Manaus, Brasil, October 2014.

Manaus, Brasil, October 2014.

Hello my Possabilities friends!

I have raced in some hot weather but this was a whole different level… Deep in the Amazon jungle, the heat combined with the humidity makes for some (almost) uncomfortable feeling. This was the final Race of the Brazilian Circuit of Paratriathlon and also the final leg of the world’s ITU Paratriathlon. They even showed the event live on national TV down there.

I arrived a week earlier to acclimate and that really made a difference… I made sure to train at the worst of times, like noon, to really suffer and be ready when Race Day comes. And it paid off!!!

The race was so thrilling, it changed leadership 4 times! Towards the end, when I was leaving Transition 2 (from cycling to running) I thought I would have to settle for Second Place, but “it’s not over until it’s over.” With less than half a mile to the finish line I pulled a gear I didn’t know I had in my bag of tricks! I was able to ignore this knee pain and run like Forest Gump to finish in First Place, straight to the arms of my crying parents!!! What a feeling…

It is safe to say that Manaus is a very special place for me now. With the win I’m now Second in the National Rankings, so if the Paralympics were to happen now, I would be in! But this is by no means time to relax, there’s still a lot of hard work to do, and I won’t give up!

Thank you to all readers and supporters, much love and blessings from a very happy Andre:)