I feel super happy about my performance today. Today was the Arroyo triathlon. I have to tell you my event was over at 6:00am and I had won by a mile. As I walked thru transition this morning to take my spot on the rack I met a real nice guy, Ivan. Ivan saw I was wearing Team Jochi colors and as I said hi to a mutual friend he explained to me why he was there. He told me was going to do the San Juan Tri last week but got scared because he felt he was not quite readdy. He then told me that he had read my blog for that day and that he got inspired to do Arroyo from that blog. Ivan, you made my day, that is exactly what we want to be about. Six weeks ago I was 270 pounds and had not done excersice in almost 20 years. Last sunday I ran the San Juan Tri in 1:59:xx and today, 7 days later I did the Arroyo Tri in 1:41:xx. I have to clarify that this tri was 300 meters short on the run and about .60 miles on the bike according to my GPS. However who cares, at the distance I would have done extremely well over last week and that is whats important. Ivan, thank you for your words, I hope you had a super race and I hope to see you on the next one. Put your mind and soul to it and my friend absolutely nothing is imposible.
We took this weekend as a little family retreat and left on friday to relax and spend some time with the kids. We had a nice warm up ride yesterday all four of us, Julissa in the broom, but we had a lot of fun the rest of the day. Yes, I took my pills all week and this morning as usual. I also ammended most of my mistakes including my diet which I modified for the race. Instead of purposely carbo loading I just broke my diet with a few things I like and that made the trick. I ate more and some rice and deserts. It was no problem since my diet used to be completely carbo and sugars. This morning I felt strong from the minute I woke up. I knew I was going to do just fine. My goal was 1:45, but I was going to concentrate on my race and not making mistakes. As we got swiming I controlled my breathing and heart rate from the gun. I took a breath every 3 strokes just like in practice and would brethe out of both sides, all race long!!! After about 3/4 of the first lap I felt really good and cought my rythm. I was passing people left and right as I concentrated on my technique the whole way. As I looked at my watch on the first lap I saw 8 minutes which was too fast but I was in total control so I kept it up. I concentrated on pulling hard and on gliding as much as posible keeping my legs relaxed and kicking slowly. It was working, I felt realy comfortable on the water today I could have gone for a few more laps. My time, same as last sunday except my HR was very low this time. It was time to get out. As I beached I felt good and strong. I took my time on transition and got on the bike right along my friend Isis who I left behind for most of the bike part, later to learn she had some technical issues with her bike. The course was like a triangle, with one of the long legs on a 2% up hill and then the other long leg on 1.5% down hill. The plan easy, spin light and at 85-90 on the uphill part and go strong on the down hill. Exactly what I did. I had no problems on the bike and felt strong except for a small incident on the first lap in which I almost became a hood ornament, but we got the lanes figured out succesfully before impact. Thank god. I started strong and faded out as I progressed on the bike which was my plan. The last lap I was cought by Isis on the up hill leg and I have to tell you she pulled me thru that part as I chased her the rest of the way. I was tired but got on her back wheel and up we went, it made a diffrence. I was off the bike in 1:10, wow!!! Jochi would have gone crazy at my T2. I screwed that one big time. I cleaned my feet three times and placed them on the mud twice. I put my left sock backwards and had to take it off and put it on again, and to top it all off tied my shoes to tight. It was a clasic, but I was laughing. I felt the bike on my legs today more than I did last Sunday. I started to run and my back got to me again but this time much softer. My spagetti legs were the responsible today. I probably ran half the time and walked the other half. On the second lap Gabriela joined me and ran/walked the whole second lap with me. To be honest I felt good all the time on the run. A couple of things made me walk more than what I should, I was walking pretty fast, I wanted to save my back, I was getting the same cramp as last sunday but this time I did not let it settle in, and finally I was making my time. At 1:40 I told Gabriela we were running all the way to the finish to make 1:45 and we did as it turns out much faster. I was happy as can be and I was not terribly tired either. It was a good day. As always team Jochi was recognized and I was happy.
Jochi had a fine race today his time was 4 minutes quicker than his last Sprint. He has been resting since he got back from Ironkids so we sdid not expect much today but in the end, with the route adjusted he probably did about his best time again which is super good for today. Today most of the kids from the Olimpic compound went to the race. These are kids that train and go to school together. This blog is not about our Triathlon federation and I wont make it one. This blog is much bigger than that. However I will touch on one subject briefly because it is relavant to the big picture.
For the first time since we are involved in this sport we meet the super kid according to his father. You know, the kid whoose race is ran and won by his dad before it even happens. His comments last night were unfortunate and even today after the race you would find him making comments that were not called for, regarding his kid vs Jochi. I will only say the following. I am so glad and happy that my son Jochi and his son had a talk after the race. They shared a friendly greeting and some encouragement words by themselves which truly defined the spirit of sports. I am content that no issues exist between the kids and that, for me, is what is important, I hope they can both learn from each other in the future . To his dad I can only say that I comend you on your son. He is a well educated young man and a good competitor which I hope can bring glory to PR in his time and that you continue to be a proud dad. However I would like you to know that Jochi and Team Jochi is much more than just a time on a clock. What is important at Team Jochi is not winning it all or being tha last one. Look at me, I am for all intended purposes the last one. I am sure if we were both in a race I would never see you again after the gun, but I bet you that my soul would leave full of satisfaction as it has done the past two weeks. Jochi is about change, is about changing the sport to include young people in fair competition and my friend your son would probably benefit from that also. Jochi is also about helping people thru his charity and recognizing young and older athletes for their efforts outside the competition field and in their comunity. Jochi is about the young spirit of acomplishment which us Puertorricans have made a point of not including our youth as part of our daily life. See Team Jochi is about all that and much more and in the end the time matters very little. I also heard his coaching was mentioned so I will clarify that also. His coach is a big boy and can defend himself if needed, however from my seat his coach has not only prepared him in a healthy way but he has believed in him in so many other ways that once again the time is of no importance. His coach beliefs not only in him but in what he is trying to acomplish, that my friend is all we as parents need. However, you asked so as a courtesy I will respond, Jochi is the #10 ranked Triathlete in the United States of America Thriathlon Federation age 12-15 non elite. He is the #5 Triathlete Nationally in the Ironkids National series during 2010. Jochi is the 6th Xcountry Junior, age 11-12 of the Foot Looker National Championship up to Nov 2010. He is the Junior Champion of the Nevis Triathlon and has been invited to join the Puerto Rico and Guatemala Triathlon federations for future development. BTW, his first triathlon ever was in April 2010. So....I think our kids are much better off if we leave the sport to them. Lets just cheer from the stands and make sure we give them all the oportunities we posibly can.
Today was a huge milestone for me. I will go harder and longer in the next events. I feel I am well placed for Ironman Canada to honor my commitment and make my mark in the world. The world was conquered, One event at a time.
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