Long Island Marathon 2012

Stepping up on the starting line is an accomplishment within itself. Doing it while being healthy is another. This Sunday, May 6, thousands of runners will be lining up to begin to conquer their fears and doubts.

- 10 km (6.2 mi)
- 13.1 mi
- 26.2 mi

These are the distances they will run. But this race isn't about those miles. It is about each individual pushing their limits. An overweight/obese guy who never walked is now running 10 km to show himself and everybody else he can do it. Mothers that spend so much time working, taking care of their kids and husbands are doing this to prove that they are not just moms, but grinders. What about that kid who is trying to outrun his fears of failure. They are stepping up, not because its fun or cool, but because they found something bigger than themselves. Its called believing. They can see it...... feel it. This feeling is beyond the pain you feel in your legs while running or the burning of your lungs at the last mile. Makes you drop that quadruple bacon extra cheese cheeseburger and french fries. Rise and shine! It's only 5:30 am on a saturday morning and you are up.

Believing Drives YOU


All of your training has peaked for this event. Its time to just relax, enjoy the scene, and be humble. Meditate and think about all those hard training sessions you accomplished, those early morning runs, what about those late night runs, the food you avoided to stay away from Mrs.Muffin Top and her husband body fat, the food you ate to avoid muscle inflammation. Be confident in your training and in your body. More important of it all, Believe in yourself in totality. Believe in your feet, legs, body, mind, spirit, training, family, and anything else you can think of. That is THE day. No turning back!  Just breathe. You got this.....just believe.

ROB, WHY VEGAN?

I did a lot of training this summer. Every summer I work as a lifeguard, but not this one. Lifeguarding is an awesome job. It pays well but there was one problem. I wanted to do what I love. Last summer I hated waking up everyday and slipping into my uniform. Then off to the bus stop to wait for the bus that took me to Rockaway beach. I had no choice. I was getting paid to do so. On a random Tuesday it was cloudy and ugly outside. When it was my turn to get up on the beach chair it began to pour. And no I am not allowed to get off the chair unless it thundered. So there I was on the chair of doom. Getting rained on by cats and dogs. My co-workers were in their car watching movies and staying dry. To be honest I loved being out there while it was raining. And it hit me. 

I was happy. 

I didn't win the lottery or even win a race. I was just out there with nature and enjoying every single second that passed by. I was smiling and sticking my tongue out to get water, being a kid again. I loved the moment I was in. I was not thinking of what I did that morning or what I was going to do when I hopped off that chair. No past or future thinking. 

     Rushing home to take a warm shower, I opened the front door and everything slowed down. I saw my mom cooking. She looked tired and stressed. My dad was yelling at my mom, and my mom back at him. I noticed they didn't look happy. My dad was having issues at work because his boss gave him too much to do. My mom was stressed from having to work and get home to cook. I'm not here to tell you that my parents are unhappy people but I am here to tell you that I noticed that they didn't come from a place where they loved to be and/or come from doing something they enjoyed. 

    The next day I didn't wake up in time for work. Nor the day after. Nor the day after that. As a matter of fact, 3 weeks passed without me showing up for work. Buddies and co-workers were calling me and texting me. I didn't respond. I did think about the money that I was missing out on, BUT I was too busy to think of it everyday. I was too busy swimming at the local pool, taking my bike out and riding out to NJ, running in the trails of Bear mountain, taking yoga classes, appreciating the trees in central park, and taking in life.  During this time I was not able to buy the stuff I wanted. It didn't matter because those things stopped defining who I was as a person. If you stop, look around and pay attention, you will see that everyone is shopping. Everyone is buying things that they don't need to be happy. The problem is that the cycle doesn't stop. We don't get what we want and we suffer. We get what we want and we still suffer. 

