Walk and Train Ride in PingXi

A memorable token for this PingXi visit from the two new friends Yi-Zhen and Yu-Tzu.

Activities/Actions:
Took train from Nangang to Rueifang and changed to PingXi Line for visiting three towns: Jingtung, PingXi and Shihfen


Note and reflections:
A plan to visit PingXi area was changed right at Nangang Station at 9:06AM, the time where I was supposed to meet with the other four friends. Suddenly, they changed their mind and did not want to go as the plan anymore. I decided to go anyway and met two new friends, Yi-Zhen and Yu-Tzu at Rueifang Station. We hoped on the crowded train at 1 PM for our three destinations (Jingtung, PingXi and Shihfen). At each destination, we walked around and enjoyed the city in this cold and overcast sky afternoon.

More story on An Adventure on Formosa. I came to Shihfen once last February during Lantern festival with Wayne, Xiao Bing Bing, Pei-Ling, Tent, and P' David.

Continue reading the rest...

The first run of 2009 - Taipei New Year Run

Run to welcome New Year in the style: each hand holding a Taiwanese flag.

Activities/Actions:

Ran 98 年元旦升旗暨慢跑活動辦法

Stat:
Advertised to be 3K, the actual course was measured 2.15KM!

Date: 01/01/2009
Time Taken: 00:09:20
Route: Taipei New Year Run
Total Distance: 1.33 mi. (2.15 KM)
Burned: 141 (kcal)
Laps: 1
Pace: 07:01 (avg)
Speed: 8.55 (mi/hr) (avg)

Course condition:

Course in kilometer.

Observed weather on New Year's Eve and New Year Day. A cold morning (10C).

How I felt:
(the 5-point scale)
Physically 4
Mentally 4
About my nutrition 5
About my sleep 2.5


How hard did I work? 7
(the 10-point scale)

Note and reflections:

After a late stay to welcome New Year last night, I woke up at 6:30AM, biked to City Hall and ran 2.15 KM to welcome New Year (again) in style with run and flag raising ceremony. I was in my shorts and a thin jacket amidst a windy and 10C-mercury-high atmosphere under the shadow of Taipei 101. To my surprise, many people showed up with enthusiasms. I got bib number 1929 and two Taiwanese flags at the event registration tables. Soon after, Taiwan flag was raised on top of the City Hall after two songs were sung by the crowd, led by aboriginal singing group on the stage: the first was National Anthem (flag not raised) and the second was the flag raising anthem (as its name suggests).

The city mayor ran with us as well. A group of shivering kids in orange t-shirts painted the colors of the course. A group of "Free Speech" protesters also showed up to voice their messages just minutes before the gun was fired. I did my best running out with many stuff in the jacket pockets. I was one of those in front of the line. There were couple of serious runners ahead of us too. I finished just 9 minutes and 20 seconds and received a gift of bathroom essentials (such as shampoo, toothbrush, comb, etc). After that, I biked home along very windy and cold ZhongXiao E. Rd., where few cars just started to fill the road. I slept right after arrived home, woke up around noon for lunch and went to lab. I had dinner with P' Den and Nong Jeab that evening.


Photos:

Many gathering for flag raising ceremony and run.

Even in a cold morning, we came in a good spirit!
Note: 10C on the billboard digital thermometer.

Various flags signeting different districts of the city under the shadow of Taipei 101 on a shivering morning.

Ready for my run!

Songs by aboriginal people; some kids with only a few pieces of clothes.

A group of orange t-shirt youngsters warming up for the run.

The first light of the year.

Continue reading the rest...

2008 Exercise Review

2008 Review

Few steps after the finish line in 2008 ING Taipei International Marathon (credit: Wayne; Thanks to Wayne for capturing the moment.)

My thoughts at the end of the year:

Finishing a full marathon became my history on the morning of December 21st. Now, I can say that I am a marathoner! It was such a proud moment when my feet passing the finish line in front of Taipei City Hall. Achieving this moment from a dormancy at the end of 2007 had taken time and a "mental" decision.

Moving to Taipei was a change that I quickly acclimatized and pushed myself back on exercise routine after relatively inactive months at the end of 2007 (but I had been busy with the move). Leaving this dormancy took me about two weeks for my first run in Taipei (inside the gym [วิ่งไม่หยุด: First Run in Taipei]) and a month after for a run outside [วิ่งไม่หยุด: First time running outside]. Then, my running groove started to kick in. In parallel, biking between office and apartment (~2.35 miles/4.8 km) has been my regular since the first week in the city. I have biked this route in rain or shine: no holidays, except during Typhoon or sickness. My bike and I have gone to almost every part/district of the city. We even journeyed with friends to neighboring towns or mountaintops during our weekend biking tours. In addition to these running and biking activities, I enjoyed walks and hikes with friends as well as strength training and stretching routine.

