FFF Diva New Year's Motivation: "A New Year = New Dreams = New Goals"

A New Year = New Dreams = New Goals

By Don Allison
For Active.com

Another year gone by. They sure go by fast. I made that statement last year at this time, and nothing has occurred during the past 365 days to change that outlook.

So, what's your plan for 2010? Is this the year you are finally going to pursue that long sought-after running goal? Do you have it in you? Is it realistic to think you can improve if you are more dedicated? That's the lure of running. You train harder, you run longer, stronger and faster. It's nice to have a plan, to dream of a goal that you hope to achieve.

The problem is that reality, which is often ugly and messy, often unfolds quite differently from our clean, efficient plans, laid out so neatly on January 1. When dreaming or planning, we don't often factor in days when we are tired, ill, injured, sore, or just plain not-into-training. We don't foresee days on end when our legs are dead. Life intervenes in other ways as well: work and family often put running on the back burner, as they should. Some days when you are raring to go, bad weather or an unscheduled emergency puts a damper on your run.

Sometimes our goals are simply too ambitious, although they may not seem that way, especially when we hear about the incredible feats of others. But we can’t base our goals on the accomplishments of others. We may manage 20 or 30 or 40 miles per week of running without too much strain, but in attempt to run 50 or 60 we break down, or become too tired or too harried to accrue any real benefits from the extra mileage.

As the years go by, I realize that there is just not much time to squeeze in a lot of mileage, even if it is available for running. Maybe I am just getting slower, but years ago, I covered 70 miles per week without too much difficulty. Now, even reaching 30 is often a challenge. Nowadays that seems like a lot! I also need more recovery days, recovery weeks, and recovery months. Necessary as they may be, they create a lot of empty space in the training log.

There are many things we can do to improve our running:

Set concrete goals
Run more mileage
Run more speed
Add strength training
Add cross training
Improve our diet
Keep a detailed training log
Get more rest
Do more stretching
Take a yoga class
These are all worthy pursuits, but tough to add to an already full running and life schedule. I'd like to see the individual who can manage many of these things inside of a workday lunch hour.

Should you make your running a high priority? Will it affect your or anyone else's life in a positive way? That's a subject for another column, but suffice to say that if you do have aspirations to reach as yet unachieved running goals, you will have to make a concerted effort to do so. Will it require a sacrifice of other priorities? That all depends upon how you look at it. One man's (or woman’s) sacrifice is another's pleasure.

Whether or not we are actually able to achieve them, setting goals to improve our running is a worthwhile pursuit. It defines our effort, which usually results in improved performance. Aimlessly going from day to day can result in stagnation, even if you are only in the sport for participation.

Whatever your goals, you should bring integrity and validity to them. It does not matter if that goal is to break the world record in the marathon or complete a three-mile run around your neighborhood. It's your achievement; thus, the feeling of accomplishment and the journey to get there are what it's all about.

A new year is simply a demarcation on the calendar, but I have always found it a good time to assess and reflect upon my own running. My motivation level may not make it all the way through the year, but I know this is the time I have set to commence achieving specific goals.

In the end, dreams do matter. They are the starting point for fulfillment in running. I wish all of you the best in realizing your own running dreams and goals during 2009. There is no time like the present—before you know it, it will be gone!

Don Allison, from Weymouth, Massachusetts, is the former publisher of UltraRunning Magazine and a founder of Cool Running. He has completed 55 marathons, with a personal best of 2:35. In addition, Don has completed several ultramarathons, Ironman triathlons and cycled across the U.S.A. in 2006.

FFF Diva Wish: Merry Christmas! Maligayang Pasko!

Mariah Carey "All I Want for Christmas" Flash Mob



GLEE Holiday Flash Mob in Rome, Italy



"Ay Pasko Ang Sumapit" A Traditional Filipino Christmas Song

This entry is just to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2009 was an up & down year for me personally, but the last 6 months literally transformed my life. I broke through my plateau, achieved a weight in my 230 lbs AND became a marathon runner (1/2 marathon ran, now training for a full marathon). LIFE IS GOOD. FAMILY IS GOOD. WEIGHT LOSS IS GOOD. TAKING BACK YOUR LIFE IS GOOD. EMBRACE THE GOOD. Here we come 2010!

<3 FFF Diva Mo

FFF Diva Operation Boot Camp Reflection: Special Christmas Message & Homework from Trainer Ronny

Hey Guys~

I just wanted to thank you all for a GREAT time in Boot Camp this year. All the hard work, sweat, laughs, and yelling that we all went through with all the "great" weather was awesome. I know you guys thought it was all over after that awesome Graduation Party, but WAIT - THERE'S MORE!!

