The 31-year-old triathlete who continues to reign in major events both on island and abroad arrived yesterday morning after completing her one-month training in Gold Coast, Australia.
Her eagerness to achieve more in the sports she loves sent her to the southern continent to train with Col Stewart who is known to many as a producer of the world’s top triathletes.
She said the training was very hard. She went through a lot of things that are new to her. If she usually swam for a couple of hours here on Saipan, Mieko said that with Stewart, she had to swim for three hours.
Mieko added that biking a 10-kilometer uphill route was also a tough one. Including this route, she said she had to bike a total of 135 kilometers every day.
Every single minute of her training, she said she had to avoid thinking about any other things. Just focus on what Stewart asked her to do and forget about everything.
There was a time in the middle of her training that she almost wanted to give up. She gained the strength after hearing from her husband, all the encouragement she needed.
“I called my husband and I cried to him,” Mieko said.
Towards the end of her training, Mieko started to realize she was learning more than she expected. She said she did not only have her stamina trained, nor she got new skills. She also go what every athlete need in able to remain a winner.
“I got not only the training itself, but also had the motivation. I learn what every race should really mean to me. I also learned how to value the all the people around me, my family and especially my husband,” Mieko said.
Mieko is now preparing to may triathlon events this year. The first one, the Saipan Exterra happens next month to be followed Tagaman.
The off-island events she is now looking forward to join include Exterra Japan, Exterra Malaysia, the Micro Games in Palau and the Exterra Maui in Hawaii.
Mieko said she will continue her training here.
Mieko left Saipan last Jan. 26 because she wants to be more serious about her training in triathlon and it was a great honor to have it from somebody who had a high reputation of bringing up top achievers in athletics.
