5 Reglas Cardinales Para La Vida

insightful runner

1) Haz la paz con tu pasado para que no estorbe en tu presente. Acepta lo que fue y recuerda que lo que pasó antes determinó donde estás ahora, pero lo que estás haciendo y pensando ahora determinará dónde y cómo estarás mañana.

2) Lo que otros piensan de ti está fuera de tu control y es algo que no debe importarte pues no puedes cambiarlo o controlarlo.

3) El tiempo lo cura casi todo. Dale tiempo a que las cosas sanen y a que pasen cuando deban pasar. Esto va para entrenamientos, lesiones, carreras, relaciones, trabajos, e incluso el darnos tiempo a ser una mejor version de nosotros mismos. No reclamarnos ahora por no ser perfectos todavía o por aún no estar donde queremos estar.

4) Nadie está a cargo de tu felicidad excepto tu mismo. Tu decides. La vida es 10% lo que nos pasa y 90% cómo…

View original post 45 more words

Just Breathe…

Just Breathe… prAna, life, asthma and clothing style

Breathing… something we generally take for granted or don’t even think about.

I had the hardest run of my life today. No, it wasn’t fast. No, I was not running hills. No, I was not racing. I was just fighting to be able to breathe. Literally. I was not able to take a breath, my lungs shut down and I was struggling a lot. To say I was scared is not a fair statement. I was terrified.

Even though I have been into Bikram Yoga and Kundalini Yoga during most of my life, and even though I know the importance of inhaling and exhaling in your day to day life, I have to confess I have taken for granted what a precious gift it is to be able to breathe.

When my daughter was born I would make special emphasis into teaching her how to inhale and exhale whenever something was upsetting her. She got it quite right. I remember one time when we were outside of Rainforest Cafe and there was a giant fake snake hanging from a tree she started to panic. Immediately, all by herself (she was two at the time), she closed her eyes and started to inhale and exhale until she calmed down. I was so proud of her! (and giving myself a pat in the back for being such a cool, progressive mom… you know, the ego hits from time to time J )

Fast forward to my present moment. I am a long distance runner with huge goals in mind. Last year I had a little setback with some injuries but nothing that can take me down. While I couldn’t run I went back to my first love: swimming. Yes, I couldn’t put weight on my right leg but I could still swim. And I could still practice Yoga. I went to my beloved Bikram Yoga North Scottsdale Studio and that helped a lot to heal from the inside out. Finally after almost a year of not running/racing I was able to start training again this past November. Everything is going well (notice I say IS despite the hard week I am having). I have the support of my fantastic team (Sonoran Distance Project), the best doctors at Arizona Pain Specialists, and the best way to get y nutrition down to Perfect Bars.

I am not the kind of gal that likes to complain or to see the glass half empty. I wake up every morning thanking life for being so good and kind to me. Seriously, every morning I am just happy that I get to live one more day. It doesn’t matter how the day will be (we pretty much create them) I get a chance to live when there are many people that don’t. Then I start with this new ritual I have: I repeat over and over again “something amazingly awesome is happening to me today”.

Well, about two weeks ago my amazingly awesome thing was that a wonderful clothing company called prAna sent me some clothes. I LOVE prAna from long time ago. This is a company that has the same values I do. They want to give more than they want to take. They want to inspire, integrate and socialize a more caring and proactive approach to the world around us. No, they weren’t offering me a sponsorship or expecting me to blog about them, they just knew I love Perfect Bars, the companies know each other and they gifted me with some amazing clothes (they have casual clothes, running tanks, yoga clothes… it’s just perfect for someone active like me!).

I know. You may be thinking, What does clothes have to do with your hardest run? Well, prAna means  “breath” and I have been thinking how life works in certain ways. I get a gift from a fantastic company (seriously, the fabrics they use are amazing) called “breath” (prAna) and I am struggling for air.

I have always had allergies. Got into two anaphylactic shocks in the past but I thought I was over them. I also have asthma but it had never been a big problem. This year the pollen index has been particularly high and it hit me bad.  Today my lungs shut down while I was running and I was struggling to breathe. Ironic that someone who is wearing prAna (“breath”) clothes is gasping for air, Isn’t it? Well, after several puffs to my inhaler and being on the nebulizer when I got home, I started wondering What for? Why now?. I don’t ask Why me? Because it’s clear to me things don’t happen to you, they happen FOR you…

so I was sitting in the couch (let’s say after an acute asthma attack you can’t do much, not even talk!) and decided to catch up with my emails. I also remembered I hadn’t sent a proper thank you to my new friends at prAna and decided to go to their website to look for the right email addresses (and look for some other clothes 🙂 ). I ran into a page that says “About Us” and it hit me why me and why now: I have been looking for a long time for an answer to “Am I making a difference in this world?”, “How can I help other people when I am just a simple person?”, “Do I need to do huge things and achieve all my goals so other people listen to what I want to tell them and to inspire them?”, “Do I need to stop thinking about my goals –let’s face it, athletic goals are selfish- and focus on only helping other people?”… while I was driving I was asking the Universe for guidance about how to inspire other people to go beyond what they think are their limits. And then I read “prAna  is Sanskrit for breath, life and vitality of the Spirit… we started simply, rooted in idealism and a timeless belief that companies like ours should give much more than they take from the world… this is who we are, we believe that any form of moving meditation can help you breathe deeply through a tough day or laugh in the face of a traffic jam… as a company, prAna avoids process that can cause harm to people or the environment… we want to keep doing well while doing good”… See I got my answer right there! And that’s why it was meant to be for me to receive a fantastic gift from a clothing company: not the clothes (which I am happy I got!) but the answer to the life challenges I am going through in their “About Us” page. Life works in strange ways. You will get the message you need where you least expect it if you are willing to be open and listen to what the universe has to tell you. So, yes, it’s okay to be an idealist and have a timeless belief that I can give back much more than what I am taking from the world. It’s ok to have a timeless belief that I can achieve my huge goals as well (and so can you). So no, I don’t need to give up my running goals (running makes me so happy) in order to help or inspire other people be the best version of themselves, I just have to do what makes me happy because it makes me happy and in that way I am creating and bringing positive energy everywhere I go; no, I don’t need to achieve my goals, I  just have to do my 100% effort while trying to get them (results don’t depend on us, effort does) and, more important, I just need to remember to never take anything for granted, especially not breathing… I just need to remember to breathe.

