“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

I was recently looking for equipment for training my clients; one of them suggested I try to search Craig’s list. I was shocked to find tons of stuff. Most of the headlines read “hardly used” so as the New Year approaches a lot of you will be making their resolutions I been thinking a lot about what makes someone quit. I don’t make New Year resolutions; I am of the mentality that as soon as I realize I need to work on something or change something right then is the right time. How many times have I heard the “ I will quit smoking after New Years/my vacation/ my birthday” I just think to myself, why? Is that going to be your last Vacation/New year/? You eventually have to manage being around other people who smoke so do it now!

But if you are considering making some health changes you all have my support. Here are some common mistakes.

Start small.
As an endurance junkie this might sound hypocritical but my ‘small’ might not be ‘your’ small. All journeys start with a single step. I often see beginners take on to much and that adds to disappointment and quitting because you are setting yourself to fail. If you are a beginner establishing a routine is the most important, be realistic about how much time and effort you can commit and go for it. I have a daunting goal ahead of me but I broke it into smaller tasks and then applied it. I started with establishing running without a day off first, then increased my distance then added the heavy pack. If you are thinking of bettering your time start by adding speed training to your routine on what you think your body can handle safely, once or twice and don't worry if you don't hit your target every time, you will hit your desired pace once, then twice and so forth. The most important here is that you are trying to change your behavior and mentality, non runner to runner, slow runner to faster runner, couch potato to gym goer.


Stop making excuses.

It hard for everybody and sure there are times that is harder for us than for anybody else but is that the real reason why you are not doing it? My past success on overcoming challenges is that I take ownership always, I spend more time trying to figure out what I contribute to the problem than what other did. I can’t control others but I have control on my actions. Sure I been victim of unfair circumstances that I had little control of it but I took ownership 100% on how I reacted to it and how much I let it affected me. Sometimes it will be hard or impossible because of injuries or commitments but that is never the reason to quit. When it becomes hard for me to train because of circumstances I focus on the other things that I need like planning the logistics of my quest or getting ahead on my responsibilities. So when the window of opportunities opens again I am ready! Stop looking around to find excuses of why you can't do it and start spending time focusing on how you can make it happen. Remember that you become better at what ever you spend most energy on, an if the energy is spent on making up excuses you will just become better at finding more excuses and is that really what you want? I remember the first time I was criticized for running ultras way back when I started, somebody was telling me about a conversation of somebody who was trash talking about me " who do she think she is?" she has only been running for a few months. My friend was upset until she noticed I was smiling, she was puzzled " is fabulous" I said "A few months ago everybody pity me, no body wanted my life, all people where talking about about me was did you hear? now somebody wants my life!i had just gone for something that person had made excuses for to not do and that's why he was upset because I was about to show him that it could be done of you only had the guts to do. Stop making excuses and go for the life you want. When you find yourself at rock bottom learn to rock climb.


Commit

This is a big one. I see lots of new runners or people at the gym at the beginning of the year and just fade away the next few months. Why? Anything that is worth having takes effort. Like a marriage, at the beginning is all butterflies and excitement then it turns into responsibility and doing someone’s laundry, but is all on what you focus on. When I decide I want something I embrace all aspects of it since they are all integral part of the whole project.
The moment you decided to take charge on your health you didn’t say “ I will get healthy until it gets too hard or boring” Is exciting to start something because everybody is supportive and excited for you too. “ Go for it” “100% behind you” In no time things change when it starts affecting your old life, all of a sudden you are not cooking all 3 meals from scratch or changing the sheets every two days or meeting your friends for a drink every Thursday. I took a long break last year, I was getting pressure from everywhere and continuing at the pace I had been going was not possible. Both of my kids needed me home, Karl because of his condition, teachers struggled to find the right plan for him and needed my full attention as he adapted to his new school, Hans' grades started to plummet so I needed to take charge, while I knew that his lower grades where more about the social distractions in particular video games, I swear you can see a pattern of lower grades every time Call Of Duty releases a new edition I was being blamed for it. "You focus on saving the world more than me” First of all I don’t give up much to conversations like that, I want my kids to be givers not takers. Like I told Hans, instead of thinking that I am favoring sons you should be on your knees thanking God every night it wasn’t you the son who was going blind because the odds where just as high. What bother me is not that it was true, but what if he though so? I spend a year and a half watching SNL with both of my boys and making 100’s of Waffles for sleepovers until Hans had no excuse for bringing C's home then he had no choice but to admit what i knew. “ You are right mom,I haven’t had the best attitude towards learning lately and blaming you was the easiest way of justifying it”

Through it all I never lost my commitment towards my goals, I simply had to exercise patience, deal with setbacks as they came and maybe had to modify my plans a bit.

I wish you much success in the next year and all others to come; there is nothing more rewarding than taking control of one’s life. I am know as an incredibly stubborn person and that has cost me some friends or relationships but if somebody doesn’t respect your decisions they shouldn’t be in your life anyway. The way I see it, this is my life and I am in the driver seat. I am often surrounded but the most talented people in the world and I am blessed for that but not even then do I sit back. I surrounded myself with people better than me not because I want them to take care of me but to learn and grow. Is irrelevant of who they are, the way I see it, in my life, I am the president and CEO of my destiny.

Running Home- The book preview

I haven't post in such a long time. Somewhere down the line things became so complicated. I like the way my life is right now but I also miss the simplicity of what running used to be for me so I am going back to the basics again.
I created Running Home A Journey To End Violence, a project that will take me from my house in Delta, BC where I live to Mazatlan Mexico where I was born. I decided it was time to write the book i been meaning to write. I wanted to go to Everest before I did that, I was so focus on making it happen. A lot of people that knew about my desire to climb have always been worry about the dangers, I have never been afraid, i know that if somebody tells me it cant be done is only because they can't picture it themselves. We all fear something, and my fears aren't mountains, I respect them, but I don't fear them. Then I realized what my fear was, standing up to my past so I couldn't delay writing anymore.

I started writing it a few months ago and I became almost paralyzed, is hard reading my journals again, I keep them because I will not deny who I am.
I am so much different than the woman of those pages, but to write the book I had to take myself back to those times, it's not easy, the only thing that helps me get through it is to know that I am not there anymore.


Here is the preview of the first pages, is a rough draft, many more corrections will be done before it will be published.
But I wanted to share it with you, the people that through this blog has held my hand when it got really hard for me. Thank you :)

I open my eyes but I can’t see. Everything is blurry. I blink several times to see if that helps and try to move. I am facedown, I can feel and taste the blood pooled beneath me. Just then all the senses come at once, the sharp pain on my head, on my face, I hear the TV on the background and I am surprise that is in English, I have been living in Japan for about 4 years now, I moved to Tokyo at age 19 on an entertainer visa and most of my circle speaks Japanese. My eyes adjust to the intense light, I recognize the place, I been here before many times. Is the apartment of a guy I just dated, an American model that went back home a few weeks prior.

I try to get up but when I move I get nauseous and dizzy so I just roll to my side and lay on a fetal position. Then I hear him and I remember, his roommate! I ran into him last night. “ Well, sleeping beauty, you are finally up” He sounds upbeat and not very concerned that I am laying on his floor bloody “ What happened? ‘ I ask. “You had a bit too much to drink and you fell and hurt yourself” Sorry I said, deeply embarrassed but also confused.

When I saw him at the club I was on my way to meet some of my girlfriends before heading home after working late. Jason, a tall, all American boy was standing by the entrance and introduced me to his new roommate. “ Watch her” he told him“ Norma the fiery Mexican likes dating my roommates” Then he handed me a drink, I didn’t want to drink last night but I didn’t want to be rude either. Just one I thought.
Sure I have blacked out before, but this time was different, all I had was one drink, and then I don’t remember anything else.

Jason strokes my head as I lay there, I close my eyes again overwhelmed by the pain now being insufferable. Then I hear the sound of a zipper being undone.








I am a liar and a coward. Sure I didn’t intended to lie but by not speaking up I might as well be lying. All I ever wanted was to not hurt anymore

I successfully created a new identity for myself and almost got away with it too, married, had kids and formed a family. Nobody that meets me have an idea of what really went on my head for many years, the shame, the fear, the rage, all they see is a good mom. But I couldn’t build a house out of sand, all of a sudden I am watching it all being washed away, the divorce and later my oldest son diagnoses left me raw.

I been so busy fighting a dragon, one mean beast call blindness that is threatening my son that I didn’t notice it at the beginning. All of a sudden people around me are calling me brave,or amazing. All I am doing for my son is what I should have done for myself a long time ago. My kids are too important to not have the amazing life that they deserve. I feel uncomfortable with being praised, maybe because most of my life I have been accustomed to being told what I had done wrong.

I am an ultra distance runner. Since 2007 I have run long distance races all over the world, even a record on all 7 continents. I started running when my oldest son Karl was diagnosed with Cone Rod Dystrophy. I don’t remember much about that day, Doctors were struggling to figure out what was happening to him. I remember the words progressive, incurable, might lead to blindness. Karl was relieved, he had been telling us that he really had trouble seeing, Doctors didn’t believe him, they didn’t see anything wrong until one fine Doctor knew what to look for.

I was devastated; I though that life was being cruel in the most despicable way. I have never doubted that there is a God; many times I have trouble accepting that terrible things happen, even under his watch.

Running became my escape. I wouldn’t say that running saved my life, only I could do that. Over the years I have understood that nobody or nothing except for my attitude can save me or complete me. I have no control on things or people. The only thing I can control is my attitude and the choices I make.I decided long ago that I didn’t want to live my life in pain or suffer anymore,I have chosen to be positive no matter what, to have faith that this is where I am suppose to be.

Running is what I did to take the edge off when I felt the pain was becoming unbearable. It wasn't always that way, the unhealthy me used to burn herself with cigarettes when pain became too much. But not anymore. I have work so hard to build my new life and be the healthiest mother my children could have. The day after my son was diagnosed I went for a long run, I wanted to run until my skin came off but it didn’t instead I felt better when I returned home. During those long runs at 4am in the darkness I felt stronger finally. All the memories that I had worked so hard to erase came slowly at first, but once I allowed one memory to appear I couldn't stop them all from coming. I had wrongly assumed that if because I had never allowed myself to think about it they would eventually fade.I was standing at the eye of the storm.

Since the day I sat at the Doctors office with my oldest son Karl, I have fought a lot more than a terrible diagnose. Shortcuts lead to dead ends and I had encounter mine, the only way out of it was through it.

