Bye, Bye, Brazil

2 years of work on the project to roll out software in 9 countries, and this was the last trip.

After being so sore after the 4-mi Spartan Sprint, and after being left to hobble after just a free Spartan workout, I figured that I would barely be able to walk for days after the Spartan Carolinas double.  Somehow, I was able to walk decently.  Just the top of one of my feet felt squeezed, from the tight shoes yesterday.  I had 4x24 hours at home, before heading out to Brazil again. 

Wednesday, Oct 29:

I stayed at the usual hotel for a few days, before switching to another hotel closer to my home base for the next 2 weeks.  The gym at the first hotel was *still* under renovation, so the day that I arrived, I got in a run at the park.  I took it nice and easy, since it was my first run back.  Nose breathed, since the park didn’t lend itself to fast running, and I wanted to limit the effects of city smog.   My knees felt inflamed a the end of the first lap, but they recovered.  4.4 in 4:57, 9:46 ave (estimated).

Friday, Oct 31:

Forgot about Halloween, with all that was going on at work.   Plus, the country only recently started getting into this holiday, with kids dressing up and everything.   I saw one adult dressed up, when we went out for drinks (for me, acai juice).  After getting back from a late night out, I did 50 min of body weight strength in the hotel room.  Even a 2:00 plank felt hard probably due to the effects of the Spartan.  My single-legs squats were also barely squatted, and my knees felt weak and achey.

Saturday (workday), Nov 1:

At the other hotel now.  They have the usual Brazillian old-but-usable-but-no-incline-functionality treadmills, plus one slightly more sophisticated treadmill that could do inclines.  This treadmill was actually kind of funny, because for the display, they printed on pictures of workout modes that were meant to look like windows on a computer.  They had scrollbars and buttons on the pictures.  It was a bit amusing.

The treadmill was good, though.  Got in 5.0 in 41:34, 8:22 ave, at 3 degrees of incline.  My body hadn’t been in any kind of mood to exert itself or move, but I tried running anyways, and it ended up being a good effort, especially at the end.  Glad I did it.  One never regrets having worked out.

Sunday (workday), Nov 2:

The one incline treadmill was taken, so I used the 0-degree, narrow treadmill for a 4.3 in 37:06, 8:32 ave.  Nose breathed for this one.  Did arms afterwards. 

Tuesday, Nov 4:

Did a recumbent bike for 60 min, with BPMs of 150, 155, and 140 at the 20 min interval marks.  Pretty sweaty, high resistance.  My legs hadn’t felt fresh for running, so I went with the bike this time.

Thursday, Nov 6:

Went at 6am, a little bit before the gym was actually supposed to open, and I got the incline treadmill, which is typically otherwise occupied in the evening.  Did a nice 6.2 in 51:20, 8:17 average.  Before breakfast.  It was warm, and I felt like if the temps were cold, I could’ve gone on forever.  Lots of endorphins afterwards.

Friday, Nov 7:

Yesterday’s morning run was great, so I did it again today.  I actually started off with the idea of doing intervals, but I soon discovered that due to having to control speed in increments of 0.1K on this treadmill, it wouldn’t be too easy, so I just did a normal run.

Saturday (1/2 workday), Nov 8:

I did a strength session in the evening.  The single-leg squats were decent this time, but the plank was still hard.  That night, went to a Samba club with my co-workers.   That was something I had wanted to check off my Brazil to-do list in the past, so it was nice. 

Sunday, Nov 9:

The backs of my shoulders were sore today.  Was it due to the lateral pulldown weight machine?  I wanted a good, serious workout session, so I tried a long run and managed 8.6 mi in 1:12:50, 8:25 ave @ 3 degrees of incline.  The treadmill actually said 9.3 mi, which is what I’ll be racing in December, but the mph pace suggested otherwise, so I think 8.6 is more realistic.  This was after a skipped lunch (due to a long nap, to recover from the 4am return to the hotel last night).  I adjusted the pace slightly throughout, to do what was most comfortable at the time… only 0.2 kph of difference.

Tuesday, Nov 11:

Tried running, but my legs wouldn’t have it, so I biked again.  I feel like I went really slow this time and didn’t end up getting much of a workout by the end of it.  Although, my lower legs were sore the next day.

Wednesday, Nov 12:

4.3 in 36:14, 8:20 ave, on the 0-incline treadmill.  The incline treadmill was out for repairs, since it had been stopping suddenly, mid-run, for people.  Nose-breathed, felt good.  Ended up stopping, mostly because my right shoelace was coming undone, and after tying it, I wasn’t in the mood to start again (being all sweaty).  Did arms, instead.  Felt kind of wimpy for not going farther, eh.  I hadn’t been eating as cleanly as usual, either… maybe due to stress, and just needing to get through.  Oh well, it’s the off-season, anyway.

Summary of Brazil:

- They're fun, easy-going people, and always joking around and having a good laugh

- Traffic in Sao Paulo, but some really unique & beautiful places in Rio & Iguazu

 Not-to-miss:
- Coconut water out of a coconut
- Rio Hanggliding
- Monkeys and other animals
- Acai slushies
- Rio Paddleboarding/Beaches
- Feijoada (black bean dish)
- Iguazu Falls
- Caipirinha