     I could not explain how excited I was to wake up the next morning to breathe fresh air and get moving. I appreciated my parents more at the same time because they were supporting these adventures I was going on. They figured it was a phase and I would become "normal" again. One day I was speaking with my dad and he asked, "why don't you start lifeguarding again or find a job?" I looked down at the floor. I must have looked a bit lost, but eventually gazed up. While looking into his eyes I said, "because I don't want to end up like you." You should have seen his face. He had to pick up his eyes and balls off the floor. Before he could either flip on me or cry I began to talk. I told him, "You work at a place you hate, to buy stuff that you don't need or things that do not make you happy. I love you pops, but I don't believe in that life. You have done so much for me and this family but please don't preach to live a life like yours. You had to find a job to support us when you came to this country. I appreciate it. But now I have the opportunity to do something I love and enjoy, and only because of what you have done for me." We hugged. Never have we spoken about jobs again. I went back to smiling and loving life. I did only what my heart wanted to. If I wanted to play on the mountains I would do exactly that. If I wanted to see people's faces I would take the train. If I wanted to workout I would go to the gym. 

After swimming one morning I headed out on my bike. It was a tough session. I pounded those pedals until I ran out of gas. I was relieved to have done my workouts. I headed back home. Once I got there I saw my mom and dad huddled up. They were whispering about something. I passed right by them with a "HIII!!" and went to grab some cookies to chomp on. They told me they wanted to speak with me. I freaked out a bit. They went to the living room and sat down. Nervously I sat with them. That cookie was good but I thought my dad caught me taking 20 bucks out of his wallet. "I'm screwed. I'm screwed. I'm screwed." My dad opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something but he couldn't. All of a sudden my mom out of nowhere said, "Your dad went to the doctors today." While chewing I said, "He has high blood pressure again doesn't he?" I looked at my dad but he was looking straight at the floor and couldn't look up. "They found a tumor in his kidneys and it could be cancerous."

     Life stopped. My heart dropped. The other half of that cookie was on the floor. My dad was tearing but still looking at the floor. I have never seen my dad weak in my entire life. This night he was exactly what the word weak meant. He was always a fighter but this time you could see he gave up. Life had beaten him to the "punchline." I began to cry. I didn't care about my adventures anymore. My father has one daughter and two sons. I was the one he was closest to. Only because he felt like he "messed" up on me less. I was destroyed.

Destroyed = put an end of existence of something

     I didn't care about myself anymore. I have learned in life to always cry. Once your tears dry up, GET UP, Start moving, and be proactive. Solutions don't fall from the sky. We have to find it as if it were a hidden treasure. Being part of the modern generation, I jumped right on google. I started to investigate how to beat this. I made up in my mind that this was NOT going to beat my dad. This strong man was NOT going to give up. If he gives up I knew I would be right next to him to pick him right back up. I would not give up. My dad would not leave. He would not leave me and my mom. He couldn't lose. He has always beaten every obstacle that has confronted him. 

     There was a movie that everyone was and still is talking about in the cancer community. It is a movie called "Forks Over Knives". If you ever have the chance to rent it, through Netflix or amazon, please do so. But I must warn you, it might save your life. It talked about how we can eradicate cancer and create it just by controlling what we put in our mouths. I do not want to get into details because I would be able to put a cover on this blog entry and call it a book. To summarize it, it shows how doctors and researchers have found that meats, dairy products, eggs, and anything else that has a father and mother causes cancer. Yes that piece of chicken you just finished eating causes cancer.  It isn't because chicken is bad for you. It is what is in the chicken and all these animal products that cause cancer. Steroids, hormones, chemicals that are put in your car, are now in what you eat just to make an extra buck. 

     I ordered the movie and sat my dad down and we watched it. He has always had trouble with his diet. He likes to eat too much and he likes foods that have flavor. Who doesn't? Right after the movie was done he looked at me and said, "let's do it." You could see his eyes glow again. I gave him hope. Thats all you need to win a fight. But this was a war. I just hoped that HOPE was enough to win this one. 

     Since that day we have all been vegan. We do not touch anything that walks, talks,breathes, has a mother and father. We don't do it to be "vegan" or be "cool". We do it to feel great, to stop feeling acid reflux, to stop feeling bloated, to stop feeling fat, to stop feeling gassy. We wanted to feel good. I am here to tell you that when I did feel some of the symptoms above, I thought it was normal. My parents have stopped feeling a lot of "normal" symptoms. My father will be getting blood results soon enough, and doctors are going to check the tumor in 6 months and when they don't see it they will freak out. We have been "vegans" for a little over 2 months. My dad has lost weight, his energy level has risen, and he tells everyone he feels amazing compared to what "normal" was.

