Spinning

I've had a few great rides lately. I have been loving using Strava and my Garmin Forerunner 910XT to track my rides. 

8/21/2012 - I did the Dong Shan to Taiyuan Loop with a friend, Kendall. It was his first ride in Taiwan (and I think ever?). To his credit, he used my (very) secondary bike that honestly weighs at least 45 pounds. With only a few breaks and a fierce battle with special spit, he made it. 

Here is a picture of my bike at the top that day.

Here is Kendall on the man bike. Kickstand, giant lock, fenders and a rack. This thing is loaded!

8/23 - I got my first KOM (King of the Mountain) by 13 seconds on the 橫坑巷72 2號 Climb. It was super hot by 11am, but totally worth it.

On 8/25, the night before my wife got home, I was planning to ride up the mountains near Chenggong on my way to work in Zhanghua. It was pouring as I stepped outside so I decided to take the train instead. After bringing my bike back up and changing my clothes, the rain had completely stopped. Bummer. It was, however, one of the most humid days I've experienced.
After work, I could not wait to get on my bike. I got home at about 5:30pm and jumped on, heading for Xinshe. I've heard that there's a nice climb on that route that's done on Tour de Taiwan, I think it's called 129. The ground was wet, the air was cool, and I was loaded with energy. The bike lane on the first half of the ride is smooth and wide. The switchbacks, however, are a litttttttle nonexistent.
This was my favorite ride to date in Taiwan.

46km, 769m climb, 8th overall on the 129 climb.

Check out my ride here

This temple gate is towards the beginning of the mountain climb. 

I love that green. 

These houses are so random. In the middle of nowhere, yet so scrunched together.

That's the look of "I just had the best ride."

MY WIFE IS HOME NOW!

First Ride Back in Taiwan

Using my new birthday gift (Garmin Forerunner 910XT) I set out for my first ride back in Taiwan. My bike had some problems stuck in customs, so it came a day late. I was so happy to see that box sitting next to the apartment guards booth. I had a great time packing my bike up at Free-Wheelin' in Chino. The nice guys there let me use their tools, rags, and some packing materials for free. 

I stopped here to turn my Garmin on. 

My new toy. 

After a week of rain, waking up to this was a dream. I have never seen the city so clearly. 

This was at the top of the Dong Shan Road and Tai Yuan Road loop. 

It's pretty hard to beat a day like this. You would never know that two hours later, it started pouring rain. 

Camp Pendleton Sprint Triathlon 2012

Saturday, August 4th marked my first sprint distance triathlon. I didn't really know what to expect with these shorter distances but was excited nonetheless. We decided to make the drive in the morning, so we were up by 3:40am to get out the door and make the 2-hour drive.

Unloading before heading towards the transition area.

Camp Pendleton is a naval base with dozens and dozens of these huge hovercrafts. The base sponsors this even every year and it was so well organized. 

The transition area.

This was the second or third swim wave. I was in the first swim wave so was probably almost out of the water. 

This guy did the race without legs. His sweet trike is all arm powered. What an amazing guy. 

The bike course was quick and flat (relatively). I pushed harder because I knew it was only 30km. I even carried less liquid and only one gel. My Dad shouted my name but I couldn't look in time. 

The first 1/4 mile of the bike and run is all uphill. Usually this would suck, but it helped my muscles transition from the bike to the run relatively quickly. I have a lot of hill work to do when I head back to Taiwan. 

The run course is all on base. The marines line up along the course to cheer you on and give you motivation. It was also cool seeing all the hover crafts and running alongside the hangars. 

Official time was 1:33:06, which put me 7th in my age group and 98th overall. 

I love this feeling. It's a mixture of pride and wanting to nap in a warm jacuzzi that massages you and feeds you unhealthy snacks until you've recovered. 

Andreas and I both sported the Radioshack jersey. I got a lot of compliments during the race. 

Here's our little group. L --> R: James, Markus, Me, Andreas

Big fan. 

Swim: 12:29. I'm happy with this considering the amount of current we had.
T1: 1:51
Bike: 55:51 Nice flat course. I need to cycle more.
T2: 1:15
Run: 21:40. I would not have been as fast if it wasn't for the servicemen cheering me on.
Total: 1:33:06

All in all, this was a well organized race and a fun first sprint triathlon. I'm a much bigger fan of the olympic distance though. I like having plenty of time to find a nice rhythm in all of the three disciplines. The official times and splits should be posted this week.

Goleta Beach Olympic Triathlon 2012

My foot is healed! That being said, my swim and my run is not where it was, but I am happy with the progress I've made since returning to California.

Quick update on some workouts. After arriving in California and a 10 day trip to Canada, I ran three times. I had to take it easy because the tissue in my foot was still tender and could have potentially split. I was only able to get one swim workout in at the local YMCA in Lethbridge. I can't wait to get back in my pool at Feng Chia.

Needless to say, I have lost a lot on the swim and a bit on the run.

Goleta Beach Olympic Triathlon

After deciding to visit my family in California, I knew I had to do a triathlon in the Golden State. Goleta Beach Olympic Triathlon was perfect! I recruited a few friends (two first timers) and started preparing... or not because I had 20+ stitches in my foot.

On a newly-wed-student budget, I wasn't able to pop for a hotel, so my friend Andreas and I ended up sleeping in a Costco parking lot. Check out our bunk! We chained the bikes to the frame of the car and covered them up from the beach dew.

Thankfully, our bikes were still there in the morning. We got there early as the first ones were able to pick their transition spot on the designated rack. Check out this weather! The morning was chilly but perfect for a triathlon.

