I am nearly two weeks late, and every day that has gone by has been like a car alarm in the middle of the night. Annoying. I feel like the rabbit from Alice In Wonderland who shouts, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late."

I am the white rabbit, frantic and overwhelmed.

So what am I late for? Posting the blog for March; this month has been a blur, and time is flying in 2023. One of my goals this year is to be consistent with my blogs, posting on the second week of every month. (Yes, I am showing myself grace while also pinching myself). A lot has happened in my personal life; in addition, I've been plagued with writer's block and self-doubt. The pent-up question," Am I good enough?" After reading that last sentence, I know you are whispering, "yes, you are." Trust me, I hear you. I am growing and continuing to learn a lot about who I am, all while becoming more self-aware of old wounds.

Now, with only a few days left, I am forcing myself to sit in my uncomfortable office chair, hands on my keyboard, and admire a sunny day from the inside. Affirming to myself, "I am creative and inventive."

I'll be celebrating my birthday next week (April 7th), so reflecting and sharing could not have come at a better time. So, buckle down and find a nice comfortable seat. And I will catch you up and share some of my goals for 2023.

I hired a coach. I made this investment in myself because, reflecting on last year, I struggled to coach myself and my athletes. I put myself last and was too exhausted to update my training and look at my data. I fought to balance and establish healthy boundaries between myself and my athletes. Lastly, I want to develop as an athlete and could no longer achieve this by coaching myself. So, at the end of last year, I began the process of bringing on a coach. His name is Brian Passenti, and he is the owner and coach of Altitude Endurance Coaching. Hence, I am excited about this long journey we have together! Pssst. Training officially kicked off in January 😊

And what is this long journey? I'm glad you asked! First, I find it strange to say this is "my race calendar." Because these "races" are more than a contest of speed, as per Webster's dictionary. It is more like an adventure, a soulful journey into the wilderness.

Here's to one hell of an adventure! I've also dubbed this year, The "lottery year."

Moab Run The Rocks March 7th - 10th (Yes, it happened, and I'll get into that)
BTR 4 Day April 12th - April 16th, 2023
Leadville 100 mi - August 19th, 2023
Moab 240 October 13th - 18th, 2023

In addition, I will be volunteering at Cocodona 250; I'll be sweeping. I have been asked with great honor to pace Indgenious runner and body-positive advocate Callie Vinson for the Western States endurance run.

So let's tackle this in chronological order. First up! Moab Run The Rocks, in Moab, Utah. This was an inaugural year for this event, it was a 3-day stage race hosted by the infamous TransRockies, and I ran the full pint, which consisted of the following:

Day 1 - 14.4 mi.

Day 2 - 24.6 mi.

Day 3 - 13.9 mi.

The highlight of this event was reuniting with my Mexican Pizza, Izzy, and her partner in crime, Kyle. We spent an entire weekend together doing all of our favorite things. We even filmed our first episode of a so-called "TV" show. The release date is to be determined.

Racing for three days in the beautiful iron dessert was refreshing. I shook off some cobwebs, reinforcing good habits, and GUESS WHAT? I RAN FAST! I hunted for brujas and got competitive. I ignited the fight in me and enjoyed every minute of it.

On March 26th, I had the opportunity to participate in this fantastic event called Run4kids Fundrace. This event supports "The 100mile club, a non-profit that helps children nationwide access programs and opportunities to stay active through walking and running.

This event occurred on a 0.50mi loop course; yes, we ran in circles.

I was a part of The Chingonas On The Run team and competed in the 24-hour team relay, with eight women on this squad, all with different abilities, to sum things up, "Empowered Women, Empower Women." We rang our cowbells, cheered on other runners, and supported each other as we challenged ourselves and worked together to achieve our team goal of running 150 miles in the allotted time. My heart is whole from this experience. And I got a new mantra “Not fast, but FIERCE”

Oh, but how can I forget! WE WON! ESTABLISHING AN EVENT RECORD! We did 160 miles and 320 loops in 24 hours!

(Side note; Last year, I cofounded a women's trail running group known as Chingonas On The Run alongside my good friend Daisy Martinez of Wellness On Trails)

Now onto the business bit!

As for La Dirección, I am not going anywhere; despite my lows and doubts, I stand firm in my vision and align with my purpose.

PS! I celebrated the one-year mark on February 4th, 2023, and I am also coaching my first male client (woohoo).

Aside from the apparent goal of growing my roster,

I will further my coaching knowledge to serve my athletes more effectively by seeking education. In addition to learning systems (my website, marketing, etc.) and establishing processes, you know, the not-so-fun stuff LOL.

Aside from all the backend stuff, there is one thing I do want to share and touch on that has been heavy on my heart for quite some time:

I keep pinging myself with the question, "how can I better serve my community?" I want to see more women of color in this space. So how can I support these causes already advocating for the same thing? And how can I plug in? And what does that look like for me in alignment with my values? I know these are heavy, hard-hitting questions that cannot be answered overnight. So I use these questions as a guide to set goals for my business and myself.

The blog is a kitchen-aid mixer of my experience, encouragement, and education. I am going to do better with the education bit by answering your training questions and feeding your brains with knowledge about trail running and training. Because the affordability of bringing on a coach is a privilege, and not everyone has this privilege (also, not everyone wants a coach). So, balancing the ingredients going into this kitchen aid mixer is a challenge I am taking on this year. In addition, if there is something you'd like me to write about or have a question, shoot me a message! Or leave it in the comments.

My last big goal for LD is to host an event this year. What that is, or when it is - TBD. This event could be a community run or education-based or be a community gathering. The idea that has been floating around my brain is to host a "ask a coach." again, it's just floating. All this with the above questions as my beacon "how can I better serve my community?"

Well, you have been caught up (officially)! A lot of stuff to navigate through this year, but like I said, "I'm not going anywhere." Cheers to Adventure!

Whatever exciting new experiences you welcome this year, you are destined for greatness!

And

As always,

I am ringing my cowbell for you! Happy Trails!

Quote of the Week: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Song of the Week: TONES AND I - I AM FREE

Side Note:

Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is a topic you want me to cover in more depth, let me know; I am happy to help. As I continue to write blogs, I want to add more value to you (the reader), whether it's sharing my stories/experiences, gear, training tips, etc.

I'm here for you!

Ketchup.

Peace. Love.& Born To Run

The Power of 🐮🔔