Category Archives: Half Marathon

An Open Letter to People Who Don’t Train for Races

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Dear People Who Don’t Train For Races,

Sorry not sorry for picking on you today🤣 ….but as a running coach, this is one of my biggest peeves!  I really want to understand you!

This seems to be a big thing as it feels like there are more of you that don’t train for races than people who do. These two groups couldn’t be any more different. I read about this in online forums, hear people talking about it after races…like it’s actually cool to go just run a half marathon (or any distance) without any training?  I am really surprised at how so many of you “brag” about this??  We all run for different reasons so maybe you just really like to just show up on race day, hope for the best and see what your body/mind can do with no training?!  🤷‍♀️ I still don’t get it….

NOOOOOOO! Running is NOT hard, it’s NOT painful, it’s NOT unenjoyable!

I have never not trained for a race.  Mind you, that my idea of racing is different than most people but for the purposes of this letter, let’s go with the meaning of the race in the true sense of the word. Dictionary.com describes a race as: a contest of speed, as in running, riding, driving, or sailing.

Before I give you some food for thought on why you should train for a race, the first and foremost reason is:

Crossing that finish line will have an entirely
different meaning if you train for it!

We may all get the same swag and medal at the end of any race but I guarantee you, the experience will be entirely different!

Why?  Imagine you have a half marathon in 3 months that you train for……this half marathon program has you running 4 days a week with long runs on the weekend…..

  • Your body won’t hurt and/or you won’t get injured.  Running 13.1 miles with little to no training could have some serious consequences on your body. I’ve heard of people getting injured to the point that they won’t get to run ever again. Outside of learning running technique (like ChiRunning), training for a race gets your body prepared for it.  Your muscles, joints, ligaments get used to the load that you add incrementally making race day so much more enjoyable!  I love to hear my athletes say the day after a race how surprised they are that their body feels so good! Enough to get out dancing that same evening or another hike/run the next day.
  • You will be mentally stronger.  When you have to get up 3-4 days a week to train, there will be plenty of days that you won’t want to for so many reasons: “it’s too early”, “I didn’t get enough sleep”,” it’s too hot”…… But guess what, every day that you go out and follow your training plan when you don’t want to, you are building your mental toughness muscle.  Your mind, like your body, needs to be “worked”. You can pushing through on race day one time vs having 3 months worth of days of pushing through….seems pretty obvious who will be mentally stronger. When you build your mental strength muscle, not only does it make you stronger for running but you are able to use these same skills in your life!
  • You are more likely to make running more of a lifestyle than a fad.  Habits build with consistency.  If you get into a habit of training for a race, you are burning more calories on a daily basis, getting healthier….I really don’t need to list all the many benefits of running/exercising consistently vs not.  I see it happen too many times.  You half ass or don’t train for a race, have a miserable time and say running must not be for me and quit after that one experience….or you are a masochist and just like to run races every once in awhile with little to no training. Hopefully you are getting physical and mental exercise in other ways.
  • You are missing the journey!  As cliche as this sounds, the race is the goal….what’s the point of getting to the destination if you don’t have all the struggles, wins and learning experiences from the journey?  Feels like an easy way out…like you’re cheating yourself of so many experiences…
  • You are missing the camaraderie!  You can certainly train for a race by yourself. This is better than not training for a race!  In my case, I do Ladies Training Programs so part of the training, means going out on group runs together. We explore new locations together, we get to know each other better, have way more fun, support and encourage each other.  It’s better together!
  • COVID-19 won’t impact your running journey.  If you are reading this now, all races have been canceled for the last 3 months….many of them continue to get canceled.  I’ve had a few of my Ladies Training Program start and continue during these times even if we knew the race may not even happen. As a matter of fact, we went and made our own race last weekend in Flagstaff.
  • Start the race confident and prepared. There is no better feeling than showing up for a race being prepared. I always say some good nervous excitement is a good thing (I love this video from Simon Sinek on this subject). I love being at the start line feeling confident that I have trained the miles and I am ready for whatever will happen that day. Since we get that mental toughness training for months, we are more likely to handle anything thrown our way with more grace and mindfulness on race day.

Bottom line:  You will grow in so many more ways
that will impact your running and life!  

I always say, you do you when it comes to running (and life).  If running a race with little to no training works for you, keep doing you!  But if you want to have an entirely different experience, get a coach and train for a race!

