Author Archives: Lisa Pozzoni

Prepping for my 1st 50K-4 days to go

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I figured I would share a few short posts before Saturday to let you know what I’m doing this week to prep for my 1st 50K.  Would love to hear from you as well…share any suggestions you have for me via comments below!  I appreciate them!  As of right now, I’m very excited and can’t wait until Saturday.  I’m confident in my training and ready for it!

Here are some more specific things I’m doing:

  • Making it a point to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night if my body lets me 😉
  • Drinking lots of water and avoiding foods/drinks that dehydrate me.  I almost had a 2nd double espresso yesterday and didn’t…almost had a beer last night but decided to save that for Running for Brews tonight (it is my Birthday Eve 😉 )
  • Trying to focus on good nutrition and carbing up… I know I’ll be cheating a bit tomorrow. After Wednesday, I’m planning on eating the regular foods I eat before big my races days which are quinoa, grits, baked potatoes, oatmeal and pasta.
  • I took a Gentle Restorative Yoga class on Saturday
  • I belong to a Facebook group called Trail and Ultra Running and ironically someone posed this question yesterday: If you could give only ONE piece of advice to a new ultra runner, what would it be?  Here are some of the comments that made sense for me at this point being 4 days away:   Get calories every hour; Start out very, very slow; Walk (I’ll be ChiWalking when needed for sure!); Don’t think so much about getting to the finish line…when you’re out on the trails, enjoy being where you are, the scenery, the challenge, the other runners, the ability to be alone with yourself, etc.; Understand the difference between running and racing; Sleep, sleep, sleep….the week leading up to your event! Be fully rested. ; smile ; If you think your running too fast,you are; 1. Eat before you’re hungry 2. Drink before you’re thirsty 3. Walk before you’re tired  4. Don’t give up until you’ve crossed the finish line; Don’t start it’s addictive (this one made me laugh because I know it’s so true); Encourage your fellow runners along the way, thank your volunteers, and smile at the crowd (if there is one). The spiritual lift you’ll get from smiling and thanking and motivating will do your heart/mind/body good, as well as lifting up those around you.
  • Today I walk/ran 5 miles and will be doing another 3 at Running for Brews.  Tomorrow and Thursday I’ll walk a bit but nothing crazy.

Please let me know if you have any other advice for this week or race day!  Thanks in advance!

 

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

How I shaved 13 minutes off my marathon time…

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I’m on cloud 9 right now!  I can’t believe my time for the Sedona marathon.  I’m not a bragger and this is a bit uncomfortable for me but feeling pretty proud of myself considering the difficulty of this course! Continue Reading →


Execution plan for marathon #5

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Saturday 2/1, I will run my 5th marathon.  Remember, I swore that I would never run a half marathon but apparently I’m addicted to running now.

I did the Pf Changs Rock N Roll marathon a few weeks ago with my friends and blogged about it here.

Saturday’s Sedona Marathon is for me, so to speak.  Ironically it’s just another training run before my first 50K race on 2/22.  I already had it in my head that it might take me 6 hours to complete it due to the hills. I remember when I did the half last year, it was longer than my “regular” time.

But today, I looked up my half marathon time from last year (2:30) and my PR on my last full marathon was 5:12 (The Lost Dutchman last year which is also hilly but doesn’t have the elevation of Sedona).

So now I’m trying to come up with a game plan for Sunday and here it goes:

  • I’ve already been carbing up and drinking lots of water to get hydrated.
  • I’m taking the 2 days before the race off of running to rest my legs and body for Sunday.
  • I’ve been doing a little extra stretching, foam rolling and leg drains.
  • I’ll listen to my new hypnosis session from Dr. John at Peak Performance Online a few times.
  • My new goal now (after reviewing my stats from last year) is have a PR at this race, which means at least 5:11.  I hesitate to put this in writing however between all the trail running and conditioning I’ve been doing in the last year, I feel it’s a realistic goal.  I also found out that half the course is dirt which I’m very excited about it!
  • Last but not least, even though I have that goal, I’m detached from the outcome. This is a skill I learned through my 7 Laws of Spiritual Success meditations.  The Law of Detachment basically means that I’m not attached to this goal. I want to achieve it but by allowing myself to accept uncertainty in this situation, I won’t “worry” about it and have that negative energy weighing me down.

