Help Me Reach 70.3 Ironman by 12.08.19

I did not have a new year’s resolution for 2019, I did not plan for it, but I knew it would be an exciting year. It could’ve been being halfway done with my architecture degree, maybe getting to know myself, or even knowing that I was on the right path to the person I wanted to become, but I did not think in a million years that by the end of this year I would be training for a half-ironman. 


It all started with a change in nutrition. Coming from an athletic background I was used to eating whatever I wanted, whenever I felt like it, until I got to college and realized that my it had a tremendous impact not only in my physical appearance but also the way it affected my ability to do sports and ultimately my mood. It took me three years to realize that my body could no longer maintain a vending machine diet. I decided to become plant-based, and that was the start of my journey. After cutting all bad habits and being unable to eat most of the things I was used to eating, I began to meal prep and suddenly realized that by doing so I was actually learning about nutrition and foods I had not implemented on my diet for a long time. This includes a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and legumes. The first thing I noticed was a lot of energy. For the first three months February-April, my body began adapting to the diet and besides having an incredible amount of energy, which enabled me to become a “morning person”, my metabolism was also recovering from the harsh three years of unhealthy eating. Though I had always tried to keep myself active, and had an “I can eat whatever I want because I’ll burn it off” mentality, it wasn’t until this year when I was actually able to begin a regular training “no guilt” schedule. By no guilt I mean, not feeling guilty about skipping a workout because I would be eating clean regardless. 


By May of 2019, in an effort to maximize my time and try to incorporate physical activity into my daily routine, I realized how much time driving to work and being stuck in traffic took away from my extremely valuable 24 hours a day time, so I began cycling to work and college, from West New York - Jersey City (40 mins-1 hour)  - Newark ( 2 hours - Bike+Train). After a solid month of cycling back and forth, I began to finally feel like I was gaining the athleticism I once had. I felt strong and capable so I signed up for my first Sprint Triathlon (July 20th). This motivated me to take my training even further and I was able to include a secondary workout throughout my day, so it would follow as cycling in the morning to work or school, and cycling back to the track in the afternoon for a run. Before my first tri, I only swam for a total of 3 times but I was not intimidated by it since I was raised and lived for half of my life in Costa Rica. I finished my first tri with a smile on my face, ready to sign up for another one and so I did… May-July were extremely busy months for a regular college student’s summer, but I enjoyed every single part of it, and creating a solid routine of knowing I had to wake up early in order to get to school and work enabled me to start my day with a workout. I spent the month of august in Italy visiting my dad’s side of the family, where I was not sure how I would keep up with training since our house is far from the city and cars are used to get to the safer running portion. Either way I made it work, I would get rides from my aunts to the boardwalk by the shore in the morning before work and would run almost everyday. I began to increase my mileage and quickly thought of signing up for a half-marathon back at home in NJ. Through mid-vacation, my uncle let me borrow his cycling and shoes (that fit slightly big) but nevertheless fit and enabled me to also maintain a regular cycling training. Now increasing mileage on both the bike and running by alternating training. 

The thought of doing a half-ironman came to me by the end of my vacation in Italy. By looking at my journey and realizing that I was able to establish a solid training routine regardless of my crazy architecture school schedule and other life factors that take time away from our daily routines. I was hesitant about the running portion, but running the Newport Liberty Half Marathon in Jersey City (Sept. 15) really motivated me to get better at it. Today (10.19.19) I broke the time I ran by 10 minutes (3 weeks) in the Brooklyn Half, going from 1:52 to breaking my goal of going unger 1:45 - by hitting 1:42. My goal of completing the 70.3 Ironman gave me a solid 3 months of training so I decided to also incorporate a nutrition program into my lifestyle to ensure I’m properly building muscle and further extend my nutrition knowledge. So far I’ve gone from 147 lbs since I started in late August to 139 lbs (6 weeks), and from 155 lbs since the beginning of my journey that started in February. This has been possible thanks to Stronger U Nutrition and my Coach Lindsey Morrison.

Through this whole journey I’ve self funded all of my events but unfortunately do to personal problems, I won’t be able to cover for the full extent of the 70.3 Ironman that will be held in Indian Wells-La Quinta, California. I chose this specific one because it aligned perfectly with my training schedule and goal of completing this journey with a 70.3 Ironman by the year of 2019.

By helping me raise my goal, you’ll also receive a free Ebook after the end of this journey, and any additional funding raised will go towards supporting NJIT Ultra Sports Club, for students like myself who wish to start or continue doing sports events but are unable to cover the full cost of event sign ups and gear.


Though money is important, I accept any other type of help that can come from a simple share advice or any messages you’d like to share!

https://www.instagram.com/halfironmanjourney/ 

Events Completed this Year:


New Jersey State Triathlon


Jersey Girl Triathlon


Newport Liberty Half Marathon


Brooklyn Half Marathon


Events Left to complete this Year:


Princeton Half Marathon - 11/04


Ashenfelter 8k - 11/28

Ironman 70.3 - 12/08


Fundraiser Will Cover:


Transportation Cost: $300


70.3 Ironman Entry $350


Accomodations $250


Gear/Extra: $100


Any other amount raised above $1000 will go towards NJIT Ultra Sports Club


TO FOLLOW MY JOURNEY & TRAINING FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @HALFIRONMANJOURNEY or Paola Bodano on STRAVA


PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT WITH QUESTIONS OR HIT THE SHARE BUTTON. THANK YOU!!!


LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!