Tips on Energy Supplementation

Now that we are running 6 miles or more on Saturdays, it is important that we learn about the options we have to re-energize our body. There are sooooo many options that it might seem overwhelming to some people. The good side is that because there are so many options, it is very likely that you can find exactly what you need.

Ok. So let's start by saying that a runner's world is more than just getting out the door to run. You could do that, and that is ok. But, if you are running consistently 3-5 times a week, every week, you know that what you eat and drink, the weather, the shoes, your apparel, stretching, and sleeping can have an impact on your run. In other words, blisters in your feet - ouch! Strained muscles - ouch! Hitting the wall - ouch! You don't want any of these to ruin your training or your life... taking the kids to the zoo with a blister in your foot doesn't sound fun to me! If a runner wants to make the most out of a run it is important to consider all those things I mentioned before. But let's focus on nutrition and the role it plays.

Maybe you have heard other runners say the phrase "hit the wall". Hitting the wall is when your body literally runs out of fuel, and your body feels tired and fatigued and your brain is not computing well. You shut down and crash. So what is the fuel you need? Your muscles, brain and nerves need glucose to work... glucose is your fuel. Some of it is in your blood, but the majority is stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. There is a limit to how much glycogen your body can store. So when you run out of it, you hit the wall - ouch!

How do you know your body is about to hit the wall and how to prevent it? As a common baseline you will hear that around 60 minutes into your workout your body will have depleted it's glycogen reserves. Another nice fact to know is that if you are a beginner runner, your body will deplete it faster than an experienced runner.

What does this mean? If you are working out for an hour, you will do ok with your reserves, so make sure you hydrate appropriately and make sure to have something to eat after you are done to restore your energy, and you should be fine. If you are working out for more than an hour you need to refuel your body throughout your workout with more glucose. An easy way of doing that is with carbohydrates. Don't wait until your body has reached it's limits. Have you felt you are dragging your body or you can't think or calculate well your laps or time running? You might have been close to your limits. Make note of how much time you have been working out and start to refuel around 15 minutes before. Keep refueling in frequent and small doses. This might be every mile or every two miles, depending on each runner and what the fuel is.

Now that we know why we need to refuel and when we need to refuel, we need to learn what we can use to refuel. From powerdrinks, gels, bars, sports beans to gummi bears, crackers, cookies, pbj, etc. The options are practically limitless. This is the bottom line: you need carbs... what type of carbs to eat is for you to find out. Are you the candy type or the bar type? Are you the organic type? Are you the drink type? You need to experiment and find out. Some people do ok with only sportsdrinks, some people need more fiber to keep their sugar levels at a steady state and prevent sugar highs and lows. Others do well with a combination of these. So don't limit your options to bars or gatorade. Before these products were so easily available people would use bananas, crackers, nuts, honey, etc. They are carbs too!

Another important note is not to over do it! You don't want to eat too much and then go running to the porta-potty, or be propelling yourself with gases, or cramping due to carbs overload. Listen to your body. That is another beauty of runnning. You have to get to know your body and feed it what gives it life, forcing you to stay away from lots of foods that just numb you and slow you down. So choose well and remember to refuel your body after every workout to keep it running.

Here are some links to articles that I found very useful and have good info:

• Carbs on the Run
• Running Times Guide to Energy Bars
• Design Your Running Diet
• The Best Foods for Runners
• Ask the Dietician: Hydrating and Fueling for Half Marathon

Other supplementary articles:

• The Right Stuff
• Re-Fueling the Runner: Post Workout Nutrition
• Fueling the Runner: Benefits of Food Logs

Wow... hope this sheds some light into the vast world of nutrition. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more to consider, but as long as you follow this guidelines and have a healthy balanced diet you will do great!

Choose to be strong, choose to be healthy and lets live a full life! God bless and have a peaceful run!

Recap from Dr. Nadeau's Stretch and Injury Clinic

This is just a quick post to go over some important points Dr. Nadeau talked about:

1. Always stretch after your runs. Hold the stretch for at least 15 seconds and do at least 2 repetitions. Pay attention to your problem areas.

2. Cold baths are great for after long runs to aid in recovery.

3. Soreness and pain are part of a runner's training but usually it fades out by the second day. If you have pain in an area for more than 48 hours you should have it checked by a professional, it might be an injury. Pain is a symptom and many times the problem area and the pain area are not the same. There are many types of injuries a runner can have and many sources.

