8 Things to Remember When Everything Goes Wrong

 

*** Found it online and posting it as a reminder to self and to share with others ***

1. Pain is part of growing.

Sometimes life closes doors because it’s time to move forward. And that’s a good thing because we often won’t move unless circumstances force us to. When times are tough, remind yourself that no pain comes without a purpose. Move on from what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you. Just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing. Every great success requires some type of worthy struggle to get there. Good things take time. Stay patient and stay positive. Everything is going to come together; maybe not immediately, but eventually.

Remember that there are two kinds of pain: pain that hurts and pain that changes you. When you roll with life, instead of resisting it, both kinds help you grow.

 

2. Everything in life is temporary.

Every time it rains, it stops raining. Every time you get hurt, you heal. After darkness there is always light – you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever. It won’t. Nothing lasts forever.

So if things are good right now, enjoy it. It won’t last forever. If things are bad, don’t worry because it won’t last forever either. Just because life isn’t easy at the moment, doesn’t mean you can’t laugh. Just because something is bothering you, doesn’t mean you can’t smile. Every moment gives you a new beginning and a new ending. You get a second chance, every second. You just have to take it and make the best of it. (Read The Last Lecture.)

 

3. Worrying and complaining changes nothing.

Those who complain the most, accomplish the least. It’s always better to attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed. It’s not over if you’ve lost; it’s over when you do nothing but complain about it. If you believe in something, keep trying. Don’t let the shadows of the past darken the doorstep of your future. Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any brighter. Take action instead. Let what you’ve learned improve how you live. Make a change and never look back.

And regardless of what happens in the long run, remember that true happiness begins to arrive only when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.

 

4. Your scars are symbols of your strength.

Don’t ever be ashamed of the scars life has left you with. A scar means the hurt is over and the wound is closed. It means you conquered the pain, learned a lesson, grew stronger, and moved forward. A scar is the tattoo of a triumph to be proud of. Don’t allow your scars to hold you hostage. Don’t allow them to make you live your life in fear. You can’t make the scars in your life disappear, but you can change the way you see them. You can start seeing your scars as a sign of strength and not pain.

Rumi once said, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most powerful characters in this great world are seared with scars. See your scars as a sign of “YES! I MADE IT! I survived and I have my scars to prove it! And now I have a chance to grow even stronger.”

 

5. Every little struggle is a step forward.

In life, patience is not about waiting; it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard on your dreams, knowing that the work is worth it. So if you’re going to try, put in the time and go all the way. Otherwise, there’s no point in starting. This could mean losing stability and comfort for a while, and maybe even your mind on occasion. It could mean not eating what, or sleeping where, you’re used to, for weeks on end. It could mean stretching your comfort zone so thin it gives you a nonstop case of the chills. It could mean sacrificing relationships and all that’s familiar. It could mean accepting ridicule from your peers. It could mean lots of time alone in solitude. Solitude, though, is the gift that makes great things possible. It gives you the space you need. Everything else is a test of your determination, of how much you really want it.

And if you want it, you’ll do it, despite failure and rejection and the odds. And every step will feel better than anything else you can imagine. You will realize that the struggle is not found on the path, it is the path. And it’s worth it. So if you’re going to try, go all the way. There’s no better feeling in the world… there’s no better feeling than knowing what it means to be ALIVE. (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Goals and Success” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)

 

6. Other people’s negativity is not your problem.

Be positive when negativity surrounds you. Smile when others try to bring you down. It’s an easy way to maintain your enthusiasm and focus. When other people treat you poorly, keep being you. Don’t ever let someone else’s bitterness change the person you are. You can’t take things too personally, even if it seems personal. Rarely do people do things because of you. They do things because of them.

Above all, don’t ever change just to impress someone who says you’re not good enough. Change because it makes you a better person and leads you to a brighter future. People are going to talk regardless of what you do or how well you do it. So worry about yourself before you worry about what others think. If you believe strongly in something, don’t be afraid to fight for it. Great strength comes from overcoming what others think is impossible.

All jokes aside, your life only comes around once. This is IT. So do what makes you happy and be with whoever makes you smile, often.

 

7. What’s meant to be will eventually, BE.

True strength comes when you have so much to cry and complain about, but you prefer to smile and appreciate your life instead. There are blessings hidden in every struggle you face, but you have to be willing to open your heart and mind to see them. You can’t force things to happen. You can only drive yourself crazy trying. At some point you have to let go and let what’s meant to be, BE.

In the end, loving your life is about trusting your intuition, taking chances, losing and finding happiness, cherishing the memories, and learning through experience. It’s a long-term journey. You have to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting every step of the way. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds. You might not end up exactly where you intended to go, but you will eventually arrive precisely where you need to be. (Read A New Earth.)

 

8. The best thing you can do is to keep going.

Don’t be afraid to get back up. Don’t be afraid to love again. Don’t let the cracks in your heart turn to hardened scar tissue. Find the strength to laugh every day. Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful. Find it in your heart to make others smile too. Remember that you don’t need many people in your life, just a few great ones, so don’t lower yourself to have more ‘friends.’ Be strong when things get tough. Remember that the universe is always doing what’s right. Recognize when you’re wrong and learn from it. Don’t hold on too tightly. Always look back and see how much you’ve grown, and be proud of yourself. Don’t change for anyone, unless you want to. Give more. Give the things you love so others can love them too. Write stories. Take photos. Remember the little moments and the way your loved ones look at you.

Just keep being YOU. Keep growing. Keep going.

The floor is yours…

Challenge Roth race report – July 14th 2013

The Background Story

I started writing this report just after the race on the plane flying out of Germany, and kept postponing to finish it till I thought it was already too late. After reading Vicky, Arturo and Dave’s race reports I decided that I had to finish it, as I told Ian that I would write a report for the team. I had already failed to write Zurich 70.3 race report, despite the fact that the race was interrupted half way due to a landslide.