I dragged these bums along with me.

27 seconds too slow

Post race photo

The Race
Swim: This was my first tri with a wetsuit. I'm not about to buy one (no $$$) so I had to borrow. This wetsuit was super tight and didn't allow for good arm rotation. After getting over the cold and catching my rhythm, I realized how hard I had to work for every stroke. My triceps got tired but I pushed on. It was a great swim course parallel to the beach. 34:21 on the swim.

Bike: I came out a little dizzy, but got my composure and before I knew it, I was mounting. It turns out I had the 3rd fastest T1 of the event with 1:08. This course was flat, fast and a lot of fun. It was an out and back with a little spire before the final turnaround. There were a lot of flats, at least six or seven of those ahead of me. I didn't see a wreck, but heard some guy got sent to the hospital after a tangle with a car. 1:17:37 on the bike.

Run: I loved this run. The weather in Taiwan really takes a lot out of you, but this California weather is spoiling me! This was also a flat run, two 5k laps. Half of each lap was along the sand right up against the water. I'm not a huge fan of running in the sand but low tide kept the water down and the sand packed. 45:45 on the run.

Total: 2:40:27, which is my new PR.

All in all, I would definitely participate in the Goleta Beach Triathlon again. Anyone want to spot me $1,200 for a plane ticket?

I wanted to give a shout out and express my concern for the Parmelly family. On my second lap, I ran by a few EMTs who were administering CPR to a fellow athlete. I do not know Duke personally, but feel for his family who are now dealing with this tragedy. After an induced coma and two nights in the hospital, he has woken up and is talking. You can follow his progress at the link below. See you next year Duke!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dukeparmelly

Back in the West

After a year and a half of being in Taiwan, I finally was able to fly home and visit family. I flew out only a few days after finals. Bringing my bike home was rather difficult but has been worth it so far. I went on a few short rides around Chino Hills and did one longer ride (category 1 climb actually) up and around Mt. Baldy. I'm in Canada now with my beautiful wife and my family. There aren't many new workouts because my foot is still healing. We pulled the last stitches out just yesterday so now I have to take it easy for a while. BORING!

This was my first morning back. I worked really hard on this yard before my reception. 

Shooting in Lethbridge. My wife handles that .45!

I'm finally reunited with this pretty girl. 7 weeks of torture ended. 

I'll hopefully be able to get  few swims, rides, and runs in before my next tri this month. It's been terrible resting my foot. 

Final Foot Surgery

WARNING: THE IMAGES BELOW ARE GRAPHIC!

So my last post was about some warts that I had on my feet. I had surgery two weeks ago for the initial outer part. She wanted to work on the inner and bigger part today. She decided to keep my old stitches in for another week just to make sure that there's not too much stress with the new cut. She actually redid the three bottom sutures with thicker wire so there isn't a tear. Ouch.

So, for another little while, I am at full rest. It's terrible. I went swimming twice with a bag, saran wrap, plenty of clear packing tape, and a neoprene sleeve over my foot/leg. I kept my foot dry both times, but this time, with 16 stitches total, the risk is too great. I will not be swimming until I am in California after the 21st. I also rode a stationary bike twice in the school gym which was a little painful, but totally worth it. Did some nice intervals while watching the battle for the East Coast between Heat and Celtics.

Next events:

7/29 - Goleta Beach Olympic Triathlon - I'm not expecting anything great with complete rest for 3-4 weeks. Absolutely no running for at least four. 

8/5 - Camp Pendleton Sprint Triathlon - I'm looking forward to this one. 

11/3 - Ironman 70.3 Taiwan - I'm super stoked on this event. Chris "Macca" McCormack took 1st last year. No biggie, I mean, he's only been the Ironman World Champion in Kona twice. Whatevs. I doubt he'll be coming this year because Kona is only three weeks prior to this event, but it would still be cool to see him compete. Maybe Lance will come too! I'm following a 20 week training program and will have to jump in two weeks late once my foot is ok.

FOOT PHOTOS BELOW! 小心！

Ironman Training Damper Surgery

No working out for a month! I have the Goleta Beach Olympic Tri 7/29 and a Sprint Tri set for the week after. Then I have three months to train specifically for my Half Ironman here in Kending, Taiwan. My fitness at this point is good enough to where as long as I get some swims in (with a bag over my foot) I should be ok on race day this summer. 

Okay, so for a few years I've had plantar warts. I've been very careful not to spread them (wearing shoes in the house ALL the time) and had cryotherapy multiple times in California. At that time, I was insured through work, and even with my Blue Cross insurance it was $120 per visit. Terrible! I ended up spending (with my parents help) more than $1,000 to no avail. 

Doing all this running, cycling, and swimming has helped me to realize how important it is to finally get rid of these things. My Taiwan National Insurance doesn't kick in until July, which would mean that any sort of treatment or operation would only cost me the entrance fee into the hospital (about $3 USD). I decided that with my upcoming training schedule (1 Olympic, 1 Sprint, 1 Half Ironman) I should just get it done now.

I called the hospital at 4pm Wednesday night, set an appointment for two hours later, and saw the doctor at 6:30. That would never happen back home. She asked if I wanted to do the operation the next day. Sure!? I went in Thursday at 3:30pm and got it done. Without insurance the whole ordeal cost me about $280 USD. Amazingly cheap. They have to remove it in two procedures. They did the lower one and the two below my small toes. The next procedure, set for 6/6 is for the big one. 

The pictures below are of my feet. Don't look if you have a weak stomach. I warned you!

 Before

After

Before

After

The whole shot. That big purple oval is set for 6/6.