Our trip to Rio, the video!!

Another Cavanha Video Production! lol

If you haven`t seen yet, click on the links below to read the posts about it!

Part 1

Part 2

I must say thanks to God for the best year ever!
Professionally was not very good, who follows the blog know that I had a really hard time injured, but the season showed me that we can find so many treasures along the way!

I hope that everyone can find a lot of gold in 2014. Sometimes to discover it, you just need to know what gold is!!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Vacation time!!!

Nice!! I took advantage of some time off to make a bunch of stuff that I never had time due to work!

Like pulling out the wisdom teeth... Yeaaah!! Who has never waited for this unforcracktable day!! lol 

 

As my vacations are not paid, and neither arms nor legs can read the "sick paper", I decided to wait for my tiny week of vacation to do the surgery.

 

It was all four at once, what a brutal procedure! Someone needs to invent a pre-anesthesia to that needle, because even the anesthesia is painful!

 

Actually the worse was not the pain, but those noises and sensations of pulling the ligaments out... :O 

I survived, and the teeth came all out at one piece, wealthy teeth!

I could check that those dentist logos were right, and a tooth really has "legs". A questionable fact since every milk teeth came out with no legs!! lol 

There are white stains on them because the dentist told me that the more I let them soaked on the bleach, the whiter they would became! I almost killed these little guys! :)

 

Wanna see me doing it wrong, just tell me "the more the better"...

I do have a serious problem with that, and will always do more than what I think it could be the maximum possible.

 

But at least I learned it for studying! I knew I need to face books as a sport training periodization, which it must have a preparation, a base, a build, a peak and a race phase! This stuff works for everything in life!!

 

So as I would have some extra time, I invested it all on studying law for 8 weeks. Since I got my law degree I have never got the chance to try the bar exam, as I was always racing or training in USA. At this time the dates were good, but I would not have much time to study... :S

 

Damn! I would not have a DNF!! There were so many triathlons where I wasn`t ready, and ended up doing so well!! What if I just wake up in a good day!?!

 

I had to score 40 questions, and I did 38!!
Now I am waiting for the official result, because if they nullify 2 questions (which is not rare to happen), I am down for the second phase! And than I need to build another macrocycle of law studying!!

Well, let me stop to dream about it, because my vacations is already gone and the duty calls me! Need to go back to the same old routine: swim, bike, run, gym, sleep, repeat... and also get the luggage ready for more trips!

January 5th starts my 2014 season:
ITU Panamerican Cup - Viña del Mar/Chile!

4th at the Summer Olympic Triathlon!

How nice is to see a great race at home!

After a couple year with our state fedaration having politic and economic troubles, on this week was really nice to be in a great race and good field, among many friends and family.
 

Congrats to the organizes who were working hard to make a race like this happen! Nice things to come on next seasons! 

Also this race was my first one racing with ATC, a trithletes association, which have many projects to motivate the triathlon in our state!!

Now, about my race, I was stubborn!! As I had no performance, after pulling all my wisdom teeth out on Monday, and silly me thinking I could race well on Sunday!!

But I really didn`t want to miss it!! As I could I pushed hard, suffered, and had fun!! The race was really well organized, and was cool to be racing at home again!

I ended up in 4th place, very happy that the level of competitors here are very good!! Congrats to everyone!!

Pictures: Ronald Peixoto

Our saga proceeds in Rio de Janeiro...

Alexandre came up with the idea: "Lets race on this Sunday, there is a biathlon happening in Cabo Frio?!". 

 

Right on!! Matching workouts and tourism together is always the best! Flor was ready to go too, even that we had planned to visit the statue "Christ the Redeemer", for that day.

I guess she was afraid because I told her that I wanted to get there riding bikes, its a great climb!!

hahaha Maybe we can do that on the next year!! ;)

 

On the last minute, Alex decided to not go, he wanted to enjoy his son, who doesn`t live in Rio and was there just for a few days. This kid is going to be a triathlete for sure, he had joined us on a bunch of swim, bike and run workouts!!

 

On that Sunday, Arthur, with only 8 years old, rode his bike for more than 12 miles racing his father on a running day! While Flor and I were on the way to Cabo Frio!!

The race start was delayed, and the distances were nothing precise!! But as the plan was more than anything to have fun, it was all great!!

On the picture above is the start. I am in black, on the side of that crazy guy!! I can see him running like that on a movie like "Saving Private Ryan"!! lol

Love this brave spirit though!! Wondering for how long he could hold those balls to the wall!!?

It was a very fast race! I won those 400m swim and 4k run in a  little less than 20 minutes.

