome that I wore them without socks today. Still to soon to tell if they are perfect for me, but I am grateful for the extra motivation they have given me. Updates to come!

Fiancé - I just recently acquired one of these...you know a fiancé! Who would have thought?! I have known Andy for 7 years and he has been my best friend from the first day I met him. He is truly amazing. After some off and ons throughout the years, we reconnected a few months ago and he felt it was time to make an honest woman out of me. :) Honestly, with all the growing up we have done through out the years this couldn't be a better beginning. He truly is my biggest fan. He reads everything I write. And although not always present, he has alway managed to stalk my races. I am so thankful to have him in my life! He is pretty thankful too, since he got a two for one deal. He gained the J-Squared girls (mine and my daughter's group name).

My beautiful family!

Mini-vacation - I have been a little sad about the lack of vacation this year, so I took the best mini-vacation possible. I'm in Miami B....! Yes, I am in my old stomping grounds. The 305. The MIA. Little Havana. How ever you want to call that big city in the southern part of Florida that's where I am at. I am rolling with my BFF and will be conducting some much needed relaxation and business. What might the business be? I will be driving the Miami Marathon course tomorrow. During my Chicago marathon training, one of the best training tools I had was that I could visualize the parts of the city I would be running through all the time. You would think with Miami being my hometown I would be able to do the same but alas, I can not. Hence the operation drive marathon course. I already have all my turns and everything mapped out and hope to scope out the scenes for proper future training visualization.

Finally, I am thankful to have SO much to be thankful for! What are you thankful for?

