Race Prep

I looked up on Strava and asked cyclists what was the best place to cycle for longer rides and they all agreed in one place. Little did I know there’s this highway called The 9W. If you’re a cyclist you know this place perfectly well. You only have to cross the George Washington Bridge up in the Bronx to New Jersey and it takes you back to the state of New York and voila the one and only 9W that takes you all the way to Canada . You do share the road with cars, trailers etc but you will always find cyclists there. I knew that at least I would not die completely alone. However, If I could have a wish on how to die I wouldn’t choose that one. So, here she goes little, Mexican Ana Karina who’s far from being a cyclist on her own riding the 9W for the first time. I didn’t think it would actually be hard but yes it was and every time I would to that route the total elevation gain was about 1200 meters roundtrip. Also, when I crossed the George Washington Bridge for the first time I was so scared of the narrow technical turns that I would have to unclip myself not to crash with other cyclists. I did get to finally do the turn without having to unclip my shoes after several tries. It is very important for you to know that I basically started cycling at the end of 2020 more constantly but really at the beginning of 2021. The thought of cycling more than 40 km on my own seemed incredibly daunting because If I ever rode more than 45 km it would be drafting with my team with support cars. Also, one of the many reasons why is nice to ride in Mexico besides the weather is that we ride with support cars so nobody runs over us, to carry food and drinks, and perhaps rims or any cycling tools should we need any of it. Riding in New York was completely different as you can imagine. I was mostly worried about getting a flat tire because I was unsure of how to change a flat tire. My jersey pockets were filled with snacks and tools and got used to carrying two water bottles on my bike and pumping my own tires. Yes, I was very spoiled in Mexico. However , after a couple of rides all of that became second nature and not a concern anymore. Riding on my own was like discovering and realizing that the only one who was putting the limits and expectations on me was me. One of my favorite parts when doing my long rides was the part from the Palisades back to the Bridge because even though you are already feeling so tired by then there are some rolling hills. And rolling hills with a TT bike is what I like to call FUN! Somehow we(cyclists) randomly end up creating a group with individuals like me who ride solo and draft those last 9 miles as fast as we can. Sometimes there’s nobody but I still try to go as fast as possible and pretend I am having a little race.

Some of my longer rides included going to Bear Mountain completing my first century ride. On a few occasions I still had to run in the blazing heat in the city after having finished a century ride. I would be one of the only crazy people running at 2 pm in Central Park but that just motivated me more. I loved going to Bear Mountain because it was hard and I would always meet people there. Big Bear consisted of 1850 mts from my place in the Upper West Side roundtrip. Another of my favorite long rides was riding up to Brighton in Utah and then climb up to Alta with a total elevation gain of 2500 mts in 95 km.

But, while in the city I would cycle during the week in Central Park, and run there as well. It was actually so much fun to ride in the park. I would start riding solo and then when it was a hard day I would try to go hard with other groups. I think that’s when I started liking cycling more. Everyone is so competitive but also friendly at the same time. It felt good to not get dropped when we would do that one climb in the park and knowing I had some strength in me. Most of the time I would try to take a turn and that also helped me push my self a lot more. New York City is truly a great place to cycle in the spring/summer/fall time.

My swimming was the one that suffered the most since I couldn’t swim with a group or instructor. I was learning how to pace myself on the bike and running but still haven’t got the knack of it in swimming. My schedule was extremely busy and didn’t have as much flexibility so swimming at the Jewish Community Center did it. They were kind enough to let me swim 15 extra minutes as every member was only allowed to swim for 45 minutes and on Friday they would let me double the sessions. As you might have guessed sometimes it was a pain because other members would complain about them not being able to swim for longer which I completely understand. Naturally, I always tried leaving the swimming pool as quick as possible.

Central Park and the Woodway 4Front at Crunch became my number one best friends. I alternated my long runs between those two when I had to run a half-marathon or a little over that distance. But More than 15 miles I would always run outside. I surely believe that alternating my runs between those two helped me to get to the race injury-free. I do specifically like the Woodways more than any other treadmill. The impact is less on the body and also you’re able to simulate a bit more of running outside. I feel more stability as well since I once fell on a treadmill and burnt my legs from it. Have you ever seen the Taylor Swift Apple video? That's exactly what happened to me except it was very painful for at least two weeks.

