Juan lives in Texas, where he has been working in the Houston area for the past four years as a composite engineer, repairing blades for windmills.   Juan has two kids, and will have been married for 10 years in June. Born in Venezuela, Juan originally came to the United States 13 years ago, first to complete his bachelor’s degree, where he studied aircraft engineering, and then onto a research position in El Paso before moving to the Houston area.

Coach: How did you start running?

JB: I have been running for several years - 17 years on and off.  The last three years, I said, “Ok, let’s make it more serious.”  My main motivation was my dad.  When I was a little kid, I saw him running, and said I want to run with him!  The same thing is happening with my little four year old.  My dad would let me win, and I enjoyed that, but when I was 16 or 17, I decided to start taking it a bit more seriously, and really started training with him….it was my time with him where I could ask questions and have a good conversation  It was very meaningful to share that with him.

Now, the only time I had to run is 4 or 5 in the morning.  I have been trying to keep it for fun, but now am getting a little more serious about the marathon. Now, it is more my personal time and I just disconnect from everything.  So the key for me is to enjoy the activity, but not have it as something forced.  Just for fun.

Coacy: Who is your running role model?

JB:  My dad. Definitely. No doubt.  He never had any serious health problems, so that is also another motivating factor to keep going as I hope to be the same way when I am his age.

Coach: What has been your most memorable running / racing experience?

JB:   Definitely the New York Marathon in 1994, my first marathon.  Now I have expectations for the second marathon, this Sunday [this interview took place prior to Sunday’s race, which he completed in a very even split 3:58].  After 16 years, I have to see how the age affects me!  A couple weeks ago, I did the Sugarland Half Marathon and it went really well.

Coach: What have you enjoyed about working with Focus-N-Fly?

JB:  It was a really nice experience, and the reason is that when I started training a while ago, I used a simple formula my dad gave me:  do a third of the [race] distance a day, or double the distance in a week.  When I started training with FNF, I noticed that the dynamic was different, with different paces.  It makes it more fun as it was not always the same thing.  It really was a different approach and really good!

Coach: What is one part of your racing routine you can’t do without (sleep, pre race meal, tie shoes certain way, other ritual)?

JB:  for the long ones, normally, I get a bagel with peanut butter two hours before the race and get some sports drink to make sure I am well hydrated.  I stretch to make sure I feel comfortable; for me the most important part is to feel relaxed.  I like all the adrenaline you have right before the race.

Coach: What is your favorite place to go for a run?

JB:  Really I enjoy whatever place I go to run.  I pay little attention to the outside actually.  I just concentrate on my run and don’t pay too much attention to the scenery.  Although, back home, my dad has a special route and I did that during my training as we were home for Christmas.  It was very hilly (it is really flat in Houston), and when I came back, my times really came down.  I live in a subdivision and run mostly in the dark, so I can’t really see much.  The route back home is 4 miles so you can even do it twice or whatever you need.

Coach: In the next year, what goals do you hope to accomplish?

JB:  To be honest, I want to just keep running, and stay in good shape, and see if I get in the lottery for the [ING] New York City Marathon.  But to be honest with you, I just want to keep going and stay healthy

Jodi grew up in Long Beach, California, and is married with two sons, 9 and 3.   After attending  Golden West College she has been working in medical billing for a heart monitoring company.  In her free time, she runs and goes to nine year old’s soccer games.

Jodi is currently training with us in preparation for the Surf City USA Half Marathon on February 7.

Coach: How did you start running?

JD: I gained 65 lbs with first son, and a co-worker asked me to train for a 5K in 2006.  I started walking with her at lunch and then running on a treadmill, a 5k every time.  Once you start, then you see people doing a 10k, then a half, and then you find yourself saying hey, what’s that full!  When I had my three year old, I came back and started with a half.  I did the Huntington Beach [Surf City USA] half, then did Long Beach, then did Surf City full, then the San Francisco full!  I wanted to finish the California Dreamin’ series [promotion offering a commemorative jacket for those who participate at Surf City, Long Beach and San Francisco]. Now my husband is like,  “You’re wearing that jacket again!”

