Coach Adolfo Salgueiro, Author at foultips.run

Marathon Training Academy Blog

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Jan 1, 2022 | In the news

Marathon Training Academy is one of the most popular running podasts. Angie and Trevor Spencer have been teaching and entertaining runners for over 10 years. The podcast’s website also includes one of the most popular blogs in the running community.

MTA has published four of my blog submission throughout the years. This time they were gracious enough to run the one about my “Reflection on a Challenging Year” (2021), when I overcame open-heart surgery to resume my running life.

To read the blog post, Click here.

The 100th Blog Post

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 28, 2021 | Announcement, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I set up my website sometime in 2019, so I could one day launch my coaching services business. But life, work and training got in the way and my two original blog posts stood there alone for quite a while. But, after having a wonderful experience coaching a handful of runners in the 2020 Miami Marathon, I decided to resuscitate my writing and wrote about it. Promoting the post through social media I was surprised to get a solid reaction in the running community and, from there, it just took off. 23 months later, and having missed only one week since, I am happy to announce you are currently reading the Foultips.run blog post number 100.

A sampling of some of the blog posts from earlier 2021.

These 100 blog posts have become my labor of love for running. I spend a lot of time looking for stories, reading books, magazines, talking to people in running forums or figuring out topics that will be of interest to the running community. Some friends have pointed me to remarkable people they know, and this is stories like “The Inspirational Story of Marie Bartoletti”, or “Running with Lymphoma” by Coach Annemarie McCormick Howell, were published. Both became some of the most read post.

Through the blog I met Coach Mia Braithwaite, who wrote “The Journey of the Fat Runner”, which is the most read post in the history of my blog. Mia’s story and passion about including athletes of all sizes into the running community got her a profile in the latest issue of Runner’s World Magazine.

Even though book reviews have not turned into the most popular posts, as I would have liked, I still enjoy reviewing running books, because if one day, someone can benefit from it, my effort will be worth. And suddenly, this came true the Christmas when a coaching client posted a book he just started reading. I replied letting him know it was a terrific book and he told me his wife visited my blog to find him a running book Christmas. My faith in book review posts has been rekindled, so be prepared for more.

The blog has allowed me to share information on the science of running, exercises, firsthand experiences about my running life, and recommendations to keep safe during challenging times. I have been lucky to have about 15 contributors in these two years. Runners who have graciously either written original pieces or gave me permission to repost their content. Special thanks to them.

In the last two years, 9515 readers have visited the blog, reaching its peak in April 2021 with 1,425. Visitors from the United States make up most of my readership and if someone can refer a runner in North Dakota to my blog, I can finally complete all 50 states. Canada, India, Venezuela, and United Kingdom complete the Top-5 geographic locations of my readers. Overall, visitors from 78 countries in six continents (nobody from Antarctica yet) have honored me with their visits. These include visits from faraway corners of the world such as Mauritius, Vietnam, Guernsey, Uganda, and Saudi Arabia.

\"\" — 9515 readers form 78 countries have visited Foultips.run within the last two years.

Twenty-eight of my 99 previous posts have reached at least 100 reads. This may mean nothing when compared with the big blogs around the world, but this is a one-person show and to know that my readers come back and find interesting running information about their sport, keeps me inspired to keep going.

I confess that at times I feel unmotivated, deflated, and wondering if my blog reaches enough runners to be meaningful. If it makes any difference or if it matters at all. But, from time to time, a runner goes out of its way to let me know they enjoy my blog, or leaves me a comment, or lets me know they applied something they read here to their running life, that one of my stories has inspired him/her, and I realize it is worth continuing.

So, as 2021 comes to an end, I want to thank every single person who read the first 100 posts of this blog, even if it was just once. It is because of you that I live to write another post.

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1000 Miles: Reflections on a Challenging Year

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 21, 2021 | Article, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

For this week’s blogpost I want to do an introspection to reflect on what the year that is coming to a close has been on a personal level. I just reached the 1000-mile mark last weekend. This alone is a miracle for me, even though I have reached the milestone several times before. 2021 came for me with many challenges that go beyond the Covid pandemic completing its second year. I faced serious health challenges that, held by the hand of the Lord and with the support of my wife, family, and friends, I have been able to overcome. It has been quite a journey.