Catching up on blog with a triathlon recap

2011-08-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Before I start my recap, I must apologize for my lack of posts. All I can say for my self is I am a sucky blogger. Oh well.
I couldn't stay away for much longer based on death threats from fellow blogger over at Discom-BOB-ulated Running. Just kidding she didn't really threaten my life just guilt-ed me into promising to post soon. :)
You all would be happy to know that although I haven't kept up with my blogging or DailyMile lately (another thing I feel guilty about), I have been attempting to keep up with my running plus a little more cross training. I attribute my success of actually working out to:
A) I got suckered into a triathlon.
B) I really want a redo on a marathon.
Although, I started the year out slow. I feel like I have finally gotten my groove back. This is all thanks to that triathlon I got suckered into by a co-worker. If it weren't for my fear of the actual event, I don't think I would have kept up with running and/or cross training as much as I have.
So after training for the Top Gun Triathlon in Ft. Desoto for a little over two months, I made my TRI debut this past weekend.
Here is the three part breakdown:
Swim
Going into the training the swim was what I was most afraid of. In fact, it was what always kept me away from seriously considering a triathlon. A few months ago, B.o.B. gave me a swim lesson and helped me build up some confidence. I knew it would only be a quarter of a mile swim, but thoughts of swimming in the ocean, in a big group of people, really scared the bejeesus out of me. During swim training, I found it difficult to keep up with my breathing and not get fatigued quickly. I didn't give up though and continued to practice swimming twice a week. The week before the race, I attempted a few open water swims and that I believe really helped but it also pecked at my confidence. I also realized I have a much harder time staying calm in the ocean then I do in the pool, which doesn't help with the fatigue.
On race day, I figured I would try to give it my best. I lined up at the back of my age group and followed B.O.B.'s advice to stay in the middle and avoid the buoy where it gets crowded. I waved at my mom and daughter before running into the ocean and just hoped for the best. My goal was to stay calm and collected while swimming. I was surprised when it wasn't that bad. I mean it was difficult to find an open space to swim in where someone else didn't end up swimming into me but overall it wasn't so bad. I stayed calm and kept counting to remind me to breathe. I still had to resort to my frog style swim to catch my breath few times. I was still surprised when I ran out of the water and saw that my watch said 11:56. This was by far the fastest I had ever swam the distance. I continued to run toward the transition area. I waved at my mom and daughter who where cheering me on. In the future, I will have to get used to this first transition. It was a bit of a jog to the transition area and I was already pretty winded from running in the shallow water.
With the swim over, I started to fret of over the upcoming bicycle ride. I was grateful when I saw Red and Spike who I had just met early and were there to cheer on the B.o.B. Although we had just met they were super awesome to yell out: "Good job Jessica!"
Running
Once I got into the transition area, (gasping for air) I dried off my feet with a towel and attempted to get as much of the sand off. Thanks to my coworker Josh who suggested I bring a small towel, otherwise I would have been screwed. I slipped on my socks and shoes. Drank some more water. Put on my helmet. Put my gummies in one of my pockets and walked off with my bike. During training and for the race, I used my brother's mountain bike. I never really got confident with cycling but I figured I would do OK.
During training, I tried to ride twice a week. I didn't complicate it though. On every ride, I attempted the 10 miles I would need to do on the race and tried to increase my pace. Needless to say I was still pretty slow. On race day, I got passed a lot! I found it difficult to get into a steady riding groove and was struggling to pick up my pace. Overall, I am just happy I didn't bust and at least it didn't take me a whole hour to finish. Because it was a slow ride, I did get to notice what a beautiful ride it was. I also have to work on my fueling and riding multitasking skills, this slowed me down some. Fifty-something minutes later, I was happy to see the transition area and once again see my mom and daughter waiting for me at the bicycle finish. It was a bit bumpy getting off the bike because I had some guy yelling, "You must dismount before the red line," but I didn't fall. Thank. Goodness. Although it was super close!
I got off headed into the transition area and was a bit miffed to find all the riders in my section were taking up the bike rack and I had to take time to move them so I could squeeze. I didn't let this completely ruin my mood I was happy that all that was left was a 5k. I took off my helmet, drank some water and took off. My time including transition: 55:06
Run
The minute I got going, I noticed I had a pebble in my shoe. I didn't stop, but I did cross my fingers this wouldn't cause trouble later. During training, I never got used to the brick workouts (riding followed by running workout) but in all honesty, I didn't try as much as I should have. When I started the run my legs felt wobbly and shaky. I resorted to some walking to shake out the yucky leg sensations. I continued to run/walk throughout the 5k until the end when I felt up to way more running. On a side note, for future tris, I need to make sure to put some sort of head band or bring a small towel for the run because my eyes were burning throughout the run. Not surprising, it was super hot and my sweat was extra salty, from the swim, and the sweat kept getting in my eyes.
Toward the end of the run, I met a 54-year-old guy who was walking at the time, who said I was motivating him to keep moving. It was a nice feeling to know he found me motivating. I don't really see myself as a motivating person so I will take the compliment. We ran together for about a mile and chatted a bit about this being our first triathlon and our experience so far. When we got to the last water break he went off running ahead of me, while I had a little girl splash some water into my eyes. I left the water stop happy to know I had 1.1 left in the race. So I gave it everything i had left in the tank and raced to the finish line. With transition time, I finished the run in 41:40.
My mom and daughter were once again waiting for me at the end. And I crossed the finish line with a big ol' smile on my face that I survived my first triathlon. My overall finish time was 1:48.
You might have noticed that I included my transition times with my bike and run times. Well for some reason the timing chip systems had issues with transition times so everything wasn't separated out as usual. This sort of blows considering it would have been nice to know exactly how I did. On the bright side, I tried to keep track using my stop watch throughout the race.
Based on my watch this is my estimation of times:
Swim: 11:56
T1:      5 mins
Bike:   51 mins
T2:      3 mins
Run:    37 mins
Total:   1 hour and 48 mins
These aren't exact times I know I am a little off somewhere and it's unfortunate I can't compare them to real chip times.
Overall thoughts
I enjoyed the triathlon way more then expected. It was nice to know so many people (for me) that were racing that day. Both of my buddies did AWESOME! B.O.B. PR'd on her tri-versary with a 1:10 and my co-worker did amazing with a 1:22. And the good thing is I beat him at one thing...the swim! Now I can trash talk a little bit.
During training, I repeated to myself that I would never sign up for one of these things again.It was difficult to keep up with all the training. I tried to run 4 times a week and bike and swim twice a week. And I even tried to include some strength training. But after completing the TRI I am not so sure I won't TRI again. I enjoyed the overall experience and I feel like I have a chance of getting better at it. I know it sounds negative, but with running races I feel like I could improve and get faster but certain goals seem much more out of my reach. With the TRI I walked away feeling that if I got an actual road bike alone, I could improve my time. I guess we will have to see what happens.
On another note, my mom and daughter did a great job of keeping up with me for moral support. My daughter was my little photographer during the race.

Here are some photos she took:

Before the madness

The B.o.B and I before starting the race.

Can you tell how nervous I was?

Me on the bike...notice how there is no one else around. Yup I was slow!

