Crossing the Finish Line: Life is a journey, it's like a marathon

By Luis Vargas

Crossing the finish line is a message of motivation and personal development. It is a comparison of a marathon with life. Even if you don't run or practice any sport, you can benefit from this message to have a new start.

Life is hard and setbacks can take away the joy of life. The message of this book can help you to fi nd ba

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliant Books Literary
• Release date: Nov 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781641337373

Luis Vargas

Luis Vargas is a certified RRCA running coach who has completed over 20 half marathons and 8 marathons. After some life turning events, he found himself living like a zombie, out of balance with lack of motivation, depression and anxiety. He shares from his own story and the story of others how running and faith helped him to reinvent life and to be the best version of himself.

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Contents

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 THE BASE

Motivation

Personal Inventory

Bon Appetit

Our Mind

No Fear

Habits

Chapter 2 BUILD UP

Preparation

Form

I Need You

Biomechanics

Chapter 3 SPEED TRAINING

Running Economy

Kaizen

A Mentor, A Coach

Chapter 4 THE RACE

26.2

Nothing Can Stop Us...

Hop On

This Is My Race

Visualize Success

Chapter 5 RUNNING WITH A PURPOSE

Purpose Starts with Gratitude

Our Race in Life

Nothing is Too Small

What We See Started with Is What We Don’t See

Pass the Blessing

Stay Hydrated

Chapter 6 NO EXCUSES

There are No Limitations

Too Young

Too Old

Breaking the Dark Wall

Chapter 7 THE FINISH LINE

7 Stars That Became 8

Smile at the Bad Weather

Give Me A Break

I See You

The Most Beautiful Race

WORKS CITED

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE

Dedication

I dedicate this book to Friends in Training (FIT) for pouring out love and dedication to me, and many others. People of FIT, with hard work has offered motivation and support to hundreds of runners, improving their lives, taking on challenges, crossing with them the finish line. Friends in Training is one of the largest running clubs in South Florida. For more than 20 years, FIT has brought physical and mental health to many runners and walkers of all ages.

Acknowledgements

I want to give thanks to Luis Aguilar, Marisa Markowicz, Christina Quadra, Adrian Gandara, Jose Yamamoto, Veronica Rodriguez, Maria Beatriz Maiello de Krstonosic, Madeline Proano, for their contribution and for allow me to share about their own stories, stories of passion, commitment, determination and resilience. You are winners.

Thanks to Alexandra Ardila and her organization Biblio-Bicicleta, Ernie Tanner and his organization Helimission, and Dr. John Sherman and his organization CHIA Christian Hands in Action, for allowing me to share about their work with remote communities and their passion that has marked their race in life. You have put the lives of others in front of your own life. You are Champions.

My gratitude to all the friends of FIT, South Florida Runners, Pura Vida Run Club, Run Company, Weston Run Club and 1,000 Miles Run Club for sharing many miles along roads, paths, parks, and bridges in all kinds of races with me. You are victorious.

Special acknowledgements to Marcela Todd, Ana Maria Villegas, and Luis Tovar for sharing their wisdom, talents, and motivation with me. You have worked hard to achieve many goals but in doing so, you always encourage others to be better and to reach their own goals. You are inspiration.

I am grateful to my kids David, Faith and Grace, the reason for my existence, for their constant encouragement. David you can destroy any giant on your way, raise up to be a king. Faith, you can believe in achieving the impossible and if you do, you’ll do it. Grace, you have a special touch from God, a loving character that will allow you to develop your full potential. You are warriors.

My infinite gratitude to God, for giving me a second a third and many chances every day. You have created me, lived and died for me. You have been my coach, my inspiration, my support and my running partner. You have created my race.

You have been my path and you are my finish line. You are awesome.

INTRODUCTION

New York City, a beautiful city, a place that brings music to my mind, A Heart in New York, New York Groove, New York State of Mind, and Frank Sinatra with his New York, New York A place that brings smells to my mind, pretzels, a hot slice of New York pizza, ice cream, and Chinese food from China Town. New York, a place that brings great sights to my mind, the Jets, the Yankees, the Macy’s parade, New Year’s Eve countdown, the Statute of Liberty, and of course, Fifth Avenue, the most expensive street in the world. I have seen parades on the Avenue. have seen the Avenue in movios. nave seen Christmas decorations on the Avenue. But this time the Avenue looked different; I was in the middle of the Avenue running towards Central Park with more than 53,000 runners. The sky was blue and the bright sun was gleaming yellow. The leaves were bursting with autumn colors of red and brown, making Fifth Avenue look like a street of honor leading to the finish line, something / trained so hard for.

