TOP RUN Performance, LLC

11/03/2023

⚡️Flashback Friday⚡️

Running in 2017 as an guide for who was doing her first marathon ever is definitely one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life as a runner!!! ❤️

From start to finish, I had told Estelia I would not leave her and we would cross that finish line together. Believe me, it was easier said than done. Going down ↙️ those bridges in her race wheelchair she would flyyyyyy 💨 by me, and then I’d have to speed up to catch up as she’d slow down on flat. It was a constant “cat-and-mouse” game between the two of us. The mental part of making sure I did not lose her was quite stressful, but it was my duty and responsibility to be there with her until the end, and I did just that, even capturing on video her finish line moment. Words can not express just how SPECIAL that moment was seeing her finish!!! ❤️

Running for one’s own gratification and goals is great, BUT, running for others…..well that is a something EVERY experienced runner should really try some day!!! Running the NYC Marathon to celebrate my 50 years of life was something on my bucket list. Giving of myself in some type of mission work or service in gratitude of those 50 years of life was on my bucket list. Being an Achilles Guide to help an athlete was truly the best of both worlds! It is an experience that will ALWAYS remain deep in my heart!! ❤️

Best wishes to everyone running this Sunday!!!! 🗽🍎🏃‍♀️🏅

…and if you see an Achilles Guide out there with their athlete, make sure to cheer them on!!!!! 👏👏
They are BOTH working hard out there!! 💥

10/02/2023

Here’s a little “peace” for you…

Talking to one of my athletes last week at length, we had a GREAT discussion, and felt that I should post about something not often talked about here in this IG running world.

In the world of these IG squares, one is easily influenced and motivated by runners’ fast times, improved times, and PR’s. Likewise, one is easily “judged” and even “criticized” (of course, all that talk usually goes on behind one’s back) as a runner, and even as a coach, on those same times, especially if there’s no improvement or PR’s over the years.

But you see, just like that “perfect couple” that gets divorced after 30 years (that actually was the case with some VERY dear friends of ours that I just found out about last week…🥺), as it has been said, “YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”!

Why do I say that? Because negative talk is cheap. You don’t know what an athlete is going through….You don’t know the emotional struggles or physical obstacles in one’s way….You don’t know the mental or psychological strength it might take someone just to lace up and get out the door….You don’t know if an athlete’s goal is simply to “run for life” vs running for “time”. You don’t know!

Likewise, for coaches, we are often “judged” as well on our athletes’ times. Again, you don’t know how much of the assigned miles & workouts an athlete did, or didn’t, put in. You don’t know how many times the coach might have had to adjust and change the athlete’s training plan. You don’t know if the coach, as much as he/she leads the horse to water, just can’t make it drink.

Life is grander than numbers on a clock. In a world where it’s so easy to get caught up on that as runner, and even as a coach, I much rather continue to be there for my athletes ANY way I’m needed, be it to hammer down times and workouts, if that’s what they need, or simply give 💯support, love, an open-ear, compassion, and empathy where needed.

🔅Don’t judge!
🔅Much joy and PEACE to you all! ☮️

09/12/2023

I wanted to post about registration opening yesterday, but didn’t want to take away from the importance of yesterday’s date and honor what I felt was more important.

As Boston registration continues this week:

I know the excitement those registering are feeling, especially if it’s your first time! I sure do hope everyone gets in as in the past 2 years because you definitely DESERVE to be there! IF for whatever reason you don’t get “in”, know this, YOU ARE STILL A BADASS RUNNER!!! Your worth and respect as a runner is not based on getting “in” to a certain race. Sure, society and SM may stress otherwise, but running a BQ time, heck, simply running a marathon, is badass enough!

As runners, we all have different priorities. Yes, running Boston is GREAT, but it sure isn’t “everything”. For some it’s “one and done, been there done that”. Some runners have nooooo desire to ever even run Boston. If that’s you, know that doesn’t make you any less of an athlete! You are still badass for simply lacing up and putting in your miles weekly, year after year, making fitness and health your priority! Mad respect to you!

For those still chasing and dreaming about that BQ, if it’s important to you, then keep working hard and make that dream a reality! Work harder, be more consistent, hire that , add the and whatever else you have to do. There’s nothing like making that dream come true! It’s worth it.

As for me, this picture was from the last Boston I ran, in 2021, and it was my retirement from the Boston Marathon, not because I didn’t BQ again, but rather simply my focus and priorities have shifted.

For those who get in, I know the course well and I’m happy to help any way.

BEST WISHES TO ALL!! ✨

09/02/2023

06/15/2023

I usually RUN birthday miles on my birthday, but coming back from a trip a little under-the-weather, sleeping poorly last night, and a another trip around the corner next week, I decided simply to listen to my body and can the run today. (Maybe I’ll just walk them later.)

