1. Companies that did not fit my brand (namely my former shoe sponsor and RedBull)
2. The Olympic hangover
3. Training Alone
2014... New news... What I picked up!
1. Companies that fit my brand and that I truly believe in, that stand behind me 100 percent the same way I stand behind them. (This started in 2013, but you get the picture.)
2. A new desire and passion
3. A new training partner
Last year had its fill of emotions, and what a journey of emotions that was, but I am excited to leave that all behind. In case you are not sure what the Olympic hangover is, it is more of a mental thing. With the huge build up and pressure that goes into an Olympics. It is very hard to stay ON mentally post Olympics and stay physically healthy. I went through a roller coaster of mental hardship last year post Olympics, with all of my physical ailments and the emotional fight, of what we all know very much about, with my former sponsor and wanting to leave, it was a trying year for me. Not to mention I had now spent 5 years training alone. My wishes for the next year was to ONLY partner with companies that truly fit my brand. Create an environment where training/running could and would be fun again, and to acquire training partners.
SO FAR;
I have made some changes with those who I am partnering with. Redbull and I are no longer together and that was a hard decision for me. I thank Redbull for all of their support, but I am excited for the opportunities ahead of me. When I originally signed with Redbull, I was really excited for the marketing opportunities that their company would provide. They do a lot of really cool media stunts, and I was happy for the opportunities that might come in that department. Somewhere along the way though, the message became confused. Instead of focusing on the athletic side of things, and the preparation involved in becoming a world class athlete, the message shifted to focus on consuming the product as a means of success. For me, I was extremely conflicted about saying I consumed the product before training or races because I didn't and I did not want the message to be confused as an explanation for why I ran the way I do. I am a firm believer that hard work, and a healthy balanced lifestyle focused on organic and "green" dietary choices are the key to success. I know that people can be influenced and I never wanted for people to think there are short cuts and more importantly that I take short cuts. One day I saw a magazine I was featured in and they explained that I drink Redbull before races. For the reasons above, I was mortified, and that is when I knew that I wanted/ needed to pursue other partnerships. Although I respect them and cannot thank them enough for the many opportunities, I could not go through with what I perceived to be deception. Feeling confused as to what I should do, I asked for change in the direction of our marketing, but they couldn't give me that change. SO with long and hard thought, we split officially just after I did a show on the Discovery Channel and here I am....
GOOD NEWS HERE:
I have been working very hard these last few months,
I have partnered with Women's Sports Foundation and Safe Kids World-Wide as an ambassador... and there are a few other great and positive companies I believe in that I would love to get an opportunity to work with, we are "talking", so hopefully I will have updates for you soon.
Other affiliates...
1. NYAC (The New York Athletic Club). I am so honored to announce that I am the newest team member of the New York Athletic Club. New York is where I got my beginnings, I mean the slightest inkling of my being takes root in Queens, New York, where I was born and lived through my early years. A place that will always be with me in my heart and place where my family and I visit often. New York serves as a reminder, as do many other places for me, of where I come from and where I am now.
2. Mountain Professional Services Group AKA MountPSG, MountainPSG or MPSG- This a marketing and talent agency, that I began working with in 2013 that has helped me make these vital transitions in my career and brand. They are a company that not only services and caters to "getting me into track meets", but they help look out for opportunities that interest me off the track as well, which has been a huge NEED for me.
LASTLY....
I have a new training partner...
How it's been going-
We started working together in November, and in the beginning we did not know each other very well, but my new bud kept making its presence known. Around our 1st month together I started to notice this relationship was going to have a very strong bond.
My new training bud challenges me in new ways that I had never experienced ever before. In the beginning months I quickly found a new level of exhaustion that would have me laid out after our morning sessions. My training bud was going HAM on my energy levels. This new addition to the team had me breathless on mere 30 minute runs, and was getting me dropped on any sort of tempo paced run. Here we are going on our 4th month training together and things are turning around, I have a new desire and love and my energy that was nearly non-existent has returned and then some. I FEEL SO ALIVE with my new training buddy and I couldn't have asked for a better buddy!
MEET BUD MONTAÑO (12 weeks)
CHILLIN' LIKE A BOSS (arms behind the head!)
First Public Appearance scheduled at a hospital in Berkeley, somewhere around August 13, 2014
Love,
Alysia Montaño
#KEEPBLOOMING
