Love River Tri Prep

I am SUPER excited for my first triathlon tomorrow morning. Lauren and I are taking the bus to Kaoshiung (高雄）around noon to meet up with Tommy Chen, with whom we will be staying. I always hear bad things about Love River (愛河). Wikipedia says that 4 months out of the year, one can find feces in the water. Can I bring a snorkel? The last thing I want in my mouth when I'm gasping for air is second-hand broccoli beef and rice. Sorry for the visual.

My throat is still hurting and I still have lots of presents come up when I cough. A little cough and sore throat won't stop me. My body has been itching to train but I had to take it easy to let myself recover. I still went on two little runs, a swim, and a few rides.

2/29 - A mile run for PE. Yes I still have PE at 24-years old @5:51.

3/1 - An easy 5k to keep my legs obedient @ 25:26.

3/2 - A short 500m swim to make sure one last time that my gear is working and comfy.

Everyday - 10km bike sprint to and from Feng Chia University. I set my record this week with 11 minutes (one direction with lights... kinda). 

I've always been a checklist kind of guy. I guess it's the OCD in me. Almost every tips/advice blog says that checklists are key for triathlon preparation. 

This is what they sent me in the mail. I can only read a little Chinese and there was a lot of new vocabulary in this. Luckily, I have my friend Pita to read to me. If she reads it out loud then I can understand. 

Here's my gear minus the bike and my numbers. Weather is unpredictable, so I'm bringing my long tripants and trishorts. 

Tripants/trishorts. Neoprene shirt if the water is a little nippy. Blue running/riding top. Two pairs of goggles. Swim cap. Shoes for run and bike. 2 bottles. Nike Sportband. Cough pills. Socks. Towel. Deoderant (why?). Helmet. Wrenches. Pump and hose. Extra tube. Camera (represented by the lens cap). iPhone. 

Not pictured is my bike, a change of clothes for the way home, and my beautiful wife.

The black Nike Free Run 2's were my first running shoe since... elementary school probably. I was so cool in Jr. High and High School that I ran in skater shoes or Converse. My wife bought them for me in August and now I have over 420 miles on them. These orange ones were on sale so I picked them up for next season. My blackies still have a lot of life in them though. 

SICK

With only 5 days to go I can tell you that I am a little nervous. I wasn't able to train at all since my last post. Over the last two weeks, I have been trying to get over my cough and sore throat. Lauren and I slept for 8 full hours last night so I feel a little better today, but I'm still not sure if I should go out and run today. It's funny how itchy I am to go out and train and how a year ago all I wanted to do was get big and lift weights. I've lost 15 lbs since then, all of it muscle. I'll have to take before and after photos...

Modeling, a run, a swim, and a ride

2/16 - Ran 6.36 miles in 50:28. 

2/17 - Swam 2000m. 1500m were freestyle. 250 with just legs, 250 with just arms. 

2/18 - Rode 40km. I couldn't finish the last 20 because of a flat tire. I had to walk my bike to the train station to catch the Local Train to Taiyuan. It was a major bummer. 

Only two weeks until my first triathlon. I really want this next week to be filled with training, but I just got a really bad sore throat and cough. I'll probably still workout. My only fears for the tri are the water temperature and my goggles. I've swam twice in open water for training, but that was in the warm water in the Philippines. With no clue of Love River's water temperature, I can't decided if I need a wet suit or not. My goggles do not have any rubber on them, so when I tighten them too much, they hurt after 800m or so. If they aren't tight, then they leak water and it drives me crazy. It especially sucked in the ocean.  I lasted 1500m with them on and had to take a break to let my eye sockets recover. I think i'll be fine for the 1500m swim in the tri, but it'll suck for any distance over that. 

In non-related news, Lauren and I got another modeling job for the same wheelchair company we modeled for last time. I don't know why they always want Lauren to be in the wheelchair. We really like the photos and can't wait to see the finished product. We used the money to pay our months rent and treat ourselves to Outback Steakhouse. 

Two runs and two rides

Ride #1: 2/8/2012 I took my mountain bike (it was repainted when I bought it so I have no idea what it is) up to Daken Mountain near my house. It's a 16km uphill ride to the turnaround point I chose. Once I was out of the city and into the mountains, I was overwhelmed with anxiety to get up there. My heart rate was going and my legs were burning but I couldn't stop. It was perfect riding weather. My total was around 32 km's.

This is where I turned around. 

The cherry blossoms are blooming now, which makes for a wonderful ride up the mountain.

