Friday, November 25, 2011

The Pit Stops: Refueling (Part I)


Have you ever seen a Formula 1 car race?

Those incredible machines can be driven at speeds greater than 350 km/h. They are perfectly designed to combine an extremely powerful engine with a very light and aerodynamic chassis. The result is a wonderful machine that can only be driven at its potential by the most talented pilots in the world.

But even the best machine and pilot needs to do “Pit Stops” during the races to change tires, fix any problem and refuel. If the Pit Stop is skipped, sooner or later, even the best engineered machines stop completely.

Well, your body, your Perfect Machine, is exactly the same.
To make it work properly and at its best, you need to do all your “Pit Stops”. And you have to do them at the right time and with the right fuel.

When you master this, your recovery times improve tremendously.

So let’s now concentrate on the “refueling” aspect of your pit stops. In other words, let’s see how you can best replenish all the nutrients and fluids that your body consumes during normal living and especially during sports training.


RESOURCES CONSUMED

While you are having fun working out or practicing your favorite sport, you are basically wearing and tearing your machine's chassis (muscles and tendons) and consuming several resources in your body.

In simplified terms, you are consuming:
  1. Water : lost in great quantities to cool you off through sweating, and in minor quantities through your urine to depurate you of detritus resulting from the chemical reactions at cellular level
  2. Electrolytes: also lost trough your sweating, these are minerals like magnesium, potassium and sodium (that’s where the salty taste of your sweat is coming from)
  3. Glucose: consumed as the fastest source of energy to make your muscles contract and make you move. The faster you go (and the greater effort  you do), the fastest rate at which glucose is consumed
  4. Fats: consumed as a very concentrated, but slow source of energy. If you move easily and for a long time (like a hike) a great proportion of your energy is coming from fats. Fats are also used to repair cellular membranes.
  5. Amino Acids: these are the building blocks of protein which are used in large quantities to repair and reinforce the muscle fibers damaged during training. They are also consumed in small quantities to produce energy.

Let’s now see in more detail how you should replace these resources to make your Perfect Machine work at its best all the time.


WATER

This is the most important of all the resources. Make a mistake in your hydration, and your performance will decrease enormously and your post-workout recovery will take much longer.

Keep in mind that when you feel thirsty, you are already a bit dehydrated. Thus, drink constantly!

That sense of fatigue you get after you exercise can be greatly reduced if you drink enough before, during and after your workout.

When:
  1. Drink all the time. Keep a water bottle next to you and keep sipping all day.
  2. Make sure you are going into your workout well hydrated by drinking one or two glasses of water half an hour before the start.
  3. Try to sip water continuously during your workout when you take short breaks. Just don’t drink much when you are working at extreme levels of intensity as your stomach might get upset. It is better to wait for the end if you are working out intensely for less than 30 minutes.
  4. Drink at least half a liter after your workout, and much more if you have been training for more than an hour or in hot conditions. The more you have sweated, the more you have to drink. It will also help you to carry out of your body the toxins produced during your training.


ELECTROLYTES

These work together with the water to keep you hydrated up to the cellular level.

If you have been sweating a lot (like in a hot marathon race), plain water will not be enough to hydrate you. The sweating makes you lose minerals (lots of sodium) from your blood and cells.

Actually, you need the electrolytes to carry the water inside the cells, otherwise you are only “washing up” the mineral content in your blood and cells (if this is taken to the extreme it is called hyponatremia which can be very dangerous).

Without the proper mineral balance, the electrical impulses sent from the brain are not transmitted well to the muscle fibers, so they cannot contract properly. That’s when the horribly painful muscle cramps appear!

When:
  1. During prolonged workouts or long races (more than an hour), sip sports drinks (i.e. Gatorade or Powerade), in addition to lots of water. The greater the heat, the greater the amount of salts and minerals you have to drink in addition to your water.
  2. After your long workouts or races in the heat, eat salty food and keep drinking sports drinks in addition to your water. Your rehydration and recovery will be much faster this way.
If you have not sweated much, water is enough. The minerals lost with normal sweating are replaced with your meals. Thus, avoid sports drinks if you are not working out much (they have too much sugar that you do not need in short workouts!).


Bonus tip: 
(This is for those friends of yours who are alcohol lovers, not for you of course!)


