On Family

If you didn’t know, I am from another country. Another continent at that. My entire family; mother, father, brothers, nieces and nephews; have stayed in my home country.
I very rarely get to see them. Once a year if I am lucky. Traveling to South America is expensive and exhausting. When we take vacation there I often find myself more tired when I get back than when I left. We have to visit a whole bunch of people and try to spend as much time with each one of those people as we can. You also have to be ON all the time and make sure you do not hurt anybody’s feelings. It is a tough task I tell you.

It was my decision to basically pick up and leave the comforts of all I had known for 26 years. My home town, the comfort of my parents’ house, my friends, my family. I grew closer to my parents because of the distance. Ironic isn’t it? I think that after I moved, my dad stopped seeing me as a child, and more like an adult. I think they finally realized that I had grown up; that I had become a woman. And that it was time for me to go and find MY path.

I had to move 10,000 miles away to figure out my parents were not crazy after all. That they had raised me to the best of their ability, and I think they did a damn good job. And today I am proud for being their daugher, and find myself implementing some of the same parenting “techniques” they used with us.

And I miss them. Terribly. I ache every time Megan “discovers” something new and I can’t share it with them. I also wish they could come and see me race; see how far I have come on this sport. You see? I was a couch potato back then. I would not even walk a block; and now look at me. Multisport; and even thinking about doing an Ironman. My mom tells me that when she talks to her friends and tells them of all the races I do people are often amazed “Daniela, really??” they say.

So I guess today is one of those days where I wish they were here with me. Just to give them hugs, and share a meal at the dinner table like we did every night.

To my mom and dad: LOVE YOU GUYS! You are the best EVER!

Without a title...

The week came and went. Full of training hours, work hours and mommy hours. I had some hard training sessions and some not as hard. Some breakthrough moments and some regular moments. I guess what I am trying to say is that this week was just an average one at best. Coach was on vacation, so I was more lax on updating my training peaks account. Not as detailed if you would... 

Didn't really had the energy to update blog world so I neglected it until I found the energy... I am almost there my friends. 

My body is tired, I am glad this coming week is both rest and taper week. I have an olympic next saturday and I am hoping I can accomplish some of my goals.

Yesterday I had a good training day. There was an open water swim at one of the local lakes, and I got to swim a mile. I wanted to break 40 minutes (yes,  I am still slow), but I sort of panicked the during the first lap around and ended up side stroking more than I would have liked. I came out of the water in 40:11, still good (my previous 1 mile open water was 42 and change) but not as good as I would have wanted it. I did however, identify some things I was doing wrong, and some other things I was doing right, so I will be implementing the good ones during my race next weekend.

Speaking of the race, I know Wes and Deedee will be there, as well as Ashley; so I am hoping I get to meet some of our fellow bloggers. That would be TONS of fun. Once again I am going solo. It is about a 3 hour drive from home, so I will be attempting to take a 1/2 day from work on friday to get there and do some driving around the course, as well as getting my race packet.  It will be a wetsuit swim, my favorite (not really); so I will be able to use my suit for the second time :) I just hope I do not feel like it's trying to choke me and that it does aid me on becoming more streamlined, hence faster.

I picked up a book on swimming... Total Immersion it's called... Apparently it will "revolutionize" the way I swim.. Honestly, at this point I will try anything to make me swim more efficiently. I will report on how it works after I read it and put it into practice.

For now my friends, I am going to go rest for a bit. I have been feeling less than stellar since last night, and I better recoup before Husband leaves for work this afternoon.

Laters!

65

Yesterday I went on the longest bike ride I have ever  done. 65 miles. The furthest I had gone before was 45, so this was quite the accomplishment.

Originally Coach had put on my schedule a 3 hour ride and I was planning on doing it by myself. Until I came across this organized ride where they offered sag support, food and drinks. I mostly ride by myself, so I thought this could be fun. Only problem was that they offered a 40, 65 and 100 mile options. I can ride 40 miles in well under 3 hours so that one was not going to cut it. And then I thought... I can attempt the 65 mile loop. I asked coach and she said to go for it. So I signed up.