Running and biking has made me new friends who joined me in these year races, walking and biking trips. It has been great to get some friends to run with me: some started to train for and completed their first race (or even second and third), while some ran for a brief period. I give a special thank to Yu-Hsiang for organizing the races this year. These were the great moments of 2008!


Races:

Events Date	Distance	Record	Brief remark
Nike+ Human Race 2008/08/31	10K	47:41	First 10K race
2008 Taroko Gorge International Marathon (2008 太魯閣國際馬拉松) 2008/11/01	Half Marathon	1:59:53	Ran up & down hill on a beautiful course
2008 ING Taipei International Marathon (2008 ING 台北國際馬拉松) 2008/12/11	Full Marathon	4:00:51	I did it!

Questions considered:
(adapted from Farres, Laura. 2003. The beginning runner's journal.)

1. What did you learn about yourself over the past year?
   Learned that I had shuffled the training often, that I usually replaced my weekend long run with bike ride (not substitutable) and that I could dug myself out of dormancy in a reasonable time.
   
   
2. What did you learn about your motivation over the past year?
   My motivation has been high most of the time except for a very rainy or stressful day.
   
   
3. What were the main highlights? What were your biggest accomplishments?
   I put my full marathon to be the biggest accomplishment of the year!
   
   
4. What were the factors that contributed to your highlights and accomplishments?
   Frequent runs (but often lacked on long runs).
   
   
5. What were your biggest setbacks?
   I could not stick with the training plan especially the long runs, which are very important for the full marathon training. Another thing was that a small uncomfortable right key after the half race in Taroko [A Rest Period after Taroko Half; 2008 Taroko Gorge International Marathon (2008 太魯閣國際馬拉松)] created a setback for a brief period of time (and hope it is not a persistent one).
   
   
6. What were the factors that contributed to your setbacks? How did you try to overcome them?
   An desire to enjoy weekend bike rides was the most contributing factors to the missed long runs. I was trying to run during the night time, but I could not run for that long because of weather issues (raining or coldness). For the injury, I should have studied and learned how to run downhill. "Advice and study on the race plan should be obtained during the training process! Ask veteran runners!"
   
   
7. What things about yourself do you feel improved over the past year?
   I could estimate and assess my readiness and capability for a race. Importantly, my mental preparation for a "big" race was the most improvement.
   
   
8. What things about yourself do you think still need to work on?
   Keep up with the training program, especially weekend long runs.
   
   
9. What is your vision of yourself now?
   At a full marathon finish line in less than 3 hours and 35 minutes. :D Dream big!!!
   

Re-evaluate your personal motivation plan

Vision/Mission
Be able to integrating training routine in my daily life and achieving the above mentioned marathon time.

Handling obstacles
Get some advice and carefully think through for a "good/suitable" solution. Never quite!

Thoughts and feelings
Keep record of these very seriously and everyday!

Social support
"Thank to everyone for supporting so far." But welcome more!! Write down your comments and thoughts, please.

Cues in the environment


Rewards
--NOT YET DECIDED-- but something nice :D

Maintain the gains
I will continue my running along with other exercises for the coming year. I would like to expand cross training activities, such as hitting squash once in awhile or starting swimming practice. To achieve my goal of finish another marathon within 3 hours and 35 minutes requires a well planed program and "stick-to-the-plan attitude!"

My program goals for the next three months:
Be able to do a short race.

Now prepare yourself to start by setting your action goals for the month ahead.
Keep up with regular running as well as find and plan for a good training schedule and activities.

Short-term action goals:
Start NOW!! The rest period after the marathon race was expired long ago!

Continue reading the rest...

Bye bye 2008!

Welcome 2009 with "Heart Taiwan" in four different colors!

Activities/Actions:

• Enjoyed party with Bernhard & the gang
  
• Biked to see Taipei 101 Firework with Ya-Wen and her parents and biked back

Note and reflections:

Holiday fun seemed to start since the dinner on the 25th [วิ่งไม่หยุด: a clean bike and the first ride after the race], followed by Sauerbraten (German marinated beef) dinner hosted by Bernhard on the 26th (three days in preparation), topped by JJ dinner party on the 27th. Tonight, the fun began at TIGP party highlighted by Feuerzangenbowle (German winter punch). These fun events have been nice for my rest weeks after the Marathon (well, kind of a lame excuse because the resting period seems too long now). Thanks to P' Hard for an invitation to join the fun. However, I was at the party until 10 before biking out to join Ya-Wen and her parents for Taipei 101 Firework viewing in XinYi District.

