Reflection

As I take this week and I prepare myself to run my third marathon I have taken the time to reflect upon the past year and what it has brought me.

It’s true I went through some pretty rough times this past year, M moved out of our apartment and I for the first time ever I found myself living on my own and this was a very scary thought to me since I have always had a roommate. Much to my surprise I enjoy the freedom of living on my own.  

Though this year brought me hardships and heartbreak it also brought me amazing friends and new experiences.

I truly believe that I got through all the hardships that were thrown at me this past year because of running and the friends I have made through running. Running instilled in me the confidence and determination I needed to make it through this past year.  

There were so many days I found myself laying on my bathroom floor crying my eyes out in full backslide mode and then I would look at my running shoes and they would be screaming at me to put them on and I would go for a run and my head would be more clear and my heart would be less heavy. There were days I would run until no more tears could fall from my eyes. Running was my safe place, my haven.

Now as I set out on my third marathon I find my heart heavy again. Not because of sadness this time but because of joy, pure joy from the support I am getting from every one of you. It is because of your support, your love and your acceptance that I have been able to push forward through this year and come out on top.

I can’t wait to cross the finish line at Nike again. Not just because of the firefighters or because of the Tiffany’s necklace but because of that feeling of joy you can only get from accomplishing a task months in the making. It is true what they say, running is a lesson in life because you get out of it what you put in.

See you all on the start line.  

Coming Full Circle

This past year has been an astounding ride for me. This week marks exactly one year since I ran my very first marathon, The Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco.

In 11 days I will once again be standing on the start line of the NWM in SF. Nothing is going to be more amazing than to be there with my two wonderful running companions, Karen and Elizabeth.

Last year at this time we were arriving in San Fran ready for the excitement that Nike had waiting for us.

This will be my third marathon ever. I am experiencing extreme burnout. Somewhere along the road this year I lost that love and desire to run and in so many ways that makes me sad and it hurts me because running was my safe place, my haven, my place to go when the world didn't make sense.

Running is what saved me from myself, it is what gave me the courage to pull out of destructive behavior and it is what gave me the courage to be happy and be in love with who I am. The other day a friend said to me maybe you no longer have that same love and joy for running you once did because you no longer need running to survive.

I've made the tough decision to pull back from marathons for the time being. I have not given up on my dream to one day run in the Boston Marathon but at the moment I need a break. A lot has happened in my life in the past year and I believe that right now I need to devote less time to running and more time to other activities that are helping me in my recovery journey.

Lately I have been doing a lot of climbing. There is a rush I get from climbing the side of a mountain. When you get to the summit enjoying the majestic view you could never get from the ground. It’s been an incredible experience and much like running I have been able to learn new things about myself, about my determination, my strength and my love for having new experiences.

I’ll one day return to training for and running marathons and I’ll chase that Boston goal once again but for now I need to step back, reevaluate my goals, make new ones and once again find that love of running.

I am running Nike Women's in San Fran with Teams in Training, are you?

Friday June 14, 2013 marked the last day to enter the lotto for Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco but even if you missed the cut off date you still have the chance to run the Nike Women’s Marathon.

The Nike Women’s Marathon always stands out in my head is a spectacular experience, when I am asked what is one of your favorite memories I can’t wait to tell people about San Fran. Not only is it ran through the beautiful streets of San Francisco but when the course is completed  and you cross that finish line you are greeted with a beautiful necklace from Tiffany’s.

This year I decided that I would not be entering the lotto for Nike Women’s instead I would be joining Teams in Training to run. I did not want the stress of joining the lotto to overcome me and I knew that running Nike Women’s through TNT was a sure fire way for me to get to San Francisco and run the race that has stolen my heart. 

Last year when I was on course during Nike Women’s I was fascinated by all the TNT participants running, it was such a fantastic overwhelming experience to be among all these women in purple running  for one cause to help those people who are fighting cancer. As I watched these women in purple run the course together and help one another through those 26.2 miles I wanted to be part of it, I wanted to be one of these ladies in purple! Seeing coaches on course and having them encourage the runners made me want in.

A marathon can be lonely at times; you are out on the open road alone and to see that these people had people cheering for them every step of the way I wanted that for my marathon experience. As I learned more about TNT and how it supports those who are fighting cancer I realized that there was nothing I wanted more than to be a part of this beautiful organization and earlier this year I signed up to be a TNT participant, this year when I run San Fran I will be one of those ladies in purple running for those who cannot run and I hope you will also join me as I raise money and run miles to fight cancer.

If you are not a lucky lottery winner please don’t give up on running Nike Women’s contact your local TNT chapter and run Nike Women’s with me. 

Calgary Marathon Recap - I am a Sub 4 Marathoner

So May 26, 2013 came and went, the day I ran the Calgary Marathon.

The week leading up to my marathon I had all kinds of emotions floating around, what if I don’t hit my goal, what if I hit my goal, what if I totally flake out and have to take a DNF, what if I don’t even start! My mind was driving me insane!!