After drinking lots of alcohol and before going to bed, drink at least half a liter of a sports drink with as much water as you can. 
Hangovers are mainly a severe state of dehydration caused by all the peeing (and vomiting!) done to eliminate the toxic alcohol from your body.
Thus, after the night out, and if you are conscious enough (I mean, your friend!) eat salty food, and drink a sports drink in addition to lots of water before going to bed. You will feel much better the day after... Well, that’s what they tell me ;)



OK. I’ll leave you here. Hopefully, you are now sipping from your water bottle and keeping well hydrated!
Next time, we’ll cover the other three resources that you need to replace to be in top conditions to perform at your best and recover faster.

In the meantime...

Train hard, drink hard!...water, I mean!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Are you really sure you are a sheep?


After I have done the Ironman triathlon many people have told me that I am fortunate to be a "super-athlete". They tell me that it would be impossible for "people like them" to do something like that.

I just smile at this and immediately tell them that I am not at all a "super-athlete". 

At least, not more than they are. 
Our DNA's are 99,9% equal. 
We are basically the same.

The only difference might be that I know that (with proper knowledge and conditioning) human beings are capable of accomplishing amazing feats. 

Our species have evolved over million years, and we have survived incredible challenges not only because of our intellectual capabilities, but also due to our superior physical abiities.

We are all incredibly strong.

We have just forgotten what we are capable of.
We are confusing modern comfort with well-being.
So we are not using our Perfect Machines correctly or at their potential.
And they have become weaker and weaker as a result.

But the whole process can be reversed.
We can all carve out  the "super-athletes" inside of us.

We just need to wake up and remember who we really are.



The following is a very nice fable adapted - by the Coach and Author Michael Neill - from an old Hindu myth about enlightenment and discipleship. Just read it and let the message ring and resonate inside you.


Once upon a time, there was a baby lion who was born into the world alone and afraid. A family of sheep found him in their home in the green grassy valley at the bottom of the mountains one day, and because he was so beautiful and because they were so kind, they decided to raise him as one of their own. It was his sister, who had a highly developed sense of irony, who suggested they name him 'Leo'.
So they taught Leo the baby lion how to walk as a sheep, and talk as a sheep, and taught him all the ways of sheep, and they loved him with all of their hearts. They taught him to fear what all sheep fear, and that whatever he did he must stay away from the mountains, for lions lived up there, and no sheep who had ever gone up the mountain had ever returned.
Eventually, Leo became so good at acting like a sheep that even his own family forgot that he was really a lion. Sure, occasionally some of the other sheep teased him for his unusual size and his bushy haircut. But Leo did what he could to fit in, and he made good friends, and eventually he became a good, productive member of the sheep community.
The years passed uneventfully until one day an old lion from the mountains came down into the green, grassy valley in search of food. Leo was the first to sense his presence, and as soon as he yelled "Lion!" all the sheep began to run in panicked circles. In the midst of the chaos, the old lion noticed Leo.
"Hey, you!", roared the hungry lion.
"M...m...me?" whimpered Leo, terrified but at the same time fascinated by this magnificent old creature.
"What are you doing here with all these sheep?" the old lion demanded.
"They're my family," said Leo proudly.
At this, the old lion laughed. "Then who are you, young one?"
"I'm Leo, and I'm a sheep", Leo bleeted.
Suddenly, the old lion's face turned fierce. "Come with me!" he roared.
Leo didn't want to go with the old lion but he thought that by doing so, he might save his fellow sheep. So with a last look back at his herd, he followed the old lion off into the mountains.
They walked for many miles until at last, high up in the mountains, they came upon a beautiful crystal clear lake filled with smooth, blue water. The old lion beckoned for Leo to come to the edge of the lake. By this time, Leo was exhausted - not so much from the climb, which he found surprisingly easy, but from the constant fear that at any moment, the old lion would eat him. So with a final reluctant 'baaa', Leo made his way to the edge of the lake and looked where the old lion's paw was pointing.
To his amazement, he saw not a sheep, but the reflection of a strong young lion. In that moment, he knew who he really was and let out a mighty roar that shook the mountains all the way down to the green, grassy valley...
After the shock of discovering his true identity, Leo realized that he was hungry - really hungry. And grass just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Fortunately, Leo knew where he could get food, and plenty of it.
But when he got back to the valley to where his old herd was still grazing, he stopped in shock. For what he saw was not a herd of sheep, but a pride of lions, each one grazing and bleating and acting for all the world like sheep. It was his own mother who saw him first, and though Leo could see that she herself was a beautiful lioness, she cowered in fear, not recognizing him and bleating "Lion!" at the top of her lungs.
"Mother!", he roared, but the sound just made the sheep/lioness run even faster amongst the increasingly agitated herd.
Finally, Leo noticed that his sister was looking at him with a faint hint of recognition, and he knew what he must do. He put on his fiercest face, and he roared at her "Come with me!"
And though she was afraid, she followed him on the long journey up to the clear blue lake in the mountains...


