Hey guys hope all is well and welcome to another post on this BLOG. today I will be share my experiences of the 2022 Rock N Rock Half Marathon . So lets go. This year I decide to Run and a company Traycee Bee! since I wasn't planning on trying to set a NEW PR or anything. I just wanted to finish and make sure my friend crosses the finish line. The expo was help at the Conrad Hotel & Casino. I was so busy I didn't even have time to explore the premises. I wanted to make sure I got there on time so I can go talk to the ULTRA booth that sales shoes. Plus I wanted to get my bib and pick up my Charity Medal from St Jude along with my Perks. Heres 2 picture of me and my dog wearing the medal. LOL. I would like to give St. Jude a big shout out thanks again from providing us with awesome perks right before the start of the race. I just love being part of this every year. Even my doggie BLITZ got in the action. Here are some photos before the Race!Lets get running! as we all started to move up the corral I was feeling happy, excited and confident in what I was ready to go accomplish. I will say that I was having issues with my left knee prior to starting the race. But I decide to just use my knee braces and KT tape. Oh was I wrong. During mile 8.5 I managed to slip and try to catch my self landing and by doing that I ended up damaging my LEFT KNEE. So I waited for the ambulances to take me away. During this I was so mad and upset at myself, and the worst part was I really couldn't move. I will save you the time and spare you the details, but my next few month sucked. Here are some photos from that night. I am not done. I will come back stronger!Plans to keep me motivated. I plan to return to my running!
I plan to be out there helping my good buddy, @ KODIAK100. I Plan to be ready for Thunder Ultras 2022. I plan to re lose all my weight gained during this injury. I plan to stay committed and focused.
0 Comments
welcome back, Its now officially been 5 days into the new year. 2022. I am happy to still be alive and breathing. Thank you god for another year and I know this one will be different. I decide to make a few changes to help me regain some of my precious time. Turning 39 made me realize that I need to spend more time doing thing that I love doing and also understanding that my efforts and time are valuable and its ok to help others but not to spread myself thin. So with this being said one of my change is that I decide that I will not be posting as much of my life as before, this time Im taking it back to the basic and just focusing on the work at hand, not being to concern on what I should post wont be part of my life any more. Today its 1/12/2022. I happy to be back writing this entry. I managed to pick up a bug and ended up being sick from 1/7-1/11. FYI it wasn't CORONA or any other strain. Just a plain FLU. So now on this beautiful Wed morning I'm I happy to say I'm almost back to 100%. This morning I was able to get up at my normal routine time which is 4am, and I had the energy to start my training. I was excited and also nervous because it been about a month since I ran. Not running cause me to gain weight, so I went from my NORMAL set weight of 302, up to 320. You could say I had a good time over the holidays. But now I'm happy to be back at it and once again starting from scratch. I'm lucky to say that being sick helped me lose weight and I got back down to 312. So now that I'm back on the road I'm ready to get cracking on these miles. Heavy Weight Runner OTG! During the next 7 weeks I plan to get ready for my 1st major race of 2022. I am happy to say that I will be out there running the HALF MARATHON. I will be doing the LAS VEGAS ROCK & ROLL HALF 13.1, which is on 2/27/2022. For those that know me I been running this race since 2016 and I don't plan on stopping. Here is a list of my times. For those that are interested in what I will be running these next 7 weeks. I will add a photo of my 7 WEEK HALF MARATHON TRAINING PLAN. 2016- 3:33:18 13.1 2017- 3:15:17 13.1 2018- 3:43:12 13.1 2019- 3:37:16 13.1 2020- 0:00:00 Race CX 2021- 0:00:00 Race CX' 2022- SEEKING A PR FROM THE AVERAGE OF ALL 4 RACE. (3:32:00) So with this been said, it's time to work. I can't wait to also see a good friend of mine. She will be coming down to run the event . Her name is Tracy B, and she is also on her own weight loss journey. I hope many of you received my 2022 Newsletter, which is designed to share upcoming races, info about my projects, and my business. Along Free Races, Podcast, and much much more..