Tuesday I woke up and had a really bad sore throat and cough and I was like oh my gosh this can’t be happening to me right now I cannot be getting sick. I spent the week willing myself to be better.

Saturday I went to bed and I surprisingly slept through the night, well after I managed to fall asleep because I think I spent a good two hours having a coughing attack.

Sunday morning I woke and I was nervous as heck. I was having trouble getting food into me and I could hardly tie my shoe laces because my hands kept shacking and I couldn't stop coughing. I made my way down to the start line and all that was going through my head was one foot in front of the other. I found the 3:30 pace bunny and I decided that if I could keep pace with him I would be make my time goal no problem. As the starting gun went off I said to myself “Tiara focus, this is just a run”! As we passed the first km mark I looked down to see my pace and thought to myself oh my gosh this pace bunny is going wayyyy too fast we are running a 7’48” mile. Everything was going great for me on the run until I hit the very first BIG hill and then things started going terribly wrong my left hamstring started cramping up and I was kicking myself for skipping water stations and I was having trouble breathing through my coughing fits! So I made the decision to stop running through the water stations and walk through them to get Gatorade into me instead of all over me. 

Upon coming up on the 10km mark I looked down at my watch and saw that I had slowed down a great deal and was now running an 8’12” and was not on target to hit my Boston Qualifying time rather I was about 2 minutes off from my target time. Instead of beating myself up I told myself that I still had 32 km’s to make up this time and to keep pushing forward. At the halfway point I looked at my time and I realized that I was 6 minutes off my Boston pace and this caused me to have a little bit of a break down, or a 5 minute cry session. I started crying right there in the middle of the race and almost decided to pull out because I was not going to hit my goal and then somewhere deep down my own voice was yelling at me “Tiara you have this, you are still on pace to run a sub 4 marathon and even better you are still going to set a personal best for yourself” I forced myself to keep running. As my body started to fatigue and as it wanted to give up I told myself keep running you will hit a water station in 3 km’s and you can walk through it but you have to keep running to the next water station.

As I entered Memorial drive my common lunch time running area I had 10km’s left to go and I said to myself “Tiara this is your area, this is where you need to own the race” I knew my legs were sore and I knew I wanted to stop running so I started biting my lip to focus the pain elsewhere and I kept pushing myself. I made it through Memorial and had 3km’s left to go when a TNT coach came up to me grabbed me by the hand and told me I was doing great, I started crying and said “I needed to finish 5 minutes ago to hit my time goal” he said "I know you did but you know what keep running because you are going to PB and that is the most important thing, today wasn’t your day but maybe tomorrow is, there is always another run”. 

As I entered my last two km’s I so badly wanted to just walk the rest of the way and someone from behind me came put her hand on my back and said “I have been chasing you almost the entire way, you are my motivation and my inspiration keep running because you are going to sub 4 this” and all of a sudden I hit a second wind and my legs wanted to move. As I entered the finishing shoot I saw my mom standing there waving at me and cheering me on and I knew I had the drive in me to do a sub 4. As I crossed the finish line I looked at my time and it read 3:57:55 and I was disappointed in myself for not hitting my BQ but also so proud of myself for finishing a marathon in under 4 hours.

As the results rolled in yesterday I realized that I had finished in the top 10 in my division and was even more proud of myself. Top 10 finish in my division is incredible.

One aspect of the Calgary Marathon I loved was that our name was wrote on our bibs so as we were running through the communities and people were out on their lawns cheering us on you would hear a random “Go Tiara” “You got this Tiara” “Run Strong Tiara” and hearing my name it would push me to push harder and faster!! It was great community support and it made me love Calgary even more.

Now it is time to refocus my goals and push to Boston Qualify in Edmonton on August 25. It’ll be my last chance to qualify for Boston for 2014 and I am even more determined now to hit this goal. I have the endurance I know I can run the 26.2 miles now it is time to work on maintaining my speed!

Do you have any advice for me as I start training for Edmonton? Have you qualified for Boston, if so what advice can you give me for race day? Or even for training?

Hope you continue joining me on this wonderful journey to Boston. 

Running Saved My Life

Last week marked 4 years of me using Nike Plus!! 4 years, that means that for 4 years I have been a runner!! Can you believe it because I can’t. I never in a million years thought I would end up being a runner, I thought running was for crazy people because why run when you can swim!!

I have come a long way in 4 years. I remember when I first received the Nike plus chip it seemed so scary and controlling, and I had my share of scary and controlling at that point. Why did I need something to track my runs, can’t I do that myself!! I realize that the Nike Plus chip held me accountable to getting out there and getting active, it got me out there to run when I wanted to sit on my couch in my PJ’s and watch another re-run of Sex in the City and pretend I was Carrie – yes I was that girl.