When I started running ultra races, some people asked me what I was running away from, what they didn’t know was that I was running towards something. It was time to look at evil in the eye; I was ready to confront my past.

Here is my story

Last weeks training plans.

What a week has been. It seems like the minute I posted that I was ready and excited to start the new training plan the universe decided to play a trick. It was time to use my own advice. I had the training plan ready but ended up change it to managed my fatigue and crazy unscheduled events that happened.
First of all, let's look at the beginner training plan. For my son Karl whom by Doctors orders had to start exercising more was a bit difficult, the goal for me was to have him use to the idea that 3 times a week we was going to exercise. My other son is in the same school with him so he now walks to and from school, a 1.5 mile round trip, he was self conscious before walking alone and maybe tripping in front of the other kids that walk to school. He likes martial arts but he wasn't loosing weight so I added strength training twice and spinning once, I taught him to use the machines since the idea is that he is comfortable going to the gym. I gave him an easy routine the he can follow on his own, i did them with him a couple of time now I work out nearby so he can ask me questions but mostly i let him do it on his own just supervising that he is adjusting the machines properly and using proper form.

Here is a sample
Leg press 2X 14 reps
Leg curl 2X 14 reps
Leg extension 2x 14 reps
Chest press 2x 14 reps
Lat pull down 2x 14 reps
Biceps 2X 14 reps
Triceps 2x 14 reps
crunches 2x 15 reps

I tried to avoid free weight for Karl, is very intimidating for him to be standing in front of all the other guys. He has been coming with me for two weeks now and he is more confident, not sure I can say he enjoys it but the more comfortable he becomes the easier it to convince him to go.
My advise for beginners who want to run i would advice to start walking, I really like Jeff Galloway's training plan to run walk. Like i said the most important at the beginning is to get used to the idea of setting the time aside. The length of the walk will depend on your motivation and fitness level so no excuses, we all know how to walk, if you are really ambitions, try walking for 4 minutes and running for 1 until you reach the desired time.
Leticia is an intermediate level, her running plan is simple. She is planing on running a 10k in 5 weeks, not ideal to start training only 5 weeks prior but she is fit and had run on and off for years, summers are busy with the family so she takes a break form running and does yoga and hikes a bit.
Her running schedule was 2 miles a day for 5 days and a long run of 4 miles on Sunday and two short hills added to the Wednesday run, she can mix walking and running.

Strength training is circuit training at my house with dumbbells and resistant bands with 1 minute rest between sets for a total of three sets.
Lunges
burpees
bent over dumbell row
pushups
squats
v sits
triceps kick backs
Dumbbell shoulder press

She warms up with 5 minutes of skipping, she loves the fast pace and we usually play latin music so it feel very bootcamp, she gets bored at the gym so we keep it fun.

My sister and I train together, she is fit and highly motivated, her Doctor too told her to loose weight, she practically lives to work out so my plan for her was to increase the intensity of her workouts and to spice it up, she is been doing the same things for a long time so her body has adapted nicely to the training load.
her running was similar to Leticia's but i took her trail running with me, she also was able to handle more distance. 4 miles a day for 3 days and two days of 3 miles with hills added on Wednesday.

Her strength training was the routine i do, day 1 upper body, day 2 lower body, day 3 rest, day 4 full body, day 5 rest, day 6 full body. I love super sets, working one major muscle group then adding a dynamic core exercise or plyometrics. More sport conditioning.

On the days we work upperbody i hit the same muscle with 2 or 3 exercises, like Incline bench press, decline bench press and dumbbell chest press on ball. on the days that we work full body we go over the major muscles groups, once or twice depending on time or how tired we feel.

My running didn't go as planned. I had intended for a week of 54 miles and ended up way short, had trouble physically and mentally. I decided to just go with how I felt, i ended up riding my bike a couple of times instead of running.

My kids both got sick, Hans had Streptocouccus infection and kept me busy, the Karl started to have major nosebleeds that I had to go to the ER when i came home and it looked like a scene of Friday the 13 ( he didnt think was funny, when i said, were is the chainsaw) I know better than to speak if you take your child with what looks like signs of trauma to the ER. The nurse asked me to not speak and asked Karl instead, how often do they happen and how often are the this bad? when did they started? I couldnt remember when but Karl remembered clearly, in grade 4 he said, I got hit by a football on the playground and then I started to run into the playground often after. It was true, that was the first time I had been called for Karl, that was the first time the teachers told me that something was wrong. My heart sunk. The next person to walk into the ER was a male around my age, he was accompanied by family as well, he was clearly in distress, his companion spoke this time, he didn't speak English. " He is an alcoholic" You do know we are not a rehab, the nurse said, we can stabilize him but cant do more than that. We all sat in the wait room, them and us, holding bloody towels and buckets. I wanted to stand and punch that man, hard, to hit him until it hurt, to ask him why, he was physically perfect but seemed determined to trow it all away. But I didn't, his family was in pain, and really I dont know what possible can drive somebody to that point in life.

The next few weeks I will be working hard on laying the foundation, I am exited about possibly running Badwater but I also know that right now is when I need to lay the foundation to the success. If i jump to soon into training then I will be scramming at the end to make sure my kids are OK.

I hope this help you a bit, the way i figure out, we fall into one of these categories.
stop making excuses and just go and do what you can. Need to be more consistent.
Are stuck in a rut.
or like me continue doing what you love but ignore what you dislike which is usually what you need to work on the most.
my next post will be about nutrition a very important but often overlooked part of training.


Qué semana ha sido. Parece que el momento en que publique que estaba muy emocionada de iniciar el nuevo plan de ejercisio el universo decidió jugarme una mala pasada. Era el momento de usar mi propio consejo.Yo había preparado el plan a seguir, pero termine cambiandolo porque la semana estuvo muy ocupada y no me sentia bien.

En primer lugar, vamos a ver el plan de formación para principiantes. Para mi hijo Karl, que por órdenes de los médicos tenían que comenzar a hacer ejercicio era un poco más difícil, la meta para el fue que él haga a la idea de que tres veces a la semana que tiene que hacer ejercicio. Mi otro hijo está en la misma escuela con él asi que ahora camina a la escuela, como unos 2 kilometros de ida y vuelta. A él le gusta las artes marciales, pero no estaba perdiendo peso, así que he añadido pesas dos veces por semana y bicicleta una vez, le enseño a utilizar las máquinas para que él se siente cómodo de ir al gimnasio. Le di una rutina fácil de la que puede seguir por su cuenta, que los hice con él un par de veces ahora vamos juntos pero yo hago lo mio y si tiene preguntas o necesita ayuda estoy disponible.

He aquí una muestra

Leg press 2X 14 repeticiones

Leg Curl 2X 14 repeticiones

Leg extension 2x 14 repeticiones

Chest press 14 repeticiones

Lat Pulldown 2x 14 repeticiones

Bíceps 2X 14 repeticiones

Tríceps 2x 14 repeticiones

2x 15 repeticiones abdominales

Ha venido conmigo durante dos semanas y que esta más seguro, no puedo decir que lo disfruta, pero ya no se queja tanto de ir.

Mi consejo para los principiantes que quieren correr es que empiezen a caminar, me gusta mucho el plan de entrenamiento de Jeff Galloway qye es de alternar correr y caminar.Como ya he dicho lo más importante al principio es hacer rutina. La duración de la caminata depende de su motivación y nivel de condición física que no hay excusas, todos sabemos cómo caminar.

Leticia es un nivel intermedio, su plan de entrenamiento es muy sencillo. Ella quiere correr 10 Km en 5 semanas, no es lo ideal para comenzar a entrenar sólo 5 semanas antes, pero ella está en forma y ya ha corrido esa distancia, los veranos son ocupados con la familia para que ella hace yoga generalmente en los veranos.

Su horario de entrenamiento es de alrededor de 3 kilómetros por día durante 5 días y una larga carrera de 6.5 kilometros el domingo y dos subiditas cortas añadido a la carrera miércoles, se pueden mezclar para caminar y correr.

El plan de Leticia es entrenamiento en circuito en mi casa con pesas y bandas de resistencia con 1 minuto de descanso entre series por un total de tres sets.



Lunges
burpees
bent over dumbell row
pushups
squats
v sits
triceps kick backs
Dumbbell shoulder press


Salta la cuerda por 5 minutos para calentar. le encanta el ritmo rápido y por lo general música latina por lo que se siente muy bootcamp, se aburre en el gimnasio, así que siga siendo divertido.

Mi hermana y yo entrenamos juntas, ella está en forma y muy motivada, su médico también le dijo que para bajar de peso, ella a estado haciendo las mismas cosas durante mucho tiempo por lo que su cuerpo se ha adaptado muy bien a la intensidad de entrenamiento.

Ella corre la misma distancia que Leticia, pero me llevó a correr conmigo a el monte y senderos. Tambien puede correr mas distancia que Leticia, 6.5 kilometros por día durante 3 días y dos días más de 4.5 kilometros.

Su entrenamiento de pesas era la rutina que hago, el día 1 parte superior del cuerpo, el día 2 parte inferior del cuerpo, el día 3 de descanso, el día 4 de cuerpo entero, el día 5 de descanso, el día 6 de cuerpo completo. En los dias de solo la parte superior por ejemplo trabajamos el mismo grupo muscular con 3 ejercicios distintos de el mismo grupo muscular tambien añadimos un ejercicio de núcleo dinámico o pliometría. Más deporte acondicionado. Como salto de banco despues de una session de squats.

