My eyes popped open on the morning of the TXU Energy Turkey Trot 10K. Excitement caused shivers to run through me. I strapped on my racing flats, grabbed a water bottle and we were off to downtown Houston. The starting line and parking was well organized with officials directing traffic to the remaining spaces. The Houston Galleria was virtually empty save race participants and spectators. We got out of the car and began to warm up for the race. I did all of my pre-race drills and began an easy jog to complete my warm up. Instantly, I felt the heat descend on me. It was going to be a hot one!

As I found my place near the front of the starting line, I waved to the RunFar folks and looked around at the crowd jockeying for position around me. I looked around for other women that may be contenders for top five, but I didn’t see a single one. Another shiver ran through
me.

There was a quiet that fell over the crowd with just a minute to go before the start. I looked up into the sky and visualized my race plan and I saw a peregrine falcon perched on top of a building. The peregrine falcon is a small bird, but fast. I hoped that was a good
omen.

The gun went off and suddenly the top five female contenders appeared right next to me as well as in front of me. Instantly I was intimidated by their speed right out of the gate, but we all ran that first mile together, pure adrenaline and fear rolling through me as I attempted to keep up. I looked down at my watch: 6:06. Not in my race plan.

I dialed my pace back and attempted to mentally recover from letting the leaders go. My mind started to veer into thoughts of “not good enough” and “not up for the challenge” land but I kept running. I brought up the image of the piercing yet beautiful peregrine falcon.
Small and fast, flying easy. I took a deep breath and ran through two respectable mile splits at mile 2 and mile 3. As I approached the 5K (or 3.1 mile) mark, a coach was there announcing 5K splits. Any negative thoughts disappeared from my mind when I heard my 5K split. It was right in line with my 5K personal best time, and I knew at that point I could keep up the speed for the second half of the race. It helped that the peregrine falcon was with me as we headed back to the mall, too.

I started focusing less on my inward feelings and thoughts and more on the men in front of me. I began to pass one man at a time, choosing men that were a few meters ahead of me. I was small and fast, like that peregrine falcon. Mile 4 came and went as the sun heated up the streets. I felt myself beginning to fade when I suddenly saw her in the distance. One of the women (in blue) I had let go at mile 2 was slowly coming into focus. I instinctively began to surge my pace. We passed mile 5, I took my split but refused to look at my watch. I decided at that point, with 1.2 miles to go and no women ahead of the woman in blue in sight, that I would hold off passing her for another ½ mile or so and then make my move closer to the finish. I was vying for top 5 overall female, but I wasn’t sure how far back I was at that point.

Having the woman in blue to concentrate on made those last few painful minutes go by just a hair faster. The finish line on Post Oak Blvd slowly came in sight, and I refused to let myself look down at my watch in that last half mile. I surged and passed the woman in blue, and surprisingly another woman, too.

As I crossed the finish line, I knew I had a personal record showing on my watch. I bent over for a few seconds to recover and then congratulated the woman in blue shortly after that. A bout of wooziness passed over me until the moment I allowed myself to look down at my watch. The numbers 41:49 blinked back at me, and all my exhaustion melted away in that glance. I stood up a bit too fast and stuttered out the number “41!” to no one in particular. Despite the heat, despite the challenging field, I had done it!

One of my teammates said it best after the race when she was commenting on my new, fast, best time.  “You’re a 41 girl now,” she said. Hearing it now still makes me smile. What a great way to cap off 2012. I placed 7th overall female and 3rd in my age group with a little help from the woman in blue, my coach, my team-mates, and a small, fast peregrine falcon.

The post A 10K Personal Record Caps Off 2012 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

On this Thanksgiving, not only did I have the great fortune of being with family in Houston, but I also had the fortune to be able to give and to run! As a passionate runner and race organizer, a holiday of any sort would not be a true celebration without a run or a race. I would later find out that for me, a Thanksgiving race is not complete without harnessing the power of fundraising. As I was planning my trip to Houston, I found the TXU Turkey Trot benefiting Sheltering Arms Senior Services of Houston, and it was decided, I signed up for the 10K race that day. The following day, I became a first time fundraiser for Sheltering Arms Senior Services.

Upon registration, I received an email in my inbox about fundraising for the race’s beneficiary, Sheltering Arms. I have a particular connection to the elderly, given that I once worked as a personal care assistant and also due to the fact that I had recently celebrated a family member’s 100th birthday.

The ease of setting up and sending out requests for fundraising using Kimbia Racing compelled me to become even more excited about the race as well as the cause. Kimbia’s fundraising platform impressed me. I sent out an email with a link to my fundraising profile, and on that first day of fundraising, with just one email, I already had raised almost $100 for the cause. Day one of my fundraising journey I was encouraged and ready to do more!

The next day, I saw that my fundraising had seemingly grew while I slept. It had increased by over 50% with just two days of fundraising. I was amazed to find that simply one email could create a tidal wave of giving.