I have recently gone back to look at my very first running stats on NikePlus, back when I used to think that 3 miles was a long run and ran a 10’50” mile. I really have come a long way. A short run for me is now 4 miles and I no longer run a 10’50” mile I am more a sub 8 mile these days. Nike plus just didn't help me lose weight and look better I believe that it saved my life!! Not Nike plus but running!!

Nike plus gave me the motivation to get myself out the door. These past 11 months; training for my first marathon – thank you Nike Women and Marie Purvis to opening my eyes to marathon training - training to Boston qualify has saved me from myself.

At the age of 12 I began to suffered from an eating disorder of some type - anorexia, bulimia, binge eating - and I believe that a small part of me has always suffered from body dysmorphia, even at a very young age.

Growing up aboriginal didn't help me with my body dysmorphia, if anything it made it BIGGER than it already was. I grew up in a very white community where all the girls were beautiful with blond hair and blue eyes they all looked like movie stars and Barbie dolls and I always thought I wasn't as beautiful as these girls, I thought beauty was being blonde with blue eyes. I remember approaching a group of girls at recess one day and I politely said “Can I play trolls with you” – my parents always gave me the newest toy so I would be able to fit in with my peers – they looked at me and said “we only play with girls who have hair down to their shoulders, and your hair is longer than that so we can’t play with you” – at that time my hair was down to my waist. I went home and cried for hours I was so miserable, this is the first time I actually remember looking in the mirror and thinking I was ugly and not good enough– I was in grade 2. This is the first time I can remember judging my body!! 

Growing up in this small town also had its advantages, such as everyone being super athletic!! In grade school we were learning about track and field in gym class and this got me super excited!! I often watched the Olympics and track and field was a favorite of mine. Everyone was very athletic and awesome but I have always had a drive to be the BEST!! We were running our very first 400 meter race and I remember running and winning the race!! I had never felt so awesome, I remember a few of the girls glaring at me but I also remember a few of them coming over to congratulate me. This is when I realized that being good at sports was my key to success and to surviving the means girls in school.

May will mark 12 months, 1 year, 365 days that I will have gone without cutting myself out of despair and hate for my body, purging because I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw, or starving myself in hopes of becoming thinner!! May will mark the first year of a new me a me that is learning to love her body – not because it is perfect because it is far from perfect and not because I look like a Victoria Secret model or even like a fitness model but because it can accomplish wonderful amazing feats such as running a marathon, running a sub 6 mile for 3 miles, running a 1:26 half, doing 133 high knees in 60 seconds. I have a body that loves her friends and family so much, that has so much to give and so much to learn.

Learning to love my body has been a rough journey and there have been many bumps in the road. This year I am not only learning to love my body but I am learning to love my heart and my soul, I am learning to love who I was born to be -  a wonderful aboriginal women who has so much experience to share.  

I am going to stumble, I have a few times. I have stood my in bathroom mirror and have hated on myself, I have stepped off the scale and hated on myself for the number but I have also counteracted that hate with a run because when I am running I feel free and powerful and there is nothing or nobody who can take that away from me. 

I recently saw a picture that said "Want to change your body exercise, if you want to change your life become a runner"! Running has truly changed my life, for the better.

Boston Marathon - Finding Sunlight in Darkness

Yesterday afternoon as I returned back to work from my 5 mile run I noticed that my cell phone was going off like crazy and I did not understand why. I sort of ignored this and continued on with my run but as I entered my companies gym I noticed the TV was on and I saw the Boston Marathon and what appeared to be smoke coming from the finish line.

I immediately panicked a little as I personally knew people running the marathon and I also had twitter friends runner.

As I watched this madness unfold my heart sank and I began to cry as I was deeply saddened that someone would attack something as wholesome and beautiful as a marathon.

A marathon is a time when people from all countries, nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds to compete in friendly competition. I remember my first marathon and I remember making conversation with some of the people running by me and we talked about where we were from and what type of training we did. Nobody was there to tear another person down or to think you were better than someone. We were there because we trained for months and now we were celebrating our training.

Yesterday someone attacked the Boston marathon. For whatever reason I don’t know, I don’t know if we will ever know. I don’t feel like someone just attacked a group of runners I feel like someone attacked my family.

In the midst of heartache and tragedy the love of humans came out. I saw so many tweets of people in Boston who offered up their homes and restaurants who were offering food to people. I spoke with a friend this morning who said that a lady came out of her house with blankets and coats for runners who had been stopped outside of her house, she didn't want them to go hypothermic from stopping so abruptly. I read of stories of runners continuing on to the hospital to donate blood, so many runners came that they were turning people away. These stories made my heart swell because sometimes we are left to wonder do humans still care for one another and this proves that we do. 

These last 24 hours I have been asked multiple times “do you still want to run Boston” my answer is “Yes, this makes me want to run Boston even more!” 