I made it - I crossed the finish line I completed one of the greatest races in the world, the New York City Marathon. I looked around and I saw runners crossing the line, some lifting their arms, some crying, others jumping, each one of them carrying their own story. Stories of sacrifice, determination, and persistence Now, I want to share with you my story, the story of winners I know, and how we overcame the setbacks life had thrown at us.

Have you ever thought about your race in life and where your journey is taking you? Where did you come from and where are you going? Life is a journey. And like a marathon, it’s filled with hard moments that drain your strength. Yet, there are moments where you’re so excited and joyful that you can’t contain your happiness. You dance, you cry, you laugh, you are in pain, you feel proud of your love ones, or sad for a loss. I found it interesting comparing life with a marathon through the story of my friends and normal individuals that God has brought into my life. Dream facilitators and motivators who influence people and create an environment of positivity wherever they go. These are the people that see the glass half-full and not half-empty in the middle of tough situations.

After finishing the last curve in Central Park, I crossed the finish line. And even though I could barely walk, I was excited to see my medal was waiting for me.

Only 1% of the American population run a marathon, and only 1% of them run the New York Marathon. It’s an incredible feeling to be one of them, so I wear my medal with pride. Yet as I started walking, I had such pain on my hamstrings. It wasn’t a pain of cramp, but a pain of effort. I stopped for a second and bent over to massage my muscles and try to relieve the feeling. Two paramedics approached me, gave me pain medicine, and guided me to the Red Cross tent.

They made me lay down in one of many aligned beds. A physical therapist, gave me a massage and I was ready to keep going. In the race we call life, sometimes we have moments of pain, we need to stop, recover, heal, and keep pushing forward. We are not going back, we are just taking a pause, regrouping, and regaining strength.

Have you seen the picture of a monkey that starts walking and is being transformed step-by-step until becomes a man; one of those evolution pictures? Well, I felt like that. I left the tent with a bag of ice on my knee, a fresh massage on my legs, and began walking slowly. It’s amazing how the body recovers. As I walked to the hotel, my body was getting back in shape, the pain gradually left, and I started walking normal. Within a couple of hours, I had to pack my bags, head to the airport, fly to South Carolina, and be ready to work the next day. When I woke up the next day, I was functioning even better than before and was toting the satisfaction that I accomplished something that looked impossible before.

When I made the last turn to enter Central Park, excitement filled my heart. I was few yards from the finish line. I finished with a time of 3:48, a personal record.

That’s not too bad, considering only three years before I wasn’t able to run even three miles. At that time, I was crowned the winner for the biggest belly in the class reunion of the Colombian Air Force. I have made some progress, but the progress wasn’t overnight. It was an accumulation of small changes, of constant training, and small daily decisions. The reward for those small decisions is great:

It’s a compound effect. we are product of small changes and decisions that happen in our lives, day after day. That’s why we need to keep our daily priorities and set daily goals.

The last 800 meters of the race were strenuous, my heart was strong, and even though my legs didn’t respond, they were burning. The words that came to my mind were, Run the first 3/4 of the race with your head, and the last 1/4 of the race with your heart. That’s where the real changes happen; in your head and in your mind. Every thought has a consequence, so you need to listen to your heart and follow your guts. knew I had to fight. My legs wanted to give up on me, but I was not going to let them. I ordered my arms to swing forcefully and to activate those legs. If I was going to die, I was going to do it after the finish line, not before.

Life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. This book compares a marathon with life and it should offer a message of hope and personal development for you, even if you don’t run. Sometimes you feel like you had to push your way to the top. You saved, you worked hard, and things looked like they were going in the right direction. But sometimes life takes a turn on vou. Maybe you got some unexpected news, laid off, a contract that was cancelled, or a health issue, and now you are moving downhill. Like life, this famous marathon has its ups and downs. The last half of the NYC marathon was a constantly uphill, so it’s difficult to see with your eyes where the finish line is. You can feel the effects all over, sometimes things start deteriorating, and when you realize they are different, it’s too late. You see yourself and say, What happened? How did I get here?

