Rhonda Vetere is a woman to watch if you’re looking to level up your fitness and smash goals. Her life as a global tech leader and high-endurance, corporate athlete inspires and changes lives all around the globe.
She’s a Global C-Suite executive, world renowned STEM activist, high-endurance athlete. She’s also author of Grit & Grind. the ultimate guide for “living an extraordinary life.” Not to mention, Vetere was named one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Council in 2019 and 2020, and one of the Most Influential Businesswoman in Technology.
Well-known as an internationally highly-respected endurance athlete, Vetere has completed 92 races including multiple Ironman 70.3s, and was crowned an Ironman Bronze All-World Athlete as a result of her performance in the top ten percent of her age group in both the 2018 and 2019 race seasons.
If you don’t know what an Ironman 70.3 entails, just know it’s not an activity you can master in your spare time over the weekend. It is a grueling single-day race covering a total of 70.3 miles, combining a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bicycle ride, and a marathon 13.1-mile run. So far, Vetere’s completed 14 Ironman 70.3 events.
And when she’s not traveling all over the world to help teach and inspire others in technology, Vetere makes (not finds) the time to mentor individuals from all walks of life and spanning all industries while training for multiple races. In 2022, Vetere went on and founded Aligned Alliance, and road on an eight-person team for Race Across America (RAAM), a 3,070-mile bicycle race from Oceanside, CA, to Annapolis, MD.
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Next on Vetere’s Schedule
In 2023, Rhonda Vetere will participate in a handful of Ironman 70.3 events, including the St. George 70.3 Ironman. In addition, she has a 55-mile-long endurance run on the books and several marathons including her seventh year in a row partaking in the New York City Marathon.
So, how does she do it? How does she consistently and successfully balance her work life, personal life, and training for sports? Vetere explains the connection between STEM and sports and provides her top tips for staying on track.
The Connection Between Sport and STEM
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is one of Vetere’s passions as she sees an eye-opening connection between STEM and sport. “There are positive correlations between the mindset in STEM, athletics, and the business world, ” says Vetere. “In technology, we are always pivoting, adapting, innovating, reverse engineering, correlating, problem-solving, being creative, and focused on an end goal,” she explains. Much like sports.
Vetere recognizes this relationship and practices it daily. As a top female leader in technology and global STEM advocate, Vetere is committed to using her platform through sports to show what it takes to lead day in and day out in the C-Suite, and how certain athletic skills can translate directly into those environments.
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How Rhonda Vetere Conquers All
When it comes to training and preparing for races, Vetere is all business. Planning her racing event schedule out over a year in advance so she can overlay her work demands, fitness regimen, and other important life milestones in the calendar.
As soon as the marathons, Ironman 70.3s, and race schedules are released, Vetere plans her year accordingly, including her training and nutrition.. Giving 100 percent to find success in both her business and athletic pursuits, Vetere knows how to stay focused.
Here’s a close look at her dedication and how she stays on track.
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Time management is Key to Success
As Vetere’s recent book, “Grit & Grind” outlines, time truly is currency. “We have 1,440 coins in a day to use—will you spend those wisely?” she asks.
“To help keep me on track, I write down my weekly/daily goals, and at the end of each day, check off what was completed and the highlights for the week,” Vetere says. And with her background in tech, Vetere enjoys certain technologies like WHOOP, which helps her to stay on track with data insights regarding her sleep and honing in on her individual peak performance regimen.
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Put Your Social Life on the Backburner When Your Schedule is Full
“When things get tight, my social life is the first thing to get cut,” says Vetere. “I’d personally much rather use that time to sleep and eat right to fuel my mind, body, and spirit most effectively.”
Vetere even cut out drinking a while ago due to her racing and work schedule. “I’m always needing to get up early the next morning for a meeting or training of some sort, so I find that after all these years my social circle understands and accepts me as is,” she says.
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Communicate to Your Loved Ones About Your Training and Goals
To help manage expectations with friends and family, Vetere is very clear when races are coming up or if she’s about to enter a packed season. “I communicate that I will be out-of-pocket or “down under” focusing on my events and grinding it out,” she says. This way, those closest to Vetere aren’t surprised when she’s quieter in the group chats or aren’t able to meet up. This a great tip for those who need to focus more on their goals without feeling pressure from friends and family.
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Saying No to Certain Events is OK
Saying no to certain events if you’re overworked is difficult (especially if you’re a yes-person or people pleaser) but it’s important to do and a must for success. “You’ve got to keep your routine and be strategic if you are to perform optimally week after week, race after race,” Vetere explains. “If I don’t get enough sleep, my performance suffers and the data truly shows that overall.”
If you haven’t done this before, know it can be challenging, but it will work its way out for the better. “At the beginning, it was definitely more challenging as many didn’t understand that a life without alcohol and those late nights isn’t always out of necessity, but a healthy lifestyle choice; Tides have changed a bit now and I see more and more people adopting a similar type of sober lifestyle,” she says.
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Vetere’s Top Tips for a Successful Racing Season
Sign up for a race and stick to the schedule.
Don’t worry about where you will place. It doesn’t matter as long as you show up for yourself.
Listen to your body. Don’t get caught up in beating others or pushing yourself harder and harder. You could injure yourself and that’s counterproductive to the bottom line.
Do it for you, no one else. Find the active meditation that brings you joy.
Never race against or compare yourself to others. Race against yourself. No one else matters in your own individual journey.
