Crossing the finish line

If you would come to Porto during this week you would see students wearing very strange clothes everywhere and so many festivities at every corner. We are having «Queima das Fitas»!!!

It celebrates the end of graduation courses, symbolized by the ritual burning of the ribbons representing each faculty of the University of Porto (UP). It lasts for 8 days, one for each UP's Faculty: Letters, Law, Medicine, Sciences & Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology & Education Sciences and Sports Sciences & Physical Education. During this period, a series of concerts and performances are held, turning Porto in a lively and vibrant city. It also includes a parade of the university students, sport activities, gala ball, and many other public events and traditions, such as the historical nighttime student fado serenade (Serenata Monumental).
The Ribbon Burning festivities are the big yearly celebration for the students and townspeople as well. The festivities run for a full week with the traditional nighttime fado serenade in the square in front of the Tower of Clérigos. The square is packed with students in their black capes (looking like Harry Poters :) and according to the ritual, studies are forgotten for a week of joy and all-night revelry.

The high point of the festivities is the Cortejo, a parade with dozens of elaborately decorated floats, each in the color of their respective faculties, carrying placards with ironic criticisms alluding to certain teachers, the educational system, national events and leaders. The parade is made up of thousands of "newly liberated" students set apart by their top hats and walking sticks.

In the end we're tired, but happy ;)

So... finish line is over here... But a career and much more than a job are coming!
Thanks to those who have been walking with me along this 6 years!:)

Plan B

Between the daily rush, I found myself between the two main things I work in my life to: medicine and orienteering. Last monday I finished my master teses (public presentation will be in June), I finished my internship on internal medicine with excelent mark (19/20), I'm reading for the second time the «Harrison» internal medicine - this big book I'll have to study hard till november - and of course the preparatives of the end of my study are coming up!!!

About orienteering, my words are seldom...I don't have been doing map training ( nobody in my region prepares some training to can take part). My work is only towards my runability and building my shape again. Unfortunately, I'll can't take part on european neither world champs this season because of my study and final examination...so...let be SMART! I'm planing and thinking a lot about my next goals for when the good times will come, and so, this time now is precious to improve things that I can't improve when there's a lot of competitions and stuff like that.
Last weekend I took part on the first national competition of mountain races organised by the athletics national federation and I was 9th overall and 4th senior. Running on mountain really seems to me like running orienteering without a map. It's half (or less) of the fun, but at least, I can prepare myself 100% as map training is not required here. It's seems to be a good plan B for my motivation ;)

Go to the witch!!!

Should I really go to the witch?

-3 weeks without training because of the wart;
-1 week without trainning because of flu;
-I lost the 1st place on sprint for 8seconds;
-Major opponent runner started 2minutes behind me today on yellow and easy map;
-I lost the 2nd place on middle for 3seconds;

fly, flew...flu

After many weeks without running because of my foot finger, I got sick with some kind of virus for almost a week. Just in the moment when everything seemed to be back to the normality... My start of season really looks like a rollercoaster... when is this going to stop?

Because of this

This is myself on the last 3 weeks...looks cute doesn't it?;)
Yeah, in fact it wasn't funny at all. Since beggining of this season I had a wart growing and growing on the top of my right foot finger. It was very painfull and even I started having pain on my left hip because during running I was trying to don't put so much weight on this side. So, after many treatments and without any change...I had a small surgery and 3 weeks without run.
We are so used to get some thigs from our daily life that sometimes forgot how really important they are...Running is one of them for me and I realize it on the worst way. It was so strange to be on the library till the time of closure and come back home without running. Going to the hospital, then to the library and coming back home, day after day, became my daily life and I also realize how's the life style of so many people that sorounds me on this hospital. It's crazy!

You can check my little wound on the picture :):)
All went fine during surgery and after it too. Now I'm back on business, but sinceraly first trainings after stop are so though(phisicically and mainly psicologically...) Step by step I'll get my shape and the most important now is that I can feel the wind on my face again!

The king and the little little

Last days have been very different than usual. Instead of going from classes to the library, and from the library to training and instead of learning from doctors during classes, and from my coach after training, these last days I performed on very different stage with a very different teacher. I spent 4 days from map to map, from training to training, on Mira area, training and learning with Thierry Georgiou.

I must say it was a mix of sensations training side to side with «the king of middle distance».It was fantastic opportunity to train, to analise, to learn ...and to realize how much and how hard the best orienteers in the world train, how often they run with map... and how far away I am from this reality...I'm little little little....

Do it with style ;)

Portuguese orienteering team got a fresh new style on the last world champs. Many orienteers realize about our new Trimtex O-suits and how beautifull it looks like on our national team.
Besides looking beautifull and stylish, it’s very important to run with high technology clothes on so very different kind of weather through all the season. As you know, sometimes lighter clothes or warmer clothes can help you a lot during your orienteering races ‘cause to take extra grams with you is absolutely useless. Luckily, this season I’ve got a sponsorship from this fantastic brand, Trimtex, which allows me to run with high quality clothes in the forest.

If you are a quality adicted too and if you would like to have your club suits on the best orienteering fabrics, with your own club colours and own club design, you have a great opportunity now! Trimtex will be represented in Portugal O’Meeting 2010 (POM) with special offers for the Portuguese market. Please feel free to talk with Isak Bergman – responsible for the portuguese market or with myself, and for sure you’ll find the best solution for your club!