The rain had stopped since 7p this evening, which made the biking to Taipei 101 possible. Biking was a good move as a mean of transportations around the area in that evening. The city estimated more than 2 million people gathering to watch the firework. Actually, the ride in the area was very good since the area was closed off to any vehicles, but I had to avoid crowd of pedestrians. I got a bit lost around the area nearby Taipei Medical University (around 15 mins) before arrived to Ya-Wen's parents' place. When I was on Keelung Rd. (actually, I did not realize the name of the road at that moment), I asked one lady and she said that "I can speak Japanese." I was surprised back then, so I left her. After that it may be that she thought that I was a Japanese. The second group I asked was confused about NTU Hospital, but when I showed them the map and the name of WuXin St., they recalled and directed me to a right direction. I was circled there for 15 mins (because I passed the point where I was supposed to turn at the first time but did not recognize the place, then).

The firework at the roof was great! Thanks to Ya-Wen and her parents for an invitation to join them for the fest.

I biked back home around 2AM after a nice New Year meal. The biking home at this time was fine. Not "that" many people were on the street anymore. During the ride, I was given "Xin Nen Kuai Le" wishes regularly from pedestrians and passengers on motorbikes. At a red-light stop near Yung-Chun MRT Station, I caught up with the motorbike saying "Xin Nian Kuai Le" to me earlier. I said "Xin Nian Kuai Le" and "You guys have a lot of fun, huh?" The passenger told the rider that "Oh.. Wei Gou Ren. Ting Bu Dong." (oh, a foreigner. I don't understand). I later spoke in Mandarin "Ni Men Yao Hen Dua 'FUN' ma?" hahaha.. They replied "Hao" just before the light changed to green.

After arrived home, I changed, took a shower and went to bed. I hope that I will get up tomorrow for the first run of the year!

Note: See the rest of the story on holiday celebration on An Adventure on Formosa.


Photos:

Firework on Taipei 101 viewed from the South on Ya-Wen's parents' roof.

Pei-Shan preparing Feuerzangenbowle (German winter punch) at TIGP party. Feuerzangenbowle recipe and preparation were executed by Bernhard.

Continue reading the rest...

the first run after the marathon

Activities/Actions:
Ran on treadmill for two miles.

Stat:
Slow run; time 20:00 mins for 2.24 mi.

Course condition:
On treadmill in the gym.

How I felt:
(the 5-point scale)
Physically 5
Mentally 5
About my nutrition 4
About my sleep 3


How hard did I work? 6
(the 10-point scale)

Note and reflections:
It was a nice run after the race. However, according to Hal Higdon my first run came a bit late (the 9th day after the race). Hal suggests the first run should be around the 4th day. I guess I have been lazy.

Continue reading the rest...

a clean bike and the first ride after the race

Activities/Actions:

• Dinner with Bernhard, Yun-Huei, Pierre and Chung-Hwa at Chang-An Dong Lu.
• Nangang MRT opened its first day door.
  
• Clean bike & first ride
  

Note and reflections:
Yun-Huei took me to get the bike from the shop, and I found that the bike was not ready then (I guess because I told them that I would pick it up on tomorrow). The shopkeeper did some quick check up and handed the bike to me for NT$1,200 (800 for cleaning and 4*100 for cables). I biked to Nangang MRT station that opened its door for service om its first day. Yun-Huei and I took MRT to ZhongShan Station, waiting for P' Hard and his friend, Pierre, for about 30 mins or so. Ching-Hwa already arrived just a minute after us.

After everyone showed up we walked to Chang-An East Rd. for our dinner at one of 快炒 restaurants; this 快炒 was pretty good, so we there until around 11:30p. Ching-Hwa came back to Taipei for a visit, while Pierre is a student in TIGP program for 4 months. Pierre remarked that he had been drinking in Taipei for the past two night more than he has done for the 4 month earlier. P'Hard and Pierre tried to convince Yun-Huei and I to a club with them but we decided not to go. So, Yun-Huei and I continued our way back to Nangang where I then biked back to lab for a quick errand before heading home.

The bike was well cleaned, but there was a bit of problem with the chain. It falls off the cassette when the lowest gear was in used. This needs to be fixed. Gears, breaks, handles and most parts had been adjusted. One thing I found was that the saddle was not clean well. I still saw some dirt on it! But the important thing was that the joints and chains were well lubricated and clean.

