Donation by Title Nine

We are very grateful to Title Nine for their donation of sports bras for all of our female runners! I've truly been blown away by all of the donations our Running Club has received.  We are all so grateful for everything we've been given.  We hope to make all of our sponsors proud when we complete those 13.1 miles on March 24th!

Mid-Week Run with New Shoes!

Today's mid-week run was even more exciting because the students were running with their new shoes from Fleet Feet Sports in San Francisco!  Today the students went on a 3.5 mile route that included a few hills. 

Ruth and Anthony getting ready to run.

Here comes Ivan finishing strong!

Eduardo looks good finishing in the first group.

Fleet Feet Sports

A few weeks ago I contacted Balega to ask if they would be willing to donate some running socks to my students.  I love Balega socks and have so far remained blister free and I wanted to share my love of these socks with my students.  Within a few hours I had an email from Brett of Fleet Feet Sports in San Francisco.  Brett told me that the President of Balega is a friend of his and he passed on my request to him.  He told me that he was happy to put in an order of socks for us and he asked us if we needed anything else.  I talked to him about the Running Club and said that for many of my students this was their first time running so many didn't have running shoes or other items. 

Brett arranged to get us some gear and came to St. Elizabeth today with his wife, Kim.  He talked to the students about the different type of running shoes available and brought a few different pairs to show students the differences.

 
Then he measured each student for a new pair of shoes!  Students got Brooks Ravenna running shoes, Balega socks, arm warmers, extra laces, and a running shirt - all donated to them!  Whatever sizes Brett and Kim didn't have with them, he ordered for them.  Each student got personalized attention. 

Miguel is pretty excited about getting new shoes!

 Shelby is getting measured.

I was absolutely blown away by the generosity of Brett and Kim of Fleet Feet Sports San Francisco.  They are two amazing people and each Running Club member is so thankful for what they have done for us.  If you are in the Marina area of San Francisco, head over to Fleet Feet Sports and show Brett and Kim some love! 

Recap of our 5 Mile Run

Jefferson recaps our 5 mile run today:

The 5 mile run today was great! It was definitely more of a challenge running 5 miles than 4 miles. About 4 miles into the run I felt like giving up. My legs felt very heavy and I really wanted to walk. I didn't walk however and I managed to push through to keep jogging the last mile. Mr.Schooler really helped me out a lot and he encouraged me to keep going. Today's run was challenging for me but with everyone's great support and by being determined anything can be accomplished! Go Mustangs! 

5 Miles

The students ran 5 miles today.  Mentally this was a tough run because they not only ran around Lake Merritt one full time, they had to add an additional mile out and back at the end.  They did great though!  I was so proud of them. 

We realized on our run last week that one of the RBO volunteers is a St. Liz alum - Milton Martin graduated from St. Liz in 2005 (in blue on the left).  The students love running with him. 

Running Clothes Donations

Our running club has been very blessed.  I mentioned to some friends of mine that I was starting this running club and so many people asked if my students needed running gear.  Within minutes my email box was flooded with offers to donate running clothes for my students.  I was blown away by their generosity.

Today we passed out the running gear.  Everyone was excited to find something new to wear for our training runs.  Ivan and Victor modeled some running capris for all of us.

To everyone who donated - thank you, thank you, thank you.  We truly appreciate your generosity.  We hope to make you proud when we complete the half marathon!

Two New Runners

We're excited to welcome two new members to the Running Club! 

                                                     Jonathan and Alejandro

They are prepared to jump right in with our 5 mile run tomorrow!

Training Recap 1/19

Karina recaps today's run:

Ran 4 miles nonstop at a slow constant pace. It was such a great day to run that I thought I could go running for miles until I got to my 4th mile. No cramps and the RBO water bottle helped a lot. I had to make sure not to drink too much water at once even though I was almost dying of thirst halfway. Learning how to drink water while running is a good skill to develop but I still wonder how the hell will I run 13 miles when I almost finished 4 miles perfectly until I stopped to watch the ducks quack their way home. It's going good so far.

3rd Long Run

Today was the students' third long run at Lake Merritt - 4 miles.  For many students this was the furthest they've run before.  They would be running around the lake once and then doing an additional half mile out and back.  I stayed behind on this run so I could catch some good photos of the students running. 

I'm so proud of them for showing up early each Saturday morning ready to run.  I know with high school students sleep is precious so their dedication in making it out here each Saturday is really awesome.


Here come the leaders of all of the students running that day.  There's Junior and Victor in front with Anthony right behind them.

