Timberman 70.3 recap

So this year we decided to do it right! My friend Sandra and booked a hotel and made travel plans WITHOUT husbands and kids for the Timberman 70.3 race. I love my family to pieces, but buy did it make a difference to not have to worry about anyone else but ourselves! 

Here is us on race morning (circa 4 am...) eating organic Pete & Gerry's hard-boiled eggs for breakfast:

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Note the bags under my eyes... and my sleepy face in spite of a great night of sleep. Then look at how fresh an peppy my friend Sandra looks after allegedly tossing and turning all night! Can someone say photogenic?!


We were lucky to find parking about a mile away from the race- it was chaos! Since we had to rack our bikes the day before, we had to walk that mile with all our gear and bags to the race venue... we needed the warm-up anyway!
Sandra and I wished each other luck and parted ways to meet our age groups. The race took off and I felt great in the swim. The bike was going well until I realized my base salts had fallen out of my picnic baggie!!!
The rest of the bike ride was rough. I was eating and hydrating to the point I felt bloated, but I was desperate for salt... at one point, I started licking my arms for the extra salt!
I had another salt tube in transition- which made a world of difference on the run. But I think that the bloating really set me back from achieving my goals in the run. Along the run, I decided that once the race was over, I was talking to a real nutritionist- my race day nutrition was not working for me.

Overall though, I cut over 20 minutes from last year, coming in at 5:50. While numerically this is awesome, it BARELY moved me within my age group... I went from 42nd only to 39th! (...It makes me wonder what kind of super humans are racing in my age group...)

Post race selfie:

The ladies and their bikes:

THIS is how you do post-race fueling... Steak with fries (*note the decorative roughage*), buffalo boneless wings with a large coke, simultaneously served with desert; chocolate lava cake with ice-cream and hot churros. 

I felt motivated after the race. Not sure what else is in the books, but MORE is certainly on the way. I don't feel as tired as I did last year... I actually feel incredibly energized (though physically still a little jelly-fied and not quite ready to get out of bed for another week or two).

Made the news in Chile!

 A few weeks ago, my cousin told me that she had been talking to a friend of hers about my story and how I used my sport as a strength to overcome a lot of loss in my life. It turns out that my cousin's friend was a reporter, and the reporter asked if she could write an article about my story.

Next thing I know, my cousin sent me a message to let me know they will be contacting me for an interview. 

Monica, the editor for an important weekend newspaper magazine that focuses on women and tendencies, called me and we had a nice hour-long conversation. I wasn't really sure what would transpire with my story, or even it would get published in anyway. But on Saturday morning, Monica email me a copy of the article... It apparently went out to millions of readers!

Basically, for those who can't read in Spanish, it talks about how I use my brother's life as inspiration to train and race triathlon. He is my inspiration to keep going and better myself every day.

It was very emotional to read this. Within a few hours the notes on Facebook started coming in my inbox. Women from all walks of life talking about how inspired they were. One memorable woman told me she was an elevator attendant at a building, and she had been struggling for four years since she had her son to lose the weight, but that this article inspired her and she was going to sign up for a 5K. Another woman also reached out to me about her loss in her life, and told me how she was thinking about moving forward as well by getting involved in sports.

It's so inspiring to see that my story can help motivate other women. Even more fuel for the fire!

Timberman 2016!!!!!

Training this year has been very hard for me. It has been a struggle to juggle my work, with parenting and training. Oddly enough though, I am more motivated than ever. Not only is the memory of my brother really pushing me forward and motivating me to keep training, but the hopeful thought that my legacy to my daughters will be that of a strong mom is also a constant thought in my head while training.

 I often find myself thinking about how generations down the line, my great-great grandkids will know about me.

Will they hear about a great great grandmother that settled and lived a meek life, afraid of dreaming big? Or will they hear about a very strong woman who never settled for anything less than her dreams?

My choice is pretty clear. I might not be around to meet them, but I know what I want them to say.

 The funny thing is, my two daughters are already my biggest supporters... And they are only 2.5 and 4 years old!!!

Grit CAN trump talent!

Last weekend was my first triathlon of the season. Not that I have many lined up, but this was the first in preparation for Timberman. I had pretty low expectations since it was being held locally, impliying hills beyond my comfort zone.

While I've been training for the past five months or so on every hill I can find, I'm not a natural climber and I'm also built like a sprinter... A sprinter that still hasn't managed to shed off the extra 10 pounds post babies. 