4. To prevent injuries there are many things a runner should pay attention to, nutrition, hydration, stretching, resting/sleeping and a balance training schedule.

5. Dr. Nadeau went through many of the common injuries... I really can remember all and even less the names of the muscles. In general we all have one or more weak points and we should pay attention by stretching and strengthening those areas with strength training.

6. It is important to start at a moderate pace and then build up to your "cruising speed".

7. Sports drinks like Gatorade are very concentrated in electrolytes, dilute them in water or drink water after taking them.

Her link is in this blog at the right of the page. And I still have some discount cards if anyone is interested. Also remember that in the binder at the practices there are stretching exercises, tips on apparel and breathing, and little by little I'll be adding more things. Thanks Dr. Nadeau!!!

Getting close to the two digit miles! Yikes!

Good Friday everybody! Hope you are up to our new challenge... our first 8 miler. Yes! We are going to do it... we can do it!!!

So this is the plan... Do one Lake loop and get some water/gatorade at our usual water stop. Go down Commonwealth Blvd. all the way to Oilfield Rd. (there is going to be a water stop halfway and another at the end). Come back to our usual water stop and then finish it off with either a Connector Loop or a Lake loop nice and strong! Lake loop = 1.15 miles, Commonwealth = 5.9 miles and Connector = 0.7 miles for a total of 7.75 miles finishing with the Connector or 8.2 miles finishing with the Lake loop.

Here is a link to a map of the Commonwealth run I plotted on Map My Run.

There you have it... See you tomorrow at 7am. Also, I am going to Academy right now to get some energy boost samples for you all to try out. And I promise this weekend I am going to post about supplements and a recap of last week's Stretch and Injury Clinic.

God bless you and beatSMA!

Route for Sept. 5, 2009 at Sugar Land Memorial Park

We are now getting to half of what we are going to run the day of the race! This coming Saturday, Sept. 5th we are running 6.25 miles. We are going to complete 3 circuits (Lake loop + Connector loop) and add one more Connector Loop.

Let's keep it up... let's beatSMA!!!

I am back and proud of my Team! Check out some of our fundraising ideas!

So, most of you know that I went to Puerto Rico to visit my family and my Isla del Encanto! Here is a snapshot of my vacation. I am with Alejandro at a beach in Humacao, a town in the east coast... so, the next thing east of us is Africa!


We had a blast and didn't want to come back!!! But, we are back and we are training too. Last Saturday we met for our 5 mile run. Yet, due to our trails we ended running 5.55 miles and we all did a good job!

Isn't it funny... when we started 3 miles seemed to be so long! Now, 3 miles is a piece of cake! Well, maybe not that easy... but we have come a long way. Great job team!!!

Remember that Sept. 12 is our Stretching and Injury Clinic!

Marcy Chip is cooking some fundraising ideas. Her family is planning a dinner at their house. It is going to be a 3 course meal cooked by them, they might arrange something for childcare and pricing will be per person or per couple! This event will take place in October.

Also, I am partnering with my friend Tammi Law. And we are going to have an After Work Social at SpaRomana in January. It is going to be a big party with silent auction, music, drinks, and lots of fun! They proceedings will be divided between beatSMA (MDA) and Team in Training (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society).

Start planning your events... big or small they are all fun!!!

Route for Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 7am at Memorial Park Sugar Land

Hey everyone! I am going to be super brief because I am out on vacation in Puerto Rico!!! Well, Annette Rewa is going to bring water and Gatorade to this Saturday's practice since I am out. So we need to fit in 5 miles this week. We are going to to 2 Lake Loops + 1 Connector Trail back and forth + 2 Lake Loops. That should be 5.4 miles. Hope you are doing great and for those of you with kids going to school, hope you are ready for a new school year!

Let's beatSMA for Alejandro!!!

Route for Aug. 15, 2009 at Sugar Land Memorial Park

Hello Team!!! Hope your are doing great out there and that you enjoyed some of the "cooler" weather. This week it has been a tough for me, not enough sleep. But, we can't expect everyday to be perfect. And we can't expect that every run will be a perfect run too. Nevertheless, as I tell Alejandro all the time, practice makes perfect... it will get better if you keep persevering at it!