Crossing the finish line. I am not sure what I was doing with my hand but hey, I look happy!

Incredible weekend

2011-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

I wish I could relive this weekend over and over again. It was by far one of the bestest weekends I have had in an extremely long time.
A few weeks ago my besty and I decided to cross off another one of our dreams from the bucket list - Skydiving.
We ventured over to the small town of Titusville, which is close to Cape Canaveral. The place we went to boasts on offering the highest jumps in the world. We selected the second highest - 15,000 feet. Five of us made the trip to actually jump and then my older brother and nephew came along for the spectating and photo ops.
I must say I was pretty scared leading up to the actual jump. I guess you can say I have a huge fear of dying.
I did it though!
I am extremely proud of myself. And I would highly recommend everyone try this at least once in their life. The experience overall is extremely surreal and I still can't believe I did it! It is amazing to believe how something that lasts 6 mins overall can have such a huge affect on you. Not only did I learn a lot about myself but I also got to see the world from a whole different point of view. I fell through clouds for crying out loud!! Contrary to popular belief I have not become an adrenaline junky now. I actually don't think I will try it again until maybe mini-me (my daughter) is way older.

The besty and I

The skydive crew

My older bro and nephew

Getting geared up

Other than skydiving on Saturday, I had a decent running week. I did most of my runs late in the week, which I ended up paying for because by Friday my inner calves were sore. :( For the week, I did 12.36 miles and I did one day of yoga. Our long run was sort of a FAIL this weekend because the besty was having some calf issues too. We completed 3.36 out of the scheduled 5 miles. Also, all my healthy eating during the week went down the drain with the weekend. I blame skydiving and the Superbowl.

This upcoming weekend we are planning to go have some strawberry shortcake at a farm. To earn my yummy goodness I have some goals! I need to complete all my runs for a total of 14 miles. I want to do two strength sessions, two yoga sessions and one elliptical day. My shortest two-miler will be on VFFs in hopes of boosting the calf muscles again.

Hopefully I am not being over zealous in thinking I can pull this off. Happy Tuesday!!

Music to my ears

2011-02-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ahhh guess who was up and at 'em at 5:15 a.m. this morning? That would be me!

Since the beginning of the year, I have been struggling to get my fanny out of bed early. But alas, my BFF came to the rescue.

I explained to her everything I have tried from going to bed early, to putting the alarm clock far away. But nothing worked.

And then my genius besty recommended I try MUSIC. I had nothing else to lose so I tried it. Last night, I set up a playlist and an alarm on my iPod. The playlist consists of some slow music and works itself into some more motivational jams.

I didn't expect for it to do the trick.

But bright and early I was up jamming myself into the shower. I decided to take it slow and not do anything exercise related just yet. Instead, I prepared breakfast for us ladies. The I prepared my lunch (steak fajitas) and snacks for the day. I have a feeling the music made me super hyper.In fact, some of you would probably find me obnoxious from how hyper I am.

I know I still need to set up the habit but if the jams can at least bring me out of bed I am headed in the right direction. I am patiently awaiting the moment that I can get up and run, do yoga, strength train or even study in the mornings. I will be the happiest woman alive when I can get home at 6 p.m. and just worry about cooking and relaxing with my daughter.

What tricks (if any) did you early birds use to help make you an early bird?

Didn't I tell you...

2011-01-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Did I not mention that I suck at this blogging thing? I will work on this! Not to make excuses but the last two weeks have been hectic.

What have I been busy with you might ask? Well for one running!

Yes, this senorita is finally back on a roll. I am close to almost running as much as I ran in October, which isn't difficult considering I only ran a marathon and a short recovery run. Regardless, I am just so happy to be back out there. In fact, I am officially in the second week of half-marathon training. My LR this Sunday was a whopping 4 miles.

Am I running everything? NO!

Let's just say it's easy for the mighty to fall. The next time I decide to take an extended break someone PLEASE slap me! I can't run a little over a mile without having to take a walk break. Sigh. Again I won't knock myself I am just happy to be getting out.

I have also been busy with planning out my daughter's first 5k. I can't express how excited I am about this. She has officially decided to run. We took our happy selves to Sports Authority this past weekend to sign up. My princess isn't new to running. For the last couple of years she has participated in the Jr. Gasparilla Distance Classic. It's a small race that varies in distance based on age. The free event is amazing. They stress health to children. And even help them stretch and warm up before running. She loves it. But this is her last year participating, sadly she will be too old for the event next year. Off she is to finding bigger and better things. I am so proud of her, even if she was only inspired because of the medal. We all start off somehow!

