“This year I’ll finish a marathon,” “In 2019, I’ll commit to a healthier lifestyle,” “next year will be my year, I’ll get in shape.” Right? These are all things we start thinking and planning for around this time of year. We begin to visualize the 2019 version of ourselves--and we start making plans to make that happen.
How does becoming a runner and tackling a full--or half--marathon sounds for a new year’s resolution? If you are still looking for a badass kind of new year’s resolution, look no further. Only a few can claim having finished a marathon; it will require discipline, commitment, and lot’s of inner strength--all qualities every New Year’s Resolution should have. Besides, you’ll get in shape, lose some weight, and become happier: running half a marathon seems take care of all your resolutions in your list, if you think about it.
At Powerful, we’ve already started working towards our new year’s resolution of crossing Miami’s Half Marathon finish line running. We’ve turned to Sweat Nation’s coach and trainer Flip Aguilera for some (much needed) advice and training tips. Read along to find out how he trains, and his greatest secrets to be a successful athlete.
Get To Know the Person: Flip’s personal interests and passions
Who is Flip Aguilera & what does he enjoy most of being a runner?
Flip Aguilera is a person that comes from this beautiful Universe!
One of the mottos that I try to hold myself accountable for in life is ‘Keep the dream alive. Make the dream a reality. Live the dream.’ I think this is actually a reason of why I choose to run. [Running] gives you a certain freedom; it puts you in tune with your body and forces you to be mindful about how you feel so you can last on a run. Running can be hard for your body so it makes you pay more attention and care for yourself, which it another reason as to why I enjoy running so much.”
Get to Know the Athlete: Flip’s training tips and greatest secrets as a runner
Any training secrets as a runner? How do you prepare for a marathon/half marathon?
For this marathon I have been doing a few things:
- Every workout session I have--I try to train three days a week--I do unilateral training, which means that I am training one leg and then the other; one arm and then the other. Picture yourself running. How does it happens? Easy: one leg at a time. It's usually the opposite arm and the opposite leg. With that thought in mind, when I go into the gym, I try to work this opposite combination and alternation between both.
- Another thing that I like to do is adding 10 degree incline sprints twice a week with 20 second intervals going between 8 to 9 mph.
- On the days that I do not run, I like to do some yoga. Running compounds your joints a lot, but yoga allows for the opposite to happen. It’s the Ying to my Yang.
- Finally, once a week I go for a long run--hoping to the to thirteen miles before January 27th [the day we are planning on crossing that finish line running!].”