Race Report

Race Report: Old Port Shipyard Half Marathon

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Another first time experience in Portland ME running in a new place!  I love having the opportunity to run in new places and the only reason I was there was because of my running friends.

Quick history on why I was there because it wouldn’t have happened for any other reason.  I was promoting my Moab Ladies Training Program and Amy, who comes to Running for Brews, emailed me and asked if she could join the program but not do the Moab race. She wanted the benefits of the program but was already committed to running this half marathon in ME because she was on a trip with her husband.  First time this happened so I figured why not.  I asked her to send me the race info so I could adjust her training plan accordingly to include hills or whatever the race profile looked like.  When I looked at it, I realized I was going to be back east during this weekend and only 2 hours away…….HMMMMM….I marked “Interested” in the facebook event and then a friend that I met while I was teaching at Kripalu with Danny last year, saw it and said that it wasn’t too far from her and maybe she would come too. Well before you know it, 3 friends from the Kripalu trip were doing the race too….so why not?!

Race Report

As you know, I love trails so another road half marathon 3 weeks after Moab may have been the only reason I wouldn’t have done the race.  But to be able to see Amy through her training and then get to be at the finish line and see my other friends was a huge motivator for me.

This was one of the most organized races I’ve attended.  As an out of towner, I got enough updates via email with info for the event. I was able to find an AirBnb for Laurie and I (that was another crazy experience that I can’t even begin to address here but nonetheless part of our adventure).  The race directors even did a facebook survey at one point to decide if people wanted t-shirts or tank tops.  Tank tops won!

The race website had all the info from addresses of the parking areas to how much each one cost. I was a little disappointed on race morning that the weather was cloudy.  I am not crazy about running in the rain but I was so excited to be running a new route, in a new city, with friends even if it was road!

We got to the start line early enough and all of the sudden I could hear the MC of the race motivating people!  OMG, this is the start line I was missing since Moab!  Completely opposite experience!  This guy was awesome!  So many motivating words to get us pumped up…and he looked so cool!  Dreads and barefoot…..Here is a quick video of him at the finish line doing his thing!  I would go to a race just to hear this guy do his thing!  His name is Michael Bernier and apparently he MCs many races and does some pretty cool stuff.

I usually always encourage people to run their own race and this is what I normally do.  Amy was doing her thing and the other girls said they were going to do Galloway for 1 min run and 30 sec walk intervals.  They hadn’t trained as much as they normally would like so seemed like a good idea for them.  They said they probably would finish in 2.5 hours.  I had no goals for this race at all. I just did the Moab Half in about that time frame 3 weeks ago (still haven’t officially checked my results LOL because it doesn’t matter).  I’ve never done intervals that short before so I told them I would start with them and see what happened.

At the start line all pumped up!

We started out together and it the first part of the race was in neighborhoods.  Apparently they changed the route but it was all new to me.  We had a few rolling hills and since I hadn’t seen these ladies since their ChiRunning training in Kripalu, I was able to share some reminders from class about hill technique and give them a few pointers on their form.  Then it started raining!  To my surprise, I was not concerned in the least bit!  Might be because it was a very light drizzle or because I was in good company or because it’s been awhile since I’ve had this opportunity so I went with it and enjoyed every minute of it.

Then we got seaside.  I was bummed that it wasn’t sunnier as I think it would’ve been a bit prettier but it was still beautiful.  Here are a few photos:

Beautiful views!

More beautiful views!

Was going to be a selfie but a runner insisted to take the photo!

Time was flying!  We hadn’t seen each other in a year and had a lot to catch up on.  We leap frogged here and there but I mostly stayed with them doing these intervals.  I’ll admit I wasn’t too crazy about them.  We skipped some when we went downhill or uphill going more on body sensing than timing (the ChiWalkChiRun way). By the end of the race,  I felt like Pavlov’s dog waiting for the walk intervals.

At about mile 10 I had an awesome surprise!  Vince (a ChiRunning Master Instructor from NH) was there cheering me on!  He drove an hour to do this!  Most of ChiRunning instructors work on our own so when we have a chance to see each other (we are like family!), we try to make it happen.

Here are a few more pics from the route:

Vince!!

Wish I could get a better pic of this but it just looked cool..

Always have to have some selfies 😉

Cool graffiti on a wall…

and on the ground!

and we were on this trail for a bit!