I got up early saturday morning (5 am yikes!) ate some breakfast, drank some coffee and left. Drove about one hour to get to the event place and when I got there it was packed! People of all sizes, ages and fitness levels. Some super hard core cyclist were giving me funny looks for wearing my riding skirt. But I was happy and excited about riding with people and going long. Coach had said this would be a "bread and butter" ride, in preparation for my 1/2 IM later in september, and to pace and fuel myself. Keep HR in zones 1-2. I was all over it. No problemo I thought! And then I started hearing how difficult this course was, how many hills there were, and my heart started to sink. My super secret goal was to finish this 65 mile ride in under 4 hours. Let me just say that it's a good thing the goal stayed super secret.

At 8 am they gave us the green light to start rolling. I waited until most of everybody had gone so that I didn't have to ride super tight with the crowds. Something about being closely surrounded by 50 people in bikes makes me nervous and I did not need to be nervous; it's a waste of energy.

The first couple of mile were without incidents. I rode amongst people and managed to keep a good pace. There were hills right from the get go, and even thought it hurt to climb them; I was more scared about going down them. Just because there were too many people in front of me and I did not know their riding abilities.

On one particular stretch of the road I was riding behind these 2 girls who were taking pretty much the entire lane. I was going a bit faster and wanted to pass them. And you know, you pass people on the left. So I yell "On your left" and the chick does nothing. I think she must  not have heard me, so I yell again "On your left". She ignores me. There is traffic coming the opposite way and this girl is pretty much riding on the yellow line. I can't go around her. When traffic stops coming I venture to the "wrong" side of the road and finally pass her. I mumble to myself "b!tch". And then she starts playing the cat and mouse game with me. As if this was a race of some sort, and I fall for the trap. It took me a couple of miles to realize that if I kept playing I would blow myself up and be tired before the  1/2 way point.

The first rest stop was at about mile 13 and I decide to skip it. My legs are not tired and I have plenty of food and drink. I keep riding, alone for the most part but surrounded by other people. I realized that it is hard to find someone that wants to go at your pace, or someone you can keep up with. When I reach the second water stop at mile 23 I stop, reload my bottle with water, use the potty and keep going. It actually felt good to get out of the saddle and walk a couple of steps. Not wanting to rest too much I get back on the bike and go to work. HIlls, hills and more hills. Some of them slow me down to a crawl, some of them make me want to cry and one of them pushed me close to seeing "the wizard". Hard work, but it makes me feel good. Oh yeah, keeping HR in zone  2... Impossible, too many climbs. So I settle into zone 3.

I stopped 2 more times during the ride, mostly to reload water bottles and to get my head wet since it was hot and I needed to cool off. 

After the last water stop I reached uncharted territory as I went over my previous record of 45 miles. My legs were sore, yes, but I knew I could finish the race. I was riding with this lady, who kept getting on my nerves, A LOT. I finally dropped her at about mile 52. 

So there I was riding alone, singing and pretty much talking to myself (yes I am crazy) when I heard "Butch no!" (i don't remember the exact name, but it will serve the purpose). I look to my right and I see a very fierce looking dog coming at me. "Oh, snap!" I thought. My head starts thinking that I am toast, and somehow I end up convincing my legs to push with every single bit of energy they have left. I start pedaling as fast as I can go. The dogs keeps getting closer and closer. I see him and try to pedal harder. He is right by my right leg now, totally unaffected by my pedaling motion. I can feel his hot breath in my calf muscle. For a moment I thought he was going to bite and get away with a chunk of my leg. And I thought, I was going to crash and he was going to eat me alive. But he didn't, somehow I was able to "outrun" him. I was able to escape "Butch the terrible", and now I was officially TOAST. The pacing I had done up until that point was totally crashed by the suer human effort I had to put to get away from the dog. And I still had 11 miles to go.

I crossed the 56 mile mark in about 3:30. I was happy and disappointed at the same time. I had proven that I could ride the distance of the 1/2 IM, but was not super pleased with how long it took me.

After that the last 9 miles were a suffer fest. Grind uphill, go down, grind up, go down. Get aero, parts hurt, get out of aero, parts hurt. Legs want to quit, head keeps saying: push, push, push. You get the picture. I slowed down considerably, my legs were D-O-N-E.

