Ready to be back to the ITU Races!!

Already in LA acclimatizing for the time change, as in two weeks I will be heading to Australia and New Zealand to race the first Word Cups of the season.

I had a decent start on the Continental Cups, placing 4th in Chile and 2nd in Argentina. The training is going great too, rising up the expectations every other day! The long distance past season was perfect to build mental resistance and also to learn on managing injuries.

Today I did an excellent ride with my brand new bike, I did a PR on the three loops around the Riviera Country Club, the La Grange ride for Thursdays.

Talking about new bike, this is a fast one!! The good side of not having a bike sponsor is that you can try different brands, and this is the first time I am trying a Cannondale Super Six, it feels awesome on my first miles!

Here is a really cool 2014 ITU Season preview, by ITU.
Looking forward to get it started!!

Why did I not choose to be a Soccer Player!?

This is a post I originally made in 2010, in my Portuguese version blog. Recently it became very popular at facebook, so I got motivated to translate it and here is the English version of it!! Have fun!!

 

Ok... like 99% of Brazilians I wanted too to be a soccer player!!
I still remember when I was at the first grades of school and I went with my father to register myself at the soccer classes in the school. Lucky or not, it was already sold out!

My other options were Judo or Swimming.
I opted for Judo. I was always very hungry for training and wanted to reach the next belt color as soon as I could! 

I had fought for 3 years so I was invited to join the strongest Judo school team, which had classes at night. My father thought it was too late and said "no" for it.
I left Judo, I didn`t want to be in the "no competitive" classes. I had already the idea of becoming a professional athlete.

At that time Fernanda Keller was very successful, and by watching a TV commercial I met the Ironman!
Done, I was in trouble! Since that day I wanted to be an Ironman!!

Lucky I didn`t know all the hard work waiting for me!!
While training and even racing, many times I have asked myself why did I choose such an exigent sport which demands so much effort.

Triathletes have to train almost a third of a day!!
Soccer players don`t even need to wkout everyday...

The routine is tough and the recognition seems so far away...

Soccer Players can win the local championship to become billionaires...
A triathlete, to become millionaire needs to win the World Championship plus the lottery!!

In World Cup times it makes me wonder even more... They are the national heros, everyone follows their steps, since the team election until the triumphal way they leave the country...

A Soccer Player when traveling doesn't even need to make the check-in, they have a red carpet, people are cheering them on and they land on the pilot window!   
Triathletes need to check-in and then go to the airline store to pay the bike fee!

There are days where the workouts are not fun, and also those days where races doesn`t come as expected...

When a Soccer Player is tired, they can just go to the bench, and still winning...
A tired triathlete... is done!!

Keeping your body close to the limit, we sometimes get injured...

A Soccer Player injured will still having his salary...
An injured Triathlete means no more races, and the need to look for extra money to treat it.

Such dedication needs some time to cool off!

Soccer Players are well known to be in all kinds off parties... 
Triathletes after working out barely can step out of the house door...

But the time off cannot be so long, your adversaries are training...

Soccer is 11 vs 11...
Triathlon is 1 vs 100!! 

The bigger is the fight, the bigger is the glory!! Triathlon is a sport that teach us how to reach an advanced stage of mental or emotional development, mature as a person and learn better about your own body. Focus, discipline, determination and the will to overcome whatever comes in your way becomes a the real victory of each triathlete...

For some sports you need a ball...
For Triathlon you need two balls!!

Tri-Family!!

A photoshoot by a great friend and photographer Alexandre Carnieri!

In 1998, my father and I started to train together.

 Later on, Mom also wanted to have her own bike.

 It has created a lifestyle...

 Sometimes we combine the journey, sometimes the goals!

 Looking for the best from each day . . .

Mom says: "I wanna race an Ironman ..."

 Dad smiling says: "Just let her ..."

  Me: "Do as I say, not as I do."

Dad smiling says: Just let him...

Rare are the moments that we "train" along, but we appreciate to race together, each one in your goal (subjective) and in each age-group (objective)!

Thank you for the records Studio Gaea, @ Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba.

2nd place at La Paz Panamerican Cup!

January 19th, time to celebrate 30 years of the La Paz Triathlon!!