More graffiti on the ground…

We had a few more hills and could hear the finish line approaching.  The last 1/4 mile was on cobblestone and my least favorite part. I believe there was more cobblestone in previous years and this was one of the big changes they made.  I am happy for that because it was uneven and uncomfortable but as ChiRunners learn to do, we figure out how to neutralize our “opponent” rather than meeting a force with a force.  (In Tai Chi, warriors always neutralize their opponent rather than meeting a force with a force….in ChiRunning, our “opponent” is the environment so we use technique to help us flow with it rather than fight it). So, I picked up my feet a little faster while staying slightly on the forefront of my feet (I’m normally mid foot) to avoid the dips.  Vince was there again and cheered me on and I could hear Michael, the MC, doing his thing which completely drew me to the finish line (my audio ychi rather than visual!)

Unfortunately a few of the ladies had to leave right after the race so they missed one of the best race after parties!  As part of our race entry, we got a slice of pizza, an ice cream and two beers from Shipyard Brewing Company…..you know where I went first, right?!  BEER! and I had extra tickets for Vince too.  There were 2 beer gardens!  After the first one, we decided to go to the second one because a disco tribute band, Motor Booty Affair, was playing and they were awesome!  I did a facebook live from there and I clearly had a few beers 😉  While I was on the coast, I had to get some clam chowder and try some lobster so we did that and called it a day.  Here are a few more pictures:

Amy finished and PRd!! So proud of her!

Kripalu gang finishers!

Cool signs! https://www.runawaysrunclub.com

Best name for a porta potty company ever!! Genius marketing!

Lobster traps

Yummy oysters!

Motor Booty Affair! This band was covering 70s music and were killing it!

Laurie and I…one of the official race pics…they won’t let me post the others ;(

Aha moment: An interesting side bar on my soreness a few days after the race….I was sore on both legs in a place I am never sore:  the bottom of my hamstrings, close to the back of my knee. I was trying to figure it out and I was talking to Danny about it and eureka!  In ChiWalking, you straighten your leg behind you not in front of you.  Because I walked much more in this race and changed my form frequently from ChiRunning to ChiWalking, I was extending my leg back which caused this to happen.

So do I recommend this race?  Hell yes!  I am posting this blog 5 days after the race and they already sent a survey to get feedback.  Beautiful half marathon course, very organized event, amazing MC and the best after party!  If I happen to be back east at this time of the year again, I would definitely redo it!

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

Race Report

Race Report: Thelma & Louise Half Marathon in Moab

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

My first time in Moab did not disappoint!  When I heard about this race, I got excited because there are not too many women only races anymore.  I’ve been doing Ladies Training Programs for races and this one seemed to fit perfectly.  I’ll start with the areas of improvement (in my opinion) and finish on the positive!

The Not So Good Stuff

  • I picked this race with some hesitation because it was a road race and not a trail. I prefer trail over road any day.  The course was beautiful so it made up for the fact that it was on road.
  • I believe this race either had a new race director or new to this race so this might be why there were a few things that I think could’ve been improved.
  • The slope in the road drove me crazy. I had to keep moving from side to side because I could feel it effecting my hip (through body sensing it was exactly the same feeling I had when I ran this marathon and had the same issue).
  • I heard this was a low key race but the start line was too low key for my taste.  I love it when you get pumped up by the music and MC at a race.  It seemed like they were scrambling to get things set up.  There was some music but you could barely hear it and it was not the type of music that gets you pumped up before a race. There was no one making any announcements. Since many people come from out of town for this race and it had a theme, I’d figure they could’ve been asking questions and interacting with the participants more:  “how far did you come?”, “who came the furthest?”,”who’s first half marathon”, etc.  There was none of that and at 6am, we just left the start line just like that.

    Start line picture! We pumped ourselves up 😉

  • They said there would be aid stations every 1.5 miles but I don’t think that was true. I had plenty of water because I know better but the first one was at mile 3. I heard the 1.5 mile one was set up late, after I went by that spot, but considering I’m a middle of the packer, it should’ve been there. Aid stations volunteers were good but I would’ve expected much more fun with the theme. We only saw 3  “Brad Pitts” going around at the start/finish line.  I’d suggest a theme contest for the aid station volunteers.
  • I would suggest to hold the award ceremony earlier. The race had a generous time limit but when they did the awards, most of those participants had already taken off.
  • I can’t believe that with that gorgeous scenery there weren’t more photographers. There were some amazing views the whole way and I noticed one photographer on the way back.  When I get the email the other day about the race photos, I had 2 pictures from the same exact spot.  Glad I stopped to smell the roses and take pictures myself but I wasn’t in most of them…

The Good Stuff

  • My first experience with the race director was emailing him and asking for a discount code that I could offer to my group of ladies and he was very accommodating.
  • The scenery was breathtaking!  I’d have to rank this as one of the top 5 most scenic races I’ve ever done.  I had no time goals for this race and purposely walked several times because I wanted to be present, soak it all in and remember the moment.  Might as well get my money’s worth! The pictures don’t do it justice! (more at the bottom of the blog)

As we started the race, this was the view!