This coming Saturday we need to do 4 miles for those of you that are doing the half marathon. So the route will be the same as last Saturday. Unless, the South Meadow Loop Trail is still under construction. If it is so, then we will run 4.4 miles by running the Connector Trail back and forth plus the Lake Loop twice (1.85 miles x 2 = 3.70 miles) and adding just the Connector Trail back and forth (0.70 miles) once more with no Lake Loop.

Reminders and Announcements:

• Write down in your calendars that Sat. September 12th we will have our Stretch and Injury Prevention Clinic by Dr. Nadeau. Please, plan to attend to this practice.
• This Saturday there will be an event at Texas Running Company, take advantage of it if you can...15% Asics apparel. Call store for details, it might be just in certain hours. For store hours and telephone click here.
  

Want to feel great when running? There is more to running than you think.

As I have promised many of you. I am going to post some tips on how to gain speed and endurance so you can feel great after a run.

There is soooo much more to running than just the "run". To become a good runner you need to consider:

• Nutrition
• Stretching
• Cross Training
• Strength Training
• Endurance Training
• Quality Training
• Rest
  

Let's see these one by one briefly...

Nutrition
I am not going to talk much about this right now because it can get long. But just try to keep a balance diet with wholesome grains and carbohydrates. Stay away from fatty foods that will slow you down. You need energy that is easily assimilated by the body. And if you are going to run for more than an hour you need to supplement while you run, after an hour of running you have depleted your reserves.

Stretching
Stretching is important to prevent injuries and stay flexible to have longer strides. The longer strides will increase your speed without wearing you out as much as trying to move your legs faster. We have talked about this topic prevously, go to my post on Stretching Tips and Basics for the basics and some useful links.

Cross Training
This is a great way to increase endurance without the impact of the road. Incorporate bicycling, swimming, elliptical machine at the gym or any other low impact cardio workout. The amount depends on your level, but one day a week, 20 to 50 minutes is good enough. The objective is to train your body to endure long periods of workout. And in this way you won't feel "dead" at the end of your run.

Strength Training
An overall weight training program to supplement your runs will help your body support itself for long distances. Strong legs will mantain long strides for more distance, a strong core will support your upper body well so your lungs can hold as much air as possible and strong arms will give you momentum. An overall workout 2 days per week is good enough. Don't over do it, you want to lift weights to be an agile runner not a body builder. Some great exercises are:

• Dumbell lunges
• Dumbell step ups and step downs (great for shins and calves)
• Leg curls with weights
• Toe raises
• Bench press
• Push ups
• All abs workout
• Lower back exercises with exercise ball

Endurance Training, Quality Training and Rest
No matter if you are a biginner runnner or experience runner you need to mix in your training different types of runs. For a seven day week, you need one long run to build endurance. One medium run that includes some quality training like intervals, tempo run, sprints or hills. This type of run will involve more effort than the other runs and you will be pushing your body to it's limits.

• Intervals are runs that alternate hard running and easy running; the time should be about the same or you can take the time of the easy interval down to half of the time of the hard interval.
• Tempo runs are runs that you keep a strong steady pace all through the run, where you need each breath to keep up with the demand.
• For the hill workout go up hill sprinting and come down hill jogging at an easy pace.

Then, have 2-3 shorter runs at a moderate pace. And finally, have 2-3 nonconsecutive days of rest to let your body regain energy and build up strength.


Try different types of combinations of runs, workouts, cardio, gym classes to incorporate some strength training, endurance training, quality training and rest. Listen to your body and work those areas that are tight or weak. And finally, don't over do it... if your long run is 6 miles that week, don't do 6 miles for a short run, if you have never done hills, don't do hills everyday of the week... you will just injure yourself instead of getting stronger.