And you, Are you aware that you are breathing right now?

Thanks so much for reading. Remember you can subscribe to this blog to get it directly on your email and remember to follow me on twitter (@terezacher) and instagram (terezacher) for daily mental tune ups.

This too is for the best

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.

Mary Pickford, 1892-1979

At my track workout this morning I was thinking about how blessed I am to be able to run. I was injured most of last year and that really puts things in perspective. I was talking to CB, one of my awesome teammates, about how I used to be focused on whether I was going too slow, getting too tired, and questioning when was i going to be faster and faster before my injuries. This morning I was just thankful and happy because I get to run. The  fast pace will get there when it has to get there and meanwhile I am running like it’s the last day I will do it because you never know if it will actually be your last day.

With my teammates from Sonoran Distance Project after track workout

During our warm up Nicole, one of my teammates (and a great triathlete) was telling us how her bike broke two days ago. Not big deal unless you are leaving tomorrow to a race out of the country which is her case. She was in great spirits (she is awesome) and I told her how I believe everything happens for a reason and how this will somehow help her race better (she got a loaned bike to go to Puerto Rico for her race). I remember I told her This too is for the best.

I have learned that wherever we are in our life is where we need to be  in order to get to where we are supposed to be. In order to learn and become better people. If we go forward and pick ourselves up when we fall, then whatever circumstances we are facing can be made better.

But it got me thinking about what someone asked me once: How do you know, How can you be so sure this too is for the best?… Well, I do know It’s a line many of us have heard our elders say, and it’s sometimes used as a spiritual slogan. But in truth, I know it has the potential to be so much more.

The true test of certainty is not in the moments when everything is going smoothly, but in the times when it seems like everything around us is falling apart. I say “seems” because it is, in fact, all an illusion. Most of the time when things seem to be falling apart, they are really just coming together, albeit very much in disguise to us.

There are so many clear examples of this. A man misses his flight. He’s upset because he has many things to do at his destination and many are depending on him. In the most disturbing scenario, his missed plane crashes. In the best case scenario, he meets someone special he is meant to meet on his next flight. Maybe we will never know why he missed his flight, but there was definitely a reason.

We don’t always get to see the bigger picture, but we need to remember there always is one.

The spiritual path encourages us to recall that there is a positive aspect to every event, and to trust and appreciate that the universe is always working on our behalf. We can use these moments to grow our certainty in the Creator, who intends only what is best for us, no matter how it may look or feel through the lens of our limited perspective.

This is why an old saying like, “This too is for the best,” is so much more than a slogan. When we believe it with all our heart and mind, we activate a spiritual technology that will assist us in experiencing the good in all that happens.

Everything is for the best.

We don’t have to see it right away. We just have to trust it.
Today, review one of the challenges in your life. As hard as it is, see the Light at work there. Search until you find the gift that the Creator has bestowed on you through this difficulty. Manifest your change in consciousness by addressing the challenge differently than before.

And, if I have to give you a quick personal example, 11 years ago I had a great job at the Mexican Consulate here in Phoenix, AZ. I was swimming, going to grad School, everything seemed to be perfect. For political reasons I had to stop working at the Consulate. It’s not that I didn’t want to, or that I got fired, it was something that seemed unfair to all of us at the moment. But I knew better. I realized that was not what I wanted (I was paying my school, rent and living from the money I was making and I loved my job) but I also knew if this door was closing it was because a new one, a better one was opening. I just kept thanking life for whatever it was bringing me (even though I had no clue what it was). I just knew there was something better coming. Long story short I had a lot of free time in my hands and needed a job as well so I asked for a job at Scottsdale Aquatic Club. They said they didn’t have openings so I offered to volunteer, learn how they do things and in that way get hired whenever they had an opening. They though it was a good deal and told me I would be helping Kevin Zacher. Turns out Kevin is my soul mate. We talked a little during practice and went to the movies on a Saturday, October 30th of 2004. 20 days later we were engaged. And on January 28th of 2005 (exactly 10 years ago) we got married. Life has just gotten better ever since and I would not be here today if it wasn’t for that door that closed back then. So, believe me, whatever you are going through, IT WILL GET BETTER.

With Kevin and Kori. I feel so blessed and lucky to have them in my life

I hope you have a great day and remember, everything happens for a reason even when we can’t see the big picture.

Remember you can subscribe to this blog to get it directly in your email and remember to follow me (@terezacher) and my wonderful team (@SonoranDistProj) on twitter for daily mental tune ups.

Want to lose weight?

I have never talked about this topic in any of my blogs, however is one of those subjects that are constantly in conversations, media, and pretty much everywhere you turn your head towards.

I had an eating disorder when I was 19 years old. I was lucky enough to discover swimming and realize food is fuel for my body and a tool to achieve what I wanted to achieve instead of the enemy. For a long time I didn’t think about food and didn’t have those nightmares that used to haunt me (“What do you mean we are eating outside? What am I going to do? Will there be anything I could it that won’t make me fat? Do I have to eat in front of people?”). When I swam I just ate what I needed to eat (sometimes more than I wanted to) in order to endure my training and achieve my goals.

Then I became a runner. And, let’s face it, a runner’s body is much different (and smaller) than a swimmer’s body. I started losing weight because running changes your body, I started getting a lot of attention about how I was losing weight… and I liked it. I kept telling people that were concerned that  it was all good because it was about performance (less weight to carry for 26.2 miles) but the truth is that I started eating less and less. I never stopped eating but I was clearly not eating enough. I am 5’8″ and I came down to 113 pounds. I loved how I looked even though my friends kept asking me if I was sick or if anything was going on. I was still running well and fast so I didn’t care much. And then I broke. Turns out your body needs the fuel in order to function and more when you are putting it under a lot of stress (from training or any other kind of stress).