Coach: Who is your running role model?

JD: I have to say it is my mother-in-law.  When I told her I was going to try for the 5K all those years ago, she was like, “ Oh, I run!”  She has been running for years. Now, every year we do the 10K together at the Long Beach Turkey Trot.  I don’t want to say how old she is, but she looks 20!  So my goal every year is to try and beat her!

Coach: What has been your most memorable running / racing experience?

JD: It has to be the San Francisco Marathon.  It wasn’t my best time, but so many times you would turn a corner and you had to go uphill again! I couldn’t believe it. It was really cool to run across the bridge, though.  My nine-year old thought that would be really cool.  I would love to do a sub 4 and thought I was going to pr on this course, but there was no way.  Too hilly.

Coach: What have you enjoyed about working with Focus-N-Fly?

JD:  I email questions to Kate and I love checking the forum to see what questions people are asking and how they get answers.  At work, I have a couple people who ask me questions and I I have no idea.  So I email Kate or ask it on the forum.  I also like if you enter on your training and haven’t done exactly what you were supposed to, the color of the day changes, so you can kind of see where you were off.  I wish I could see blue the whole month!

Coach: What is one part of your racing routine you can’t do without (sleep, pre race meal, tie shoes certain way, other ritual)?

JD:  I always have a bowl of cereal for dinner the night before, cereal and an apple or a banana.  I can’t eat the morning of or drink, I drink during, but I have to be completely empty when I start.  I just get the worst stomachaches.  When I wake up early in the morning and go running those are the best runs. Ed note:  this interchange prompted a longer conversation about the benefits of pre and mid-race fueling, and Jodi energetically agreed to embrace some suggested ideas for ways to introduce fueling into her pre-race routine.

Coach: What is your favorite place to go for a run?

JD:  It has to be this place by my work, Newport’s Back Bay.  It is so hilly, and there are routes that are 3 miles or 7 miles.   You don’t have any stoplights.  It is asphalt, then it moves into San Joaquin hills which have dirt and trails.

Coach: In the next year, what goals do you hope to accomplish?

JD: I was in a car accident in august of 2009 with a fractured foot [among other serious injuries] and it was kind of like starting over for me, where 3 miles I was sweating.   So, I would like to get back to where I was previously I feel like it is starting completely over again, So, I would just like to get back to where I was, maybe to do a sub 2 half marathon, but that is not anywhere near in my future.  My son comes and runs with me for 2 miles, and I force my husband to come out with me.  I would like to keep them involved and get into a good steady running routine again.  I would also love to do a triathlon!

Updated by Rosie Edwards

While not everyone can be the running equivalent of a Tour de France champion, dancing on your pedals as you climb the Alps and the Pyrenees with the ease of a mountain goat, we all will encounter hills in our running, and probably all could use a periodic refresher on how to get the most out of our efforts on the ascents.

With the climb or descent looming ahead, how should you prepare to for the challenge ahead? Read on for a few simple cues....

1.  The basics of general good running form almost all still apply.  Keep your arms at 90 degrees (click here to review our column on What To Do With Your Arms) and keep your shoulders low (not hunched) and square to the direction you are heading.  Keep your hands relaxed and swinging through your "pockets", and maintain tall posture.

2.  Don't lean too far into the hill on the ups or too far back on the downs.  Try to maintain a slight lean forward (long lean from the ankle, not the waist) both up and down, just as you would on the flats.  Leaning too far forward on the uphill restricts the ability of your knees to drive and can compromise your ability to maximize your inhales if you are hunched over.  Stay tall, open up your chest, and give your legs and lungs room to work.  On the downhills, braking yourself by leaning backward puts unnecessary stress on your muscles and joints, and often squanders a chance to make up ground in a race.  A little forward lean, when not on an area with dangerous footing, can help get you a couple seconds closer to that PR, and leave you a bit less sore the day after.