From June Until August I was a robot waking up at 4 am to be able to start doing all my gigs around 9-10:30 am depending on the day and things I had to do. I do recall having some mornings where I just wanted to cry because I wanted to sleep more but I also wanted to perform well in my race. I had to push myself every morning to do my 3 hours training blocks to 5 hours on Saturdays. I would try to go to bed by 10 pm but it was just impossible because there was always something I needed to get done and when hanging out with friends that made it a bit harder. The talk by Elder Enzio Bushe always resonates but definitely did more su during this training block and Boston’s. Enzio Bushe gave a talk at BYU about his experience when he was a Mission President where he basically mentions the importance of being under the influence of the Spirit(or His light) to be guided and blessed in our lives and be filled with satisfying joy! Whenever I would wake up feeling so exhausted I immediately recalled this talk more specifically this part “embrace each day, no matter how it looks, with an enthusiastic welcome, not matters how it looks”. It is hard to do when life is not going our way but it is harder to tackle a day with pessimistic thoughts. Believe me I have definitely done both. I hope some of the words Elder Enzio Bushe said could be of some help or motivation. Every time I watch this video it brings me to tears of gratitude and hope and it fills my heart with so much love and understanding.

“…They agreed that being under the influence of the Spirit fills us with satisfying joy. It enhances our ability to make necessary adjustments, even in the most difficult circumstances. This Spirit helps us develop our intellectual capabilities and even delivers the motivation to use them. The zone leaders agreed that under the influence of the Spirit, some things that can seem uncomfortable, like hard work, getting up on time, going the extra mile, overcoming homesickness, overcoming flaws of character, and other personal sacrifices, become easier. It became clear that, under the influence of the Spirit, we are empowered to act in wisdom. We see the complexity of a problem in its simple parts and see possible solutions unfolding in front of our eyes, to our own surprise. In other words, our creativity is developed and multiplied. That which is a burden without it becomes a privilege when we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit. ." Enzio Bushe

Prepping in Laconia and Lake Placid

Jed and I also traveled to Lake Placid for his birthday and it might have been one of his last hard training sessions before his race. We stayed at the Golden Arrow with the beautiful view of Mirror Lake and Whiteface Mountain. We started with the swim In Mirror Lake. I didn’t think it would be cold because in the summer the temperatures are very high and humid so I thought I would manage wearing my standard swimming suit. It was not a good idea, too cold for this Mexican but that didn’t hold me back from swimming 1,900 mts thanks to the amazing lines that are underwater to follow and swim in a straight line. So for my next swim I used Jed’s wetsuit. For our training camp or “Jed’s Camp” we cycled the Ironman Lake Placid loop once(it’s two loops for the IM). It hurt a lot but it was also one of the most beautiful places I have cycled. It had probably about the same elevation gain as St. George so it was the perfect place to train.

Living on the Edge

Oh I almost forgot to mention that I did run out of water even though I carried two bottles and refilled one. There were not any stores or anything to be able to refill my bottles. So, I pulled over by the entrance of what looked like a hiking trail and tried buying water from one of the visitors lol. If you know me you know I would do such things. I happened to ask this family who had lost their car keys... luckily help was underway. They were obviously overwhelmed by losing their car keys and I felt so embarrassed because I didn’t want to cause more stress so I asked them if they needed help. I kept cycling and a couple km’s later after they had gotten their key back they drove the same road where I was and were so kind to hand me a water bottle. It meant so much for me as I was extremely tired and dehydrated. Always carry more water or have someone come to you to bring you water when there’s no stores or anything near by, don’t be like me. As I kept cycling I remembered there were supposed to be thunder storms. I was obviously not gonna stop. I still needed to cycle a bit more to get back to the hotel and finish my session. I thought I would be okay so I kept going. However, almost every other car that drove past me started honking and telling me to be careful because of the thunderstorms. At first I had no idea what they were yelling and then it all made sense. Lake Placid it’s a Triathlon City or at least a sports town. Normally you can safely cycle around and people are very friendly so I knew they were not getting mad at me because of cycling on the road. Anyway, there were no thunder storms really and we both (Jed and I) made it just fine. Upon my arrival I changed my shoes and went running like I was supposed to do. I definitely did not want to run. That route felt brutal to me. I just forced myself to go out and try to run plus Jed was really patient with me and supportive. The more I ran the better I felt. People were just cheering for me which is always appreciated. Sometimes, it’s so tiring to get the training done. Whenever this happens to me I just have to picture my self racing and remember that pushing myself will help me perform better.