Another reason to write this report is because I feel I owe it to Roy and to the spirit of TRIDUBAI. Just before leaving to Roth we organized a gathering at our place for the athletes that were racing, and some that had raced it before. The purpose was to get all the participants to meet each other, and to get some tips from the previous finishers. Roy came along with his family and so did Ed, and for me that meant a lot and it was a extremely valuable contribution from them.

I would start by saying that Challenge Roth was by far the biggest personal challenge I have ever took, and one of the most positive and memorable days in my life. I decided to sign up for Challenge Roth because in the previous year I spent most of the race day following my fellow Team T2A mates that were taking part (16 of them). I didn’t go to bed till I saw the last man cross the finish line, and his effort and determination, despite the unlucky day he had, made me sign up.

Like a few others in the club, I come from a 3 digits number in the scale four years ago (and it wasn’t pounds). My transformation started by running and changing my food habits, and due to an injury after Dubai Marathon two years ago, I started swimming and cycling to maintain fitness levels. A few months later I did my first triathlon, and in 12 months I ended up doing 3 Sprints, 3 Olympics, ADIT Short and a IM 70.3 Zell Am See (August 2012). Like many others, I got completely addicted, and 2 years down the line I was signed up to do a long distance triathlon race.

My training only became consistent in February, which was too late to get a good result at ADIT. After this kick in the butt, I got a bit more disciplined and motivated, I found a rhythm that worked for me, and a training structure that made sense and that I believed. I’ll come back to my training and what worked well for me and what could have been better, for now let me jump to the last couple of months preceding the race.

After four months of no business trips, all of a sudden I had three trips in four weeks. Luckily, the last one was to Munich, the location to where I was flying to get to Roth, and meetings would finish on July 4^th (race day was July 14^th). Having a job that allows me to work remotely, I decided to stay in Germany and travel to the race location. I was there for 10 days, which allowed me to acclimatize, get used to swim in a lake (I panic with dark murky water and I even had quite a funny episode), and even do one loop of the bike course the weekend before.

I can really say that was extremely fortunate with the business trip and I had an amazing time in Roth. I overcame the fear of swimming in a lake, and I found exactly how hard the bike course would be.

Close to the race date, Tony Hchaime joined me at the hotel where I was staying, and one day later Annie joined me too. The other Dubai triathletes started to arrive and some of us were able to meet despite being in disperse locations. A couple more swim sessions with the guys, a “little bit” of shopping in the Expo, and then we start preparing the bags for transition and the bike for check-in.

 

Race Day

On the race day I followed my strict schedule, which also includes a very important toilet ritual, as well as preparing my own “special” breakfast. After one bad experience, I decided that on race days I would eat the breakfast that I am used too and that I know it works for me. When you are about to get in a race like this, you don’t want to try anything that you haven’t tried before.

Anne drove me and Tony close to the race location, and then we walked to the swim start. Time to put the nutrition on the bike and finalize the last minute details. A good luck kiss from Anne and off I went to put the wetsuit on and start the race.

At the starting line I can’t say I was nervous but I was very excited. I knew I had done the training I could do, and that it would be enough to get me to the finish line. The main goal was to finish the race and have fun, and if possible in less than 13 hours.

 

The Swim

My plan for the swim was to start somewhere in the middle of my wave, pace myself from the beginning, and eventually find some feet that I could follow. The only incident was at around 1k when a fellow athlete that was on my feet kept pushing me down for too long. I stopped and looked back to him and I shouted “Really?!”. After that I could say it was a walk in the park, and I could even find some feet to draft for some time. I was even able to spot Anne on the bank close to the swim exit and wave at her.

Getting out was easy, and I was extremely relaxed. I swam the 3.8k in 1:10:32 and I was extremely pleased. I have to thank Crissy for the great work she has done with me, her swimming lessons contributed for a massive improvement on my technique.

 

The Bike

My transition time was 0:02:30 which was amazing taking into account that I didn’t really focus on it. I had carefully prepared every single detail (to the point I was driving Anne crazy with all my OCD questions) and tried to keep as simple as possible. Wetsuit down to the waist immediately when I got out of the water, picked my bag and went into the tent. In the bag I had the race belt and a wind jacket. Weather was ok so I only took the race belt and off I went. Shoes, helmet and nutrition were on the bike, so I just shoot off.

I followed my race plan: 165w avg on the power meter, time alert every 15 minutes for having a bite and a sip of water or Isotonic drink. The bike course is amazing, and going through Sollarberg Hill was a rollercoaster of emotions. There aren’t words that can describe how I felt, those who have been there know what I mean. The spectators through the villages that we rode through were amazing supporting the athletes all the way.

The bike course is also quite undulated, and on the up hills I kept my but down on the saddle, and tried to go as easy as possible. On the downhill parts I tried to keep the average power at 165 watts, so I would overtake everyone that had overtaken me before. At some point I think some of other athletes were getting a bit annoyed with me

On the second loop I started to feel my quads burning and I knew the run was going to be “fun”. I kept pacing myself while enjoying the ride, was able to see Henry flying through along with some of the Pros.

I finished the bike in 6:13:59, which was my expected time after doing one loop the weekend before. Before arriving to Germany I was expecting to do it in about six hours, but the ride allowed me to have a more realistic perspective and manage my expectations and effort.

 

The Run

Again, the transition was very smooth. I left the shoes on the cleats, dismounted from the bike and run to the bags. Helmet off, socks, shoes, nutrition belt, sun visor and sunglasses on and I was off in 0:02:29. Again, a detailed planning and keeping it simple allowed me to be superfast in the transition without even noticing.