This was me at the hospital, two days after my open-heart surgery

On June 23 I underwent open-heart surgery after two years of trying to manage the issue. My arteries had a wiring problem since birth that suddenly, at age 53 and having been active all my life, started becoming an issue. I also got a coronary artery by-pass.

Recovery was an arduous process. I started walking around the ICU floor, two days after the procedure despite having 13 different things connected to my body. Once I got home, I developed a circuit around my house (living room to kitchen, to living room to 2nd bedroom, to master bedroom to bathroom and back). I made sure to walk right by my medal rack so I could make sure to see where I had been and where I wanted to get back. Then the walk progressed outdoors to pick up the mail and then to half a mile. Finally, on July 10th, 17 days after my procedure, I was able to walk a full mile. One month from my procedure I was walking 4 miles a day, and after 2 months I started cardiac rehab. I had walked close to 200 miles since surgery.

By August 30 I was able to run five, one-minute intervals and two-and-a-half weeks later I ran 20 minutes straight and was released from cardiac rehab. From there I started a run/walk protocol to enhance my endurance and little by little was able to run more, walk less and rack up mileage. On November 3rd I completed my first 10-miler and on December 4th completed half marathon distance in 2:25. On December 18th I run/walked 17 miles and the next day I completed 1000 miles for the year. If it wasn’t because I am the one doing all this, I wouldn’t believe it was possible. I would need Strava proof to make sure nobody is trying to trick me.

Walking by this display kept me focused on the goal.

There is a reason why I write this, and it is not to toot my own horn. I am writing this because I am the living proof that having an active life is the key to develop a body capable of repairing itself promptly and efficiently. I have been active my entire life and have been running or walking non-stop for 14 years since my return to the asphalt. In my estimation, this has been the key to my miraculous recovery. So much that, with my cardiologist’s blessing, I will be participating in the Houston Marathon on January 16th, just 207 days after my procedure.

This could have not been possible without surrendering my health and recovery to God, while doing my part to assist. This could have not been possible without the devotion and dedication from my beautiful wife, Meki, during my recovery. This could have not been possible without the support of my family, who were ready to help in anything I could need. This could have not been possible without the support of my buddies from No-Club Runners, who epitomized why runners are such a special bunch of crazy people. This could have not been possible without being fit and healthy for a prolonged time.

So, as life got back to normal, I returned to work after seven weeks of recovery and the pandemic continued to wreak havoc in our lives; my cardiologist told me it is time to turn the page on this episode of my life. To move on to bigger and better things. And thus, as I reached the psychologic barrier of the 4-digit number of miles for this challenging year, I reflect on the year that was and the life I have left.

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Manish and his 500 Consecutive Halves

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 14, 2021 | Article, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I met Manish Kuman Jaiswal in a WhatsApp group of international runners I was invited to participate a few months ago. Every day I would find cool posts on what runners are accomplishing all over the world, and in a handful of languages. One of the things that intrigued me was this guy from India who kept posting a half marathon every single day. So I had to ask. At the time he responded, he had run one for 475 consecutive days.

So let me introduce you to Manish Kumar Jaiswal, a 46-year-old runner from Raipur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, who started running in 2007. A teacher by profession, started his running journey just like most of us, to keep himself fit, healthy and with enough energy to keep up with his son, who is now 15.

When I approached Manish, he told me his goal at the time was to get to 500 days in a row, which occurred last Sunday, December 12th. With some simple math to put this monumental task in perspective, we are talking about 6,550 miles (10,539 kilometers) in the lapse of one year, four months and 15 days. A Ruthian-sized accomplishment, whatever way you want to analyze it.

A collage of Strava posts from a handful of Manish’s latest runs.

Manish quickly fell in love with the challenges and satisfactions of long distance running and promptly became a marathoner. During his years as a “regular runner” he completed 5 marathons (Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Dhamtari and Mumbai) as well as a bunch of half marathons.

One day, some friends challenged him to run 21 half marathons in 21 days. For those of you who live within the Imperial measurement system, the 13.1 miles of a half is equivalent to 21,097.5 meters. So, therefore on July 30, 2020, he embarked on this short streak that little by little has become enormous.

“In the beginning I just wanted to do 21days, 21 Half Marathons–confesses Mr. Jaiswal—But I enjoyed it a lot and now that I completed my 500 Consecutive days, I don’t want to stop. Now I am addicted to running.”