So, I’m heading up to Sedona with my friends and boyfriend today.

Tomorrow I’ll focus on my ChiRunning technique (use my app if I need some help so I don’t have to think about my Form Focuses), and have music available if necessary but I know the gorgeous views will keep me occupied.

Before I started this blog, I googled quotes on “execution”.  Love this one from Dr. Wayne Dyer; it’s perfect for Saturday and really any other situation in life as he says:

Great quote to apply to anything in life!

Great quote to apply to anything in life!

 

What do you do when you are getting ready for a race?  How do you prepare mentally?

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

My Slowest Marathon ever….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….yet one of my most momentous.

As a runner (or coach) have you ever been in the situation where you had to make a choice on how to run a race:

Do I run this race for me?  
OR
Do I run this race with my friends?

Let me preface this blog by saying I really would love to get your comments below if you’ve been in this situation. I believe it’s a hard choice to make and I’d like to know how you’ve made your decisions in the past so we can learn from each other.

I originally signed up for the Pf Changs Rock N Roll Marathon to run it with a friend who was planning on doing her first marathon.  My plan was to run the Sedona Marathon on 2/1/14 so it would be another training run (along with my 50K on 2/22 now).  My friend realized she was not ready for it and decided to do the half instead (which I told her was a great call on her part, so long as she was making that choice consciously and would not be mad at herself for changing her plan).

In the mean time, I had 5 of my friends/students running their first marathon at this event.  So here I was faced with “dilemma” of what to do?  Do I run this race for me or do I run it with friends?   As I deliberated, here were the questions that ran through my head:

Q.  Why are you running this marathon?  Honestly, for me it was another training run.  It’s marathon #4 and since I’am working on 2 other distance events, my reason was to get a long run in at a race.  I try to plan it this way if it works with the training schedule. Even if I’m paying for this training run/race, I get a new t-shirt, a medal and race experience.

Q.  Do you care how fast you complete this marathon?  Speed is rarely a concern for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy pushing myself and beating my own personal records (PR) but sometimes it’s just not about speed but the experience. The Women’s Half marathon for example is usually my PR race for a half so that decision is always made to run it for myself.

Q. Do I care that the official records will show my marathon results and everyone else will know my speed?  Hell no….Again, there are times where this is just not relevant, especially as a coach.  And personally I’ve worked a lot on not caring what other people think 😉 (It’s very liberating…of course I value other people’s opinion but learning to detach from their opinion is another story…)

So as I pondered over this, one of my friends asked me if I would run the marathon with them.  I knew this was going to be my slowest group but also the group that “needed” me the most.  Based on the responses above that of course I would love to run with them as they complete their first marathon (a coach’s dream would be to cross the finish line with all their students but that can’t always be possible either).

So we start the race together and one of my friends starts having some serious pain in her hip.  The others wanted to keep moving so I decided to stay with her and help her get through it.  My heart ached for her.  The pain was persistent.   She was such a trooper. We walked as fast as her hip would allow her…at one point we turned around and realized we were the last 2 people in the race…sag wagon right behind us….As much as I knew I could mentally get her to the end, I know her hip was not going to make it and I didn’t want her to push her body to the point of not being able to run ever again.  We talked and pondered and she finally made the decision to get in the sag wagon.  After months of training and excitement to complete her first marathon, I can’t even imagine how hard of a decision that was for her. I have a huge amount of respect for her determination and perseverance and I would’ve made the same call if I were in her shoes.

At this point I thought I would start running and find the rest of the group. I selfishly admit that I loved every minute of the run.  My other friend called me and asked me where I was and we realized that I was about a quarter of a mile away from them so I sped up to catch up.

Let me preface that this friend was pretty much coerced into running the marathon. She was planning on the half but just started training with our group and before you know it, she’s sucked into doing a full marathon. When I reached the two of them, one wanted to run and the other was not feeling too hot and just wanted to walk.  At that point, I knew who needed me the most (we were half way done so still 13 more miles to go).

I did the same things that I did for my other friend: remind them of their ChiRunning/ChiWalking form focuses, stay positive, gather energy from nature and all the spectators cheering, and talk about things to keep their mind off the time.