I was targeting to do the run in 4:30:00, which would mean an average pafe of 6:30/km. My plan was to follow a walk-run strategy, especially in the first kms as every time I ran off the bike during my trainings, I could never keep my pace below 5:30/km. I knew that the real race would start beyond km 25, so I wanted to really pace myself.

All went well for the first eight kilometers when I started feeling my quads cramping. I had to stop, stretch and walk. Since then till the end, I could never run continuously for more than two kilometers, sometimes only one. I had Eletewater with me, which I also used on the bike, and I even taking it straight from the little bottle it didn’t work and I don’t think there was much I could do. Quads were simply burned out from the bike.

I just kept going and trying to enjoy the journey. I saw most of the other guys along the course: Timmy, Henry, Aynsley, Andy, Tony, Ian, Andy and Mike. I only didn’t see Piers probably because we was almost at the finish line when I was starting the run (he was flying and completed the race in 10:03:00 which is an amazing race time).

Once again, the support was outstanding. The people in the little towns were all having beers and BBQs, sitting on tables set just for the event, and all the supporters around the canal simply wouldn’t stop cheering and supporting you.

At km 25 I finally saw Anne (I was wondering where she was as I didn’t see her since the first pass at Sollarberg Hill). She walked and run with me through the forest. At some point I lied down on the grass and she even helped me stretch my quads to try to keep me going. It worked for a bit, and having her by my side (she was riding a rental bike) kept me more motivated and I was able to run more than before. She made me take a gel (I don’t like gels and I had only been having coke and rice pudding – yes, they had rice pudding in the aids stations, hot soup, nuts and other things ). The gel was actually ok and I think it helped.

The reality is that my heartrate was never above 150bpm throughout the race, which means I had fuel in the tank but my legs were dead. Kilometer by kilometer I kept going and I reached to Roth. At 2kms from the finish line we went through the town center, where people were sitting down and having beer. I had the chance to get some beer too with a Canadian supporter, which was quite a fun moment.

I was very close to my moment of glory. The emotions were already going through my body and I knew I was going to achieve my goal. I run into the stadium which was again full of amazing spectators and I heard my name in the loudspeakers. I had done it, I had completed a long distance triathlon (can’t really say Ironman and I didn’t hear the famous words “Paulo, you are an IRONMAN”), but it really doesn’t matter.

I crossed the finish line, got my medal and enjoyed the moment. Now was time to get some food and drinks, change clothes and try to find Anne and join the others for celebration. I had had an amazing day, enjoyed every single minute of it, even through all the cramps pain.

 

Post-race thoughts

 

Having Fun

I had an amazing race because I had fun. I tried to enjoy all the way and believe I did. Everyone that has done Ironman races before told me to enjoy the race, to not focus on the time, and they are absolutely right. It is such a long day, when you are doing it the first time you don’t know how exactly your body will react, and you don’t know how external conditions will be (wind, temperature, current, etc.). The conditions we train in Dubai are very particular, and it is very likely that in your race day conditions will be different. Be prepared, and set your expectations accordingly, but most of all focus on enjoying the day, unless you are on your 10^th Ironman and you are targeting to be top 10% ;-)

 

Bike Fit

I tend to be very analytical, and during the summer I had a lot of time to reflect about the race and what I could have done differently. There was no doubt that the part where I have a significant room for improvement is the bike. One of the first decisions I made was that I would do a bike fit as soon as I would get to Dubai. I booked it with Koos on the first Sunday I was back. When I got on the bike Koos immediately asked me “Did you cramp on your run? Your seat is too high, and you are only using your quads”. Really?! Why didn’t I do the bike fit before?! Not only the seat was too high, my cleats were also incorrectly aligned which were causing my legs to spin 10 degrees outwards. Other problems were detected and I am still trying to correct them, and then I will go back to finalize the bike fit. I would say that for anyone doing half or long distance triathlons a proper bike fit is mandatory. It will save your legs if you haven’t got injured along the way.

 

Hills

The second decision I made was that I would go every second week to Hatta. Throughout my training for Roth I only did hills twice, which was definitely not enough. Training hills would have made me much stronger on the bike and I would be much better prepared. When I came back I signed up for the first Hatta ride, and I even booked hotel. Unfortunately, a few days before I had a bike accident at NAS that resulted in a broken collarbone so I couldn’t go, but as soon as I am recovered I will.

 

Swimming lessons

Anne and I had a weekly lesson with Crissy for about three months and I felt massive improvements on my technique. Swimming long distance is all about being more efficient an effective. My legs tend to sink and I used to fight the water to keep moving. Crissy taught me to relax and be to do longer and smoother strokes by doing different types of drills. On a regular week I would do a session with Crissy, a session with Masters and a sea swim. Whenever it was possible I would go on my own to Hamdan to do a few more drills and lengths. This was one of the best investments I have done. The goal was not to improve time but to save energy.

 

Nutrition

I have heard endless stories of people that have stomach cramps and have to go to the loo several times when they race on gels. I have done a few races on gels and I feel weird too, and a big emptiness in my stomach. I try to follow a natural approach on my daily diet, so I wanted to do the same thing with my race nutrition. I started using PROBars, which are based on nuts, seeds and other natural ingredients. Each bar has about 380Kcals, which I cut in 4 pieces and I take one every 15 mins. All my long rides were done using PROBars and I never had any problems, despite some warnings from others about the impact of fiber. I stopped eating one hour before the end of the bike so that I wouldn’t start the run on a “full” stomach, and it worked perfectly. On the bike I drunk about one bottle of liquids per hour - water with Eletewater or Isotonic drink from the aid stations. During the entire race I only did one loo stop to pee.