Red cliffs and rocks on both sides of the Colorado river

  • It was an out and back course which I’m normally not crazy about but in this case, we had great scenery the whole way and it was cool to run it back.  One of the funnest parts was watching the front of the pack and the winner come our way. We got to cheer them on as they flew passed us and they shouted thank you back at us.  I got to see all my running crew while running on the course which was awesome.
  • We had to take busses to the start line from an elementary school and that process was well organized.
  • The expo was small as I suspected it would be but we got some good swag:  a tech race shirt, socks and the medal was the car jumping off the cliff in the form of a small belt buckle.  Very cute!

    Finisher with my belt buckle!

    After the race we headed to Moab Brewing company to get our free beers earned as part of the race. Swag shirts!

     

  • The road was closed off which was nice. At one point, I could hear some type of music…then I realized it was drums.  It kept getting louder and louder until I reached the sound.  It was a female group of drummers that stayed there the entire time!  They were the highlight on the course for sure!

    All female drumming group on the race course rocked it!

  • There was plenty of food at the finish and the Thelma and Louise trivia contest was fun after the awards ceremony. They gave away some pretty cool prizes.  Our group had just watched the movie on Thursday evening when we arrived there and I am sure we were not the only ones.

Would I recommend this race?  Yes!  The things that I mention that could’ve been better were not deal breakers and maybe just an oversight.

Would I do this race again?  No.  The main reason is becauseI like trail so I rarely do road races, especially out of town.  I will however be looking at some of Mad Moose Events trail races in Moab because I love the location!  I just want to experience it on trail.

The best part for me was spending 5 days with 6 amazing women.  I trained them as part of the Ladies Training Program so we got to bond leading up to the race and the weekend was the icing on the cake!  We did some awesome sight seeing, our first relay beer mile and laughed so hard our stomachs hurt.  One of the best weekends of my life!  We had way too many pictures so I found a few to share some of the highlights 😉

Dead Horse State Park where Thelma and Louise jumped off the cliff with their car (sorry if you haven’t seen it!) Thanks to Michelle for making us cool hats, getting us matching shirts, and making lots of themed goodies for us!

More gorgeous race scenery and couldn’t pass the photo opp of the back of one of my The Running University shirts. Jug Handle is the name of the one of the cliff structures.

For obvious reasons, the Jug Handle 😉

The initiation for most of these ladies to the Beer Mile Relay! Thanks to Lori for organizing it! Thanks to ChiRunning, we were all still ready to keep going after the half marathon. This was one of the funnest parts of the weekend!

Arches National Park! More breathtaking scenery! I wanted to get under the arch with a few of the other ladies but chickened out because of the heights.

Drove my Monument Valley and had to stop. One of my favorite places in the world!

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

Use These 3 Tips To Have Your Best First Race Ever

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

It’s easy to get freaked out when you are running your first race ever (or first race distance ever).  All these questions rolling around in your head:

  • Am I prepared enough?
  • Will I be the last person to cross the finish line?
  • Do I have everything I need?
  • and the list can go on and on IF you let it…..

So my quick advice for you, whether it’s your first race ever, or your first distance ever is to follow these three tips (works for me every time!)

  1. Don’t stress out! Getting a bit nervous about the unknown is normal, trust me! But don’t let that bit of nervousness get you so worked up that it consumes you so you don’t sleep the night before and you use up so much unnecessary mental energy you won’t have any for the race.  There is no need to get yourself worked up!
  2. Don’t go out too fast!  One of the most common mistakes for a first time race is to get excited that you start out way faster than you should.  Your adrenaline is pumping and so is everyone else’s and it’s easy to get caught up and rush out too soon. Let everyone go because you will see most of them later.  One of my other tricks is to start nose breathing as it immediately slows me down or just start in a nice warm up pace. Once you are half way through the distance, you can check in and if you are feeling good, then you can speed it up.  Trust me, it feels worse to go out too fast and then get half way through and feel like shi*t…your mind will start playing tricks on you and the negative self talk will start.  I’ve learned this the hard way!
  3. Be present!  You only get your first time once! Enjoy every single moment and stay as present as possible.  You are going to PR it (have a personal record) so make it a point to have fun and enjoy it! Thank the volunteers and the people cheering on the side line, meet people on the course, and take pictures to capture your first time experience.

