The Daily Challenge of an Olympic Dream - August 2019

My dream is to become an Olympian. It has been since I was a little girl, when I’d eagerly watch the US Team come filing out during the Opening Ceremonies of every Olympics. I would watch them proudly represent their country in each of their respective sports—and I just knew I had to be one of them. Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of knowing quite a few Olympians, and the cost of such a dream is painfully aware to me. It is something that requires monumental sacrifices in all parts of my life.

Being bullied in school led me to be homeschooled from elementary school all the way through high school. I began traveling without my parents to foreign countries beginning at the age of thirteen, first as an international gymnast, then as an international Judo competitor starting in the year 2013. I’ve been faced with coaches that had taken my passport hostage, monitored and restricted all of my phone calls home, and encouraged my teammates to torment me during these times. With all the training, traveling, and schoolwork, I had very little friends and was often an emotional wreck. I have had to deal with many injuries and several surgeries as a result of my sport, but at least now I understand that they are all possible to overcome. The difficulties of travel continue to teach me several lessons in self-sufficiency and mental fortitude as well as patience. All of these traits are essential to working toward such a large goal such as making an Olympic team. It is an incredibly long journey that is difficult to travel, but the resilience that I’ve learned from my youth is what helps me to continue on.

At nineteen, I made the difficult decision to move across the country away from my family, from Florida to Albany, NY—where one of the best Judo Clubs in the country is located. I knew under the vigilance of 4x Olympian and Silver Olympic Medalist, Jason Morris, I could take the next step in my journey toward my goal. With no financial support from my parents, I quickly found a job and immediately got to work. The first six months were incredibly difficult. My hastily-found job was low paying and long hours. My schedule consisted of waking at 5 am and working until 6 pm—where I would then go to practice until 9 pm. Then I would work on my college homework until midnight before collapsing into bed and having the cycle repeat. During this time, I was living in a teammate's spare bedroom and any little bit of money I had, I threw toward flights or hotels for upcoming tournaments. I slept through my lunch breaks and barely made rent, but luckily I had made very loving friends that helped me along the way.

Eventually, I made the World Championship and Panamerican teams, justifying my decisions to move up to New York. From then on out, I have been able to get a more stable footing in life. My sponsor CarnoSyn, takes a significant burden of the tournament costs off of my shoulders, allowing me to work less and train more, while also providing me with the necessary beta-alanine supplementation throughout my day. I am extremely lucky to benefit from CarnoSyn beta-alanine supplementation because the results include better endurance and faster recovery, both essential to training in a brutal sport like Judo. I also never have to worry about buying another $400 set of competition gis because of my sponsorship with Adidas. I now have a more conducive schedule toward attaining my Olympic dreams.

Monday through Friday, I wake up in the mornings at around 9 am, take 1.6 g of SR CarnoSyn sustained release beta-alanine and my other supplements, and head to morning Judo. At 12 pm, I dose with another 1.6 g of SR CarnoSyn with lunch before heading to the gym to weight lift for an hour and do cardio for thirty minutes. When I get home, I work on my homework for a couple of hours before I have a light dinner and dose another 1.6 g of SR CarnoSyn. At 6 pm, I head to evening Judo practice and stay after about thirty minutes to do physical therapy exercises on my shoulders and knees to prevent future injuries. When I get home at about 9 pm, I have a second light dinner and my last set of supplements, totaling 6.4g daily of SR CarnoSyn, 2.5g of Creatine, and 6g of HMB, before having a couple of hours of free time and going to bed at 11 pm.

Saturday and Sunday, I work my new job as a pharmacy technician from 9 am to 5 pm before going to the gym to do some more physical therapy exercises for an hour. I have a travel case for my supplements so that I still remember to take them throughout the day. Like training, daily supplementation is key to achieve peak performance.

I am much happier with my lifestyle now as I strive toward my dream of going to the Olympics and can see the improvements I am making every day. I am excited to see what I can accomplish in the coming years and will continue along the daily grind for the foreseeable future.