5th place at Florida 70.3!

In Haines City, last Sunday I achieved my first podium finish in Ironman!

I had a good race, I was happy. It could have been better, well, it always can be better... :-S

I had a nice swim, felt strong, but I failed to recognize some of the Ironman rules.
Coming from ITU Olympic races, I thought that if you started the race with a suit, you would have to finish the race with it. This rule avoids taking advantage of the buoyancy suits, at the time that no one likes to ride or run in, because they get really hot when outside the water.

I was surprised when almost everyone was wearing one of the "authorized neoprene", like Lance's in the pic above, which according to Triathlete Magazine, can give you an advantage of 2.5sec per 100 yards. (read the article here)

I felt very strong on the bike course, and could finaly hold a fast and steady pace for the full 56miles. With the exception of a 30 sec "stop and go" penalty (because on a turn, I crossed the double yellow line dividing the road), the bike was my best discipline.

I still have a lot to improve and beat my personal best of 2h09min, but 2h15min was really good! It is ok that the 7 time Tour de France Champion rode it in 2h01min, and passed by me like a rocket, but we will have another races together!! :-D

The Run...
This was the first time that I finished the bike without a limp, so I was sure that I would run under 1h10min, also because the course was almost 0.6 mile shorter.
I started strong but suddenly my quads and adductors were cramping slowing significantly my pace, so I went peppered the run with some walking and stretching, at some points I was worried I would not be able even to finish the race.

At the end, everything was fine! Despite this not being an ideal race, I had fun the whole time, even with the difficulty running. Plus I got my first Ironman podium, which gave me some important points to qualify for the World Championship at Vegas, in September.

Ahh!! Returning to the last post... I like to compare athletes and artists, because both professions need attitude, courage, and of course, enthusiasm!! So while I was hanging out with my friends in Orlando, I read this quote from Carlos Santana, at Hard Rock Café, and for me it makes total sense!!

Enthusiastic!!

Wow! almost a month without any blog updates!
It was not for a lack of ideas, but to many thoughts!!
My poor friends. Magali had to listen to my philosophies during our 5 hour drive to Wildflower and Carl had no escape, as we live together! lol

(Wildflower)

This week, while flying to Florida, I read another Paulo Coelho book.  He explains many of life's mysteries as if they were part of magic. After reading it, my own ideas started to make more sense!

Although my national flat (Brazil) says, "Order and Progress", I noticed that is impossible to have progress without disorder and confrontation. It is this was that brings you the expected progress, so be ready to stand the storm. Sooner or later the calmness will come!

I got goosebumps after reading in Valkiria's book that Paulo Coelho began his journey to meet his Guardian Angel in the desert of Borrego Springs. It was where I met Siri Lindley and her lemme "love it". And gradualy, Siri taught me to enjoy triathlon like I used to do years ago, when each race was an adventure and independent of the result, I would be happy if I had raced my best. There were no worries about sponsors or the Federation; no obligation to win or show results to anyone. The only concern was to have fun challenging myself and my opponents to see who could persist with that speed!

"Somethings are so difficult that you need to learn by yourself..."
Paulo Coelho

My revolution was to forget all about that perfectionist science to reach my peak performance. And instead of science I learned to be conscious experiencing each workout with enthusiasm and trusting that the results would come as a consequence.

"Enthusiasm (From Greek, en+theos, literally 'in God') originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. Currently, it can be understood as a state of excitement and joy, reflecting a  consequent courage. An enthusiastic person is willing to face difficulties and challenges, not allowing himself down and transmitting confidence for all people around. Therefore the enthusiasm can be considered as an optimistic mood." (from Portuguese Wikipedia)

"Don´t you know you better run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run...
Cause finally the tables are starting to turn; Talking about a revolution..."

Tracy Chapman

In my last event, while racing Wildflower, I had a flat tire and lost out on the best experience of the race, running the trails in the beautiful mountains.

I also had the opportunity to meet two of the big names of triathlon, Chris McCormack and Lance Armstrong, they join us on a swim workout at Culver City Plunge.

Right now I am at Kissimee/FL, practicing my Portuguese with my Brazilian friends! Next Sunday I will race the Half-Ironman. Today I was surprised to find my name in the press as one of the threats which might prevent Lance from having his first victory in a 70.3!!
"Qui Sait!?"

"Out to challenge Armstrong, Maxim Kriat of the Ukraine is no stranger to the top step. Winner of Ironman 70.3 Augusta in 2010, he was second in Florida 70.3 last year. Strong on the bike, he has been known to have some fast run legs too (1:13 at best, compared to Armstrong’s 1:17). Also watch out for young Brazilian, Mauro Cavanha. The run is his strength and, if he can hold on during the bike, we could be in for a very exciting foot race." (Originally from: www.ironman.com) 

With enthusiasm, here I go!! :-D