Alvina Begay a Nike N7 ambassador tweeted last night “If you’re trying to defeat the human spirit, marathoners are the wrong group to target.” This is why I will continue to strive for my dream to run Boston. This tragic incident has made me more determined to reach my goal and to run Boston. Runners of the world must stand united and stand strong at this time let us be empowered by this senseless act and remember what we run for!! 

What Nike Spring Essentials I will be Getting

Spring is in the air and that means new Nike styles are out. This season my must have list is as follows:

The Nike Pro Printed Sports Bra! Who doesn't love a good print!!? I know this girl does!! I love it!! One of my goals this summer is to have abs defined enough to run in sports bra and who wouldn't want to show this beauty off!?!?!?

The Nike Vapor Epic Women's shirt! This is hot. I saw Lakey Peterson wearing one in her NTC app and now I want one. It's cute stylish and could be worn to a campfire at night.

These shorts are so CUTE they are the Nike Icon Woven Print shorts. I want in my wardrobe so bad! 

The Nike Mix and Match Art Women's Training Shirt. I have always wanted to be a beach girl! I think this is what draws me to this shirt so much. It's stylish and will look hot with a sports bra under it. 

I am off to do some damage on my credit card. Hope these give you some inspiration for what should be in your closet as spring arrives.

Training Runs are Learning Runs

Yesterday marked April 1 and that means that my marathon is slowly creeping up on me. In so many ways I am nervous. I have set myself up for a pretty big goal and I don't want to be disappointed in myself. Boston is an extraordinary dream for me.

I keep having this recurring dream where I am running the Calgary Full and I get lost on the course and I find my way back after about a mile but I am crossing the finish line and the time on the timer says “3:35:02” I just fall into a heap of tears on the ground because I missed my qualifying time by 2 one hundredths of a second. All that hard work down the drain.

I am learning to trust in my training. This past weekend I ran my furthest distance since running my first full in October. I ran 19 miles!!

The night before my run I was really nervous, due to my calf injury I was out for a week and so I lowered my carb intake to accommodate this. My first few runs back were kind of tough but I still managed a sub 8 on both of them. My physio and I decided that I wouldn't be running any of my long distances at a sub 8 rather a sub 9 to prevent any further complications with my calf.

200 miles even with a week of no running

I set out for my 19 miles Saturday morning with the sun at my back and knowing that Lauren would be waiting for me at mile 13 to run the last 5 miles with me. Going out I had to stop a few times due to tightness in my calf but nothing serious. I was still running a 8’16”/average mile and was happy with this. It won’t get me a Boston but I know I would run faster on race day.

On our way back Lauren and I hit the HUGE hill in Sandy Beach and normally I can run this hill but this time I had to walk it and from this point on I felt sick and exhausted. I was nauseous and my body was starting to get really cold even though it was beautiful outside. My watch was still ticking away at the time and I didn't want to ruin my average pace so I kept trekking along with Lauren at my side. Around a mile out my watch died and so did I. The wall was too thick for me to break through and I had no other choice but to walk the remaining distances.

Phone died at mile 15.6, where I was getting weak.

I was disappointed with myself and a little angry for not being strong enough to make it through the entire 19 miles. I was mad that I allowed myself to hit the wall, but training runs are training runs. They are not just for training our bodies to run the distance but they are also training for us to learn how to hydrate and fuel properly.

I learned that after mile 17 shot bloks are no longer useful for me. I start taking shot bloks within the first 20 minutes of a run and thereafter every 20-30 minutes I take in blok. This was working for me on my 17 mile less runs but it didn't work for this last run. I think on these longer runs I need more than just shot bloks. This week I am going to cut a bagel up into bite size pieces and when I take a shot blok I will also take a piece of bagel. Hopefully this gives me the energy to fully get through my 20 mile run.

As for hydration, I have no idea why I got so dehydrated. I take in about 2-3 sips of water every mile or so. I allow myself to take water when I need it, but when I got Lauren at the tech shop I was salty and when I got back to the car I was super salty. Meho said I looked kind of like a refuge with the salt caked on my body. I need to find a way to replenish the salt I am losing on these long runs because I only carry water in my camel back but I know I should be in taking electrolytes also.

These runs are learning experiences and for every failure I have on a long run I will turn into a success on race day. 

I have to thank Lauren for getting me through those last 5. They were slow and not very promising but she pulled me through!! I am glad to have such awesome friend. 

What works for you on long runs? What type of energy do you intake? What type of fuel do you use and ho

w often do you hydrate? Leave me a comment or a tweet @TiaraBeth.

Greatness is Within...

I have injured myself… again. It is confirmed that I have a tear in my right calf muscle. How bad the tear is we are not yet 100% sure I still need to go for a diagnostic ultrasound so they can see the damage I have done.