 

Afterwards we took some advantage of the amazing beach over there, and waited for the awards.

Afraid of the traffic jam later, we hurried up to start up the trip back...

Just leaving Cabo Frio, we saw a sign saying "House of the Flower"

Flower in Spanish (or Portuguese) is Flor, and Flor is also a nick name for Florencias!

 

Kinda joking I followed the sign which was saying that apparently Florencia would have a house over there!! We kept going for a while and started to get far from the road. We were almost giving up when we finally saw the house!

 

At first sight we were kinda disappointed, it seemed only concrete ruins, so we parked the car to at least get a picture with the sign "Casa da Flor".

While we were shooting the picture, an old man left from the next door and asked if we were there to see the House of the Flower. With no much attention I told him we only ended up there due to the curious name of the house.

 

He explained that everything in there has the shape of a flower, and invited us to come in. He advised it would cost one dollar for each and I need to confess that I was afraid of a racketeering and evilly I thought "what a petty thief, investing all this chat to get only one dollar!". Going in I got surprised with such a wealthy and brilliant house and ended up giving him another five dollars, sadly this was all I had on my wallet.

 

I was not the only one to mistaken that place, afterwards the very kind man, told us that many people disregards that façade with no grace, seen from the street. He continued saying that Mr. Santos would never be worried to call the attention of others. Instead, his worries were to make the back of the house look great, so he could enjoy his friends with the beautiful view to the mountains. In other words, he made a house with the back door in the front!

A work of art! Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos started to build this house when he was 20 years old, and he only used shards and left-overs that he found on the streets. He would also kindly buy some shards from the neighborhood kids!! The house is not only endowed by the visible beauty, but it has also a brilliant architecture of rain rails and a construction designed to drive the wind, what would even be useful to maintain an artisanal fridge.

Waldivey, who received us on the entrance, told us that Gabriel used to not like to receive contributions in their integral state, he would not see any grace on breaking them apart and would only find the beauty, on  giving a new life to those shards and left-overs that were seen only as trash before.

How nice is this kind of tourism of popular art and knowledge!
We never thought we would have so much fun on this improvised trip!!

Check their website out!! http://www.casadaflor.org.br/intro.htm 

When almost arriving in Rio, we decided to extend the trip to Niteroi. I always had the curiosity to watch that Oscar Niemeyer`s construction that seems like a spacecraft!

Winner of the Sesc Triathlon Tramandai!

Victory x3, as mom and dad were also racing, and they won their respective age-groups!! This was the first time we were all at the top of the podium! Mom, who only started to train 4 years ago, and recently had a shoulder surgery due to an injury, is showing a great overcome!
We all received prize money, so we can celebrate it with a great champagne!! :)

(mom and dad with their 1st place trophies!)

On the past editions where we were all racing, always one of us would save the family bringing home a trophy, and on the most times this was not me!
On this time there was no teasing, as we all won the same 1st place trophy!!

(leading against the wind, on the bike course)

 

The strong winds defined this race at Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

I had a big opponent, Lucas Pretto and I left the water almost together and did almost the whole bike course in a constant pace, I did open a gap in the last laps, and started to run in the lead. I was feeling great, and pushed it hard to increase the gap and assecure the victory! 

 

My next race is already on next week, the Dash Triathlon in Florianopolis/SC!
Pictures by Mundo Tri.

Vacation, wkouts and tours in Rio de Janeiro!

Right after my last race in Rio, the idea was to have an easy vacation week at Rio de Janeiro!
The mistake was to chose the wrong people to have vacation with!! lol
With no rest, when I was not working out with Alexandre Moura, I was touristing with Florencia!

The result was many cool tours around the city and some nice workouts!

It was a great time, where I loved every second. Hereafter I am posting some videos and pics narrating those different days...

First day, still recovering from the race, so we did an easy tour around the central area, where Alexandre lives...

 Mahatma Gandhi Park
 

 The owner of the Park... lol
 

Municipal Theather

Second day we went to the Sugar Loaf (wrong day!)... lol
It was the hottest day in the year so far, 41°C (105°F)!! When the cable-car doors closed it was like a little oven, and we fried until we get to the next station!! It was said on the news, that the thermal sensation was like 50°C (122°F), but I believed that we experienced a lot more on those trolleys! lol

 "Bondinho" The older version in yellow seems cooler! :)
 

 The view to Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon...
 

 The view to Flamento, Botafogo, Laranjeiras and the Corcovado!

Third day, we started hard, waking up at 5am for a running session with the fun crew of team Start, at Barra da Tijuca. To complete the day a great Samba session with San Clemente, they were already training for the Carnaval of 2014.

