Tag Archives: running community

Week #12 NYC Marathon Training: Showing Up

Much of marathon training, and life in general, is about showing up. It’s the simple act of getting out the door, embracing the challenge, and putting in the work, even if your motivation is waning. It’s about getting through aches and pains, life’s scheduling challenges and the onslaught of mental fatigue that often comes with week after week of training. It’s about keeping your eye on the prize, even if that prize still feels like it’s miles away.

That is what this week was about for me: showing up.

Some days training was a struggle, other days it was like butta, but each day of dragging my hiney out the door added a drop of grit into the mental toughness bucket because I didn’t allow excuses to creep into the day.

No matter how much you love running, you will absolutely have days when you’d like to do anything but run. It’s usually those days that are the most important because figuring out ways to overcome your mental block becomes gold on race day, especially when you hit rough patches (and there will definitely be rough patches during a marathon).

Here are a few mental strategies that have helped me over the years:

  • Create personal mantras. One I lean on often when my motivation is waning is: “Don’t think, just go.” I simply shut down my brain, block out all the things that are pulling me in a different direction, lace up my shoes, and go through the motions of getting out the door. Once out the door, everything usually falls into place. On the run I repeat, “Just keep moving forward.”
  • Know your “why.” Lean into why you decided to commit to running a marathon. Every person has a different reason. Maybe it’s a Bucket List item. Maybe it’s a milestone celebration like turning 40 or 60. Maybe it’s a cause like Team for Kids, or in honor of somebody. Whatever it is, write it down and put in somewhere prominent so you look at it every day.
  • Visualize. Imagine yourself running through different parts of your race and visualize yourself successfully crossing the finish line. Internalize how incredible it will feel to reach your goal.
  • Focus on what feels strong. This is especially helpful during a run. If your calves are grumpy, focus on your core. If your quads are screaming, focus on engaging your glutes. No matter what, you will be able to find strength somewhere in your body, especially your heart and mind.

Week #12 training schedule (Sept. 4-10)

  • Mon 9/4: Run 5 miles EZ recovery run (Goleta Beach bike path), strength 35 min
  • Tues 9/5: Spin class 55 min, strength 30 min, walk 2 miles
  • Wed 9/6: Run 6 miles tempo run (SBCC track and waterfront)
  • Thurs 9/7: Run 3 miles EZ (Lake Los Carneros), walk 1.2 miles
  • Fri 9/8: Rest day, walk 1.5 miles
  • Sat 9/9: Race She.Is.Beautiful 10K plus 1.25 mile WU and 1 mile CD (8.25 miles total)
  • Sun 9/10: Rest day, walk 1.5 miles
Monday, Monday, so good to me [cue the Mamas & the Papas]…easing back into the week with a nice little recovery run from Goleta Beach.
Tuesday’s workout was fueled entirely by caffeine, heart-pumping music, and an awesome spin instructor. Thank you Kristine for always bringing your positive energy to keep us going!
Wednesday, I was feeling a little creaky, but there’s nothing like a good warm-up and an inspiring audiobook, (A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York), to get you in the right frame of mind to knock out a solid 6-mile tempo run along the waterfront on a gray morning. I always look forward to my veggie sammies afterward with a protein smoothie.
Thursday early morning 3 mile cruise around Lake Los Carneros, sporting my “Dream Big” hat for a little motivation, with a big shout out to my friend Jenni Miller and the Smith-Magenis Syndrome research foundation, who created these hats to support this important cause. It always gives me perspective and inspiration when I wear it. After my run, I had the joy of finally catching up with my friend Emma, whom I hadn’t seen all summer. Making time and creating balance while training is the secret sauce to a happy journey to the starting line.
Friday was a rest day, so I took a nap, went for a nice walk in nature with my hubby, then tried to figure out what kind of “get-up” I was going to throw together for Saturday’s She.Is.Beautiful 10k. I love this race, which I’ve run 4 or 5 times, and always like to bring a little flare to the morning. These were my options. And this is what I ended up choosing…
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Run Be Run Facebook Page Launched

Hello fabulous fitness friends! Just wanted to let you know that I launched a new Run Be Run Facebook page. It’s simply meant to be a place where we can celebrate running and fitness, share our adventures and misadventures, and post photos, questions and any other tidbits that might be of interest to our little running community.

Run Be Run Facebook page

If you hit the Facebook LIKE button on the right side of this page it will take you there or you can copy and paste this URL into your browser: www.facebook.com/runberun.

I hope you’ll swing by and say hi.

Happy Running!
xo Becky

Winning

Photo of Vicki's 3000m winner's shirt

“Winning isn’t always victory, losing isn’t always defeat.” ~Unknown

A few weeks ago I participated in a local 3000m race at Westmont College called Vicki’s 3000, named in honor of Special Olympics athlete, Vicki Paulsen. It was part of the Santa Barbara Athletic Association’s Grand Prix race series, which I’m participating in this year, and it was organized to help raise funds for the Special Olympics.

I have to admit I was apprehensive about racing in this event because I was still nursing a strained quad from the previous week’s State Street Mile. More to the point, I was dreading running 1.8 miles on the track because the track and I have yet to become BFFs.

Over the years she’s tried to lure me to her soft red surface, but then she’s either immediately bored me to death or kicked my ass, or both. I’ve been working hard to wrap my arms around speedwork and embrace the joys of the oval, but it has been a slooooww process.

This race may have finally changed my attitude.

I had a blast!

And I won my age group and received the awesome tank top you see in the picture above!

This shirt represents much more than winning my age group and running a PR though (it’s easy when your competitors aren’t able to show up and you’ve never run this distance before).