In overall a week could look like this:
Monday - Short run at moderate pace (2 to 4 miles) and Strength Training
Tuesday - Medium run with Quality Training (3 to 6 miles)
Wedenesday - Short run at moderate or easy pace (2 to 4 miles) or Cross Training
Thursday - Short run at moderate pace (2 to 4 miles) and Strength Training
Friday - Rest, get ready for your long run
Saturday - Long run (6 to 12 miles)
Friday - Rest, get ready for the new week

Some useful links are:
Men's Health: Run for... - General advice for different type of trainings
Men's Helath: Run: Half Marathon Training - General advice for those trying to finish strong in a half
Men's Health: Run for Endurance - Tips to gain speed and endurance
Runner's World: Boost Your Endurance - Great article with many quality workout options
Runner's World: Endurance Cross-Training - Cross Training highlights

I think this is a nice overview, hope you can gain more than knowledge from it. And that you can tell me that you are running your miles faster and feeling great at the end. Peacefule run everyone!

Route for Aug. 8, 2009 at 7am, Sugar Land Memorial Park

Hey gang, this is our run for Saturday August 8, 2009. Practice starts at 7am with warm up and stretching. Our route will be starting at the Start/Finish on the map, do a Connector Trail and a South Meadow Loop and back through the Connector Trail (1.45 miles). Then do a Lake Loop (1.15 miles). And finally, do the Connector, South Meadow Loop and Connector again (1.45 miles). That's a total of 4.05 miles. See you then!

SMA Research News

This article from MDA's Quest Magazine talks about one of the research projects that they are funding. As I have mentioned, SMA research is very promising and it is likely that a cure will be found soon enough to see Alejandro walk.

It is a very short article, take a look: Masking Unwanted Instructions

We can beatSMA!

Stretching Tips and Basics

You need to stretch, you need to stretch, don't forget to stretch! It seems that we hear this all the time, but do we really listen and do it? I just saw a video where stretching is compared to the dentist and flossing. The dentist tells you to do it, you know you need to do it, but most of the time you don't do it. Until you get cavities and say... I should have flossed!

Why do we need to stretch? It is very simple. If our muscles are tight our movements are going to be straining our muscles every time we push them to their limits. This can lead to an injury. And after a muscle is injured it takes a long time for the tissue to heal. So we don't want to get to that point and say... I should have stretched!

Now, how do we stretch? While there are many types of stretching (active, static, yoga, etc.), I have found that there are some basic principles that can give you a start to a healthy stretch:

• Always warm up your body first: jumping jacks, 4-5 minutes jog, cycling, etc.
• Take your muscle to the point where you can feel it and hold it. If it is painful you are taking it too far.
• You can hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds and take the stretch a little further for another 10-15 seconds. You can also hold it for 10-30 seconds, release the muscle and contract it; and immediately repeat the stretch for another 10-30 seconds taking it a little further. This will help to gain flexibility.
• There are many stretches, try different ones along your training. But always try to incorporate stretches for all the muscle groups: toes, ankles, calves and shins, hamstring and quadriceps, gluts, abs, chest and back, shoulders, neck...
• Listen to your body and pay attention to the tight areas, give these areas priority and more quality time
• If you are running short in time: warm up, stretch your tight muscles, go for your run and at the end stretch all your body paying attention again to your tight spots.
• Make time for stretching. It is like investing for your run... you will feel better, will breathe better, will move your legs better and with longer strides. All these will improve your pace and endurance.
• If you start feeling pain: stretch, massage and put cold/hot compresses in the area. Also give your body some rest from high impact activities and try to cross train with low impact activities like cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates, etc.

For stretching exercises you can go to Runner's World or Google and search for stretching. There is ton of information and videos out there. Try as many as you like and find what works for you. Remember to pay attention to tight muscles. Here are some links I found that can get you started:

Runner's World: Stretching
Runner's World: Flexibility Training
Run the Planet: Stretching for Runners
Running Advice and News: Coach Joe English: Stretching Routine for Runners

Our Stretching and Injury Prevention Clinic will be on September 12th during our practice. Please, plan to attend this day as Dr. Ivette Nadeau from Total Chiropractic Care will talk about these and will be available for answering questions. She is Alejandro's chiropractor for 3 years now and has volunteered at Fort Bend Fit as well.

I hope this can get you started. Blessings to all and a peaceful run!

Awesome First Practice! Great Job Team!

I am soooo proud of our Team! We went out there in the hot summer weather Texas style and finished our run... some of us went face to face with a Coral Snake!

Picture License click here

Thanks to all of you who showed up in person or in spirit. The run was awesome, everyone did a great job! Our final count was 4 adults and 2 kids. For a new team, this is not good, this is great!