OK. That's it.

Now....breathe deeply...and let me hear that loud ROAR! ;)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Mix it up! (Part II)


Doing different sports is extremely fun, and it helps you to improve your fitness levels rapidly without the risk of injuring yourself. But it can be complicated and not very practical, if you have a very busy agenda.
So, how can you add the needed variety to your training without making it so complex?
Quick answer: Focus each workout you do on a different and specific physical ability.
Yes, you are right! Quick answers are not always clear answers. So bear with me while I try to explain this into greater detail.
The following is key information for those of you who really want to optimize your recovery times, so you can train constantly to improve your fitness very rapidly.

The basic physical abilities
Your body is a Perfect Machine, full of organs and complex systems that work all in synchrony to keep you enjoying Life.
Muscles, glands, arteries, lungs, brain, tendons, heart, senses, hormones, and million other precious parts working together as a perfect team. From the macro body parts to the infinitely small cells and intracellular parts, all work together and have different responses according to what you do (and also to what you think and how you feel).
You knew that already?
Well, what you might have not considered before is that these DIFFERENT RESPONSES can be used to your advantage.
You can optimize your recovery by consciously stimulating your body just in a certain way each time, so while some body systems work fully, the others are resting a bit.
Now you want to know how you incorporate this into your training program, right?
Simple! 
The best way is by dividing your training to develop the basic physical abilities:



1. Endurance
Represents your ability to repeat a movement for long periods of time. When you train your endurance, you are working at a low intensity level, so your breathing is under control and your muscles are moving constantly but without much force.
This is the main ability needed in sports lasting more than 2 - 3 hours (i.e. marathon, long distance triathlon, hiking, etc).

2. Speed
Represents your ability to move fast. When you train your speed, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but not against heavy resistance. What you are focusing is on developing the ability of your muscle fibers to contract and relax sequentially really fast, and at your command.
This is the main ability needed in sprinting, like running or swimming 100 meters.

3. Force
Represents your ability to lift or push great weights or resistance for short periods of time. When you train your force, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but in such short periods of time that you have time to catch your breath.
This is the main ability needed in sports like Olympic weightlifting.

---- o ----

If you train all three basic abilities, you not only become a more rounded athlete, you also allow your body to recover more properly.
Although it is much better if you ask the help of an experienced Coach to prepare a training program for you, you can plan a very simple program for yourself by alternating the following in your training:
Endurance: train very easily and continuosly for at least 45 minutes (much more if you want to and have the time). Examples are walking, jogging, elliptical machine, biking or swimming easily. Never gasping for air or with burning muscles!
Speed: do quick and short intervals of 10 seconds to 1 minute of cycling, swimming, running or any other movement you want to become fast at. Recover your breath in between intervals and keep repeating them until you are able to move with good form and agility.
Force: either work with weights or body weight exercises, or use heavy resistance in your sports. For example, you can run uphill, or use paddles for swimming or heavy gears in cycling. Don’t do it for too long and concentrate on pushing hard with your muscles. If you are completely out of breath, stop and start again only when you are fully recovered. Your muscles must do most of the work, not your lungs!


Play with these different kinds of challenges.
Test yourself in various ways.
Learn how you react under different circumstances.
Have fun with the different sensations.
The variety of the experiences will keep you motivated and injury-free. Both conditions are needed to train consistenly. And as you already know, it is only through consistent training that you become Superfit.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Mix it up! (Part I)

You know already from the previous post that too much training without proper recovery is only detrimental and can be even harmful to your health. And you also know that you need to train constantly and with increasing effort levels to produce fast results.

So, how do you combine the two things?
How do you train more without hurting yourself?

Very simple answer: train AND recover all the time!

