The Other Woman

A woman triathlete is also a woman. She is worried of her looks, her hair, her body, her clothes and her family.
As amateur dedicated athletes, we lose touch with several important things a woman must take care of, such as the look of her hair and nails.
As triathletes, we know that swimming is the worse thing you can do to your hair, so we have to invest in non-conventional shampoos and hair treatments to try to avoid the terrible effect of chlorine in our hair. There are several salon shampoos (quite expensive but effective) to try and revert such effect, but it also depends on the time and budget we are willing to invest in ourselves. This also happens with the effect of sun in our head while biking.
The care of our nails is another aspect that is always affected by swimming, given that no manicure will survive a swimming training…so for
me, manicures only last from Friday to Monday…I am already used to it.
Most illustrative, I have been carrying a terrible suntan with the shape of a trisuit, and I believe I will have to comply with my entire social
calendar wearing that horrible mark in my body.
For me, the care of our bodies and looks is not as relevant as the training
itself, but it makes me think that sometimes we triathletes tend to be quite selfish; we do not care if we will miss our best friend’s birthday party next Saturday because we have to get up early and run 18K, we are sure “she´ll understand”; and we try to plan our family vacations depending on which race will or will not be available in such date.
Such selfishness must never be greater than our possibilities and willingness to train, but then why is it so hard to understand that we do
not care if we spend lots of money to go to a race very far away from home, and simply enjoy the pasta dinner and marathon expo, rather than going to a bachelorette party to a cool beach with our friends? Why is it so hard for the non-triathletes to understand that waking up at 5:30 am to run 18K is more fulfilling and fun than going to the coolest club in town and get wasted? Why is it so hard to understand that we are a different bread, not a simple woman, not the one that will have perfect nails and hair?

Can't Sleep

I can't believe the weather is this bad, I am living in an oven with no "off" button!
It is almost 10 pm and it's still 38o outside, and of course it is affecting everybody's training! It's practically impossible to train outside...
But the most painful thing of all is that I have the time and willingness to train in the morning, but heat does not allow me to sleep properly.
I can't believe it will be like this for 4 more months!
Which ideas can I implement in order to be able to train with success and happiness during this freaking summer?
The use of ice while running outside, just the way I did in the triathlon?
Taking a shower right before going to bed?
Using water to wet my hair prior to training?
Or should I simply give my body a chance and get up in the morning, no matter if I slept 6 or 7 hours?
Why is it so hard for me to get up every morning, and why do I always look for a reason not to do it?
Heat won't let me sleep, but of course I will find the right moment to train...

Back to You

I finally recovered my swimming habit...I had forgotten how much I loved it, and I also forgot that once I finished my triathlon, I promised not to swim again in a long time, in order to lose weight and let my back and arms muscles rest a little...
It was impossible, I love swimming.
Perhaps I will be a fat person all my life, but I think that I can improve my health by attacking my hunger and food anxiety attacks, and not by resting from swimming.
It was a difficult thing to do, given that I am still bearing with this throat and ear infection, but I am sure I will be better soon...
It was good to be back in the pool, swimming gives me an amazing feeling; at last, swimming is for almost all triathletes, the most challenging part...except for me...

Sick Muse

So apparentely running while having a throat and ear infection (with no fever and/or the feeling of having a flu) is not a good idea. I was able to barely run 7 kms, with a very slow pace, and feeling like I hadn't run in ages! It's been difficult to me now embrace the fact that 2 weeks ago I did an olympic triathlon!
I am aware that another factor to take into account is heat, it was almost 38 degrees outside and I am stubborn enough to rather run in the heat than using a treadmill.
Anyway I HAD to run, I was feeling like I was being left behind (behind from what? I've been training for such triathlon for more than 5 months, I tnink I deserve a small period of non- sportive pressure, right?), and I can't wait to get back on track once this small Mexico City vacation is off...
Of course it was a terrible idea, but the idea of not running was a worse one, the worst one in the world...

The New Workout Plan

So, now in the absence of a particular goal, I decided I have to lose some weight. Of course this will help me achieve further running goals, since studies show that when a person loses 5 kg, his or her times decrease in 10%, which means that I could finally be able to run a 10K in less than 55 minutes!
However, I am sure that shortly I will find something valuable to do with my time, sport wise, and I will set another goal. Perhaps another triathlon, or finally to train for a marathon.
I would love to do Austin's 70.3 in October, but I will not be able to train, and furthermore, I find such distance an actual excess to human body. I hope there's relay, so I could swim or ride...running a half marathon at noon doesn't seem to be a very good idea right?
I hope something fun comes in the following months, for now, I will enjoy the set of weddings, parties and finally the fitness training that will start tomorrow...