I started eating well again and my training was better. Under my eyes I was heavy because I keep comparing my body to the body of other runners. That’s totally unfair. My body is unique and it has characteristics that no one else does. My arms are a little bigger because I built muscle from all those swimming years. They are not big, they are strong. My rib cage is a certain size (that’s how my bones are) and there is nothing I can do to have my bones being smaller (and if there is it’s called osteoporosis and that’s not good). And, as my coach John Reich said “you are running well, fast and healthy. If your shorts don’t fit just buy bigger shorts”. He is right. I run really well when I am in between 121-123 pounds. That’s my sweet spot. And I have been told I look healthy. The best part is that I feel great when I am in that weight range.

Last year for the first time I did what I have never done. I let go. It was great at the beginning but then I got injured, traveled to France all  summer and eventually I realized I was now on the other side of things. Not that I was “fat” but I was definitely bigger than 122 pounds. It was not really obvious to most people since it was only 8 more pounds, but to me it was way too obvious and I didn’t like it. Worst part is that I was injured and couldn’t really do anything exercise related about it. So, What do you do when your mind is not completely healthy when it comes to this matter?

I started going to Bikram Yoga North Scottsdale again, and I added a Kundalini yoga class. Bikram helps a lot to release the toxins of your body and help with any injury you may have. They say you burn calories as well but that’s no why I go there. It gives me mental peace and allows me to see I am not my body, I am much more than that. But, let’s face it, I still wanted to go down to “my sweet spot” so when i came back to training I didn’t have to carry the real extra weight. I am sure many of you have heard of all those diets that claim you will lose a ton of weight in a week. I have never been able to like a diet and I know better than that. The best weight to lose weight (besides exercising) is watching what you eat and eating about 500 calories less per day. That will take you to lose about one pound per week. Of course if you want to eat the same number of calories you are eating right now you just have to exercise more so you burn around 500 calories more per day (or a combo or burning 250 calories more and eating 250 calories less).

There are many tools online that help you rack your calories. I am not sure this will be good for everybody bu it helps me a lot to make conscious choices of what I eat every day, and also it keeps me honest about eating exactly what I need, no more and no less. I use LoseIt.com because it’s really easy, free, and you can have it on your phone. I was craving something sweet before I started writing (craving, I was not hungry and that’s good to know as well). I went to log what I wanted to it (a piece of cinnamon raisin bread) and I realized I could have an apple and an orange instead and still consume a little bit less calories. It was a no brainer for me since an apple and an orange have better nutrients than the piece of cinnamon raisin bread. I am not saying I will never eat the bread, there are days that i do make that choice, but it’s a conscious choice.

So, I am not trying to educate anyone about weight loss. I am just sharing a little bit of my story here. If you have an eating disorder, go talk to someone. Send me an email. I know the hell it is and I also know there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are trying to lose weight, do it he smart way. Make good choices. If you are training for any kind of sport remember that the amount and quality of food you put in your body will have an impact on your training and your performance. Be smart. Be safe. And, overall, remember that the body is not who you really are, that’s just the suit you use while you are on this planet. The suit can change but who you are will remain so try to focus on nourishing your soul, on becoming a better version of yourself, on working on the things that are setting you back, on using more positive words, positive thoughts and leave behind anything that has negative energy; on loving more and accepting more while judging less and less.

I hope you have a great day!. Remember you can subscribe to this blog so you get it directly on your email and remember to follow me on twitter (@terezacher) for daily mental tune ups

Do I make a difference?

Do I make a difference?.

JANUARY 26, 2015 TERE ZACHER LEAVE A COMMENT EDIT

This is a question that pops in my mind more often than not.

When I was a swimmer, all I wanted to do was to be the best I could be pretty much for the fun of it, to show myself what I was capable of and to prove everyone who didn’t believe a 24 year old could start swimming and be good at it wrong (I also wanted to rub it in the face of the coach that told me I had no potential). I trained hard and it was a fun ride.

Fast forward to the present moment and I find myself running for better reasons. I love the sport (I loved swimming too of course, I couldn’t picture my life without a pool back then!), I love the community, but what has changed is that I want to make a difference in this world and I have found that from time to time I think I could achieve this through my running… How? you may ask. Well, I want to run as fast as I can, to qualify for US Olympic Trials, to represent my birth country(Mexico) in international competitions, but, unlike when I swam, not to get a medal or to prove anyone wrong, I want to do it because I would love to inspire other people to follow their dreams, to believe they can achieve whatever they set their mind into if they are willing to work for it. It;s not about being a super fast 40 something (43 next February 22!), it’s about knowing that if I was able to do it, you can do it as well.

One of the things I learned from swimming, more specifically from the coach who told me I had no talent, I was old (24 when I started swimming) and that he was not going to waste his time with me was that NO ONE, absolutely no one CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN OR CAN NOT DO. You are the only one who determines what your limits are. And if you have a dream, you should go for it. It may happen, or it may not, but at least you will know you tried and you will be closer to it. My favorite phrase says “if you reach for the stars all you get are the stars, but if you reach for the heavens you get the stars thrown in”. So go ahead and reach as high as your mind can go. It may happen like it did for me (I became a world champion two years after I was rejected by that coach and lucky enough to find someone who believed we could try it).

But, going back to my first question “Do I make a difference?”, I had an A-ha! moment yesterday. I am a member of Sonoran Distance Project (if you don’t know about our awesome team please check our webpage http://www.sonorandistanceproject.com). We are 16 fast women with the same goal: to qualify for Olympic Trials, to be the best we can be, and to help and inspire others. This month we got a huge sponsor in Procter and Gamble. I knew P&G was a good company and I love their tv commercials (Who doesn’t remember the one from London 2012 thanking moms for their support?). I use a lot of their products and I really like them (tide, secret, pantene…). but yesterday I learned something else. My teammate CB was presenting us what P&G is and what they believe in. Every one of the people that work there believe they are improving people’s lives with what they are doing. So they don’t think “Great, I am making detergent, big deal”. They are able to see the big picture and believe that by making a detergent that will smell good and will leave your clothes soft they are helping someone to look great, to feel better about themselves, to nail that job interview they have by looking clean. See? They believe they are making a difference. They are able to see the big picture.

I am not trying to tell you to go and buy all P&G products right now (although they rock), I am not trying to sound like I am trying to advertise them, I just want to share how I had this A-ha moment because they are able to see beyond, the whole enchilada, and sometimes we forget to do it… What if today you are running and you say hi and smile to someone you encounter instead of being self-involved in your pace or thoughts? Do you know that perhaps your smile can change that person’s life? What if instead of thinking that you don’t really have a big impact in the world you realize that every single thing you do affect others in different ways?