January 2022- NewLetter Link: Check It Out! https://mailchi.mp/d81aec96f868/2022-r2i-january-monthly-newsletter Thank you once again for stopping, see you next entry. Hey Guys, Welcome back to another entry on my BLOG. Today I wanted to talk about the importance about not letting your mind trick you into thinking that what you are doing is not working or even worth it, or that its to late to make a differences. Since the start of this Las Vegas lockdown, I lost my mojo, and I didn't know why until recently when I decide to create this entry. Its's funny, the one thing that was holding me down was my own perception of myself. Let me explain. As you know Im a dedicated run and I love being out there, I'm not an elite but I work hard like the next person. Lately I have been dealing with an heal pain that comes and go. Around March the pain was unbearable but if I stopped it seemed to get worst but I knew I needed time off. So I decide I would dial down my running, but this slowly started to change my perception on how I felt about myself, and my running. For the month of March I was able to complete 47 Miles in pain and I was not happy. Since I took off 15 days from running in MARCH, every time I would see my calendar and see the big "X" on the dates I would feel bad, because I would want to run, but If I did the pain would come back and not heal. So I decide to switch things up, I added Cardio workouts thru a SPIN BIKE, also started to do body weight exercises to help me keep active and healthy. However I soon realized that this was not something I wanted to be doing all the time, I would rather be out running the streets or trails plus I missed my weekend race adventures. So after finishing March with low miles, I decide I would get back into my running groove. I started to once again add a little more miles but nothing to drastic. I made sure to record all my runs on the calendar so I would no longer be seeing a big "X", which means nothing was done that day. I was once again seeing myself as that strong runner I know I can be, but this did not happen until I made the "SWITCH" in my mind. From " a poor hurt runner with an injury" to telling myself " You are strong, you are dedicated, and you can push thru anything." After accepting this positive thinking in my head I was back on a roll. My foot started to feel better from the proper exercise and also from getting a new pair of shoes. This time I decide to try out HOKA RICON, so far I love the shoes. If you are running with an old pair of shoes I recommend you buy yourself a new pair, it will make a big difference. I am happy to say I was able to finish April with a few extra miles. 58 Miles. Not bad. So with this being said please remember the following to help you stay focus and not overthink the situation like I did.
1. Change the channel, if you don't like what you see. Take action and make it different. 2. Practice mindfulness, Commit to becoming more aware of the here and now. 3. Schedule time for Reflection, Thinking about how you could do things differently or recognizing potential pitfalls to a plan, Incorporate 20 minutes of “thinking time” into your daily schedule it can work wonders to help you feel better. 4. Challenge your thoughts, it’s easy to get carried away with negative thoughts. Before you conclude acknowledge that your thoughts may be negative. Learn to recognize and replace them with positive thinking. 5. Relax, sometimes this can be the hardest thing we can do, just remember that if your not enjoying it, then your not happy, which usually puts you into stress mode. So don't let that happen. Breath. Welcome back guys! Its a beautiful Thursday 1/16/2020 and my mind cant stop thinking about my LONG run day, which is around the corner. So let me ask you, what are you doing this Saturday? to help you stay accountable. Well I hope its something were you are moving and grooving to a beat. Its funny, when I was younger I loved to wake up early just so I can sit in front of my Television to watch Saturday morning cartoons but now what I find more exciting is being able to drive around my state and find new trails, or route to run. Ever since I fell in love with running my life has been blessed with real friends and has become a place of sanctuary from daily dramas. On Saturday morning I usually like waking up around 4:15am, so I can give myself about 15 minutes to get ready and wake up. Then exactly around 4:30am I start my stretching before heading off at 4:45am. I normally like to run about 6-8 miles on Saturdays but if my girlfriends works then I have to run about 5-6 Miles, and make sure to come back home within enough time to take here to work. I prefer running early mornings because its nice and quite, not much traffic, and it allow me to focus on my running. You should try it sometimes. So with this being said let me share a few tips to make sure you enjoy your next long run like I do. Tip #1 If its your 1st time doing a long run, please make sure to stay hydrated, and don't run to fast or to far, make sure to stay at a comfortable pace, and remember that this is You Vs. You, and nobody else. Take your time. Tip #2 Don't over fuel with Sugar; many runners love to have sports drinks during their long run, but many forget that your body can only take in so much energy thru sugar, after the person normally feels nausea and stomach pains, so stick to H2O or use in moderation. Tip #3 Run by feel rather than by pace. Being a heavy weight runner has made me learn to pay attention to how I feel instead of looking at my pace constantly. This allow me to focus more on my breathing, my pace, and my running form. You have to remember that this is a race but your not running for time your running to finish. So take your time and remember always put one step after another. Tip #4 Don't over due it with the running, please allow yourself time to recover,refuel,rest. Then after this is done, then you can repeat, and do it all over again. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. Allow your body to re charge its batteries or you will be feeling depleted. Tip #5 Learn to self talk with yourself so you can give that pep talk that you need to continue fighting for your goal. Tell yourself that your not physically tired just mentally fatigued and you can push thru it. Learn to be positive, learn to stop any negative thoughts on its track, and remember why your doing this. Trust me after completing whatever your doing you will have a feeling of accomplishment. Tip #6 I would recommend doing some research and find or create a mantra that works for you, to help you stay strong. For example one of my "mantras" is.."One step at a time, Beast-Mode baby!" I keep saying this over and over until I finish. Trust me it will help keep you focused. I can keep writing and sharing tons of information with you but it better for you to hit the road with your own two feet and see what you run across. Just remember that this is something your doing to help you clear your mind, and get you back into a positive routine, so you can live a happy, healthy and a successful life. Oh yeah! Welcome back readers. It's been a minute since I've share on my Blog, so its time to change that, and bring you back into my weight loss journey. As you see from the photos above, "The Lake Mead Mead Marathon" Race will be my 1st of 2020, I am happy to be running in "Half Marathon". Thank again Craig. To get ready for this race I been running since the start of the year or actually I haven't really stop running, you can say I've been running year long. Its crazy to even write that because not to long ago I would be the 1st person to say "F*** that, I ain't running Jack.." but now its something that just bring happiness to my heart and I love being out there running on my own 2 feet. So what did you do on your New Years Eve? I ended running and rucking the "Resolution un" which is hosted by one of my favorite running companies, Triple Dare. You guys rock, Big shout out to, Heidi, Aubrey, James, Ryan and all my fellow ambassadors. I also had the opportunity to do this with a new friend. Glen Nevada, it was nice seeing you out there brother, keep up the good work. Right after this I went back to to get ready for the festivities that would follow that night. I'm happy to say I was able to spend it with my family and enjoy some good homemade food for mom. Then it was back home to get rest, so I can be ready for my next race which was the following day. As you can see from the photo I was able to finish the 2nd race with no problem. This time I was running, I needed to see where my 5K time would be. Any Guesses? It was actually not to bad, I was expecting much worst. I finished the race in 47:31. So as you can see these 2 race made sure to keep accountable for my running and at the same time they are part my training. Since the 1st of month, I been doing my daily running making sure to run at least a 5K, this makes sure to keeps the doctor away. I do my running in the early morning. This helps me start my day feeling accomplished, motivated, and confident in myself. Here is a picture of my training log from 12/30/19-1/10/2020. As you can tell Im feeling more motivated than even, I have learned to be happy with the process instead of always worrying on the results. I know they will come when I least expected, so for the time being Im learning to be a stronger and better person. Im also developing an incredible support system around me and wont let me fall as I wont let them fall neither, together we have made our lives better. So come back later when I post the result for this race. RESULTS ARE HERE! All I can say is what a beautiful course and Im glad I was able to experiences it first hand on a beautiful Saturday Morning. Im glad to say I was happy to see several familiar face. Thanks for being out there, Sandy, Christopher, Ronald. It was nice seeing you at the 9 Miles marker. Thanks for the photos! check them below! Hope you guys like the video, please leave a comment and share! I haven't always been running, however growing up I was an athlete I played basketball, football, and volleyball. I never thought I would become a “Runner”. I didn't start running until I had my heart broken back in 2012. It seems that after dealing with pain, that’s the only time we are ready to make a change. During those days and months, I remember doing it because I wanted revenge, I wanted to prove her wrong. As time passed, I started to make positive gains and I slowly realized that this time I was going to do this for me and know one else. So I said forget her, and I moved on. Focused on myself instead.