“…Steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward your Savior and your Heavenly Father. This will help you overcome fatigue, despair, and physical sickness." Enzio Bushe

Utah

I decided to head to Utah a month prior to the race to get some training at altitude and adjust some last details for the race. The last month was a pretty tough one in regards to training because I was running 20-22 miles on Mondays for Boston plus my Ironman 70.3 training. It was the first time I had travel with a bike case without having a bike store pack my bike and learned how to take the pedals off and the handle bar. I also taught myself how to pack my bike carefully in the bike travel case. Packing that bike was definitely a pain, it took me forever because I wanted to make sure that everything was perfectly protected. Every time I saw or touched a part where I thought it needed more padding I added extra extra padding. I walked to the bike shop to get some tools back and forth from the apartment. Luckily the Olroyd’s (An amazing family and friends) let me borrow their case. I was blessed enough to pack my bike at their apartment right across the street where I was staying and they are on the first floor(me, on the fourth). They also let me borrow some of their tools which made the process a lot less hectic.

I packed the bike just on time to grab lunch at “Mamouns” and “Pinkberry” with one of my great friends Julie. As we were headed to grab lunch I was about to schedule an Uber when I realized that my phone was acting out. It would turn on and off and I couldn’t do anything. I was extremely stressed out because is not like I had to head to the airport, use my phone to check in, or to communicate with friends and family who knew I was coming over. Long-story-short after praying so much it kind of started working and managed to use it to check in etc and my friend Julie called a Via for me as my phone came back to life after I had arrived. So, there she goes little Ana Karina carrying a huge suitcase, a bike case, a carry on and a traveling bag in the beautiful hot and humid weather of New York. Somehow I was able to manage. A lot of sweating was definitely involved.

“…Avoid pessimistic, negative, or criticizing. If you cannot cut them out they will do you harm.” Enzio Bushe

Skye Moench’s Ride

It is important for you to know that even though I am quite familiar with Utah I had never cycled while in Utah. I had no idea where to go to get a good workout in the bike. Until I started noticing that Skye Moench a Pro Triathlete was posting about her rides to the Cottonwoods on IG. I definitely knew where that was but had never really been there except on hikes. It never occurred to me to cycle to those mountains. If you have ever been skiing in Utah that would be Brighton and Alta. So, of course I opened my app on Strava and stalked Skye’s workouts (creepy) and found the routes. I told myself that If she had done it (not like she’s a super amazing pro winner of many races) that I could do it. The ride that particularly caught my attention was the one where she climbed both on the same day with only about 2,500 2,600 mts of elevation pain I mean gain! Easy-peasy not!!