     This is why I am a vegan. I know this was a long story but I hope its an inspirational one, a story to keep you moving forward, to focus on your dreams. The goals you want to accomplish are possible, all you need is hope, always living in the moment, in the NOW, never worried about yesterday or what tomorrow will bring. What you do now is all that matters. If you want to be a singer than grab a mic and start singing. If you want to become a model, do it now. Don't wait for that "thing" or "time". Begin NOW. NOW is the only thing guaranteed. You might not see tomorrow, and yesterday left. 

     I am Rob THE BOSS. I am vegan. I am strong. I am free. I am fearless. 

                                       I am YOUR TRAINER        

Vegan BANGin smoothie

Ingredients

- 1 banana
- handfull of blueberries
- handfull of spinach
- 1.5 cups of vanilla almond milk


Takes less than 5 minutes and give you energy for the rest of your day. Did i forget to mention this fights cancer. Yupp believe it. Eat your plants.

The end product doesn't look like the smoothies you see on tv. Just imagine what food companies do to them to give it that beautiful neon color. These are natures color. Enjoy!

Core2Tri classes back on!

We had our first class within a long time. We had a good group of 4 beautiful and strong ladies.

We will be here every saturday at 9:15 classes begin! It is only $5. If you do decide to come check out www.core2 tri.com and click the " CLASSES" link to see directions and any new updates. Have a great week!

Tuesday, 04 October 2011

I will begin to start posting my training everyday. Sort of a diary. I hope my buddies will be reading this to get updated with my training. I'm pretty sure they will. They enjoy seeing me get tortured(lol).

I will be posting workouts with pictures and data. Anything I have done in the outdoors I will be measuring it with my Garmin watch. I will post a link to the data itself. Pictures are worth more than a million words, but while I'm working out the last thing on my mind is taking a picture. I'll do my best to get them here.


                           Head quarters


These are some pictures of my "head quarters" or better known as my room.


                     Long Term Calendar: I can see how many months until my "A" race

                     Bulletin board: Magazine cutouts - stretching plan

                          "Desktop": calendar - training schedule - books - magazine - training diary

                          "Garage" : My road bike and tri bike - mirror to workout

               Trigger Point therapy: What keeps me running, literally!

Does it take you closer to your goal?

I wish I knew how to start this blog off. I usually have something that inspires me to write. But not today.

    Today something happened that blew my mind. I was with a buddy of mine watching some T.V. Some commercials came up and I said something. My buddy started to laugh................I didn't laugh.
I remarked something that I was going to do. I guess to my friend it was impossible for me to accomplish it.
Conclusion----------> Anger. Frustration. More anger.


       It has been a while since someone has told me I can not accomplish something. Reason why I have kicked those people out of my life. No need to have negative influences in my life. Something either takes you closer to your goal or farther. Nothing in your life will influence you to stay in the same line. Remember when you hang out with x person that likes to drink every day and hang out late will either take you closer to your goal or farther. We all have our weaknesses. It can be a person, thing, food, or place.

PERSON- Be careful who you hang out with. Choose your friends wisely. Friends are people that truly care about you and push you to become successful. Someone that will pace you on their bike for 2 hours while you are running is a true friend. Someone that invites you to hang out every night just because they are "bored" is not, especially after you tell them you have to wake up early to train. Remember there are people who prove the quote "misery loves company."


Thing - Personally I can not own a video game system. Why? I would be playing Call of Duty every day, all day. I love video games but I love to train more. Sacrifices has to be made. Some people have self control and play once a week. But not me. Everyone has different weaknesses. Pay attention to them. After you find it, FIX IT! Eliminate it. Sacrifice it. Throw it in the garage. If it doesn't take you closer to your goal, it takes you .........farther.



Food - This is a biggy. EVERYONE eats. Most of us enjoy it a bit too much. Haagan Daz Ice cream kills me. Cookies and cream to be precise. Love it! I can eat it every day starting from breakfast to midnight snack. Solution? I keep it as far away from me as I can, or at least I try. Sometimes it isn't easy to spot what is our food "enemy."  It can be that we drink soda or juice with every meal. Let's think about this. If we drink 2 cups worth of juice, that have 100 calories per cup, with every meal we are consuming....calculating..... 600 calories per day. That is equivalent to another meal, a little over a big mac. WATCH what you eat. Literally look at what you eat.....turn it upside down.....open it up......shake it.... and ask yourself "Does this take me closer to my goal?"