We pretty much walked that last 13 miles and my official time was 6:17:10.  My best time was a 5:12:01.

Do I care that I was over an hour longer than my first one?  HELL NO!  

Was experiencing two amazing women give it all they had in their heart and their body worth it?  HELL YES!

So how have you dealt with this dilemma? If the answers to my question above were different, I would’ve had no problem running the race for me either.  My friends felt “bad” because they knew I could run faster.  I told them it was an absolute conscious choice and that if I wanted to PR the race and run, I would’ve made that decision.

Looking back to yesterday, I wouldn’t change a thing….

Here we go...

Here we go…

6:17 finish and Ann completes her first marathon

6:17 finish and Ann completes her first marathon

26.2 miles done!

26.2 miles done!

Great caption from the ChiMarathon book

Great caption from the ChiMarathon book

Another medal for the collection...

Another medal for the collection…

Adventures of my 50KM training

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I never thought My Running Story would take me this route….remember, I said I would never do a half marathon and now I’m tackling my first 50Km on trail.  Scared yet really excited at the same time.  I decided to do this 50KM now because I already have marathon #4 on 1/19 (Pf Changs Rock and Roll) and marathon #5 on 2/1 (Sedona Marathon)…..seems like the right time to add a few more miles while I’m training for these….ironically now these marathons have become training runs for my 50KM.

This last weekend I did an 11 mile training run on the Sedona Marathon course (hills and elevation training) and then did the XTerra 20K race at White Tanks on Sunday (ChiRunning hills and trails training).   The scenery was gorgeous on both (pics below).

Here are a few of my AHA moments:

  • I’m learning to enjoy the recovery process as part of my journey.  Usually I don’t like to take the time to foam roll, do leg drains (more on these in another post), hot baths, etc.  It used to feel like a chore.  Recently I’ve discovered how important this process is, especially when doing these distances and back to back long runs.  I can feel a noticeable difference when I do these and since I prefer not to be sore, I realized this is just part of the training process now.
  • The reason for back to back long runs is to get used to running on tired legs.  I’ve been feeling this the last few weekends for sure.  I described it to my boyfriend: “It’s like my legs are heavy and just dangling from my hips.”  But since I was doing hills all weekend, I felt my core as well;  I’ve never felt my core this fatigued.  In ChiRunning, core muscles do most of the work so legs don’t have to.  I do feel it on long runs but it felt like I had done an ab workout and feeling the effects the next day.
  • Upper body, mainly neck area was sorer than normal too. I try hard to focus on using my eyes to look ahead rather than looking down at the trail (which puts pressure on your cervical spine when constantly looking down).  This is clearly why the training is important so I can be aware of what my body wants to do but also work on improving my form in these areas.
  • Last but not least, I realize that nutrition is going to be a bigger piece of the pie.  I follow my intuition when fueling and I’m kind of anal about electrolytes (I don’t like Gatorade or any products that have high sugar content, or chemicals like red dye #40 , etc).  I love the Honey Stinger products and recently started using salt pills as well.  Now I’m on a mission to learn how to fuel the week and days before my longer runs.  I’m looking forward to learning some more hear. One of my friends recommended these 2 books which I’m planning on purchasing: The Feed Zone Cookbook and Feed Zone Portables.

Any advice or feedback to share based on your experience?  Comment below and let me know…

Here are a few photos from the weekend along with my training plan 😉 (click on them to increase size)

White rows are plan, blue is my actual mileage and the green are miles on trails. Having to make some adjustments as I approach PF Changs marathon weekend.

White rows are plan, blue is my actual mileage and the green are miles on trails. Having to make some adjustments as I approach PF Changs marathon weekend.

Training run in Sedona...GORGEOUS views...and elevation and hills ;)

Training run in Sedona…GORGEOUS views…and elevation and hills 😉

6 miles of grueling uphill...not sure if you can see the little people on the switchbacks...

6 miles of grueling uphill…not sure if you can see the little people on the switchbacks…

At least when there is an uphill, there is a downhill too!

