Observations on an organized run in Brazil: Corrida Pague Menos - Etapa Fortaleza

I'm still in Fortaleza, where I ran a 10km last Sunday around the Parque de Cocó. Some random observations on the difference between a race in the US and a race in Brazil:

1. There were no lines for the porta-potties, pre-race. In the US, nervous athletes stand silently in long lines stretching and rocking to and fro, waiting for a plastic door to swing open and slap shut. (The slapping sound is far too familiar; if this is what I remember, I may need a new hobby.)

2. We all lined up for the race start at 7 AM. A military band - supposedly there to play the national anthem - first went into a jazzy rendition of "Aquarela do Brasil," which is a great song if not the actual national anthem. People swayed and danced to this, despite standing shoulder to shoulder in the hot sun. Then came the national anthem, and of course little conversations continued throughout the songs.

3. The announcer then led us in the Lord's Prayer, which most people, not including an American who hasn't memorized the Portuguese version, recited along with him. Hey, the country's still 75%+ Catholic.

My original plan had been to run the first 5km lap at a brisk pace, but then really push it on the second lap. Unfortunately....

4. It was hot! On the bus ride to the event, I passed a sign that read 29 C, at 5:30 AM. A later check of the weather online revealed that it was 80% humidity at the start at 7 AM. I wasn't prepared for the heat, having trained by running at sunset in breezy São Luís. I took to grabbing two 200 ml cups of water (which came with the foil lids still attached, forcing you to jab a finger through), one to drink and one to pour over my head.

On the second lap, I gazed for a while at the paramedics as we passed, glad they were there but hopeful that I wouldn't need their help for heat exhaustion. I took off my hat to allow my head to cool faster.

5. I finished in 47:41. That result was sent to me as a text message about two hours later (the clock time was about 48:00), which is a brilliant idea. It beat having to look up my time online a few days later.

6. Post-race, we had bananas, oranges, more water, and some disgustingly sweet sugar cube bar, which I couldn't eat. Not much in the way of protein. I must have consumed almost two liters of water, before walking the 2 km back to the hotel in Aldeota. I arrived in time to grab the last bites of the hotel breakfast.

Next race will probably be on June 20th in Porto Alegre, which will be MUCH cooler.

Inscrever-se, no jeito do gringo (Sign-up the Gringo Way)

How to register (like a gringo) for a running event:

1. Google "corrida Fortaleza" and find out that there's a run in Fortaleza on my first weekend there.
2. Find out that one has to register by going to a local Farmácia Pague Menos ("Pay Less Pharmacy"), the main title sponsor for the race.
3. Go to the Pague Menos on Av. Nazaré in Belém. Show ad to lady behind the counter. No one has any idea how registration works. Leave defeated.
4. The next day, go to the Pague Menos at the Praça Batista Campos in Belém. Show ad to guy behind the counter named David. David takes your name, says he'll investigate, promises to call you back.
5. Three days later, go back to same Pague Menos and ask for David. Find out that he doesn't work again until after you leave Belém. No one else knows anything about the race. Leave discouraged.
6. Go to the Pague Menos on Av. Jerônimo de Albuquerque in São Luís. Again, no one has any idea about the event.
7. Go to Pague Menos on Av. Castelo Branco in São Luís. Again, no one knows what to do.
8. Send an email to marketing[at]paguemenos.com.br asking if there are alternatives for registration. Email bounces back, undelivered (in Google's words, refused).
9. Call the 0800 Consumer Service number for Pague Menos. Explain that no one at these stores knows what to do. Attendant asks which one, and promises to email the Av. Castelo Branco location with instructions.
10. Go back to the Av. Castelo Branco location, where people instantly light up when you pull out the entry form. Receive attentive service, leave, registered and thrilled.

This sequence is a good parable to describe my current work/life. It's often full of frustrations, but the rewards are good. Friday, I went back to the bus station looking for the umbrella transport organization, which has an address there. No one seemed to be familiar with the group, including the state employees charged with bus inspections. I was only looking for another phone number to keep the chase alive. The number listed on their website went to a residential number. (I called. I then apologized.) Oh well.

Here's a picture of an attractive street scene in Belém.



Another week in São Luís (big beach, historical center) and a Friday midnight flight to Fortaleza.

UPDATE: I should have looked below. I already shared that photo. My apologies. Here's a photo of a really nice nearby building that really looks like it should be a hotel. It is not a hotel. It is not a convention center, a museum, or a restaurant. I'll leave its function to your imagination. (I was both surprised and disappointed when I found out.) Answer in a forthcoming post.

Oferta e demanda (supply and demand)

Short story:

I went running today, with the aim of reaching Praia Vermelha at the foot of Sugarloaf in the Urca neighborhood. That's about eight or nine miles round-trip.

In addition to my filled water bottle, I carried a one real coin and a 50 cents coin. I hoped that I could stop to get some chilled coconut water, as I had previously returned to the apartment very thirsty after a run to Urca.

At nine this morning, the weather was 24 degrees with 94% humidity. The forecast called for a 20% chance of rain. The news on Friday night had predicted a gloomy weekend, and stated that anyone who wanted to go to the beach should head for the North or Northeast. By the time I reached the end of Botafogo, it was 33 degrees and cloudless. It was hot, and the beaches were full. Weather forecasts here are useless.

Today was also Independence Day, the day that Dom Pedro I refused to return to Lisbon and declared Brazil independent, "from the banks of the Ipiranga...." Save the crowds at the beach and the military cadets marching, the city was closed.

I did reach Praia Vermelha, which looks like this from above.

On the return from Botafogo, south of Flamengo, I stopped to ask for coco water in um copozinho (a little cup). The vendor apologized that the only bottles he had were bem gelado (well-chilled), and I assured him that this was just fine by giving him the American "a-okay" hand gesture. In Brazil, this hand gesture translates to "you a--hole." My mistake.

Then he named the price: 2,50. I declined.

As I walked down Praia do Flamengo, very dehydrated, I kept seeing "Coco 2,00" signs. I questioned my memory that there are multiple R$1,50 stands in Flamengo. I don't think I was wrong; I was just wrong to ignore the laws of supply and demand.