2012 Taitung Flowing Lake 51.5 International Triathlon

This was such a fun race. I will definitely be back next year for the 113km tri. Lauren and I took the 8-hour train down Friday night to see the 113 race on Saturday morning. I wanted to check out the course as well as see a few friends compete. They had great cloudy weather and I was hoping for the best. I got a great sleep and rode the 5km from my hostel to the event. 

Getting stamped. They did it the night before at the pre-race check-in, but after sleeping on it I needed it redone.

Checking my gear before the swim. It was already hot. 

I finished the swim in 30:59:xx. Much faster than last time. We then had a 700m run to the bike. It was the longest transition I'd ever heard of. 

My legs felt great on the bike on the way to the turnaround point. I was definitely on pace.

After turning around, I realized how strong the wind actually was. The way back was 10 minutes longer than the way there. Ouch. I was passed by a group of 10 people all illegally drafting. I was reported (you get two warnings) after they passed me.

I knew it was going to be a tough 10k. The heat was in full force, hence the sun umbrellas in the background. It was about 90F with wonderful Taiwan humidity. 

I couldn't hack it on the run. I overheated multiple times and just tried not to let people pass me. I still came in 67th (637 total) overall and 8th in my age group of 85. I wanted sub-2:40 but it just didn't happen. I wish the event started at 6:30 and not 8:30. 

This about sums up how I felt.

Lauren and I were able to spend 5 days in Kenting, which is Taiwan's Hawaii. We had perfect weather and I enjoyed skipping school all week to spend time with my beautiful wife. 

Passion fruit popsicle at the aquarium!

This is the second southernmost tip of Taiwan. It's called Maobitou (貓鼻頭), which literally means Cat nose head. There's a fisherman's trail that leads down the rocks where tourists don't go and it was totally worth it. 

As always, we spent plenty of time at Baisha (白沙). The tide was up and we were backed up against the sand wall so I had to build a barricade. 

Lauren really wanted to try coconut so I bought her one. She is still trying to convince me that she likes it but I don't believe her. 

This is the famous lighthouse on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. 

We had a great trip. It was a great event, vacation, and reunion with my old friend (and best man) Nathan Brady Steele and wife Alex xxxx (Lauren said her middle name is Sandy? not true) Steele.