That evening, I went to dinner with a group of runners that I coach. We were celebrating their recent marathon or half marathon achievements, and the subject of races in the future came up. I told them about my TXU Turkey Trot fundraising, and several of them decided to donate immediately. Later on, I posted the link to my fundraising profile on social media, and I was happy to receive several donations from those platforms. The running community, my team-mates, and the runners that I coach all contributed in their own way and I was moved by everyone who supported me. With every dollar that was given, I felt more encouraged to race well to honor those that the race was benefiting. It was a really special experience for me, and as race day approached it became even more special.

Thanksgiving week was a flurry of activity, but I noticed that I was just shy of my fundraising goal. I set the goal of raising $250 for this race and I wanted to achieve that goal before the starting gun went off. So, I wrote one final email. I told a few more of my friends and family that I was just $30 away from my goal. I went to bed the night before the race hoping that ONE of supporters would read it and donate a small or large amount. I woke up the morning of the race to see that I had FIVE more donations come through. Not only had I achieved my goal, but I had surpassed it. I went into race day with a feeling of accomplishment and joy. It was an incredible experience for a first time fundraiser. All that was left to do was run.

I want to thank every person that donated on my behalf or in my honor. Thanks to Betty & Frank Baldinger, Coach Mac Allen, Grandpa Jake Barkin, Iram J. Leon, Jann Girard, Janet Kelleher, Jerry & Jamie Orten, Mike Pfeifer, Peg Cheng & Andrew Baldinger, Ray Rowehl, and Richard Stanford. Your contributions fueled me and Sheltering Arms Senior Services to success. Thank you again.

The post First Time Fundraiser Journey appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

Turkey Trots are rapidly becoming a holiday tradition and what better way to prepare for the feasts that Thanksgiving throws our way. In our home state of Texas, Kimbia Racing provided registration and fundraising for three of the states largest Trots, serving nearly 65,000 participants.

• Houston – TXU Energy 2012 Turkey Trot benefiting Sheltering Arms Senior Services
• Dallas – Capital One Bank Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot
• Austin – ThunderCloud Subs 2012 Turkey Trot benefiting Caritas of Austin

These events not only use Kimbia for registration and fundraising but also facilitated the packet pickup process with Kimbia’s Check In. This allowed the events to operate packet pickup in multiple locations simultaneously. Quite a necessity when trying to serve various partners – and in the case of Dallas, running 30,000 participants through the process in a streamlined and efficient fashion.

With these charity-based events, everyone feels like a winner while generating a caloric deficit and supporting the associated cause. Turkey Trots are becoming a tradition for many families and Kimbia aims to provide a seamless experience for all.

The post Turkey Trots: A Thanksgiving Tradition for Great Causes appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

The final and perhaps most important thing you can do for your performance is understand the importance of rest. Overtraining is a sad reality for many distance runners and ambitious runners trying to get faster. Seek advice from a running coach that you trust and listen to your body after hard efforts. If it hurts to run, consult a sports doctor and listen to their advice. Respect the long run and take the day off before and after it. Respect “easy run” days and in turn respect the “hard” days.

With patience, consistency, hill work, core training, rest, and optimal nutrition, I guarantee you that you’ll be on your way to your next personal best race and beyond. Good luck, speedy friends! And never give up.

Read How To Get Faster Part 1 and Part 2.

The post How To Get Faster Part 3 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

This is a continuation from “How To Get Fast Part 1.” You can read the first segment here.

The next vital thing that can help with speed is nutrition. Giving your body the right amount of fuel to make it work the most efficiently before, during, and after your workouts is important to speed. If you truly want to get faster, I highly recommend seeing a professional nutritionist for counseling. This is another area where everyone is different but a specialist can help you figure out your optimal body composition and diet to improve your performance.

You can read more about nutrition in my earlier blog series about tips from my trainer here.

The post How To Get Faster Part 2 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

My first job ever as a teen was for a youth track and field club as a coach. Ever since then, I’ve been coaching in some form or fashion. I have been fortunate enough to be a coach in Austin for a marathon training group for the past five years. In those five years, the question I get most often from runners is one that is as predictable as it is hard to answer. That question is: How do I get faster?

There are so many theories and articles out there on how to get faster, but the short answer of this question is like the answer to a lot of running questions – it all depends. There isn’t one answer to this question that will work for all people, but I will speak to what I’ve seen work for many runners and for me.

The first thing that helps runners get faster is patience and consistency. I know it seems counter intuitive to be patient to run fast, but patience with your body and patience with your racing will work wonders on your speed. The longer a person runs consistently, the more selectively they race, the faster they get. For me, in this instance, I have noticed that the more years I have continuously dedicated to running, the faster I’ve become. The fewer times a year I race, the faster I am during those times I do choose to race.

But it isn’t just time or years in the bank–it’s also about quality. Quality workouts come in many shapes and sizes, and there is no one-size-fits all speed or track workout that works for every runner. The quality workout that I’ve seen work the best with for the most runners is a combination of hills and core work. There are many types of hill training you can perform and many types of core exercises that will target distance and speed. Consult a personal trainer at your gym, ask your running coach, or go on the web to search for “core exercises for runners” and try out a few of them several times a week. Start small and increase slowly for best results.

Stay tuned for the next two tips!