 While I was running, Flor got some cool shoots of the sun rise!!
 

 On the way back, while Moura was driving in the traffic jam, we got some pics of the San Conrrado beach!!
 

Samba!!

My camera went off, so I could only register something with my phone...

Below a video to feel this very Brazilian rhythm!

 

Fourth day was the compensation day... :) Coaches use this term for those recovery days where the body needs to assimilate all the hard work! We only went for an easy swim at a Navy Academy...

Navy Academy, Villegagnon Island.

 

No way I could make her swim!!! haha

Fifth day, finally with some vacation touch, I slept until midday!! Then we ran all the way to Ipanema Beach...

She with the bike
 

We with the sneakers!

 

Sixth day was bolded by a great bike ride with some bad boys!! They call themselves the psychopaths and they are brutal while riding!! haha I survived... It was 100km at a 44kph pace, in the route of Rio-Terezopolis! Followed by an easy swim at the Flamengo beach with an old and psychopath friend, Gerardo!!

The Psychopaths!

 

Flamengo Beach: dark water, but by one side you see the Sugar Loaf, to the other there is the huge Christ statue, and over you there are some airplanes taking off from Santos Dummont Airport!

Seventh day and the most intense one deserves an individual post. Its already under construction and will be soon posted.

Até mais!!

3rd at Rio Triathlon!

Getting back to action, plenty of will, the Rio Triathlon was another great returning to the old times!

I left the water in a good position and I even escaped by myself on the bike course (my last breakaway was on 2010 at the Nationals).  I was feeling relatively well, and gave all I had on the 3rd loop, so I started leading the run, but with legs burning I couldn't hold the same pace as Diogo Sclebin and Matheus Diniz. 

All right! I was there to play, take risks and race!

After all racing in Rio is always a great deal, with a good job from the race organization, not to talk about Rio by itself, which now I am taking advantage to explore tourism with Florencia and explore the roads, tracks and swimming pools with my friend Alexandre Moura.

Therefore a great race! Congrats for the participants and for the race crew, what a nice event!
In case you are planning to visit Rio, be aware of next races at the FTERJ website...
http://www.triathlon.org.br/

Already entering in good race rhythm I am adding a few more races before closing my season!
Next is a Olympic Distance at Rio Grande do Sul and a 70.3 in Santa Catarina, all in the south of Brazil!

(pics by Tririo and Mundotri)

"I just want to be the best I can be." Siri Lindley

With the help of the altitude (1900m), I was having a hard time to swim, plus being almost the last athlete I was nothing motivated to finish this carrera...

Actually I was really ready to quit (maybe I was not good enough!?) but suddenly I thought about my coach, Siri Lindley, always says "Just do the best you can for this day, with no worries about results...". Siri has won her first World Cup on a day that she was the last athlete out of the water. What an amazing athlete, example, and coach!

So then my thought became that I had to overtake at least a dozen of my opponents... :)

 

Eventually we also race because we like to "play", and on this way I was climbing those Guatape mountais as fast as I could, doing the turns and counting the people I would pass by next, exactly like a game (as it should be). Making legs and lungs burn and also having fun on the downhill sharp turns at 35 mph. Afterwards running a consistent 10k for 36'39", catching a few more positions and from being 45th out of the water, I ended up in 27th on the Colombian World Cup!

Interviewed by coloradotriathlon.com, Siri explains that just doing your better with no expectations on results, is a lot easier and less pressure than having a goal like winning a race, or making the team, or chasing points.

After such a long time injured and blessed by having Siri as my coach, this race was a great step on gaining confidence, specially on the bike where I was having the most hard time during this season.

Looking forward for the next race by Rio Triathlon on November 10th at Rio de Janeiro!!

Is there any flower delivery service to La Paz!?

No google, Its not in Bolivia, this is a tiny Argentinian town, in the state of Entre Rios...

Klga Flores, Monica C.
Wow! Google is really good, this person from La Paz has the same birthdate, October 26th.
But the orthopedist Monica C. Flores will not send flowers to my Flor. (Not trying to be a poet, as the cliché "Flowers to my flower" does not work with any Florência...

Ahh Floreria, asi es como si llama donde vendense flores, gracias Google.
Some more researches and I see googling will not bring me anywhere...

Carol, donde hay florerias en La Paz!??

Aww, let me introduce you Carolina, she was the one who started all this romance story.
She shot a picture of me racing in the La Paz Triathlon in January.
I was tagged on facebook, and her sister Florência, left a comment: "ooh la la!!".