But on this fateful first tri of the season day, all the hard work I've put in paid off- not only did I win my age group qualifying me for the national championships, but I also came in 5th overall! In my wildest dreams did I ever expect such awesome results.

I've been putting in some hard miles in preparation for this season, now it's time to step it up further and ask myself, how bad do I want it? How much am I willing to sacrifice in order to be good at this sport? The truth is I don't know, but I'm a long way from being done.

Summer is here and so is my new gear!

This training season has been harder and more humbling than I ever expected. Not just physically, but I've had to mentally keep myself in check while juggling with multiple demands that require my attention. Particularly over the last few weeks it has been a big challenge to find the time to train.
My biggest struggles at the moment are:
1) Losing a good 5-10 pounds before HIM (which stands for Half Iron Man) in August.
2) Improving my run. Coach C is busting my chops with interval training, speed and distance work. The improvements have been astounding for short distances so far, but it feels that the improvements to my long run abilities are coming along so slow! I know I can't become a fast long distance runner over night, but I desperately want to!

On another note, I found myself in need to order a new kit and/or join a team. I recently joined this Facebook group WomenForTri, and after learning about the group's goals, I realized that they completely align with my mission to close the gender wage gap. So after much consideration, I decided to put my money where my mouth is. Do I really believe women can achieve what they set their mind to? Yes I do. Do I believe women can raise each other up? Absolutely. Triathlon is an individual sport, but as women, if we support and encourage each other, we can reduce those barriers that limit our ability to believe in ourselves to achieve our dreams.

Here's the kit that arrived today!

It ain't easy.

Training for a Half Ironman is not easy, but neither is being married, having kids, or having a job. At least for me, life in general is hard, and adding anything to the mix outside of the "normal" daily routine makes things chaotic enough that I often find myself on the verge of quitting my aspirations. But when I manage to accomplish everything, I feel so satisfied, that it makes the adventure worth it. This year, Coach C had laid down the gauntlet on training... the volume of work has doubled (if not tripled) from same time last year, and the quality is also under tight scrutiny.
A few weeks ago I was whining about the volume of work and Coach C goes... "Sure, do nothing. But I bet that's not what the woman who won last year's race is doing right now..." That little asinine comment has plagued my mind since, making me train harder and better than ever before. Sure I could get away with less training in order to finish the race, but not if I want to improve on last year.
So I am working on pushing myself harder and for longer because I want to achieve my goals.
And yes, training puts a strain on everything- my body, mind, kids, marriage, down-time, vacation time, friendships, nutrition, etc. Thus, pushing myself to the edge of my comfort zone in any area of life is not an adventure that I can accomplish on my own. Without the support of Paul, my girls, mom, coach, our nanny, and my good friends who encourage me to keep going, I would not be en-route to reaching my dreams- be it athletically, or work-wise.
Thankfully, I have an incredibly supportive network. My family is amazing, and so are my friends. This year, even my tools are spectacular- I have a beautiful triathlon bike! It's a 2016 Cervelo P2 time-trial bike. I've wanted one of these for the better part of 15 years, and thankfully this year this all came together for me to afford it. I put Benji's pedals on it and it goes incredibly fast!!!

Lessons from The Sancho... believing in me is half the battle.

The last couple of days have been very introspective. Coach C has launched me into training with no mercy. Over the last week I joined the local Masters Swim Team, run endless hilly miles and even sneaked in a 30 mile ride after who knows how many months of not doing ANY kind of cycling. 

Just as I was beginning to complain about my choice of sport, my dog Sancho's cancerous tumor took a turn for worse. He had been dealing with it for about a month, but today, his time here with us ended. He was an awesome dog- a pure bred mutt who never doubted his nobility. While he was never able to communicate with words, it was all too clear that he believed his heritage to be that of royalty. He was convinced he belonged to the landed gentry of his canine world.  Sancho was terrible, wild and bossy as a puppy. He turned into the world's best shadow chaser in his teens and the laziest dog in old age. He was our good ol' man, and we will miss him dearly.

His passing has really made me ponder a couple of things- 

1) How life continues to prove its ephemeral nature.

2) How believing in yourself and your story is half the battle. Sancho never doubted his nobility and always played the part. During his 10 years with us, I must have been asked hundreds of times what breed he was and how regal he looked. His confidence and regal demeanor was an integral part of him- he believed his royal breed into being. 

This last point is what I'm extrapolating today into my life. I have to believe in myself and my goals in order to make them a reality. But it all needs to start in my head. 

So here's to a life well lived and to believing in oneself!

Sancho- RIP 04/24/2016