At least when there is an uphill, there is a downhill too! (White Tanks XTerra 20K)

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Until death do us part?!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I, Lisa Pozzoni, take you, THE TRAIL, to be my partner. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

OK, so this might be a bit of an exaggeration but I had one of those weekends of “soul” growth (as I call it) and needed a few days to put my thoughts into words….it still amazes me that I hated running and swore I would never do a half marathon and now….I’m entering an entire new realm in the running world.

Due to my 50KM training plan, I ran a total of 28.5 miles in 2 days. Although I have AHA moments all the time, several things happened in these few days that created a shift in my soul that I just had to share with you.

1.  I continue to discover how running, more specifically ChiRunning, is an art.  Due to my practicing of this “art”, I have accomplished things I never thought possible.  Learning is also an art.  Sadly, I’ve met some people that think they know everything about a subject and are not open to other possibilities.  Keep learning, keep practicing and be vulnerable.  Which brings me to bullet point #2….

Practice

2.  Be open to learning.  On Sunday, I ran 18 miles with my friends in the morning for marathon/50KM training. That night I decided to go visit some friends who were part of the Across The Years race.  Have you heard of this?  I thought it was completely insane!  You can sign up for 24 hours, 48, 72 or 6 days and complete a 1 mile course as many times as you can or want to in that time frame (you have tent or RV, can you can some and go as you please on the course. You can take breaks, hang out with friends, etc. Basically you against the clock.)  After walking a few miles with my friends, watching an 80 year old and 8 year old completing as many miles as they could/wanted to to reach a personal goal, it all made sense to me.  This type of footrace was completely foreign to me and even though I was so tired that evening after the 18 miles, I drove across town to see my friends and find out what this race was all about.  So glad I made that choice because it just confirmed that everyone has their own Running Story and can write it anyway they choose.  I thought these people were crazy until I literally walked a few miles in their shoes….and who knows?  maybe My Running Story will take me to this race some day.

3.  The teacher is also the student.  I’ve always known this because I love to learn so I can be a better teacher.  Because of this,  My Running Story is taking a turn in 2014 and I’m ready to be a student.  I love this feeling of being in new territory…of being the “baby” and eager to learn this new realm of trail running but more specifically ultra running. There is such a big world out there and no matter how much you know, always be open to learning from others and yourself.

learn forever

What are your 2014 running goals?  Are you embarking in any new territory next year?

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Hello, my name is Lisa and I’m an addict….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I remember several years ago when I was an avid hiker and I’d see people running on the trails and  I’d think: “Are these people crazy? What’s wrong with them?  They’re going to freakin’ hurt themselves!   Continue Reading →


Now go out and play!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Have you ever had obvious signs from the Universe about a message that you just couldn’t ignore?  I mean, relentless things that just make you say “OK Universe, I get it!  I need to focus on _____ today”

Well, that happened to me yesterday.  I wanted to blog about it but the message was that intense that I couldn’t even get myself to do any work at all.  Why?  Because the message was:  innerchild

PLAY!

Before I share my personal story about how this transpired yesterday (which is probably way more fascinating to me and no one else, let me tell you why I felt compelled to share this first)

When is the last time that you played?  I’m not talking games or playground play but just truly listened to your heart and did something just because it made you feel like a kid again.

“Play is often described as a time when we feel most alive, yet we often take it for granted and may completely forget about it. But play isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Play is as important to our physical and mental health as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising. Play teaches us how to manage and transform our “negative” emotions and experiences. It supercharges learning, helps us relieve stress, and connects us to others and the world around us. ” Source:  Play, Creativity and Lifelong Learning

adultsvschildren

So my main message to you is to GO PLAY!  We get so caught up in the our priorities, life, work and the stuff we have to do that we don’t allow our inner child to come out and play.  So I dare to you go for it!  If you don’t know how to play because it’s been so long, maybe these questions will help:

  1. How do you like to play?
  2. What are the activities that are fun and exciting for you? How do they make you feel? Perhaps there is something fun and exciting that you have been longing to try….
  3. What do you enjoy doing so much that you lose track of time?

Now let go of your responsibilities (schedule play time if you have too) and make some time to play. Trust me, your mind, body and soul will thank you for it!

Now back to my story.  I consider myself a spiritual person so when I get message from the Universe, I get super excited, especially when I understand the message!