Next Saturday we will be out there again at Sugar Land Memorial Park at 7am. Meanwhile, remember to go and get active from Monday to Thursday, leave Friday as a rest day so you can have a nice long run on Saturday.

Also, I will be posting this week about Stretching and add the schedules for the 5k and other races on our beatSMA Calendar. I will always post the Saturday Route on Thursdays so people can go over it on Friday if they like to.

Finally, if you are not a blog reader, you can subscribe to this blog and get email updates on new posts. So you can always know what's new at beatSMA for Alejandro. Just add your email in the box indicated at the right side of this blog.

That's it for now. Let me know how are you feeling about your running and your health, post some comments... let the world know you run to be healthy, to be strong, to spend time with friends and family and to beatSMA!

First Practice at Sugar Land Memorial Park on Saturday, Aug. 1st 6:30am

We start to close up our first week of training. Hopefully most of your have registered for an event and gone shopping for some shoes. Don't let your motivation go to sleep... get up and get moving!!!

Many of you are going to be either out of town or your spouse is, so it's going to be a small group... small but with great enthusiasm! We are going to meet at 6:30am for this first practice. It was changed because it is hot, and both runners that are going to meet so far are ok with this change. We will meet at the Sugar Land Memorial Park Pavillion and our run will be 3 miles. Here is the Trail Map.

The run will be a Lake loop (1.15 miles), then the Connector Trail out and back (0.7 miles) and finally the Lake Loop one more time (1.15 miles). Water will be at the start/finish of the Lake Loop.

Blessings and a peaceful run to all! Go beatSMA!!!

Training Season Here We Go!! Let's beatSMA!!!

Well, our Kick Off party was very nice. The turn out was 9 adults interested in running with a purpose and lots and lots of kids!!! It was sooo fun for the kids, at least Alejandro had a blast!!!

We talked about lots of things. But the most important is that we have officially entered our training season, and if you didn't go out today.... shame on you!!! Remember, choose to be strong and healthy!

Just a quick note, the training schedule is at the upper right of this blog, look for beatSMA Calendar. In the Calendar, Easy means that you can carry a conversation while running and Tempo means that you need all your breath to keep up and finish your run. I will add more schedules for 5k runners and events on a different day.

Also, an important reminder that this Saturday, August 1st at 7am is our first practice at the Sugar Land Memorial Park, we are doing 3 miles after we all warm up and stretch together. At the park's website you can get directions and additional information about the park. I will be posting our routes on Thursday nights and I will also have a print out of the route the day of the practice.

I am so excited! Go beatSMA!

Tips on Breathing

Some tips on breathing that I have found useful...

• There is no specific way of breathing that will guarantee a smooth run.
• Breathing is important because you need to get oxygen to your muscles, so the more oxygen you get the more efficient your run will be.
• It is recommended to breathe through your nose and mouth to make your breaths more efficient (more volume of air in a breath).
• It is important to use your diaphragm to breath, you know if you are using your diaphragm if your stomach moves out while you inhale. In this way you will fill up your lungs completely.
• The only rule that counts is to always try to get a nice volume of air and exhale all the CO2 possible.
  
• There are many breathing patterns and they vary according to the type of exerciser or run and your rhythm of preference
• For long runs it is recommended to have long deep breaths and for short quick runs it is recommended faster deep breaths
• There are 2-2, 3-2, 2-1 patterns: inhale 2 steps and exhale 2 steps, inhale 2 steps and exhale 3 steps, inhale 1 step and exhale 2 steps. You can find the one that is best for you little by little, but the important part is to make sure you are exhaling as much CO2 as you can.
  
• Sometimes the 2-2 pattern can still cause some side pain because you are using the same side of your body when starting the inhalation and exhalation process. If you feel this, try a 3-2 or 2-1 pattern.
• You can also try varying the pattern of your breaths, for example inhale with one breath and exhale with two breaths. This might help you keep a rhythm without having to count your steps.
  
• Another type of pattern can be smaller inhalations until lungs are full and a nice long exhalation until all the air is out, again the important thing is to fill up your lungs and get rid of the CO2.
• If you feel you are out of breath, slow down catch up to your breath and find a nice rhythm that will give you a smooth run.
• Refer to the following articles for more information: How to breath while running by Coach Jenny from Runner's World and Improve your running with proper breathing by Dave Elger.
  