Place - Bars. Clubs. Park. Your house. Friend's house. Work. Reading these places I have mentioned must be a bit confusing. The first two are understandable. The rest are like "Whaa?" My house is very comfortable. I have a couch you would fall asleep in minutes. The wall colors are very pleasant to look at, but does not motivate anyone to go run. People have walked into my house and have asked "how do you not sleep all day." Park? When I go to the park the last thing I think about is running. I play handball with some buddies. Handball does not help my training.  Some days I decide to chat it up with my brother. I go to his job. I always end up overstaying my visit and missing some workouts for the day. Analyze what places you go to that motivate you to reach your goal. It can be the gym. Maybe a running track. Trails are beautiful to run on. Follow those places in your daily routine. These places will take you closer to your dream and your success.


     Going back to my friend that laughed at me. Now that got me pissed. I will take that negativity and put it into my workouts tomorrow. Something positive has been born from something negative. I have made it that way.......Why?




"Does this take me closer to winning a triathlon? Does this take me closer to placing in my age group next year in the NYC Ironman?"


Ask yourself      " Does this take me closer to _____________________"

Substitutions:
A) breaking my PR
B) Wining the race
C) being a happier person
D) *CUSTOM ANSWER* FIll the blank

A Runner's High

       A Runner's High. Some of us have experienced this, but not everyone. How do you get it? I am no scientist so I can not give you any scientific data to explain this. But I will tell you this. It isn't a myth. It really can happen. You need to push you limits.

     Push my limits?
    
      Limit: A point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass.(google search)


                              Who or what determines the limits to your body?




      YOU DO! That is the beauty of all this. Nobody can tell you that you cannot accomplish something. The only person that can tell you that you cannot is yourself. 


    Soul controls the mind-----------Mind controls the body----------Body does.....




     Running where you thought was not possible. You have never ran this much. You have never ran this far. 




BOOM...BOOM...BOOM...BOOM         Heart beat speeding up


CRUNCH...CRUNCH.....CRUNCH          Your feet hitting the ground


               You want to stop. Your body begs you to STOP! 



 WAIT!!




You just have a few more miles to go. This is the most you have EVER done. Why stop here?




COMMON PUSH


It hurts too much! 


AHH AHH AHH AHH  


 All you hear is your breathing





A LITTLE LONGER!!




Something is happening. You can't stop. Your stride becomes effortless. The pain is gone. You run faster.


WTH is going on!?


I'm flying? something is carrying me. 


*you look down*

You notice your feet are on the ground. But you don't feel it.


Feelings are carrying your legs forward


Fireworks in your heart


It doesn't make sense! That is what makes it so special. Life doesn't make sense. And it is alright. Life is amazing. Problems? There aren't any




YOU JUST RAN AWAY FROM THEM




At this point you become life. Things that surround you don't make your life. But your being does.












                                  You thought you lived?  

I'm tired of comeback stories...screw the pros!

    

    I have heard of so many comeback stories these past few years. Lance Armtrong is probably the biggest story. Retired from cycling he decided to come back and try to win The Tour de France. He came 3rd place but was not happy with that result. This motivated him to build the best team money can buy. Team Radioshack. It had big shots like Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Kloden, and a few others. He went in The Tour de France very confident, but lady bad luck was on his side. He had a few crashes and this killed his lead and time. Alberto Contador took the victory again. Lance has retired but still trying to make a comeback. Rumors are that he will be competing in a random triathlon of his choosing.

                    ENOUGH OF LANCE ARMSTRONG


          It is my time. It is your time. As athletes and humans we tend to look at everyone else and not ourselves. We seek perfection and compare ourselves to "that". "That" can be a certain time, a certain athlete, a certain look, six pack abs, latest bike, it can be anything. And until we accomplish to attain that then we feel like we aren't worth it. 


                                                   Why do we focus on the pros?


         We go to races and see the pros come in first place. They have the sickest bike on the course, those matching oakleys, the sponsors on their tri suit, and their slim (less than 10%body fat) bodies. Looking at them as if they were Gods. I'm not trying to take away what they have earned. They have worked many hours and hard hours to accomplish what might seem as the impossible. But we are in a selfish sport. We try to make it seem as if we were doing something selfless by signing up with a foundation and giving a huge donation. 