I want to invite you to be more aware of what you do and the impact it may have on other people. You may think “I am not even a fast runner, How will that inspire others?” but remember that there are people that are just starting and may look up at you because you wake up, put your tennis shoes and go for a run every day.

So, Do I make a difference? I will probably never know, but I like to try and give the best of me and put the best effort in everything I do in order to make a difference in this world… or in somebody’s world.

Have a great week! Remember you can follow his blog to get it on  your email and remember to follow me on twitter for daily mental tune-ups (@terezacher @SonoranDistProj)

Do I make a difference?

This is a question that pops in my mind more often than not.

When I was a swimmer, all I wanted to do was to be the best I could be pretty much for the fun of it, to show myself what I was capable of and to prove everyone who didn’t believe a 24 year old could start swimming and be good at it wrong (I also wanted to rub it in the face of the coach that told me I had no potential). I trained hard and it was a fun ride.

Fast forward to the present moment and I find myself running for better reasons. I love the sport (I loved swimming too of course, I couldn’t picture my life without a pool back then!), I love the community, but what has changed is that I want to make a difference in this world and I have found that from time to time I think I could achieve this through my running… How? you may ask. Well, I want to run as fast as I can, to qualify for US Olympic Trials, to represent my birth country(Mexico) in international competitions, but, unlike when I swam, not to get a medal or to prove anyone wrong, I want to do it because I would love to inspire other people to follow their dreams, to believe they can achieve whatever they set their mind into if they are willing to work for it. It;s not about being a super fast 40 something (43 next February 22!), it’s about knowing that if I was able to do it, you can do it as well.

One of the things I learned from swimming, more specifically from the coach who told me I had no talent, I was old (24 when I started swimming) and that he was not going to waste his time with me was that NO ONE, absolutely no one CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN OR CAN NOT DO. You are the only one who determines what your limits are. And if you have a dream, you should go for it. It may happen, or it may not, but at least you will know you tried and you will be closer to it. My favorite phrase says “if you reach for the stars all you get are the stars, but if you reach for the heavens you get the stars thrown in”. So go ahead and reach as high as your mind can go. It may happen like it did for me (I became a world champion two years after I was rejected by that coach and lucky enough to find someone who believed we could try it).

But, going back to my first question “Do I make a difference?”, I had an A-ha! moment yesterday. I am a member of Sonoran Distance Project (if you don’t know about our awesome team please check our webpage http://www.sonorandistanceproject.com). We are 16 fast women with the same goal: to qualify for Olympic Trials, to be the best we can be, and to help and inspire others. This month we got a huge sponsor in Procter and Gamble. I knew P&G was a good company and I love their tv commercials (Who doesn’t remember the one from London 2012 thanking moms for their support?). I use a lot of their products and I really like them (tide, secret, pantene…). but yesterday I learned something else. My teammate CB was presenting us what P&G is and what they believe in. Every one of the people that work there believe they are improving people’s lives with what they are doing. So they don’t think “Great, I am making detergent, big deal”. They are able to see the big picture and believe that by making a detergent that will smell good and will leave your clothes soft they are helping someone to look great, to feel better about themselves, to nail that job interview they have by looking clean. See? They believe they are making a difference. They are able to see the big picture.

I am not trying to tell you to go and buy all P&G products right now (although they rock), I am not trying to sound like I am trying to advertise them, I just want to share how I had this A-ha moment because they are able to see beyond, the whole enchilada, and sometimes we forget to do it… What if today you are running and you say hi and smile to someone you encounter instead of being self-involved in your pace or thoughts? Do you know that perhaps your smile can change that person’s life? What if instead of thinking that you don’t really have a big impact in the world you realize that every single thing you do affect others in different ways?

I want to invite you to be more aware of what you do and the impact it may have on other people. You may think “I am not even a fast runner, How will that inspire others?” but remember that there are people that are just starting and may look up at you because you wake up, put your tennis shoes and go for a run every day.

So, Do I make a difference? I will probably never know, but I like to try and give the best of me and put the best effort in everything I do in order to make a difference in this world… or in somebody’s world.

Have a great week! Remember you can follow his blog to get it on  your email and remember to follow me on twitter for daily mental tune-ups (@terezacher @SonoranDistProj)

Life lessons learned from running

I love running. It’s hard to explain how it make me feel but I am sure that any of you that  are involved in any sort of physical activity (or any kind of activity… piano, acting, anything!) can understand the feeling.

I remember when I was in between sports (I used to be a hard core swimmer, fortunate enough to be a world champion in 1998) and I went to spend New Year’s Eve with Cris and Juan Carlos (my best friends) in Puerto Vallarta. This was the first time I was not training during the holidays and I was not sure whether I would continue swimming at a high level or not. We stayed up all night (well, Cris and I because Juan Carlos decided to get some sleep) and at about 6am we were sitting by the beach and we saw some people running to start not only their day but their year. Fast forward to 2015 and I was lucky enough to be one of those people who not only run but have running as a way of life.

The best part of taking up running is not the many friends I have made or the fact that, unlike swimming, I can do it anywhere, anytime. What I love the most are the life lessons I have learned from training for distance running and that I believe can be applied to any area of life.

Here’s what training for a marathon has taught me about life:

1. When You are Moving, Progress is Inevitable

When I started out, my short runs seemed pointless. I kept thinking, “How will running 4 miles help me run 26.2 miles?” What I didn’t realize was that by getting myself moving, I was slowly training my body to handle the longer distances. It’s easy to feel like you’re not making any progress when you work on the little things. But you will be surprised by how far your ongoing actions get you. As they say, big goals start with small steps in the right direction.

2. It’s the Little Things that Matter

When I first started training, I completely underestimated the importance of the tiny details. I learned this when I was swimming as well. I tried to swim fast by moving my arms and legs like a maniac without realizing it’s all about the detail,the technique, the taking care of the little parts that make the whole stroke, As a runner I learned that the more prepared I was for my run, the more enjoyable it was. It is the little things that made all the difference: double knotting my shoelaces, leaving my water bottle ready, eating a certain amount of carbs before my long run, rolling and stretching every day. There may be small things that you can do for yourself to make your goals easier to accomplish. It’s the minute details that really add up. What tiny things would make a difference for you?