Mi entrenamiento no fue como estaba previsto. Tenía la intención de una semana de 54 kilómetros y terminó manera corta, tuvo problemas físicos y mentales. Me decidí a ir sólo con lo que sentí, que terminé subiendome a la bicicleta un par de veces en vez de correr. Se supone que haria, 12 kilometros al dia con 24 el domingo. solo alcance a hacer 7 kilometros al dia ciando entrene a mi hermana.

mis hijos los dos se me enfermaron, Hans tenía una infección Streptocouccus y me mantuvo ocupada, Karl comenzó a tener sangrado de nariz que no pude parar asi que teve que ir a la sala de emergencias cuando llegué a casa y parecía una escena de pelicula de miedo. ( no se rio cuando le dije que parecia Jason de la pelicula Halloween) Si llevas a tu hijo a la sala de emergencias es mejor que el hable, la enfermera de la sala de emergencias me pidió que no hablara y le preguntó Karl las preguntas, ¿con qué frecuencia ocurren y con qué frecuente son tan graves? ¿Cuándo comenzó? Yo no podía recordar cuándo, pero Karl recordaba con claridad, en el grado 4, respondió, fue golpeado por una pelota de fútbol en el patio y luego empezo a tropezar con las cosas y paredes. Es cierto, esa fue la primera vez que me llamaron por Karl, que era la primera vez que los profesores me decían que algo andaba mal. Mi corazón se hundió. El siguiente en entrar en la sala de urgencias era un hombre de mi edad, iba acompañado por su familia, se notaba que estaba grave, su compañero habló este tiempo, él no habla Inglés. "Él es un alcohólico" Usted sabe que no somos un centro de rehabilitación, la enfermera dijo, le podemos estabilizar pero no puedo hacer más que eso. Nos sentamos en la sala de espera, ellos y nosotros, rodeados de tuallas llenas de sangre y cubetas para el vomito.. Quería ponerme de pie y golpe que el hombre, duro, lo golpearlo hasta hacerle daño, para preguntarle por qué, era físicamente perfecto, pero parecía decidido a tirar su vida a la basura. Pero no lo hize, su familia estaba en el dolor, y realmente no sé lo que es lo que le sucedia para conducirlo a ese punto en la vida.

Las próximas semanas voy a trabajar duro, quiero correr el campeonato de Badwater asi que necesito trabajar mucho. Espero que hayas encontrado algo que te pueda a ayudar con tu entrenamiento. Despues hablaremos de nutricion.

Are you ready?

If anybody ever asked what would be my most important personality trait it would be that I am incredibly naïve. I really believe that things are possible, even when confronted with hard fact of why I will never succeed as long as I can picture it clearly in my mind then is possible. Time and time I have succeed but most important time and time I have failed, is then when being naïve had helped me tremendously, when that happens I never hear, they are right, I hear, what went wrong and what do I do to improve it?

I came back from TransAlps believing that I am improving, that my running is getting stronger and that I am on the right path to a fantastic Badwater race if I am selected again. Even though I got sick, I finished closed to where I should be, after all, anybody who finished ahead of me was truly better, some will always be, but some where only better for the time being, and that’s why sports are fun, at least during training we can all dream that we are the world champions, Olympians, sure every time I go to a race I am proven wrong but when I am back home training I believe again I will be the one on the podium next. In real life I am single parent, over stretched and always worry about my next paycheque, in training I am the next big star.

Motivation number one, it allows me to dream.

I recently went out on a date, sure I been asked out before since Charlie and I broke up but this is the first time I actually went to my closet to find my “ date” clothes, which btw, they smelled funky, like they been on a box under my bed ‘cause they were. It was somebody I have known for a very long time, back when I was in sales and wore nice suits and expensive jewelry. We never really took the next step; even then I knew that our priorities were not the same. He is a very successful man, he had been married once and it helped him realized that family and kids was not what he wanted, sort of George Clooney. We sat there, at the restaurant, from the distance, maybe things hadn’t changed much but looking closely I have changed draatically. He was distracted by one thing, my funky bracelets, gone is the Tag Heuer. Replaced by a functional Timex Ironman. The red bracelet I wear is more a symbol than anything, when I was climbing Aconcagua, one of the guides was wearing a simple read thread around his left wrist, after a few days of being stuck on a tiny tent together, I finally asked why, he told me that his girlfriend was a very superstitious person, that this was his first job as an assistant guide, he had been a porter for 5 years prior and finally was promoted, his girlfriend had put it on to ward of jealousy and envy since the other porters where going to resent him for sure, he told me he thought it was all silly but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I am not superstitious, I lean more towards science, but I told him to take it that I meant that she care, let her love you, I told him. Last year every seemed to go wrong, my sister is very superstitious and was telling me all the things I needed to do to, I jokingly said that as things where going, I was willing to dance with a chicken under the moonlight, and while you are at it to put the read thread, she found a read thread on her sawing kit, as she was putting it around my arm I realized that she truly wished me a better life, I have had it ever since, I bought a more durable one in Spain on a recent trip, one for her one for me, Oprah and her friends might have their marching diamond rings, my sister Muneca and I have matching red bracelets. I after telling him my story I realized that nothing had changed, we were still not right for each other, “Your kids will be gone in a few years, can you imagine the trips we can take?” I told him that it would be more likely that I would then sell everything and move somewhere I can do the things that I love the most every day, trail run, climb and live a life of service, I can’t picture me living in Monaco.

That was a few days ago, today, I went out on the perfect date, a lot of sweating and little clothing on a beautiful trail, as I run, I felt strong, free, happy. We all get lonely sometime, but if I date or choose to be with somebody it will be because he is right for me not because I am lonely.

Motivation number two, running makes me happy

A lot of people know that my dad died very young, not a lot of people know of how he died, a massive heart attack. I was 11 years old, we were at the movies, I was sitting on his lap when he felt chest pain, and my mom and him left leaving me and my siblings to watch the rest of the movie. That was the last time I saw him. He died three days later my oldest brother was in the hospital room when it happened. My dad was 41 years old; he had been an alcoholic most of his life, finally quitting a few years before he died, he had a very troubled life, his escape had been alcohol all his life, he tried doing right by us, working hard to send us to private schools even though he didn’t earn much. After quitting his smoking increased and he seek comfort food. When he died, life got much harder, he left his young family very vulnerable, that is really when my nightmares began, I though the worse I was ever experience was watching my dad loose his temper against my sibling but unfortunately when it comes to evil, there are many shades. As a single parent I experience stress often, some are manageable some are overwhelming, by choosing a positive outlet I am looking after me and ultimately protecting my kids. It might seem hypocritical that the same woman who dreams of one day climbing K2 also worries about being there for my kids, there are not the same, my dad died of a destructive lifestyle and I found my passion. Sure, because of my kids I slowed down, you can have it all, just not at the same time. I am patient

Motivation number three, running allows me to have a positive outlet to stress.

I can go on and on, the more I give it meaning the more likely it is that I will stick to it. Your reasons might be very different than mine, what matters is, that they have meaning to you.
You can spend the rest of your life making excuses of why you never accomplished the things your always wanted or you can start working on the steps to get you there. Dreams don’t come with an expiry date.


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Estoy tan emocionada! vamos a cambiar nuestras vidas! Creo que el primer paso para cualquier cambio será el compromiso. Anthony Robins dijo una vez que nuestro comportamiento está guiado en dos principios simples, el de buscan el placer y / o evitar el dolor. Así que primero tenemos que estudiar en profundidad lo que consideramos el dolor y el placer. No hay ninguna razón para que te dé consejos sobre entrenamiento y nutrición, a menos que primero te convenzca de que el viaje a un mundo mejor, usted, yo, nosotros vale la pena.
Se podra difícil, a veces muy duro y más entre comprometidos que estemos los mejores serán las probabilidades de que usted tengamos éxito.

Yo me trato bien. No siempre fue así, muchas veces en mi vida que no me trata bien, no hay problema, lo que importa ahora es que finalmente me dije hasta aqui. Ese fue el primer paso de muchos a seguir. Con los años, cada paso en la dirección correcta consolidó mi camino.Así que echemos un vistazo a mi motivación.

Si alguna vez alguien le preguntó cuál sería mi rasgo de la personalidad más importante sería que soy muy ingenua. Realmente creo que las cosas son posibles, incluso cuando me enfrento a dura realidad de la razón por la que nunca tendrá éxito siempre y cuando me lo imagino con claridad en mi mente, entonces es posible. Muchas veces he tenido éxito, pero lo más importante es me michisimas mas he fallado, es entonces cuando ingenua me ha ayudado enormemente, cuando eso ha pasado nunca pienso, están en lo cierto, pienso, que salió mal y qué puedo hacer para mejorar?

Volví de TransAlps con la certitud de que estoy mejorando, que mi carrera es cada vez más fuerte y que estoy en el camino correcto a una carrera de Badwater fantástico si soy seleccionada de nuevo. A pesar de que me enfermé,terminó cerca a donde debo estar, después de todo, cualquiera que terminó por delante de mí era realmente mejor, algunos siempre lo será, pero algunos que sólo es mejor para el momento, y es por eso que los deportes son divertidos, por lo menos durante el entrenamiento es que todos podemos soñar que somos los campeones mundiales, olímpicos, cada vez que voy a una carrera me doy cuante que no es asi, pero cuando estoy de vuelta de entrenamiento en casa creo que de nuevo voy a ser la proxima en el podio. En la vida real yo soy madre soltera, muy ocupada y siempre se preocupada donde llegara mi proximo cheque de sueldo, cuando corro soy la próxima gran estrella.

Motivación número uno, que me permite soñar.

Hace poco fui a una cita, seguro de que me han invitado a salir desde antes de Charlie y yo rompimos nuestro compromiso, pero esta es la primera vez que realmente me fui a mi armario para buscar a mi ropa de salir, que por cierto, que olía a raro, como ha guardado, porque ahí la encontre en una caja debajo de mi cama . Se trataba de alguien que conozco desde hace mucho tiempo, cuando yo estaba en ventas y llevaban trajes buenos y joyas caras. En realidad, nunca llegamos a más, desde entonces yo sabía que nuestras prioridades no eran las mismas. Él es un hombre muy exitoso, que había estado casado una vez y le ayudó para darse cuenta de que la familia y los niños no era lo que el quería, una especie de George Clooney. Nos sentamos allí, en el restaurante, desde la distancia, tal vez las cosas no habían cambiado mucho, pero mirando de cerca yo que he cambiado drasticamente. Me di cuenta que se le quedaba viendo a mis pulseras, ya no uso el Tag Heuer. Ahora lo e reemplazado por un Timex Ironman muy funcional. La pulsera de color rojo que uso es más un símbolo que nada, cuando yo estaba subiendo el Aconcagua, una de las guías que llevaba un hilo simple rojo en su muñeca izquierda, después de unos días de estar atrapados en una tienda de campaña pequeña finalmente le pregunte por qué , me dijo que su novia era una persona muy supersticiosa, que este era su primer trabajo como asistente de guía, que había sido un portero durante 5 años antes y, finalmente, lo habian promovido, su novia se lo había puesto el hilo rojo para protejerlo de la envidia ya los porteros otros donde lo va a resentir con seguridad, me dijo que pensaba que era una tontería, pero no quizo herir sus sentimientos. No soy supersticiosa tampoco, me inclino más hacia la ciencia, pero yo le dije que para el significaba que ella lo queria mucho y queria protegerlo, dejate queres le dije. El año pasado casi todo me salio mal, mi hermana es muy supersticiosa y me contaba todas las cosas que tenía que hacer, en broma le dije que haria lo que quisiera cont al de perder la mala suerte, si quieres bailo con una gallina cuando salg ala luna llena! Ella me puso el hilo rojo, cuando lo estaba poniendo alrededor de mi brazo me di cuenta de que realmente me deseaba una vida mejor, lo he tenido desde entonces, me compré uno más duraderp en España en un viaje reciente, uno para ella para mí, Oprah y sus amigos pueden tener sus anillos de diamantes pero mi hermana y yo Muneca tenemos nuestras pulseras rojas. Cuando le conte la historia a mi cita me decirle que mi historia me di cuenta de que nada había cambiado, que todavía no eramos adecuados el uno para el otro ", pero tus hijos casi se van de tu casa en unos años, ¿te imaginas los viajes que se pueden tomar?" Yo le dije que sería lo más probable que cuando eso suceda lo mas probable es que vendere todo y me mude a algún lugar donde pueda hacer las cosas que más me gusta todos los días, correr en montaña, trepar y vivir una vida ayudando a otros. Eso fue hace unos días, hoy salí a la cita perfecta, sude mucho e use poca ropa en un bonito sendero, mientras corro, me sentía fuerte y feliz, libre. Todos nos sientimo solos en algún momento, pero nunca quisiera elegir a alguien por la soledad, solo sino porque es la persona adecuada para mi.