This is what this shirt really represents to me:

1) Being surrounded by a running community of WINNERS. In my mind, winning is about giving your best, and about lifting others up so they can also give their best. There’s no more supportive running community than Santa Barbara. You might disagree if you live somewhere else, but come here and experience what I’m talking about and you’ll soon be nodding in agreement.

Photo of Becky Aaronson during Vicki's 3000m race at Westmont College This race was a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Vicki’s 3000 was divided into four self-seeded heats, with the elite runners going last. While I was busy running “pedal to the metal” 7 1/2 laps around the track, several elite runners were gracious enough to toss advice my way as they warmed up for their race. Simple reminders from people like Monica DeVreese and Nash Jimenez made such a difference in keeping my focus on the right things:

“Run from your core.”
“Lean into the corners”
“Keep your rhythm.”
“Watch your posture!”
“Use your arms.”
“Stride it out.”

2) This shirt also represents being completely wrapped in “running love” during this race–from the moment we took off to the last step across the finish line. Even if I had come in dead last, I would have still felt like a WINNER because everybody made me (and everybody else) feel like a rock star. I must have heard my name 50 times in the span of 13 minutes. Especially heartening was hearing all the kids I coach cheering, “Good job, Coach Becky!” “Way to go, Coach Becky!”

Photo of Vickis 3000 20143) It also represents seeing so many of those same kiddos excel in this event. Our running community is WINNING BIG because it is now offering more and more opportunities for kids to join running clubs and participate in numerous races all throughout the year. The SBAA’s Jr. Grand Prix race series is making a huge difference with this. Seeing these kids’ spirit and unbridled joy lifts us all a few feet of the ground as we witness the next generation of runners falling head over heels for the sport we all love so much. It’s going to be exciting to see where they take all of this as they get older.

Vickis4 copy4) This shirt also reminds me that showing up is always half the battle. There’s no chance of winning or seeing what the possibilities are if you don’t show up. Any time I’m dreading going to the track to do speedwork, or feeling uncertain about a race, I’m going to wear this tanktop, suck it up and remind myself that WINNING is a habit, and habits take hard work and dedication before they form into actions that are automatic and nearly always enjoyable.

5) The topper to this whole morning? Also WINNING a super cool raffle prize–a free whole-body cryotherapy session at CRYOHEALTH, something I’ve been wanting to try for several months. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it after I go into the deep freeze. They say there’s nothing like a -220 F sauna for recovery. We’ll find out! I may never go back to those measly little ice baths again.

CryoSessionPS: Did I mention one of the most exciting things? This sweet little event raised over $850 for Special Olympics in the span of an hour! Now THAT’S winning! Thank you SBAA and Dave and DeAnna Odell for organizing this event, and for being so generous with your time, energy, and raffle prizes!

You are WINNERS!

Just Freakin’ Run: Celebrating Boston and the Strength of Our Running Community

If the goal of the Boston bombers was to defeat the human spirit, clearly marathon runners were the wrong group to target.

They accomplished nothing with their cowardly explosives last year.

That’s right. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

They did not weaken us by their senseless act, but only made us stronger, more fierce, determined and connected. They didn’t scare anyone away, but instead bolstered an endless pool of support for Beantown and every other major marathon city out there, inciting legions of runners from all around the world to train harder just to qualify for Boston this year.

On April 21st, thirty-six thousand runners, the largest field ever, will run the Boston Marathon, despite the bombers. And not one person will give them a moment’s thought. They will be busy celebrating the honor of running in one of our sport’s most prestigious races, and reveling in the joy of being part of one of the strongest and most supportive communities around.

bostonstrong500

I still can’t help wonder how different the bombers’ lives might have been if they had been runners—if they had been zealots of adrenaline rather than zealots of hate. Perhaps they never laced up their shoes because they felt they wouldn’t fit in. They would have been wrong about that, though.

There’s room for everyone in the running community.

You see, we are old farts, young farts, and every kind of fart in between. We are yuppies, scuppies, hippies, and buppies. We are Boomers, Boomerangs, and Generations X, Y and Z. We are you. We are me.

We are Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Jews. We are Christians, Scientologists, and non-believers too. We are gay. We are straight. We are rich. We are poor. We are smart, and some, even thick as a door.

We are teachers, preachers, writers and baristas. We are truck drivers, trash collectors, soldiers, and zookeepers.

We are funny. We are serious. We are quirky and sweet. We are hipsters, we are nerds, and teens who like to Tweet.

We’re the guy next door, the granny at the store, the pregnant chick in yoga pants, the kid blazing in an iPod trance.

We are underweight, overweight, tall, short, round, and square. We come in every color. No one ever cares.

We’re organic, synthetic, flamboyant and drab. We are natives and immigrants, and all who need to work on our abs.

We are liberal, conservative and anti-government too. None of it matters when lacing up our shoes.

We are fast. We are slow. Some don’t even care to know. We are bald, gelled, dreadlock’ed, and ‘tailed, wearing good luck get-ups we hope will never fail.

We are Valedictorians and PhDs. We are high school dropouts and wannabes. We are high-powered and low-powered, all just out there celebrating our Go Power.

We each know heartache, frustration and every kind of pain, but we leave it on the road whenever we train. No need for shrinks. No need for pills. All we need are a few good hills.

We’re all as different as can be; that’s what makes this strong community. We run for health, we run for pride, we run for sanity and to feel alive.

Unfortunately, Boston bombers it’s too late for you, but if anyone else is contemplating a senseless act like this, do yourself a favor: instead of wasting your potential, run.

That’s right. Put down your arsenal, lace up your shoes, and run.

Run until your lungs burn. Run until your muscles ache. Run until you can’t take another step.

You will suddenly understand what it means to be a human being. You will feel strong. You will feel alive and you will feel empowered.

That’s right. Just. Freaking. Run.