I Can Handle It

I am from Pezinok in Slovakia, near Bratislava, about 20 kilometers from the capital. It is a small town, but a very pleasant one, with around 23,000 or 24,000 people. What I like is that the Carpathians are right behind my house, so the mountains are always there for me. 

At the same time, the capital is close enough if I need to take care of something. We have everything I need here. It is also a wine region, a wine town, and that adds something special to it too.

My parents had vineyards and some fields, and they worked in the cooperative. Most of our lives revolved around that kind of work. We also kept animals, so I grew up in a home where there was always something to do. Maybe that is where my foundation comes from. I have never really felt that something was too hard, because I was raised to work, to keep going, and to do what needed to be done.

Up and Down

Even before I started doing sport, my husband and I would always go out into nature. We were always going into the forest, although it was more for trips and hiking back then.

What I love most about mountain biking now is that we have these beautiful forests nearby and when I ride through them, everything feels more varied. You are not just riding straight all the time like on a road bike. 

I also do long triathlons and Ironmans, but in the mountains, it is much more beautiful. The surroundings are better, and because you are always going up and down, there are moments when you can recover a little and moments when you can simply enjoy what is around you.

Nature is simply beautiful. It also feels a little safer somehow. Every now and then I see roe deer. Sometimes wild boars too, although I would rather not see those. Still, being out in nature feels good. I do not know how else to explain it. I like forests much more than the sea. Sorry if that offends anyone, but I would always rather be in the forest and in the mountains than by the water.

People say green is a calming color, and maybe that is true. Our forests here are mostly deciduous, and another advantage is that the Carpathians are not extremely high, so almost everything is rideable. There are only maybe two or three climbs that I cannot manage. Everything else can be done. In the forest there is peace. It is beautiful there, and it feels good.

Let It Out

My husband has had serious health problems. When things were at their worst and he was in the hospital, I would go into the mountains. That was where I could cry. That was where I could let everything out. The mountains give me a lot of energy.

I met my husband when I was 21. We spent a lot of time together outdoors. At that time he was still active in sport, so I used to go and cheer for him at races. He did some duathlons and triathlons. Later he stopped because of health issues related to his leg. Even then, nature was always part of our life together.

We have one son, and he is 26. He has given me a granddaughter. She is nine months old and of course the most beautiful in the world, so we have a lot of joy right now, and I try to spend time with her too. My family helps a lot.

Encouragement

No one else in my family really does sport. I am the black sheep in that way. They like to eat well, so when I go home sometimes they just tap their foreheads and wonder why I do this at all, why I would willingly push myself, suffer, and get so tired. 

My wider family, especially my parents, do not completely understand it. But my close family, my son and my husband, understand what I do and why I do it. I manage it simply by doing what I have to do and what I know how to do. 

Even in winter, I train on the indoor trainer. I keep going. In a way, it also gives me energy that my husband encourages me. He is the one who tells me to keep racing and to continue. In fact, he is more upset when I have to miss an event and cannot go.

That happened recently with XTERRA. I had qualified, but he was in the hospital after surgery, so I could not go. Now, whenever he hears there is a race, he tells me I should sign up.

What Matters Most

I work as a child psychologist. What matters most to me now is probably obvious. A person resets their priorities and realizes what is truly important in life. Right now, more than anything, it is health. When you have your health, you are very rich. That is what I feel most strongly now.

We have active friends, whether through our community or through the club. We are friends there and we meet often. We go to different events together, sometimes even plan holidays around races and stay a few extra days.

Most of the time I train alone because it is hard to align everyone’s work and family responsibilities. On weekends we sometimes arrange group rides, and we do swim training together, but most of my training is on my own.

What makes it fun is exactly that every day can be different. One day I run, one day I ride, one day the training is short, another day it is long. Sometimes I am with friends, sometimes we do something together as a group. That is what makes it enjoyable. It never gets boring, because it is always changing.

More Left Inside

For women and men, there is really nothing to be afraid of, whether it is in nature or in sport. I prefer nature partly because with a gym you have to pay, and you have to adjust to its schedule and everything else that comes with it. 

Nature, on the other hand, is open all the time for everyone. There is really nothing to be afraid of there, not animals, not people, because everyone goes there. You just have to go. Not say that maybe one day you will try. You simply have to do it.

The hills, the forest, the hard parts, the quiet moments when I am alone with myself. It is not always easy, but I do not need it to be easy. When things are difficult, in sport or in life, I have learned that there is usually more left inside than I first believed. I can handle it. I know I can.