3. You’re All in it Together

I knew from my swimming that training with other people is a huge benefit, so I  figured I would connect with a few people who were working towards the same goal I had. Little did I know just how much of a gift it would be to run with a group, week after week. When we meet up for our runs, everyone adds something, no matter their age, experience level or pace. I love that when we run it doesn’t matter if you are an eminence in your field or unemployed, if you are older or just coming out of your teen years, we all have something to say, we are  all giving the same effort, and we all want to achieve our goal and we push each other towards that. There is a huge benefit to having a support system around you when you are working towards goals. There is an irreplaceable sense of comradery that grows when you connect with like-minded people. After making progress, a high-five from a friend can really make your day and give you the energy you need to keep pushing forward.

4. You’ve Got to Trust the Process

I have learned that there is always a reward (consequence) to the effort you put while training. Bu you have to trust the process. It’s not an immediate consequence, it takes time and sometimes we can grow impatient by putting the work day by day and not seeing the result we want immediately.  We have to be careful if we catch ourselves thinking “Is this actually going to get me through the distance?”. Just remember, no matter what you are working towards, there are others who have been there before you. There are proven processes in place, and tried and tested strategies for success. Sometimes you have to take a step back from your worry and doubt, and put your faith in the process. See the big picture and keep adding the little pieces to get he whole puzzle complete.

5. Be patient and Remember to Enjoy the Moment

Before i got injured last year (I spent he whole year out!) there were days where I would think, “Let’s just get this over with.”Now I am so appreciative of being able to run that I am just thankful I get to do it. I also changed the way I see every run.I remember my last workout before I got a stress fracture and thank g-d it was a great one. I never knew that would be the last one for a while. So now when I find myself worrying about my pace or about how I feel (“I’m tired”, “I’m not as fast as I was two weeks ago…”) I just shift my focus to “What if this is the last time I get to do it?  How would I like to remember my last run?”. This helps me realize that there is a lot to appreciate: The weather, the interesting people, the thrill of running, the exercise, and the sheer excitement of building towards an unbelievable goal. Instead of wishing we could just accomplish our goals overnight, and setting our sights on the finish line, it’s important to soak in the experience. Chances are, you will never have the same opportunity again. It’s up to you to find the fun in your goals. Be patient and enjoy he present moment because you will never have another one exactly like this again.

6. It’s Not as Hard as You Think

Training for my firs marathon was as hard as I anticipated it would be. When I started out, all I could think about was the long sets I would have to endure and worrying about whether or not I would be able to run at a certain pace for that long period of time (I was a sprinter in the pool, 50 meters freestyler. In and out in 25 seconds or less. Anything that would imply holding a pace for over a minute seemed like forever!). But, when I started training for long distance running I didn’t realize how much stronger my body would get through training, and how much my confidence would increase in the weeks leading up to race day. Oftentimes, we underestimate our abilities. We get discouraged by the space between where we are and where we want to be. Yet if we start to shift what we think we are capable of, everything starts to change.

Remember, you are as limited as you think you are. You have been telling yourself a story about yourself for many years (“I can’t do this”, “I am not a runner”, “I can’t run that fast” or whatever it is that you tell yourself about your life and possibilities) but you can always choose to tell yourself a different story and to become whomever you choose to become.

I hope you have a fantastic week! Remember you can subscribe to this blog to get it on your email every Monday 🙂 Follow me on twitter (@terezacher) for daily mental tune ups 🙂

Goal Setting

“If you don’t know where you are going you won’t get there”

Imagine I ask you a big favor and you are more than willing to do it. I give you the keys to my car and I ask you to drive it to my mom’s house. I give you plenty of cash for gas and whatever you need to get there. And that’s it. If you know where my mom lives you won’t have any trouble getting there (unless you speed 🙂 ) but if you have never been to my mom’s house and you don’t know where she lives you may have a hard time getting there… if you get there at all. See? it doesn’t matter if you have the willingness, the equipment, the mental strength to make it happen. If you don’t know where you are going you won’t get there.

If I tell you my mom lives in Mexico you will have a better idea of where to go (just cross he border!!!) and if i give you her address it will make things easier. Now you have an objective, a finish line. If you put the address in your garmin or in mapquest it will give you a step by step plan to follow until you get to my mom’s house. It will be hard to get lost (of course since she lives in Mexico it could be tricky 😉 ) and, the best part is hat if for whatever reason you are hesitant about how far you have gone or if you are getting tired, you just need to look at the plan (directions) to realize you are almost here and you just have to keep going a little further. It will give you strength to go through to the end.

This is a silly example but it could be applied to anything in our life. Again, if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there. That’s why it’s important to have goals. I see a lot of people going through life, complaining that they never get the results they want, but when you ask them what is it exacly that they want they have a hard time telling you. I have athletes that tell me “I want to be a good runner” but they haven’t taken the time to define what “being a good runner” really means. So when things get hard (training, weather, injury) it’s easier for them to stop. Goals help keep motivation high when things get hard.

Anything I’ve done that was ultimately worthwhile initially scared me to death

WHY DO I NEED A GOAL?

—If what I wrote  down didn’t ring a bell yet, just remember that goals are the targets you are aiming for; they are the specific, intended result of a strategy.

Goals help us to keep our motivation high, to build our confidence, to regulate our anxiety and to cope with adversity. Goals also help us to prepare mentally for competition.

Sounds great, right? the problem now resides in that while setting a goal is great, it’s more likely that we will succeed at it if we set it the right way. A lot of  people don’t know that by setting goals in the wrong way they are more likely to abandon them or o feel disappointed when they are not coming how they expect. So, What can we do about it? Since this is my last blog of 2014, I thought it would be a good idea o write down the guidelines to set a good goal.

GUIDELINES FOR GOAL SETTING

1Write them down:

—As obvious as this sounds, when you write your goals down you are actually making a commitment with yourself. It’s like signing a contract, it makes it real. Also, by writing them down you have a place to go and read them when things are getting hard and it’s also a way to assess your progress towards them. And, basically, it holds you accountable.