The first ride after the race was fine. I am back to normal!


Photos:

Clean chain...

An old bike in a new clean look. :D

Nangang MRT Station opens its door for the first day.

A drawing inside the station.

A dinner on X'Mas Day.
(credit: Bernhard)

With Bernhard (P'Hard), Pierre, Ching-Hwa, and Yun-Huei.
(credit: Bernhard)

Continue reading the rest...

Legs after the race

Activities/Actions:
Rest...

Note and reflections:
Week 0 Day 1 (12/22/08)
After a good night sleep, I got up relatively early this morning and put some muscle cream on after a shower. Walking to a bus stop was fine with a little difficulty of walking downstairs on a skybridge as well as walking off the bus. Overall, the walk seems to be in a bit stiff manner. Similarly, Yu-Hsiang and Wayne also mentioned that their legs were stiff, but they both were alright. I still avoided walking downstairs. I even used an elevator to go down from the second floor after a lunch with Dieter & Co. in a restaurant where IIS's Wei-Ya will be held. JJ said that my condition was much better than his after his first marathon. I told him that we had to see in the next couple days.

Week 0 Day 2 (12/23/08)
Today's walk was much better than yesterday's. I could walk downstairs a bit easier but still had some signs of uncomfortableness. I took a bus to the office for the second day, and I also took down the course map posted behind the desk. At night, I did a walk from KunYang back home because I took the last 212 bus at 12:20AM after a chat with Yun-Huei and Bernhard (a.k.a. P'Hard) at P'Hard's dorm. Luckily, I met a girl who was alone waiting at the bus stop and assured me that a bus would come, but she soon left with a taxi. Later, a guy came and got on the same bus as me and told me the schedule of this 212 bus after 10:30PM and the last bus is at 12:20AM.

Week 0 Day 3 (12/24/08)
My legs were in a good shape today. The walking was fine downstairs as well as I could run a bit in the office. :D (I showed my short running to Li-Ching when he asked about my race). I went to Gym in the evening for some stretching. At dinner, Yu-Hsiang, Yun-Huei, JJ and I wanted to eat at Sha-bu Sha-bu place but it had a long waiting line, so we decided to go to a vegetarian place. Its steak was pretty good. I came back home with the last 212 bus at 12:20AM again and this time Allen (the guy from yesterday night) came and we had a chat again. My legs are in a very good shape now.

So, the recovery has been well along what Hal Higdon describes on his Week 0. Good. I should start running soon. Or, well, I should wait.

Continue reading the rest...

the bike in a bath

Activities/Actions:
Bike in a bath

Note and reflections:

After three years and four months, my bike was going to get a deep cleaning this evening. I still remember the day (08/20/2005) when Tan biked and I ran up to the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago during the Air and Water show weekend to get this bike. Waiting for an hour for assembling the bike, we biked back after that. Tan was so tired when we were biking back to Hyde Park.

The torn-off-from-the-bike-handle valet parking tickets mean that the bike will be taken apart. I am waiting to see a new look of the bike. Also, the time for the bike cleaning is perfect because I want to take a rest from exercise to recovery from my first 26.2 mile race.

Decorated my bike since Chicago, these "Bike Valet Parking tickets" were torn off as the bike was dipped in a bath.

Continue reading the rest...

After the 42 km race.. recovery...

Activities/Actions:
Cool down.... rest after the race... ING Taipei International Marathon!

Stat & Course condition:

Easy Walk: walk to SOGO

Date: 12/21/2008
Start Time: 12:01:00
End Time: 12:55:00
Time Taken: 00:54:00
Route: Taipei City Hall 2 SOGO
Total Distance: 1.58 mi.
Burned: 117 (kcal)
Laps: 1
Pace: 34:10 (avg)
Speed: 1.76 (mi/hr) (avg)

Easy Walk: walk to bikeshop

Date: 12/21/2008
Start Time: 20:00:00
End Time: 20:50:00
Time Taken: 00:50:00
Route: 2 Giant Bike Store
Total Distance: 1.21 mi.
Burned: 108 (kcal)
Laps: 1
Pace: 41:19 (avg)
Speed: 1.45 (mi/hr) (avg)

Regular Walk: back from bikeshop

Date: 12/21/2008
Start Time: 21:19:00
End Time: 22:06:00
Time Taken: 00:47:00
Route: 2 Giant Bike Store
Total Distance: 1.21 mi.
Burned: 102 (kcal)
Laps: 1
Pace: 38:49 (avg)
Speed: 1.54 (mi/hr) (avg)

