Los Halcones - The Falcons

A few weeks ago I joined a running team called "los halcones" or the falcons. We practice every other day for three hours. yes, three hours. The team mantra/motto is "Era duro pero lo hicimos" - it was hard but we did it. Coach Martin focuses on improving technique and all over body conditioning rather than simply running farther and faster. His idol is Flo Jo. "Con swing, como las negras, como Flo Jo" is one of his favorite motivating expressions. He's also a big Rocky fan. We have a few arm exercises - one called the Rocky where we punch to air forward with both fists at once (tied to the resistance bands of course) and the other called the Apollo - punching towards our phantom opponent one fist at a time. So, each practice starts with an hour or so of different strength training exercises using the bands, medicine balls, and rope stairs. We spend a lot of time on moves to improve balance, coordination, posture and core strengthening. All of this is to eventually improve ones running. The last few days, we've been jumping over hurdles and alternating running laps around the lake with cycling (duathlon style) for time. to be honest I'm not exactly sure what we're training for though some days it feels like we're going for the Olympics but its great fun. Coach Martin likes to take photos of us during drills to show us when we are doing the exercises right or where we need to adjust something. He also produces a monthly team newsletter with photos, links to sports sites for female athletes like www.ladeportista.com.ar and of course the wise words of Rocky and FloJo. Practices are held evenings from 5:30-8:30pm at my favorite lake in the prettiest park in the city. its a small team but diverse. all mujeres from different countries. There's Anna-may 22 yr old model/ballerina from Holland; 33 yr old argentine Gabi works for italian call center; 26 yr old Kati from Finland here studying fashion design at the Univ of Buenos Aires, 21 yr old Camila from Brasil, 17 yr old Ludmila from BA finishing her last yr in high school and headed for med school next year, 25 yr old Cintia who teaches phys ed to students here in BA and 45 yr old Alejandra from BA. I am the only "yankee" - pronounced SHC-AHN-KEH in the group which I don't mind as it's great for practing my espanol. of course the europeans all speak 5 languages perfectly including castellano.