Americas

Maratona de São Paulo

Published April 8, 2018

5am alarm. Marathon day.

Dusky & humid, mile+ walk to today’s Obelisk Start in Ibirapuera Park. Picked up runners soon after entering Portão 7 (gate closest my digs off Prof. Filadelfo Azevedo). Buzz in the air, runners talking in groups. Animated talk. Voice pitch/timber fluttered up/down, sometimes hand movements – no need to understand Portuguese, they’re all talking ‘marathon’.

São Paulo’s tall concrete Obelisk is reminiscent of our Washington Memorial in DC. Crowds swelled as the Obelisk grew larger in view. Monument serves as a memorial to four men who protested/died/inspired the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.

Pre-race porta potty lines – same as in the States. UNIQUE to Brazil? Crazy long lines for COFFEE 🙂

30 minutes ‘til Start: snapped a shot of the Obelisk, searched for my starting corral (‘sectors’ in Brazil). Noticed runner bibs in lotta different colours, lotta different distances too (4K, 8K, 24K & 42K). Matched my Bib colour to a Black banner marked ‘PRETO’. I’d be starting way way back today. Literally TENS of THOUSANDS of runners participating – & goofed my estimated pace time, confused miles with kilometers. Based on the expected heat index however, walkers pace might be right on the mark. Ugh.

Gun start? No idea. My journey didn’t begin ‘til 8:10 (an hour+ after the elites).

Sluggish early, felt the heat. Muggy, thick air. Stream running off the cap, sweat burned my eyes – mile 4.

Supporters shouted: Vai! Vai! Vai! [Go, go, go!] Runners yelled: Vai! Vai! Vai! in return. Loud South American day with NO zone-out music (started last week with success – this week, not so much). So so many runners. Largest marathon since New York.

Combination of heat & noise & crowds – HUGE mental struggle. Completely outta my element.

Started water-dousing my head/neck/legs every aid station 2^nd Half. Odd by true: Saw a herd of capybara grazing. Stopped & pic-snapped. Positive? Didn’t fall apart physically. Steady jog pace from mile 12 on. Pushed through, finished, collected my medal.

Flat course; HUGE FUN city; shame to perform so poorly. Super sorry Brazil.

THREE steps forward, BIG step back. New PW. Worst road finish EVER.

LISTAGEM EXTRA OFICIAL (PARA CONFERÊNCIA DE TEMPO)

EVENTO: 24ª MARATONA INTERNACIONAL DE SÃO PAULO – 42.195 KM

RESULTADO PELO Nº DE PEITO – CLASSIFICAÇÃO GERAL (SUJEITO A ALTERAÇÃO)

NUM ATLETA TEMPO LÍQUIDO

6063 KEENAN R HAGA 05:56:37

Showered, afternoon napped. Everything is better after a shower. Uber’d back to the airport (no Lyft in Brazil). Customs, passport control, Brazilian TSA – and dinner. USA bound. 5am in Houston, back to work Monday 2^nd half. Home Sweet Colorado Home ❤

UPDATE: Trained hard Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Logged a whole lotta miles, next marathon: Sunday.

: Obelisk Start in Ibirapuera Park

: Brazil = COFFEE

: Sector Preto [Black]

: my journey didn’t begin ‘til 8:10 (an hour+ after the elites)

: TENS of THOUSANDS

: MASSIVE São Paulo

: capybara (native to Brazil & world’s largest rodent)

: tropical humid South America, my FOURTH continent

: TOUCHDOWN!

Posted in Americas, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged wildlife | Leave a comment

São Paulo City Tour

Published April 7, 2018

Rare to travel somewhere where you have no general knowledge. 6 months ago São Paulo wasn’t even on my radar. While researching South American marathon flights [to Argentina or Chile] noticed most connected in São Paulo – & from there my journey began. Economics really. Less days from work, less $$ from my pocket. Check done, decision made.

2 days before leaving Denver, online-booked today’s private City tour. Met Fernando in the hotel lobby. English-speaking guide, not crazy expensive. ‘Private’ in Brazil meant I was his only passenger, literally. Sweet ride 🙂

Asked no time be spent on Ibirapuera Park. My tour. Been there, done that. Downtown today.

Started with Pátio do Colégio, the site where São Paulo’s original Jesuit mission was erected in 1554. Learned ’bout Father José de Anchieta, the Spanish priest who established the mission “called São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, founded on a plateau between two rivers, the Tamanduateí and the Anhangabaú & linked to the coastal village of São Vicente by a path in the rainforest.”