I, of course, have been having a blast with all the planning. Last weekend, she ran 1/2 mile.I plan on adding a little more to her run every weekend until the race. I figured she doesn't need anything serious considering she also runs at school and she is a kid. I don't want her to overdo it either and think it needs to be this big serious thing. I want her to have fun!

The hardest part about everything is coordinating our outfits. Yes, I am that mom. And she loves this kind of stuff still so I am running with it. So far, we have our hairdos planned out and some semblance of what we will be wearing.We might be wearing lots of Silly Bands, so look out!

Other than all this running news, I have been working on being consistent with a) doing yoga at least once a week, and b) strengthening and cross training more. I am fully aware the only thing holding me back from getting better is not staying consistent with the additional responsibilities of being a good runner. I did venture to a new spin class, which wholly cannoli did that kick my arse! The bicycles move from side to side offering a whole body workout. I took some hostages with me. Figured if I was going to be crawling the next day might as well not be the only one. So I invited my coworker and Ms. B.o.B. herself. We had a blast and those chicas are serious troopers.They did way better then I did that's fo' sho!

On a more personal note, I have been trying to knock some other things out like reading all these books that I started. I am almost done with "The Passage," which I highly recommend. I listen to this on audio during my commute to and from work and it keeps me entertained. I am half way through the "Lace Reader." Haven't decided whether I like that one yet. And I finished "Run," by Matt Fitzgerald. Also, recommend that book to runners. The book has good information on running by feel and pushing yourself. It even provides useful information on designing your own training plans and avoiding the cookie cutter plans. I bought "Racing Weight" over the weekend and hope to get to that soon. I need to lose these last few pounds that are holding me back from being a leaner runner. Hopefully the book will help.

I am doing my best to finish all these books I have started in hopes of then dedicating more time to studying for the GRE. Yes, I want to go back to school and get my graduate degree. Not exactly sure what I will study yet, but I need to pass that test either way.

I have been studying like it's 1999. Literally! I mean the test has a lot of SAT stuff like antonyms, reading passages, analogies, and oh yea math. I hope to take the test this spring.

Phew I have no life...or an amazing one depending how you look at it. :) Have any of you taken the GRE? What are your thoughts about managing a training schedule and studying at the same time?

Have a good week!!

Please, please, please let me WIN!!

2011-01-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to finally get myself a wonderful running gadget. I have coveted those sparkly little stat mongers for way to long. I promised myself this year if I could PR at Gasparilla and follow my training consistently that I would make the sacrifice.

Thanks to a Facebook friend I came across this wonderful blog!

The marvelous DC Rainmaker is giving away a Garmin Forerunner 310XT. I can't help but think how awesome it would be if I could get this for free! Either way, this post earns me an extra entry.

If you are reading this and are like me and don't have a cool little running gadget well...I would click on the link and try to win to.

Wish me luck!!

What makes me a Cuban runner?!

2011-01-12T07:09:00.001-08:00

In honor of the title of the blog...I decided last night to share some of my Hispanic zestiness (if that's even a word) with the blogoshere. Over the last 10 years, you could say I have become a tad more acculturated but there are still many things that I can't and won't shake from my personality. And trust me if you would have met me when I still lived in Miami, where it is almost a requirement to speak Spanish, you would understand.

Here is a list of my top 5 Cubanisms:

1. I will never ever pass up on some café con leche and tostadas! The buttery, sugary goodness is something I don't eat often for obvious reasons but if it's there or offered I am eating it.

2. I still say coño when things don't go my way.

3. I sometimes break into Spanglish knowing very well the person I am speaking with doesn't have a clue of what I am saying.

4. I was born on the same year of when the Mariel boatlift took place. And some of my Cuban peeps call me a marielita because of it.

5. One of my favorite prerace meals is white rice with fried eggs. I would love to add the black beans to this delicacy but we all know what happens when you eat beans and go running.

Along the way of me writing about my running I guarantee you will read more about my wonderful Hispanic background but this is all for now.

In the meantime, I leave you with these videos for some kicks and giggles. The first clip you can see the teenagers walking out of the same high school I went to in Miami.