Attached is the 12 Days of Christmas Homework. On day 1, you do 1 round of the exercises prescribed... on day 2, you do 2 rounds, on day 3, 3 rounds... so on and so forth. open the file up and check it out, please let me know if you have any questions on it. It IS in your guys' best interest to DO the homework!! It will be good...

NAME:
12 DAYS OF Holiday Homework
12 ROUNDS/20 SECONDS EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
PUSH-UPS
SQUATS
BURPEES
L SIT-UPS (6 TO 90 DEGREES)
11 ROUNDS/20 SECONDS EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
SQUAT JUMPS
TRICEP DIPS (USING A CHAIR)
V-SIT-UPS
10 ROUNDS/30 SECONDS EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
WIND SPRINTS
REVERSE LUNGES
PLANK
SIT -UPS
9 ROUNDS/1:00 MINUTES EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
JUMPING JACKS
JUMP ROPE
8 ROUNDS/ OUTSIDE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1 LAP AROUND A TRACK or 1/4 mile loop
2 SET STAIRS
7 ROUNDS/ 10 REPS EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
SIDE to SIDE LUNGES
FIRE HYDRANTS
PUSH-UPS
TRICEP DIPS
BICYCLES
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
BURPEES
6 ROUNDS/ 1 MINUTES EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5	6
PLANK
ROW BOAT TOUCHES SIDE TO SIDE
5 ROUNDS/ 25 REPS EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4	5
PUSH-UPS
SIT-UPS
LUNGES (25 EACH LEG)
4 ROUNDS/ 2 MINUTES EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3	4
SPRINT 200m WALKING LUNGE BACK
TOE TAPS (CURB KICKES)
3 ROUNDS/ 2 MINUTES EACH EXERCISE	1	2	3
STEP UPS ON HIGH CURB OR STEP
1 MIN MT. JACKS, 1 MIN SQUAT JACKS
FIRE HYDRANT (KICK UP, HEEL FLEXED)
2 ROUNDS/ 25 REPS EACH EXERCISE	1	2
PUSH-UP w/ RIGHT AND LEFT ARM RAISE
Alternating Lunge Jumps
SQUAT
1 ROUND!!/ OUTSIDE	1
SKIPPING 200M
WALKING REVERSE LUNGES 200m (back)
PUSH-UPS ( 20 reps)

Also, if you haven't done so already - a little reminisce of the graduation party, I put a video up on my facebook. Check it out... :)

GREAT JOB GREG!!! :P

Hope all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Be Safe, Be Healthy, Be HAPPY

Committed to your health

~Ronny

FFF Diva Reflection: YOU are losing weight for YOU

Below is a reflective explanation that was sent from my Ninong (godfather in Tagalog) to my Nanay (mom in Tagalog). I thought it was really beautiful, because it really captures what one experiences during their weight loss journey. So, whenever you get discouraged REMEMBER you are doing this for no one else except YOU.

Best,
FFF Diva Mo : )

"You can make a real difference just by being you. You can change the world for the better simply by being your authentic best.

You don't need flowery, sophisticated wording to add value to the discussion. By simply and sincerely saying what's on your mind, you can contribute profound truth.

The dreams that you have are yours because they give you a reason to perform at your best. In so doing, you add your own splendid threads to the rich fabric of life.

There is no one else who sees the world in exactly the same way as you.

Express your opinions, express your perspective, express your vision and you'll offer great, unique value.

You'll never be satisfied following someone else's dream. Real fulfillment comes from accomplishing the things that are most meaningful to you.

In your unique perspective you'll find a lifetime of value. Be the best of who you are, and raise your whole world higher."

FFF Diva Operation Boot Camp Advice: "How will I motivate myself?"

Below is a great article that the staff of my Operation Boot Camp sent to me. It's a great article about really pushing your limits. It's a little long but worth the read!

Have a good read!
FFF Diva Mo

By GINA KOLATA

Published: December 6, 2007

BILL MORGAN, an emeritus professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin, likes to tell the story, which he swears is true, of an Ivy League pole vaulter who held the Division 1 record in the Eastern region.

His coaches and teammates, though, noticed that he could jump even higher. Every time he cleared the pole, he had about a foot to spare. But if they moved the bar up even an inch, the vaulter would hit it every time. One day, when the vaulter was not looking, his teammates raised the bar a good six inches. The man vaulted over it, again with a foot to spare.

When his teammates confessed, the pole vaulter could not believe it. But, Dr. Morgan added, “once he saw what he had done, he walked away from the jumping pit and never came back.” After all, Dr. Morgan said, everyone would expect him to repeat that performance. And how could he?

