Articles
- How did such a petite lady decide to do such an exhausting sport as triathlon?
- I started running 4 years ago here in Bahrain. I just felt very energetic and had a lot of spare time as well! It’s beautiful running in the settings of beautiful seaside and palm trees. So it was easy to run far and next thing I was running a Cross Island race 17 km through the desert, followed by a half-marathon a month later and a full marathon in another month. I’ve run all the local races within 1 year and triathlon came as a nice change! Also I found it less stressful for legs. When you only run you tend to get injured every so often, while cross training nature of triathlon helps resting tired legs and still enjoy being active through practicing another discipline.
My first triathlon was a sprint distance; I went it through on a mountain bike. Then Olympic distance in Bahrain, London ITU Hyde Park, Abu-Dhabi ITU x 2, Pearl Qatar Triathlon... So once I heard that the Challenge 70.3 Bahrain race was announced for December’14, there was no doubt – I’ll do it! I enjoyed the 3 months training with friends, and finished the race in a good time 5h 42 min. Next thing I knew was I wanted to do the half distance in my home St. Petersburg, and exactly then they announced A1 race – so it’s meant to be! Sport helps me balancing stressful work and emotions when working with clients. I work in Real Estate sector, doing sales, rentals of villas, apartments. Customer service is challenging, you know
- What was the reaction of your friends on your passion for triathlon?
- Well, at first they were wondering like yourself, how I can do it as I look so petite. After a while, they got used to me racing and by the way most of my friends also got hooked by triathlon. It’s very popular here and triathlon federation is rapidly growing with great support from His Majesty, Shaikh Nasser to name the least. We regularly fly to Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, capital of UAE, for racing and having fun!
- Why did you decide to take part in A1 TRIATHLON?
- St. Petersburg is my home city, so it’s very exciting for me training for this event. The Gulf of Finland with its pine trees and Scandinavian landscape in summer is something very special! Moreover, it’s my first triathlon in Russia and I feel very lucky that A1 is happening! I am very grateful to all the organizers for providing us this unique opportunity to race at home, Russian way!
- How does your preparation go? It should be hot to train in Bahrain…
- Training is going as planned! It got hot in May, +40 and above, so I have to train very early or in the gym. I still do long rides outside, sometimes we have to start at 4 or 3 a.m. We are all early birds here!
- Do you have any concerns about the difference in climate, and how it may affect your performance in Petersburg?
- It must be much easier in cool weather! We’ll use wet suits which adds the speed and it’ll be such a bliss running there!
- Do you have any secrets what nutrition you are using in training, any special music?
- Our bodies endure hard daily trainings, so we need a well-balanced nutrition as well as special vitamins in the morning to ensure that we get everything our bodies need. Peanut butter acts as a great booster for trainings too, and of course Nutella forever!
- I never listen to music as I take the sport seriously, not like a walk in the park! Safety is important for both the run and the cycle. When you listen to music you are switched off from reality and put yourself in danger. I would like to call on all the athletes: run to the sounds of nature, chirping of the birds, sound of the river and rustle of the leaves on the trees. You’ll be prepared to an approaching car or other vehicle, as you’ll hear the sound. Listen to your own breathing, tapping of the feet against the ground – top-top-top-top, it has meditative power and trust me you’ll run faster when you listen to your body. It’s very important to hear what’s happening around you on the bike. Safety comes first!
- What is your favorite discipline?
- Running, then swimming and then cycling, right in that order!
- What are your expectations of A1 – just to do the distance or to be among the first ones?
- Of course I’ll push it - I’d like to cover the distance as fast as possible to celebrate after with all finishers and all the crazy people!