This clip is hilarious and totally my life growing up, especially the speaking in English with my friends and having to translate to my grandparents and parents for that matter.

Happy hump day!

Volunteering awesomeness

2011-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

I must start of this post by saying that Saturday was filled with awesomeness! As I mentioned in my resolution post, one of my goals this year is to volunteer. Having ran in several races now, I just felt it was time to pay it forward.

Thankfully my search for a race became easy when I received an e-mail from a local running group needing volunteers to help during the MADD Dash 5K. I quickly responded to count me in.

This past Saturday, I got my butt out of bed nice and early at 5:15 a.m. and headed to the park where the race would take place. My jobs for the day included setting up the trophy table, giving out times at the one mile marker and steering the little ones in the right direction during their one mile race.

My favorite part of the day was watching the little ones run. This must have a lot to do with the fact that I am a mommy. Or maybe I am just weird like that...But something about watching the little kids running a mile and learning how crucial exercise is makes me happy. I ever had this sort of support growing up. In fact, now that I am all growns up my mom still thinks I am crazy for running so much. Of course, I am trying to show my mini-me (even though she wasn't there) that exercise is super important and needs to start at a very young age. I can't help but think if I would have started exercising when I was a kid things would be way easier now.

But I digress...back to volunteering.

The whole morning made me feel productive, especially since I took advantage of the park and ran a little 2+ miler after. And throughout the morning, I had a great time reconnecting with some fellow club members, online buds and meeting a celebrity blogger (at least in my eyes)!

Two DailyMile buds raced that morning. They both did awesome. I was also super giddy to meet one of the bloggers I stalk. :) Yes, Discom-BOB-ulated Running was there in all her greatness. She didn't run that morning but she was out spectating some of her friends. She was a super-nice, which I expected from reading her blog and she rolls with Paparazzi...that's all I got to say. :) Check out the cool pic on her recent blog that proves I did, in fact, meet her.

Needless to say, volunteering gave me all the warm and fuzzies. For whoever is reading this blog, you can definitely expect to hear a few more volunteer recaps.
Volunteering allowed me to see some amazing things first hand, which had I been racing I would have missed. For example, there was an 80+ man who finished his race in 24 minutes. There was also a young woman who was resolved to get her health back in order and was running to get her fitness back on. There were also some coming back from injuries who smoked the race.

Although I did this to help and I feel a little selfish in writing this, but I got a lot from the experience as well. Seeing all the success stories come to fruition inspired me. I wasn't expecting this, but I am grateful. This might have been exactly what I needed to get my slacka-lacka self back in motion.

Have any of you ever felt a little selfish after volunteering? Like maybe you got something out of it when in fact, you were supposed to be giving back?!

A quest: build a base, speed in 2011

2011-01-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

I am a little late in posting this considering it is now day 6 of 2011- Happy New Year! Even though I have been a horrible bloggie, I wanted to make sure I had some sort of New Year post to reference back to 12 months from now.

2010 for the record was awesome! I have felt somewhat gloomy to see it end. I started 2010 completely heartbroken and ended the year realizing I can be fearless and do anything I set my mind to. As cheesy as that sounds it is true!

Running wise I accomplished a lot! I ran my first half-marathon in February at Gasparilla. Signed up for the Miracle Miles challenge, which required me to run Gasparilla, Gate River Run 15K and the Miracle Miles 15K( where I PR'd). I also helped a friend run his very first 5K at Kiwanis Mease Midnight Run. Oh and how could I possibly forget making my marathon debut at the Chicago Marathon, which happened to land on 10/10 (aka my 30th birthday)! This is where I learned that no matter how tough things get I will survive!!

Phew this was a lot of running last year, at least for me. With that said, my running was still all over the place and I self sabotaged myself out of fear. Yes, I am my worst enemy...I missed runs. I didn't cross train. I had some weirdo leg pains (aka inner calves and ITB issues).

All this leads me to how I plan to make 2011 a spectacular running year!

I have been running off and on since 2007 and consistently for 2 years this February, it is high time I work on establishing a base and keeping myself there year around. This goal will ultimately help me with my secondary goal of speeding up.

2 major running goals include:
-building a base: 20 miles a week and at least 1,000 miles for the year.
-Speeding up: pushing myself a little harder by doing speed work and hills.