Quick one-hour history lesson: Portuguese enslaved the indigenous peoples & brought the African slave trade to South America. Portuguese mined GOLD. Once that resource was exhausted, Brazil gained its independence. Later, mid-1800’s immigrants/Italians financed Brazil’s new national commodity – COFFEE. [Slavery existed ’til 1888, last country in Western Hemisphere to abolish.]

Catholicism & coffee, the history of São Paulo.

Digged São Paulo’s downtown architecture, most constructed during Brazil’s turn-of-the-century boom.

Next up: modern São Paulo. Financial District or Beco do Batman (popular tourist destination because of its dense concentration of graffiti that line the streets). Finance is my 9-to-5 gig, absolutely no interest. Bring on da street art! HIGHLY recommended ❤

Early dinner, early to bed. Marathoning in the a.m. – but not before, late night firecrackers & protests rocked my hotel.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party pulled out all the stops to rally public opinion to get the former president out of jail and into contention for October’s elections.

‘Free Lula’ demonstration. No drama/completely safe but a bit unnerving. Yikes!

: São Paulo’s old City walls

: evolution of architectural styles dating back to the 18th century

: Tribunal de Justiça

: Pátio do Colégio

: Father José de Anchieta

: established São Paulo’s original Jesuit mission in 1554

: Monument Immortal Gloria

: Martinelli Building, São Paulo’s first skyscraper

: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil

: coffee empire inlay

: Beco do Batman

: a.k.a. Batman’s Alley

: Batman & Pelé

: local papaya

: Night 2 cityscape

: when your Twitter feed thinks you’ve permanently relocated

unnerving ‘Lula’ demonstration

Brazilian Telenovela

Posted in Americas | Tagged museo, road-signs | Leave a comment

Ibirapuera Park

Published April 6, 2018

Last Saturday Leesport PA, this weekend São Paulo BRAZIL! Crazy life, right? 4 day work-week, then Thursday overnite travel to South America’s most populous city. Denver to Houston, followed by a direct 10-hour flight on United.

Friday morning touchdown. Currency exchange (no gringo ATM), taxi to Marriott Executive Apartments. Overspent/splurged a bit on lodging. GREAT digs, PERFECT location: half-mile walk from Ibirapuera Park, Sunday’s marathon Start/Finish. Other bonus? English-speaking check-in & concierge. HUGE in a country where I don’t speak the language [Portuguese].

Set my alarm, two hour nap – ready now, bring on Friday. Only 3 days in São Paulo: so little time, so much to see! Today’s adventure: marathon bib pick-up. Race not ‘til Sunday but already scheduled a 5-hour tour for tomorrow. Local map in hand, will travel.

Right on Prof. Filadelfo Azevedo, no detouring ‘til Ibirapuera Park, Brazil’s largest public park. Portão [Gate] 7. SUPER important for navigating my hotel return. Little to no English here, so no asking questions. Most foreign tourists travel to Rio.

Ultimately trying to locate a large sports stadium, Ginásio Poliesportivo Mauro Pinheiro. Maps app said half-mile northwest of the Park. Walked alongside Ibirapuera almost 2 miles, down Av. República Do Líbano to Monumento às Bandeiras, day’s first tourist stop. Pic-snapped a large banner advertising Sunday’s marathon on the way. Very cool – this is really HAPPENING.

‘Monument to the Flags’ commemorates 17th-century bandeiras, or settling expeditions into the interior of Brazil. The monument, given its size and location, has become an integral part of the landscape of São Paulo.

Could see the Stadium in the distance. Just a matter of safely crossing 2 major roads & finding a way in. Seems EVERY building (& park) in São Paulo is surrounded by iron gates. Walked the perimeter ‘til I broke the code, found the Expo exit.

‘No Portuguese, no Portuguese’; lady just responded slower & LOUDER. We do the same in the States, suppose it’s only fair. Not deaf ma’am, just don’t understand fake Spanish. Left, shook my head, did another perimeter walk.

Inside: showed my passport, used lotta Google-translate. Check done, mission accomplished – I’m running on Sunday 🙂

Rest of the afternoon took in beautiful expansive Ibirapuera Park. Trees, trails, black swans, football & food vendors – São Paulo’s version of Central Park. Gorged on fresh fish for dinner. Early to bed, early to rise – downtown cathedral crawl tomorrow.