Finally after about 4:12 I rolled in to the finish. I could not help but smile. I had just done 65 miles on my bike! And even though my legs hurt and I was tired; I felt GOOD.

It was a very humbling experience. Even though it was supposed to be an "easy" long ride, it tested my limits and showed me that it is indeed mind over matter. It made me question my abilities and my determination. It was a great experience and I am already thinking about next year and trying the century ride. Want to come along??

Triangle Sprint Distance Tri RR

First of all, let me start by saying... This one was FUN! 

Swim

I was on the 5^th wave with all women 34 and under, as well as the athenas.  Coach wanted me to take a risk and start at the front of the pack to see if that would make me swim faster. I obliged. The start line was so wide it looked like everybody was on the front; so I positioned myself smack in the middle. I figured, if I am not going to have people swimming through me from the back, then I will have the people that are trying to get close to the buoys swimming towards me. Same effect, right?  I started as best as I could and FINALLY figured out that the first 5 minutes of my swim is when I freak out. I start to doubt if I can do it, and “panic” sets in. I think about just quitting (happens every single time) and luckily I am able to talk myself out of it. 

I found a rhythm that works, it’s not super fast and every 12^th stroke I sight and sort of stick my head out of the water (almost go vertical all the way). This somehow helps me regain composure and tackle other 12 strokes. I know it slows me down, but it works, so I keep doing it. I just want to get out of the water. I get passed by about 10 guys from the swim wave after mine. I reach the shore and I am not the last one with my cap color. Glance at my watch, see the time (about 2 minutes faster than my best .5 mile OWS) and that just makes my day.

T1

Run to T1 and do my best to hurry up. Put on my socks, shoes, glasses, helmet. Unrack bike and GO. The run to the mount line is LONG…. On big gravel and my feet are finding every single “pothole” hidden under the rugs we are supposed to run on. Finally get to the mount line, get on my bike and get to work.

Bike

I start passing people, but the first ¾ mile the road is super narrow and there is not much room to move around. And since there is no drafting allowed, it slows me down because I do not want to get penalized. I had seen the USAT officials all over the place and I wanted to play by the book. As soon as the road opens, I am all over the bike course hills. It was a hilly... Rolling hills, the only truly flat section was the beginning and the end. I pushed hard throughout, trying to spin my legs when I could. The course was full of U turns (at least 3) and I am NOT comfortable cornering, so it slowed me down considerably. I got passed by some  people on the bike, mostly guys riding disc wheels and zip wheel sets. So I am not too worried. I am OWNING this race. It is all about me. My goal for this bike was to have an 18 mph average and to stay seated on the climbs. I was able to accomplish both; except for the last hill. I stood up half way through it. I wanted it to be over, I was done climbing. 

When I got to the home stretch (the flat part, 3/4 miles to go), I get into the big ring and push. One of the things that had worried me during the bike was not being able to ride the big ring a lot because of the climbs. I thought that was going to be detrimental to my speed, but apparently it wasn't. 

The last ¼  mile was pretty chaotic; there were a lot of people everywhere, bikes, people running, spectators (young children running around). I slowed down because the kids were all over the place and I did not want to crash. Hit the dismount line, unclip and go.

T2

Run the way back to T2 (same gravel road as before, my feet still manage to find every pot hole). Slip of my bike shoes, run shoes on and I go.

Run

The run is a total blur.  The goal for the run was to break 28 minutes on the 5k. I looked at my watch and saw 1:07:xx. At that moment I said to myself "you need to come under 1:35 to meet the goal, get to work". I remember wanting to stop a lot during the first mile. Never did. I walked through 1 water stop (the first one) and then I think I might have hit cruise control, because I don’t remember much. The only other thing I remember is seeing one girl I know fly by me, that and saying "No thanks" to the volunteers at the water stops. Next thing I knew I was crossing the finish line, and I felt GOOD. I looked at the watch and saw my time 1:32:xx. Where in the world did this speed come from? I smile and sing a little victory song in my head.

 

The race was awesome! It is definitely going in my schedule for next year! The only thing I would have changed is not related to the race itself, but to the fact that I went all by myself. I did not know anyone, and felt kind of lonely while the rest of the people got to mingle with their friends and family. 