For my first weekend in Utah I decided to tackle the challenge and cycled The Cottonwoods. I fed myself well the day before and made sure I got plenty of fluids and took lots of waffles, pretzels, and a peanut butter cliff bar. I started with the Big Cottonwood canyon which was more like a progressive climb getting steeper as you kept cycling and getting closer to the top. It seemed like the closer you cycled to the top the harder the winds were blowing. And you could only imagine myself on the way back down. I tried to pedal as fast as I could to remain stable. I honestly thought I was going to get blown away several times. I am aware I am very dramatic but really the wind kept on pushing me sideways and as you can also imagine I was praying the whole way down. Not only was I praying that the wind wouldn’t blow me away but that it wouldn’t blow me away and then get hit by a car. Because yes the was a lot of traffic on the way down. I was so blessed to make it all the way to the bottom to the climb Alta. I refilled my bottles and headed to Alta as quick as I could. I mean I still needed to run at least 7-8 km! Climbing Alta felt like I was in the movies. All the mountains were filled with greenery and felt similar to being at Lake Placid except it was a lot more dryer than the ADK's and I was probably ten times more tired than I was at Lake Placid. Basically, it was hard but lovely. I even rode on the gravel part because Skye did it too. The wind was also blowing pretty hard but somehow felt less scared than the first time. I am honestly feeling so tired already by just thinking about that deadly ride. I remember calling my brother Alex to ask him what kind of run I should do(according to what my coach Toro had assigned) so he could specifically advise me base on where I was going to execute my run. Because of talking to Alex and my motivation to compete is that I ran 8 km maybe 10? And ended my day with some cryotherapy by taking a plunge into the freezing stream. This is just to say thank you Skye I would not have come up with this ride on my own and thank you Strava for facilitating the route.

The next rides and runs also included climbing up the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway up to the “Pine Hollow Trail Head” where I found MOOSE in the middle of the road. I Also cycled on the Mountain View Corridor where I got three flats and learned how to change my tires. And might have done two other trips to only Alta.

“…Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet” Enzio Bushe

St. George

The other reason why I wanted to head to Utah earlier was because I wanted to check out the course in St. George and hopefully practice the climb up to Snow Canyon at least twice. With the help of the Hardy’s who I served a mission with in the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center were extremely kind to let me stay at their beautiful abode which happened to be literally in the middle of the route so I could explore all of the route or one side at a time. Clark my wonderful and handsome boyfriend drove us to Saint George and supported me all the way until race day. He literally gets the prize for boyfriend of the year. Clark is very supportive and one of the kindest men I have ever met. He is so patient with me so that must say a lot about him.

The last two weeks were even harder than I thought they would be. I was training in at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit up to 108 degrees. I was just toasting and burning everyday I would cycle or run. My cycling shoes were literally on fire. I drank endless water bottles and nuun not to get dehydrated. I ran my last two longer runs on the course route (meaning hard runs). Luckily, Clark was super supportive by bringing me some water and a Perrier at the end of my run. He knows that all I want at the end is some nice cold sparkling water. On the first weekend while in St. George I cycled to Sand Hollow then tested the swimming were the struggle nothing to joke about. I was going against the current the whole time and swam a 2:30 per 100 meters! Very slow! Nonetheless, I was really happy to have done it. I then changed back into my cycling clothes and cycled to Snow Canyon. Basically rode the race’s cycling route. I was arriving at Snow Canyon around 2:00 pm or 1:30 pm and my friend, the sun was very much present. This time I was on my own so I had to make sure I always stayed hydrated. I finished cycling and then ran 10 km around 3:00 pm. By the end of the day I had a whole different skin color, exhausted, thirsty and could definitely eat a huge hamburger but ate Pizza from The absolute best place in Cedar City.

I did similar training for the last two weeks in Saint George. The second time I went to Sand Hollow Clark rented a Kayak so that a boat would not run over me and could still compete. He also rented it so I could follow a straight line(I might struggle having a sense of direction while swimming) which made it a lot more enjoyable and faster than the last time I had swam on my own. But before we left we did some cliff jumping that I did not want to do at the beginning(classic of me). But, thanks to Clark’s sense of adventure I jumped off the cliff and into the water. I was so scared to hit myself with the rocks or something of that sort. If it weren’t for Clark and the people who were telling me how to jump there I would not have done it. Definitely, make sure you go cliff jumping when in Sand Hollow!

One more sleep

Uniform + nutrition ready for the race.

I got everything ready for the race. I did the bike and run check-in. I Had all my nutrition prepared, last meal planned, my new Garmin watch had just arrived and my speed suit (Huge Garmin watch had just suddenly died so ordered a new one and it arrived on time!). Alfredo flew from North Carolina to come see me and later on that day Clark’s beautiful and amazing family did too. I made some pasta and Clark perfectly diced a huge watermelon for dessert. I am not a huge fan of pasta but I have noticed how it has fueled me for harder workouts and races.