3. Concentrate on cadence.  Resist the urge to overstride on the downhills, and do your best just to maintain your rhythm on the uphills. Yes, you will be going faster than the flats on the downhills and slower than the flats on the uphills if you maintain a similar rhythm and effort level, but you will also most likely arrive at the top of the hill without wasting a bunch of energy for little advancement, and keeping your stride landing underneath your body on the downhills instead of in front will minimize excess pounding.

4.  Don't spend a lot of time on the ground.  Keep your feet pushing off of the ground quickly, just as you would on the flat. For those used to heelstriking on the flats, hills can be a valuable tool to build foot and calf strength as you land more on your midfoot than you might normally.  On the uphills, it should almost feel like your feet are striking the ground behind you.  On the downhills try (as we have discussed), to let your feet land underneath you so you do not have to wait to let your body travel over the top before pushing off again.

5.  Look ahead.  Sure, it is tempting to look at your feet and make sure your legs are doing what we have just been talking about, but looking several steps ahead will help you anticipate any undulations in the hill ahead, any poor footing areas requiring caution, and will keep your posture tall (more air in the lungs!)  and your arms at the right angles.  

This fall, may you approach every hill with anticipation and crest the top with satisfaction! 

Have a suggestion for next month's Personal Best?  Email it to us at info@runcoach.com.

I love Boston! The rain, the cold and the chance of snow flurries tonight!! I prefer running in cool weather but really snow?! No matter what the weatherman says I am keeping my hopes high that Monday will be perfect running weather; high 40’s, low 50’s, even a light mist would be ok at the start. The hard part with marathons is that you can make it through months of training but come race day there are so few factors that you can actually control. Weather, wind, water stations, your stomach, and other runners are just some of the many factors that you must deal with on race day but none of which you can really control.

As a perfect example, I am amazed that I can make it through months of training with only minor aches and pains and then my second to last run before race day I am running a few miles of the course and take a spill on a set of train tracks. A few cuts and bruises later I am back up and running and doing ok but it is a strong reminder that the first goal of running a marathon is making it to the starting line. Sometimes I forget that concept and get too focused on my paces and miles logged. No matter what level runner you are, making it the start is the most important part of race. Despite my fight with the railroad tracks today, I am ready and excited for Monday. Honestly, it cannot get here soon enough. I am ready to race and ready to feel the energy of the race! The Boston marathon has an energy that is unlike any other and a crowd that makes heartbreak hill worth the sweat, tears and pain. I look forward to sharing my race story with you next week!

Updated by Rosie Edwards.

This month, we touch on a question that comes up over and over with brand new and experienced runners alike.

Form Tip:  Arms

Q:  What should I do with my arms when I run?

What would happen if you ran the same pace over the same distance every day you went out to run?  Many people do it, and you may have even been that person yourself at one time.

You may have also wondered why your Runcoach plan has workouts at various paces and distances on your way to your goal race. We wanted to take a few moments to explain a few objectives to changing pace within workouts and/or running intervals.

Kick is a term used to describe an emphatic finish.  The final sprint is one way to talk about it, but many times, a kick can include a push that more closely resembles a tsunami rather than a crashing wave.

Whether you are running a one mile race or a marathon, sometimes a kick can help leave you with the definitive and lasting positive memory of a race that may not even have gone well otherwise.  So, what are some key things to remember as you prepare to unleash yours next weekend?

Unless you are nursing a lengthy consecutive day streak, there is probably a limit to the type of weather you will endure to complete or at least attempt your scheduled run.   This line is probably very personal decision point, honed over time and perhaps drawn at a different place than when you first began running.

We're 2 months into the New Year.  Seems like a good time to revisit the goals we set on 1/1/15.  Here's a look back at a great article by Dena Evans from 2010.

Goals seem like a good idea at the time.  They motivate us to start, they provide good fodder for conversation, they keep us organized.   However, if they are truly going to be accomplishments we look back on with pride, these goals must also include the risk that we might not pass the test.

This week, I finally gave our double stroller away – my kids now weighing far too much in combination, and having long since passed the time when they found it acceptable to be belted into the stroller and pushed along the bike path or the sidewalk.   As I watched it folded up and driven away in someone else’s car for someone else’s kids, I must confess to a bit of nostalgia.