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Coach Gary’s 2009 Catalina Marathon Part 2
http://www.socalrunning.com/
This is the second part of Coach’s Gary’s Catalina Marathon in 2009. It was an amazing weekend with lots of good friends and training partners at Sole Runners. To train with us visit http://www.SoleRunners.net/.
God Bless, Gary
Coach Gary's 2009 Catalina Video Part 1
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http://www.socalrunning.com/
Coach Gary of SoCalRunning.com does the Catalina Marathon with the rest of the gang from Sole Runners
It was my fourth Catalina Marathon and my most enjoyable one.
Thanks to everyone involved for such a wonderful experience.
God Bless,
Gary
Look For Part 2 Tomorrow!
The Little Engine That Could
The Little Engine That Could and Big Hill Saturday
Great success on Big Hill Saturday for Sole Runners. We ran to the top of Del Cerro park from the Trump National Golf Course. That is like a three mile uphill!!!!
Sole Runners rocked it.
To motivate everyone I read The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. It is a fantastic book and one of my favorites.
I would like to introduce a lot more cool books to you in the weeks ahead. I love books.
Lots of good nutrition tips in this video
also.
You can get the book at http://www.coolbooks.tv/
God Bless,
Coach Gary GoBliss
Yoga Teacher Training with Rosie Good Starts in May
Dear SoleRunners,
“If you want to learn something, teach it” Yogi Bhajan
It is my pleasure and honor to introduce you to Rosie Good. This is my yoga teacher. If you wonder why the yoga you practice with me in class or after running is so effective…this beautiful woman’s spirit and dedication to yoga is the reason.
Four years ago I began doing yoga. And three years ago I decided to take Rosie’s teacher training. Mainly just to learn more…she has more in class hours than any other yoga teacher training in Los Angeles.
Something happened to me in that training. I cannot even begin to explain the shift in consciousness…but it was profound. Runners comment every Saturday why I seem so calm and relaxed…I simply say it’s because I practice yoga.
I could barely touch my toes when I started Yoga Teacher Training with Rosie and now I have amazing flexibility.
More than that though, in a teacher training class you learn about the history, philosophy, and traditions of yoga. You read amazing books like the Bhagavad Gita and The Upanishads.
The best thing about the training for me was…I became a yoga teacher. Rosie has you teaching from day one…granted just one pose…but it builds from there.
By the time I was finished the training, I could teach for 30min – 60min easily and with confidence. Since then I’ve taught classes throughout Los Angeles, Catalina Island, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Most importantly, I’ve helped a lot of people become more flexible and recover from their running. I’ve brought a little peace and harmony and love in the world through a yoga mat. That’s pretty cool. And it wasn’t even me…it was just teaching this amazing tradition of yoga.
Well, SoleRunners is about to start in April. Since Steve and I started coaching together a few of our runners have become yoga teachers. We love to give aspiring yoga teachers the opportunity to teach to our runners or to help out our classes in the studio. We will help mentor you and give you teaching opportunities.
To tell you the truth, we need more yoga teachers. The one’s we’ve mentored like Larry and Laura have gone on to develop a busy teaching schedule beyond SoleRunners. Yes, yoga teachers are in demand.
So if you’ve been doing yoga for a while and would like to take things up to the next level, or would like to become a teacher so that you can impact the lives of many people in a positive way, then seriously seriously think about enrolling in Yoga Teacher Training.
And if that’s the case, I can think of no better teacher to study under than Rosie Good. Both Steve and I have taken many a yoga class from many a yoga teacher and Rosie is as good if not better than many of the “big” names in Los Angeles. And you get the convenience of a local yoga studio in a small class.
Her teacher training starts on May 1st and goes to October 4th. It is INTENSIVE (that’s why I loved it). You meet on Fri’s 7-9, then Sat/Sun 12-5. So if you are marathon training, you can still make the class.
The cost is $1400 which is an AWESOME price. Especially for all those in class hours and personal treatment from Rosie. Just look around on the internet for other programs…you’ll see.
So if you’re interested contact Rosie soon. Her number is 310-521-9555.
You can also visit her and talk to her about the training at her studio…http://www.yoga-bindu.com/.
Namaste and God Bless,
Coach Gary
Coach Gary’s Catalina Marathon 2009 Part I
http://www.socalrunning.com/
Coach Gary of SoCalRunning.com does the Catalina Marathon with the rest of the gang from Solerunners.
It was my fourth Catalina Marathon and my most enjoyable one.
Thanks to everyone involved for such a wonderful experience.
