I moved to the USA early in January 2016. The first couple of months of any big change are always complicated, but around July I started to get a hang of things. That’s when I was working for Jenny, designing a website for her. We got to talking and she invited me to join her running team called ‘Friends in Training’. They are a running club that mostly meet on Saturdays to go out in organized and paced group runs. That is how it all got started, an occasional group run once a week.
At first, it wasn’t too intense. I ran with the easy group. We did cycles of 10 minutes runs and 1 minute walks to recover (the pace was about 10 min/mi). For me, it was only a hobby. I kept coming back to ‘Friends in Training’ just because I liked the people (it’s like a family), but my practice was still intermittent. In January 2017, I ran Miami’s half-marathon and finished it in 2 hours 42 seconds. For me it was a spectacular result, especially since I only prepared for the race for about 4 weeks. I used go out and run for 3 or 4 miles a couple of times a week before that half-marathon. I was not surprised that finishing those 13.1 miles was particularly tough though! Long distance running kept causing me shin splints. And we all know how painful those can be. At this point, I still was not hooked with running completely. It was something that attracted me, I certainly kept coming back to it, but it was not serious enough or a constant discipline yet.
Around July of that year, I came back to ‘Friends in Training’ after one of my teammates (Marcela) kept calling me and asking me to return. She even gave me a pair a sneakers to motivate me. By then, my weight was 204 lbs and returning to the team was the smartest decision for my health. That is when I met Max. He was the faster runner in the team, and suddenly he became the spark that lit my motivation to improve. After a few group runs, I found myself inspired by him. I wanted to catch him…I wanted to be at his level!
Once I rejoined the club, I began to incorporate a few more runs a week on my own. I needed to kick-it up a notch with my training. First, I started to run to a Wall-Mart 2 miles away from home. To me, running to the supermarket and run back was an exhausting job. But slowly, I started to feel comfortable enough to add more miles to my route. The momentum was building, and before I noticed Saturday runs stopped being a commitment and turned into something I looked forward to. I noticed that running with others were pushing me, so I decided to also run with my team (Friend in Training) at the track on Tuesdays where they did speed training. In addition, I joined a second running club called ‘We Run Weston’ and got a gym membership to complement my training. In less than 2 months, I went from zero to at least 4 o 5 workouts a week.
Just when my confidence and motivation was rising, my teammates mentioned an upcoming 5K (Fire Hero 5K) run that what’s happening and I joined without hesitation. In fact, I was already thinking about signing up for a half-marathon and the shorter race was a perfect place to test my progress. Not only I ran an excellent time, 20 min 52 seconds, but I also won my age group. When I finished that race I was knocked out, I gave it 100% so I could keep the 6:50 pace for 3 miles straight, which was amazing. Plus receiving an award was an stunning feeling, it made me think I found something I can be really good at, and still had a big room to grow. Plus, in just a couple of months I was already down to 185 lbs.
My next goal was improving my half-marathon time. In order to help my training and my recovery, now that the distances I was covering were larger, I included swimming into my training routine. Doing 25-30 minutes at the pool was just what my shin splints needed! By then, I wasn’t running with the easy group in my team anymore. I was able to run with the non stop run (little faster pace).
In October I signed up and ran the Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon. This race was an awakening! I realized that finishing 13.1 miles in 1 hour 45 minutes was not impossible. The plan for this race was to maintain a pace under 8 min, and from start to finish that is what I did! I never went faster or slower, I was very careful because I did not know my limits yet. I ran a 1:43:07, which was a personal best. I kept a 7:50 min pace per mile and did not even finish the race feeling exhausted, I could have push myself a little more. I realized the importance of setting goals and training hard for them is all it takes to achieve what you set your mind to. After this race, I felt I owed to myself to test my limits so I signed up for another half-marathon 2 weeks later. Between races, I trained hard at the gym and added more miles during the week.
I ran the 13.1 Fort Lauderdale race, and once again improve my PB! But this time it was different, I went out and gave it all I had and once I completed the course I thought I was near my peak performance. I started the race way too fast. I remember wanting to keep a 7:20 pace and around mile 6 I was badly suffering, I kept pushing myself but I started to slow down my pace. This is the very first time I fought tooth and nails to finish a race. The wind was terrible that day, it was really hot and I suffered all throughout. However, I manage to get a new PR once again. I knew that I gave it all but I still felt I could do better, specially with better weather. From Fort Lauderdale I discovered: how difficult is to run in windy conditions, but I was so proud that I still found a way to improve my PB (1:48). People from my team cheering me on gave me incredible strength to keep on. The problem on my shin was getting worse, so I started to do some exercises every morning to heal better. I am a determined person, I never stop running!
Finally, the perfect Half Marathon came along in December: Weston Rotary Run for Tomorrow. The weather was ideal that day, my favorite teammate was by my side and we push each other all the way through. We started with a pace under 7 min (around 6:45), at the time I thought it was too fast for me, but somehow I felt good. I was running in a group with 3 other guys, and one of them was my teammate. This was my first time running with a teammate, and it was quiet unique for me. I liked it very much because we helped each other to maintain the pace. By mile 7 I started to feel tired, but my mind was focus to keep up with the guys. By mile 9, I was only with Max by my side and we were suffering but we did not want to lose our pace. I remember I was telling him “come on men we can break the 1:30 mark…LET’S GO” and he yelled back the same words to me. Honestly, I still do not know how we did it, but we did it. This experience was a real tipping point for me, I ran an extraordinary personal best of 1:29:46 and was astonished with my 6:50 race pace. I realized that the sky was the limit now, and I can keep improving in this sport. After that race, I could not run for 2 and half weeks. The pain on my shin splint was terrible. I went to several doctors and did a lot of rehabilitation because I wanted to start running right away again. I was eager to run the Miami Marathon in January. Luckily my efforts paid off and I was able to recover on time to prepare for the Miami race.
Great history!
I like it!
🥰
Very inspiring story !