Since 2012, I been slowly working on making small gain conquering different race distances every year. I started with the 5K the first year, then I moved up to a 7K, then by the 3rd year I was finally conquering a 10K which is 6 miles. Who in the word would have imagine a big boy from Honduras being able to run 6 Miles without stopping. Not me. By this time I have proven that anything was possible as long as I trained, stay focused, determined, and respect what I was doing. I was hungry and I wanted more. So I set my goal even hire. I read a quote that resonate with me, and it goes like this. “Set a goal so BIG that you can't achieve it until YOU grow into the person who can.” and So I began Chasing my 1st Half Marathon (13.1). My 1st half marathon took over 5 hours to complete, Im happy to say it was well worth the pain I endured during. Now I can say with a big happy smile I conquered RED ROCK with Triple Dare. After completing this I realize that my goal wasn’t to win, it was to survive and grow as a person, a lot more was at stake than simply checking off a box on my resolution list. Running a half marathon was helping me take steps forward in my personal life. In life, you can’t always wait until you’re ready, you just have to go and be prepared for whatever life throws at you. Since them I have completed a total of 4 Half marathons, and even PR @ Rock N Roll Half Marathon by 15 minutes. I will not stop reaching for improvement when I know all I have to do is keep trying, So please join me on my journey as I chase 26.2. Stay Tune For More!! " Desiree does not equal destiny, discipline equals destiny." Name: Jose E Santos Age: 35 Occupation: Bilingual Drywall-Sales Specialist Hometown: San Pedro Sula, Honduras. How long have you been running? I started running back in December 2012. I started running to lose weight and get healthy. What prompted you to start? After dealing with a break-up, I made a conssious decision to better my life, starting with my body, then my mind and finally my soul. How often do you run? I currently run five times per week and rest two days. Average of 10-15 miles. What is your routine? Typically, I will have a long run once a week , about 5-7miles. Then during the week I try to run 2-3 miles, Followed by a protein shake. Do you race? If so, how often, and what kind of races? Yes I do race! I love being out there running in different event, supporting different causes. I mainly try to stick to road running, however most of my friends enjoy the trails. Do you engage in other sports or activities? If so, what and how often? I like to try and enjoy different sports. I also enjoy playing basketball, football, and off-road cycling. I try to get out there and enjoy them attest twice a month. What’s the most rewarding part of running for you? The most rewarding part of running for me, has to be the feeling I get when I conquer and finish a race. I feel the power, courage and confidences surging thru my body as I know I just did something amazing. "Runners High" Please describe your weight loss journey?. Since I can remember I have always been overweight. Some of my most familiar words are fat, chunky and gordo. Growing up as a child I was always made fun of because of my weight and how I looked. I became so used to the fat shaming and name calling but eventually I learned not to take what was said to me so seriously and would just let the negative comments fall by wayside and go on with my business. However, those negative words/comments still affected me and the overall image I had of myself. Over the years, my self-esteem decreased and it even got to the point where I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. But then something clicked inside me, No More, No More is what I told myself, I wanted more out of life. My highest weight was 430 pounds back in 12/20/2012. This was when I realized I needed a change, and I started my journey. I was determined to not only lose the weight both physically and mentally, but change my whole life forever and help others do the same. This was the day "RUN2IMPROVE" was created. On December 23, 2014 I weighed myself. I was 326lbs., by September 30, 2015 I was 305 lbs. I’m still exercising to get to my healthy goal weight of 210. By 12/17/2017. I will be at my max physique. With your support you can help me share my story with many more people who want to change their lives. I know my story will be a motivator for those individuals who