This means that any good training program has also recovery designed within it. And the best training programs are the ones that consider the optimization of recovery a priority.

I know, I know....you want to know how to do it by yourself, right?

Here's the trick: Mix things up!

If you train different body parts, do different sports, and use different intensity and duration levels, you will be always taxing mainly one area of your body while the others are recovering.

Sounds obvious, right?

But how many people you know that go always for that same 30-minute run, at the same pace and at the same place? I bet is the same people that show little or no results. Even worse, I am sure those same people complain about pain in the knees or ankles from exercising. 

So now let's see in greater detail how you could avoid that same mistake. 


Different sports, different body parts

What is your favorite food?
Would you eat it at every meal, every day?

Most probably you wouldn't, but if you would, that same food would become very soon your most hated dish. Your mind and body will reject it as the lack of variety would not only make your eating very annoying, but you will be also lacking many important nutrients.

Well, it is the same for training. If for example, you only do a certain run all the time, it will become annoying very soon and you will lose the desire to be active. Even worse, you will be stimulating only some of your body parts exactly in the same way, while completely neglecting others.

At a certain point, this constant and repeated movement in the same body part becomes too much, and you end up with extreme pain or even injured.

Thus, the best way to avoid it is to use different body parts and play different sports. This is called "cross-training" and it is the best injury-prevention medicine you can use. By the way, it is fun, too!

If you are not competing in a specific sport, you can keep doing different things all the time. Go hiking, biking, running, swimming, climbing, kayaking, play tennis or basketball, do weight lifting, and whatever comes to your mind and feels appealing to you.

The more variety you add, the better.

Be creative and follow your instincts!
Be adventurous, too!
Your body will be trained AND recovered properly.
And your mind and spirit will be refreshed, too!

But even if you are focusing in just one sport because you have some race in mind, add some cross training to your program to avoid injuries. For example, if you are preparing for a running marathon, a swim or bike ride can keep your cardiovascular system working at top level, while you give much needed rest to your lower back, knees and ankles from the constant running impact. Even if you do not swim or bike, you can always walk uphill to challenge your cardiovascular system and activate different muscles (i.e. glutes), while you avoid the hard impact on your knees (ask somebody to pick you up at the top or come back down walking very slowly!!!).

OK, that's it for the first part.

But before leaving, just one quick final tip: If whatever you are doing is hurting badly and acutely (especially in the joints), stop doing it! Do a different movement or do a different sport, until your pain disappears.

I know from experience that this final tip, unfortunately, will not be followed by many.

But I am writing it for the SMART ones like YOU!

Pain is an alert signal telling you that you need recovery time in a certain area. And extreme pain is a loud alert signal telling you that the area is damaged already and needs greater recovery time.

Don't be a hero!

If you are in pain, keep training, but focus on a different area.

Listen and respect your body!

At least if (like me) you want to be able to enjoy the beauty of sports and the outdoors for all the rest of your life.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Fitter and healthier, much faster!....or mastering the art of recovery

Remember this formula?

Improved fitness levels = Stress (from training) + Recovery

We covered it for the first time in one of the first posts (Only 15 minutes!) about training. The focus at that time was on how to effectively and efficiently stress your body during training. Well, it’s now time to focus on the equally important, but usually forgotten, second part of the formula.

If you are training consistently, rest and recovery are critical for your body to really become fitter and healthier.

Check the above formula again: if your recovery is non-existent, what you end up with is only stress! And I am sure you do not need more of it.

For fitness enthusiasts and athletes, it is important to keep in mind that all stress is cumulative. Work, family duties, life challenges, climate changes, diet changes, physical stress (yes, that includes training!), and other stresses are all added up and cumulated.

This whole load of stress is handled by our bodies through a very effective mechanism lead by our adrenal glands (or suprarenal glands – located above the kidneys). These glands produce hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which prepare us to handle these situations effectively by making our heart beat faster, dilating the air passages to get more oxygen, increasing the blood sugar levels, and by focusing many other body resources to handle the stress. As a result, our attention is heightened and we have the extra energy needed to fight and survive.

Sounds like the perfect protection system, right?
It is! But it is intended to work only for short “emergency” periods.

The problem is that with modern life, we are surrounded by stress sources. Thus, this effective mechanism very rarely switches off. And while it is constantly working, it is impeding the proper functioning of other important systems in the body, like the immune system.

