What a difference a year makes. The Boston Marathon once again brought a community to tears. But this year, instead of tears of fear and sadness, they were tears of joy, pride and remembrance. 

Thirty-five thousand runners took to the streets bolstered by a million supporters. For 26.2 miles, the human sea flowed steadily from the small town of Hopkinton to the epicenter of Boston, washing away any remnants of evil while depositing a fresh layer of strength and love. Their message was clear. The running community officially reclaimed Boston as THEIR town...and named Meb and Shalane mayors. 

The marathon is always a fascinating competition to watch.  Not only are the athletes competing against each other, but also against themselves.  Some say the winner is the one who can withstand discomfort the longest. The one with the most guts.  Many times this is hard to see because the Kenyans who win make it look so effortless. Their running style is so beautiful to behold, like poetry in motion. But this year, the race was run Boston-style: with grit and guts.    

The tone was set by Boston-native Shalane Flanagan who wanted so badly to win this race to honor the victims of last year's bombing. Instead of hanging back in the comfort of the pack, she took the lead and pushed the pace. For 20 miles she led. Even after she was passed by last year's champion, Rita Jeptoo, (who would win again, setting a course record driven by Shalane's efforts) Shalane kept pushing. Pushing her legs and lungs to respond to the pleas of her heart and the crowd.

She gave Boston everything she had and was utterly spent when she crossed the finish line. Her legs could barely keep her upright. In her post-race interview, she choked-up and apologized to the city for letting them down. At that moment, I wanted to hug her and tell her that she was our hero because of her incredible effort, huge heart and courageousness despite defeat. What a powerful gift it is when someone gives their all. 

Following Shalane's example, Meb Keflezighi boldly took the lead early on in the race and ran with his heart to honor the four who were killed last year (writing their names on his bib) and for the people of Boston.  He ran to honor Boston Strong, even chanting in his mind: "Boston Strong, Meb Strong".  With a little help from his fellow Americans, including Ryan Hall, who controlled the pace of the chase pack, Meb went on to win the 118th Boston Marathon, the first American male to do so since 1983.

For me, the most inspirational part of his victory was his humanness. Just like you and I, Meb was visibly fatigued from Mile 17 on. He was wearing his CEP compression socks and could be seen shaking his arms out, checking his watch, forcing himself to drink (UCAN!) and wincing in pain with each downhill step. The marathon monkey was on his back, but he wouldn't let it break him.  Instead, like many of us, he channeled the cheers from the crowd, responded with fist pumps and sang strains of Aerosmith's Dream On to keep himself moving.

Like Shalane, Meb gave his all so that America may have something to cheer about again.  Through courage, we find strength.  As they played our national anthem in honor of Meb and his accomplishment, I couldn't hold back my tears as I sang "Land of the free. Home of the brave".  So true.   

Training for a race can be time consuming. There's a lot of time and effort put into the training plan, executing the runs, stretching, massaging, and cross training. Runners will often obsess over which shoes are right for them, which socks will they wear on race day, hat or visor, short sleeves or long sleeves? So many things to think about! An often overlooked piece of the puzzle is nutrition. How will you get your energy on the run? If you don't practice your nutrition strategy prior to race day, they results can be disastrous!

There are a variety of nutrition products out there which can bring up a lot of questions about which ones might work for you. If you have never eaten anything while running before, the thought of consuming one of those weird looking gel packs can be disgusting and intimidating! Maybe you have completed a half marathon before and didn't "need" anything while you were running. If you are running (or performing other endurance activities) that are lasting longer than 90 minutes, you might not be performing at your full potential if you are not replenishing your energy stores along the way.

Part of the training for your endurance event should include practicing taking different types of energy products while you are running. This way, you can figure out which ones work best for you, which ones definitely don't work for you, and which ones you actually like the taste and texture of.

To read Stacy's guide to Nutrition on the Run including why, when and how (including information on Meb's "secret weapon": UCAN), click here.

Make this the year you complete a triathlon!  Increase your chances of success by joining Team Training New England's triathlon training program.  Again this year, their co-ed program has both a sprint and Olympic distance options.  

TTNE provides a training plan, expert lectures, supervised open-water swims, multiple group workouts and tons more over the course of 10 weeks. They will be with you every step of the way.

If you've been on the fence about doing a triathlon, if the timing has never "been right" or you just don't know where to start (but know that you want to start), reach out to Coach Janice & Lynne (860-256-4491 or coach@ttne.us).  Go to www.ttne.us for helpful videos on our training program and other useful information.  

Yoga Will Make You

a Better Athlete

As an endurance athlete and a yoga teacher I can assure you that yoga will make you a better athlete.  Yoga will help you gain more flexibility, strength, and balance.  Spending time on a yoga mat will also help you become stronger mentally.  Yoga is also a tried and true way to prevent injuries, if that yoga is done specifically for athletes.  You can benefit by adding a yoga practice to your training plan by specifying your yoga practice to your training.

Yoga is typically regarding by athletes as a stretching routine - indeed, visions of Cirque De Soleil may come to mind.  However, a yoga practice designed for the athlete will help stretch tight muscles and improve mobility.  This will promote the use of your full range of motion.  Tight muscles are prone to injury, especially when we engage in activities that use repetitive motions such as swimming, biking and running.  Stretching will help your body process lactate after exercise and will improve muscle oxygenation.

Yoga will also help you strengthen your body as a whole.  A yoga practice for athletes involves poses that use "static holds" - such as holding your body in a push-up position - and poses that "flow" from one to the other, such as a Sun Salutations.  A crucial component to strength for an athlete is your core strength.  To build core strength in, you can use static holds, flowing from pose to pose, along with specifically targeted sit-ups.  It is very important to practice all poses with correct alignment.  This will promote joint stability by not only by strengthening the muscles in your body, but also the ligaments and tendons that are connected to those muscles.