Poor Anthony looked a little tired at this point!

We then saw Mr. Schooler running with Ivan and Eduardo.  They were running with a smile on their face so it didn't look too painful to them!  The other RBO volunteer running with them is a big ultra marathoner.  He's run many ultra marathons and all of the students love hearing his stories of his long runs.

Next we saw Jefferson and Javier come running.  They made it look so easy!

We saw El Capitan, Nick, running next. 

He showed us how he hydrates while running.

Jaontra came through next.  She was running with Tod the RBO founder.

Ana Laura came through next looking great!

Here's David doing awesome.

We caught Karina at the finish.  She made a point to tell me that she ran the entire time without stopping - a first for her.  Way to go!

The students did great on their 4 mile run today.  Next Saturday they'll be doing 5 miles!

Students Running on their Own

We've been telling the students from the beginning that in addition to the two weekly runs we do together, it's important for them to run on their own at least one additional time as well.  Until now though no one has done it. 

Eduardo recaps a run he did this afternoon with Ana Laura and JJ (Jaontra):

Following every run we heard the emphasis from Mrs. Schooler that
we should do an extra run or two during the week. Being a busy student, I
didn't think I had the time to go on an extra run. Luckily JJ, Ana
Laura, and I had a free period, so we decided it was time to listen to
the Schoolers.

As soon as we started our run we realized it was fairly
hot outside. Although the sun was beaming down on us, the first mile seemed
much easier than we had anticipated. We decided to practice pacing
ourselves and conserving our energy on the first mile. As soon as we
reached our one mile point we decided to take a detour, thus adding an
additional half a mile to our run. It wasn't until the run back to the
school that I started sweating, but I was still feeling good. Once we
finished our run and stretched in front of the school we ran to Mrs.
Schooler's room and told her about our run. She mapped out our run (2.6
miles) and then invited us on another three and a half mile run that afternoon with her, but I
definitely didn't want to be out in the sun again.

In the end the run paid off and left me feeling ready for the next training session.

Lesson Learned: Listen to the Schoolers, they know what they're doing.


I was so happy to see Eduardo, JJ, and Ana Laura after their run!  I hope they continue to add on an additional run or two each week.  Come March 24th they'll be glad they did!

Training Recap 1/16

We had our weekly run today.  Javier, The Captain, gives us a recap:

The Wednesday run today was awesome and a lot of fun! I personally enjoy running even if it gets me tired after a while, but I like running because of that. Although we did a 3 mile run last Saturday at Lake Merritt  I felt like the 3 mile run today got me tired faster than the run at Lake Merritt. The sun beaming down on us while we ran wasn't helping either. The best part was coming back to the school knowing that you accomplished a 3 mile run after school! Hopefully we can slowly increase our mile runs on Wednesdays as we near the 13.1 marathon. Go Mustangs!

Training Run #3

Here are the students getting ready for their third training run - second run with Running for a Better Oakland.

Third Training Recap: Ivan

We had our third training run this morning - 3 miles around Lake Merritt.  This was our second Saturday training with Running for a Better Oakland.  The students first ran one mile at an easy pace.  For mile two they were being timed and encouraged to give it all they had.  The last mile was at a recovery pace.  This was Ivan's first Saturday run as he couldn't make it last week.  Here he shares his thoughts on today's run:

When I first arrived I felt welcomed.  All the moderators were very respectful and they were committed 100% to Running For Better Oakland.  During the warm-up mile I met a couple different people.  I met this guy that happened to be a former graduate of Saint Elizabeth that was around his mid 20’s.  It was funny because I asked him if he knew Mr. Schooler and he said yes.  He didn’t realize that Mr. Schooler was right next to him. So they started talking and catching up.  Getting tested on the mile was pretty tiring because I put a lot of my effort to it.  As I ran by people I could see all the effort that all the other runners were putting in which encouraged me to do better and better.

Ruth Shares her Thoughts

Ruth shares her thoughts on our second training session:

Well for the Wednesday run I was feeling really excited about it. After I got out of school I changed into my running clothes & waited until the time of the run. I was feeling a little iffy about it because it was raining at the time. Later the rain stopped and it was time to run! I got in the group that ran and walked. We started off at a nice pace but once we got to the second street I was out of breath. I remembered I had forgotten to put on my asthma inhaler -_- . I was a little worried but I kept going.  I finished the run and I felt better than the first run training. When we got back to school we stretched and I headed home.

Second Training Run

We have our second training run in 10 minutes.  I had told the students that they should eat a light snack about an hour before we ran so they had energy.  I suggested an apple and peanut butter, Greek yogurt and granola, some nuts, string cheese and a piece of fruit. 