New York is considered a hard race because of the ups and downs of the bridges. The Queensboro bridge on mile 16, and it was the one that almost killed me. I was maintaining a great pace of 8 minutes per mile, but by the time I left the bridge, it was down to 11. It was a hard and long climb; I had to push my body and my mind, even though I wasn’t certain I’d make it.

We left Queensboro and turned to the bridge. We ran on the first deck of the bridge and it was silent. We could only listen the noise of the shoes pounding on the asphalt. We had to climb and climb, and it felt like we were almost not going to finish. Sometimes we face those situations in life that look like they are going last forever, like if they never are going to finish. But it’s critical to remember that everything has a season. After the cold winter where there are no leaves on the trees, spring comes, offering new life, new flowers, and new foliage. If you are in the middle of your winter, take heart, your spring will come.

When we got to the top of the bridge, it felt like we had won the race right there.

And then, the way down, it was relaxing and emotional. Suddenly, we could hear the cheers of the crowd again, see the smiles of the people, and hear the music of the bands playing; what a wonderful sight. Life is like that, if you don’t have ups and downs, then it’s because you’re like a dead man walking. Just few years ago I was living like a zombie, like many live today. I was just shuffling back and forth from home, to work, back home, watching the same television programs, sitting in the same chair. Just to repeat the same thing over the next day. Now, I am full of life with a bright future full of dreams and aspirations. I want to share with you how change came to my life and hopefully inspire and motivate you to be the best version of yourself.

Have you ever wondered what you can compare to your journey in life? I have a friend, Rodrigo, who just finished his MBA. His effort and dedication reminded me of the same I had to put into my journey in life. He said the best comparison he had with completing his MBA is with a marathon. You need perseverance, consistency, have the mind on the goal, and hold on during the last few miles.

Before the Queensboro bridge, we were in Queensborough. It was so full of people from many backgrounds and nationalities cheering us on. Life was good; it was like auto pilot was engaged. My pace was good, I was comfortable, I didn’t expect things were going to change at the Queensboro bridge. Sometimes everything is working fine, everything looks in place, and the routine is normal.

There are no worries, but not all things turn out the way we want. A short sale, a relationship that turn out bad, sickness creeped on the family. What do we do?

Keep moving forward. Don’t give up and trust in God. When things are going well, enjoy it, enjoy every moment, every second. Enjoy the sunrise, the sun, the park, enjoy your children, your friends, enjoy what you like to do. Have fun, live in the here and now. But when things change and suddenly your road takes a new direction, and there is an obstacle in front of you, like a high bridge, take courage, trust in God and keep going. Atter every storm the calm will come, the light will shine at the end of the tunnel.

Brooklyn Borough, was one part of the race that I really enjoyed. I ran by the people and raised my hands to make them cheer for me. _ didn’t know them, but their energy gave me energy. If you have energy, give good energy. What you give you will get in return, if you give a smile, you will get a smile, if you give love, you will get love. You reap what you sow.

The best photo I have seen of the New York Marathon is an aerial picture over the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, showing the bridge full or runners as they crossed the first two miles of the race. In contrast with Queensboro bridge at mile 16, this is a bridge to enjoy. The ascend is easy but the descend tries to trick you; if you don’t hold the pace, you end up going too fast without noticing.

Sometimes we go too fast, we need to slow down, we make decisions quickly, we want things quickly, and we want results quickly. The antidote to this is patience. Have you ever had taken a short cut in life because you think that is going to get you there quicker, and then you find out that it was worse than you hoped? One of the biggest things in my life, and that I am still learning, is to slow down. Somehow, we think that being busy is being productive. We try to get some quality time with our family and friends and we find these words in the way, Sorry, I am too busy, we’ll do it later. It’s like people want to look more important or more professional because they are busier. There is much to be learned from Japanese people; they like to slow down. If you have a meeting with Japanese business men, you might find irritated at how they look like they’re going to sleep while making decisions. They think about it, meditate on it, evaluate, and listen to their hearts. On the contrary, we see people making