The post How To Get Faster Part 1 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

This is the final segment in a three part series about the great nutritional tips I got from my personal trainer. You can read the first post here.

# 7 – Consume daily doses of bright colored veggies. Up the GREEN and red with carrots, beets, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, celery, green beans, cabbage, Swiss
chard, collard greens, and kale.

#8 – Change up snacks to prevent boredom. Examples: a handful of raw almonds, non-salted pumpkin seeds, low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit, hummus and veggies, or even half of an avocado.

# 9 – Lastly, reduce consumption of processed food. Anything with a wrapper is an ENEMY. Avoid energy bars, crackers, cereal, canned food, frozen pizzas, foods with processed sugar, artificial sweeteners (like high fructose corn syrup or simply corn syrup), anything with edible colors (like hard candies), sugary beverages, non-fresh juices, pre-made/frozen dinners, instant soups, potato chips, cheese snacks, canned pasta, or anything FROM A BOX or WRAPPER.

Give these suggestions a try and see what it how it could improve performance. And if you are a runner, I wish you the happiest of trails!

The post Tips I Learned from My Personal Trainer About Optimal Nutrition #7-9 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

This is a continuation of the great nutritional tips I got from my personal trainer. You can read the first post here.

#4 – Consume a post-workout snack within 30 minutes of a workout, after every workout. Example: 1 scoop whey protein isolate protein powder blended with milk or milk substitute and a few ice cubes. Or use vanilla whey protein, apple juice, almond milk, cinnamon, and/or frozen Fuji apples in blender.

#5 – Consume daily doses of whole wheat and brown rice. Limit pasta.

# 6 – Vamp up daily lean proteins in the diet. Examples: lentils, black beans, quinoa, chicken, tilapia or any fresh fish, sunflower seeds, barley, buckwheat, and egg whites. Tip—either feed extra egg yolks to the dog or toss them into the freezer to make gelato for a splurge dessert.

Stay tuned for the last three great tips next week!

The post Tips I Learned from My Personal Trainer About Optimal Nutrition #4-6 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

There are so many ways to get and stay fit, but it’s the little things that you do on top of that fitness regimen of choice that truly make the difference. Several months ago I found myself in a rut with my fitness, and so I consulted personal trainer, Mike Formby. Mike has been a trainer for over 10 years and point blank told me in 9 easy steps how to really step up my fitness. It didn’t have to do with my workout regimen; it had to do with FOOD. Trainer Mike said that the only way to really complement my current routine was with an overhaul of my diet. I recently caught up with Trainer Mike for a short interview to freshen up on the basics he taught me, and he reviewed the 9 things you need to know to take your current fitness sweet spot to the next level.

#1 – Say GOODBYE TO SUGAR. Say hello to strawberries, raspberries, blueberries to fulfill sugar cravings. Trainer Mike says “no fruit after noon.”

#2 – Eat a filling, whole-grain breakfast of oatmeal every morning. Trainer Mike recommends steel cut or whole oats, which take just 5 minutes to cook in the microwave. Tip—use natural sweeteners like honey, dried blueberries, banana, cinnamon, and raisins to change up the oatmeal.

#3 – Trainer Mike’s favorite pre-workout snack is a small peanut butter and jelly before a workout of an hour or more.

Stay tuned for the remaining tips!

The post Tips I Learned from My Personal Trainer About Optimal Nutrition #1-3 appeared first on Kimbia Racing.

Years Running: 17
Years Working in the Running Community: 15
Years in Race Organization: 3
Marathons Completed: 7
Ironman Triathlons Completed: 2
Favorite Marathon: B.A.A. Boston Marathon

Mercedes found her passion for athletics, especially running, at a young age. As a competitive swimmer from age five, her interest in running and races occurred to her when she ran her first mile in middle school gym class. She shattered the boys and girls school record and shocked everyone, including herself. Her running then extended to the high school track team, to marathons, to the Statesman Cap 10K, to the B.A.A. Boston marathon, to Ironman triathlons and beyond. Shortly after graduating cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder, she moved to Austin, TX.

In July of 2006 she began work at the Austin American-Statesman, and soon read buzz in the newspaper about a new sponsor for the 2007 AT&T Austin Marathon. She signed up for the race and six months later she was crossing the first of many finish lines. The 2007 AT&T Austin Marathon changed the course of her life. From there, she learned about another amazing race in Austin, TX that her own newspaper organized every year. The Statesman Capitol 10,000. She was fortunate to earn a job on the race staff in 2010. For Mercedes, running, training, and putting on races has been and remains to be some of the most meaningful and inspirational pursuits in life.

Mercedes believes that the thrill of the race and the joy of the finish are experiences achievable for virtually everyone with the right training plan. In her eyes, we do not yet know our limits until we begin to test them. Mercedes has a goal is to bring all of her friends and family to the end of some sort of finish line, be it a marathon finish line, a 5K finish line, or a life goal finish line. Mercedes loves motivating others toward their goals as a race organizer and in writing and she has found that achievement, not just for oneself, but in the interest of others, is the main thing that makes her tick.

The post New Guest Blogger! appeared first on Kimbia Racing.