                     Selfish


These foundations help certain people (ex. Livestrong, Team for kids). It is a beautiful thing if you can donate and help others but that doesn't make our sport a less selfish one. 

               Getting back to these Gods. Forget about them!


Let's focus on ourselves. Don't worry about their time, what they wear, how they look, what they do, and how they talk. 


                                     
                                           
                    LOVE     THE     MOMENT


      There is a quote that says "I do not regret the things I have done in my life, but those that I haven't done when I had the chance." How true is this. If you really love what you do, nothing will stop you. 


     Ladies and Gentlemens! Go out today or tonight and Love the Moment.  Enjoy it and let the joy of doing it show. Let your aura spread everywhere you go, write, speak, and breathe. Let people know that you love it. Motivate others to follow their dreams. I ask everyone here reading to      


                 STOP!
                         
     Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Slow your mind down. Let the muscles in your face and head relax. Let your arms hang by your side, Take a deep breath again. NOW feel your heart beat.

--------->  Imagine yourself where you want to be. It can be passing a finish line, or running next to your rival and passing him(remember to keep your eyes closed). Opening your own cafe. Writing for television shows. Passing the test to become FDNY. Getting a promotion. Running the qualifying time for Boston marathon. Finishing your first triathlon. Breaking your 5k PR.

NOW DO IT!


         Don't think so much. Live the moment which is always now. Don't worry about what you will do tomorrow or what you did yesterday. Focus on NOW.

- Where are you?.....HERE
- What time is it?.....NOW
- What are you?.....THIS MOMENT

(above is from peaceful warrior)


Love. Breathe. Live.

                                                       THE MOMENT        

Belief lost!

 I ran 30 miles non stop




When I tell people this, they drop their jaws. I can see why.

I was an ultrarunner. I was 16 years old at the time. I weighed 183 lbs and dropped to 157 lbs in just two months from all the running I was doing. I would run on average 11 miles a day. On Saturdays I would have my long runs which would vary from 14-19 miles.  I had a secret to accomplish all this ;)

My secret?


                   I RAN AT NIGHT


While everyone was asleep or getting drunk out there mind, I was running through the streets. The earliest I started to run was 10PM. I would get back home around 1AM. 
                                                                                                                 I loved it!
My drunk neighbors are witnesses. They would have a blast when I was running down the block. 


                         "kid wha you doin?! Running!! HAHAHA you crazy! It's FCKING two in the mornin' "

I would just smile at them. They made me laugh a bit, they thought I was laughing with them. I wasn't.


That was my prime!

My passion for it was on fire. I loved it so much that I did it every night. Just because I loved it.

                                                   PLAGUE


After two months I was plagued with several stupid injuries.  It took the fire out of my passion. I gained weight. I became normal. This sudden hatred grew inside of me. A hatred to myself. 99.9% of people in society want to fit in.          
                                         I DO NOT


My mind does not allow me to be comfortable knowing I fit in. Since those injuries I have been trying to make a come back. Ohhhh dear God! It is harder than you think. I wanted to run and do what I love but my body wouldn't allow me. I would tear this, pull that, strain this. There was no fun in this.



I gave up




At this moment my throat is in a knot. I was an amazing runner. I was an amazing athlete. I can't believe I gave up. Tears are rolling down my cheek............

I can't believe I gave up


Last year (2010) I weighed in about 195 lbs
I ran a 22 minute 5K race (that is slow)
I looked like porky (that's all folks)


I gave up on believing


Now that I am coming BACK I am having a problem. I can not find to believe in myself like I used to. I know I am pretty fast because of my race results but I still can not believe in myself. I train everyday and I feel like I haven't done enough and I get in bed unsatisfied. My friends tell me to have more confidence and they tell me how it is amazing how much I train. As much as I wish their words would help, it doesn't. This is something inside me.

Let us start the week fresh. Let us train to melt our fears away. Let is run to believe. Let us workout to define strong. 

48 Hours of Training with Tim Don

This is what I want my life to be everyday!!