God Bless, Gary
Some Last Thoughts for The Catalina Marathon
Open Letter to Buffalo Run Medal Winners
To ALL THE MEDAL WINNERS,
You are a champion if you finished the Buffalo Run Half Marathon in Catalina. It’s so easy with all the podium success of SoleRunners (ten podium spots) for the rest of us to think that we didn’t do well. So this letter is to remind you that you’re a champion for just running that day. And I’m proud of you.
Why?
You Had the Faith to do The Race. Something like 300 people do that race. Over 10,000 just did the Super Bowl 10K in Redondo. Why? Well the Buffalo Run has lots of hills and the fact is most runners avoid them like the plague. Just look at the elevation profile online to see the massive hills you had to face. And by all means race reports would suggest a very very difficult hilly trail race.
Yet you took the leap of faith to sign up for that race. Maybe you had some crazy advice from coaches. Maybe you needed some hill experience for an even harder race, the Catalina Marathon. Maybe you signed up because your friends were doing it.
So very few people take this leap of faith. Very few people get out of their comfort zone. They stay with the tried and true…the races they know…the races they’re “good” at. They hope to take a few minutes off their times. Good enough. But that wasn’t “good enough” for you was it? You didn’t know what would happen when you signed up then got on that boat. You dived off the springboard into the great unknown with Faith at your side.
For that you’re a champion.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
You Persevered the Bad Weather. It had been raining for days before the race. It was raining that morning. It was raining on the boat ride over. It was raining the first hour of the race. The trails were wet, muddy, a little dangerous. Yet none of this didn’t stop you did it. You found the power of perseverance. You found a way around the wet spots. You ran on grass to avoid the mud. You kept going. Because you knew you had it in you.
You do have it in you. When you get out and race in those conditions you are a winner. Many runners including on our teams would look outside their windows and say “No, way am I running in that!” But that didn’t stop you.
“I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.”
John D. Rockefeller
You Had the Strength for the Big Hills. A six mile uphill to start the race is tough. You might have been cursing, and wondering “how much longer can this hill go on?”. This was not just Signal Hill in Long Beach. This was a hill that kept rising. Asking more and more out of you every turn. And did you quit? No. You kept going. You kept breathing, swinging your arms, believing, believing, believing. And as you rose, the views kept getting better and better. The clouds were dancing above the ocean. Then, on top of mile six it opened up and we felt we were on top of the world. A 360 degree view of the Ocean…looking down at Avalon, rain clouds dropping life on the ocean, San Clemente on the background. Tired, spent, you had to use everything to get up and when you get a view like that, when you’ve hit your limits and then still had to keep going like you did…you’ll remember that view always. And for that, for conquering that big bad ass hill, you’re definitely a champion.
“People do not lack strength; they lack will.” Victor Hugo
You Had no Fear on the Downhills. The downhills on that race were challenging to say the least. Wet, a little dangerous, little streams running down the side of them, majestic views to distract you. Then after yet another gut wrenching hill on mile 8, the downhills started. Four miles of downhills. Fast. With you tired. Yet you accomplished these also.
Downhill running is all about conquering your fears…
You found your way down the hills, darting, dodging, picking up your feet, feeling the flow of gravity until you passed the Wrigley Memorial and flew down the road past the golf course into Avalon. Such hills can destroy most runners…yet you found a way past that obstacle also. And for that you’re a champion.
“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
You Dug Deep in Your Human Spirit. Why do we love watching sports so much? Because we watch humans overcome their limitations, their doubts, their failures, to find something deeper, confidence, strength, courage, hope, teamwork, flow, and that very special moment in all eternity when the athlete transcends to something so much bigger. And that journey, that overcoming of limitations, is what we love. It is as much a journey of the spirit as of the body. Our spirits need it, oh how they need it.
And on the Buffalo Run, you experienced what we’ve always called a battle. You’re body ran out of energy, out of juice, all your limitations, all your negative thought patterns will arise. You don’t know if you can do even one more mile. Yet you did!!!
You did what all the great athletes do. You did it. You went beyond.
We’ve all got our limitations. Mine yesterday was a severe case of plantar fasciitis. I hadn’t run in three weeks. But like you, I took that chance, and used my infinite source of strength resting deep in my spirit to keep going. We must keep things in perspective, every time you get THAT tired and you keep going…well, you’re a champion.
“Champions aren´t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” Muhammad Ali
You Crossed that Finish Line. It’s so easy to quit. Geez, I should know, I’ve done it hundreds of times. Especially on a wet muddy day on the hardest race of your life. The thoughts might have crossed your mind. You might have even quit running. Switching perhaps to walking some of those hills. But then you started running again didn’t you? You made to the next turn. You made it to the next tree. You made it down that steep hill. And finally you made it to the top of that monster of a hill.