Minor goals include (and I might add to this list along the way):
-a 5k PR; time to beat 34:55 (scheduled 5k this year is Gasparilla)
-a half-marathon PR; time to beat 2:44 (scheduled half this year is Gulf Coast in Pensacola)
-toward the end of the year starting marathon training and running a marathon in the early winter
-blog more and keep myself accountable to my running goals.
-run some more holiday races for fun
-volunteer at local races (already have this scheduled. My volunteer debut will be Jan. 8 at the The MADD Dash 5K...A Resolution Run & Kids 1 Mile Fun Run)
-consistently cross and strength training
-last but not least eating healthy

It seems like I am doing too much. But all of this works hand in hand. I have been doing most of what is listed above already expect I haven't been consistent. So 2011 is really all about the CONSISTENCY!

I leave you with some funniness!

Getting my butt in gear!

2010-12-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not...it has been two months to date since Chicago. And my so called two week break somehow turned into eight weeks. I have had a few failed attempts back at running. But not a day goes by that I don't think about it. As difficult as it is to make the effort to run all the time it sure is easy to come up with an excuse every day. My "Pre-Chicago" self keeps looking at my "Post-Chicgo" self shaking her head wondering, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

For the past few weeks, I tell my self, "Ok this will be the week we get back out there"...but then something happens like the time change, or my ITB flares up after volunteering at a parade or I get sick.

Alas, those are all excuses! Much crazier things have happened before and I still got the miles in one way or another. My "Pre-Chicago" self has made it out in rain or shine, with babysitter or no babysitter, when the time changed last time and even when there were crazy pains in my legs.

Something happened once I came back from Chitown. I am not sure if it was the fact that I was a little burned out from all the scheduling and manipulating I had to do to put the miles in. Or if it was the fact that I just didn't have a solid meaningful goal to follow up my marathon race. Whatever happened my two week break turned into eight and here I am sitting kicking myself in the arse because I know I will have to start from zero!

Last week, I put in a few miles and I was sucking major wind. And this week after more than a year of not catching a cold I am sick. So this is my punishment for becoming a slacker. I knew the possibility of this happening was extremely possible it's happened before. Subconsciously I believed a marathoner was immune to this. Boy was I wrong!

I sure made a donkey of myself!

So I am returning to my old methods of getting my butt in gear. I have a goal--to run my fastest 5k. I will run my traditional Gasparilla race this year, which will be exciting because my daughter plans to run with me. She will smoke me and I will probably end up holding her back but she is all enthused about getting a medal and running a race. I am all for it. I have my plan all ready to go. Now, if I could just kick this cold I am fighting and get my warm Florida back I will be one happy camper.

Is there anything you do to kick yourself into gear when you see yourself falling off the bandwagon?

Happy Friday!

Marathon photos...How do you choose?

2010-10-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

With my first marathon over and done, I am faced with a crazy amount of options on how to remember the day. Obviously I took a gazillion photos, but marathonfoto.com also offers an array of other options. Actually, I think there are like 20 photos for sale. All of them are extremely over priced but that's the name of the picture game. Initially, I was debating purchasing a CD with all the photos for about 80 buckaroos.

However now I am thinking I might buy one of those frames that offer four photos with the Chicago city line and logo. And the kicker is it is way cheaper. The only problem with choosing the collage of sorts is having to narrow down the photos to four. Since this is my first marathon, I am not sure how to go about picking the photos. Should I pick the tortured looking ones? Should I pick only the ones I am running in? I don't know which to choose.

I might to try to put them in four categories such as running, walking, crying and flustered. These groups will definitely help narrow them out.

This is one of my favorite photos. I am not running but it's has an awesome backdrop. I also have this funny look on my face like I am pondering my next mega move. Either way, I will definitely purchase this one.

I am curious to know how do you fellow runners pick your race photos? The best option is to probably pick the four best photos that tell the story of that race day but I am open to suggestions.

CM10 Race Recap

2010-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

*Read at your own risk. It's a little lengthy and personal. Pictures will come later.

It seems like almost an eternity since I made up my mind to run my very first 26.2. I was coming off a high from running my first half-marathon (Gasparilla 2010) when someone insinuated the idea that now with a half under my belt I could run a full. Having toyed with the idea once before again I thought, "Am I truly ready?" I thought of a thousand reasons on why I shouldn't run one ... not being ready was high on that list. And then I stopped and thought, “I do this to myself all the time.”I come up with a thousand reasons on why taking such a huge step is a bad idea. Fear usually gets the best of me. This back and forth went on for awhile in my brain until I finally told myself - “Seriously there is no use in considering this if I can't run in my favorite city.”