Mmmmm... After a feel months and chats, we start to discover synchronies that ignited some diachronies and finally we started an actual date in Curitiba a few months ago, and now I am counting the days to see her again!

Carol, Carol, donde hay flores en La Paz!!??

Uhmm, not everytime facebook and google are so efective! But as we built this relationship virtually, I thought would be worth this reminder at the blog! So I can take advantage and introduce Florência to my blog`s friends, as I am pretty sure she will be on next pics and posts!

Well, I wanted to imagine her smile when receiving the flowers, but as I learned from the sport, the journey is a lot more worth than the goal, so I am posting this short story picturing smiles and laughs around the blogosphere! 

Happy Birthday Flor!! Espero que tengas un super dia de cumple, y que possamos celebrar muchos otros juntos!
Deporaenterai Chichimica! ;)

The Transition Challenge!

Hello everyone!

Today I am posting a very fun photo shooting I made a few days ago.
As on triathlons we must to be fast on transitions, Mr Turk challenged me to do it in a great style!!
From tailored suit, to swim suit in 8 seconds!!

I loved the challenge and the result follows below!
Thanks Mr Turk!!

From Mr Turk's tumblr...

Who’s That Man … In Mr Turk!

It’s a bird. It’s a Plane… no, it’s Mauro Cavanha, International Triathlon Superstar. Mauro is currently training to compete in The ITU World Cup in Colombia. His goal is to make the Brazilian Olympic Team and compete in his home country in the upcoming Summer Olympics.

In the world of triathlons there’s a lot of talk about “transitions,” getting out of your wetsuit into your bike gear, and from bike ensemble to running look. There are more outfit changes than a Lady Gaga concert. I thought I’d test Mauro on his transition from Mr Turk tailored suit to Mr Turk swimsuit. He’s going to have to work on his speed but his form was perfect.

Good luck Mauro!

Follow Mr Turk on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram

Good Feeling!!

On September 30th was LA Triathlon day!!

It was not one of my best races in terms of performance, but surely a great one as far as sensation concerns. I felt great, and could push a strong race pace, besides I was not at peak of performance, I had not felt this great in ages!

On the picture above I am with my dear friends Bobby, who raced as well, and Valerie who was cheering for us!!

I finished in 7th place, and was very happy specially on feeling no more injury signs, after 8 months fighting with knee and hips.

The weather has been great here in Los Angeles, and with a great physical harmony I can't wait for every other training day!

On the following week (Oct 6th), I also joined the Santa Monica 5000!
I ran 5k in 16'01" (click here for results!)

A great fator on feeling so healthy for sure was the contribution of the nutritionist Megan Forbes, who I had the chance to meet while staying in Boulder, Co.

Since then, I have a very interesting meal plan. After a blood testing I got a food panel, and all the bad foods were excluded from my menu, as they could react negatively to my blood. So now, my recovery system will not lose time fighting food inflammations, whereas will boost muscular regeneration after hard workouts. 

The bad news is that I can`t eat more cashew, strawberry and malt!! I have also to be careful and use a rotation plan for another 30 foods that I have a moderate sensitivity.

A great thing about having Megan Forbes as my dietician is that she also does online consultations and follow ups, so if I have nutritional questions or even need to re-test my blood, I am covered in any US city!! #Prettyawesome!
For more info, check her website out: http://www.forbesnutritionalconsulting.com/

Back to races, due to a change of ITU (International Triathlon Union) calendar, I am pulling out from Oceanside and San Diego competitions. And now on I will be focused entirely on the Colombian World Cup to be raced on the new date of October 27th.

Hasta pronto Guatape!!

Photo Shoot in Curitiba by Studio Gaea

A whole month at my hometown Curitiba, and it feels like no more than a week.

The days here are flying and I am very excited specially about running, as I was injured for a long time, and finaly I am being able to build the workouts volume.

I am doing this post in between some amazing pictures made by Studio Gaea.

 Alexandre Carniere, the photographer, its a great friend of mine and he was my training mate when I was taking my first steps into the sport!

 The images were taking in Curitiba, mostly at Parque Tangua, one of the postcards of my hometown.

Curitiba its a very touristic place, and I could really check how incredible this city is while my girlfriend was visiting here a few days ago. (I guess no one would ever do tourism on their own city just by themselves! :/)

 The cold and hot weather are alternating a lot, so I have been training indoor a lot, on an attempt to not get sick in between races.

 I am finishing this season in California, where I am traveling to on the next week.

 Next races on my schedule are: LATriathlon, LifeTime Fitness Tri, Fearless Tri.  

 See you out there!!