1ª Corrida de Belém

Name of the Competition: 1ª Corrida de Belém

Length: 10Km
Date: 19th May 2013
Minimum Objectives: - 42m
Personal Challenge: - 40m
Personal Record for this Length: 39m 42s

Average Heart Beats per Minute: 184

Maximum Heart Beats per Minute: 193

Today I took another attempt at breaking my 10Km personal record, set in 2010, though I didn't really believe it to be possible since I'm still regaining my form after the last injury. Since it was the first edition of this race, I must confess I also feared that the organisation would mess up somehow. Thankfully everything went great.

On my way there I was checking my heart beats and I never saw them go below 60bpms, which was not great. Not that worrying either: I knew it would be more important for me to able to reach very high bpms: it is no coincidence that I have reached 218 during my best ever 10Km race.

The athletes going for the shorter race had a delayed departure, which made it much easier to speed up in the beginning. The support area was ok and all runners were awarded a (technical) T-Shirt and a medal. Since it had, comparing to other similar races, a cheap registration I recommend everyone to try it next year. It was a fairly easy track, with barely any slopes along the whole way.

Thanks to the well organised departure I was able to start quite well. My heart beats jumped immediately to 174, usual numbers for this type of running. The first kilometer featured the highest slope in the entire race, though, which obviously slowed me down. I finished the first kilometer in 4:19:08 (13.85Km/h average), which meant I was 20 seconds short. I blamed it on the inicial acceleration and the slope, and tried to hasten up the pace a bit.

Indeed, three kilometers later my watch marked 16:02:03 so I had won back 18 precious seconds with my 15.38Km/h average over this length. Still a long way though. At this point I was quite cheerful and confident, since I was feeling the wind slowing me down which meant that, after turning, it would be a nice helping hand for the final effort.

I reached the 5th Kilometer mark with my clock marking 20:00:01, only 1 hundreth of a second behind schedule! Things were looking pretty great by now.

Around the 7th Kilometer we turned 180º for the final lap, and it signalled the end of my hopes as well. Somehow I had managed to misjudge the wind's direction, since now it really was blowing strongly against us. I tried to keep up the pace, but at the 9th Kilometer my time was 36:29:01 which, given the conditions, meant that my record would hold yet again. The minimum objectives seemed secured though.

Due to lack of motivation I confess I faltered a little bit, until Foster the People came to the rescue with "Don't Stop". I ended up crossing the finishing line in a sprint at around 40:35:00 (still waiting for official time).

All in all it was a good race, and I've gained some confidence for Corrida do Oriente, the next 10Km competition, coming in just 2 weeks. Hopefull with better wind conditions I'll finally be able to beat 39:42:00.

Filipe Baptista de Morais

 

Back to Scandinavia

Not long after my trip to Finland I went all the way up to Scandinavia again. This time the destination was Oslo in Norway, another country which I had never set foot in. It was mostly a matter of opportunity and timing: a friend was travelling there in that weekend and was still looking for a travelling partner. After checking the price of the tickets, which were amazingly cheap (the train to Faro was more expensive than the flight to Oslo), I didn't need to do much more thinking before hopping on the plane.

Unfortunately that was the last I heard of cheap stuff: everything in Oslo is crazy expensive. Still, Norwegians earn more than enough to afford it so it should be a nice place to live. The city itself is full of colour, not like the usual dull streets of gray buildings you see everywhere. It also features quite its share of green and the whole city seems nature friendly somehow.

Speaking of friendly, Norwegians are quite friendly as well, and always willing to help and/or give directions. They also speak perfect English which is useful if, like myself, your Norwegian is limited to a couple of pickup lines and some other random and ackward words. Unfortunately, there's no way you'll be able to guess the pronunciation of any Norwegian name through its spelling, which hinders your chances of getting useful answers. It allows us to play a funny game though; when riding on the bus/metro try listenning to the names of the stations and match them to the corresponding spelling. I warn you: it's a losing game (until you get the first one, that is).

Having heard quite a lot about the 'Nordic functional design' I was quite curious about the hotel. I wasn't disappointed: the lobby and restaurant were cozy and inviting and it didn't look cheap at all. (Well, it was only "cheap" in Norwegian terms). The room itself was a paradigmatic case of functionality: though quite small, it somehow managed to feature 2 beds, a desk, a sofa and 2 plasma TVs. Much more "functionality" than what I am used to see in larger rooms. The staff was quite nice, and it was rather funny when they mistook us for an Italian couple since neither of us was Italian. Neither are we a couple for that matter. Breakfast at the restaurant was amazing, and so was dinner (scary prices though). City center is around 7minutes by bus. In case you ever go there I can vividly recommend the PS Hotell in Oslo.