In the last 24 hours I have felt a variety of emotions from sadness to anger and then to fear. Last night I was sitting on my couch crying and saying to Mike “Why do I have to strive for greatness, why can’t I just be happy with completing a marathon why is it that I want to train to Boston qualify and to obtain elite status”! I can’t really answer that all I know is I was born with the overachiever gene and I never do anything halfhearted, it is all or nothing.

I tweeted earlier today “There is no injury in mediocrity, why can't I settle for being less than great”, and than I received a tweet from @TheLostGrad “Ain’t no injuries, but there damn sure ain’t no Glory either!!” It was this that made me realize how much of a wimp I am being. Yes I have an injury, is it the end of the world, NO!!

I thought back to Nike’s Find Greatness campaign along with a commercial that was aired at the Olympics this last summer  and they made me realize that setback happen, obstacles jump in our way but it how we overcome those obstacles and setbacks that prove if we are truly great or not.

"Now here's the reality of it. You don't want to be walking off with any regrets. 

Be annoyed. Go cry. You're on the line between breaking point and breaking through.

In struggle, you'll find strength. 

Now get over that line! Dig for that extra inch!

Take the best you can do! And do better! 

Every second is a moment in time. But this second is a moment in history."

Last night I felt like my dream to run was Boston was slipping out of my hands. I felt like throwing in the towel and giving up. This morning brought me a fresh new prospective. I might be out for a few weeks I might lose a little bit of my endurance in the short run but in the long run I am going to come back and I am going to come back stronger and faster than ever because there is greatness inside of me and I am not going to allow a little injury get in my way of qualifying for Boston.

I have given myself an hour to grieve over my lost training and my calf and now I am ready to fight, ready to do everything in my power to heal and come back strong.

I have to change up my training a little bit. My physio said once I am healed I will have to reduce mileage and speed for a period of time until I am back to normal but my physio is amazing and has always gotten me back on my feet in better condition than before I started seeing him.

Today I found greatness within myself, greatness that was always there but I didn’t realize was there, today I am a stronger person than I was yesterday.

My Love For Marathons and San Fran

I recently just read a post by Kara Goucher called “I Am InLove with the Boston Marathon”. It is such an inspiring post and makes me even more excited to run qualify for Boston. It has also inspired me to write my own post on my love for San Francisco.

I have not yet qualified for Boston and have not ran it so I am not in love with Boston yet, however I am in love with San Francisco.

Nike Women’s Marathon was my debut marathon and it will always have a little piece of my heart. I loved running in Nike Women’s and getting the opportunity to run my very first marathon gave me the confidence that I could handle the distance, I could never thank Nike Women enough for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. Before running Nike Women's I had only ever ran a 10km race.

I am returning to Nike Women’s Marathon again in the October with Teams in Training. I am so excited to run the city of San Francisco and for a great cause. I will run my third marathon the day before my 28^th birthday, a year and 1 week after I ran my very first marathon!!

The other day I was ranting and raving about my love for San Francisco and my love for the Nike Women’s marathon and my friend asked me “Tiara, why do you love San Francisco so much, I mean don’t the hills scare you?” the answer is yes. They scare me a lot!! But there is so much more that I love about San Fran. The memory of those hills is what is pushing me through my training right now because nothing can be worst than those hills, that I was no 100% prepared for.

San Fran reminds me of being home in Newfoundland or Halifax again. It has a very welcoming and loving feel and the ocean just pulls me in and doesn't want me to leave.

If you have never run the Nike Women’s you need to enter the lottery or sign up with TNT and give this amazing city a chance to steal a little piece of your heart, I know you too will fall in love with marathons and the city of San Francisco. 

Serena Williams Core Power - 30 Day NTC Challenge

As you probably already know by now Nike Women have released an updated to their Nike Training Club app with a few new bonus content workouts. The feature this month is beautiful and amazing Serena Williams. All this workout requires is a stability ball and resistance bands and no you don’t have to do so many minutes to unlock the workout.

As a runner I try to work on my core as much as possible – however, sometimes I get lazy and I figure what I do is enough. My core strength is what helps me maintain my pace through those long miles. As a runner when I saw this workout open up I got beyond excited to see it was a core focused workout and it only takes 15 minutes.

I always love a good challenge and I always love to challenge myself. In the Month of April I have a challenge for you!!

April is 30 days of Serena Williams Core Power workout.

Here are the rules: You do Serena Williams Core Power workout once a day for 30 days and hashtag your workout with #CorePower. This will encourage those who are also involved in the challenge. 

Not only will this help improve your core strength but you will gain yourself some mad NTC minutes. 450 minutes to be exact, on top of what you already do on your own.

Who is in this challenge with me!? Tweet me at @TiaraBeth or comment below.

I want to make sure I hold all of you accountable. Also you can hold me accountable. With my first marathon 68 days away I need more core power.

Ready, set, let’s go! 

Exclusive Serena Williams Content

I have teamed up with Nike Women to bring you exclusive content from Nike Training Club. 