On the run I had prepared my own gels, with Chia seeds, frozen berries, honey and Eletewater. I tried it a couple of times in Dubai and they worked great for me. For the race, I had to hand them over for transition the day before (T1 and T2 were in different locations). I tried to freeze them but I think it was too late, and on the race day I think they were a bit off due to the 20+ degrees. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to take any risks, so I dropped them quite early in the run course, and I used whatever was available in the aid stations.

I believe using natural ingredients is one good alternative to gels. I have heard about products that have been working well for other people (like Hammer nutrition) which I would probably try if I hadn’t found this option. My advice to anyone is for not settling until you find what works for you - one size doesn’t fit all. And train your fourth discipline (nutrition) on your long sessions early in the training season.

 

Power Meter

Buying a power meter was a good investment. I felt great improvements and helped me be more consistent. If I could go back, I would have bought the power meter before buying my Zipp wheels. I’m not sure if Zipp wheels made me faster (they do look great), but powermeter really helped me to dose my effort on race day and during the training.

 

Physio/Massage

Three months before the race I started having a physio/massage session every two weeks as a preventive measure. I use TriggerPoint kit quite often, which is good to release some tension in the muscle, but sometimes this is not enough. Having this Physio sessions really helped me recover faster, improve my performance and avoid further injuries. I only had an injury (calf tear) because I didn’t respect my rest day and did a 20k run + extra swim followed by a 45 minutes circuit training session. Take good care of your body, respect the rest time and be proactive in avoiding injuries.

 

Transitions

As I mentioned before, my transitions were really smooth and easy. I thought about each detail on the bike, I experimented many things during the long rides. Make it simple and try everything in the bike. The race day preparation starts several weeks before, and these are the easiest minutes you can win (I was about five minutes faster on both transitions than most of my colleagues).

 

Equipment

Check the weather forecast and take equipment for the most likely scenarios. The day before the race, do a practice swim and try the conditions you are going to run in. On Saturday I swam and did a small bike ride just to test how it would feel to get on the bike wet. I knew then that it was very likely that I didn’t need a wind jacket. For IM 70.3 Jonas-Rapperswil in Zurich, I ended up spending a little fortune on rain and wind equipment, because I wasn’t really prepared.

 

Cheering back

Throughout the race, whenever someone would call my name or cheered me I would cheer back, and they would cheer even more. When there was music I would dance and the crowd would just go crazy. I think the 225,000 spectators were outstanding in supporting the athletes and deserve a huge recognition. I recommend to anyone to try to cheer back to the crown and see the effect. I think it helps a lot.

 

What’s Next?

Everybody kept asking me if I would sign up for another Ironman race, and I always said I didn’t know, but deep inside I already knew I was going to do another one. Just before Roth someone challenged me to do Ironman Copenhagen, which I considered … till I started cramping on the run. Looking back and thinking on my personal life, I don’t want to spend another three months waking up at stupid o’clock to do 150-180km bike rides, so I wanted to stay away from long distance races in summer period, which means training from March till June/July. I went to spectate Ironman Copenhagen, and standing at the finish line I was almost certain I would sign up to Ironman South Africa. Roy told me he was doing South Africa, along with a lot other people from the club. When I came back, I met Roy at Microsoft for lunch, and we talked about it. I told Roy I was trying to convince Anne to join me, and his answer was that shouldn’t be very difficult. The day after this conversation I signed up, hoping to put some pressure on Anne (no pressure ). Leading to IMSA I would like to do Dubai Marathon and ADIT Long, though after the bike crash I think Dubai Marathon and the sub 4h goal will have to stay for another time.

 

Thank You

There’s so many people to thank: the team T2A, the TRIDUBAI team, Crissy, Roy, Ed Hawkins, my coach for the last three months before the race, Sean Clark, and so many others. But I have to thank Anne in particular for helping me out on making my life easier during the training. It is not easy to juggle an intensive and high responsibility job, along trying to get the training in, eating healthy and getting rest. Oh yes, and still try to have a bit of social life . I couldn’t have done without her and also for putting up with my OCD behavior and always wanting everything to be perfect.

THANK YOU Anne.

Ironman 70.3 Zell am See–Kaprun Race Report

Where do I start? Maybe by saying that it was great day for me. Back in March I wasn’t able to participate in IM 70.3 Singapore due to an unexpected leg surgery one week before the race. This would have been my first Half Ironman ever, so being able to complete this one has a special meaning, and racing in postcard location like Zell am See was simply amazing.

Pre-race

I am extremely happy to have it completed, and happy with the 5:35:58 time, but at the same time I know I can do significantly better. The fact that that the three weeks before the race I travelled to 3 different locations with long-haul flights, did 2 night flights with no proper sleep, and in between I managed to move house, didn’t make my preparation easy. And not to mention that in the previous two months I had an intense travel schedule too. All the missed trainings were making me feel guilty until 3-4 days before the race.

I’m on my first year of triathlon, and this would be my first ever IM 70.3. But I have forgotten something very important: the main goal of doing all this is to have fun. Also to stay healthy, travel a bit, and of course challenge myself. After resetting my priorities,I can tell you that I started to have lots of fun, and the smile on my face in the pics that were taken of me during the run can prove that.

TIP : There’s no point doing an Ironman race if you don’t have fun along the way.

The days before the race were hectic. On Wednesday I worked till 6pm, and I still had to collect a borrowed bike case (Thanks Venny ), disassemble the bike and pack everything for a 8:30am flight on Thursday morning. Packing started at 10:30pm and I was done by 2:00am. Next morning taxi didn’t show up, and we had to drive to the airport with 2 bike cases in the back, drop them at check-in, park the car and come back, to find out that our flight was delayed by 2 hours.

TIP: There’s never too much preparation and it helps a lot, but don’t use the lack of it as an excuse to give up.