Pre-Race Meal.

“Feed your own spirit. It needs constant nourishment. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness, Don’t permit anything to detract you from this awareness. You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness”

My favorite way to nourish my soul is by going to The Temple. I can definitely feel more connected to my creator and my soul is filled with love and an overwhelming amount of peace. I love going to the Temple. I had the blessing to go twice to the Cedar City Temple during my visit in St. George since they are remodeling the St. George Temple.

Right before I went to bed I asked Alfredo to give me a blessing of peace and strength specifically for the race. I am not sure how to put this into words but let me just tell you that I was and am so blessed to have a brother who holds the power of God on earth for God to bestow His blessings upon me through him. I recall that during his blessing he said “That I will be able to manage and know how to face any kind of adversity, to be of good cheer and that I might have peace and comfort while racing” . I love Heavenly Father, the Gospel and my brother. To have these kind of blessings meant the world to me. I have always been away from my family since I was young so it is not every day that I get a blessing from my brothers. Also, it is important to mention that my coach, teammates and friends texted me and sent audios of encouragement the I was not expecting at all. It made me feel a lot less nervous and just more excited to race. Following the blessing, Alex my brother called me to talk about the specific race plan. A race plan typically includes the nutrition, the pace for every discipline ,back up plans and some psychological encouragement and advise. Talking about a race plan with Alex is probably one of my favorite things to do with him besides beating him in Catan every time. He is so passionate about everything he does and loving about the things he cares for. I am very much aware that physically nourishing our bodies is important but I also know that feeding our souls and spirit is as important. The way I do this is by making sure I feed it through, prayer, reading the scriptures and other enlightening literature, attending the Temple, being more loving, patient( I am so bad at that one) grateful, serving others, being close to nature and for you this might look different and even though I am not a Pro or a Psychologist or Therapist I know it is so very important to fill our spiritual cups in whatever form that might be to perform better in life, not just necessarily for a race. After I had received a blessing from Alfredo and talked to Alex I ended the night by kneeling down in prayer and feeling so much gratitude and love from Heavenly Father and everyone who had contributed in some way or reached out for this race.

Race Day

This is when I met with Clark’s family right before the start.

I might have woken up around 4:30 am to shower, talk to God through prayer, read my Scriptures, got hydrated and ate all things carbs ( banana, oatmeal with brown sugar, and a bagel) luckily this time I was not on my period so I did not have to worry about that. I walked out of the hotel that we stayed for that weekend and walked about a hundred meters to catch the bus that would take me to T1 or swimming part in Sand Hollow. I had arrived perfectly on time to pump up the tires, placed and opened some of my nutrition on my bike pocket, wrapped my tube around the bike’s post and lastly put lots of sunscreen and chamois cream (butt’r cream brand is the best). I directed myself to my age group line when I suddenly heard my name and Clark was right there with the sweetest encouragement sign. He gave me a big hug and kiss. Maybe about five minutes later Clark’s mom Denisse, Christian(brother) and Katelyn(Christian’s girlfriend)had also arrived with the nicest signs to send me off to the start. As soon as I saw them all I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude. It was so sweet of them to drive from Provo and then wake up early to come cheer for me because this race was very important for me. I had trained so hard and for someone to come and celebrate it with me made me feel connected and so understood. It is something I had not really experienced completely before with important people in my life who are not involved in the sport . Alfredo was also there but we didn’t get to see each other right at the start but yes during the transition to the bike and later on during the race which also filled my heart with joy.