In comes Chicago!

I put my googling skills to the test and what do I find ... the Chicago marathon opens for registration soon and is also taking place on my 30th birthday, 10-10-10! I can still remember seeing the countdown clock on the site counting down the days to my big day. It was final. My fate was sealed. I pulled out my credit card and signed away.

Flash forward almost seven months later and I am in the Windy City with my bestest friend, sightseeing and awaiting my marathon debut.

My ultimate goal for this race was to finish. I had so many issues during training with my ITB and self-sabotaging myself that I was just happy to finish before the race was closed. I knew in my heart I couldn't ask for more with my wonky training. I skipped a few runs but I completed my 20-miler in 4:30, which truly made me feel confident that I would pull through the 26.2 in under 6 hours, for sure.

But fate had something else in store for me. On race day, I woke up at 4 a.m. an hour and a half before three alarm clocks and my wake-up call from the hotel were scheduled. I had already set up all my gear the night before so I went straight to the shower. I got dressed and ate my favorite granola bar with some water before heading out. Licett, my bff, and I walked toward Congress from Michigan Ave. Our hotel was ideally located only one-mile away from the start line. As we began approaching the area we saw a huge mass of runners finding their corrals and spectators, saying their final good lucks before making their way to the course.

We arrived near the open corral at about 6:50 a.m. and it hectic to say the least. I didn’t want Licett to leave. I was nervous to officially walk away alone and find my way to my spot. I dilly dallied for ten more minutes and saw the huge mass of people moving and figured it would be a good idea to get going. I gave her a huge hug and off we went on our separate ways.

After 20 minutes of getting funneled through small gates and finding the open corral, I stood and waited until 7:30 a.m., the start of the race. As I waited, I overheard several conversations including one involving two veteran marathoners scaring a newbie. I wish I wouldn’t have heard them as they partially intimidated me about the final bridge, even though I had already heard it wasn’t bad at all. I tried to tune them out and realized I hadn’t yet spoken with my daughter. I have made it a habit to always be with her or talk to her before a race. She ALWAYS serves as my inspiration. That morning as she gave me her usual speech I teared up for the first time ever before a race. She said, “Mom, you can do this! I am virtually sending you all my strength and making you super strong.” I couldn’t help it - I busted my first tears of the day. (Warning: I did lots of crying that day. This was just the beginning.)

As I hung up with her, I started to hear some cheering and figured things were starting up but couldn’t really hear anything else. I never heard the gun, anthem or anything for that matter, which was pretty sad. Next thing I knew, the line starts moving, but it wasn’t until 7:59 that I officially crossed the start line. Yes, it was seriously that packed. I was all the way in the back and it took me nearly half an hour to cross the start line. So off I went. I queued my iPod to my starting song: Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which ended up being a waste because I couldn’t even hear it. But it was all good considering how much I had to look at. The first few miles went by pretty fast. At around 3 miles, I saw my first sighting of Licett. She was in a sea of people and gave me a meaningful handshake. She told me all she needed to say with that handshake. Yes, we have that kind of friendship.

At this point I was proud of myself because I didn’t let myself get overwhelmed with the excitement and go out to fast. My 5k split came in at 39:26, which was a little slow for me but I was having fun running on my favorite streets and had 23.1 more miles to go. So this was OK.

Soon I was running on LaSalle Drive and then Stockton overlooking Lake Michigan. I was so psyched, I knew I was getting close to Lincoln Park, which holds many fond memories from past trips. At around five miles I had three of my favorite gummies (PowerBar Energy Blasts) and I was already staying hydrated drinking water at every stop. I crossed my 10k at 1:21:42.

By mile 7 I started to feel something was wrong.

I recognized the feelings of something that plagued me off and on during training. I couldn’t believe it. In fact, I ignored it and kept trucking along. I got to see Licett, who hustled to about mile 9 again, and had some water, gummies and lubed myself up (to avoid shaffing) some more just in case. I expressed to her my concerns and she said, “Don’t worry. You got this. Remember rule no.1!” How could I forget, it was written on my arm - “Man the f*** up.”

