I guess a sign of growth and maturity is realizing that the core of who we are is established very early on, and that fighting against our very nature is as futile as attempting to solve an algebra problem by chewing gum. There are 3 truths about me that 30 years of living have not fully erased and perhaps have made clearer than ever:
1) I was once a phenomenal runner but will never be a professional track superstar.
2) The thing that I loved most about competitive sports wasn't the winning, but the challenge.
3) I will forever be an intensely competitive person who requires a physical, mental and psychological challenge in order to thrive in all aspects of her life.
Once I recognized these facts as my truth I was able to start running again not for startdom or in search of a professional break, but rather, because through it I can express my competitive, kick-ass, bring-it-on, committed and hard-working nature.
My athletic history has a distinguished beginning as a phenomenal junior track start and national title holder for 100 m dash, and was marked by an abrupt and early retirement from the sport at the age of 15 when through life circumstances I was force to choose between excelling in academics or working really hard to achieve at best a mediocre track career. I chose academics and abandoned pre-profesional track training once I enrolled in high school. It wasn't until 8 years later that I once again started running as an amateur in competitive races. Encouraged by a mentor, I started training again and realized how much I missed running. I understood then, that I didn't have to a be a track start to feed the athlete in me.
The last time I ran "competiviely" (read amateur/enthusiast runner in a competitive event) was the 2001 Charlottesville 10 miler. My best time at that event was 97 minutes, for a very decent 9 minute mile average. Unfortunately, in the winter of 2002 I had to stop training for long distance races due to complications with my liver. Then in the winter of 2003 I broke my knee in 3 places and underwent an ACL replacement. I spent the summer and fall of '03 going through physical therapy and weight training to get the knee in shape again. After a little over 10 months of personal training, I have decided to enter the "competitive" world again and participate in my first triathlon.
Since I can't run long distances anymore--as my knee really can't sustain that sort of pounding---I've decided to use this as an excuse to learn two more sports, get back into shape, and rekindle my passion for competitive sports training. To that end, I have decided to join the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Traning Program and help others through cancer research fund-raising as I help myself make my competitive triathlon debout. Most importantly, this will give me a chance to express my true nature, challenge my body, and learn to become my own brand of athlete, one that only requires the challenge, and for whom simply crossing the finish line will be the greatest reward.
In order to feed the writer in me, I have decided to chronicle my triathlon training here and share with my friends (and the rest of the world) my trials and triumphs in this new endeavour. This is just the beginning of a journey I hope will take me far beyond my first triathlon in Monterrey this summer. So stick around and see the triathlete in me bloom.
