June 10

Last Saturday I was finally able to run! It had been raining here in the Sunshine State and I was forced to take a break.  Saturday I had a 6 miler planned.  My plan was 3 miles easy zone 2 and to fartlek the last 3 miles = negative split!

It was great! The first 3 miles went by slow, but they were good and I had great company and that always helps!!!  The last 3 miles went by super fast!!!! I take energybits before my runs and I could definitely feel them working with me Saturday.  Every time I sprinted, I stayed at a consistent 6:04 min/mile pace effort for a little less than a quarter of a mile. Consistent being the key!!!!! At fartlek #2 I thought to myself, maybe I went a little too quick the first time? But no! I did great! 5 fartleks later I had accomplished something new! I pushed myself to a new limit and I was happy about that.  I had given a friend a sample of the bits and she later said to me that they had worked for her as well.  Whohoo!!! Yay for putting good things in our bodies!!!

Today's run was a nice and easy 3 miler.  At first, my legs felt heavy which was weird cause the only soreness I felt was on my hip flexors....especially the right one. Damn hip flexors! They're a bitch to deal with!  But, we negative split our run again. Whohooo!!! I have always loved negative splits, I think it's the smart way to run. I am just amazed at how easy they are starting to become, even in the heat and humidity of our Sunshine State.

I have 20 days left and then NYC Marathon training begins!!! I can't wait!!!! Running is my constant, regardless of what's going on in my life, running is there. The road is there, just waiting for me to hit it and I am so thankful for that.  Tomorrow we do hill repeats!!!

Coming soon to a blog near you!!!

On April 24 I entered the NYC Marathon lottery. On May 29 I found out I was in! Holy crap! I got in on my first try!

There was something special about Thursday's run.  It was just surreal to think in a few weeks I will be out there training for the NYC Marathon! Haha!

So, get ready! I will share my training, my thoughts, and our inappropriate conversations. Lol! My friends and I have been running together for a while....there's no inhibitions anymore. This is what marathon training does to friendships, they become stronger with time. We deal with each other when we are tired, when we are happy, when we are cranky and hungry and when we are rejoicing in our runner's high!!

You will get to meet the characters in my life. For privacy concerns, I will just called them Crazy Runners 1,2,3,4 etc (CR1, CR2, etc). Our setting is the Sunshine state. Our main idea is to share training tips and workouts and all the crazy stuff in between.

Training starts soon, so stay tuned! This will be a blast!

ENERGYbits....WHAT?? ALGAE?? SpiruWHAT???

I had a friend host a virtual 5k. When I got the medal I found a promo card for ENERGYbits.  The promo card said 100% NATURAL ORGANIC GREEN ALGAE, ENERGIZE YOUR RUN NATURALLY. Hmmm....what the hell??? I love researching stuff, so I began looking into it.  I had been looking for a way to get away from gu's and chomps and all that artificial sugary stuff and this seemed like a good thing to research.

Their website (energybits.com) claims it is best used for:
1) increasing energy
2) increasing endurance
3) increasing mental health vitality
4) high protein snack
5) curbs hunger
6) meal replacement
7) balancing blood sugars
8) lowering blood pressure
9) reducing fatigue

I found them on Twitter, asked for a sample and they were gracious enough to send me one! Yeah! Excited!! A sample!! Whohooo!!! In the meantime, I just kept researching and finding that this might be just what I've been looking for.  As a marathoner, triathlete and run coach I am always very aware of what I put in my body. I had departed from gu's and chomps, but still had the honey stinger waffles during my long runs along with pretzels and mints.US Olympic athletes use this to fuel their workouts? Definitely worth a try!