——I want to invite you to buy a very nice journal or a simple notebook for 2015. This can be your mental log book. Open it and start your 2015 mental training by writing down your goals.

2 Set positive goals:

—Only write positive words and avoid all the negative statements when writing your goals (like “no”, “don’t want to”, etc).The mind is  awesome but for whatever reason it doesn’t take the negative statements. And if you say “I don’t want to be tense” it will focus on “Be tense” so it’s better to change the statement to what you want (vs what you don’t want). In  this case it would be “I want to be relaxed”.

—I ran a half marathon in Tucson a year ago. I was having some plantar fasciitis issues and when I started running I focused on all the things that could go wrong in my race instead of focusing on what i could control and making positive statements. I kept thinking “I don’t want my foot to bother me” instead of thinking “I am feeling good, I know i can do this regardless of what comes my way”. Needless to say my result wasn’t as great and my experience was terrible.

3 Set challenging yet realistic goals

—I will never tell anyone they have limits and they can’t achieve whatever they set their mind into. I totally believe you need to dream high and to expand your limits. Now, I will never encourage you too go for a really high goal in a short period of time since that might no be attainable NOW and it will only demotivate you and make you doubt about your ability. So, let’s say you are running a marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes as of today. Would it be realistic to  expect to run a marathon in 12-16 weeks in 2 hours and 40 minutes? probably not. Is it possible? I believe it is but it might take you more time to do it. So, if you set your goal as to improve one hour in the marathon in a 16 week period is more likely that you are setting yourself up to fail or not attaining it (with the consequent feelings of disappointment, unworthiness, etc). But if you keep in mind the 2hr 40 min marathon as your ultimate goal (whenever you are ready for it) and you focus on improving this cycle to break 3:30 is more attainable goal. Challenging, yet realistic.

The best way to come with a challenging yet realistic goal is to think about percentages. Think about a goal that is so high that you only have 5% chance to attain right now. Now think of a goal that is so easy that you are 90% sure you could attain with some training. Then think about something in the middle. That will be a challenging yet realistic goal for you.

4 Set your own goals:

—Sometimes we set goals based on what other people think we should do, or on what we read, or on what we think we should be doing. Set goals that mean something TO YOU even if your coach, teammates or friends tell you you should be doing something else.

A friend of mine does triathlons. She trains with a coach that has many triathletes under his wing. This coach decided to train everybody for a specific triathlon but my friend wanted to do another one. She decided to follow the program and train with everybody else because she thought it would be easier, plus her coach seemed to want her to do that triathlon instead of the one she wanted. My friend had a really hard time training for it because she wasn’t as motivated and she kept doubting if this is what she wanted to do. Somehow she committed to this goal but her head (and heart) were longing for the other one. So set your own goals. I doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing, or want you to do, or think you are capable of. What matters is what has meaning TO YOU.

5 Be specific:

—The more specific, the better. Don’t say “I want to run faster”… Faster than what?… Say instead “I intend to run a 7:45 pace per mile at the end of this cycle”. You have to be able to measure your progress so you can see how you are moving forward. I am very hard on myself and i always think I can do better. While this keep me moving forward it can also be a huge obstacle since I am never satisfied and i never think I am progressing. By setting specific goals  I can tell those nagging voices in my mind (you could have run faster, you are not doing that well, you were better a month ago…) to shut up. I can show them with facts that I am, actually, improving and getting closer to my goal.

—A couple of years ago I was working as the mental coach of Phoenix College Women’s Soccer team. here was one of the players who was really good, but was not able to see it and kept talking negative statements to herself. While working on goal setting with her she told me her only goal was “to be good”. The problem with this statement is that is very subjective. What does “being good” means?. She was able to be specific about it and determined that a good soccer player is the one who is always at practice, gives her 100%, it’s a good teammate, has an accuracy of 80% (passes, throws), etc. She made a chart that she would fill after every practice and every game (Did I give my 100% today? yes; Did I have 80% or more accuracy in my passes today? yes) and that way when she was having doubts about being a good soccer player (her goal) she could go to her chart and realize she was actually getting there.

—6 Set controllable goals:

While it is great to have Outcome Goals (time, place…) you have to  remember that this ones are out of your control. I love to win (Who doesn’t?) but that is not completely on my control. I went to Latinamerican championships (swimming) in 1999. I had set as my goal to win 5 golds and break 5 records. Everything was going great and on  my 4th event (400 free) I was out-touched at he end. I swam my fastest time (up to then) in that event. I broke the record. But the girl from Venezuela swam faster than me. Period. If this would have been my only goal I would have been terribly disappointed and would have possibly stopped swimming. I wasn’t extremely happy (let’s face it, I am not the best loser in the world) but I was happy knowing I did everything under my control. She was just faster than me.

—What if you are training well and doing everything in your power to run a 1:30 half marathon? You are ready to go, you choose a flat course, you sleep well and the day of the event the temperature is 70F and humid? The time you have set maybe at jeopardy, not because you can’t run that fast but because you can’t control the weather. So while having this outcome goal is great it’s good to also have— Process Goals (How am I going to get there? What do I need to work on?… Cadence, strength, training plans…) and —Performance Goals (How am I going to perform when it matters? Where is my focus going to be?). Both Performance and Process Goals are completely under your control so if you happen to have that 70F and humid day, you can still reach your other goals and make sure that when the weather allows you will be able  to get that outcome goal as well.

7 Set long term, medium term and short term goals

While having an ultimate goal is great (“one day I want to qualify for State/nationals/going to Olympic games/Boston/Western States) it could get in the way of our motivation. If I am thinking about running my fastest marathon in September and it’s December right now, i may wake up today, see that is freezing outside and think “I still have time to prepare, I may stay in today”. Or maybe I am on my run/swim practice/ride and I am thinking “I am tired, it’s only a day so it’s fine if I slack just for today” or “It’s ok if I don;t give my 100% today, my race is not even close” (or with eaing habits, sleeping patterms, etc). This is why it’s good to also have a medium term goal (something big in between today and your ultimate goal) and some short term goals that will help you to stay motivated and to measure your progress (or to see if there is anything you need to change in your training).

