Interview with Andrea, an example of improvement and adaptation.

Adaptation and editing Melissa Vidal.

Interviewer: Antonio Bueno.

Interviewee: Andrea.

Today we are going to interview Andrea, from Colombia, a girl full of surprises, a fighter, an example of work, discipline, improvement and adaptation to circumstances.

go for it!

Name: Andrea

Job: Civil engineering.

Colombian nationality.

Country of residence Colombia

  1. ANTONIO: Well, first of all, and with the situation we are experiencing, I think it is an obligatory question. How are you coping with the pandemic? Explain to me how the confinement in Colombia has been, how is the situation there now and something that you have learned with the pandemic.

ANDREA:

Today everything is more normalized and although there are outbreaks like almost all over the world, life is more or less normal. I do not know how long they have been confined in other countries, in Colombia we have been confined for a month and a half, in general it is a new situation and one that I would never have imagined.

The truth is that I have handled it well, I am a person who has always had a great capacity to adapt to changes, luckily I had my preparations at home to be able to train (laughs), I combined training with work at home and the truth is It is that having always led a life so closely linked to sport and so disciplined, it has not been extremely difficult for me. I have made the most of it to do things that I had never done and order a thousand projects that I had in mind. Definitely, I have come out stronger and as always I like to see the positive side of everything because I am super motivated.

  1. ANTONIO: Tell us a little about your work and how you make it compatible with sport, difficulties, sacrifices...

ANDREA:

Well, I recognize that my job is demanding, it requires a lot of concentration and giving your best every minute, dealing with continuous problems and with a lot of people who don't always want to get involved, being a constant struggle to motivate them, in addition to all the time it takes. , since I work from Monday to Saturday from 6 to 17.30. Right now I am with 2 projects at the same time for two large buildings and the truth is that it demands so much that you can feel the pressure.

During the week I try to train in the afternoons in a light way to maintain, if for some reason I can't, I'll spend it in the morning, when I train in the morning I do it at 4:30 (laughs) I do some medium shooting at low heart rate and that's how I try keep physical and above all free my mind.

 

  1. ANTONIO: What sports do you play? Which of them do you like the most and why?

 

ANDREA:

Skating in all its disciplines, although now I have it a little more left, after being a high-performance skater, international competitions representing my country, Colombia in short-medium and even some long-distance, well what can I tell you, I love this sport , although I recognize that I need to explore new sports disciplines.

ANTONY: WOW! OH REALLY?

ANDREA:

That's right, I have been international several times (laughs) I owe a lot to skating, friends, trips around the world, experiences, when I think about all this I thank life and I feel very lucky.

And well, as I was saying, now I am in another stage of my life in which I like to alternate sports, so I also do some cycling, some Gym at home and lately I am giving more hard to Trail running which I enjoy to the maximum, since it brings out my competitive DNA, connects me with nature and the feeling of freedom that I feel when I reach the top is indescribable.

  1. ANTONIO: How many hours a day do you dedicate to sports?

 

ANDREA:

Between one and two hours a day during the week, depending on the day as far as I'm concerned, since I can't always afford to train as long as I would like. That is if Sundays are full, I do everything I can, I usually do long and intense shoots of 30-40 km and big slopes, I can spend 4-5 hours of training.

ANTONIO: WOW SO STRONG!!

ANDREA: (Laughs) Well yes, it's normal, after all I've always been used to it and I think it's normal…

In any case, I recognize that my strong point is long distances and that is my virtue, therefore, I try to make the most of it.

  1. ANTONIO: Favorite food and drink? Do you do any special diet?

ANDREA:

Favorite drink is water and diet because the truth is that I don't do anything specific, I just don't eat fried because I don't like them, I try to eat healthy by combining proteins, I like fish, eggs, chicken and such, I also love fruit. Answering the question of favorite food if I have to choose my favorite dish is pasta in all its varieties.

 

  1. ANTONIO: Tell us about what sport is like for a woman in your country.

 

ANDREA:

Very Normal, it is a very normal country, there are no distinctions based on gender difference, women are supported a lot and I can say that it is great, I have always felt very comfortable, respected and supported in that sense, society in Colombia respects the female sport.

  1. ANTONIO: Colombia is a beautiful country and at the same time with special terrain with steep slopes for practicing sports. What do you find more difficult?

ANDREA:

Well, you can really enjoy the climbs that the geography of Colombia offers you and since I am a specialist in climbing, I am like whoever says in my sauce, I really enjoy the ascents feeling my whole body, and as I told you before once you are At the top of the summit, the sensation you feel when admiring the landscape is incomparable. For me, perhaps something a little more difficult are the descents, here the terrain is always very slippery and you need years of practice to adopt a good technique and since I don't like to risk as much as I don't see it as necessary, I just limit myself. to enjoy them instead of suffering them, the most beautiful thing is to know oneself and my strong point, as I said, are the climbs, let's say that I climb tasty, the longer and more inclined the better (laughs).