“Avoid any fear like your worst enemy”

Swim

Race Day at Sand Hollow. I was probably somewhere in the water…

As you might have guessed I was nervous about the swimming part. I placed myself in a good pack of girls averaging a bit faster than myself. We entered the water three by three at a time every 10-15 seconds. On my mind all I was thinking about was to hold unto someone’s feet then started feeling better and wanted to pass some girls however I totally went the wrong way. There was a kayak that kept talking to me but I just thought it was the regular kayak that’s on the route but turns out I had deviated from the path a bit. I obviously could not see very well. The sun glare was there at its finest plus my goggles where foggy as could be. I swam back to the path and tried to push myself as much as I could. I was almost expecting a 40 minute swim. I think it might have been 36 minutes which is not a great time but better than expected given the situation. I was really happy to be done with the swimming part and start doing the bike leg. As I ran out of the water to get my bike my "Ultimate Cheer Squad" was screaming so I could only try to change as fast as I could. I headed out from T1 with the biggest smile from hearing all the cheers from everyone even if I had just dropped my c02.

Bike

This might have been at km 42? Clark’s family and Alfredo were there. It was so so fun to see them cheering for me.

Minutes later I did worry I would get a flat tire and not having a C02 would complicate the logistics of my race. I knew I need to change my mindset and might sound weird but needed to just stay positive. So, I started telling myself that It would be fine and that I was not gonna get a flat tire. I was feeling pretty good the first 8 kilometers until there were some serious headwinds and a big storm. It was literally pouring with rain and hail. I am sure I was not the only person who was about to fall off the bike since the wind was pushing from every direction. I almost crashed with someone else I was passing her because of the wind. If you look at my time you will see that the first half was so slow. Frustration and concern were trying to take over me while trying to remain positive. My brother's priesthood blessing came to my mind which helped me remember to be of “Good cheer” and trusted that everything was going to be okay. I decided to just keep cycling at a pace I felt safe instead of stopping. As I was doing so there were other female athletes who just passed by me what seemed to be an incredible fast pace given the challenging weather conditions. It was not until approximately kilometer 35 perhaps that the the rain was not as heavy and by km 50 weather had considerably improved. This helped me to start picking up the pace as well as seeing my boyfriend's family and brother about two or three times at about halfway through the course which I wasn't expecting. They were so smart about intercepting me and planning all the best spots to see me as much as possible. It got me even more excited and tried to cycle better. The good part about the storm is that dehydration was not an issue as I was expecting and worried about because of the extreme heat (for me) felt like I did not have to hydrate myself as much since it ended up being cloudy and not sunny so hydration and nutrition wise I was doing just fine. I ate a pack of Skratch gummies, two waffles and one fruit gel. A couple of kilometers later I had arrived to my favorite part "Snow Canyon" It was so exciting for me to climb the Canyon and not be the only crazy one out there. There were numerous triathletes climbing it. We were all trying to achieve one thing. We all wanted to finish the race and tackle whatever came at us. I felt so motivated and started passing people which got me pretty energized.

Snow Canyon

It did not feel nearly as hard as climbing it for the first time. Climbing Snow Canyon was also my absolute favorite part of the race because of its beautiful red rock scenery, It was so majestic and I was just feeling so strong and capable of conquering anything at that point. Then came the descent which meant that the bike part was pretty much done!! Hurray!! Once you climb snow Canyon is about 10 km of descent or more to Tabernacle St. in downtown. And, of course many of the girls who I had passed climbing, passed me on the way down. Based on my weight I could only go so fast downhill. However, I am sure I can have a more aerodynamic position to improve this part. I sure have to work on that among many other details. I did not really want to look at my time because I knew I had taken way long in the first 35 km. I did not want to get discouraged. But, I did look at my time half-way as planned and towards the end and it looked like I was pretty close to it. I clocked 2:49 min on the bike. I seriously could not even believe it. I know that there are way faster times etc but for me this was perfect. I could not have been more thrilled about it.