It was a great race for me, and helped me figure out a couple of things I can improve upon. 

New found love

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!

I have found one of the most delicious drinks! And it is pretty healthy too.

I introduce you to my new found love.

SILK SOY MILK LIGHT --- CHOCOLATE FLAVOR

Delicious! I could drink the entire 1/2 gallon carton in one sitting!

If you have not tried it, you must do so NOW! Dead serious. 

What are you waiting for? Go!

In a funk

Well, the weekend came and went. Lots of stuff going on around here.

Todd was back in town on Thursday night; Megan LOVED having her daddy around so much that she chose not to listen to me a.single.time. (I guess that is what is considered a daddy’s little girl, don’t you think?)

Friday was kind of a busy day. We got up relatively early as Megan is an early riser and I tried to do my outside run. I think the stressful week finally caught up with me and I was exhausted. My legs did not want to go. My body ached all over; my breathing was super labored, even though I was doing a zone 1-2 run. I ran 20 minutes of my prescribed 45 and decided to call it quits. I thought I was getting sick because of that aching feeling all over my body and was overly cautious as last time I got sick I was out of commission for the better part of a week.

We had breakfast, got dressed and went out shopping. Earlier this year we made the decision that for now we are sticking with just one child (if you remember it was a defining moment for us, and particularly me); and that left our house with an empty bedroom (what used to be the nursery-since we gave all of our baby stuff to my sister in law who is pregnant). Up to that point we had a total gym and my trainer set up in our bedroom, and had been talking about moving them to the spare room to use as a “gym”. I am happy to report that we finally did it. And not only did we put those pieces of equipment there… we also got a treadmill! Shocker! I am not a fan of the ‘mill, but with Todd traveling it is pretty much the only option I have if I want to do my runs during the week. So our little gym is all set up and our bedroom looks more like a bedroom, which is always nice.

In the evening we went to my in-laws house and had a small BBQ to celebrate the 4th and then we took Megan to see some fireworks. She was more interested in the puppy the people next to us had than the actually fireworks… And she had been anticipating the fireworks all day!

Saturday was pretty uneventful. I had my bike test on the schedule for the morning. Luckily I was feeling much better. I got some good sleep after the fireworks and I think that helped TONS. We stayed around the house, hit the neighborhood pool, ordered in some pizza for dinner and called it a night. Pretty low key.
I remember back in my 20’s when a Saturday night like this would have seemed “boring”. Ah! Growing older will change ya!

Sunday flew by. I went grocery shopping while Todd was still at the house. We had a nice lunch and then it was time to take Hubby to the airport for his second trip to Miami. After we dropped him off Megan and I hit target, and then it was back home to get back in the weekly wagon.

When Monday rolled around I was ready to tackle the week full force. Get back into the full swing of training after a challenging “rest” week (where I did not really get a lot of rest… not it terms of training though). And then I got into work. I was super busy and by the time I realized it, I needed to get my bootie to the pool before the camp kids got there. On the schedule, Liz put 2400 yds. Let me just summarize: it did not go so well. I freaked out on some of the sets (breathing 1-2 per 25… yeah, right). I got mad, upset, scared, wanted to cry. I thought: “I will never be good enough at this; I might as well stop now”. But I didn’t. Did I feel better afterwards? Not exactly. I guess you can say I am stubborn and I am not going to let the water win. I will keep at it, until I figure it out. It might take me my entire life, but I will eventually win. Man, I am just like my dad!

Yesterday I needed to do some hill repeats. I was really looking forward to the hurt. I needed it. I had arranged for my in-laws to pick Megan from daycare, so I could run after work. I was even looking forward to the heat and humidity (weird I know). And then, as I am getting ready to leave work… The sky starts falling in the form of rain, thunder, lighting and 50 mph winds (that is what the weather man said, so I will believe him). There goes my outside run. I was bummed. I drove to my in-laws to get Megan and the commute that usually takes me 35 mins, took me close to 1 hr! Traffic lights were not working at major intersections, trees had fallen into the street, accidents galore… you get the picture.