Motivacion número dos, correr me hace feliz

Mucha gente sabe que mi padre murió muy joven, no mucha gente sabe cómo murió, de un ataque masivo al corazón. Yo tenía 11 años, estábamos en el cine, yo estaba sentado en su piernas viendo la pelicula cuando sintió dolor en el pecho, mi mamá se lo llevo a casa dejandome a mí y mis hermanos para ver el resto de la película. Esa fue la última vez que lo vi. Murió tres días más tarde, mi hermano mayor estaba en la habitación del hospital cuando ocurrió. Mi papá tenia solo 41 años de edad, el había sido un alcohólico la mayoria de su vida, finalmente, dejar de beber unos cuantos años antes de morir, tuvo una niñez muy tragica, su escape había sido el alcohol durante toda su vida, trató de hacer lo correcto por nosotros, trabajandoduro para enviar a las escuelas privadas, aunque no ganaba mucho. Después de que dejo de tomar siguio fumando y comiendo mucho buscando refuguio a los demonios que lo consumian. Cuando murió dejó a su joven familia muy vulnerable, que es en realidad cuando mis pesadillas comenzaron. Y siempre pense que vivir con un padre alcolico seria lo peor que me succederia, pero desafortunadamente cuando se trata de maldad hay muchos matices. Como madre soltera que experimentan estrés con frecuencia, algunos se pueden controlar otros no. Es por eso que yo busco encontrar algo positivo que me mantenga de mente sana tambien. Por la elección de un escape positivo me estoy cuidando a mí y tambien protejo a mis hijos. Puedo parecer hipócrita que la misma mujer que sueña con un día en escalada K2 también se preocupa por ser buena madre para mis hijos, no es lo mismo, mi padre murió por su estilo de vida destructivo y en cambio me encontré mi pasión. Claro, porque de mis hijos, ahora no empaco todo y me voy a escalar las montañas mas peligrosas, se puede tener todo, pero no al mismo tiempo. Soy paciente

Motivación número tres correr me permite tener una salida positiva a la tensión.

Puedo seguir y seguir, entre mas razones pueden encontrar es mucho mas seguro que ustedes tengan éxito tambien. Sus motivaciones seran muy diferentes a las mías, lo que importa es, que tengan significado para ustedes.

Puede pasar el resto de su vida inventando excusas de por qué nunca has logrado las cosas que tu siempre has querido, o puede empezar a trabajar en los pasos para llegar hasta allí. Los sueños no vienen con una fecha de caducidad.

TransAlps race report

TransAlps Race

Just got back form TransAlps race. It was a race to remember.
I arrived in Kempen Germany a few days before the race; I was to meet my teammate for the first time in his hometown before heading to the race about 7 hrs away. I lot of people warned me against running such a grueling race with a stranger, even one of the race organizers wanted to make sure I understood that it was risky since on such events even the best of friends have disagreements. Even though I had a couple of minor problems with my teammate before the race I decided that since we had talked about expectations, I wasn’t fast, that he could do better if he wanted to place. My teammate said, “You have endurance, that’s all that matters.” So how bad could it be?

I loved Germany, people are friendly and everybody welcome me warmly, we did a couple of interviews, my teammate was know in his small town for having won the worlds triathlon for his age group a few years back as well as wining local races.
Problems really began once we started on the road to the race, I seemed whiny when I complained of long drives with just water and eating snacks, I have been know to be very cranky if don’t eat well, I really dislike junk, I crave kale and other veggies and salivate at the thought of quinoa with beans and nuts.

The race began at Oberstdof, Germany on Sat 3th, Stage one was a gentle 27.2 K with 1806 of elevation gain and 1496 of elevation lost finishing in the town of Hirschegg, Austria. I felt great that day, running hills has never been my strength and that day was no exception, when my teammate saw me run up hill for the first time he had the look of a man who just saw his girlfriend for the first time without her Victoria Secret’s push up bra, a bit disappointed. But on the downhill we caught up and finish a strong 31st team, now since I have run with some of the people on the race I knew that finishing 31st was a dream.

Stage 2 was a grueling 53.2K with 2481M of elevation gain and 2913M of elevation loss, I felt OK but for some reason I wasn’t as fast a s the day before, my legs where tired but on a long day especially so early on the race slowing down wasn’t too bad, it ended in Schruns, Austria.

Stage 3 was delayed due to bad weather and the stage was re routed but still was 43K long; I had a hard time, the wind the rain. Many people would quit these day, including Spain’s elite mountaineer Edurne Pasaban. We arrived cold and tired to Switzerland. We been camping and cabin fever was taking place significantly now, the excitement of the race was now over and the reality that we still had 5 more days of these was starting to weight in my teammate, he was unhappy and there was no holding back.

Stage 4 was 39.9K long with 2339M of elevation gain and 27M of elevation loss, the weather was milder but I felt tired and my stomach hurt like somebody punched me hard, it hurt to breath, I stayed behind with a group and that’s where I realized that a lot of people where feeling the same, some of the people on the back had done TransAlps before and place quite well but for some reason a lot of us feel sluggish and incredibly tired. The two Americans I was talking to both partners were out and were now on their own, slow but on their own, I tasted freedom,” you mean I can do that?” they say sure, a lot of team had now split for many reasons. My teammate caught up to me and I mention that we could do that, I said, “I know you been unhappy and that you where talking about how hard it was to go slow since you are use to running fast, I have a solution, we can become solo and we go our own place” this is what I said, I swear that you would have thought that I said “ you know teammate the girls and I where noticing how small your feet are, and you know what they say!” All the passive aggressiveness was now gone and it was full blown argument. He flipped.
Now, I usually keep details out of my blogs, I had a similar incident while climbing, is the very nature of doing something physically demanding and having different personalities causes frictions every time. I have thought about the incident many times, is not the argument is the words are spoken while angry that matter at the end. He called me a liar and a pretender, that stung, that if he had know that I was such a terrible climber as well as a slow runner he would never have asked me to come, I didn’t want to run the race with a stranger, I said no for about 6 months, repeatedly telling him that there were many better runners than me, but he didn’t want to hear it,” you have endurance, that’s all that matters” he said. Eventually I said yes, after all it was TransAlps race and I have always wanted to run it.

Later I found that he had heard about me through an article at Runners World magazine, unknown to me. The article refers to me as an elite ultrarunner, that’s why I shun the world athlete when talking about me, I am average at best and I don’t mind it one bit. I am average on a not so average group, the ultrarunners. I was ready to pack and go home, except for feeling lousy that day, I thought we where doing great, I recognized a lot of the runners and knew it was a very elite group, plus yelling at your teammate on day 4 of 8 days was a bit premature, like yelling at your pregnant wife for being the fattest at the delivery room, long ways to go I thought. I didn’t take it lying down, the old me would have try to smooth it over and try to get thought, now I didn’t put up with it one bit. Eventually I told him that it was possible to finish as a team but we could never be friends afterwards. Advise to guys, in an argument, stick to the issue; this is not the time to tell her that you hate her mother as well. We arrived In Scuol, Switzerland second last and I moved to camp with the other runners and left him to car camp with his friend.

Stage 5 was a short day, 6K but vertical, the nice thing was that we not only got to sleep in a bit, we also stayed at the same town for a couple of nights, it was nice to have some time to sightseeing. It was a great day for my teammate; he was able to run hard like he had wanted, I felt better now that I was able to sleep and eat when I wanted, car camping with my teammate and his friend meant that I had to ask when I needed something, and often I had to wait until they where ready to help me.

TransAlps organizers and volunteers are among the best I have seen. They accommodated our needs fast and without a hassle, not easily done when you have such large group but it always felt like a local 5k to me not like the large elaborate event like it was.

The next few stages where my favourite, I was now feeling stronger and healthier, it still hurt to breath deeply but it was not as strong, I started to take Ginko Biloba, something that I use when I mountaineer, it suppose to help with altitude, Stage 6 was 37K and 1332M elevation gain and 1474 of elevation loss, we where now running up one mountain, the past stages we had to run up two or three, and the downhill was dreamy, I have always loved running downhill, is my favourite, is like dancing, by now my teammate was starting to feel fatigue, and I was feeling better, I could see the face of disappointed when I caught up to him quickly, the downhill was 16K, we later laughed because he was actually begging for an uphill so I could slowdown, he run downhill well but he was far from light. All I could think when I heard the pounding was” ouch, he will hurt tomorrow” this stage was also the most beautiful. We entered Italy though a canyon. These are the moment where I feel, this is why I do it, not the version of non runners, the addiction, the runners high, so many times I have wish for a runners high, no luck, mostly is painful but if you let go and relax then something happens, after so many days of being in pain and having everything hurt, it didn’t, I felt great, running to feel better after being sore from running, too long, like drinking alcohol to cure I hangover I thought.
The body is a wonderful machine, it will adapt to the changes and excel, we don’t stop exercising because we are to old, we grow old because we stop exercising.