Those of you Nike Training Club enthusiast probably already know that Nike Training Club has teamed up with Serena Williams to bring you an exclusive Serena Williams workout. 

What I adore most about Nike Training Club app is that all the workouts are created by Nike trainers themselves or Nike athelets. These workouts are tried and tested and they work. 

I have been using the NTC app since 2009 and I am well over 14,000 minutes. This app has motivated me to keep pushing through my workouts. With each workout you do you can open more and more exclusive workouts from different trainers and athletes. 

This month the focus is Serena Williams and the workout is AMAZING!! If you want to work your core this is the workout is for you. Grab your iPhone,open your NTC app and download this workout. Get your stability ball and resistance bands ready because this workout is GREAT!!

The Nike Training Club app has helped me get through a marathon and is assisting me through a second. The app has made me stronger, faster and an overall better runner.I hope it does the same for you. 

NikeFuel Band - A Game Changer

Fuel Check

I adore Nike and its products that is no secret but they have one invention that is definitely my beloved products it is something I use and wear on a daily basis, this product has become a second skin to me, it is my NikeFuel band.

Recently I have been getting a lot of questions about my NikeFuel band. I believe it is becoming more widespread in Canada and people are beginning to spot just what it is I have been wearing on my wrist for the past 8 months.

Today while getting ready for my second workout of the day two of my co-workers asked me what I had around my wrist. I am constantly enthusiastic to talk about Nike especially the NikeFuel band.

Lady 1 questioned me if it was a toy, she stated that her daughter has been asking her for one but she has been hesitant to purchase it for her. I was flabbergasted that someone would think the NikeFuel band is a toy.

I told her my story of how the NikeFuel band has improved my life:

Since I received my NikeFuel band 8 months ago I have succeeded in losing 26 pounds, 4 inches around my waist and it has significantly amplified the amount of energy I have. I have gone from loathing morning workouts to falling in love with my morning runs and furthermost I love the person I am becoming – confident, happy and energetic.

Lady 2 asked how a band that goes around my wrist could do all of that for a person.

Last Week's Fuel board

I revealed them how the NikeFuel band works and how I make the world my playground. “Through a sports-tested accelerometer, Nike+ FuelBand tracks your daily activity including running, walking, basketball, dancing and dozens of everyday activities. It tracks each step taken and calorie burned. It also tells the time of day.” I set a daily goal for myself – mine is 4,000 – and the NikeFuel band motivates me to work hard to reach my goal so I can receive achievements and rewards. Not only am I competing with myself to reach my goal on a daily basis but I am also competing with my NikeFuel band friends on Facebook. I hate losing so I don’t like seeing myself not in the top spot of my Fuel Leaderboard and therefore I push myself each day to go above and beyond my daily goal each and everyday. My day doesn't end at 4,000.

It has transformed me from being a person that hated the mornings to a person that loves working out in the mornings. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my NikeFuel band leaderboard. If I am not in the top spot it means there is no time to sleep in and let the day get away on me I have to seize my opportunity to regain the top position. 

Most mornings by the time I am done my workouts and ready to head to work I am sitting around 3,000 NikeFuel just 1,000 off of my goal. By lunch time I am nearing my goal, but does this mean I stop of course not. I grab every opportunity I have to Make It Count, if that means taking 28 flights of stairs, running knee high sprints while I am waiting for my print job, using a bathroom on another floor to walk further. Just because I have a desk job it doesn’t stop me from racking up as much fuel as possible. 

Making all these changes in my life to gain more NikeFuel has helped me achieve my weight loss goals and become the person I want to be.

As I was telling my co-workers about my NikeFuel band they commented that I am very passionate about it and yes I am, but I am passionate about anything that gets people moving because as you can see movement has helped me out a lot.

If you don’t already have a NikeFuel band what are you waiting for? Get yourself a NikeFuel band and join us on Twitter and Facebook for some friendly competition, new friends and fun times.

National Eating Disorder Week

It is National Eating Disorder week and as much as it makes me happy that we have a national eating disorder week it also saddens me that so many people have to go through having this horrible disease.

I remember being younger and thinking to myself “why do people have eating disorders, it is easy to eat” until I developed an eating disorder than I realized how hard eating could be.

I remember the first time I really started to hate my body it was the year that the Britney Spears video for “Hit Me Baby One More Time” came out and there was this tall, skinny blonde girl who all the guys loved and all the girls wanted to be and there I was short, tanned skin and dark hair but most of all I had muscle from being a swimmer. 

All of a sudden out of nowhere I was having thoughts of inadequacy I wasn't good enough, pretty enough, smart enough to be considered pretty. The guys would make fun of me and say stuff like “You look like the Terminator” a few of them even nicknamed me The Tiaraator because I had what they called crazy muscles. I wanted nothing more but for these to be gone. 

This is when my life started to spiral out of control.