We often hear “AGE IS JUST A NUMBER”, and I believe that 💯 wholeheartedly, and we should definitely NOT let “aging” stop us from aiming for those PR’s! There are MANY runners out there in their 50’s running PR’s. I’ve coached runners well into in their 40’s and 50’s to many PR’s. Sometimes, some of those PR’s also depend on when you started running, and what general fitness you were in when you first started your journey (that’s a topic for a future post), but many definitely come from smarter training, consistency, and hard work! There are many master, grandmaster, and seniormaster athletes running faster with age!! Heck, I ran my fastest 5K, by 32 seconds, at age 52, my fastest half marathon just shy of turning 53, and my second fastest HM at 53 1/2! I also ran my fastest 10K by 8 secs at age 53 1/2.

As the body ages though, there are changes that come along for ALL runners, but especially (born) female athletes, and with that, we MUST listen to our bodies. It’s the only one we got! Priorities often change, like running less miles, taking more recovery days, or simply wanting to run for the LOVE of it and longevity. That’s okay too! In this IG world where everyone is posting their fast times, you’d think it’s all about getting faster and it’s easy to get caught up in the comparison game. I urge you, please do NOT fall into that game! YOUR goals, be it running for longevity, for the love of it, as part of general fitness goals, for PR’s, in every state, for the six stars, to keep a streak going, or any other goal you might have, is just that…YOUR goal!! Like says, “No one cares”! Okay, maybe some do care, but most are just “stalkers” 😂
In the end, they’re YOUR goals and that’s all that should matter to you!

Older, wiser, and with sooooo much peace in my life…

This is 5️⃣6️⃣!!!

All 📷 taken within past month. 😉

04/30/2023

As I searched for a spot yesterday to take a post-run picture, it was mostly shady all around. Then I found this one spot of sunshine ☀️ on the wall, and it was so perfect and metaphoric for the way I try to live my life.

We are surrounded by “shadows” and “darkness” daily. Some of it, actually MOST of it, comes from MSM. (I stopped watching the news over 2 years ago and can’t tell you how much more uplifting life is without it! Highly recommended!!!) Some of the “darkness” comes from our own thoughts. Some comes from coworkers, or our own sociaI circles, and most definitely a lot of it comes from the “comparing game” people fall into comparing their lives and/or running to those of others on social media. None of that does us any good! Focus on the good, eliminate the “bad”, and FIND and FOCUS on the LIGHT!! ✨
“In a race that you can't win, slow it down.
Yeah, you only get one go around
'Cause the finish line is six feet in the ground,
In a race you can't win, just slow it down.

In a world full of hate, be a light.
When you do somebody wrong, make it right.
Don't hide in the dark, you were born to shine…
In a world full of hate, be a light! ✨

Yeah, it's hard to live in color
When you just see black and white
In a world full of hate, be a light.✨
- Thomas Rhett (Be a Light)

Happy Sunday, everyone! 😊

04/21/2023

Jumping on the Boston 2023 posts train here….not with me, but this guy right here!

In 2019, at the Tokyo Marathon, he BQ’d for Boston 2020 where he’d run his first Boston ever and earn his 6th star ⭐️ for the
Well, we know what happened in 2020.

Fast forward to 2021 and he did not make the cut-off time for the October Boston Marathon. An opportunity dropped on his lap to run Boston through a charity, and he finally crossed that Boylston finish line, earning his 🦄 and his ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!
…but with no BQ to return in ‘22.

Last year he contacted me to train him and help him get back to Boston. Not only did he earn his BQ in the marathon he ran in June ‘22, but he also ran a new lifetime PR in the 26.2 distance with a time of 3:21:04. He would return to Boston ‘23 for redemption!!! 💥

On Monday, his official time was 3:29:19, a course PR by 21:36 and a new BQ IN FRICKEN BOSTON by 5:41!! 💪🏼
Runners, if you’re dreaming of that unicorn race, don’t stop the chase. It’s worth it!!

This smile says it all!!! 😁

04/16/2023

Once a Boston marathoner, always a Boston marathoner! 🦄

At this time tomorrow, runners from all over the world will be crossing this iconic finish line, that of the oldest marathon in the world. The history of the along with the qualifying standards to even be able to register for it, are IMO what makes so many runners DREAM of running The Boston Marathon at some point in their running careers, whether by qualifying for it, or signing up through a charity.

Some will cross this finish line for the first time. For some it’ll be their 2nd, 3rd, 10th, even 30th+ time. Some marathoners look forward to going back every single year, for others it’s “one and done”, for others they’ve ran it enough times they no longer feel the “need” to run it again, and for others it’s part of their 6-star journey! Whichever it is, one or the other does not make you any “better” or “worse” a runner. One thing is certain though:

IT WILL CHANGE YOU! 🌟

Best wishes to all running on Patriots Day tomorrow!!!! 💙💛

As you toe the line on Marathon Monday, one way or another, you EARNED your spot there! When you cross that finish line, you will be a Boston Marathon finisher and EARNED that unicorn medal! 🏅

ONCE A BOSTON MARATHONER, ALWAYS A BOSTON MARATHONER! 🦄

04/15/2023

April 15, 2013 💙💛

For the past 10 years, I bring out this shirt and wear it proudly, and yet somberly too, every April 15th.