I have my athletes (and myself) setting goals for every practice and for every race/meet we have. I like to set monthly goals, weekly goals and daily goals since this helps me to be accountable and to measure my progress. It also helps me to keep my motivation high. This goals are not necessarily in terms of pace (remember, that is sometimes out of your control). I have as my weekly goal right now to stretch every day, stick to my nutritional plan, go to the chiropractor twice, drink 3 containers of water (my overall goal is to be healthy so I can train consistently). I also have written down to keep my focus on every run on positive thoughts and to make sure to “run tall”. I write the word “positive” on my hand before i go out to run so if I forget or if my mind starts to drift away I remember to think positive. I also write “Run tall” on my other hand as a reminder.
When I swim I write the things I am working on in a paper and I paste the paper to my water bottle so every time I drink water I remember to push on my back after the turn and to do 7 dolphin kicks in my underwaters.

8  Be flexible!!!

—Goals can change and readjust

—It’s important to have goals but sometimes life gets in the way. (I had a huge goal last year and I got injured. As frustrating as it was all I could do was to shake it off and set new goals according to what my life’s circumstances were. So, instead of running 85 miles a week and running “x” number of races, my goals were to train my mind while I couldn’t run, to work on my core, to remain positive and to be diligent with my physical therapy exercises in order to heal as soon as possible.

—

I hope this helps and I hope 2015 brings you everything you wish and deserve. Thanks for reading! and remember you can get this blog directly to your email by clicking in “follow this blog”.

Follow me on twitter (@terezacher) for daily mental tune ups. 🙂

Success

.

Steps to success

I was talking to my daughter about what makes a person successful. It is very enriching to have a conversation with a 9 year old since it puts everything in perspective… yesterday I was taking care of one of my former Spanish students. I was driving her to get a cupcake (please don’t judge my nutritional choices for this 5 year old)  and as I was starting the car I heard her saying “Miss Tere, I put the seat-belt all by myself! I am a success!”. This got me thinking about how we define success and failure in our lives. How many times a day do you think in terms  of failure and how many times a day do you think in terms of success? I know I tend to be very hard on myself and very rarely I celebrate my successes (I am alive today, Success!) but I am always very prompt to note when I haven’t been so successful (“I didn’t run as fast today as I did yesterday”, “My stroke doesn’t feel good today”)…

O.G. Mandino in his book “The greatest salesman in the world” said “two among a thousand wise men, will define success in the same words, yet failure is always described in one way. Failure is man’s inability to reach his goals in life whatever they may be.”

While success is relative, subjective, holds monetary and non- monetary value, failure is more a “one size fits all” recipe. And, it’s true that there is not a one-size-fits-all recipe for success, but there are certain things that people we consider successful (or happy with their lives and endeavors) share. Below are ten things these people do and that may help you when you are not feeling like a “10”.

1. Understand the value of time.

“Any successful entrepreneur knows that time is more valuable than money itself.” – Richard Branson

Successful people value their time. Unsuccessful people are everywhere, anywhere, anytime because they lack the ability to dedicate their time towards their goals. And year after year they make new promises which never come to fruition simply because they couldn’t be bothered to put in the time required towards their goals. Time management skills, learning how to say no and knowing what commitments to undertake, is a step towards great success in any area of our lives.

Swimmers train around 6 hours a day (in between pool sessions and dry-land) plus they have to stretch, eat and sleep well. There are very few who are fortunate enough to have swimming as their “only” activity. Most of them go to school for about 8 hours a day and have to do homework, projects, study for tests, etc., and they also have a family life and some friends to tend to. However, swimmers are generally in the top of their class with the highest GPA and many of them taking honors classes. How do they do it? well, if you are an athlete you know you have to manage your time in order to get your things done. And you know how to prioritize and how to focus on the present moment. I am using swimming as our example but this can be said of mostly ant sport.

2. Do things that are in alignment with your goals

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney.

The more important a goal is, the higher it will be on your hierarchy of values and the more discipline and order you will have associated with it. The less important a goal is, the lower it will be on your hierarchy of values and the less discipline and more disorder you’ll have associated with it. Unsuccessful people have mistaken busyness with productivity. They are a part of everything but nothing which they do is in alignment to their values and their goals. Writing down in a journal what your goals are and implementing strategies which can get you there will help you identify things that are not on par with where you are going.

As an athlete I know what I need to do in order to reach my goals and I don’t allow anything under my control to get in the way. As a coach I like my athletes to set goals and to list the steps they need to take in order to get there. I have a lot of athletes who talk the walk (I want to do this, run this fast, I am going to train this way, eat that, sleep early) but when it comes to actually doing things the ones who stick to their plan and do things that are in alignment with their goal are generally the ones who get where they want to go. In the High School swim team I coach all the kids have the same abilities and I coach them all the same way, however the ones who go to all the practices, put their effort in, eat healthy, sleep early, etc are the ones who end up racing faster than those who skipped practice because their peers were going to a party, ate the cupcakes after practice instead of the granola bar, etc.

3. Step up to the plate

“People seem to think that success in one area can compensate for failure in other areas, but can it really? True effectiveness requires balance” – Stephen Covey

So your boss sucks and you really hate your job but this is no reason to slack and produce mediocre work. You’re getting paid to be there so do it right, life has this universal law of giving you what you put in. It’s the same with exercise. Sometimes we don’t get along with our coach or teammate. Sometimes we come to spin class and we get the instructor we don’t like (This happened to me a couple of weeks ago). But you have to remember you are going to get the result of the effort you put in. It’s just maturity and wisdom to pursuit excellence no matter the circumstances. I went swimming today later than usual. Kevin wasn’t there, my teammates weren’t there and I had to share a lane with a stranger. I am not a fan of sharing my lane, especially when I have some tempo to do. My mind started drifting away and I started focusing on “why do i have to share a lane when there are other people who could have done it”. “it’s just a day, I guess i’s ok if I don’t go as fast”… when I remembered I was there because i have a goal and I have to pursue excellence under any circumstance. Today might be the las day I can do a workout(9you never know what can happen tomorrow) and I don’t want to remember my last workout as a bad one.