More than likely if you are reading this, you are not an elite athlete, an Olympian or someone who is going to win the race. So just go out and have FUN!  You want to have a great experience so you can do it again!

This video pretty much says the same thing 😉

 

Running Marathons at 70?!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Why are you limiting yourself?  These are the words that struck Ila Brandli one day and turned her into a marathon maniac.  She heard these words at 62 years old and hasn’t looked back since.  Today, at the amazing age of 70, she has completed 150 marathons/ultras (8 of them are Ultras)! This number keeps changing as I write this blog…I can’t even keep up with her! She’s completed a marathon in each state twice! In February of 2015 she completed 8 marathons on 7 continents in 11 days in a row! (was supposed to be 7 but Antartica was fogged in)

When we started the interview, I asked her about the number of marathons she completed.   She said “Hold on, let me look at my spreadsheets. “ She pulls out her iPhone and has 3 different spreadsheets:

  1. to track her half marathons in different states
  2. to track her full marathons in different states
  3. to track her upcoming events.

I love this lady!

I met Ila at a free ChiRunning clinic I had at REI in Tempe several years ago. Then she reappeared at Running For Brews Tempe (I’m the Organizer).  I summarized the answers from the interview I had with her about a month ago.

Why did you start running?
First time she started running, she was challenged by her boss around the age of 42.  She couldn’t walk a mile without a side ache.  She never did any exercise through most of my adult life.  Second time around, she did it to look and feel better.

When did you start running?
First time: she was challenged by her boss to do her first half marathon (13.1 miles) in November of 1998. She did two 5ks, a 10K and a 12K before that half so she knew what to expect.  Her boss did the half marathon too but she beat him. Her knees starting hurting her and she quit running for awhile.  In 2000, she completed multiple 5Ks, 10K and a 1 half marathon.  By this time, she had found out about orthotics which helped her knee issue…so no more knee pain.
In 2007 she signed up for Team in Training and did first marathon  in Anchorage, AK.  She dedicated it to her dad and swore she would never do one again (because it hurt, she was sore, and had injuries including IT band issues).
A friend from Seattle called and wanted to do a marathon with her daughter before she got pregnant. She called Ila because she wanted an “experienced” marathoner. She survived that one at the age of 62.
2013 was turning the point to “craziness”.  A lady had a jacket that said Titanium 100 miles and asked Ila: “Why are you limiting yourself?”  She looked at her schedule and did 35 marathons that year!  She completed several series including 5 in 5 days.
Her problem is that if there is a challenge out there, she’ll take it. 

How did ChiRunning help you?
She took the ChiRunning workshop in 2013 with Mark Wallis (he was my mentor when I became an instructor!) and told her she was doing everything wrong.  She’s been practicing ever since.  ChiRunning keeps her from getting injured and allows her the additional stamina to do what she does.

What are some of your major accomplishments?
She’s completed 100 half marathons (4 more states and she will have completed 2 in every state. This may have changed since the interview..as I said, I can’t keep up!).
She’s completed 152 marathons (I have to keep checking her record on the Marathon Maniac page because this number is literally changing daily!).  She completed a marathon in each state twice and 11 out of the country.   Her 100th was in Antartica (was supposed to be the Phoenix Marathon).  The one in Chili was 98 and Antartica was supposed to be 99.  She did a 2nd one in Chili to make it 99 so Antartica was 100 and Phoenix was 101.
In February of 2015, she tackled 8 marathons, on 7 continents in 11 days. (knew she could do this already because she had in the US). But the stress is very different, you are flying overnight, then running, then flying overnight again fly at night, etc.
She completed 8 ultra marathons (an ultra is more than a 26.2 marathon). 212 miles in 4.5 days at Across The Years.  ATY was training for the 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days.  She had injured her toe in mid December 2 weeks before ATY. She didn’t go to the doctor because she knew they would put her in a boot (I don’t recommend this!) Her goal was 300 miles but she knew she couldn’t do 50 miles a day with the foot injury and didn’t want to jeopardize the 7 continents marathon tour! She “settled”  for 212 miles which is her longest to date back to back.  She was very proud of this because in 4.5 days she had accomplished 7 marathons within that time with less than desired sleep.  She purposely went over 7 hours to prove you can do it and don’t have to be elite athlete to complete marathons and ultras.

