I grew up in the Coachella Valley, in Southern California. I am the third oldest of over thirty maternal side cousins. We all grew up together, spending a lot of time at my grandparents home-they are like my siblings.I currently live in Los Angeles, Californa and have been living here on-and-off since August 1998. I spent a few months living in Spain and a few years living in San Francisco. I love this place! This city has giving me inspiration for much of my life, in so many ways-food, culture, traffic, views, ocean. I can't imagine living anywhere else.
I work as a high school counselor which encompasses working with class scheduling, course planning, parent-child communication, crisis counseling, drop out prevention counseling, college planning and preparation, social-emotional counseling, career advising, mentoring, and everything else that gets put on to my plate. I am also the senior class advisor, planning prom and graduation. In the spare time that I have I train runners to complete the Los Angeles Marathon with an amazing program that was started about 26 years ago. I'm going into my 8th year training with them and have the time of my life with my team of 37.
I have completed 14 marathons in the last eight years. I'm not an elite runner, just a runner that enjoys the idea and action of running. I love the feeling I get when I finish the race and sensation of accomplishment after knocking out another marathon. In fact, I'm currently training for my 13th and just recently accomplished my dream of running a sub 5-hour marathon (twice!).
I have learned in the last few years that food plays a significant role in training. I have spent a considerable amount of time, trying to educate young runners on the importance of eating for a runner and using nutrition as a vital component of training.