How I felt:
(the 5-point scale)
Physically 3
Mentally 4
About my nutrition 5
About my sleep 5


Note and reflections:

After the race
I was so grateful and happy to see my friends right at the finish line! Wayne was waiting right at the finish line, Yu-Hsiang, James and Paul were photographing in the finish line area, and at the base, Xiao Hao, A-Po, Lu Dan and Yan-Ru were savored their victory in the strong sunshine! Dumpling had left early to pick up his bag at Taipei Main Station. We congratulated one another. Yu-Hsiang said that he made his best personal record for the half at 2 hours and 19 minutes, similar to James, Paul and Dumpling. For their first half marathon, Wayne reached the finish line just before the two hours, followed by A-Po, both leading the first place Marathon finisher! Lu Dan and Yan-Ru finished their 9K together just after an hour! Lu-Dan said that next time she will join the half marathon because 9 K was a piece of cake for her. Thank everyone for making this race such a fun and memorable running for us! Especially, thank you for greeting me at the finish line for my first Marathon!

Later Yu-Hsiang, Paul and James left for a shower, while Wayne and A-Po helped me with taking water and lunch box and returning my chip. They said that the half finishers only got a small box packed with juice and bread, while the 9K finishers got the same type of brunch box but did not get a medal and towel. At our base, we shared our stories while I was having my lunch box in a dancing movement under the burning sun. Dancing was not due to my high but because my legs had to be kept moving. Xiao Hao, A-Po, Lu-Dan and Yan-Ru left just before noon, while Wayne was waiting for Pei-Ling with me. I hope that we will have a gathering again soon.

Walk, eat, walk, nap, walk and rest...
Pei-Ling showed up around 12:30p to congratulate Wayne and me. We decided to walk together due West on RenAi Rd., where Wayne would go to his office (for work and perhaps a special massage) but Pei-Ling and I would go to SOGO. At one point of the walk, I sit down (and stretch the legs) to answer Meng-shin congratulation call. Even though I felt a bit pain during the walk, the pain would have been worse if I would stand/sit still. Walking cools down and relieves the tense muscles. I could see veins vividly popping under the skin of my calves. Pei-Ling asked whether I was OK after seeing, compared to Wayne, how I was walking. After departing from Wayne, Pei-Ling and I stopped to get a 1.5L bottle of SuPau Sport Drink, and I kept drinking it to replace what I had lost for the past five hours. At MRT extrance at SOGO Fuxing, I rested my legs and did self-massage with a handy massager Pei-Ling brought for Wayne and I.

I changed my clothes around 1:30p before Kai-Yei showed up for lunch. We decided to go to have our big fest at Dream Pirate, a Japanese place. I was enjoying the meal but eating at a slow pace because my throat did not want to open widely. Sitting was good, but I had a little hard time to stand up after a long duration of sitting. I even took a short nap after the meal. Thanks to both Pei-Ling and Kai-Yei for coming out to share with me "the savory victory!"

After lunch, we took a bus back around 4p. I was be able to get up and down the bus alright. I walked from Kunyang to home and took a long nap (2 hours). After the nap, my legs were so stiff and hurtful at the first movement but were lessened after a few slow movement. Later, I walked my bike to a bike shop to get it cleaned [วิ่งไม่หยุด: the bike in a bath] and had a bowl of Thai Style noodle for dinner. The bikeshop owner said that it would take only a day to finish the cleaning, instead of three days as he mentioned two weeks ago. Talking to my sister during walk back, I was complimented by her that I was so tough to finish the Marathon. Rain started falling down around 8:20p, so I walked in the rain. Luckily, this morning race was dry and sunny!

The bottom line: Seeing your friends' face (or just even their voice) at the finish line was priceless, a good meal after the race--especially with friends--was re-energizing, and long distance walking after the race was a-must cool-down!


Photos:

All are credited to Pei-Ling (otherwise noted)!

Thanks to the gang for seeing me at the finish line!
We all did it!
(credit: Wayne)

Pei-ling applauding to our victory.

I, Pei-Ling and Wayne.

Yeah! Our sweet victory!

Drinking a 1.5L bottle of SuPau: "In and Out" (quoted Pei-Ling)--Drinking In and Sweat Dry Out!

I am massaging the tight legs at ZhongXiao Fuxing entrance near SOGO Fuxing.

With my "sweet & sweat victory" symbol at a Japanese Restaurant.

Our yummy lunch.

Kai-Yei congratulating me!

Yummy!

Too full and too tired => A good nap!

Continue reading the rest...