So, how can this help us endurance athletes? Here's the science behind this:

"Spirulina can help protect athletes from the symptoms of overtraining by supporting the immune system. Spirulina can also help to improve athletic endurance.
Studies have shown that spirulina boosts the metabolism and helps the body burn fat rather than carbohydrates when exercising. Spirulina supplementation also reduces the amount of oxidative stress sustained during athletic training, and helps increase antioxidant activity within the body in the period immediately following a workout or training session. By boosting the metabolism and protecting against oxidative stress, spirulina supplements can increase athletic endurance.
Spirulina boosts endurance by helping the body to metabolize fat. This reduces the body’s dependence on carbs for energy, which helps to keep energy levels higher throughout the duration of the workout and can contribute to increased athletic endurance. Spirulina’s high levels of antioxidants prevent the accumulation of toxic free radicals in your muscles during exercise; accumulation of toxins in the muscles is one of the primary causes of muscle fatigue during exercise and training."
(http://www.3fatchicks.com/how-spirulina-supplementation-affects-endurance/)
  

Then I read that, "spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance, fat oxidation, and GSH concentration and attenuated the exercise-induced increase in lipid peroxidation."
(http://superhumangear.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/spirulina-for-more-endurance/)

Well, at this point I couldn't wait for my sample to get home!!!! Voila!!!!! Here it was!!!! I got my sample, which is approximately 75 bits (2.5 servings, yes one serving is 30 bits). I took my one serving and off I went to swim practice. It was AMAZING! I wasn't gasping for air after 1700 meters in the pool, I felt fine, maybe too fine, completely focused and relaxed. I swallowed 10 bits at a time, it was easy, quick and convenient. Their tins fit everywhere!! YES!!! I can totally take these on my runs!  I have not chewed them yet, but I do know that if you chew them you have to drink some water to wash the green away.

Next day, I ran #poweredbybits. Awesome run! My buddies couldn't keep up, when they were feeling tired I was going strong! 

So, let's see from what they claim in their website I have concluded the following:

1) they DO increase my energy, in a good way. No jittery feelings or crashes cause they only have one ingredient, spirulina...not sugar or caffeine. A+ in my book!
2) I have yet to take them out on a double digit run....will get back to you later there.
3) Regarding mental health vitality...I do feel more alert. I take 30 bits before I go to doctor's appointments with my son or his chemotherapies and I am alert and understand everything they are telling me. 
4) they are 64% protein, that's a fact! no argument there!
5) curbs hunger...yes, they do! I do feel that when I have my 30 bits before my morning runs, I tend to be less hungry during the morning. 
6) meal replacement...I'll never use them as meal replacement because I like food too much. However, we do spend long days in hospitals and they have helped kept me at bay.
7) and 8) balancing blood sugars and reducing blood pressure...well, I haven't gotten tested for that
9) reducing fatigue...yes! for sure! 

I am sharing my experience with my fellow endurance athletes and my 20% discount code (RUNSMART) which you can use at any time, cause these are not cheap. This is a case of you get what you pay for!  They are $115/bag and each bag has 1,000 bits = 33 servings! So, when you do the math it's really not that expensive AND you are putting good stuff in your body, not crap! But, remember you can always use my discount code (RUNSMART) at checkout.

I am running the ING NYC Marathon this year and I can not wait to be powered by bits during my training and marathon day!!!! I will blog about my training and nutrition, so stay tuned!!!!!!!

REST DAY!!!!! I LOVE REST DAY!!!!! The first thing I love about rest day is that I don't have to wake up at 5am.....but I get to sleep in until 7am....ahhh.....the little things in life! LOL!! Because you all know that around 7 to 7:30 my 5 yr old will go to me and say "Mami, the sun is out and I'm hungry!!!"

Week 4 begins today. This week, training changes a bit. Instead of running 3miles, 6 miles, and then 3 again plus the long run on Sat, I have to up the ante to 4miles, 7 miles, 4 miles, plus the long run on Sat. This Saturday's long run is a 14 mile run. I'm really excited about this because the farthest I've ever run is 13.1, so this is a challenge! 14 miles!!!!! I know I'm physically ready for them, but I'm still working with myself mentally! Running is all in your head!

Last week was awful training wise. My husband started traveling, therefore I only ran 1 day during the week (3 miles) and then nothing. It was driving me insane! My body was asking for it! And I kept eating like a beast! OH SHIT! This is when motherhood kicks in.....I'm not leaving the kids by themselves to go running at 5am even if they're sleeping, that's a NON NEGOTIABLE!!!! So, I ate :( But, I got to run 9 miles on Saturday, with my good friend Lisa. We weren't lucky enough this past Saturday to have someone bike along with us with our water, Gatorade, snacks and all the stuff, but we managed. The heat was impossible. By 6:40am the sun was already out and it seemed like he was running with us...UNINVITED...son of a bitch! I'm longing for Winter when our runs involve nice crisp cold weather mornings and we start complaining because breathing gets a bit more difficult! By then, the sun will be invited to our runs and welcomed with open arms.

