On The Water

My racing season has come to an end on a high note. I finished 12th (out of 35 qualified women in my category) at the 2016 ITU long course World Championships in Oklahoma City. I am not completely satisfied but reflecting back over the years, and seeing all the difficulties I had to overcome in order to get where I am at, I can say I am happy to close up the season and plan for the future.  Let me tell you a little story to give you a perspective. When I was in elementary school, back in the early '90s in Greece, there was a two-day camp to selec t "talented" kids for the newly formed track and field team of the city. I was very keen and active at the time and I wanted with all of my heart to be in that team. I did my very best and tried with all the power of my soul to perform in the tests. But, I did not make the cut-offs and I did not get selected. I was told I was not good enough.  When I moved on to high-school, I was a very good student, but I was not g...

It has been a long time. I could not run pain free for almost 2 years. I went through exams and numerous doctoral visits ( An unknown injury ). I thought I got it under control last year with the weekly visits to a great massage therapist ( Who is Nathan Henderson? ), yet I was not completely pain free. This is because the massage was really treating the symptoms and not the cause. I never gave up hopes though. In July 2014 I got this little demon right ( My abdominal pain ,  Posterior Mediastinal Expansion ). At the Cantrell Center , I started a series of physical therapy to correct my muscoloskeletal diaphragmatic and pelvic imbalances. To tell you the truth, I did not have high hopes in the program back then. I have now. I have been running pain free for a month. I started with 20min runs every other day and I can now put up with a long run of 45min - what a joy! I can fully breath from my right diaphragm, which was awfully atrophic, and most importantly, I can somehow r...

Maturing as an athlete is a lot more than just getting faster or becoming more efficient. I believe that what makes an athlete mature is a great mindset.  From my own small-world perspective, my athletic attitude has changed dramatically over the years. I remember my first season that started in October 2011: I was restless. I wanted to train every day. The more the better. I was getting excited with every little success, from clocking faster 5K times every month to winning the smallest local race in town. I was also getting depressed easily: whenever my knee was hurting or my shoulder was pinching. I was becoming really pessimistic if I had to take time off training in order to deal with smaller or bigger injuries. I remember I was crying for days when I had to stop swimming for nearly 4 months to rehab my left shoulder from chronic rotator cuff injury: I went to the 2012 Collegiate Nationals having practiced 0 swimming for 4 months (I finished 4th overall). The majo...

Persistence is still determination to overcome adversity and keep moving forward regardless of your feelings or the environmental conditions. It is a sustained effort characterized by will power and desire. Every athlete, from amateurs to Olympians, has dealt with some sort of injury or injuries at some point. Small injuries, big injuries; injuries that take a week to heal or years to overcome. Having a clear vision of the future, removing any stubborn attachment to the past and just sticking to the original goals have helped all of us get through the rough times. Setting up a goal and working towards it, can have many ups and downs; when you are up, you can overcome challenges like a steamroller; when you are down, you have to stay put to that burning desire of succeeding your goal. You will have weak moments; maybe you will cry; maybe you will want to quit. Try to see the end of the tunnel, stay in the path, have faith and hope, and you will get out stronger, more mature and crav...