What is your favorite race?
The most emotional was the Baton Memorial Death March because of WW Vets and the units running together.
Antartica has to have a special spot because of the trouble getting there and camping overnight….and it’s Antartica!

What are your obstacles?
She’s currently dealing with some shoulder issues due to a fall in May. She has issues with heat and doesn’t perspire.  She has to be careful with her feet but doesn’t need the orthotics as much due to ChiRunning and her favorite shoes, Altras. (mine too!)

What’s your advice for anyone wanting to start running?
“Find enjoyment in it!  It’s about the accomplishment.  You do it because you enjoy it.  You don’t need to love it because there is a love/hate relationship with running.  There are things you can control and things you can’t and you work on what you can—

How do you plan out your races?
It depends on what her goal is—looks at different websites, will contact race directors to check cutoff times, looks at race results and to make sure there are slower people.  She gets excited when she can do two back to back, she tries to double up when she can to save on travel expenses.

What do you think about when you’re running?
Majority of the time she is working on her form and relaxing. She finds a target: could be a time or a person that she wants to shoot for.  She is constantly looking at the scenery. When she is doing loops like ATY she uses them as speed intervals. Sometimes she is with people.  She loves meeting unique people who have different stories (met youngest gal who did all 7 continents in Antartica. )

What is your nutrition like?
She uses Tailwind but can’t take it full strength. A cold beer at the end is always a good thing! She uses Arnica when flying/driving for swelling.

What do you do in your spare time?
She volunteers for Aravaipa and different races, at the Mesa Art Center, and does taxes for AARP during the tax season. She has raised money for some of her events: she was a Solemate for Girls On The Run when she did ATY and 7 continents.  She is heading to St. George and raising money for GOTR again.

What is your next big goal?
By January 2017, she is planning to have completed 40 marathons and 40 half marathons  in 2016.

So are you really to old to run and achieve goals? Not according to Ila…or me!  I mean I can’t even keep up with her, I just checked her Marathon Maniacs page and as of today (9/22/16) she is at #152!

Here are a few great quotes from AZcentral.com (2014):
She took up running marathons at 62 and recently ran seven full marathons in seven days. Why? “Because I can,” she said with a sly smile, adding, “Sometimes I win the age group because I’m the only one out there.” AZcentral.com

Ironically, this was her original plan when she was interviewed by AZCentral.com on 3/2/2015:
“I plan to run marathons in my 60s, and I won’t be 70 until December,” she said. “I’ll run half marathons in my 70s, 10Ks in my 80s, 5Ks in my 90s and after that, I’ll run in anything they’ll let me into with a walker.”

For some strange reason, I don’t think she’s giving up marathons at 70!

If you’d like to support her: you can make a donation to her fundraising page or come to Running for Brews on Tuesday, 9/27/16 as we host a 50/50 raffle for her.

ila

Found this on her facebook page…”only” 50?? LOL

ila1

You will also find Ila dressed in various themes when running. I think Wonder Woman is very appropriate for her!

ila4

8 marathons on 7 continents in 11 days (Antartica got fogged in)

ila2

We got to hang out while volunteering at Javelina Jundred last year on the night shift!

ila3

When she is not out of state running a half or full marathon on Tuesday nights, she is at Running for Brews!

 

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

“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 →


The Youngest ChiRunners I’ve ever met!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Happy Runner Girls!

Happy Runner Girls!

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to assist Danny Dreyer, the creator of ChiRunning, at his workshop in Houston. As much as I want to rave about that experience, I need to talk about the fastest,  youngest and cutest endurance runners in the county:  Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch.

I was registering participants as they were arriving at the workshop and these 2 little girls appear before me with their Dad.  A guy behind them immediately said, “Oh, I know these girls, they are famous.”  I asked if they were twins and they said no.  But quickly told me that they shared the same birthday, just not the same year.  They immediately took their seats and I was amazed that a 11 and 13 year old could not only follow the material (some of the ChiRunning concepts are hard for adults to follow!), but you can tell they were totally into it.