Stage 7 was the stage that I feared the most, we had to climb to over 3000M that day, I hardly slept fearing timing out. We started in Mals at 8am as usual. That day more people quit, the leading Salomon ladies, quit because of injury I was told, also many people simply couldn’t face one more long day and simply walked away, there are never right or wrongs, we all reach different breaking points. It was not mine yet. You have no idea ho wit felt to stand on top of that big mountain with plenty of time to spare, and nothing but downhill ahead, I caught up to my teammate and decided on the plan to run without stopping on the last aid station and run straight to Schanders.

With stage 7 behind and only stage 8 to finish, I felt pretty confident about finishing as long as we didn’t fall and break anything. At only 30K and 1700 it was a fast day, by now the pain was completely gone and I could take full breath, no more painful shallow breaths. The climb went fast and stayed with my partner most of the time or not far behind, by now I was observing other people around me to figure out the best way to go up and realized that the best runners where hunched over when climbing, I became the Hunchback of Notre Dame and climbed faster than I had, finally I was getting a hold of things and it was my last day, the excitement, the beauty of the mountain, I run the hardest I have run in a while, I guess you can say I experience the runners high, I was 100% taken by that moment, nothing else matter, not the early struggles, the pain, nothing, I felt completely taken by that moment. We run that day the best we had done, 272K. I think we all operated on a high that day, in spite of passing over 200 runners on the last 18k we still crossed the finish line 38th mixed team. I didn’t care one bit, I was happy to be there, to have done. My teammate was finally happy, I had run him into submission; finally he had a bit of what he had been searching on a partner. I cant help if he felt disappointed, if he looked at me and realized, that he was capable of doing the same things that I had done, that I was not extraordinary or especial. I didn’t feel regret or embarrassment, yes, he could do it, the only difference between him and I was that I HAD done it. You know when people said that they hate certain painter’s work because it looks like something they could do? Well, you didn’t and that’s the difference. That what I teach my kids, the world belongs to the once that dare, talent is nothing if you are unwilling to do the work.

Everybody wants to learn a new language, very few people are willing to do what’s necessary to learn it, I speak three only because I am not afraid of making a fool of myself and I am willing to work hard.

I could show you lots of pictures of the race but there is one that I love the most, the one that will stay with me. Is the face of the last person to cross the finish line, the last person to complete the race, you can see the sweepers behind her, celebrating her, I stood there watching arrive, you could see she was using every ounce of energy and courage to continue, I saw her the day I got sick, she was struggling, a lot of us struggled one time or an other, for her, the struggle was daily but she continued, I had face a day where I didn’t know if I could do it and it was scary, she did the race everyday afraid yet she choose to continue and give her best anyway. I stood there yelling, “ you are amazing” and I meant it/ It’s a shame that some people will never learn that as much as I admire all the people that stood on the podium at the awards dinner, I admire people like her too, how could I be disappointed of anything Sure I came motivated and excited to train after all I want to see my best, what that is will not be up to me, if I go to my next race and I am the woman on the picture I hope you will know that I will feel noting more than amazing. Go and take chances, you can spend the rest of your life waiting for the right moment but maybe the right moment is now. Go and take chances, you can spend the rest of your life waiting for the right moment but maybe the right moment is now. fear can hold you back if you let it paralyze you or it could be the force that drives you, I can tell you that i fear more not trying that not succeeding.

Acabo de volver de la carrera TransAlps. Ha sido una carrera para recordar.
Llegué a Kempen Alemania unos días antes para encontrarme con mi compañero de equipo por primera vez en su ciudad natal antes de dirigirnos a la carrera alrededor de 7 horas de distancia. Muchas personas me advirtieron que no hiciera la carrera con un desconocido, especialmente una carrera agotadora y dificil como el TransAlps, incluso uno de los organizadores de la carrera quería asegurarse de que yo entendía que era arriesgado, pues en tales eventos, incluso los mejores amigos tienen desacuerdos. A pesar de que había un par de problemas menores con mi compañero de equipo antes de la carrera, decidí que ya que había hablado acerca de las expectativas, que no soy muy veloz, que incluso él podría hacerlo mejor si fuera con otra corredora. Mi compañero dijo: "Usted tiene la resistencia, que es lo que importa." Entonces, ¿que malo podía suceder?

Me encantó Alemania, la gente es amable y todo el mundo me dio una calurosa bienvenida,hicimos un par de entrevistas, mi compañero de equipo era conocido en su pueblo por haber ganado el triatlón mundos para su grupo de edad hace unos años, así como ganar carreras locales.
Problemas realmente comenzó una vez que empezamos en el camino a la carrera, a el le pareci un poco enfadosa cuando me quejaba de sed y hambre, si me conocen saben que me pongo de muy mal humor si no como bien, no me gusta la chatarra, me encantan los vegetales.

La carrera comenzó en Oberstdof, Alemania, el sáb 3 º, la primera etapa fue corta, solo 27,2 K, con 1.806 de subida y 1.496 de desnivel acabo en la ciudad de Hirschegg, Austria. Me sentí muy bien ese día, correr montañas nunca ha sido mi fuerza y ese día no fue la excepción, cuando mi compañero me vio correr cuesta arriba por primera vez, tenía el aspecto de un hombre que acaba de ver a su novia por primera vez sin su super sosten de Victoria Secret un poco decepcionado. Pero en el descenso nos pusimos al día y un final fuerte 31o equipo, ya que he corrido con algunas de las personas en la carrera asi que sabía que terminar 31 fue un sueño.

La etapa 2 fue un 53.2K agotador con 2481M de desnivel y 2913M de la pérdida de altura, yo me sentía bien, pero por alguna razón que no corri tan rápido como el día anterior, las piernas cansadas, pero donde en un día especialmente tan temprano en la carrera de desaceleración no fue tan malo, terminamos en Schruns, Austria.

La etapa 3 se retrasó debido al mal tiempo, pero todavía fue de 43K, tuve un momento difícil, el viento la lluvia. muchas personas abandonarían la carrera ese día, incluyendo la élite alpinista de España Edurne Pasaban. Llegamos con frío y cansado a Suiza. Estabamos acampando y ahora el estar durmiendo en un camper se estaba haciendo insoortable, la emoción de la carrera había terminado y la realidad de que todavía tenía 5 días más de ellos fue a partir del peso de mi compañero de equipo, no estaba contento y no había vuelta atrás.

Etapa 4 se 39.9K largo con 2339M de desnivel y 27 millones de la pérdida de altitud, el clima era más suave, pero me sentí cansada y me dolía el estómago como si alguien me hubiera golpeó duro, me dolía respirar, yo me quedé con un grupo y ahí es donde yo se di cuenta de que mucha gente se sientia igual, algunas de las personas en la parte posterior había hecho antes TransAlps e uncluso habian quedado en un lugar bastante bien, pero por alguna razón muchos de nosotros nos sentimos muy débil y cansados. Las dos estadounidenses que estaba conversando conmigo ese dia sus parejas estaban fuera y ahora, ahora corrian pos su propia cuenta .sentí el sabor de la libertad ", quiere decir que puedo hacer eso?", Dicen que, una gran cantidad de equipo se habían separado ya de muchos razones. Cuando alcanze a mi compañero le comente que podiamos corer individual: "Sé que estas frustado y que donde dijiste que era difícil que ir despacio ya que estas acostumbrado a correr rápido, tengo una solución, podemos llegar a ser solista y seguir a solas.", esto es lo que le dije, te juro que por la reaccion de el crearas que nos estabas riendo de el, comos si enlugar de eso le dije” Hey estabas comentando que tienes el pie chico y ya sabes lo que dicen! "Toda la agresividad pasiva se fue y todo el renconr salio a la superficie. por lo general trato de no hablar mucho de los detalles de mi blog, tuve un incidente similar cuando escale Mt McKinley, es la naturaleza de hacer algo físicamente exigente y con personalidades diferentes causas fricciones en todo momento.He pensado en el incidente en muchas ocasiones, no es el argumento son las palabras que se hablan con la cabeza caliente que al final cuenta. Él me llamó mentirosa y farsante, que si él hubiese sabido que yo era una corredora tan mala nunca me han pedido que venga, yo no quería correr la carrera con un extraño, le dije que no por unos 6 meses, en repetidas ocasiones le decía que había muchos corredores mejores que yo, pero él no quería oír ", que tiene resistencia, que es lo que importa", dijo. Finalmente le dije que sí, después de todo era la carrera deTransAlps y siempre la habia querido correr.

Más tarde me enteré de que había oído hablar de mí a través de un artículo en la revista Runners World, algo que no sabia .El artículo se refiere a mí como una ultra corredor élite, es por eso que no me gusta que me llamen atleta y menos elite, a mi me encant acorrer y participo en muchas carreras pero no soy de las mejores. Ese dia despues de el pleito, Yo estaba lista para empacar y regresar a mi casa, me senti mal ese día, además gritar a su compañero de equipo el día 4 de 8 días fue un poco prematuro, como gritarle a su esposa embarazada por ser el más gorda en la sala de partos, deje de corer y camine el resto de la carrera ese dia. Finalmente le dije que era posible correrla hasta el final como un equipo, pero nunca podríamos ser amigos después. Llegamos a Scuol, Suiza casi al último s y yo me mudamos al campo con los otros corredores.

Etapa 5 fue un día corto, 6K, pero vertical, lo bueno fue que pudimos dormir un poco, también nos quedariamos en la misma ciudad durante un par de noches, que era bueno tener algo de tiempo para hacer turismo. Fue un gran día para mi compañero de equipo, pudo correr duro como él quería, me sentía mejor ahora que yo era capaz de dormir y comer cuando quería, cuando acampaba con mi compañero y su amigo pedir Cuando necesitaba algo.
Los oganizadores deTransAlps y voluntarios son de los mejores que he visto. Nos falicitaban ayuda a nuestras necesidades rápidamente y sin ningún problema, no seria fácil de hacer cuando se tiene gran grupo tal, pero siempre me sentí como si estuviera corriendo una carreara local de 5k en lugar de una carrera tan elaborada como esa.