Anorexia later turned into binge eating and soon my small frame of 120 pounds turned into a large frame of 250 pounds. Once again an eating disorder caught me but this time it was bulimia. I would become so depressed for being overweight that I would eat everything in the house and purge it out. This was a cycle for me for years.

One day I found the gym and in the beginning the gym was an enemy. I would eat and eat and eat than feel bad about what I eat so I would go to the gym for hours on end and spin and run and stair climb and swim until I felt better about myself and than do it again the next day. I remember my roommate asked me once if I was ok. To me I was no longer starving myself or binging and purging so I didn’t have a disorder. I was not skinny so there was no way this was an eating disorder, so I kind of fell through the cracks. I could fake that everything was fine around my parents.

These days I am healthy. I still exhibit signs of the Eating Disorder lurking in the corners and that will always be there but more often than not I can force those feeling out.

 I have found a better way to cope. I found a true friend in running. The road is always there and willing to listen to my problems. I have gone out on a run to have a good cry and flush out the feelings of not being enough. 

Running has embraced me and I have embraced running. When I finish a run I feel like I am more than enough I feel good enough.

I believe that my feelings of inadequacy are the reasons I have been able to gain so much speed in a short period of time. I take the negative feelings that the eating disorder brings me and I take them out in my run. This inspires me to be a better run.

Sometimes  I wish I could go back and talk to my 14 year old self I would say:

Dear Tiara,

You are beautiful exactly the way you are. Though the boys may make fun of you now it is only because they are jealous of you and maybe a little envious of your amazing muscles. Don't let people and the media get you down because it isn't real and one day you are going to be happy with being fit, you will work hard for it. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but there will come a day when you are happy to have muscles. Love your body for what it can do because it can do amazing things, don't hate on yourself. You are strong and beautiful and talented and you will make it through this.

Tips that Motivate Me to Run

1. GET A NEW PAIR OF RUNNING SHOES. Honestly, getting a new pair of running shoes get me out the door. I love trying them out and seeing how they feel and I love mixing them with my different running outfits. If I am totally struggling to get out there I get a new pair of shoes.

2. RUNNING QUESTIONS "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'" --Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada.

3. GET OFF THE CEMENT. It's hard to stay motivated with shinsplints, or knee pain, so get off the pavement for a few run and try trail running or get on a track and try working your speed.

4. LOOK TO THE PAST. I have days where I need to focus on a race I did or another good to run get me out the door.

5. SIGN UP FOR A MARATHON having a goal always gets me into training mode, it also gets me eating cleaner. Find a marathon and sign up for one!!

6. THINK FAST. On my long runs I like to split it in half in my head. I tell myself “Ok Tiara you can run these 7 miles easy than when I get to my 7 mile half way point I tell myself ok now get back as fast as you can.” It pushes me but also gets my long mileage in and builds my fast endurance at the same time.

7. GOOD-TO-GO PLAYLIST Download songs that will keep you going. My current favorites are Rhinna, Elli Goulding and Florance and the Machine.

8. FIND A NEW PATH. I find that running the same path all the time can get monotonous so for my long runs I try every so often to find a new path to run I map it out using MapMyRuns.com and I go. Using a new path tends to slow me down though as I need to get used to a new route but it is nice to change it up every so often.   

9. RUNNING COMMENTARY "No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." --Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile

10. THE BOSTON MARATHON is a year away. Think you can get there? (Go to www.baa.org for qualifying times.) Than you can run with me! When I run my long runs and I start to get tired I repeat to myself “You are Training to Qualify for Boston” it keeps me going.

11. READ THIS The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, a short story by Alan Sillitoe, tells the tale of a rebellious youth in a reformatory who runs in solitude and makes a stand against a system he doesn't believe in. You'll have new appreciation for the power of solo runs.

12. PLAY IN THE STREET. Skip a dreaded track workout for a fartlek (Swedish for "speed play") session. After 10 minutes of easy jogging, run hard between two telephone poles, and then slow down until you pass two dogs. Then see if you can beat the next person you meet up with to a distant destination, followed by a jog to the next bridge. There are no set rules, so make it up as you go along. These are my favorite and help me get through those long runs.

13. THE BATHROOM can wait till the sun goes down. Your tempo run can't so get those shoes on and hit the road.

14. RUN AT LUNCH. Daniel Sheil, a marathon coach in Portland, Oregon, recommends lunchtime runs for two reasons: (1) You get your workout in before the day gets away from you; (2) You get a midday break from work stress. Lunch workouts have become my favorite and prevent me from spending calories and money.

15. THAT NEW RUNNING WATCH you want? Buy it, but only after you have broken a record like your fastest half marathon.

16. BUDDY UP. Find a “rabbit” to run with. Every so often I get Mike to run with me. He runs an impressive 2 hour 54 minute marathon so pacing myself to keep up with him helps me increase my pace. Trust me I don’t want to look like a wimp to my boyfriend so I push myself not to take any stops.