The La Paz Cup, one of the most traditional races, which I had participating in since 2005. This a triathlons dream, where the city closes all the streets and towns people are out cheering all the athletes on!

I had goosepumps just walking to the transition area, people would stop me for pictures and greetings. On the cheering side it was also my girlfriend and her amazing family! I have to confess that there were butterflies on my stomach very early before the race!

Meanwhile I was heading to transition area, it was going on the women race, and surprised, I saw an athlete running on the opposit direction of the course... Oops!!
Afterwards I heard that a bunch of other women did the same and started an extra loop, just to pay the penalty at penalty box, than run back on the course to the finish line...

Very weird! Specially because they were paying a penalty for cutting the swim course, which would be, with no penalty, undoubtedly a reason for disqualify. But of course, I totaly agree that its needed to use common sense, as sometimes the athlete does not do it intentionaly to take advantage. Specially on that course, where the river current is so strong.

Well, I left my bike ready at transition, and we went for the traditional presentation of the athletes, followed by the start.

It was one of the hardest race I ever did, I was in pain for the whole course, with a temperature of 100ºF I was sweating already on the swim, as at some points the water was around 86ºF.

Begining the bike ride, was where I most suffered, I almost got dropped and couldn`t help to chase the first group, the heat made breathing even harder at that portion.

I think it is valid to observe that one of the elite athletes dismounted his bike way after the dismount line, (getting advantage) but as I already said, I believe in the common sense of the judges and maybe the athlete had no intention of getting that advantage. No penalties for were given on this case...

I was really tired on the begining of the run, at the 1st km I was the 9th athlete, slowly I started to progress. On the 2nd loop I was the 5th and the podium goal was about to be accomplished! The people was cheering at full! And at the 3rd loop I was the 2nd, running as much as I could to hold that position.

On the last loop, I had no more legs or mind, and the only way I could keep pushing hard was really using my heart!! This was such a great point at the race, Siri Lindley would always ask me what were my thoughts while racing, and I could never answer "nothing", like this time, like she always wanted to hear!

Very happy with the result, I was giving different interviews, when some one of the organization told me I was disqualified, because I never stopped to pay my penalty...

I don`t even know what came to my mind, it seemed like a joke. He told me I was penalized for leaving the bike on a bad way in the rack.

While running I never saw my number at the white board, which was not very easy and clear to see, plus I was nothing worried as I knew there could not be any reasons for a penalty. I was not as "lucky" as the women, to be adviced about a penalty and to open an extra loop to pay it.

I tried to clarify that with the judge, but soon I saw he had visors and probably bridles tacked up, which would avoid any attitudes.

Afterwards, reading the rules, I saw that its true you should not put your bike with just one side of the handle bars. (You should rack with both, or by the seat), but also it is writing that the ITU Technical Committee is by the side of using common sense, and they highly encourage on the part of officials to promote a "proactive" attitude. And the athlete should receive a verbal warning when the rule is violated unintentionally, or also when no advantage has been gained.

Summing up, I didn`t have the same luck as the other athletes... bad luck or double standards!?


Telling the truth nothing would make me sad about this race, I was elated with my result! Afterwards I called my friends for a picture on the podium! And there was no better way to celebrate a great race!! 
Cannot say the same about the professional side of my race, as I left with no awards and no points on the international ranking. But who said you have to race for money and not for passion!?!

Gracias La Paz for another great spectacle!

I was never so sure about why I still racing "professionally". 

:)

New Season at Full Speed!!

At 15 days of 2014 and I am already getting ready for my 3rd race of the year!!

It was an early start, and the first one was at Viña del Mar, Chile.

Running to the Pacific cold water, on January 5th it was the start of the Panamerican Cup of the year.

I placed 4th and did well in all three disciplines, so I am very excited to run this new season. In 2014 the idea is to get some speed up, as my goal is to be back to the ITU races, and start making points towards the Olympic Games 2016. 

Talking about speed...

January 11th I did a Fast Triathlon race here in La Paz!

250m swimming, 3km on the bike and 1km running, with 15 minutes to recover, times 3!

Very tough race, pure explosions and feeling like throwing up your lungs, I did another 4th place!

Enjoying La Paz right now, with Florencia, who used to live here, waiting for the next Continental Cup, which will happen on this next Sunday, right here at the¨Triathlon Land¨!

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!