  1. ANTONIO: Explain to us what was your best competition and why?

ANDREA:

In skating many competitions, I would tell you that all the races, honestly I could be talking to you one day about the competitions (laughs). I prefer the World Cup in Italy where we were world champions representing my country Colombia in 10k and 15k teams.

When I retired from competitive skating I told myself that I would never wear a number and look, now Trail running has brought out my competitive DNA again and the truth is that it brings out the best in me and I like it.

 

ANTONIO: I am surprised and moved by the humility with which Andrea tells how she was world champion in long-distance skating, as if it were a normal thing.

ANDREA:

In the Trail several and very good, in "CHICAMOCHA CANYON RACE" here in Colombia, there I was 3rd but above all I enjoyed it from start to finish, I felt very strong during the 75 km of the route and the competitors also pushed hard, It was nice.

Another was in the Parque Nacional de los Nevados, the mountain festival, in Colombia too, a cold, very cold race, with very beautiful landscapes and a super demanding 42km track in which I felt very cool sensations, in that I was 1st.

In Mexico also in the ULTRAMEX I also enjoyed a lot even though I got lost and instead of 100km I did 115km being relegated to 14th place. Even so, I compete against myself and the feeling with which I arrived was first class for me, I enjoyed it a lot and I thank the organization for all the work they did there.

  1. ANTONIO: What is your greatest challenge to which you aspire in the professional or sporting sphere?

 

ANDREA:

Professionally I am currently very happy with my company, it is a very strong company and they treat me very well but I think that like every person in life who has aspirations, I want to start my own company and that is my goal, to have a construction company that take my name

In sports, I honestly feel satisfied after 20 years representing Colombia, although I would like to do a UTMB as the culmination and although I know that it is very difficult to reach the level of the PRO girls, since they are completely dedicated to preparing that competition, I want to go to enjoy it to the fullest and give my best, enjoy the experience.

  1. ANTONIO: If you had to choose an athlete. What is your favorite athlete and why?

ANDREA:

I have several, related to skating, back in the day I had many. I can't find the name of the boy you're talking about.

To this day I really like KILIAN JORNET in Trail running, personally I see him as a reference and the number one Trail running for many people around the world. I also really like Jordi Gamito, how he fights and how he fights is very authentic with a great story behind it.

Both are very humble and simple athletes with a great story behind them.

  1. ANTONIO: Where you find motivation in sports at work and the "daily struggle".

 

ANDREA:

At work, my motivation is given by the process of creating an empty piece of land on a beautiful piece of land and admiring how a mass of building is being formed. It's a great feeling, believe me, the formation process of the buildings that I develop today is amazing, watching a mastodon of that size grow and direct is gratifying.

In sport today, everything is very different from how it was before, since my aspirations were to be world champion and everything revolved around that.

Now I see the sport in a different way, today for me it is more of an escape route, my motivation is to admire the landscape, compete with myself and enjoy the process. Let's remember that not everyone finishes a mountain ultra marathon, I like to live the moment to feel that I complete the distance, reach the goal and admire nature.

In daily life who inspires me is my family and especially my mom. I thank my mom for everything, she is my motivation, she inspired me to play sports and make me disciplined and responsible for my actions.

  1. ANTONIO: When things don't go as expected, how do you get over it? Who do you remember or lean on?

 

ANDREA:

When something doesn't work out for me, I like to analyze deeply and ask myself why I did something wrong, if it is my direct fault or if it is a third party that is influencing me. Once I have everything, let's say, technically diagnosed, I address the problem as soon as possible, I don't like to put off anything, I love to stand up to life. Let's say that I basically rely on self-criticism, positivism and analysis of the situation, from there looking for solutions.

  1. ANTONIO: Do you have confessable hobbies? Are you superstitious?

ANDREA:

Well yes, I am superstitious, I have always had an amulet that is a chain, "the chain of the races", honestly I cannot participate in competitions without that chain.

Rest is also a hobby the day before along with the call to mom.

Chain, calling mom, rest-disconnection the day before are my ritual I would call it more than mania itself.

  1. ANTONIO: Finally, what advice could you give to sports fans? Something that you think is worth sharing with others, life advice...

 

ANDREA:

My life is sport for which I am grateful and it has brought me many benefits, thanks to skating I have my professional career because I received a scholarship for being a high-performance athlete, I met wonderful people, I visited beautiful countries...

I tell people that sport is a healthy life, disconnection from the daily routine, dispersing the mind of negative things and therefore I send the message of encouragement to continue with the sport since it is a good pattern to follow.

Encourage and support them to enjoy any sport and respect all sports and disciplines since luckily there are many and all must be respected

Andrea, thank you very much for your time and for sharing your beautiful experiences with the #timeroempoweryou blog community, your experiences, challenges and points of view.

I wish you the best and I have no doubt that you will achieve everything you set your mind to, a very strong hug, champion.

Follow Andrea on Instagram: @andreilorl