First of all, I have a natural tendency to feel guilty when I take too much time off work. This is still a struggle for me and even harder as a business owner.   I love what I do so much that work and play are almost synonymous.  I spent quite a bit of time with family and friends this weekend when I had a few projects that I really wanted to get done…..so I woke up on Sunday morning and decided to meditate…and this is when the signs started:

  • I’m doing Deepak Chopra’s 21 Day Meditation Challenge and I’m a few days behind so I was catching up (by the way, I highly recommend these.  Meditation has changed my life!).  What was the message of that meditation?

deepak

  • Then I decided last minute to go do a trail run with a friend.  I just signed up for my first Ultra and I need to start doing back to back runs on the weekend.  I ran 15 on Saturday and felt really good on Sunday so I hit the trails…this is when the “message” became clear:
  1. Tried turning my GPS on to track mileage and it wouldn’t work. Battery was not dead but tried for 15 minutes and gave up..
  2. Tried using my Charity Miles App to track mileage but for some reason, the app kept saying “looking for updates”….
  3. My friend Tamika uses RunKeeper so she was going to track our mileage…..only when we got back to the car after the trail run, it only counted the first 15 minutes of our run….
  4. so lo and behold, I guess I was not supposed to be concerned about my mileage but just needed to enjoy the run…this is when I realized the Universe was talking to me….
  • I find trail running in itself very playful. It’s more technical but there is something so fun about it, especially when you are going down a nice hill….totally feel like a kid again!  One of my friends described downhills like being on a roller coaster….Trail running has for sure taught me to play more…
  • Then I got home and for some crazy reason was craving a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich which I haven’t had in awhile and totally reminds me of being a kid…
  • Other things happened throughout the day to reinforce this message but the very last thing, which was the icing on the cake was an episode of Criminal Minds.  We were watching a few reruns from the website and the last words in that last episode I watched were “Let’s Play”.  I couldn’t believe it!

So for those of you that are “open” to these message from the Universe (or God, or your Higher Self, etc), my advice is to pay attention and honor the message.  I’m so glad I did because I had a fabulous day (and weekend) because I allowed myself to play.

Regardless, take the time or make the time to add some PLAY into your life…it’s amazing how much your soul will appreciate it!

So how do you like to play?  What play time will you schedule this week?

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Which is harder: Walk 60 miles in 3 days or a marathon?

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I used to ask this question every year I participated in the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day in Phoenix.  I am the founder of Team Las Bombas and walked 60 miles in 3 days from 2005-2009.  I was not a runner at that time but I remember pondering over this question…

This year, they announced that it was going to be the last year in Phoenix.  Since I’ve been very active with my team even if I haven’t been walking, I decided to raise the $2300 and walk 60 miles this weekend with my team.

WOW!  I only have 3 marathons under my belt right now, but I can say, hands down, I would prefer to run a marathon any day before I walked 20 miles in 1 day, let alone another 20 miles for 2 more days!

Why?

Mainly because you are on your feet for a much longer period of time and this takes a toll on your body and mind.  On Saturday, I walked 21 miles in 9.5 hours while I could run a marathon in about 5:15.  Keep in mind that I was using my ChiWalking skills as much as possible so it wasn’t really too bad for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy I did it!  But if I had to really decide between one or the other, now that I’ve done both, I would run a marathon.

Why am I sharing this? 

If-we-all-did-the-things-we-are

This is one of my all time favorite quotes.  I am sharing this to let people know that regardless of what event you may choose to do, it’s going to get you out of your comfort zone and before you know it, you will literally astound yourself at what you can do!

So don’t be afraid….set a goal outside your comfort zone, whether it’s walking 60 miles or running a marathon, and start astounding yourself!

Have you done the Breast Cancer 3-Day and/or a marathon?  Which do you think is harder and why?  Curious to hear your opinion 😉

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

P.S.  My friend GPSd our route:

Day 1:  18.95 miles in 8:20 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073484)

Day 2: 20 miles in 9:32     (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073501)

Day 3: 16.77 miles in 7:13 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073524)

“Free your mind….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

and the rest will follow.”  Anyone remember that En Vogue song from 1992?  This post has nothing to do with the song other than the fact that when I freed my mind about this race, everything really did just follow…. Continue Reading →