After arriving to Munich, we still had some challenges with the rental car, but after all was sorted, we started our journey towards Zell am See, and I don’t have words to describe the scenery we’ve seen. The green mountains and valleys when we entered Austria were breath-taking. We passed for a little town called Walschee where Challenge Tyrol 70.3 will take place on September 9th. Simply amazing too, worth considering for next year.

The other great thing about this race was that I wasn’t alone, there was 7 of us racing: myself, Anne Petersen, Chris McVickars (Chief), Jo Edwards, Marie O’Neill, Ian Jones , and my cousin Nuno Fernandes from Portugal. On top of that, we had “Swim around the world” Kate as our amazing supporter, photographer, bag carrier, motivator, etc., my mom and my Aunt. Having training buddies, family and friends around is quite good. It doesn’t mean that we always have to be with each other, but we know we have each other to count on and get support.

Friday we all went for a swim on the lake and it was a pleasant surprise, as me being a person that lived most of its life by the sea, and still being a rookie swimmer, swimming in a lake is not my favorite thing. But it turned out to be extremely pleasant: the water was very clear and clean, even safe to drink (not that I wanted to drink, but I involuntarily  still drink it a lot while swimming).

After that, we jumped into a 9 seater van and we went for a drive along the bike course. We were able to see most of it, and helped us understand that there were some narrow roads and bike paths, tight bends, wooden bridges, cobble stone segments that we would need to be careful with. Other than that, just a beautiful scenery all along. We were just hoping that there wouldn’t be rain (at least I was hoping that). We have done the race registration and we (I did) spend some (a lot) of money on the Ironman merchandise store and Expo area.

TIP: (1) If possible, always check the race course the days before the race, and (2)take a fixed amount of money and don’t take credit card to the merchandise area.

On Saturday we went out for a 15mins swim, 15 mins bike and 15 mins run. We rode our bikes to the swim start with rug sack on our backs with wetsuit and goggles. The swim felt pretty nice, but when I was coming off the water and practicing how to take the wetsuit off before the transition, without noticing, my Garmin 910XT fell off from the quick release kit after having stopped the timer when coming off the water. I was really p#$%"%d off after not being able to find it and I forgot all about the “having fun” part that I mentioned before. I took all my frustration on the wetsuit, and I found out afterwards that Anne and Nuno were afraid that they would get the same treatment and just stepped back .

So, how the hell was I going to the race without being able to pace myself based on the heartrate?!

TIP: Gadgets are great, but being so dependent on them can be a bad thing.

Moving on, race briefing was at 10am, and we would have a wave bike check-in, which would give me till 4pm to get everything ready to take to transition area. I’m not good at packing, and doing the RUN and BIKE bags is even a bigger nightmare for me. All in all, it went pretty well and I took a minimum amount of items, which I used them all and they were no excessive. The only part which I was not quite happy about it, was my pink lock laces, the only pair available at the Expo area, as I’ve forgot to buy them back in Dubai when I got my new runners. So, pink laces on a flashy green Newton’s … perfect combination (all comes down to preparation).

The only concern I had left was the weather forecast. We had 25ºC on Friday and blue sky, 22ºC on Saturday with a blue sky, and forecast for Sunday was 15ºC with 80% of precipitation. How could that be possible? The bike would be a bit challenging with rain, and the low temperature wouldn’t help. I packed a rain/wind jacket on the bag, but also the wet course wouldn’t help in terms of safety. Bike checked-in, off for a dinner with family and a good night sleep.

Race Day

Race would start at 10am (10:20am for my wave), so no need to wake up at stupid o’clock for having a decent breakfast. I was in a very good mood, and the weather wasn’t that bad, a bit grey but no rain. We walked as a group to the race start, and we went to transition area for the final preparations. I’ve taped the GU gels to the bike, then to realize that I forgot to attach first the bag with energy bars, so I attached it next to the seatpost rather than the handlebar. I then asked someone around to use their pump to re-fill my tires. It was a super duper accurate German pump, but every time I would try to detach the hose the tire would get completely flat. I was getting a bit nervous, but with the help of the owner, after the 4th or 5th attempt we ended up getting the tires filled.

TIP: Never change what you are used to do close to/on the race day, and try to use only the equipment you are used too

Bike done and ready, time to go to the changing tent to get  wetsuit on. I was so worried about the chaffing I had in my neck during sea swims in the summer (I would come out of the water bleeding), that I completely forgot to use body glide on other sensitive parts of my body, which would suffer a bit during the bike. All done, the rest of the gang was disperse getting their things sorted, time to go race.

Swim

I was on the third and last wave. I found myself alone on the spectator area where I met Ian, who was also waiting for the time to get to the starting area.

After we’ve seen the first and second wave taking off, we went to the start area. I wasn’t nervous (so I thought), but I had a lot of energy. I couldn’t stop jumping around, like a super excited kid. I found my mom and aunt between the spectators and it was time to pose for the pictures. It was time to get into the water, and we didn’t have the chance to do a warm-up swim, as we couldn’t find a way through. In the water, we’ve met Chris, and we wish good luck to each other, and we were ready to go.

Swim started, and everything seamed fine. I was swimming comfortably, breathing seamed normal. After a couple of minutes, I started struggling … I don’t know what was going on, but breathing was getting difficult, arms were getting heavy and tired, and people were coming over me all the time. I think these are the times where the mind plays us some tricks, so I tried to say to myself to keep calm, slow down, and try to find a comfortable pace and breath rhythm. But I couldn’t. I was half way to the first buoy, which was about 800m from the starting line, and I was nervous and uncomfortable. I stopped, took a few breaths and kept going. I wasn’t ok still, and I stopped again, and decided to swim breaststroke instead. I’ve come all this way, so there was no way I was going to quit there. I struggled a bit till half way, with a few stops and a couple of minutes swimming breaststroke. After the second buoy (more than halfway), I finally found my rhythm and I could breath normally. I was a bit disappointed, and expecting to have done about 45 minutes on the swim.