Las próximas etapas fueron mi favoritas, me estaba sintiendo más fuerte y saludable, aun así me dolía al respirar profundamente, me dolia menos, comencé a tomar Ginko Biloba, algo que uso cuando escalo, se supone que debe ayudar con la altitud , Stage 6 era 37K y desnivel 1332M y 1474 de la pérdida de altura, que donde ahora subiendo una montaña, las etapas anteriores tuvimos que correr dos o tres, y la bajada fue de ensueño, siempre me ha gustado correr en bajada, es mi favorito, es como bailar, por ahora mi compañero de equipo estaba empezando a sentir la fatiga, y me sentí mejor, pude ver la cara de decepción cuando me reuní con él rápidamente, el descenso fue de 16K, que más tarde se echó a reír, porque en realidad estaba pidiendo una cuesta arriba para que yo pudiera desaceleración, que correr cuesta abajo bien, pero estaba lejos de ligero. Todo lo que podía pensar cuando oí los golpes era "le va a doler todo hoy en la noche!", esta etapa fue también la más hermosa. Entramos en Italia a través de un cañón. Estos son los momentos donde me siento feliz, donde se porque me gsta tanto esto. no la versión de los no corren, que es adicción, no es una adiccion, es passion!, me empeze a sentí muy bien, despues de sentirme mal por corer tantos dias, lo que necesite fuen corer mas! como beber alcohol para curar la Resaca.
El cuerpo es una máquina maravillosa, que se adaptará a los cambios y sobresale, no dejamos de hacer ejercicio, porque estamos a los viejos, nos ponemos viejos porque dejamos de hacer ejercicio.

Etapa 7 fue el escenario que más temía, que teníamos que subir a más de 3000m de ese día, casi no dormía por temor a tiempo de espera. Empezamos en Mals a las 8 am como de costumbre. Ese día, más personas abandoraron la carrera, como el equipo femenino Salomon, debido a una lesión me dijeron, también muchas personas simplemente no podía soportar un día más largo y simplemente renunciaron ese dia, todos tenemos un punto de ruptura. No fue el mío todavía. No tienen n idea como me senti cuando puse pie en la cima de esa montaña grande, y lo que restaba de el dia era mi parte favorita, la bajada. me encontré a mi compañero corrimos el resto de la etapa sin parar hasta que llegamos a Schanders.

Con la etapa 7 y sólo detrás de la etapa 8 hasta el final, me sentí muy segura de terminar con tal de que no me cayera y me rompiera nada. En 1700 sólo 30K y fue un día mas facil, ya que el dolor había desaparecido por completo y pude recuperar el aliento completo, sin dolor. El ascenso fue rápido, los ultimo’s dias estuve observando a otras personas a mi alrededor para encontrar la mejor manera de ir hacia arriba y me di cuenta de que los mejores corredores se jorobaban al subir, me convertí en el jorobado de Notre Dame y subi más rápido los ultimo’s dias. El último día, la emoción, la belleza de la montaña se apodero de mi el100%. Me olvide de los pelitos el dolor, nada más importo,

Corrimoss ese díade lo mejor. Pero a pesar de pasar más de 200 corredores en los última 18k cruzamos la meta como equipo mixto 38. No me importaba lo más mínimo, yo estaba feliz de estar allí,. Mi compañero de equipo fue finalmente feliz,

Que lastima que el se sintio defraudo, decepcionado,el se dio cuenta de que él era capaz de hacer las mismas cosas que yo había hecho, que yo no era extraordinaria o especial. No me sentía remordimiento o vergüenza, sí, que podía hacerlo, la única diferencia entre él y yo era que yo ya lo había hecho. Usted sabe cuando la gente dice que odia el trabajo de pintor como picasso, ya que se ve como algo que podía hacer. Bueno, no lo hizo y esa es la diferencia. Les enseño a mis hijos, el mundo pertenece a los que se atreven ha vivir plenamente y no le tienen miedo al trabajo duro. el talento no es nada si no estás dispuesto a luchar duro.

Todo el mundo quiere aprender un nuevo idioma, muy pocas personas están dispuestas a hacer lo necesario para aprenderlo, hablo tres, porque yo no tengo miedo de hacer el ridículo, y estoy dispuesto a trabajar duro.

Podría enseñarte un montón de fotos de la carrera, pero hay una que más me gusta, la que va a quedarse conmigo. Es la cara de la última persona en cruzar la meta, la última persona en completar la carrera, se puede ver las barredoras detrás de ella, la celebración de ella, yo la vi llegar, con el rostro de determinacion y el coraje para continuar, yo la vi el día que no me senti bien, ella ya cansada, para mi solo fue un dia largo, para ella, la lucha era a diario, pero, continuó, ella decide continuar y dar lo mejor de ella de todos modos. Cuando paso frente a mi le grite, "eres increíble" y lo dije en serio /¿cómo puedo estar decepcionada si das lo mejor de ti que esperas ve I toma roesgos. Da lo mejor de ti no esperes. Puedes pasar el resto de su vida esperando el momento adecuado, pero tal vez el momento es ahora.

new website

Hi everybody. to simplify my life and to make it easier to share, I am now blogging on my website, this page remains live the same way i keep all my journals. It been am amazing journey and it just keep getting better and better.
I am off to TransAlps tomorrow. Wish me luck and visit my website if you want to read about my 70k run yesterday the Great Canadian Race from Squamish to Whistler go to my new blog here

MEN WANTED…For Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success…(Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Ad)

Things are settling down after the madness of the Oprah Winfrey Network, slow down in terms of exposure,"back to normal" for me is back to training and working hard.
I am grateful for it,there are some things that i can't seem to stop thinking though,I was happy with the results of the documentary, it was positive and great exposure for the charities. One thing that I didn't predict was that some members of my family would end up being disappointed in me.
When the news reach my home town I did and interview, the final result was fantastic, not entirely accurate, I haven't summit all the peaks for example but overall the tone was right. When the reporter asked me about my childhood in Mexico I made the comment that it was humble, we didn't have a lot, something that was true,that didn't go well with some members of my family. My mom's family are well off, she was brought up on a comfortable environment but she married a very poor man,while her family had money, we didn't, not biggie, in my mind i had all the basic necessities. A lot of it was hand me downs some from my moms wealthier cousins but to a child that never matters, except for the fact that I have more male cousins than female so when the boxes arrived my better looking sisters got the girls clothing leaving me with boys clothes, I was dressed as a boy until about 12.
But some families don't like to talk about it, is shameful, I wonder what my mom would say if it became known that my father was a raging alcoholic? oops.
This is the life that shaped me, I loved my dad but that didn't changed the fact that I also feared him, that the years he was sober, two, before he died of a massive heart attack where the best of my life.
But families like to keep things like that secret, don't air your dirty laundry, is nobodies business. I am going to tell you the problem with that.

I am more proud of my mom and my siblings for doing it in spite of everything, they taught me to move on, to stop wishing for things to be different and just deal with what you have. Is very weird to be embarrassed for not having much, there is no shame on that, I would be more embarrassed if I had been raised with money but was not a decent person.
I know that by sometimes being very direct I hurt people that are close to me, but I realized that the people who benefit the most of my blog are the most vulnerable, sometimes I am like a Wedding publication, you need me for a short period of time, and sometimes is a deeper relationship. I once met a woman who suffer from depression who could quote entire pasagges from this blog.

So why? the problem with secrets is the shame, there is no secret that I have been attacked several times, more then I care to name, while that is traumatic enough, the most damage was done on how it was handle it, some people genuinely thought that they were protecting, we all know that once you open up about abuse your life and decisions get questioned,the most humiliating moment have been after the attack, friends refusing to take me to the police because some where illegal, the police in Japan parading my dress and telling me that no wonder I had been dragged from the streets. For the record the dress made me look very pretty but it was far from trashy, but that should never be an issue. In Singapore for example, when an intruder broke into my hotel room the Police scolded me for not wearing pajamas to bed,they knew because i ended up running out of my room to find help, sadly a woman is not safe at home either. On every occasion the attacker could have been found and prosecuted but none of them were,partly because I behave like a victim, once attacked, full of shame I never pursue it farther as soon as they start blaming me for it.
And this is where the problem lies, I have so far been safe, and i think it comes with making the decision that never again will I be let victimized,I don't have to be afraid to go out, or to wear make up, that is also a behavior of a victim,is never your fault, of course I practice common sense but there was a period of my life that going to the store in daylight made me hyperventilate,never again but if am ever attacked i will stand up for myself no matter what, I think that that is making me less of a target, is well researched that a woman that shows confidence has less chances of being picked.

You matter, we all do, I have been playing with the idea of writing a book for a while,I have been approached several times, but to me it has to be meaningful, not about telling people all the things I have accomplished, but it should be about convincing the reader that no matter the circumstances happiness is possible.

That is why is so important to do everything in my power to make sure my kids have the life they desire, I want them to feel that they matter, that nobody has the right to take their dreams away or hurt them on any possible way, physical or emotional.
Why do it by ultrarunning or climbing? Adventure is a true sign of emotional health, it serves no purpose other than to feel alive, we don't dare to dream when our bare necessities are not been met. To somebody who is in a tough place getting out of bed is a struggle, forget convincing that person to run a marathon, but i want to show them that getting out of bed is not only possible, making it all the way up Everest is also possible and fun.

So go ahead, you matter, dream hard, don't let anybody tell you different.

Que locura, todo esta volviendo a la normalidad después de la locura de el documental de Oprah Winfrey, aunque normalidad signifique que estoy otra vez ocupada entrenando y trabajando.

Pero me alegra porque eso es lo que me gusta mas de todo lo que ago, hay uans cosas que me preocupan, estas últimas semanas, yo esta muy feliz con los resultados del documental, la exposición fue positiva y grande para las organizaciones benéficas. Una cosa que yo no predijo que algunos de los miembros de mi familia se sintieran decepciónados.
cuando la noticias llegar a Mexico e hice la entrevista, el resultado final fue fantástico, no del todo exacta, no he echo cumbre a todos los picos todavia por ejemplo, pero el tono general fue muy bueno. Cuando el periodista me preguntó sobre mi infancia en México yo le respondi de que habia sido humilde, algo que era cierto, pero algunos miembros de mi familia se ofendieron. La familia de mi mamá biene de dinero, ella se crió en un ambiente cómodo, pero se casó con un hombre muy pobre, mientras que su familia tenía dinero, nosotros no lo tuvimos hasta que pudimos trabajar por nuestra cuenta,la verdad que yo no recuerdo mi niñez con carencias, todo la basico que nesesitamos lo tuvimos, no fue hasta que ya era mayor que me di cuenta.

Pero algunas familias no se acostumbra hablar de eso, es una vergüenza, me pregunto lo que mi madre habría dicho si se sabe que mi padre fue un alcohólico? oops.
Esta es la vida que me formaron, a mi padre lo quize mucho pero eso no cambia el hecho de que yo también le temía, que los años en los que vivio sobrio, dos, antes de morir de un ataque al corazón, fueron los mejor de mi vida.
Pero en familias esas cosas se mantienen en secreto, la ropa sucia se lava en casa. Voy a decirte el problema con eso.