See where I am getting at?

If you do not provide enough rest and recovery to your body, not only you stop improving your fitness levels, but also you end up chronically tired, injured, and with a weak immune system.

Do you know athletes who are full of allergies, or catch colds frequently?
Now you know why!
They are doing too much, too soon.
And their bodies are just breaking down.

Have you ever heard the motto “No pain, no gain”?
If you have, cancel it from your mind! Now!

This mentality is at the base of many frustrations and injuries in sports. It promotes one of those terrible cycles that we need to be aware of in order to avoid them:
-      Initial rapid fitness improvement from hard training (when the body is still fresh and able to cope with the stress)
-      Decrease in results (the body is starting to get tired)
-      Harder and longer training (mistakenly thinking that this will produce results again)
-      Sickness (colds, allergies, etc) and/ or injuries appear
-      Training even with painful injuries and sickness (thinking that otherwise fitness will disappear)
-      More severe injuries and sickness appear (the body has finally broken down completely)
-      The pain becomes too much and results seem something that happens only to others...to those “genetically gifted people”
-      Sports and training are abandoned completely, with worse health and fitness levels, accompanied by many injuries and great frustration.


Balance is key!
Too much of anything is detrimental.
Even if it is a "good" thing!

So, if you are passionate about sports (like me) be careful about how “obsessed” you become with training. Sport and training need to be challenging to produce results, but the level of the challenge has to be just a little bit above what your body can handle at any given moment. If you do more than that, you are only wasting your time and making yourself sick.

Training and recovery are opposites that work only in relation to each other. As with other things in life, they need to be in balance to get the best results.


The Yin and Yang symbol from Taoism


As your mind needs quiet and relaxing periods to reflect and learn the most from your life experiences, your body also needs moments dedicated to rest and recovery to assimilate the training and become stronger.

So, the idea is to get continuous improvement by constantly looking for the right balance between stressing your body with training and then letting it recover and heal properly to become stronger. Once it is stronger, it can handle a greater stress and the process can start again over and over.

Sleep well, take days off and do not train too hard, too soon!
Easy, right?

Well, that is a good way to get results without hurting yourself.

But how about finding ways to maximize your ability to recover (without using drugs)? You would be able to train a lot more, still assimilate the stress, and be able to transform it in greater fitness and health levels at a much faster rate.

Impossible?

Nope, not at all!
It is possible!
And it is doable by anyone who masters the Art of Recovery!

Through the Art of Recovery, you can get fast and continuous results throughout the years. And it is with consistent training throughout the years that you become SUPERFIT!

So, if you want to learn how to master the Art of Recovery, check the next posts as I will be sharing many tricks on this front.

OK. That’s it for now!

What?
Tired from reading?
Go take a recovery nap!!! ;)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Do you believe in Magic? (Part III – The Bike)

The swim is over, but the day is just starting. Jogging quickly among the rooting fans, I let a celebration smile appear in my face while I keep moving towards the transition area.

A thousand thoughts are flooding my mind at this moment.

Focus!
Come back to the present!

T1: Swim-to-bike transition
After entering the transition area, I start following the routine I had visualized in my mind many times. The change from swimming to cycling was going to be easy, perfect and, best of all…FAST!

Well, at least that was my visualization.
Reality ends up being completely different, ha!

The place is so crowded that I have to “wait in line” to get my bike transition bag. The changing tent is also full. My wetsuit gets stuck in my calves and brutal force is not working. Slowly and gently, I roll the neoprene down my calves and finally liberate myself from the wetsuit. SLOWLY!

Relax, breathe, but keep moving!
Keep moving!

The rest of the routine goes much better. I get dressed rapidly, including arm warmers and cycling vest to protect me from the cool air of the morning. Race number, helmet, sunglasses, socks and shoes, I put them on without major problems. The wetsuit, swim cap and goggles get in the bag without resistance either. Done!

I finally throw the bag through the air to one of the volunteers, almost hitting another athlete (sorry dude!).

Run!

Where’s my bike? Where the heck is it?
Keep moving! Keep moving!
There it is! There’s my baby!
Run!

Oh yes!
This is it! Time to fly!
Time to do My Magic!


The bike
I leave the transition area with a big smile on my face. Cycling is my strength, and I know that the two-loop course of 180 km total, full of rolling hills and just four hard climbs is ideally suited for me.

