The Miami Marathon and Half Marathon were run last Sunday, February 9th, in Downtown and its surrounding areas. Despite more than a few personal bumps in the road during last year, I was able to keep my streak alive and completed my 9th consecutive Miami half in an irrelevant time. But I still had one of the best days of my running life, as the two runners I trained for the full marathon not only set, but crushed, their PRs by 10 ½ and 11 minutes.
Jhon H, 49, trained very hard to bring his PR down to 3:36:42, an 11-minute improvement from his best previous result, set in this same race back in 2018 (3:47:42). His main issue in his previous marathons had always been the last few miles. Cramping, exhaustion and doubts were creeping in as the dreaded wall approached. So, we set a different program for him. We used the Hansons Brothers method so he could be stronger at the end. After working diligently on his program, he got stronger as he progressed and not only had a negative split but his last 10K were the fastest in the entire race. As he turns 50 next year, I am sure a 3:25 BQ is perfectly achievable.
Yolmer G (42) also set a massive PR with a 3:43:36. Despite an irregular last month of training when life got on the way, not only he improved 10:30 from his New York 2019 finish (3:54:06), but he also bettered his register from his first marathon, which was this same Miami, just last year by 32:55 (4:16:31). And his best race is yet to come. A BQ of 3:15 for his age group is attainable.
As a coach, you can’t ask for better than these two athletes, which in the process have also become close friends. I can’t wait to see what is next for them. I look forward to working with them.
If you want to take your running to the next level, make sure to contact me via foultips.running@gmail.com to asses your goals and get going.
“I ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment.”
On November 18, 2019, I started training with coach [Adolfo] Salgueiro. I approached him expressing my desire to train with the goal of increasing my running speed and try to qualify to the Boston Marathon. His response was, “yes, we can increase your speed, absolutely. But we don’t have much time to train because the Miami marathon is very close.” He prepared a 12-week training plan with the Hansons Method, which I had never heard of before. I was skeptical because I was accustomed to running at a 9:00 to 9:30 minute/mile pace, and I said to myself, “I will not be able to reach that speed because I am too old and my knee will not respond.”
When I received my training plan for the first 4 weeks, I saw the speed metrics that Coach Salgueiro prepared for me, and immediately my self-doubt kicked in and said this was too fast for my ability. But I also decided to do my best to meet Coach’s speed targets for me, to trust the Coach and embrace the training program that he designed for me.
Tuesdays soon became my favorite training day because I did track, with speed goals from 7:30 pace to 8:00 pace. Since I don’t have access to a track where I live, I improvised a 400-meter training loop in a local parking lot. Coach was always aware of my training, monitoring my progress through Strava, and he was very willing to correct me and happy to answer any questions so I could reach my full training potential. With this plan, my long-distance runs were set for two consecutive days, teaching me to run on tired legs and keeping me on pace for the marathon. I found this new training style perfect for me.
But with just 2 weeks before the marathon (February 9, 2020), I had a problem with the back of my left knee. I don’t know what it was, but it was painful, and it prevented me from continuing with my training. I felt frustrated and defeated. I talked to Coach, and he suggested resting days with care at home, raising my knee, putting ice on it and using the foam roller. We also talked about what other options I might have and whether I should postpone running the marathon. After more than a week of rest, ice and rolling, I tried running again, a mere five days before the marathon. Thank God I felt no pain! I felt strong, and so we continued to plan for my marathon.
On the day of the marathon, Coach gave me his final training instructions: take it slow at the start, do not weave around runners, and if you feel strong enough keep on going, pick up the pace. Since I wanted to try to do negative splits to conserve my energy at the start and to comply with Coach’s race plan, I was especially thankful for my friend Ray, who traveled from Minnesota to Miami to be able to run the marathon with me. Ray helped me a lot in the first 8 miles, monitoring my pacing, keeping me focused on not going out too fast, and staying confident. Together, we did so, and it was a fantastic experience for me because all the hard work that I put in following Coach’s training worked just as it was designed to do.
Taking Coach’s instructions and conserving my energy for the last miles of the marathon was exactly the right race plan for me. And to my great surprise and delight, I ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment. Yay! I fully trusted coach Salgueiro, and now I can’t wait to train with him again to help me attain that now much closer BQ time.
One of the most difficult things for runners is to go slow when we know we can go faster. We tend to think we are running “Junk Miles” instead of “Recovery Miles”. Foultips Running is an advocate for this concept and believes recovery is as key to your training as the tempos, Yasso 800s and any other type of speed work.
Some coaches rely on heart rate to set up the recovery runs, others set it up based on pace. Regardless of our method, we have to recover so we can do it again, thus avoiding injuries and burnout.