I read "The Runner's Rule Book"....amazing! Funny!!!! I could relate to much of it! Therefore I have decided to embrace rule #3, (I think it is).....treat your black toenails as badges of HONOR!!!!" Pretty funny stuff in there, if you run you should read it. It will keep you on track!

As for my aunt, she starts her chemo this coming Wednesday. Lots of prayers for her and all our family, of course. She is very positive and convinced that this too shall pass. This, as usual, gets my training into perspective. Don't complain! Worse things happen to people who are better than you, so SUCK IT UP!!!!!!!!

Oh....one last thing! I have realized that I may be running 26.2 miles by myself on January 9, but I'm definitely NOT training by myself!!! I was overwhelmed with your support from my first RD and really inspired me to push forward. Your support means the world to me! Keep it coming!!!!!!!!!!

Much love and thanks for letting me share!!!

Running Diary - beginning of week 2

A month ago my aunt was re-diagnosed with cancer. She has kept such a positive attitude towards this whole situation that it has inspired me. As a mother she has built up the courage, once again, to have to tell her child (who's in his 20's...but hey!) that they are going through this situation all over again. This has to suck! I can't imagine having that conversation with my kids!

I decided to run a marathon, but before I needed to make sure that my knees were as up to it as my mind was. The problem with my left kneecap is that it sits incorrectly and, since I'm double jointed, the ligaments that are supposed to hold it in its place are stretchier than normal and not doing their job. The doctor said that the only thing keeping my kneecap where it's supposed to be are my muscles. He says I have very strong leg muscles and I should keep doing all the crazy stuff I do. In conclusion, it is safe for my knees to run a marathon.....26.2 miles.

I tried to convince a few people to go run a marathon with me and of course all I got were weird crazy looks telling me "You're the only one who's crazy enough to even think of doing one". My husband won't even come near running shoes, but he is my biggest fan and supporter. That's where I need him to be!

My friend, and expert runner, Amy sent me the training schedule as soon as she heard of my new endeavor. Thanks Amy!!! :)

My training started last week....Monday and Tuesday I ran 3 miles and did yoga at nighttime. On Wednesday I ran 6 miles. Thursday and Friday were rest days....as far as exercise was concerned, cause we all know there's no REAL rest when you have a husband,kids, and a job! I was lucky enough to convince my friend Lisa to go on the long run (11miles) with me on Saturday. That day at 5am my hubby woke up (my in-laws were in town, so they stayed with the kids) to go along with me in the car and be our rest stops...yes, that's how much he loves me. A little before 6am, I realized how much my friend Lisa supports me!!! Thanks, Lisa! :) Lisa had never run more than 6 miles before, but she wanted me to push her and I did....at a 6:4 interval she did 9 miles with me! I was very proud of Lisa and Lisa was VERY proud of herself. I finished my 11 miles and nothing hurt! I was pretty amazed, but I kept waiting for the pain to come. It didn't.....although I'm starting to lose a toe nail, but really?? It's not CANCER, so WHATEVER!!!!!!!

This week, so far, I did my cross training on Sunday (yoga). I really wanted to go swimming, but I ended up swimming in laundry :( Monday was rest day. Yesterday I ran 3 miles at a 7:3 intervals. This morning I woke up, once again, before the sun came out, and ran 6 miles. I felt exhausted by the end of those 6 miles. I'm thinking it was the sangria I had yesterday with my friend Ivett while the kids were playing...but WHATEVER it's not CANCER!!! I'm just happy to have friends to drink Sangria with!
Tomorrow I have to run 3 miles, we'll see how that goes. Saturday, I have to do 12.....ALONE! Well, hopefully Mariel will bike it with me...Oh yeah and after running 12 miles I will head out to the beach with the boys and my friends Vi, Vane and Ivett and their kids! And after the beach....my neighbors invited us to dinner. Seems like Sat will be a busy day, but I'm happy to be healthy and be able to do it all!

I have decided to share this with you guys, since I will be training alone.Thanks in advance for letting me share! Feel free to post your comments and suggestions to keep me going.

Love!