I decided to create this new tri blog and athlete/dancer history as it is now an integral part of my daily life, it affects my routine, my nutrition and it interacts with every other aspect of my life as a software engineer and as a singer/performer.

Updates 24 Jan 2012:
What a great year has past with lots of accomplishments. I made podium on the Aquabike 3rd place and 2nd place on the 5k in November. I was able to increase my endurance but I packed too many long races close to eachother and made me have to cancel the last two triathlons planned. I got sponsored and selected for the 100 athletes in the US for the SONY team! what a year representing them. With life getting too busy I was so glad I had my coach to direct me. It has been the best investment I have ever done in this sport. I was able to get faster, stronger, and my body all around has changed dramatically. We introduced weights and strength training to my weekly routines and it has paid off quite a bit. I was able to climp the bike course of the Alcatraz tri twice! I was impressed with myself!
My knee issues got worse as the year progressed and I had to cut down on the running to save it for Alcatraz but it is finally healed.
I cant wait for the races this year giving how much stronger I feel, specially running and biking.
The experienc with Aquaman tri was awesome, I was able to swim 3.5 miles so happyly and strong in around 2 hours. The bike was ok but the run was painful so I had to cut it in half so save my knees for the next olympic tri race 2 weeks after.
Having my family and friends participate and come to cheer me in my races last year, was a dream come true and an experience that I would love to continue having when possible, thanks yall.
Last year, despite my desire, I could not train much with my tri team friends but I have put in place many things so that I can enjoy the company of other athletes again and do more group trainings. More zoom, btt, wheelworks, marauders and sony!
Listening to Ben's podcasts and my Coach Bob where the best thing of my tri year, I owe them their support and my knowledge. With strict nutrition and workout routines and life in much more order this year, I plan to have the best Tri Season ever!

Updates 27-Jan-2011
I am so excited about this new year and all the activities that I have planned, it is going to be a great year for me, those around me and those whom I could reach. I have decided to work with a coach to work with me for the triathlon races this year www.rsully.com  Bob my spinning instructor/coach/triathlete. I have already figured out my race schedule for this year and it looks so much fun, see the link above to check which ones. I am excited to have added the rowing to my routines, I really like it. I have been very happy during the solo and group runs with my tri team ZoomMultisport and with BTT. I never thought I could have done a 9ml or 8ml run regularly every week. Can't wait for the Marauders to start though those bike-swim-bike sessions at 5:45am are priceless. I got my bike on the trainer at home and I am loving watching tv while spinning during this off season. The dancing has picked up to performance level and I have started performing often and I am loving that too, great cross/fun training. I loved my 3 weeks of training in the heat with my uncles and swimming back home in Maracaibo during the xmas holidays, I came back with a lower resting heart rate. This new year and training goals have a special attention to my cancer history and I have started by going back to my strict cancer prevention and healing nutrition, and started studying the Ben Greenfield fitness podcasts. I am comletely addicted as well as the @triswimcoach podcasts too. With a 3.5 mile swim portion on the Aug 6th triathlon and the aquabike in June, I have to make some changes to my training. I have been practicing drills on my swim to be more efficient and it is paying off on my balance and rotation. I have been down to 15 strokes and getting super fast times. My running will improve with my coach tips and it is already getting better with new running form and shoes and the stability excercises that my PT gave for my knees and anckles as they have too much mobility from my dancing background. The biking portion I will have to work the hardest to improve my balance and skills on hills. One new exciting thing is the involment wiht the new ESPN  "Who says I cant" reality TV show with Jothy, which will allow me to inspire so many millions of viewers to be active and embrace what they thought they could never do, by showing my example: http://www.whosaysicant.org/tv/ 

Updates 25-aug 2010:
It has been over a year since I took on triathlons and 7 tris and 2 road races later, just in this year, makes me an official tri junky ;)
I have upgraded my pedals and bike shoes to clip ones and I had to re-learn to mount, dismount, stop and bike. With the help of one of the Mystic Marauders expert Forrest I learned very fast and he taught me how to give hand turn signals and drive with one hand... that would have saved me some bike crashes. I've had all kinds of bike rashes, burns etc.. the skin on my knees is asking for a rest but I think with practice I will get better at avoiding to fall. This is the only small pain price I have to pay for not learning while I was a child until then, band aids, neosporen, oils and other wound aids are my best friends :). I have learned how to continue swimming with she skin injuries and heal fast. I now have a bunch of swimmer and runner followers that are starting to get the tri fever as well. I love getting them pumped for training and racing. Getting ready for the swim from Alcatraz has been so inspiring for me. I have been enjoying swimming every day, sometimes twice and at this point I have gotten pretty good. I just have to dedicate as much on biking and running to get equally good. My bike miles are up to 35 and finishing strong so I feel I have improved. I was able to climb the Marauders route Hill the other day with the support of my fellow biker friends and I do have to say it is all in the mind but fear is not so easy to brush away. I know I will face it this weekend at the San Fran tri with 400ft elevations. My sleep habits have changed and going to bed early has been a pleasure instead of a burden. I am a night person after all and enjoy the moonlight energy. I have 2 more tris to complete this year and then perhaps a few road running races later but so far, I cant wait for next year to do better, and complete my first 1/2IM aka 70.3 (half Ironman).