In terms of sightseeing, Oslo is a very interesting city with lots of things to see. Way too big to see in 3 days, even for a long distance runner such as myself. With the Oslo Pass you can travel anywhere and go into (almost) all of the museums for a very good price. I'd definately recommend not missing


• Frognerparken (in the picture). Featuring hundreds of statues from one of the famous sculpture Vigeland this park is a perfect merge of natural and man-made beauty.
• Aker Brygge. The harbour area is one fo the most beautiful areas in the city. You have a nice view over to the fjords, as well as Akershus Castle. The city hall must have made its arquitect really proud, and inside you can appreciate beautiful works of art. Don't forget to look out of the windows oveer to Aker Brygge's plaza and the fjords. Close by you can find other buildings of interest, both in social and arquitectural terms: the parliament, the national theatre, the university and the royal palace. You can also see some buildings still under re-construction; a painful reminder of the events in 2011, when a lone terrorist tried to assassinate the prime minister before inflicting the massacre in Utoya.
• Akershus Castle. You can visit some of the interior rooms which are still being used in oficial meetings and important events. The castle seems to fit with its surrounding environment marvellously well for such a massive and purposeful structure. Inside the gardens and its surroundings you can find some monuments to the deceased over the two world wars.
• Bygdoy. Often referred to as Oslo's museum Peninsula due to the large number of museums you can find in there it is a must for any traveller. Even though you can get there by bus, I'd recommend taking the ferry since the trip is much more pleasant, with Aker Brygge over one side of the (small) ship and the fjords to the next. I've visited the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Polar Ship Fram Museum, the Kon Tiki Museum and the Viking Boats Museum and I really can't pick one as the best. They were also quite original: not the usual stuff you see in a place like that. There are many more probably worth a stop, but time really is precious if you're staying in Oslo for only three days.
• Opera House. The building has a very peculiar detail: the ceiling is not flat such that, from the outside, you can walk all the way to the top of the building for a nice view. On your way back, make sure to walk by the new office buildings next to the railways: they're trully impressive and a clear sign of Norway's blooming economy. I was fortunate enough to have one of my friends working at the DNB bank and so I was able to see it from the inside. Whatever you end up doing in your life, no doubt you'd love working in a place like that.
• Holmenkollen Ski Jump. Even for one who loves skiing as much as myself, the height of this jump is too scary to have any desire of ever trying it. Still, you can go all the way for an amazing view and visit the ski museum while you're at it. If you can afford it, it should be nice to use the new slide apparatus from the top to the bottom.
• Nobel Peace Center. Perhaps not one of the city's most popular attractions, the center is definately worth a visit. I spent around one hour in there and it was clearly too little. Besides historical perspectives and information on all laureates with the Nobel Peace Prize, the museum also manages to display a modern appeal by having extremely up to date exhibitions and high-tech looking human-machine interfaces. 

What more can I say... Norwegian food is great (healthy and tasty, perfect combination) as long as you can afford it. Norwegian women are stunning so keep your eyes open.

All in all it was a great trip and I still managed to visit some friends who were kind enough to host (and feed!) me for a night. Hopefully I'll come back to Oslo someday for some more in-depth sightseeing.


Filipe Baptista de Morais

Promiscuidade

Há pouco tempo li nas notícias que o Tribunal de Execução de Penas de Lisboa negou liberdade condicional a Vale e Azevedo por, entre outras razões, evidar dar uma “sensação de impunidade, o que comunitariamente é intolerável”. Podem ler a notícia completa aqui.

Ora eu não vou estar aqui a debater se o senhor devia ou não estar preso, já que não tenho nem conhecimento do caso nem competência para o julgar. Sinto no entanto que a razão apontada pelo tribunal para a decisão totalmente inaceitável. Citando o despacho do tribunal, a eventual libertação do ex-dirigente benfiquista tornaria “frustradas as expectativas de comunidade” e “daria uma sensação de impunidade, o que comunitariamente é intolerável”. Basicamente, o que o tribunal está a dizer é que a opinião popular e os julgamentos de rua têm uma palavra a dizer sobre as suas decisões. Isto é, a meu ver, gravíssimo, e espanta-me que nenhuma das notícia que tenha lido sobre o assunto tenha pegado no assunto.