Speaking about this date today with my husband, I teared up yet again 😭, talking about the array of emotions I felt that day, from being in AWE and in HUMILTY, feeling pure JOY and sheer PRIDE that I was among the best of the best runners in the world about to run my 1st …..to being on such a HIGH crossing that finish line not only with a BQ IN BOSTON, but a new PR as well…..to being SCARED, TERRIFIED, ANGRY, and soooooo SAD about what took place that day.

It still shakes me up today and brings tears to my eyes.

4/15/13 - I will NEVER FORGET!

As long as I’m alive (and the shirt fits) I I will always wear this shirt in honor and remembrance of those who lost their lives, those who were injured, and as a reminder that we are BOSTON STRONG! 💙💛

04/07/2023

to 2015 and the first athlete I ever trained.

LOVE this story! I even got him to run WITHOUT long-sleeves!! 😍😉😂

After training on his own for the 2014 Chicago Marathon (and completed it with a finish time of 4:39:07) this athlete reached out to me to train him for the 2015 Miami Half Marathon with a goal of sub-2:00. After the proper post-marathon recovery period, with an individualized training plan and 8 weeks of training, he crushed his sub-2:00 goal with a of over 10 minutes and a finish time of 1:53:16, and later ran 2 more half marathons in 2015 in the 1:53-1:54 range.

When he got accepted into the again for 2015, I told him, based on his numbers (mostly his paces and heart rate data), that I knew and was 100% sure he could break the 4-hour mark for the marathon, something he just could not believe was even possible. As every runner should trust their coach, he committed to his training. He showed the qualities of a runner with a goal: , , , , and .

Here he is, at the 2015 Chicago Marathon, where he had a 45-minute PR and a finish time of 3:54:34. 💥

04/04/2023

As 🌼 Spring 🌼 is well underway in some places (so sorry for those who are STILL getting snow ❄️), for us South Floridians, it’s going to start feeling like summer 🔥 very soon!!

The best way to prepare for summer training is heat acclimatization, and the best way to do that is getting out there and getting some EASY runs in.

These runs are best done in the warmest weather your schedule allows you to get in a run, controlling HR and keeping it in your EASY zone. Pace is irrelevant on these runs!!! Get that through your head!!! Let ego go out the door!! Slow down when you have to, and even walk, if you must, to bring HR down, otherwise cardiac drift will creep in and get that HR soaring high in the heat quickly. Done over the course of 7 to 14 days, these adaptations are beneficial to in the heat and allow the body to better cope with heat stress.

Train smart!!

04/03/2023

2 weeks from today, runners from all over the world will be happier to see this sign along the course, than they’d be if driving a car on an empty tank!!

All joking aside….only partially joking…this sight is a beauty when you feel like you’re “out of gas”, knowing at this sign there’s just ONE mile to go to the finish!! Talk about an adrenaline rush kicking in, especially with the amazing cheer support along Commonwealth, Hereford, and finally Boylston!! It’s ALL electric ⚡️ from this sign to the end!!!

To continue my Boston journey from my last post/s, having BQ’d for ‘22 and ‘23, I was hoping to have one last run with Boston as my marathon #13 , and retire from the distance for a few years. As B.A.A. had “requirements” again, this time with NO exceptions (other than a medical exemption), making that announcement just a few weeks after Boston ‘21. Again, it was a known fact that the thing they wanted ALL runners to have, did NOT stop what they wanted it to stop. Testing - there in Boston was not even an option. Crazy. Wouldn’t that be the safest thing to do after all, for ALL runners?? I mean, this was about “safety” right???? Needless to say, it was absurd that I could walk into ANY restaurant, hotel, even the EXPO, without “it”, but couldn’t run the outdoor marathon. Thank you, but no race organization was going to make that make sense to me or tell me what I “have” to do to my body. So I passed on ‘22 and I’d wait for ‘23.

As ‘23 came around, I’ve had a lot on my plate, the biggest FINALLY finishing my house construction (after moving out and starting demolition TWO years ago) and moving back in, hopefully now in April, as well as my hubby’s big 60th birthday, also in April. I started training for anyway, but the is, my heart was just not into it.
…and I honestly don’t see myself ever going back again.

If I return to 26.2 races, great, and if I don’t, 12 of them with 8 BQ’s (‘13, ‘14, ‘15, ‘19, ‘20, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23) and 5 🦄 medals, and finishing IN Boston with a BQ with 13:14 cushion time is a nice way to “retire” from the distance.

On to other BIG goals! 💥