Check out this link from Runners World magazine. It is from an article published on January 2019 where it details what we preach.
I wrote this one back in 2014. As the fifth anniversary of the event approaches, and I start this new blog, it is the perfect time to repost and update. Enjoy!
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Given the fragility of the political situation and lack of personal security in our native Venezuela, the Araujos have spread around the world just as many local families in the last 15 years or so. Even though email, Skype, WhatsApp and other communications advances have helped us keep in touch, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with siblings, parents, cousins and uncles, like in the good old days.
The time for a Family reunion was set for August 2, 2013, when the head of our family, my grandmother, would celebrate her centennial. But on March 15, she passed away four and half months before her 100th Birthday.
All bibs had our grandmother;s name on them
As the dust settled after her passing, the cousins started discussing in our WhatsApp group the best way to commemorate her Centennial. Not very many ideas were presented when we settled on a half marathon in her honor. Miami was chosen given that it is a central location. I had participated the previous two years, so I knew it was a good race.
It is important to note that at the time of the decision; only four of us were active runner/walkers. Three were former runners and 11 had never showed any interest the activity. 18 of us, all either first cousins or married to one, finished the race. Another, my wife, one got injured in training and could not participate.
We all live in different cities and countries. Through our WhatsApp group we encourage each other. The experienced runners coached the novices. We shared tips, we forced the lazy ones hit the road during rough long-distance weekends and we rekindled the cousin bond my grandmother always preached. Little by little a handful of cousins started doing 10K races as well as 14, 16 and 18K training sessions. Many of them had never run 1K before my grandmother’s passing.
These are people with jobs, young kids, financial and time commitments, just like anyone else. None of them are “real housewives of anywhere”, with trainers, maids and personal assistants. Some of them even trained in the snow. These are real people that had to add training for a half marathon to their already busy routines.
The big day finally came on Sunday, February 2nd. Cousins from Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Puerto La Cruz and Maracaibo, Venezuela; Panama City, Panama; Toronto, Canada; and Miami and Houston in the USA; took position in the different corrals during a hot and muggy morning in Downtown Miami. All of our racing bibs proudly displayed “ABUE” under our numbers, which short for Abuela, Grandmother in Spanish.
It was amazing to start a race with my sister and my twin brother. To see the 5 Garcia siblings start side by side, to have three of the 4 Bradley sisters running the distance for the very first time, just as the Pernalete siblings. Throughout the race we all kept bumping into each other, telling stories, sharing tips and experiences. And then, it was the meet up at the finish line, where we 18 of us proudly displayed our medals earned with our efforts. It’s incredible what these pieces of cheap metal meant to so many of us.
At 75 years old, my Dad, a former marathoner, also started the race, but as planned, only ran 11K before stepping out of the course. I want to make sure kudos are extended to him, too.
A family party with 40 members of our clan took place after the race to commemorate the achievement. A centennial celebration and a half marathon on the exact date our ABUE would have turned 100 ½. Words fall short on the meaning of this event to the Araujo family.
With the exception of a couple of cousins stating “it’s done, never again”, the vast majority realized what running/walking can add to the quality of their daily life and plan to participate in a few more races. Lives were changed. One of us is running a full marathon on March 2nd for the first time in 18 years.
Thank you Abue for keeping the family united around you, even after you are no longer physically with us.
UPDATE
Five years later, as Venezuela sinks into a deeper chaos, many of our cousins have stopped running altogether and some have moved to greener pastures overseas trying to give their family new opportunities for a real future. But a handful of have kept going at it. Two graduated to their first 26.2s and a couple more revisited the distance after many years off. I stopped racewalking and restarted my running; even became a certified running coach. Despite things settling down on the athletic history of our clan, this day five years ago is still remembered as one of its most memorable moments in the history of our family.
From left to right: Top Row: Peter McGrath (2:37:18); Jose Herrera (1:58:04); Belen Bradley (2:04:03); Luli Garcia (2:33:47); Osvaldo Garcia (2:59:54); Jose Salgueiro (2:17:25). Middle Row: Jennifer McGrath (2:26:03); Maria C Pernalete (2:55:41); Lupe Bradley (2:19:44); Maria Salgueiro-Alessio (2:41:26); Lionel Alessio (2:41:26). Bottom Row: Franz Pernalete (2:25:54); Marisol Garcia (2:56:50); Neycy Morales (2:33:28); Marianela Garcia (2:40:02); Adolfo Salgueiro (2:49:05). Not shown: Christina Bradley (3:00:11); Maria Inés Garcia (3:35:48).