have struggled with being overweight. My name is Jose and I am an overcomer and my hope is that my life journey will ignite the passion in those that want to reach their weight loss goal and maintain a healthy lifestyle. What is the secret to your weight loss success? If I have to call it a secret it has to be the following, staying consistent, devoted to yourself, and just eating a healthy, the rest will fall in place. How do you stay motivated? I stay motivate by keeping busy and making sure that I registered for 1-2 event each month, so I know I have to be focus and consistent to finish. Do you have any favorite motivational quotes? "Desiree does not equal destiny, Discipline equals destiny."- Unknown What are your current short and long term goals? It sounds cheesy, but I just want to get Improve every day. After losing this much weight I get a lot of people asking me what is my ultimate goal? I say, “To run a full marathon 26.2, conquer a Triathlon, and become an Ultra runner." Is there anything else you’d like to tell us? This journey is not for those that seek a quick solution, it takes time, patiences, sweat, blood and tears. But if you stick with it, you can achieve anything you want in life, and in this sport. Jose E SantosA man, a friend, a runner, and an inspiration to all those that he meets. Welcome! Guys! I know its been a couple of months since my last Blog. As you know I been busy working and putting those miles, getting ready for my next big race. Im happy to say that my next race will be in Reno, Nevada for the 5th Annual RENO 10 Miler & Relay presented by Hometown Health. I am happy to add this race to my Journey, I know it will be a great one! on top of that I will also have the opportunity to run with another great runner and friend. Annette Schulz. She will make sure we stay focus. I will also have the pleasure of meeting Eric L from Race178.com, who sponsor my race, to be able to continue to continue my journey. This race will be a 10 mile run for individuals or a 2 or 3 person relay for teams of runners. This race is the 2nd counting towards the 4-Race Medal and the 2017 Point Series. The race starts and finishes in downtown Reno, Nevada and passes through the University of Nevada campus and other scenic and historic neighborhoods. Elite runners battle for prize money. This event is what the title says, a 10 mile run. Just beyond a 10K (6.2 miles). But not quite as far as a half marathon (13.1 miles). Or if you are more interested in running a shorter distance, get together a team and run in the 2 or 3 person relay. We'll divide the 10 mile course into three legs. On a 2-person team, one member will run two legs and the other member will run one leg. On a 3-person team, each member will run one leg. The legs will be between 3 and 4 miles. This is going to be a spectacular course that shows off many of the landmarks of the city and the University of Nevada. I also can't wait to add this bad boy to the collection! This will make #15, Oh yeah. Every runner will receive a running tech shirt along with your official race bib. FREE PHOTOS TO DOWNLOAD FROM FACEBOOK!MORE UPDATES COMING AFTER 8/15/2017He’s one of the most positive person we know. But that’s not enough!At 35 years old, Jose Santos is an Run Aficionado and photographer, an entrepreneur, a Christian, and the big brother. It’s hard to believe he’s the same guy who was 430 pounds and walked side to side like a penguin. The last 3.5 years since falling in love with running, I learn to become a better man. a better friend, a better version of myself.
Jose's lesson: Having desiree is not it enough, it take passion and discipline to achieve what you want in life. “I knew the only way I could be successful was by working hard and doing the right thing,” he says. That result is evident today in everything he does, starting with the alarm clock that goes off at 4:10 a.m., "Its my opportunity clock." THERE'S ALWAYS ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY—IF YOU WAKE UP EARLY Jose's is up before dawn most days for a workout with his dog named "BLITZY", who accompanies him on his daily runs. He helps motivate others before their day’s work: “There’s more than enough time in 24 hours as long as you’re not burning the candle at both ends,” Jose says. “As long as I’m not partying and getting crazy, I’m good. I get eight hours of sleep, make sure I eat right and the rest takes care of itself. Thats why I wake up early!." |