4. Break your “limits”

“You are what you are by what you believe” – Oprah Winfrey

Or as I like to say it “What we think we become”. Unsuccessful people tend to say things like “I’m just not good at that”, “I just really hate studying/tempo training/cold water/stretching”, and “I just don’t think I can run that fast/being successful/hit that mark”. They put limits on themselves and excuse their behavior but it’s really just a way of underachieving and aiming low enough to not miss. One of my favorite sayings it’s from Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark” Get rid of the idea that you only have a specific set of skills and talents for specific tasks, stop thinking that you’re not as intelligent/fast/good as the next person. What life requires of you is to make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others.

5. Excuses be gone

“If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good” – Bill Gates

Everything can be done if you just stop making excuses and finding reasons about why it can’t be done. There are the people who will find reasons and logic as to why they can’t and why they shouldn’t do things. They sometimes mistake this abhorrent tendency for “just being realistic”. They lack imagination and always find ways to justify why something shouldn’t be but they never really try. The best remedy for this is to stop your mind when it’s about to start making the excuses and re-ignite the engine that has started it all. Once you realize you are the only person holding yourself back you will stop making excuses and start making changes.

6. Be a class act

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I just read that Robin Williams would only sign a contract if the person hiring him would agree to hire a certain amount of homeless people to work in that same project (movies, etc). No one knew about it. It’s not what you do when everybody is watching what matters, is how you act when no one is watching. We live in a world where we could all use a little help and being humble goes a long way. People that are not as successful don’t know how to treat other people and tend to be arrogant, for no apparent reasons most of the time. They say things like “well at least I’m being honest” or “this is how I am, deal with it”. Nobody likes a big mouth, a show off, a humble boaster, or people who don’t know how to just say thank you when given a compliment. These traits are unbecoming and are not what true class acts are made of. Being nice and polite to people you like is easy, being nice and polite to someone you cannot tolerate or who you are in constant disagreement with – that is character. Learning how to speak to people is a skill only few have mastered. It has been said the best way to test a man’s character is by watching how he acts when standing in a very long queue and is met with bad service, how he handles Christmas lights and his reaction when you ruin their expensive items.

I have had the opportunity to run with the fastest people in the world. I was starting my running career and I was at one of my first races as an elite runner. At the press conference I met a girl who was fast, but not the fastest, and she kept talking about how good she was, her races, etc. She never bothered to talk to the runners she perceived as “slower”. I will keep to myself what I thought about her :). Then I met this girl who was quiet, asked me about my running, and when I asked her about her running career she just said she enjoys running, doesn’t take it too seriously, and she said she was nervous because she didn’t know whether she would be able to run well the next day (she was running a marathon, I was running a half and we were roommates). I gave her a pep talk (that she didn’t ask for but she was kind enough never to tell me to shut up. She was very kind and listened to me as if I knew what I was talking about. I was a rookie runner with a problem of giving pep talks to anyone who wants to listen)… anyway, the next day I met her at the tent after our races. Turns out she won the marathon -she has  a 2:28 marathon PR!- and she is an awesome runner who enjoys diet mountain view as much as I do (Lauren Kepplin. Look for her in Rio 2016). She was such a class act and I became her fan immediately. She never bragged about her running, she played it like she could learn something from what I was saying, and she made me feel like drinking diet mountain view is not a bad thing in the running world (I have another super fast friend, Jenifer Fisher who also  enjoys diet mountain view so it might not be too bad for you (Jen has a great blog, look for “The fit fork”… and Mountain View people if you ever read this, What about some sponsorship 😉 )

8. Take action

“Do something today, your future self will thank you for” – Les Brown

The simplicity of this rule of life may be why a lot of people disregard the magnitude of its effects. Unsuccessful people tend to ponder and leave footprints in the sands of time. They can talk a great game and they dream really big but they lack the courage to just go forth. Stop dreaming about what will be, dreams in themselves are not bad but get up, show up and DO something. Stop with the coffee shop meetings and go do something.

I have another great friend (who also has a fantastic blog “Runlady like”) who inspired me to take action regarding my own writing. I had been thinking for awhile about writing about mental training but didn’t do it because I didn’t know if it would helpanyone, or if anyone would read it!. Then I met Jesica D’avanza at another running event and we were also roommates (I have been so lucky and blessed!). She told me about her blog and gave me the inspiration to start writing mine. I realized I was making excuses, procrastinating and that I just needed to take action. Where is this going to end? Who cares! but  I won’t find out if I don’t start.

9. Face adversity

“All sunshine and no rain makes a dessert” – Arabian Proverb

There was a shepherd boy, he was not a warrior and he was small in size. He looked at a giant and said “I will strike you down and cut off your head” and that is exactly what he did. The thing with challenges is, they’re only as big as we make them seem and as strong as our weakness will allow. Unsuccessful people have not understood this and they give up all too quickly because things got uncomfortable, things got a little bit rough, they want roses without the thorns, babies without labour and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow without bearing the storm. Overcoming challenges not only bring us closer to our goals but they turn us into someone we never imagined existed. Don’t be afraid to conquer fears and to enter new territory, step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. In the midst of adversity courage is born. You’ll never know how strong you are if you have never had to fight and sometimes you might fail but at least you failed and proved to Goliath that he wasn’t quite the Giant he thought he was.

10. Be energetic

“People with lots of doubts sometimes find life more oppressive and exhausting than others”

Have an opinion, make decisions, be open minded. Stand for something. Read something new, keep learning. And put your 100% effort into everything you do. Even if you don’t reach your fullest potential you know you did your best and you are probably closer than if you just stay sitting down waiting for things to happen to you. I have heard all my life how lucky I am because it seems like things just fall in my lap. I have had great jobs, I have fantastic sponsors, I have the easiest daughter in the world, my husband is awesome and kind,  I can run somehow fast, I was a swimming world champion two years after I started swimming…  yes, it seems like I am a lucky girl but if people would know how hard I work to make this things happen then “luck” would probably not be the right word to describe me. I am blessed, and I consider myself lucky,  not because things happen to me,  but because I have learned how to create the opportunities I want for my life. And it generally requires a lot of energy and a lot of work 🙂

Apathy is a silent killer. Find something that you are passionate about, even if you don’t get paid for it. Put your gift to use.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a fantastic week and remember you can click on “follow this blog” to get your mental workouts directly to your email.

Follow me on twitter (@tetresina) for daily mental tune-ups.