I know it will be a few years before I am there but wish it would be sooner. What would you want your life to be like? If you have an idea find someone who is already doing it. Look at how they got there. Look for videos and post them. Let your friends, family, and enemies know that those are your goals. Trust me you will have no choice but to achieve them. Believe in yourself. NEXT post will be about that!

       We all struggle......you're not alone

     

A friend of mine messaged me on Facebook and it really touched my heart. I would describe what she said but it's just better if I show you.      

                                                   Read below            

                 ________________________________________________________________

7:24pm Friday, June 24

  Joanna Haich

hey so i just read some of your blog

    Roberto Escobar

hey lol

thanks for reading

    Joanna Haich

and i was in a funk today cuz i just wanna kill myself over tennis! but this, this entry

that just helped me alot, made me realize why i do it, so thank you

the Welcome to my life entry

    Roberto Escobar

wow

this means a lot

    Joanna Haich

and it meant a lot to me, i actually just got in a fight with my dad an hr ago about how i want to be normal, go out party, stay out till 3 am, and then i realized i cant, because im an athlete. becasue we choose to be athletes

our choice no one elses

    Roberto Escobar

im speechless

im just happy that it made you realize why you love tennis and why we keep going at it

we get the rewards

but we pay to get those rewards, with time and sacrifices

    Joanna Haich

true. sacrifice yes, oh its sucks but we hope to get something better out of it

     Roberto Escobar

is it ok if i put thise convo on my blog

    Joanna Haich

go ahead

    Roberto Escobar

thanks, no law suit lolol

    Joanna Haich

i saw ur post about it to check it out and i was like might as well give it a try read it all, its really good, and i want to say good job on everything you are doing also

    Roberto Escobar

Thanks, your words mean soo much. you have no idea how much you have motivated me

my parents sorta suport me but they dont encourage me or pay for stuff so i do all this on my own

and to hear this from another athlete it means alot

    Joanna Haich

same here. my parentschip in when they can but its all so expensive i dont have a coach i train on my own. it also helps alot when you know and talk to other athletes going through similar stuggles

    Roberto Escobar

Well thats why its called a dream and not a reality

we hope to make it our reality, and i like the fact that its not easy. without the struggle you dont appreciate it

    Joanna Haich

im sharing your blog on my tumblr. lol others need this also

    Roberto Escobar

lol thank you sooo much

I will be on top of my blog so check it out, imy goal is just to inspire people

I know how it feels to lack motivation, hate it!

    Joanna Haich

i know total bummer! and i will! i already bookmarked ur blog on my comp! haha

im printing out that entry and putting it on my wall

    Roberto Escobar

i dont what to say

never thought i would inspire even though that is my goal

to be honest some people read my blog but no one says anything and i just keep typing hoping some one will notice and enjoy it

I'm just happy you have

    Joanna Haich

you always reach people in different ways thats what i believe

    Roberto Escobar

yeah, as long as your passionate in what you do, you will reach ppl through FB or BLOG or just talking to people on the street

Joanna thanks for letting me know

made a world of a difference

     Joanna Haich

NO! thank you for writing that, and posting it, it made a difference for me. a big one

    Roberto Escobar

Just passing the passion around

check out the next post coming up soon, your in it

    Joanna Haich 

ahha okay! awesome

             __________________________________________________________________

            WOW!!

                 You don't get that everyday. Her being inspired by my words inspired me. When she messaged me I was speechless. Wasn't sure what to say. 

STRUGGLE

           More and more I realize I am not the only one out there. Honestly there is not one triathlete my age in a 20 mile radius that I know of. And what about serious athletes? Well I can count those with one hand. I'm not the only one chasing my dream. There are other people out there willing to commit to make it happen! 

         

Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! 

                                           Keep pushing!  Keep struggling!

You are not alone! When people say you can't follow your dreams because you do not have the talent......Smile 

When they say you don't look like an athlete because you don't have those six pack abs......Smile

When you share your passion and they say thats impossible.....Smile

SMILE     because you will turn your back on those people and say Screw you! Leave more determined than ever. Prove them wrong, show them that you believe in yourself. Accomplish your dream because you love what you do. All they will do when they see you accomplish it is shut up and continue there normal lives. Those people do not have the courage to chase their dreams like we do. 

                       Continue forward > Struggle > Inspire> Push> Accomplish

                           Chasing dreams! Its what we do