Runs 1 and 2: 2/10/2012 - 3 miles in 23:58 and 2.61 miles in 21:19. I had to go to school to check some things with administration so decided to run there. Afterwards, I ran to the park to pick up the bike I might want to buy.  It's beautiful! It's a Kuota Kharma all-carbon frame with some other additions. It seriously weighs nothing and I look forward to some long rides.

Ride #2: 2/11/2012 I had a late Friday night and was not planning on riding to Zhanghua as I went to bed. When I woke up I felt great and energized, so I decided to take the Kharma out for a ride. The ride there is about 30km. It took an hour and ten minutes and I only got lost twice! I spent 6 hours in Zhanghua and then rode the 30km's back home. Just over 60km in total for the day. I really hate riding in the city. It took me 30 minutes just to get off Wenxin Road. I'm assuming that once I buy some bike shorts I won't be as saddle sore as I was on Saturday and Sunday. The bike is smooth and can really haul. I was passing scooters on the way back much to their delight.

I need to clean her up a little bit, but here she is.

Let me know what you think.

Preparation for the Triathlon & Philippines

After my marathon, I took a week off of running to give my legs a well-deserved break and to prepare for final exams. That week passed quickly (I passed all my exams, got the 24-hour flu, and rode my bike a few times) and next up was my week long trip to the Philippines. Taiwan was getting too cold, so it was nice to get back into the heat.
I stayed on Panglao Island for 4 days. I stayed in a hut-like room at Mabuhay Beach Resort. It's located in a great area near Alona Beach. Riding my motorcycle 7-hours around the Bohol Island was so relaxing, that is, until it started raining. The Chocolate Hills were really cool, as was all the great Spanish influenced architecture. If you ever head to Bohol, make sure you check out Panglao Island, Alona Beach, Bachlayon Church, and the Chocolate Hills.
I did go on one run on Panglao Island. I ran 7.22 miles in 1 hour. The humidity and amount of smoke in the air was killing me. It seems like everyone was burning their fields that day. It was still really nice getting out there on my two feet to let my mind run wild and get clear again.
The rest of my trip was spent in Manila. My Taiwan visa expired so I had to renew it at the TECO (Taiwan Consulate). Manila was interesting. I really love all the food, and public transportation there is really easy once you understand it. Taking the Jeepney saves you a ton of money, but I didn't really now who to do it until this Filipino woman (who live in Taiwan) showed me how to do it. I went all over the place. The Mall of Asia is the biggest mall I have ever seen. I'm not one for huge department stores, but I needed two white button up shirts. I also checked out the huge knock-off market, but didn't buy anything. I've seen better prices in Guangzhou, China and chances are I'll be there this summer.

1/23 - 5k in 23:31.
1/31 - 10.23 miles in 1:21:26.
2/3 - 2.18 miles in 14:43.

I need to get in the pool! Swimming 1.5km in a lap pool isn't too hard, but I haven't done it in open water.
The biking is not a problem for me. Yesterday, I rode 16km up Daken Mountain. The ride down only took 12 minutes! I swear, within the first 10 seconds of the ride down I fell in love with cycling. I can't wait to get back up there. In an hour, I'm checking out an all carbon bike for sale. If it fits and the price is right, I'm getting it.

 My ride in the Philippines. A 125cc 4-gear.

 Bachlayon Church.

 The Bilar Man-Made Forrest.

 Alona Beach. I swam for about 30 minutes in the open water. 

 The bay between Bohol and Panglao Island. 

The Chocolate Hills.

2011 New Years Day Taichung Freeway No.4 Opening Marathon

Zero to Marathon in 5 Months.

60 runs leading to the marathon.

47 hours of training.

360 miles in total. 

Average of 8:00 minutes per mile.

40,000 calories burned. 

My first 26.2 in 3:39:37. 

I decided to write a relatively detailed post about my first marathon for a few reasons. 

1. It's nice to take a look at my progression and set goals for this new year.

2. I had so many people doubt me in one of my threads on Runner's World. Mind you, I was sort of asking for advice while simultaneously bombing their sport, so I deserved it. Sorry guys, I understand now.

3. For all the people who doubt themselves, DON'T! Put your mind to it, get through the training, and run. Don't let doubt set in. Don't let people tell you it's impossible in that time frame, in those shoes, with that time goal. I had people telling me what I couldn't do and I proved them wrong. 23 months until Ironman!