At one point, Danny said: “let’s go outside and start practicing”.  I happened to be looking over at them and they had huge smiles on their faces, like someone just told them they would get free chocolate for the rest of their life.  It was OBVIOUS to me that these girls love to run.  Watching them run was an enlightening experience.  We always say that children have natural running form because they haven’t had the posture issues that we get as adults, and although they have a few things to work on from a ChiRunning technique perspective, they had a beautiful gait and form.  It was OBVIOUS again by the smiles on their faces that they were eager to learn but enjoyed running.  They were just gliding around the tennis court lapping the adults, happy as can be.

Of course, when I arrived home, I had to google their names to see what I could find on them.  And lo and behold, there is quite a bit of controversy around them.

These girls are amazing athletes.  They’ve both completed over 100 endurance races, mainly half- and full- marathon distance trail runs at an average pace of 6:23/mile!  Last year, Kaytlynn won the XTerra won the women’s field to become the youngest ever champion of an XTERRA trail half-marathon, placing 11th overall with a time of 1:39:31 (only 10 men were ahead of her!).

I do not have children, only nieces and a nephew so I was interested in reading the various controversial blog posts that were out there:

Of course the controversy is about their age and whether it’s appropriate they are racing this hard at their age. I also found this great video clip from Rock Center with Brian Williams: http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/07/16883813-too-fast-tween-sisters-log-miles-in-endurance-runs that I really enjoyed.

So what’s my opinion? Well, for starters, since they are clearly using the ChiRunning technique which promotes injury-free running, they are on the right path!

After watching the video and reading the blogs,  it seems to me that their parents are doing the right things for them and taking all the right precautions by getting them regular check ups with doctors.  I imagine that parents know their own children more than anyone.

Bottom line for me?

They love to run, they are enjoying it, they are using an injury-free technique and are supervised by their doctors….so who am I to judge them?  Run free and happy and I’m sure we’ll see these girls in the Olympics some day!  I’m just honored to have met them and be inspired by their passion for running.

What are your thoughts?

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

Purposely run a race Garmin-free?

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

What? Purposely run a race Garmin-free?
In November 2012, I decided to do something CRAZY. I purposely chose to run the Women’s Half Marathon in Phoenix without my Garmin!  CRAZY, right?! Here’s why…

Well, for starters, this was my 3rd year running this race. Since it’s been the same course, last year I was dead set on having a PR (personal record). It was probably the worst race I ever ran. Did I achieve the PR? Yes, I did. As much as I am proud of that, it was a miserable race. All I kept doing the entire time during this race was check my GPS, making sure that I was staying ahead of my last PR. I hurried through water stations and mentally and physically pushed myself so hard that I did not enjoy the race at all. Plus, I was really sore a few days after, which told me I was not focusing on my ChiRunning form either.

It was a tough decision, which I did not make until the day before the 2012 race, but I decided to leave my Garmin at home this year. IT WAS ONE OF MY BEST RACES EVER! And, I had another PR!

As I had a chance to reflect on my race, here is what I have learned:

• Being in the present moment, as opposed to worrying about the final outcome, is a wonderful place to be. I have learned this through ChiRunning but also with my daily meditation practice (not only has meditation improved my life, but also my ChiRunning). It’s really true when they say; “it’s about the journey, not the destination.” I focused on my form continuously and enjoyed every single moment. I thanked the volunteers, police officers, and spectators. I took in the beautiful weather and scenery that we have here in Arizona.

• Relaxation truly is the key. Since I was so relaxed mentally, this translated into physical relaxation. I stayed relaxed the entire time, even up the hills towards the end of the course. I stayed focused on my form and continually focused on my breathing to stay relaxed. I was shocked when I wasn’t sore one bit the next day!

• It’s not always about the numbers. When you are measuring something, it means you are going to do better or worse. What happens if we don’t improve? We tend to beat ourselves up which is not a good place to be. And what about those things that aren’t measurable? Like the beautiful scenery or those moments when you get to run with a friend you haven’t seen in awhile?
My bottom line:

Sure it’s great to push yourself to reach new goals in your running practice, but please don’t forget the reason why you run. One of the elements I love most about ChiRunning is having constant “AHA” moments. Not only “AHA” moments that affect your run, but more importantly that can be translated into your everyday life.

So try it one day:  let go of tracking your miles, your pace, or distance on your next run.

Purposely run a race Garmin-free?

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