I got off the water a bit tired, but I immediately started taking the wetsuit off. Off to the transition area, picked my bag and got into the transition tent. In there, the help of the volunteers was great. They took everything out of the bag for me and helped me put everything on. I had helmet, race belt and number, sun (water) glasses and rain jacket. Shoes were clipped on the bike, so here we go running to the bike at the same time I put the jacket on.

Bike

After finding my bike, I started running on the transition area, which was a football pitch, followed by a running track around it. I saw the guy ahead of me jumping into the bike fore the red line, and immediately the referee started shouting in a very “assertive” way in German, and I thought to myself that I should really focus on following the rules because they take it seriously. Finally on the bike, I started pedalling.  I took the bike computer, and when I first started looking at speed and heartrate (a workaround for the lost Garmin), I saw that my speed was around 38-40 kph, and heartrate was around 160bpm. I thought how could I go that fast, and how could I feel so strong and fresh. I guess I only had time to look at it when it was clear rode and downhill, as my average speed was below that. Nevertheless, I was thinking if I should slowdown or not, but at the same time I felt quite good and I assumed it was the adrenaline that would give me the extra strength all the way. In the meantime, it started raining, but I was prepared with the rain jacket.

I kept going, the rain started to get more intense, but still quite manageable. About half way of the first 43km loop, I’ve catch Chief and I asked if he was ok, which he replied affirmatively. I was a bit surprised to catch him as I know he is better on the bike than, so there were only two options: either he was not well, or I was pushing too hard. I kept my pace, which was comfortable at the time. After a few minutes he took me over, and then I thought that I was really taking it too hard, and he had been saving his legs. Nevertheless, as he was not going to hard, I decided to stay behind him. We passed Zell am See, and after that it really started pouring. It was hard to see, there was extra water coming out of the wheels of whoever was ahead of me, and started to be a little bit more complicated.

I kept on Chief’s tail, but there were many people taking me over, and there were several people that I was taking over, which made it difficult to keep close. I then decided to slow down to save my legs a bit and also to be more careful, as there were segments that we were going at about 50kph with wet roads.

The bike course was two 43km loops, that would go through lovely towns (Zell am See, Kaprun, Piesendorf Maishofen, …), and where the spectators wouldn’t stop cheering us even with all the rain,, by shouting “hop, hop, hop, …” or using their big bells. As much as possible, I kept thanking them and waving back, which made it fun. Can’t thank them enough for all the cheering and support they gave us.

Loop one was done and I still felt good, but not as fast as in the first one. I was wet, but during all the race I never felt cold, thanks to the jacket, even though it wasn’t completely waterproof. The only big challenge I had during the bike was with my hands. They were so wet and cold, that using them was though. First, I struggled to take the energy bars from the box that was next to the seat post. Then I couldn’t open the energy bars. I couldn’t hold the plastic between my fingers, even when trying to use them with my teeth. I struggled a bit to get the food in, and I guess that I was a bit worried with loosing focus of the road while trying to sort this out. The other challenge with the hands was that while standing up for climbing a hill, my hand slipped and I almost bumped into another athlete. My hands were wet, cold, slippery and my fingers were numb.

TIP: (1) Make all your nutrition easily accessible for the races, even opening the energy bars before hand. (2) Check the weather forecast before you travel and take several options of equipment with you. The rain jacket made my race more confortable, and some gloves could have helped too.

Run

Back to the transition area, my legs were a bit wobbly when I jumped off the bike and run to the bike rack. Took the bike computer and attached to the quick release kit (looks really nice), picked my run bag and got into the transition tent where I was helped by one of the volunteers. After she dropped everything in the bag and put my bike stuff in there, she took off and I was left alone with the simple task of putting my socks and shoes on. Simple if my hands would work properly!!! It took me a couple of minutes to get the socks and the shoes on, but I finally managed. I took off from the tent and I started running. I reset the repurposed bike computer for trying to control the heartrate and pace during the run. I felt quite good, heartrate was under control, and I seemed to be going at around 6:00/km (it only display speed, not pace and it was up and down all the time), which was in my planned range. After 1km into the run, I started feeling cramps in my quads, which was the toll from the “strong” bike in the beginning. I slowed a bit down, and I kept going. The run was a three 6km loop, after the initial 3km from the transition area into the town centre. In the town there were these small uphills that felt like mountains during the race, but it was amazing to see again the amount of people cheering us. The loops in the town were the toughest, but then we would go 3km north around the lake and back.

The run was hard, but I don’t think I ever lost the smile on my face I walked a few times, specially when I was drinking coke, and I had to stop another time to take my shoe off as it seemed that I had a small pebble inside, but ended up just being the show too much tight maybe ?! The cramps didn’t stop me, and I could never really figure out what was my pace. I thought I was going to finish around 6:00:00 time, but as long as it would be below I would be happy for my first time.

I got into the final 100 meters and there was a crowed cheering. I kept looking for any familiar faces so that I could do high five, but I couldn’t find any. I kept going, and as soon as I crossed the finish line there was my mom and aunt, and I could see a happy smile on their face. A few seconds later, I spotted Anne who was waiting for me with the camera on her hands. It was time to celebrate.

My Mom told me at the end that she was worried that I had quit, as she couldn’t see me on the run. She knew what I went through before Singapore and the disappointment I had, but I was determined to finish this race even if I had to walk. It meant a lot to me that she came with my aunt, from a little town called Sagres in a lost corner of Portugal just to see me racing and spend a few days with me.  Also a big thanks to my aunt, who always gave me a big support, not to mention my 22 years old cousin Nuno Fernandes.