Forget about HeartBreak Hill

Unto the third leg! I handed my bike to the staff, put on my Vaporfly’s and Boston visor and off I went. My legs felt extremely sore and tired, nothing new after the bike. I was trying to find my pace which I had struggled with because you start the running part going up! I told myself to enjoy all the cheers, the people, the athletes, me running in pain, me eating that SYS gel I did not want to eat, me then eating three other gels I also did not want to but had to because I needed that energy booster. As I started heading to the steeper part of the run Christian, Alfredo, Clark and Katelyn were screaming their lungs out. I am not even kidding. I think they were the loudest out there. Every time they would intersect me, people would also get excited for me and would laugh and smile so big because they were the funniest and most fun even though we were all in pain. It rained a little bit on the run but that was okay compared to the earlier part of the bike. Going into the second lap and last lap lots of people from my country also cheered for me. I remember hearing something in Spanish like this “ Queria competir ching$%&” which sort of translates to “You want it to race then forking hurry up” It made me laugh while running. I also haded my visor to a guy because it was bothering me for some reason. Going up for the second time felt so hard but somehow better than the first time. Very grateful my support team was there when I needed it the most. Passing that part I just need to keep going strong even though I was pretty tired. I tried to sprint on my last kilometer and end well. Crossing that finish line felt so rewarding and satisfying after months of very hard work! I did not leave anything left in the tank. I trained and raced as hard and wise I could with all my heart, might and strength. In case you were wondering I clocked 5 hrs and 8 min.

“…Be not so concerned about what you do. But what you do, do with all your heart mind and strength, in thoroughness there’s satisfaction. You want to be good and do good that is commendable, but the greatest achievement is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost (Being kind, loving, accepting, forgiving, good deeds, tolerating, sharing, giving up our natural man). The pain of sacrifice only lasts one moment, it is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate doing it .The pain of sacrifice only lasts one moment, it is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate doing it”. Enzio Bushe.

I was so ecstatic about finally crossing the finish line.

Celebrated

Christian, Katelyn, Denisse, Bolt, Alfredo and Clark

At the end of the race, I got my medal, met with my teammates and then met with Alfredo, Clark, Denisse, Christian, Katelyn and Bolt. I can say I did not left anything left in the tank. I trained and race with all might heart might and strength. They were so supportive throughout the whole race . They were out there from at least 7 am until 2 pm I think and even came to have Indian linner with us afterwards.I definitely felt celebrated by Heavenly Father through them and everyone who took the time to send me text messages, voice messages, IG mentions. I felt and feel so grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me to finish this race happy and healthy. After I had finished Acapulco I had no idea I could race better. I had no idea I could be stronger and wiser in so many aspects of my life. Heavenly Father sure knows us better than we do ourselves. Have I not gone through another trial and felt pain, I would not have experienced this much joy through all the experiences l lived, scenery I saw, rides (and ride buddies), and of course the most amazing people I encountered at some point or another(I would like to call my Angels). He always wants to give us something better. We just need to let Him do it :) So, thank you to all of you who have been there in one way or another. Thank you to my family, boyfriend, boyfriend’s family, best-friends, friends, coaches, teammates, flatmates for helping me along the way.

Clark's mom Denisse and me post-race

All the staff at Farmstead were so kind to us when we would visit to get some delicious carbs.

I love my brother Alfredo so much I mean just look at his smile. He loves to tease me as an older brother would do but he always takes care of me and is one of the most thoughtful person I know.

“…When you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that as you learning this lesson God wants to give you something better”. Enzio Bushe.

Camden Reunited and Boston

As part of the celebratory activities and traditions we spent some time with one of my best friends and former roomate at BYU-I. Kaitlin has always been wise beyond her years and ability with words is something to be impressed about. I have always looked up to her. We all went on a hike together with his two wonderful kids and newborn. She has always been a warrior and she did this hike carrying her baby. Dela-Roo also came along and I could not be happier about it. We drove to Water Canyon as it is now an official tradition before I head to the Boston Marathon. All in all it was a joy spending time with her family, Clark, Alfredo and a new friend we made in St. George. Traveling and racing abroad is always I look forward to because I can always meet with good old friends and family. Thank you so much to all of you who made the time to meet and happen to be reading this blog post. I loved seeing every single one of you in Salt Lake City, Provo, Orem, Eagle Mountain, Layton, Vineyard and St.George it really meant so much to me. After having spent time in Utah and raced at the World's Championship it only meant that Boston was around the corner or three weeks away. There were only a few training sessions left, the harder work had been mostly done. I mostly needed to do some active recovery and two long runs. I will share more of the details about Boston on my next blog post :).

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