On Friday, November 29, my indoor season quietly—and surprisingly—began. I had never opened my indoor season this early, but this year I traveled to Spain to compete with my club, Atletismo del Sur, at the Andalusian Absolute Team Championships, held at the indoor facility of Antequera, in the province of Málaga.
The championship follows a team-based structure: each club enters one athlete per event, and placements convert into points. At the end, the sum of all performances determines the overall ranking. The atmosphere is unique—although athletics is, by nature, an individual sport, events like these transform it into something closer to a collective mission. Every start, every lap, every finish line is about contributing to the team’s score.
For my club, I ran the second leg of the 4×400m relay, and we finished with a strong third place, a result that later echoed in the overall team standings, where we also secured third position among the top women’s teams in Andalusia.
Stepping back onto an indoor track this early in the season felt unusual but refreshing. Leaving behind the routine of winter training and returning to the adrenaline of competition reminded me how much I had missed this feeling—and doing it alongside my teammates made it even more meaningful. Sharing the warm-up area, cheering for each other event after event, and celebrating together at the end created a sense of unity that goes far beyond individual performances.
Starting the season this early wasn’t something I had planned years ago, but it turned out to be the perfect way to reconnect with the thrill of racing and the spirit of team competition. And now, with this first race behind me, the indoor season can truly begin.