And even better, as you made it around the last turn, you saw the finish line and ran towards that sign like your very life depended on it. To see the love and cheers of your team mates, your fellow warriors, the ones that went into battle with you.
Then they put a medal around your neck and you might have too tired to even notice. But we noticed and wanted to cry with you. So many athletes have tears come out in these moments, even professional football players. Why would such grown warriors cry? Because tears come when the magnitude of our emotions go beyond our emotional little cages, and then it’s just simpler to just cry…tears of love, tears of exhaustion, of victory, of your spirit breaking out of its shell, that’s why we’re glad to hug you, tell you we love you…you’re a different person after every tear. And especially after every finish line. So for crossing the finish line yesterday…you’re a Champion.
“We shall neither fail nor falter; we shall not weaken or tire…give us the tools and we will finish the job.” Winston Churchill
For Cheering on the Podium Winners. You’re a real champion when you stay around and cheer on the Podium Winners. These runners had great races. To win a medal means so many “pieces must fall in place”…rest, training schedules, nutrition, efficiency, motivation, right level of competition. It’s not easy. And it takes some time to make it ever happen. But the majority of runners in the world will not ever get to the Podium for a medal.
Yet, like you, most runners keep on going. Some of them coming in hours later…with still the determination going. With still the human spirit sprinting across the finish line. That’s why EVERYONE GETS A MEDAL. If you got a medal, YOU’RE A CHAMPION.
So when you stuck around and clapped for the podium winners, you did an honorable thing. Those folks deserve some recognition. A special medal for an exceptional performance. I’ve been up there, it’s great. I thought it would never happen. And when you go up to them and congratulate them…you give them a very special opportunity for them to show the true heart of champion by asking HOW YOU DID. Because great champions need to show humility and grace which you give them an opportunity to do. And if they don’t? Well you simply congratulate them again and take note in your mind not to do that when you win okay? Humbleness, humility, and gratefulness we can practice at every race.
And I felt that from so many of you on Saturday. And not getting up there on the podium I was able to practice all those wonderful qualities myself. It’s a harder path than the trials and tribulations of pride but the one that’ll feel right, connected, and gratifying. Before getting up to the podium you must look up for years like I did. Patience hard work and believe in yourself, and you just might surprise yourself with your results.
So wow. You are a such a hero for running a tough race. You had a medal around your neck making a real champion. You fought hard, you took the chances, you found something about yourself, you cheered others on.
I am so proud of everyone that ran with us that day. And that means especially you. The one that found the race was hard and came in with your own personal victory. While the podium stand might not recognize your victory…I do…your coaches do…your team mates do…your friends do…your children do…your coworkers do…your ancestors who gave their lives to give this chance do…You’re such a winner and I’m proud to run and train with you any day.
And when you align yourself with such wonderful powers like you did that day, and close your eyes, and thank our loving creator for such an amazing life changing experience, then just maybe, just maybe our good and loving God might send you a special present…like this…
Coach Gary
Rainbow over Avalon Harbor at Catalina
Long Beach One of the Fattest Cities in the U.S?????
Top 25 fittest and fattest cities in the U.S. – Healthy Living on Shine
Sure, obesity is a problem in this country, but when you think fat, you probably don’t think Miami. So you may be surprised to find Men’s Fitness magazine ranks Miami as the nation’s fattest city in its annual survey. The fittest? Salt Lake City.
You’d never believe the rankings I found.
Two huge surprises I found on the fattest cities list.
You’ll have to check it out.
Fitness is Not an Overnight Sensation
Personal Best – Fitness Isn’t an Overnight Sensation – NYTimes.com
“To make a change in how you look, you are talking about a significant period of training,” Dr. Kraemer said. “In our studies it takes six months to a year.” And, he added, that is with regular strength-training workouts, using the appropriate weights and with a carefully designed individualized program. “That is what the reality is,” he said.
Changing your body and getting in shape takes time.
This is a good article to remind you of this.
It’s not going to happen within a couple of months.
But day by day you’ll make little changes that will add up.
Keep on the journey…you’ll make it.
Gary Dawson Smith
Inaugural Tuesday Power Yoga w/Coach Gary
We run at 6:00 p.m from Trump Golf Course
After taking a break, I am back to teaching Power Yoga on Tuesday Nights @ 7:45 at Yoga Bindu.
Coach Gary
p.s. Here’s my thoughts on Martin Luther King and Barrack Obama…warning it does promote non-violence…
so you’re best not to read it if you believe we should be going around dropping bombs on people.