Tips on Apparel and Gear

These are some basic tips that I learned from my participation in Team in Training and other runners:

Shoes:

• This is your most important investment, don't skimp!
• Expect to spend $75 - $125 a pair
• Most expensive ≠ best
• Buy shoes based on foot mechanics (depends on arch and pronation), body size, and comfort
• Shoes last about 300 miles (full marathoners will need a second pair before January)
• Consider two pairs to alternate
• Purchase shoes only from a running specialty store:

1. Finish Strong Sports on Memorial and Dairy Ashfor
2. Finish Line Sports on 59 and Sugar Creek Blvd
3. Texas Running Company on 59 and Hwy 6 (next to Wholefoods)

At the store:

• Tell them you are new and want to be fitted for running shoes
• Be specific about foot/ankle issues like flat feet or high arches
• Come with your current running shoes, they will want to see your gait
• Try on at least three pairs and run around the store with them
• The heel will be snug, but don't buy a shoe if it is tight anywhere
• Try them with socks you will be running in

Socks:

• No cotton or wool
• Try out different styles (thinner, not so thin, double layered...)
• Expect to pay $4-$12 a pair
• If you want to save some money, consider to buy one that you like at the running store and then looking for something similar at Target, Walmart or Marshalls

Shorts/Tights/Shirts:

• No cotton
• Buy only moisture wicking material, such as Dri-Fit or CoolMax
• Consider one with pockets if you are not using a power belt, in this way you can carry your energy supplements
  
• You can buy these anywhere. Cheapest finds are at Target, Walmart and Marshalls, also Academy is a little higher. You could easily spend much more at specialty stores were you can find better variety, but your basic needs can be met at department stores.

Sports Bras:

• Should minimize motion when you jump
• Should fit tight and not necessary flattering
• Consider one with adjustment options

Accessories:
Hats/Visors

• Consider to keep sun and sweat off your face
• Wicking/breathing material is a must

Water Carriers

• If you are doing the full marathon this is almost a must and for half marathon consider it
• Try them on in the store (Academy or running store) to test comfort
• There are belt or backpack types
• Several bottles on one belt allows variety of energy fluids

Watches

• You should have a watch that has a stopwatch that gives splits and a timer that will allow different length intervals simultaneously (for breaks, sprints, and easy/tempo intervals)
• You can get a durable, multi-function watch for less than $40, and you can spend much more than $100

Supplements

• As the miles start to add up, you will need to carry nutritional supplements.
• Consider this when buying your belt, backpack and shorts
• Several gels can be combined in a bottle on your belt
• There are gels, jelly beans, bars, boost drinks

Chaffing Preventatives

• Body Glide and Vaseline are popular choices
• Pre-run application of band-aids will prevent rubbing

Identification

• Always have something that identifies you
• There are bracelets, snap on shoe ids, wristbands

Money/Cell Phone

• Some people carry these just in case, if you do so, be sure to secure it somehow
• There are shoe wallets, arm purses

Winter Apparel:

• Layering is important as you will start cooler and then your body warms up and you don't want to get overheated
• Always look for breathable materials
• Cover your head and ears
• Have options for windy days
• Don't over do it, add as you need

Donation site is up and running! Are you?

I have finished the online donation website! People can donate in a secure website thanks to active.com. But if you have donors on the Houston area, is best to write a check payable to MDA. We will send it to the Houston Office. In this way we lose less money in service charges (a percent of the online donation is kept by active.com). Know we can start sending emails and spreading the word!

The link is http://active.com/donate/beatsma and you can also access it through the link on the top right of this blog.

Thanks to my angel, Carlos Araque, for helping me with graphics and html. Love ya baby!!!

Not in the in the race? Not a problem!

Hi everyone! Some important reminders and news:

1. By now, most of you know that the Marathon and the Half Marathon are closed. So if you didn't get to sign up, and are wanting to go out and run, this are some options: (a) sign up for the 5k the day of the marathon and you can do it in the same website (b) sign up for a race in Sugar Land that is going to be the weekend before the Chevron Marathon and can look up more details and register at USA Fit Marathon and they have full and half marathons (c) There is another race in Kingwood on New Year's Day more information here.