On I went, although the nagging pain on the outside of not just one of my knees, but both was getting to me. I strolled in at the 15k at 2:08:54, my slowest 15k yet. I was starting to feel some real pain around this point but the boys of Boystown helped keep the pain at bay. By far, this was my favorite part of the race. I loved watching the men dressed in funny and interesting costumes dancing on stages and being silly. These boys know how to have a great time!

At around my half-marathon time 3:06:08, the mental battle began. My mom, who doesn’t understand my running hobby, called around this point asking if I was already done. This of course started the water works. If she would have listened to my daughter who told her, “My mom won’t be done in 3 hours,” she wouldn’t have called. In my mom’s defense, I also shouldn’t have picked up. But she was worried since she wasn’t receiving any of the texts.

Needless to say, my next 13.1 miles were HELL. The pain only got worse, causing me to walk. I kept going on small running bouts until the pain started again and then I would walk. I walked all the water stops and continued to chew on my gummies ever so often. At one point, we started to get messages that the race conditions had gotten hot. But I never really felt overly hot. I thanked my being a Florida girl who trained in Florida weather. I wouldn’t say I was as comfortable as would have been if it were in the 60s, but I was good. I was actually pretty hydrated, I needed to pee for about 75 percent of the race, but after stopping at the port-o-potties and seeing all the accidents I figured I would hold it.

At around mile 14, I saw Licett again, who caught the red line to see me. She will never know how much of a god send she was. She received some technological help from one of my Chicagoan friends back home, who I am also grateful to for his help. I mean he was seriously sitting at his computer all morning long watching the race and finding routes for Licett to get around. I must say I felt the LOVE.

For the next few miles the urge to quit was great. At one point, I remember seeing a Connie’s Pizza and thinking seriously there is nothing stopping me from calling it quits and going to get a pizza. But I kept going. Knowing all along that the miles were getting longer and the pain, which for the record I never felt in both knees before (in the past it was always my right one), was getting worse and worse. Walking was bearable. Running was excruciating. The expression I diligently wrote out on my arm was taunting me.

“He’s one of those who knows that life
Is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold you breath
Always trust your CAPE”

I wondered what happened to my cape. I was crying off and on, fighting myself from stopping. This was by far the hardest race I have ever endured. At the entrance of Chinatown (mile 21), I was grateful to see Licett once again. She jumped in with me for a about four miles. She urged me to run and to try and push myself to overcome the pain. But there was no overcoming what I felt in my knees. At around mile 22, I started to look for a tutu and listen for cowbells. Redhead from Caution: Redhead Running was spectating and I have been dying to meet the girl behind the witty and insightful blog. But alas, I was too late. Of course, I didn’t expect her to be there all day.

But then something else was hitting me like a splash of ice water ... I might not make it. Chicago has a 6:30 time limit. And I was getting mighty close.

I made it to the 40k in 6:06:57. I was in pain, tired, my pinky blister was starting to feel tingly and I still had 2.2 to go. This is all that kept me from finishing my first marathon and yet it seemed impossible. Those two miles felt like a marathon on their own. Finally, I started to see the 800m sign and the 600m, Licett ran off the course promising to find me at the finish line. She told me, “I know this hurts but you have made it this far you can’t quit, remember rule #1!”

I soon saw the so called “hill” I had heard about before, which was not bad at all. Unfortunately, it was excruciatingly painful for me. I have seen bigger hills in San Antonio, actually the bridge in the Gate River Run in Jacksonville is way more scarier. Either way, I power walked over the bridge and turned the corner to see the finish line. The spectating at this point was at a minimum. I waited until a got to the 100m and tried to slowly run so I can at least give the “running in” impression for the finishing photos. But who was I kidding, at that pace I was still power walking. I finished my first marathon in 6:28:15, which by Chicago standards meant, I FINISHED!

I will admit that for the remainder of my birthday I was slightly bummed. And I guess the fact that it took me sooo long to finish is ultimately what upset me. Almost a week later, I still don’t understand what happened. Why was I able to run 20 miles pain free at home, but race day brought so much pain to both knees? I have learned to accept that my goal was to finish and that I did. Was that how I wanted to finish? No. But I finished. And now I can appreciate the idea that I have nothing but room to improve. Now I know I can’t self-sabotage myself. I have to take my training seriously. And at the end of the day, because running sometimes is such a flip of the coin, remember to just have fun. This is definitely something I forgot to do in Chitown. I had so many battles in my brain sometimes that I forgot to look around and realize that I was in my favorite city, celebrating my birthday.