In the end

It finally happened, it is the end of a long preparation, and I couldn't feel happier with the outcome. I felt so tired that even when I received my medal, I felt like it should have diamonds or gold at least! But it's a simple steel medal, like the others I have collected, but with a very load of emotional value!!
Many thoughts went through my head during the race.
While swimming, I was thinking that I just love to swim, and that I feel happy that I can do it and enjoy it; mainly because most runners who start in the journey of a triathlon, find the swimming part a bit tiring and tedious, but it's not my case.
While riding, I was quite shocked because I was able to ride faster than my training average, without much extra effort, which means that I am ready to increase speed, and that fear will not take me anywhere. It is my weakest sport, and yet I enjoy it. I just have to get really good at it, it's the easiest part of the triathlon, and it is only a matter of training and losing fear. I already fell from the bike anyway.
Later on I had to run 4 laps of 2.5 kms each. The first one was the most difficult, and I couldn't believe that I had 3 laps to go!! I felt like I wouldn't have the energy to complete the race, but then I think my GU reached my blood, or I was thrilled to hear my friends' cheers and support, that somehow I found the energy to continue...
The last 2 laps were the easiest part of the entire triathlon, mainly because I was sure that I was almost by the finish line...
And when I was about to start my last lap, I thought "next time I am here, I will already be an olympic triathlete"; and it was true.
Yesterday at 2:04 pm, with an unforgettable and unforgivable sun, with 5 girls and my father by my side at the beginning, and waiting for me at the finish line, with many people cheering me from behind the walls, I became an olympic triathlete.
In the end, it was better than it was expected, would do it again next weekend...

The long and winding road

So this is it, training has finished, and whatever I failed to do during my training process, will be taken into account next Saturday.
I am now embracing the fact that I did not follow religiously my training schedule, but I am also aware that I did expose my body to great amount of pain, sweat, thirst and strength…I am sure I will succeed at the race…
 
Although I feel like it was yesterday when I decided to compete on an Olympic Triathlon, it took so long, including:
- More than 5+times a week trainings, for more than 20 weeks
- Only one session of double training (not proud of that) and numerous evening/morning trainings (which was impossible to accomplish before the triathlon)
- Millions of blisters in my toes, caused by sweat and humidity
- More than $5000 MXP invested in a gym’s membership, in order to swim at least once a week for more than 2000 mts.
- A scary attempt of a plantar fasciitis that was effectively cured with KT tape
- 3 half marathon medals (2 with lame timings and one with an outstanding performance) and thousands of 10K races
- My absence in more than 100 parties, birthdays, cocktails, clubs, and many other social events
- Countless and priceless smiles, pictures, entries on this blog, hugs from my friends, kisses from my boyfriend, argues with my father, medals that will be stored in my heart and health rather than in my cabinets
- But most of all, it took the guts to take the decision, some months ago; that on late April, or May (did not know the date at the time) I would race in the Monterrey Olympic Triathlon.
 
It is impressive enough that after this, I did not quit, and that today, with no further training to go, I am more than ready to become an Olympic Triathlete.
 

Hot in herre

There is no place for fear or regret. It is on already, we are 2 trainings away from the triathlon and apparentely the threat of having a race with direct sunlight at more than 35o is gone.
I have realized that I have to survive the race with such weather, and that I will be using my fuelbelt, ice and many many fluids to try and reduce the temperature of my body.
It is going to be perhaps the greatest sportwise challenge I have faced until now, and I am sure I will enjoy it and will prepare me for further goals...
There is no way back, triathlon is everywhere and now I have to do it, even when it seems like I haven't trained, even when I feel that nobody is supportive enough, even when I am about to perhaps end with a hideous tan that will last for 7 months...
It is going to be hot, the weather, the vibe, the race, but what's hotter is that I am strong enough to do it...

Month of May

Finally May has arrived (it arrived yesterday, but my story about falling from the bike was something I had to share immediately), and it comes with lots of stories and goals...
First I have my triathlon which is a story enough to fill this blog; then U2's concert(s); the ability to lose some weight in order to fit into several dresses and attend numerous weddings; and finally the settlement of a new goal, whichever it is...
What impresses me the most is the fact that the year has been running faster than me!
Is that the same speed the will face the rest of the year? I am afraid that once the triathlon dream is over, my days run as fast as the year, and in the end, I'd do nothing...
But now I have to enjoy the first 7 days of May, with all the nervousness it carries...
Tomorrow we only have 4 days to go...4 days and I will be an olympic triathlete...

Fallin'

Well finally the inevitable happened...I fell from the bike!
Fortunately it happened before the triathlon and not while in the race, but as one of my friends predicted it, now I feel more confident and I think my performance in the race will be better.
It is commonly known that athletes of any kind are subject to a countless ideas or mental blockage which might affect his or her performance, and I have plenty of them...
I believe that if I go faster in my bike, I'll fall and that I'd be terribly injured.
I believe that if I keep running at the same speed, when I am running below the 6:00 threshold, I'd burn my fuel and I will not be able to complete the race.
I believe that I will never be able to run a 35K as training, for preparation of a marathon.
I believe I will never qualify to Boston.
But since I have trained, suffered, bled, breathed and lived triathlon for many maaaaaany weeks now, my only belief for this week will be that I will gloriously finish and enjoy the race. I swear I will have an Olympic Triathlon medal in my dashboard by the end of the week…
I have done my part and gave up many things to do this; therefore losing confidence at this point seems a very stupid idea...
Only 6 days to go...next Saturday!!! Unbelievable!!!!