A special mention to Nuno who raced with me on race 5 of the Ghantoot series last year (his first triathlon ever) followed by the short distance in Abu Dhabi International Triathlon one week later. We were suppose to race together in Singapore, but I ended up flying just to see him and support him, on a race where he finished 8th in is age group. When he found out that I was racing Salzburg, he decided to join me to make it up for Singapore. He ended up 8th again on his age group with a 4:36 time (an impressive 2:15 on the bike or 40kph average and 1:36 half marathon). I can’t thank him enough for all his support, and for being such a great example of discipline and hard work that make him a great athlete. I still have hopes that he becomes a professional athlete, and I can retire to become his manager and coach

I never can’t thank enough Miss Petersen for all her support, far before the race started, specially when I was frustrated because of missing my trainings and she always kept saying that I was going to do great.

For my other partners in crime, Chris, Marie, Jo and Ian, a big thanks and congrats. It was great to be there with you guys, and congratulations all for your achievement.

Kate, thanks for all you support and taking the pics. It was great to have you around, and if my travel schedule permits, I’ll pay you back when you are doing your swim.

A big thanks too to my training buddies and coach in Tri2Aspire. My performance has improved significantly since I joined the team back in April, and watching 18 of them crossing the finish line this summer in Challenge Roth was a massive inspiration.

Next big races to come: Phuket on December 2nd, and Challenge Roth in July. If you think this report was long and lame, wait until July if I get to the finish line

Running tips for beginners …

 

NOTE: I’m not a coach and I don’t have any degree on sports science. This is not a scientific article of any kind, just me sharing some tips and suggestions for people that want to start running or do it more regularly.

Three months ago, an ex-colleague and friend asked me for some tips and guidance for start running again. This hasn’t been the first person, and I’m happy (and flattered) to say that several friends have come to me and told me that my “spam” on Facebook with my sports activities have inspired them to start exercising or doing it more frequently.

I’m not an expert and I’m very far away from being an outstanding athlete, but I do have a big passion for running, I am extremely curious and I do a lot of research to understand and know more about things that interest me, which combined with all the miles I’ve run, the races I’ve done, the injuries I went through, gives me some knowledge that I think might be useful and worth sharing.

Based on my experience, the 3 tips below are helpful for you to prevent injuries and take the most benefit out of your running:

1. Buy proper running shoes
   Not having proper running shoes can cause you some serious injuries. You should go to a specialized sports/running store, and find which kind of strike you do so that you avoid injuries. Some people pronate (they roll their feet inwards and touch their knees), others supinate (they roll their feet outwards and arch their legs) and others they are neutral. There are also some “special” people (like me ) that have one foot that pronates and other that supinates, and these are complicated. Also, people have different feet arches: some have low arch (or flat feet), others medium arch and others high arch. Depending on your feet type, different type of shoes are adequate for you. A specialized sports store will be able to do a brief gait analysis and recommend you the adequate shoes type. Do your own research about this, but I find that this article explains it quite well.
   
   Personally, I’m using Newton shoes which promote forefoot running (check this video if you want to know more), and these have worked great for me, and since then I haven’t had any injuries.
   
2. Buy a Heartrate monitor, preferably with GPS
   This is the best device/gadget you can buy for your training. I consider that controlling your heartrate is extremely important, not only to prevent any health issue, but also to take the most benefit out of your training.
   First of all, you should consult your doctor so that he can assess if you can do exercise. Then, you should find what is your maximum heart rate, and try to keep yours between 70-80% of the maximum, as this is the most beneficial for improving your fitness level on an initial stage, and also for fat burning. There’s probably entire books about this, but for a starting point, this is enough.
   
   But definitely, I suggest you buy a GPS enabled device. This allow you to map your runs, track speed, distance, elevation. It is a wonderful gadget that might give you extra motivation (it sure did to me) and allows you to monitor your progress. I personally use a Garmin Forerunner 910XT, but just for running I would recommend  the 210 or 610 (depending on your budget/features you would like to get). Other alternatives are the Polar models.
   
3. Get your Core strength and Flexibility right
   Most of injuries I had were due to poor flexibility and core strength. The way we walk, the way we run are very much dependant on our strength on our core muscles, because at the end of the day the legs are supported and controlled by the core muscles. If we don’t have the right strength and flexibility, then our motion range might not be ideal and we might end up doing “incorrect” movements, that might cause some injuries.
   I’m now having one yoga class and one personal trainer session a week just to work on my core strength and general flexibility. This, allied with the right shoes, might prevent you from having the most common injuries (ITB, Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints, and a few more). So my recommendation is that you do some kind of exercise that strengthens your core muscles and improves your flexibility. Either it is Yoga or Pilates, Personal Trainer, bootcamps, one session a week will do wonders for you, not only for the running but for everything.

These three are the ones I consider that anyone running should do, as they can help prevent injuries and improve your results. Other than this, there many other tips that I could give, and some of the ones that come to my mind are:

• If you haven’t done anything for a long time (more than 6 months?!), start with 30 mins every other day, and try to do a longer run during the week (maybe Saturday or Sunday morning for 1h?!) 3-4 runs a week should be a great way to keep you fit and loose weight.
• Sign up for a race, maybe a 5k or 10k. Having a target helps a lot and boost your motivation.
• Find some other people that run where you live and try to run with them once a week. Maybe a running club?! since I joined a local triathlon team, my motivation and consistency on the trainings increased dramatically, and it is normally a very pleasant social activity. Strongly recommend if you have the chance.
• Sign up on a running website like www.dailymile.com (site I use to track my runs and post on facebook). You don’t need to post on facebook,, but you can add friends and find other people that are running close to you. It is an added motivation, finding like minded people, getting a lot of tips, etc. It did add a lot of value for me and I recommend.

 

And that’s it for now. Let me know if you have any comments, corrections or suggestions about this post, and I’ll be glad to review it..