17. HAVE A DAILY NIKEFULE GOAL. I have a rule, if I come home and my NikeFuel goal is not 5,000 I have to do another workout. It keeps me motivated, it keeps me pushing and it holds me accountable not to slack off during the day if I don’t want to go home and do another workout once I get home. My Nike Kinect training is slacking because of it but right now my focus is running.

18. MAKE A MASSAGE APPOINTMENT for the day of your long run it gives something to look forward to after my long run and it pushes me out the door to get my run in.

19. GET YOURSELF A HEARTY DOG who needs lots of exercise. You'll always have a reason for a daily jog. I want to get a dog so bad but sadly I wouldn't fit one in my apartment.

20. RUN THROUGH A SPRING STORM. It is refreshing and with the wind and rain you are surely to run faster.

21. RUNNING COMMENTARY "A lot of people run a race to see who's fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." --Steve Prefontaine

22. FEEL A NEED FOR SPEED. Sometimes I just need to run to see how fast I can get myself going it is invigorating for me. I take these runs to the rack and run 400 meters 4 times as fast as I can go. It is refreshing to get speed since training for a marathon requires endurance.

23. YOU'LL BE WEARING A BATHING SUIT in another month or so! I remind myself of this every time I want to cut a workout short.

24. GO EARLY. Two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper says that rather than putting off a run, she'll head out even earlier than usual when she's not in the mood to work out. "If I have that extra cup of coffee or I wait an extra half hour, it becomes too torturous," she says.

25. PAY YOURSELF. When I first started running I was 250 pounds and I hated running so I set a price for attaining a certain weekly mileage goal mine was 10 miles, I was a newbie. When you hit it, pay up I would give myself $10 at the end of the week. Keep your mileage money in a jar, and once it accumulates, buy yourself that new running jacket, shoes, shirt you've been ogling. It makes the mileage totally worth it.

26. ASK A FRIEND TO BIKE alongside you when your running partner isn't available. I have to start doing this more often since I am getting faster than more of my friends and hey they can carry the water.

27. RACE RESULTS STAY ON GOOGLE FOREVER.

28. PROVE YOUR ARE BETTER. I had a bad race at Nike Women’s and I am so excited to prove myself at Calgary Marathon. Not to anyone else just to me.

29. HEAD FOR THE HILLS. I have been told that it is ok to throw a hill workout in in-place of a short run if your body is really beaten down. You can’t run hills lazy you need to put your full body into them. Once I do hill sprints I am excited to get back to just running.

30. RUN FOR A REASON. Do a race for charity TNT is a great charity to run with. They are a guaranteed entry into Nike Women’s Marathon if you are thinking about running that one. Also they provide coaching and run groups to help get you out the door.

31. REMEMBER that you almost always feel better after a run than before it.

32. KEEP A LOG. Nike plus has inspired me to run further and faster. When I see my weekly/monthly/yearly total mileage I want to look at it and be proud. It is what gets me out there when I don’t want to be. Also knowing that I am not in first place on my leader board inspires me to get my run on.

33. DON'T EXPECT EVERY DAY TO BE AMAZING. I am learning that some days will be slower than others, and some days might even hurt a bit. Elizabeth often reminds me that not every run is a race. I always feel horrible about myself if I don’t run at least a sub 8, but you know what not everyone is going to have AMAZING days every day.

34. JUST START. I have days where I think to myself “I don’t want to run today” I make myself run for 10 minutes once I get 10 minutes in I usually finish my run. Just get out there.

35. RUN SOLO and away from the crowds on recovery days. The faster runners on popular routes will make you want to pick up the pace. Alone, you'll be able to listen to your body and reap the recovery you deserve. We all need recovery.

36. THINK YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO RUN? You are wrong. If you have time to facebook, tumblr, tweet you have time to run. Cut something out that you don’t need to be doing and go for 20 minutes. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say they don’t have time. You had time to tell me that, if you have time to make excuses you have time to run.

37. STOP BEING SOCIAL. For me running isn't a social event, especially when I am training. My training partner Jamie knows this and sometimes she tells me when she wants to start up a conversations she will pretend that we are in an actual race. It makes her push harder and in return makes me push harder, she isn't going to beat me.

38. BUY A FULL-LENGTH MIRROR and make sure you look in it every day trust me once you start seeing how running changes your body you won’t be giving up on it.

39. RUNNING COMMENTARY "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough." --Steve Jones, former marathon world record holder

40. A HEALTHY RUNNER IS A HAPPY RUNNER. As soon as I feel like I have injured myself I get to my physio’s office. The moment something feels not right, roll it out, stretch it out and if you have to get it looked at. You don’t want something minor to turn into something major.

41. INVEST IN GOOD GEAR. I love having the newest gear from Nike. It encourages me to get out there and get moving. If you are new to running get your gait tested at a specialty store, invest in a good pair of sneakers that are right for you and get some good gear. Dri-fit gear, Nike has a great selection.