History
Growing up I used to swim almost every day of the week at the "Doctors Association Sports club" back in Maracaibo (Colegio de Medicos) and that is where it all started, I learned to swim at that pool and I just loved being in the water. I never competed (only during that the class) but it became second nature for me to swim.
Early in elementary school we had Ballet classes and later during highschool, we had a gymnastics team which I loved, which I loved. During this time my love for dancing (jazz and modern dancing) grew and I decided to join a dance studio after schook called "Interdance", it was twice a week, tuesdays and thursdays, they were my favorite days of the week, along with my school choir practice days after school.
Dancing took the place of swimming pool time and soon enough, coreography and fitness was my focus. Shaping my body became an obsession and dance/aerobics classes became a passion which continue during half of my college career.

Upon my arrival in Boston in 1995 I joined the YMCA main branch but soon enough I learned that the dancing that I was looking for was held at the dance studios. I joined Jeanet Neal studio's Theathre dance with tommy coy and Impulse dance jazz/hiphop classes  for over 5 years.  At that time I also learned to Rollerblade and that became another weekly activity after work that I enjoyed, on my own or with my coworkers.  When my job moved from north station and impulse dance studio closed and my hip-hop teacher left town around 2000, I decided to go back to my roots "latin dancing" and I started hitting the latin clubs where my own musician friends would play to enjoy the latin dance. This lead to discovering the "Boston Rueda Team" a super fun group of dancers that practiced Rueda de Casino style dancing, a cuban form of choreographed salsa dancing in a circle. I have been in the group since and currently I enjoy their weekly classes at MIT and social events. As a dancer, I couldnt ask for more, although I do miss hip-hop and jazz dancing. I consider this my cross training as well as my rollerblading ;)

After going through a very tough surgery (half neck disection), as treatment/prevention/diagnosis for cancer, I had to stop any form of movement for years and was only limited to a few dancing events. My body needed all the energy it could get  to heal from surgery and to be able to sustain my singing  activities and my software engineering job.

I took control over my nutrituion in a very strict way and my energy consumption as well as how I spent it and doing what.  It wasnt until 2008, when I finally had gotten almost 100% of my energy back that I could start loosing weight and think about toning my already out of shape body. I setup my weight goals and after I had reached my first weight goal (be at the border of normal bmi), I started configuring my body tone/fitness goals. That is when I started training in 2009. First swimming in february, added spinning in march and  fnally training  to run for a 5k race sponsored by my company. I also added a little bit of yoga at home or at the beach with my iphone app ;) and I continue rollerblading.
 
I met some triathletes and they encouraged me to race. It wasn't until they suggested that I was already a triathlete, that I realized I could. I started researching about tris and I loved everything that I was discovering about triathlons and the science behind it. I joined the online triathlete community and quickly got hooked. I had never run races or riden bikes in my entire life.

I tried my first 5k in june, it was challenging but I took the bait. I bought a racing bike in June and taught myself to bike in two months and signed up for two triathlons a week apart. Neddless to say, I loved it and now I have signed up for one a month 2010. With my example I have been inspiring so many of my friends through the social networks that I belong to. I am so excited about my athlete life and I cant believe I hadnt done this before. I feel that I am in my best fitness shape ever after 40 years old and I hope to keep improving.

My weekly tri routine consists of swimming, running, spinning classes, and biking outdoors. I love to do group runs and group bike rides which makes it more fun. I am now a part of the Zoom Multisport tri team. I have to say that having a tri-spin instructor also inspired me a lot. The online resources are amazing and I cant get enough of it, not to mention all the new super amazing inspiring people I have met through the sport.

Now I am adventuring all over MA on bike paths in parks and discovering fun new group rides, I joined the charles river wheeler bike club, the mystic marauders bike/swim club, and am enjoying the free outdoor and open water training with all my tri new tri friends.