The marathon has its roots in the ancient Greek legend of a messenger who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens. It’s been part of the modern day Olympics since 1986. The marathon is a celebration of endurance. While their gyms are closed and some are mandated to wear masks, marathoners like LivOn Labs ambassador and certified running coach Sabrina Wieser are enduring.
In her eight years of distance running, this is the first time she’s trained wearing a mask. While face coverings aren’t not mandatory outdoors in New York City, they are required if you cannot maintain a safe distance from others. So, being New York City, that means covering your face while running. It’s hard, as it the mask can limit your air intake. It’s uncomfortable, as we all know. Bespectacled folks like Sabrina can be near blinded by exhales diverted upwards and fogging her lenses. All this may compromise performance on a masked run.
Yet, Sabrina remains positive and urges her clients and near 100K followers to do the same. Maybe after months of restricted breathing, you’ll unmask and run a personal best. You’re working harder to breathe, making your run more challenging, and that’s how progress is made.
“Keep showing up,” she says. “Right now with all races being canceled, there is no need to push super hard. It is more about consistency. Maintaining the overall fitness and giving the body time to adjust to everything that is going on both mentally and physically.”
Sabrina was training for the Rio Marathon. Then the goal was first to take Berlin in September and then she’d take Manhattan in November. She never stopped training, even though now her plan is to run Berlin in Manhattan, taking on the 26.2 miles on what would have been race day.
She’s been running solo while keeping her distance, but during normal circumstances she trains with adidas Runners NYC. Other than the lack of social interaction and losing access to her gym, Sabrina says her daily life and training hasn’t changed much. She ordered bands and weight equipment to maintain her strength training program for which she’s been advocating for years as essential for runners.
“Consistency is key. I keep showing up. Even to my home workouts,” she says. Nutrition is an important part of her consistency, and nutrition support is a service she offers the runners she coaches. A LivOn Labs customer turned ambassador a year ago, Sabrina makes our supplements part of her daily regimen.
“First thing in the morning, I’ll have my LivOn Labs supplements with water on an empty stomach. I really enjoy the packaging. They are so easy to take with you. Especially on vacation.”
Before making that initial purchase, she performed a thorough evaluation of LivOn supplements.
“I remember going on the website and learning about every single supplement LivOn offers. People tend to buy fewer quality supplements because of the price tag. Knowing the science of LivOn supplements won’t make you want to take any other supplements anymore.” The morning nutrient shot is part of her health and well-being routine that, centered on staying fit, has been her outlet during a stressful time. “It’s keeping me sane. Running has always been my outlet for stress and anxiety. More than ever did I realize now that my mood is so much better when I run in the morning before starting my day at my job.”
Days are spent as a digital marketing manager. On the off hours she trains and works on her successful blog RunningBrina.com and Instagram account @runningbrina where she shares tips and experiences for other distance runners and others who she can inspire to take up the sport.
Sabrina started running eight years ago to lose weight. Three months in, her objective grew from a 5K to a half marathon. The full marathon was a natural follow. As of this writing, she’s run 5 full marathons and more than 20 half marathons. With all that race experience, she has learned something new from the time spent training for races that are now cancelled.
“I’m being more mindful about how I truly feel. Checking in on myself more often. We tend to say ‘Oh, I’m doing well,’ or ‘I’m good, how are you’ so often when we actually not doing well at all. I want to be more honest about how I am.”