Penso ainda que é um sinal de um problema maior que assola este país (mundo?): a promiscuidade de cargos e poderes. Parece que qualquer pessoa com um cargo com responsabilidade se sente incaçapaz de se limitar ao exercício as funções que lhe competem, sentindo-se obrigado a opinar sobre tudo e mais alguma coisa. Temos assim padres a fazer política, políticos a fazer filosofia e fantasia, jornalistas a fazer um pouco de tudo e sabe-se lá o mais quê. Faz-me lembrar aquelas instituições bancárias que usam figuras conhecidas do mundo do futebol para publicitar os seus produtos.

Agora, uma coisa é opiniar sem autoridade ou conhecimento. Outra é tomar decisões com base em razões erradas ou com poderes que não nos pertencem. Espero sinceramente que tudo não passe de uma infeliz questão de semântica. Mas duvido.


Filipe Baptista de Morais

Lisboa Não É A Cidade Perfeita

Há poucos dias assisti ao concerto dos Deolinda no Coliseu de Lisboa. A vocalista apresentou-se com um visual muito diferente àquele que nos habituou ( já foi a terceira vez que os apanhei ao vivo ), descartando os habituais "vestidos de aldeia" por algo mais clássico. Eventualmente directrizes do novo produtor, ou consequência do recente crescimento internacional. Seja como for é inegávle que o enfoque continua na música, não se podendo confundir os Deolinda com as inúmeras bandas que vivem da sensualidade da vocalista.

Para além das excelentes e Portuguesas melodias (fruto dos talentosos instrumentistas) e da voz de fadista da vocalista (reconheça-se ou não o fado nas suas músicas) há ainda que dar mérito às letras, que do romance ao retrato social são sempre inspiradas e relevantes, não sendo apenas palavras escolhidas pelo seu som bonito. Divertidas perspectivas femininas, retratos da mentalidade tuga ou histórias de amor, é possível encontrar um pouco de tudo nas suas letras. É daí que canções como Pois Foi, Eu Não Sei Falar Amor ou A Problemática Colocação De Um Mastro têm espaço para nascer.

Não pude deixar de estranhar o facto de não cantarem Parva Que Sou, que é actualmente das suas canções mais populares e com receção mais efusiva do público. Na altura ocorreu-me que provavelmente pretendiam afastar-se um pouco do tumulto gerado em volta dessa canção, que já muitas vezes vem sendo utilizada como símbolo de uma tal revolução para acontecer. Creio que os Deolinda sentem que a sua canção está a ser mal interpretada e e explorada para fins com os quais não se identificam. Uma curta entrevista aos membros da banda que li posteriormente veio corroborar esta tese.

Como já vem sendo hábito nos concertos a que assisto, os artista decidiram não cantar uma canções que mais esperava ouvir. Neste caso falo de (Ainda Bem Que) Lisboa Não É A Cidade Perfeita. Sendo o concerto na cidade capital, fiquei de facto espantado por a omitirem no repertório.

Lisboa pode não ser a cidade perfeita. mas também não é má de todo. Foi já considerada como o melhor destino turístico para 2013, e não podemos atribuir o galardão unicamente aos baixos preços praticados em solo Português. É inegável que a cidade tem um encanto próprio muito especial. Recentemente decidi (voltar a) ser turista na minha própria cidade, de modo a re-descobrir os seus atractivos. Comecei por visitar o Castelo de São Jorge e, comparando com outros pontos turísticos de cidade que visitei recentemente (Bruges/Gent/Antuérpia/Bruxelas, Helsínquia, Oslo ) devo dizer que não lhes fica a dever. Fica a promessa de lá voltar ao pôr do solo, que deve ser realmente espectacular. Entretanto há muito mais para ver, mas tem faltado tempo... mas farei os possíveis para não cair num Movimento Perpétuo Associativo.


Filipe Baptista de Morais

Corrida do 1º de Maio

Competion Name: Corrida do 1º de Maio
Length: 15Km
Data: 1st of May 2013
Minimum Goal: - 1h 15m
Personal Challenge: -1h 00m
Time Record in Similar Competitions: ?
Power Song: ?

Usually I don't time myself in distances other than 10, 21 or 42 Km so I was not entirely sure what my best time was for this kind of race. Still, a couple of exciting 10Km competitions are drawing near and so I wanted to test myself towards that end, thus the challenging time objective. Though I was unable to beat it, I finished the race well ahead of my minimum goal, crossing the line in 1h 05m 17s.

I underestimated the Portuguese weather, and took the awfully wrong decision to being my jacket for this race. I can't help but feel that I could have done better if wearing something cooler. I also underestimated the slopes of Lisbon, and as such the last part of the race (5Km uphill) went much worse than expected. Apart from that everything went smooth and I can't think of anything to single out about the organisation of the event.