We ended up at home, eating dinner at 7:50 pm and I still had to do my run. After Megan went to bed I decided to jump on my treadmill. What followed was one of the suckiest run workouts I have had in a long time. My pace sucked. I needed to stay in zone 2 and could not even run an 11 minute mile without spiking my HR. I know that it was probably a combination of tiredness, stress, my stomach digesting the food, and the fact that I NEVER have done a workout at 9 pm (yes you read that right… I got on the ‘mill at 9 pm). I was still hoping for a bit more.

So today, I am in a funk of sorts. I am kind of disappointed. Mostly at myself I think. I am questioning if I am really doing my workouts right. Am I self sabotaging? Could I give more? How would I do it? How long will it take me to get to where I want to be? I know it is not easy, I know it will hurt, and I am ok with that. But evidently there is something that has not clicked 100% yet.

Tonight I have a session with my head. I will put on some nice mellow music. Grab pen and paper; and let it all come out. Hopefully I will find where the short circuit is and will be able to fix it.

Work, workouts and Mommy time!

I am so glad the work week is over! I cannot even begin to tell you how busy I have been this week. With year end closing, merger, audit and the whole nine yards; it was about time to get some time off! My boss let us leave early today and I took advantage of the extra time and headed to the pool.

I needed the time for myself. Adjusting to this new workout schedule has been harder than I thought. I think I am definitely a morning person, even though when the alarm goes off I just want to throw it out the window. My best "athletic moments" are in the morning; when I am not consumed by the worries of the workday and I also know that once I am done I get to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. It also gives me energy and helps me get through the day. I can't believe how tired I have been this week, and it is rest week!

I had my running test yesterday and it went very well. Coach said I have improved quite a bit. The self critic inside is still unsure of my performance. I did give it all I had, I just wish I had more to give. You know what I mean?

Todd is coming back home tonight and we will have the weekend to spend some time together. Megan keeps reminding me that "Daddy is still in Florida" and you can tell she misses him to pieces. Every time I pick her up from daycare she asks if daddy is home and when I say "No honey, he will be back thursday night" you can see the disappointment in her little eyes. 

We have had some good mommy/daughter time; we have enjoyed eating "brown pasta" (she loves the whole grain kind), veggies and grilled chicken. We have watched some favorite TV shows (ask me anything about Backyardigans or Phineas & Ferb and I will be able to answer your questions), read stories at night and also enjoyed the occasional sweet treat (PB cups and M&M's are some of the favorites). Today we might head to the pool when the sun goes down a bit; and I have planned for us to "splurge" with chicken nuggets and french fries.

It has been a tiring week, but a good week nonetheless. Let the weekend begin!

About me...

This tag has been going around the web. So here are my answers



10 years ago I was:



In college back home in Argentina, getting my bachelor’s degree in Economics. Working part time and planning my first trip to the US… Memphis, TN and Disney world J





5 years ago I was:



Working as an Au Pair in MA, planning my wedding whila dating long distance, addicted to Body Pump.



1 year ago I was:



In the midst of switching jobs, from one that made me miserable to the one I currently have. It was so bad that every Sunday I would get the most upset stomach thinking I had to go to work on Monday. That is when I said… Enough is enough.



Four things on my to do list today (because I can’t think of number 5):



1) Play with Megan. Maybe take her to the pool. She is loving it this season!

2) Work. Get through the day.

3) Grocery shop. Husband is out of town for the week and this is my opportunity to feed my kid and I healthy food and not feel guilty about not making something my hubby likes.

4) Enjoy a workout day off. Nothing today. Liz gave me an extra day to get used to the new schedule with Todd being out of town.



Five snacks I like:



1) Cheese… all kinds

2) Coffee with skim milk

3) Chocolate

4) Veggies with dip

5) Cherries!



If I were a billionaire I would:



1) Pay off our mortgage

2) Move my family to the US

3) Get Todd a membership to a golf course (a nice one)

4)Share it with family members

5) Give money to Cancer research



Five places I've lived:



Buenos Aires, Argentina

San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina

Westborough, MA

Eden Prairie, MN

Charlotte, NC



Five Jobs I've had:



1) Burger King burger “flipper”(I was 18 and out of High school)

2) Economic research analyst

3) Au Pair (live in Nanny)

4) Staff Accountant (I’ve held this “title” for a few years now)





Your turn now!