The scenery is beautiful and the temperature is cool.
My energy is still intact, and I am ready to attack.
This is going to be so much fun!

As soon as I get on the bike, I start passing on other riders. The effort seems fine, but I keep surpassing lots of people.

To the right!
You are too slow to be in front of me!
Move! Get out of my way!

I am flying!


But…Am I going too fast?
Will I blow up if I keep going like this?

Come on!
Attack that little hill!
Sweet!

I keep switching from caution to overconfidence, while I keep surpassing people. Big, skinny, young, fat, tall, short, old, everything…I see all kinds of athletes while I am surpassing them. I try to see a correlation between their body types and age to the speed they are going, but it seems like there is no one. It seems like everyone can do the Ironman.

Hold on a second! I get it!
It is not the body type or age that is common to them.
It is their Eyes! The Determination in their Eyes!
All these guys and girls have Fire in their Eyes.
They are so Full of Energy. They are so Alive!

With this realization in mind, I suddenly silence my continuous mental debate and neutralize my conflicting emotions. The noise disappears, and I stop thinking completely.

A subtle smile grows again inside me, and my instinct takes full control of my pacing. My legs keep moving, but only as they want to. No rules. No thoughts. I become pure movement!

Magic again!

The kilometers pass by fast. Almost too fast for me, since I am enjoying the ride so much that I do not want it to end.

Eat, drink, eat, drink!
Go up that hill!
Eat, drink, eat, drink!
Attack that super fast descent!
Smile at the rooting fans on the street!
Drink, eat, drink!
Enjoy the view of the surrounding mountains!

I reach the hard and long climb at km 65, which I approach easily and slowly. Many people are surpassing me at this point, but I keep letting my instinct (and not my ego) determine my riding speed. At the top of the climb, I see a scenery that resembles what I see each year on TV during the hardest mountain stages of the Tour de France:  fans coming closer to the riders to cheer them on and leaving only a narrow space for each rider to pass.

Excitement invades me, and I get an extra supply of energy to reach the top. Cool!

But the excitement changes in a second, as one rider coming from the back loses his balance while reaching for a water bottle.

What the f…!
No…no…NO!

He crashes into me and we both go down heavily to the floor.

Tragedy!

I bounce back immediately to my feet. Survival instincts take control and my veins are flooded with adrenaline in a second. The “Tour de France fans” are suddenly silenced by my fast and loud heart beats.

Is my race over?
Can’t be!
Please! It can’t finish here!
Not like this!

Look at the bike!
Is it broken? Twisted? Doesn’t seem so!
How is the chain? Still on!
Put the bike up and turn the chain ring! Seems to work!

I am relieved!
Hold on! What about yourself?
Oh no! There is blood coming down the leg from your left knee!
Left wrist hurts too!

Is it bad?
There is only one way to know.
Jump on and ride!

You’ll soon know if your race is over or not!

Luckily, I discover that I am in a bit of pain, but nothing serious has happened. The knee hurts, but the adrenaline rush helps. As soon as I realize that I can keep going, I calm down, the noise in my head disappears, and I get back into my world of Magic.

From them on, it is pure excitement. Surrounding mountain views, music, fans, rolling hills and fast descents make for an amazing ride. I am so full of this free energy, that I finish the first loop of 90 km feeling great.

I see and hear my parents and friends calling my name after the turn, and I respond lifting my arm and pointing my index finger to the sky to show them that I am feeling like a champ, like a “number one” (although I was way behind the real champ, but who cares, right?). Funny how the very act of showing my confidence gives me even greater energy: I surge again to surpass a group of riders in front of me.



At this point of the race, my instinct is the only pilot, my body is pure movement and my emotions are the raw energy propelling it.

Total ecstasy!

Time flies and kilometers keep getting shorter and shorter. In the last 30 km, I find my Austrian friend Paul, who is waiting to ride with me and take a few pictures in the last part of the ride. How lucky am I to have friends like this, huh?


Finally, I reach the last street of the bike course. As soon as I see the transition area at the end of the road, my mind takes the pilot seat again.

Time to wake up!
Time to start thinking about the marathon run ahead!

My watch shows that five hours and eleven minutes have passed, but to me they were just minutes. A big celebration smile grows within me again, as I reach the transition area. I am living a dream!

This is Real Magic!