2. Please, for those of you that are in town, reply to the evite so I can make the proper arrangements by Sunday.

3. Very exciting news!!! Alejandro has signed up for the Kids Fun Run 1K Adaptive Race the Saturday before the marathon. Alejandro will be doing the race with his tricycle and will be pushed and pulled by two of his friends! We are in pure joy and happiness... It is so awesome that he can participate in a fun and meaningful way. Hopefully we will have our team shirts (if we get enough sponsorship) and they will be able to run with beatSMA shirts! I am almost jumping of the excitement.

Few Reminders and Announcements

1. Important! The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco 1/2 Marathon Registrations start tomorrow July 17th. Go to the website to register and for details. Also to remind you that the entry fee goes up after July! So don't wait!

2. The team calendar is up! Click on the right at BeatSMA Calendar and you will get the training schedule and team practices on Saturdays. We will start meeting August the 1st at the Sugar Land Memorial Park. Our first practice will be a 3 mile jog for both full marathon and 1/2 marathon. Water and Gatorade will be provided.

3. We have our Stretch and Injury Prevention Clinic in September offered by Dr. Nadeau from Total Chiropractic Care Center. Alejandro has been a patient of hers for more than 3 years and we love her! Thanks to her for volunteering and giving her time!

4. We have our second team sponsor Tammi Law, great friend and neighbor, she loves Alejandro and is excited about our team. Thanks Tammi! You are awesome! Tammi has been running for a few years now with Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and she is a two times Houston marathon runner.... wwowww!

That's it for now. Please make sure you sign up as a follower to get updates on any posts about the team.

BeatSMA NOW! Go Team!

Join for fun, health and purpose!

Hi everybody, welcome to beatSMA blogspot! It is so exciting to receive so much interest in the team. More than 10 persons have said they would like to join, some from the area and some from other states, so we definitely need a way to keep in touch and motivate each other... the result is voila... a blog!

Now to team stuff. Many of you in the Sugar Land area have expressed the desire to have a team to practice with, so I am planning on starting full training around September and we should have our weekly long runs on Saturdays. Maybe we will have a small group on Sundays since both, Carlos and I, want to run in January and we need to switch our running days because of the kids. I'll have a poll and we will see what the team needs. My goal is to have water/gatorade available in the practices. I also want to sponsor the team with a variety of energy options so we can try what works for each one of us. We also need a team jersey for race day. For all these, we need sponsors for our team, these sponsors will be honored by displaying their logos or URLs on the back of the jerseys. And talking about sponsors, I want to thank our first sponsor Steven Kinne from RE/MAX on the Brazos! Hooray for Steve, he is the man when you need a real estate hero in the Houston area! Other things that are cooking already for the team are: running schedule, t-shirt sale, a talk by a chiropractor about stretching, injuries and such, team parties and much more!

Now, we need to talk about raising funds for SMA research. I already contacted a person from the marathon and we are going to have one website for the whole team to pay directly to MDA as one of the charities sponsored by the Chevron/Aramco Marathon. This website will be under the team name beatSMA. My idea is to have group and individual events to raise money. Nothing will be mandatory. One of them could be selling t-shirts promoting the cause. This shirts could also be used by our family and friends the day of the race! Other ideas are: mega garage sale, lemonade & cookie stand, emails and letters, fund raising parties (Southern Living, Pampered Chef, etc.), mowing lawns, and anything that you can think of! We will just go with the flow... if three persons want to do a garage sale, they can organize it and ask for donations from the team and friends. That doesn't mean that all the team has to participate in the actual garage sale. Remember, this is fun with a purpose not headache with a purpose!

Well, I think this is a general overview of my vision and goals. I feel great about this team and hope you will decide to join right now! I can picture myself at 5am the day of the race with my team jersey on and feeling some butterflies in my tummy, knowing that Alejandro will be waiting at the finish line. Yeah baby... makes me want to run right now!!! BeatSMA for Alejandro!!!

High priority:

1. Join the blog
2. Ask people to sponsor the team -let me know if you need info about Alejandro, SMA, MDA and such to explain to possible sponsors why it is important to support our cause. My next blog will be about SMA and Alejandro.
   
3. Bug more people to sponsor the team!

Medium priority:

1. Find custom shirt companies
2. Get people to join the team
3. Remember, registration starts Friday, July 17th