(CNN) -- The first time I spoke to Norma Bastidas, she was having a rough couple of days. Thirty miles into her attempt to set the record for the world's longest triathlon, Bastidas, 47, had to start over due to a GPS malfunction. The saltwater off Cancun, Mexico, was eating away at her gums and throat. Her face was sunburned. She'd been stung several times by sea creatures, so her lips were swollen. "I wanted to look like Angelina Jolie, but I probably look like Mickey Rourke in 'The Wrestler,' " she joked. Her laid-back sense of humor belies an ambitious drive. A year ago, Bastidas didn't even know how to swim. But on March 20, she finished swimming 95 miles in the Caribbean to complete that leg of her triathlon challenge. On April 4, she crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, averaging about 130 miles a day on her bike.
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Norma Bastidas plans to swim, bike and run 3,762 miles
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She's running toward Washington, where her journey ends
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Bastidas says she hopes to raise awareness about human trafficking
"I'm prepared to do whatever it takes," Bastidas said after a particularly rough patch of riding in @placeholder.