María Jesús Navarro "Maje" with Rheumatoid Arthritis from Ultratrail to IRONMAN

"It was hard for me to arrive, but it was worth it"

 

 

María Jesús Navarro, or as everyone knows "Maje”Is an ultra-distance runner who despite having a disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis with several Ultratrails on her back is now going to make the leap to Triathlon in the IBERMAN LD

 

His life is a constant challenge, a race in the background where the important thing is not to arrive first but to arrive and overcome the bumps in the road. María Jesús Navarro, has not let the rheumatoid arthritis, who diagnosed him with only 20 years, he won his most important career, that of life.

Since she was a girl she was a lover of athletics but after the sentence that she would end up in a wheelchair and her return to the track, eight years passed. At first, he could barely stand for a few minutes but his perseverance, his illusion and his drive to overcome him have led him to walk 16 marathons and several ultratrails. Mother, coach, marathoner, ultrafondista, she is a multifaceted woman who does not lose the smile with which every day, she gains the pulse of rheumatoid arthritis.

More than 12 years learning to live with rheumatoid arthritis, what has this hard coexistence taught you?

It has taught me a lot, and not only to me, but also to the people who every day stay by my side. Very good things and less good things.

I have learned to appreciate how wonderful it is to be able to walk or run, how incredible it is to get out of bed or take my son to school ... for me, my little achievements know me to glory. On the other hand, I have known what pain is, to be prostrate in a bed totally dependent on someone, the harshest reality of what my future may be ...

Has the sport saved your life?

Has sport saved my life? YES. My habit, my stubbornness of wanting to run, my dream of making an ironman ...

But I do not owe everything to the sport, but also those people who with their help have helped to save my life and make it, every day, a little easier. 

 

 

Javier Castañeda, my physiotherapist, has been treating me for free for 5 for years and was the first person to have the light come in through a window when my life was completely dark. I will never forget the day I came in his office and he said: "while I am alive I will not let you stay in a wheelchair or bedridden" Go figure! That gave me a little hope to be able to walk without dragging my feet, so as not to look like a lady of 80 years.

Important has also been who helped me make changes in my nutrition, had so much fluid retention that at rest I had 100 pulsations and lymphatic drainage was not enough every 9-10 days.

In short, it has saved my life, NOT saying NO to everything that was offered to me, until we have all come up with the key (smile). And logically, I have been constant in this learning to take small steps and this has been the result. 

As it is a day in the skin of Mary Jesus ...

The days in my life are complicated because my illness is latent but I wake up in the morning, I take my healthy breakfast, I check my schedule to see the studies of body composition and nutritional habits, I wake up my son takes his healthy breakfast took him to school and after, gym, pool or doing the running training ... I do what I have to do. I go to work, pick up my son, play with him, do homework and if I can and play, I double the training (smile)

We know that your most imminent challenge is the Lanzarote Ironman, how do you prepare for it?

Due to health problems, I had to stop the Lanzarote training for 32 days, so the most expensive decision was to decide that I had to give up this Ironman.

 

 

After this difficult decision, what is your objective now?

The Iberman of Huelva, which are the same measures as an ironman. I'm going with great enthusiasm, with great enthusiasm, with a dream to fulfill. I am happy, very very happy and I hope to arrive with a big smile and saying "It has cost me to arrive, but it has been worth it".

One day someone told me that I would never run again, because I was sick, but on October 3 I will challenge my arthritis and cross the finish line, fulfilling my dream.

Are there the impossible or is it a fiction created by the human being so as not to leave his comfort zone?

There are the comfort zones and also the barriers that everyone wants to put on and install in their mind. Impossible there are few things, if someone achieves something, why can't someone else?

What is cellular nutrition and what role does it play in your personal and sports life?

More than 100 trillion cells make up the human body. Cells unite to form tissues, organs and systems, so we could say that the health of our cells is our health. Those 100 trillion cells need more than 114 different nutrients on a daily basis for their proper function. So, if we provide them in a balanced way those macro and micro nutrients so necessary and without the excesses of what we do not need, we will have a healthier body and greater well-being, it is a matter of common sense, right?

Incorporating the concept of cellular nutrition in my day to day, together with the improvement of my nutritional habits, learning to eat with a correct nutrition school has meant a leap in physical quality, post-training recovery, sports performance, as well as in my health and well-being in general, to such an extent that I decided to train as a nutritional coach by informing about the benefits of cellular nutrition.

Like COACH, what clues do you give us in the face of adversity, to get the best out of ourselves?

For adversity, have a lot of patience, be constant, look towards the objective and do not lose focus. There will be bad times, but good times too; We will learn from the bad guys and the good ones will empower us even more.

Above all, learn and smile at life, which is very beautiful. Squeeze every second, because the fact of being alive, of getting up every morning to be able to comb our hair, give a hug, go out for a walk, train…. THAT'S INCREDIBLE! And in my case, the pain only reminds me that I am alive and that every day life gives me a new opportunity to be simply happy in my own way.

More information : https://twitter.com/majeatletismo