The new goal has been moved to 730 consecutive days with a half marathon. Equivalent to two years. Something tells me it is not going to stop there and 1,000 will suddenly become the updated goal, come July of next year.

No streak like this happens without taking risks that otherwise you wouldn’t have. Manish has run during heavy rains, thunderstorms sweltering hot and freezing cold temperatures. “Sometimes it would have been almost impossible to complete my half marathon, but I didn\’t give up. I put on my raincoat and managed to get my run in.”

Time management is an important task for an enterprise of this magnitude, yet Mr. Jaiswal assures me it hasn’t interfered that much in his daily life. “My daily half marathon running didn\’t affect my personal or professional lives. I did it with proper time management, planning and in a well-organized way.” He averages about 2:05 per run, with his PR at 1:48 and his slowest at 2:25.

Runners everywhere have one important question for Mr. Jaiswal: How about his running shoes?

He wears Kalenji shoes, the Decathlon model and he needs to switch to a fresh, new pair every 30 to 35 days. So far, he estimates he has used 15 pairs during his quest.

“At last -said Manish to conclude- I would like to thank my friends and family members my wife and son for their motivation encouragement and support.”

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Watch Issues Are Not Excuses to Skip a Run

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 7, 2021 | Article, Coaching, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

All of us runners, regardless how dedicated we are to our craft, at times become experts in creating the perfect excuse to justify not running on a specific day. There are some valid excuses, of course. No one expects you to run during an electric storm or when the temperature is 120 or -50 degrees?

What it is not and will never be a valid excuse is not having a functioning GPS watch. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have enough charge, if you forgot it at home, if the wrist band broke or fill in the blank. There are plenty of options to get around this minor setback and get your training in.

If you your battery doesn’t have enough charge for your run, it is your fault. Assume the msitake and go run.

The following is a list of ways to overcome obstacles when it comes to GPS watch issues, so you can go train, anyway:

1 – The watch doesn’t have enough charge for my run: That is your fault. Own your mistake. Run on a known course and when you get home, do the simple math necessary to project what your watch was able to record to what you know is the distance you ran. Option B is to run with a buddy and get screen shots of the activity.

2 – I forgot or misplaced my watch: This is your fault. Own your mistake. Your run doesn’t need to be recorded for posterity to benefit your health or make you a better runner. What really counts is that you do run. One day without posting it in Instagram or Strava shouldn’t hurt your ego that much.

3 – My watch is not acquiring the satellites: It happens. Sometimes you have the time to wait a bit longer or restart your watch. Sometimes your group is leaving, or the race is starting. Get moving without the satellites and when they hit, start your watch. Once at home, do the simple math necessary to project what your watch was able to record and have an approximate run. It is better than not running.

4 – How am I supposed to know my pace without GPS? As many benefits as a GPS watch has, the main drawback is that runners have forgotten to run by feel. Take this as an opportunity to have fun, run by perceived effort for a change, without a gadget dictating your pace and effort. Feel the fun of an easy pace, or the thrill of comfortably pushing if that is your scheduled workout. Have fun with Fartlek or just, for a change, enjoy the view and remember you run because it is fun.

GPS watches are wonderful additions to any runners arsenal, but they have made us forget the freedom of running by feel.

5 – I can’t do my interval training without a functioning watch: Sure, interval training without a watch is hard. But if you don’t have it with you, most likely it is your fault, and you need to own your mistake and find a solution. There is an alternative, though. Boring but available. It is a treadmill. If you don’t have a treadmill, do your intervals based on available landmarks. To the third tree, to the next traffic light or to whatever is accessible and fits your plan for the day.

6 – My dog ate the watch: Check issues 1 through 5 above, overcome your objections, lace up and start running

One more thing. Most of us have additional apps in our phones that can assume on the work for a day: Strava, MapMyRun, RunKeeper, etc. There are many more and most of them have a free version. If you don’t run with a phone and can’t live with the most updated data, run with the phone that day and voila!!! Issue resolved.

As you can see, all excuses regarding your GPS watch can be easily overcome. So, remember that nobody came back from a run hoping they would have stayed at home doing nothing. Each run is transformational. Don’t miss on it because of an inconsequential obstacle.

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