Estoy más orgullosa de mi mamá y mis hermanos por haberme dado todo lo que necesite a pesar de todo, me enseñaron a seguir adelante, a dejar de desear que las cosas sean diferentes y luchar con con lo que tiengo. Es muy extraño que te sientas avergonzado por no tener dinero, no hay vergüenza en eso, a mi me daria mas verguenza si tuviera dinero, pero no fuera una persona decente.
Sé que a veces por ser muy directa lastimo a las personas que están cerca de mí, pero me di cuenta de que las personas que más se benefician de mi blog son los más vulnerables, a veces soy como una publicación de bodas, si me necesitan para un período corto aqui estoy, ya veces es una relación más profunda. Una vez conocí a una mujer que sufre de depresión que podría recitar mis palabras de este blog.

Entonces ¿por qué? el problema con los secretos es la vergüenza, no es ningún secreto que yo he sido atacada vilentamente varias veces, más de lo que quisiera acordarme, mientras que es bastante traumático, el mayor daño se hizo en la forma en que se manejo, algunas personas se pensaba realmente que estaban protegiendome,muchas veces la persona que pone denuncia es atacada personalmente, el momento más humillante han sido después de los ataques,amigas que se niegaron a llevarme a la policía porque en algúnas de ellas eran ilegales, la policía en Japón desfilando mi vestido y preguntandome, este vestido TAN corto traias? Que conste el vestido no era muy provocativo, tal vez un poco llamativo pero eso no es el caso. En Singapur, por ejemplo, cuando un intruso entró en la habitación del hotel la Policía me regañó por no dormir con pijama, se enteraron porque al despertar sali corriendo para buscar ayuda.lamentablemente la mujer no está segura en su casa tampoco. En cada ocasión, el atacante podría haber sido encontrados y procesados ​​pero ninguno de ellos lo hicieron, en parte porque me comporte como una víctima, una vez que me empezaron a decier que en parte yo habia tenid la culpa yo llena de vergüenza decidi no seguir con la denuncia.

Y aquí es donde radica el problema, un dia decidi que nunca jamas me hiba a dejar que me trataran asi, nunca jamas sere víctima, no tengo porque que tener miedo a salir , pero si alguna vez mas sere atacada te aseguro que jamas dejare que nadie me trate asi,lo mas curios es que desde el momento que decidi eso no he estado en peligro mas, hay estadisticas que dicen que si una mujer da un aire de autoridad tiene menos posibilidad de ser abusada.

Tengo tiempo pensando hacerca de que sera el libro que escribire, si lo voy a hacer quiero que sea para ayudar a las personas que lo necesiten.Tratar de convencerlos que no importa las circumstancias tu te mereces ser feliz.

Por eso es tan importante hacer todo a mi alcance para asegurarme de que mis hijos tengan la vida que se merecen, quiero que se sientan que son importantes, que nadie tiene el derecho destrozar sus sueños o hacerles daño físico o emocional.
¿Por qué ultramaratón o escalar? Aventura es un verdadero signo de la salud emocional, no tiene otro proposito que por divercion y para sentirse vivos, trata de convencer a una persona que esta deprimida a que quiera correr un maraton. Pero si ellos me ven que tan lejos he llegado desde donde se encuentran espero que se decidan a soñar.

Así que adelante, que importa, sueña, no permitas que nadie diga que no puedes.

I am Ironman

I am so glad i survived Ironman. I had so many doubts about coming to Texas to do my first Ironman, when I registered for it i just sold my house had some extra cash and i was sure i was going to be able to train for it properly, then life happened.
Every race has been less than ideal this year, i decided that since the last two years I was busy doing all the races and climbs to help the charities i had to put my kids needs on the side so now they come first, life is all about balance, while my kids don't expect me to drop everything for them all the time they are times that they do, now is one of those times, recently i have slept little worrying about my kids, Karl's eye condition and Hans strong personality,I get to see their teacher more often than the gym now days, Karl's teachers worry that he is falling behind, while he stands strong saying that they are overreacting that he is doing just fine, Hans teacher has long conversations with me about him been uninterested in class, of course we both know he discovered that girls don't really have the cooties.
So the best thing to do is to let go and work with what I have, running is still my priority so most of the time was spend running, the other available time was to add some biking or swimming, it was very rare to have a week when I had a chance on doing all three sports.
I arrived in Houston with my kids, the reason why I choose Ironman Texas was because my ex husband lives here, sort of, he lives in Tunisia but has a house in Houston so who was going to be looking after my kids was solved, place to stay was also solved and last he could buy all of us tickets with his miles, with limited money this was too hard to resist, also is one of those opportunities that my kids adore, when both parents are at the same time together, something that my kids cherish and my ex and I tolerate, I strongly believe on maintaining a relationship with the father of my kids something that has cause me a share of arguments on my relationships.

I was very worry about not making the time limit, on the flight I was telling Hans about this but he had a pep talk with me, it is fantastic, Hans was telling me that I could do it, that at least I had to show up and try my hardest, by him voicing those words they would be forever imprinted on his brain, those words had a deep meaning now. I was feeling very confident now until we pass through immigration, as usual the officers wanted to know the reason for a our trip, Ironman, I replied, he looked at me and without smile said," You don't look like an Ironman" I wanted to say a lot of things, that I run ultras and all that but the truth was that I had never done Ironman so that was true,Hans however had something to say "you don't know my mom" that's all he said, Karl had a big grin. I just realized how deeply our bond is and that they are proud of me just like I am of them. Ironman was going to be hard but to teach my kids valuable lessons was very worth it. I know how they will remember me. Go through your pictures, the ones that will remain when you are gone, they will tell your story, how many are of you holding a drink or sitting on the couch? I can tell you that I have very few of those.

The welcome dinner was different than the usual than ultraraces, you could sense of pride in he room, you belonged to an elite private club. I sat with some strangers, three of us were about to do Ironman for the first time, the rest were veterans, of course the veterans wanted give us advise, the really fit veterans always said, "you will be OK, you have 16hrs to finish, plenty of time" the not so fit ones, the ones that sneaked by more than once had a different view, to them even attempting Ironman you had to prove that you were worthy of calming such title. Talking to one of them in particular, a middle age man on my table, it felt more like and interrogation than a conversation,"So of course you done at least done a half", wow, you must have an incredible coach then if you feel confident that you can finish" "a group to train with? "No?!, why would you think you will have a chance!" by now he was clearly annoyed, middle age who brought a date to the dinner clearly to impress her, judging by his clothes and physique he had more money than athletic abilities. I told him that i run far not caring to chat with him anymore, Mr.CEO was determined to not let it go, I could tell that people around him had to prove themselves to him. Well, how many of your races last for 12hrs." you are right,not many, most of them are over 24hrs, I cant believe that I will be home tonight after ONLY 12 hrs. this will be a treat to me.
Of course i was very intimidated by Ironman but i was not about to let him know of that.

Race day came, Saturday 5am about 2600 competitors stood at Woodlands Lake for the 2.4 mile swim, because of the water temperature reach the high temperatures they call for a non wetsuit swim but you had the option to use a wetsuit and not be considered for placing of Kona slots, since there was not a fat chance of that happening and I needed all the help in the water i decided to go on the wetsuit corral with about 500 others. I was dreading the swim, i was close to tears when lady standing close to me notice my nervousness and held my hands and said a prayer, then at 7, 10 minutes after the pro start we were off, I stayed behind to avoid been trampled since i knew I was going to be on the back, I alternating from free style and breast stroke,I had tried swimming the distance at my community pool, but things are different, there was some talk this morning at the awards ceremony that the course was probably marked wrong and had been longer than usual, i would not find out about this until the next morning.I tried my best but it seem to go on for ever,as we were coming into the finals stretch I could hear people screaming I thought they were cheering but they were basically telling us to keep going or we would time out, this was going to be a very familiar scenario through the race. I was so glad to be out of the water 2 hrs and 14 minutes later,but now the next part was going to be just as tough,I had not done a ride longer than 60 miles.

Although they called for thundershowers it was just overcast and no rain, it was still warm but the sun was hiding behind the clouds and I was so thankful, I had a hard time from the begin, my arms ache form the swim and my neck too from cranking my neck to see where I was going on the water, I was already 25 minutes more out of transition that I had originally anticipated so I just suck it out and try to go hard, I kept playing two mantras on my head to overcome the fatigue, " you don't know my mom" and 'I am Ironman" I wanted more than anything to tell my kids that I did it, they believe i could, obviously the distance wasn't going to be an issue but ability was, at the 60 mile turn around and first cut out, i made it with 5 minutes to spare,I did calculations on the speed i was keeping and knew it was going to be tight, I went hard again, every time a looked at the 10 mile markers i had to smile, this was the farthest I had ever gone, I pedaled hard again leaving behind all the excuses that I wanted to give to not come to the race, also behind were the tears that I shed out of frustration the last few months. I reached transition in 8 hrs and 14 minutes with 10 minutes to spare, I was the last one to make it, everybody behind me had either drop out or timed out, I have never work so hard to be allowed to run a marathon, finally things were fine, I knew there was not way i was going to time out anymore, for the first time I relaxed.

It was almost 6pm but it was still very hot and humid, the course was a 3 loop course with aid stations every mile or so. It seem the whole town was out, it was like been in Boston, the music the people cheering, music everywhere. I want to thank people that make signs for their friends, o runner name Brent had his friends and family go to a lot or trouble to make some amazing ones, " 112 mile bike ride, because 110 would be wimpy" " congratulations, you made it to Ironman, bad news you are now broke"
I was happy to make for some of the lost time, I fell good enough to run, lots of people were walking by now, the heat seemed unbearable, the air stations were offering iced sponges and had hoses out to spray us, in Ironman lingo, the run is the hardest, your quads are thrashed and the body has been pushed to the max and you still have 26 miles to go, is here on the run where I saw lots of people collapse, stumble and drop in front of me, the sounds of sirens was constant through my run, 15hrs 26 minutes total I crossed the finish line and it was the best feeling, made even better by having my kids watch me, I can't tell my kids that they can do anything, I have to show them.
I loved everything about Ironman, the thrilled the fast pace the aura, I don't think that I will be doing an other full unless I train harder, but I can see me doing half's for fun,I like doing to many other things than to focus on just one sport.
I have been wondering many times when I am just to overwhelmed with everything that its time to hang the racing flats, why compete, why not just train that way there is no pressure but races give me the peace i seek, no matter how hard my life gets out there it doesn't matter,we are all equal, no status, no race, no background of course were you place is many times determined by one or all of the factors but at the starting line we are all the same, after crossing the finish line we all win at some level. To me knowing that I am shaping my kids life in a positive way its most valuable than a gold medal.