The moral of the story? No matter how high you jump, how fast you run or swim, how powerfully you row, you can do better. But sometimes your mind gets in the way.

“All maximum performances are actually pseudo-maximum performances,” Dr. Morgan said. “You are always capable of doing more than you are doing.”

One of my running partners, Claire Brown, the executive director of Princeton in Latin America, a nonprofit group, calls it mind over mind-over-body.

She used that idea in June in the Black Bear triathlon in Lehighton, Pa., going all-out when she saw a competitor drawing close. She won her age group (30 to 34) for the half-Ironman distance, coming in fourth among the women.

When it was over, she ended up in a medical tent. “I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up or both,” she recalled. “At a certain point in a hard race, you’ve pushed yourself beyond the point of ignoring the physical pain, and now you have to tell your mind that it can keep going, too.”

The problem for many athletes is how to make a pseudo-maximum performance as close as possible to a maximum one. There are some tricks, exercise physiologists say, but also some risks.

The first thing to know, said Dr. Benjamin Levine, an exercise researcher and a cardiology professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, is that no one really knows what limits human performance. There’s the ability of the heart to pump blood to the muscles, there’s the ability of the muscles to contract and respond, there’s the question of muscle fuel, and then, of course, there is the mind.

“How does the brain interact with the skeletal muscles and the circulation?” Dr. Levine said. “How much of this is voluntary and how much is involuntary? We just don’t know.”

But since most people can do better, no matter how good their performance, the challenge is to find a safe way to push a little harder. Many ordinary athletes, as well as elites, use a technique known as dissociation.

Dr. Morgan, who tested the method in research studies, said he was inspired by a story, reported by an anthropologist that, he suspects, is apocryphal. It involves Tibetan monks who reportedly ran 300 miles in 30 hours, an average pace of six minutes a mile. Their mental trick was to fixate on a distant object, like a mountain peak, and put their breathing in synchrony with their locomotion. Every time a foot hit the ground they would also repeat a mantra.

So Dr. Morgan and his colleagues instructed runners to say “down” to themselves every time a foot went down. They were also to choose an object and stare at it while running on a treadmill and to breathe in sync with their steps. The result, Dr. Morgan said, was that the runners using the monks’ strategy had a statistically significant increase in endurance, doing much better than members of a control group who ran in their usual way.

That, in a sense, is the trick that Paula Radcliffe said she uses. Ms. Radcliffe, the winner of this year’s New York City Marathon, said in a recent interview that she counts her steps when she struggles in a race. “When I count to 100 three times, it’s a mile,” she said. “It helps me focus on the moment and not think about how many miles I have to go. I concentrate on breathing and striding, and I go within myself.”

Without realizing what I was doing, I dissociated a few months ago, in the middle of a long, fast bike ride. I’d become so tired that I could not hold the pace going up hills. Then I hit upon a method — I focused only on the seat of the rider in front of me and did not look at the hill or what was to come. And I concentrated on my cadence, counting pedal strokes, thinking of nothing else. It worked. Now I know why.

Dr. Morgan, who has worked with hundreds of sub-elite marathon runners, said every one had a dissociation strategy. One wrote letters in his mind to everyone he knew. Another stared at his shadow. But, Dr. Morgan asked him, what if the sun is in front of you? Then, the man said, he focused on someone else’s shadow. But what if the sun goes behind a cloud, Dr. Morgan asked?

“Then it’s tough,” the runner conceded. Dissociation clearly works, Dr. Morgan said, but athletes who use it also take a chance on serious injury if they trick themselves into ignoring excruciating pain. There is, of course, a fine line between too much pain and too little for maximum performance.

“The old adage, no pain no gain comes into play here,” Dr. Morgan said. “In point of fact, maximum performance is associated with pain.”

The brain affects everyday training as well, researchers note.

Imagine you are out running on a wet, windy, cold Sunday morning, said Dr. Timothy Noakes, an exercise physiologist at the University of Cape Town. “The conscious brain says, ‘You know that coffee shop on the corner. That’s where you really should be.’” And suddenly, you feel tired, it’s time to stop. “There is some fatigue in muscle, I’m not suggesting muscles don’t get fatigued,” Dr. Noakes said. “I’m suggesting that the brain can make the muscles work harder if it wanted to.”

Part of a winning strategy is to avoid giving in to lowered expectations, athletes and researchers say. One friend tells me that toward the end of a marathon he tries not to look at people collapsed or limping at the side of the road. If he does, he suddenly realizes how tired he is and just gives up.