I saw Ivan sitting on the steps eating his choice of a light snack:

Curly fries with cheese and meat all dipped in Ranch dressing.  I guess I might need to have another talk about nutrition with these guys.

First Training Recap: Ana Laura

Ana Laura recaps our first training run:

During the week leading up to my first training run for the half marathon, I was really anxious for what was in store for me. At some points I thought I was going to die, from not breathing right, getting an asthma attack, or like JJ would say die from falling into the lake. I thought the run was going to take hours or that I was going to be the last one. I kept imagining all these people running super fast and just passing me along. I tried telling myself that it was going to be easy to boost my confidence in this first run. Turns out it want that bad at all the two miles seemed pretty smooth and easy. At first running with Jj and Janette helped me because the three of us were starting something new together, something that basically no one really supported us in, they would just laugh when we would say we planned on running the half marathon. Also one of the volunteers helped through it by having small talk and just helping me push through the time where I thought I would just walk from there. The last 100 feet I would say seemed never ending like I was never going to get back but I did I made it! It felt super good finishing those two miles without stooping it was like I had to prove to myself that I could honestly get through anything I set myself to do. Not to mention the opening and closing speech Mrs. Schooler gave to us was uplifting and it helped a lot to know that someone was doing this for the first time as well. It was a very successful first training run!! Looking forward to all the other ones to come!!

-Ana Laura Castro '13
First time half marathon runner in training :D

First Group Run Today

Today was our first group training run.  We had 18 out of our 23 students come.  I'm hoping the 5 that couldn't make it stick with the program.  Today's run was hard for some students to make since we're not back in school yet from winter break.

I was very impressed that most students arrived early for the run.  Everyone was in a good mood despite the cold weather!  After some dynamic stretching we headed out for a 2 mile run, out and back.  The group spread out amongst the other runners and volunteers but everyone did GREAT!  Even when it was challenging for some, they kept going.  I was so incredibly proud of everyone.

Each student finished at a different time but everyone waited until all of the St Liz crew came through and made a point to cheer for everyone and positively encourage them. 

 Reina and Miguel right after they finished.

 Jefferson and David stretching after their run.

 Here's almost the whole group.  I'm missing Ruth and Nadya. 

After grabbing a banana and some water the students were free to enjoy the rest of their weekend.  Our next group run will be Wednesday afternoon:  2 miles.

My Tiny Shoes

Jaontra shares her story of buying her running shoes:

I began looking for my shoes on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. It all started at the Nike Outlet in the Marina Square. I began to explain to my cousin that it would take a lot of work to find my shoes because my feet are so tiny. We walked toward the children's sections because I told him I wouldn't be able to fit into any of the women's sizes. We found a few nice pairs of shoes, and they were a 3.5. I thought I would be able to fit them, but I was terribly wrong. My cousin told me they were too big. So then I tried on the same shoe in a size 3, but once again, the shoe was too big. I began to grow frustrated and my cousin said that it was alright and we could just go somewhere else.

We started thinking about all the different malls we could go to and he decided we would go to Hillsdale in San Mateo. About an hour later we were in the mall searching for a Foot Locker. Finally we found it and I began looking at all the nice men and women running shoes. They were all so stylish, but then I got to the children's section and they were all disgusting and they all had straps. I asked if we could leave so we did. Then we went to Lady's Foot Locker to search for shoes but the smallest size they had was a 6. The lady in the store told us we should try Nordstrom so we did.

We went up to the third floor where the children's shoes were located. A man who worked there quickly assisted us and brought back three pairs of running shoes in a size 3 with straps, but as we knew before, those still wouldn't fit. I saw one pair I liked and asked for them in a 2.5 since I figured this would be my only option. Even though I was grumpy that I am 17 years old and I wear a 2.5 in shoes that needed straps, I was happy I finally found some shoes.

First Group Run Tomorrow!

Our team is assembled and ready to go.  Our first group run is tomorrow morning! 

                                         *Not pictured:  Reina, Janette, Alejandro


I'm looking forward to starting this journey together.

Team Member #23

Last but certainly not least is Victor!

1.  What is your grade / age?

10 Grade and 15 years old

 

2.  Do you consider yourself a runner?

Yes

 

3.  What's the furthest distance you've run?

3 miles

 

4.  Why do you want to Run For St Liz?

To help

5.  What are most excited about by training for the half marathon?

Staying in shape

 

6.  What fears do have?

None