Giving Back

 

In the past 3 1/2 years I have completely changed my lifestyle. I’ve started being more careful with the food I eat, I’ve started doing regular exercise, by running and participating in several races, including a Marathon, and last summer I’ve started doing triathlons. Since then, life has been giving me a lot of good things, a lot of “Gifts”: new friends, more health, more knowledge, more patience, more peace, more joy … and a lot of other good things.

A few months back I’ve felt that was time to give something back. I really believe the more you give, the more you get in return. Following examples of a few colleagues that started raising money for charities when they were racing, I started looking for charities that I would relate to, on the websites http://www.justgiving.co.uk or http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving. I was looking for something related with children’s education, in some African or Asian countries, where access to education is very difficult. One year back, I was exposed to an organization called Room to Read that envisions that every child should have access to education. This organization was founded by John Wood, who wrote the book “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World”.

Whilst this charity was listed on both websites, I felt that I wouldn’t see the results of my fundraising and the contributions would go to the UK section and not the Dubai one.

A few weeks later I joined a local triathlon team in Dubai, Team T2A, and I’ve found out that one of the team members, Miss AnnieP, has been running a Charity on her own, where the vision to Improve Children’s Lives Through Education and Sports Initiatives. Not only it fits the type end goal that I had in mind (children's education) it also adds Sports which is a passion that I have, and I could actually get involved on the field.

So far, this Charity has raised about USD 24,000 which will be used to build a library for a school in Uganda. A good portion of the money has been raised selling unwanted items that are donated by friends, and friends of friends of Miss AnnieP, and then sold at the monthly Safa Flea Market in Dubai. Wouter Kingma, a friend of Miss AnnieP, raced Gobi Desert Ultramarathon in China (250km in 7 days) for the charity, and raised by himself USD 6,800. Inspiring!

 

What am I doing to help?

So far, I have participated in one of the Safa Flea Markets. It was an amazing experience that started at 4:30am to collect and transport the items to Safa Park, getting the tables ready for the sale at around 6am, spending a few hours selling amazing stuff at ridiculous prices, and finalizing everything by 2pm. It was a very rewarding and fun morning, while contributing to a great cause (I have even improved my lousy sale skills).

But I want to do more and contribute more. I’m currently helping create a Facebook page and a website to promote this charity and its projects. I think there’s a much bigger audience to reach and I feel I can help with that. I also want to promote this charity and raise money during my races, starting with the Ironman 70.3 Salzburg that I’ll do on August 26. Additionally, I have signed up for a trip to Uganda on Jun 5-9, to help on the follow-up with the local promoters and constructors for the first phase of the library. Last week I had 6 vaccines so that I can travel safely, and I have to say that I am extremely excited (at the same time nervous) about it.

Why am I sharing this?

First because I want to create awareness and promote this charity. Second, because I need your help to make this and other projects even more successful. There are many ways to contribute, by giving some of your time, sharing your knowledge, using your connections, giving your unwanted and unused stuff. It doesn’t have to always be by giving money, but it is welcome too .

How can you help?

• Do you participate in races or sports events? Then perhaps raise money for this charity for your race.
• Are you one of my IT Geek friends? Then help me maintain the website and support the people that are going to contribute with the content.
• Do you live in Dubai? De-clutter your house of unwanted items for the Safa Flea Market, and maybe even come to help on the market days.
• Do you have a lot of Emirates Airmiles? Donate some miles so that we can send qualified resources to monitor and audit the construction of the Library.
• Do you have any other ideas? Send them to me.

Why?

Because this is a great initiative, created by someone that I know, supported by a group of people that want to make a difference, in which I am personally involved in the field.

I’ll keep you posted on the Facebook page, the website, and the trip to Uganda. Stay tuned.

Ironman 70.3 Salzburg bike course

 

This is the bike course map and profile for Ironman 70.3 Salzburg, which I’m planning to participate on Aug 26th. It is pretty flat, and the surroundings are suppose to be amazing.

Joining a team

 

After 3 years of doing exercise on my own, I have joined a local triathlon team, Team Tri2Aspire. Why? I think mainly because of two reasons: It gives me more motivation and commitment to follow a training program, and second because I feel I have join a team of like minded people.

Back in February/March, I had my cousin Nuno around for 4 weeks. He came to race Abu Dhabi and Singapore with me, so we trained together everyday, and raced together. This was a great experience, making it much easier to get out of bed at 5am to go cycling or running, or just making it to the pool at 7pm instead of slacking and saying to myself “I’ll do it tomorrow”.

I still love and need to run on my own. My relationship with running is much more than just a sport, it is my way of relaxing, distressing, solving problems or shutting down from work. Nevertheless, I don’t think I would ever do 5 hours on the bike like I did this Friday if I was just training on my own, specially when it isn’t part of my training program.

On the other hand, in many of the races I’ve done I’ve seen this group of people, using their green Jersey’s with their nicknames on their short, looking fit, happy and always having fun together. They looked great, but I always thought that my lifestyle (work and travel) wouldn’t allow me to take great benefit of it.

After my cousin left, and talking with a fellow athlete that was already part of the team, I immediately felt that I had to join, and I wasn’t mistaken. I’ve joined an amazing group of people that form a great team. The spirit is amazing, and the collective knowledge of the entire group is something that I can’t describe. And there’s athlete’s of all levels and ages. There’s people that are qualifying for Kona Ironman, the top of the top Ironman events held in Hawaii or people competing in world championships, and there’s people doing their first triathlon or half-ironman races (like me).

I’m sure I will benefit a lot from joining this team. Hope I can contribute back. My advice to anyone would be that if you have the change to join or even create your own team, do it. Triathlon or running are individual sports, but training as a team it will help you grow faster and stay more committed and motivated.