From Rio to NY -- From Rowing to Running

Luiza S

Since I was a child my parents always had me practice sports. So I went from swimming to volleyball and anything in between.

I loved to play volleyball at school, but at some point I realized that my mates were still growing taller while I got stuck at 5 feet 5, which made me the shortest player in court. I had some advantages though, like a strong service, good vision for the second ball (setter), and the ability to spike with both hands. All these skills became useless after high school.

         

When I started college where I majored in biology, a friend of mine introduced me to rowing. It was a love at first sight. I had a good instructor and was part of an amazing crew. For 14 years straight I practiced rowing, going to Brazilian Nationals and other local regattas.

My Face I Saying "I'm Tired of Rowing!" But Really I Loved It!

But it was when I lived in England in 1999/2000 that I got the most important results. Competing for the Stratford Upon Avon Boat Club with my boatmate Juliet (does it ring a bell, a girl named Juliet in Startford Upon Avon?), my team won the bronze medal at the GB Nationals (lightweight double sculls). I also was able to participate in international regattas while there including racing in Gent, Belgium (another bronze medal, in women’s double sculls!), as well as in Blessington, Ireland and in the UK at the Women’s Henley in Henley-on-Thames.

Rowing at the UK Nationals

In 2005 I moved to NYC with my husband and a 3.5 year old boy (who happened to be my son) while I was pregnant with my daughter-to-be. Without easy opportunities to practice rowing I started working out at the gym. It was not fun, as I like to talk and to be surrounded by people. 

Beautiful Family

Without many friends in NYC, I decided to put my “backyard” into a good use, so I decided to start running in Central Park. I was used to running as a part of my training for rowing, and as far as I can remember I hated it. I was slow and lazy to run –– rowing was so much more fun!

My first running race was in 2006 –– the Adidas Run for the Parks 4-Miler. At that time I had 2 small kids to look after and not so much free time. Before I got a running stroller for my daughter and started training with her while my older one was at preschool, I already had been bitten by the running bug. I skipped the year of 2007 but came back in 2008 with total determination to race more and improve my times.

For some crazy reason (which I cannot quite put my finger on) I signed up for my first marathon, NYC Marathon 2010. It was just then when I realized that I would need to seriously train for it. But where to start? Rely only on online training programs? I was afraid I would not be well prepared to face the challenge of a 26.2 miles. 

I saw a lot of running groups training and racing in Central Park. With so many choices, I had no idea which to choose. Thanks to Google, the NY Flyers was the first club on an endless list that showed up on my computer screen. So in August 2010 I joined this awesome club. I immediately started doing speed work with then NY Flyers Head Coach Toby T and have since made a lot of wonderful NY Flyer friends. 

Accepting the NY Flyers Coach's Award
From Coach Toby T at the Flyers Annual Awards Gala in 2012

From there, I ran my first marathon and countless half marathons. With the help of good friendships and valuable advice, I have raced 3 more marathons so far (4 in total) including the Rio de Janeiro Marathon twice where I PR’d in 2011 at 3:56:02. Yay!

Rio de Janeiro Marathon -- Looks Like I'm in the Lead :)

I believe that variety is a key when training for any sport, so to help me avoid injuries I do cross-training: swimming, weight-lifting, yoga, spinning and of course, the dreaded rowing machine. Wait, that’s a lot for one week with just seven days. Oh, yeah –– I do double training (morning and evening) on some days! As to running, just three sessions a week, or maybe four if training for a marathon.

I’m happy to be a Flyer and to race representing the club. And for someone who always had another sport in mind and never cared much about running, I now can’t imagine myself not running. Thanks Flyers family!

-Luiza S