The marathon: I decided to run the first ever Taichung Freeway No.4 Marathon. I really wanted to run a marathon before 2011 ended, and it was on Saturday so I wouldn't have to miss church. I woke up at 4am to eat a bagel and drink some fluids early enough so that I could pee before the race. Lauren and I left the door at 5:45am and drove 20 minutes in the rain on our motor scooter to the race point. I wasn't going to let rain deter me from my goal. I stretched, went for a 4 minute jog, kissed my wife, and headed to the starting line. 

I must admit that the first half was far easier than I thought it would be. After passing the half-way mark I decided to boost my speed up from 8:10 per mile to 7:50-7:55 per mile. Again, my inexperience got the best of me. The third quarter went swimmingly and I was still feeling great and was looking to maybe finish closer to 3:30. By then, I had finished most of my peanut M&M's, one small dinner roll, plenty of Supao (Taiwanese sport drink), and a bit of water. 

CRASH! 

After mile 20 I started to feel the burn. My heart rate felt ok, but my body was just giving up. I really wanted to hold a sub-8:00 per mile pace but I couldn't. I couldn't even focus on the songs helping me keep a solid cadence in my mind (Bon Iver-Skinny Love; John Mayer-Who Says; Grizzly Bear-Two Weeks; Minus the Bear-Pachuca Sunrise, Absinthe Party, Fine +2 Points; Dave Bazon-That's How I Remember; Foals-This Orient;my favorites from In Rainbows, Hail to the Thief, Amnesiac and when I really need to kill time, the musical Les Mis which I know most of the words to thank you Summer 2006). 

I knew it was going to be a grueling finish but I pushed and pushed. Each kilometer marker passed too slowly. The landmarks I used to gauge my distance were too far and few between. The food I had sounded horrible and only the Supao and the sliced oranges seemed appetizing. When I crossed the 1km marker I couldn't even push for the final few minutes. In fact, my final kilometer was the slowest of the 42. My last mile was at an 8:40 pace. Ouch! After seeing my wife Lauren, my friend Elias, and the clock ticking at 3:39:xx I was so happy! 

I crossed the line at 3:39:37.

After stopping my body felt like never before. I could barely walk. During the descent down the 250m off ramp of the freeway, I had to take three breaks to stretch. Eating my "complimentary" pork and rice had never tasted so good. After a shower and a nap, Lauren and I took the bus up to Taipei to watch the New Year's fireworks at Taipei 101. Needless to say, it was a long and glorious day.

My splits.

MILE	TIME	AVG.PACE
1	7:54	7'54"/mi
2	15:58	8'04"/mi
3	24:11	8'13"/mi
4	32:27	8'16"/mi
5	40:36	8'09"/mi
6	48:47	8'11"/mi
7	56:53	8'06"/mi
8	1:05:08	8'15"/mi
9	1:13:13	8'05"/mi
10	1:21:17	8'04"/mi
11	1:29:27	8'10"/mi
12	1:37:30	8'03"/mi
13	1:45:41	8'11"/mi
14	1:53:36	7'55"/mi
15	2:01:23	7'47"/mi
16	2:09:19	7'56"/mi
17	2:17:22	8'03"/mi
18	2:25:21	7'59"/mi
19	2:33:05	7'44"/mi
20	2:40:57	7'52"/mi
21	2:49:11	8'14"/mi
22	2:57:24	8'13"/mi
23	3:05:46	8'22"/mi
24	3:14:25	8'39"/mi
25	3:23:02	8'37"/mi
26	3:31:42	8'40"/mi

Before the race. I think I have leg muscles now...

 I was so sad that Lauren's 5k was during my marathon. Thanks Elias for taking photos of her for me!

 Only 60 meters left! 

Yes, I am taller than most people in Taiwan. Oh, and look at the time! 3:39:37 was my official time.

 I promised my wife that my first marathon wouldn't ruin New Year's Eve. Don't you think watching $1 million USD's worth of fireworks in 2.5 minutes at the second tallest building in the world qualifies as a great evening? I do. 

I love Taiwan. The Taipei 101 on New Year's Eve is a must see for all you travelers. 

Mind you, this is about 1.5 miles from the actual building, to give you some scale as to how big the building and firework show is. Factor in camera zoom as well...

 My wife took some great photos with our 550/Rebel T2i. 

Despite my smile, I am hurting from sitting "indian style" (politically incorrect 吧) for 2.5 hours waiting for the show to start. I do, however, have a lot to smile for. 2011 was a great year and I look forward to spending many more with my beautiful wife Lauren. 

Check out the video of the fireworks if you haven't already. I like this video because he's right underneath it.

Taipei 101 2012 Fireworks