Marian Westley, a 35-year-old oceanographer in Princeton, N.J., and another running friend of mine, used several mental strategies in the recent Philadelphia marathon.

She slowed herself down at the start by telling herself repeatedly that she was storing energy in the bank. And when she tired near the race’s finish, she concentrated on pumping her arms. “I thought about letting my arms run the race for me, taking the pressure off my legs.”

She finished in three hours and 43 minutes, meeting her goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. “I am over the moon!” she wrote in an e-mail message the day after the race.

FFF Diva Accomplishment: From 320 to 239 lbs

FFF Diva Accomplishment: From 320 to 239 lbs

The above photos capture the BEFORE and AFTER of me. The first five photos are from the Summer of 2007 when I weighed my heaviest 320 lbs & size 28 at 22 years old. The last five photos are from the Fall 2009 when I weighed my adult lightest 239.5 lbs, size 16/18 at 24 years old.

It's been two, almost three years, since I weighed over 300 lbs. I have lost 81 lbs to date & even experienced a plateau and 45 lbs weight gain (which I lost this summer) during the journey.

Statistics:
GOAL WEIGHT: 150 lbs.
Weight gained during 4 years of college: 124 lbs.
Current weight: 239 lbs.

Weight to go:
43 lbs left until my original college weight (before the 124 lbs weight gain)
89 lbs left until GOAL WEIGHT (150 lbs)
40 lbs left until I reach under 200 lbs (199 lbs)

Weight loss to date:
81 lbs (since May 2007 at 320 lbs until December 2009 at 239 lbs)

Running Accomplishments:
May 2009: 5K Marin Human Race
August 2009: 5K San Francisco Plate to Plate
September 2009: 5K Bubba Gump Run at Great America
October 2009: San Jose Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon
October 2009: 5 mile Silicon Valley AIDS Walk
November 2009: 10K Silicon Valley Turkey Trot

Currently training for: Los Angeles Marathon, March 2010

AND COUNTING...

FFF Diva Article Research: 11 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without Ruining Your Fitness

11 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without Ruining Your Fitness

By Rod Dixon and Matt Mahowald

LA Marathon Director of Training and LA Marathon Nutrition and Supplement Consultant

Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or an everyday Joe, the season from Thanksgiving through the New Year can wreak havoc on the waistline—and more. Rod Dixon, the LA Marathon Director of Training, and Matt Mahowald, the LA Marathon’s Nutrition and Supplement Consultant, offer their tips for enjoying the holidays—and holiday menus—without sabotaging your diet, exercise or training routine.

1. Never show up hungry to a holiday party or meal. Make sure you have a big breakfast and enjoy at least two good meals or snacks before the feast. This will minimize the amount of overeating. For instance, 12 almonds and an apple will help to decrease your appetite so that when you get to that meal you don’t overeat.

2. The most important drink during the holiday season is water. Water helps your body synthesize carbs. It helps with the highs and lows of blood sugar that come with desserts and sweets that aren’t normally in our diet.

3. If you are going to attend a holiday party and plan on drinking alcohol, consume a full eight to 10 oz. of water in addition to a beverage of your choice. This will minimize the amount of alcohol you drink.

4. When eating appetizers or enjoying a potluck-style meal, the best choices are vegetables, lean proteins and fruits. If you’re designated to bring a dish to a gathering, bring something healthy. You never know what’s going to be there for you, and it’s important to have good options.

5. Fill your plate modestly, and wait 30 minutes after you finish before going back for seconds. This allows your blood sugar and insulin levels to adjust. You may find that you aren’t really hungry for that second plate.

6. Look at dessert as a treat. Serve yourself a small portion, and stop there.

7. A good cardiovascular workout for two to three days after your holiday will help deplete the excess storage of carbs and fat that you picked up during the holiday.

8. If it’s possible, throw in an extra two days of 30 minute cardiovascular activity. Remember that walking is just as good as a slow jog and easier on your body.

9. Consistency is key to your exercise program. Don’t let the holidays derail you by missing too many days of your routine. Don’t try to make up what you’ve missed by overtraining—just get back on your plan.

10. Remember that it is a holiday, so let yourself enjoy it. The following day wake up and get right back on your food plan and exercise.

11. And of course, if you need a way to help keep yourself on track during the holidays, now is the time to register for the LA Marathon! Visit www.lamarathon.com for more information.

About the Los Angeles Marathon

We inspire athletes and connect communities. With thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators along the route, the Los Angeles Marathon is one of the largest organized road races in the country. For more information, visit www.lamarathon.com.