Estoy feliz de haber sobrevivido Ironman. Tenía tantas dudas acerca de venir a Texas para hacer mi primer Ironman, cuando me registré acaba de vender mi casa tuve algo de dinero extra y como era Septiembre me imagine que iba a ser capaz de entrenar correctamente, pero la vida nunca sale como la planeamos exactamente.
Cada carrera ha sido menos que ideal de este año, he decidido que, dado que los últimos dos años que estuve ocupado haciendo todas las carreras y escaladas para ayudar a las organizaciones benéficas yo tuve que poner a mis hijos las necesidades en el lado por lo que ahora son lo primero,hay que buscar el equilibrio, mientras que mis hijos no esperan que yo deje todo por ellos todo el tiempo si lo esperan de ves en cuando.Ahora es uno de esos momentos, recientemente he dormido poco preocupada por mis hijos, La vision de Karl y la personalidad fuerte de Hans, ahora voy a la escuala a verme con los maestros de mis dos hijos con más frecuencia que ir al gimnasio, los profesores Karl se preocupan de que se está quedando atrás, mientras él se mantiene firme diciendo que son exageraciones, que el está muy bien, el profesor Hans tiene largas conversaciones conmigo acerca de su desinteresado en clase, por supuesto, los dos sabemos que hay una sola razon esta facinado con el sexo femenil.

Así que lo mejor que puede hacer es no obesesionar y enfocarme con lo que tengo, correr es mi prioridad sigue siendo así que la mayoría de mi entrenamiendo es correr, el tiempo disponible alterne entre andar en bicicleta o nadar.
Llege a Houston con mis hijos, razón por la cual elegi Ironman de Texas fue porque mi ex marido vive aquí, más o menos, él vive en Túnez, pero tiene una casa en Houston por lo que se no me tuve que preocupar en quien iba a cuidar de mis hijos, el lugar quedarse se resolvió tambien y el último también se podría comprar todos los boletos con sus millas, con el dinero limitado esto era demasiado difícil de resistir.

Yo estaba muy preocupada por ser eliminada porque me tardaria mas de el tiempo designado, en el vuelo le decía Hans que que me preocupaba mucho eso, lo fantástico, Hans me decía que yo podía hacerlo, que por lo menos tenia que intentarlo, estoy seguro que esas palabras quedaron tatuadas en su cerebro,esas palabras tienen ahora un significado mas profundo profundo para el,al pasar immigracion, como de costumbre, los oficiales querían saber la razón de nuestro viaje, cuando dije al agente de immigracion que venia a Houston para hacer Ironman , el oficial me dijo, "No te ves como un Ironman" Quería decir muchas cosas, que yo hago ultras y todo eso pero la verdad es que yo hasta ahora no hecho el Ironman eso es cierto, sin embargo, en cambio Hans no se quedo callado "usted no conoce a mi mamá" eso es todo lo que dijo, Karl tenia una gran sonrisa. Me di cuenta de cuán profundamente el vínculo entre mis hijos y yo y que se sienten orgullosos de mí como yo soy de éllos. Ironman iba a ser difícil, pero enseñar a mis hijos lecciones valiosas vale la pena el intentarlo. Yo sé cómo se me va a recordar. a traves de imágenes, cuando ya no estemos,esas imagines van a contar tu historia, ¿cuántos de ustedes tienen mas fotos donde están sosteniendo una copa o sentados en el sofá? te puedo decir que tengo muy pocos de esas.

La cena de bienvenida fue diferente a la habitual de ultramaratones, se palpaba el sentimiento de orgullo por él ambiente, el sentido de pertenecer a un club privado. Me senté con unos desconocidos, tres de nosotros pretendiamos hacer el Ironman por primera vez, el resto eran veteranos, por supuesto,los veteranos nos aconsejaban. los que se veian que eran muy buenos me decia, "usted va a estar bien, usted tiene 16hrs para acompletarlo un montón de tiempo" los no tan buena condicion daban un punto de vista diferente, para intentar siquiera Ironman tienes que demostrar que eran dignos de perseguir ese título. Hablando con uno de ellos, en particular, un hombre de mediana edad en mi mesa, fue como un interrogatorio que una conversación, "?Así que, por supuesto, has hecho por lo menos el medio Ironman?", wow, debes tener un entrenador increíble si crees que puedes acabarlo ",?"¿No?!, ¿Por qué cree que vas a poder!" se le notaba que estaba molesto por mi arrogancia, Mi compañero de mesa, era de edad mediana y trajo a su novia nueva a la cena obviamente para impresionarla, a juzgar por sus ropas y el físico el tenía más dinero que las habilidades atléticas. Solo le dije que como estoy acostumbrada a correr ucho a la mejor eso me ayudaria. La verdad es que ya no tenia paciencia para esa platica pero el señor Presidente estaba decidido a no dejar la conversasion asi, se nota que el ha de ser duro con sus empleados y demandar lo mejor siempre. Bueno, ¿cuántos de sus últimas carreras han sido de mas de 12 horas. "Tienes razón, no muchas, la mayoría de ellas son de más de 24 horas, no puedo creer que voy a estar en casa esta noche después de solamente 12 horas. Esto será un placer para mí.
Por supuesto yo estaba nerviosa por el Ironman, pero no le queria dar el gusto.

el sábado 05 a.m. cerca de 2700 competidores, 265 de ellos de Mexico, nos reunimos en el Lago Woodlands para nadar los 3.8 kilometros , debido a la altas temperaturas si querias calificar a Kona o querias ganar el uso de traje de neopreno no era permitido, pero que tenía la opción de utilizar un traje de neopreno ,ya que no había una posibilidad de que yo calificara para Kona o que ganara decidi por usar my traje nepreno ya que necesitaba toda la ayuda en el agua. Yo estaba temiendo la nadada, yo estaba a punto de llorar cuando una señora que estaba cerca de mi se dio cuenta de mi nerviosismo y me cogió las manos y dijo una oración para las dos, a las 7 e la manaña la carrera empezo yo me quedé atras a proposito para evitar ser pisoteada,yo había tratado de nadar la distancia en mi piscina comunitaria, pero las cosas son diferentes, las corrientes, y miles de otros nadadores que te rodea. Despues me entere que esta manaña que hubo una discusion que tal vez la distancia habia sido mas larga de lo que deberia ser. Yo por supuesto no sabia esto todavia, la verdad que me tomo michiso mas de lo que yo habia anticipado. Cuando entramos en el tramo final yo podía oír los gritos pensé que estaban saludando, pero los gritos eran mas bien porque si no nos apurabamos el tiempo se nos acababa y no nos dejarian seguir.Eso me paso much durante la carrera. Yo estaba tan contenta cuando por fin sali del agua 2 hras y 14 minutos despues, pero ahora la siguiente parte iba a ser tan difícil, yo no había hecho un viaje más largo de 90 kilometros.

A pesar de que el pronostico habia dicho lluvias, termino no lloviendo solo estuvo nublado,hacia calor pero nada comparado para las temeraturas regulares de Houston en este tiempo. pero el sol se escondía detrás de las nubes y yo estaba tan agradecida, al principio se me difculto mucho me de dolian los brazos por la nadada tan larga, en la bicicleta tuve dos mantras en mi cabeza para superar la fatiga "usted no conoce a mi mamá "y" Yo soy Ironman "Quería más que nada para decirles a mis hijos que so lo termine. alrededor de el kilometro 96 se encontraba el primer corte si no llegabas ahi para antes de 1:40 te mandaban a casa, ahi me di cuenta que para hacer los 179 kilometros completos en el tiempo que decian tenia que darle duro, cada vez que miraba a los 10 marcadores de milla tuve que sonreír, cada kilometro despues de los 90 era mar lejos de lo que siempre habia hido en bicicleta, como que con cada pedaleada dejaba atrás todas las excusas que pensaba al por que no deberia de venir a Ironman, también deje etrás de las lágrimas que he derramado por la frustración de los últimos meses. llegué a la transición con 10 minutos de sobra, yo fui la última en salir de la transision 2 hacia la corrida de maraton, ahora por primera vez me relajé, pro fin no tenia que preocuparme por ser la mas lenta.

Eran casi las seis, pero todavía estaba haciendo mucho calor y estaba muy húmedo, habia areas para tomar agua y gels en cada kilómetro más o menos. Parecia quetodo el pueblo habia venido a celebrar,la gente animando, música por todas partes.
Yo estaba feliz de que por fin podia recuperar parte del tiempo perdido, me senti bien y decidi correr, ahora si mucha gente tenia dificultad, el calor era insoportable,en las estaciones de ayuda estaban ofreciendo esponjas con agua helada y tenía mangueras para rociar a nosotros, bien dicen que la etapa mas dificil de Ironman es en el maraton. Tus piernas ya no dan masy el cuerpo has sido empujado al máximo y aún tienes 42 kilometros por recorrer, es aquí donde vi un montón de gente tropezar y caer delante de mí, los sonidos de las sirenas de las ambulancias se escucharon constante, cruzando la meta fue la mejor sensación, aún mejor por tener a mis hijos ahi, El decir a un hijo que confie en si mismo no es tan eficaz que el mostrarselo, hechos no palabras.
Me encantó todo acerca de Ironman, no se si podre darme el lujo de hacer otro, la vedad es que la unica forma seria si o dejara los otros deportes y me dedicara nomas a ese y no se si quiero, a mi me encant ala aventura tengo corazon de gitana.
Estoys ultimos meses me he preguntado mas de una vez el porque todavia pongo tanto esfuerso en participar en eventos como el Ironman ¿por qué competir, ¿por qué no solo entrenar y no competir de esa manera no hay presión, pero las carreras me dan la paz que busco, sin importar lo duro de mi la vida es, no importa, cuando llego a una carrera a competir cuando estoy parada esperando que comienze en ese momento todos somos iguales, no importa las clases sociales, no importa la raza, ni nada, por supuesto que al cruzar la meta ahi es donde se nota la diferencia pero la verdad después de cruzar la línea de meta ganamos todos en algún nivel. Para mí saber que estoy unfluenciando a mis hijos de una manera positiva su más valioso que una medalla de oro.