I work 50+ hours week

What I did in Jan

I work 40 hours and train for 10 plus hours per week. Sound a lot? Not really. I remember people like Eric Lee working 60 hours week. I also remember my hiking friend Melissa is working full time + going to school + studying. I also remember my coworker Amanda telling me how she needs to wake up in the middle of the night when Alex cry. I also remember my friends who spent a lot of time studying GMAT and going to MBA school. Good Job guys!!! So why I am taking about my 10 plus hours of training?? Well because I log my workout and it looks awesome.

When is the last time you get to say you biked 252 miles and ran 64.4 mi =P

Carlsbad Half Marathon: The Hunger For Speed

My half marathons time usually ranges from 2:20 all the way to over 3 hours (diarrhea and running don't mix!!!). But I would say my average time is somewhere between 2:20 to 2:30.

Today felt like any other day. My time from last year is 2:25:50 and I want to beat it. I am sure I can go faster than 2:25:50 because last year I walked with my teammates for a mile and I took photos along the way.

I did my warm up and got into my corral. Someone padded my back. It's Jeff and Rosemary. I was so happy to see them. I learned that Rosemary hurt herself so they are just going to chill for today. I didn't plan to go super fast myself because I biked for 3 hours yesterday so I think I will get tire half way thru.

I say good bye to them and started running. I was doing good averaging under 10 minutes a mile. After 2.4 miles of running I need to pee. I found a porta potty with 1 person waiting so I stop for the break even though I can hold it for much longer (Running Rule #1: If you see an open porta potty... go!!! Short line is better than long one!!!).

I continued and saw Coach Vickie. I saw hi to her and continue. 6 miles passed and I ran out of water. I stopped to refuel water and mix it with Endurance and Carbo Pro (I had them in a ziplock). While I was doing my mixing thing my ironteam Alison passed me and said hi. I continue running and I eventually caught up to her after 1 mile. By now I am still maintaining a 9:50 something minute pace. I figured if I keep this pace I can finish in under 2:10:00. I decided not to take pictures of Alison and continue.

I continued running and this asian guy came up from behind. I noticed he has a Tokyo Marathon 2008 running belt and I wanted to ask him 'Are you from japan?' I wanted to tell him I am going to run the Tokyo Marathon in March. But he was very focus on running so I did not want to distrub him. By now I am a bit tired. My pace slow down a little. Should I just chill and slow down to avoid injury? Should I slow down so that I can recover faster for my triathlon training? No!!! I am having a very good day and I think I have a very good chance to finish under 2 hours and 10 mintues. So I went for it. I maintained my pace to be under 10 minutes per mile and I push on.

After mile 12 I ran even faster. I was passing a lot of people. I feel good and I know I can make it under 2:10. At the last 0.1 or 0.2 mile, I sprinted! I was going very fast (in my standard!!!), I was running in a good form, I crossed the finish line, looked at my watch, and I finished in 2:09:23. I was tired but happy to have a new personal record. New PR is good!

Having the after run breakfast with marathon coach and teammates. I don't remember the food, but the server is cutteeeee!!!

Random Progress Report #1

Well I started my ironteam training for 10 weeks and I just want to give you guys a quick update.

Swim
First training: Thought I know how to swim, that idea changed 2 seconds after I jump into the water. Oh no I can't SWIMMMMMMMMMM.
Now: Just swam 1km sunday. a lot more comfortable with water. Working on form. Listening to the coach and hard work started to pay off =)

Bike
9 weeks ago: I am a peak bagger so I love hiking up hill. hill on a bike... however... is a different story. I can do the distance but struggle on the uphill
now: I am getting stronger with uphill. I actually do well on small hills but once the incline go over a certain grade (I need to find out) then I struggle... a lot!!! I am also more comfortable riding on the street. My thighs also got bigger and my hiking pant does not fit (because of my thigh)

Run
same... wait... now I know I can run with biking shorts for 30 minutes =P

Teammate
There are tons of us I am still getting to know people. You talk to less people because we are more spread out on the bike ride.

Coach
Helpful just like the Marathon Coach. Coach Paul and Rad push you a bit to get you work harder.

Weight
No change: I am not in my best behavior =(

Fundraising
Progress has been good. I have been getting a lot of support from people. I still need donation =)(Click Here to Read More)

Things I miss the most
Hiking. With the training schedule it's tough for me to get some hikes done =(

What keeps me going?
The fact that if I don't do the training I may die? Also I don't want to let my friends down.

I was gonna say a few more things but I forgot them. Oh well.

Have you ever wonder how long it will take you to swim 1 kilometer?

If you follow my posts you know I swim more than 1 kilometer during regular trainings. Just last Thur. I swam 1800 yards. So why am I blogging this 1 kilometer swim? You guessed it. This is the nonstop time trial. I did it 2 weeks ago. It took 40 minutes with tons of long breaks (I did not count the break time). This week, I am ready. 1km, nonstop, all of it!

So where do I swim on Sunday? The 24 hour fitness in Glendora. Why? It has 3 lanes and it's not crowded! Before I go on let me tell you my little math. The pool at this location is 25 yards, which is about 23 meter. So I am doing 22 laps to make it 1km.

Anyway, after I stretched a little, I jumped into the water and start swimming. The very first thing I noticed is that the pool isn't as clean. I see 'stuff' at the bottom of the pool. Anyway, moving on, I am over it.

The first 3 laps were a mess. My form were all jacked up. As I continue my form gotten better. Next thing I know I did 8 laps (400 yards). A moment later I was at laps 16 (800 yards). Surprisingly, one of the harder thing for me is to keep track of how many laps I swim.

So I am just swimming and swimming, doing my thing. I notice my legs are sinking and that my form can definitely improve. But I let it slide because I just want to finish the workout. So sometime later I finished all 22 laps! Wow!!! and I finished in 23 minutes and 41 seconds.

After I short break I attempted to swim some more just to work on my form. That effort lasted exactly one lap =P

I went home and download the data from my Suunto watch. I am pretty happy about my lap times because they seem to be consistent. You see those red dots... Each one of them represent 50 yards (except the first dot where it is only 25 yards).


When I pull the data to excel I found out my lap average to be around 1:29. I took longer in lap 14 and 15. I remembered being tired at one point and I took a tiny break. I guess that was it.


I am running and swimming 1km again this coming Sunday, I am interested to see if my time will improve a little bit =)

Flat - Wind - Fall - Lost

I did this last week and it wasn't that fun because the path was wet =(

Anyway, I checked the weather last night and I know there is going to be gusted wind between 25-40mph. No problem. I am a hiker, I love gusted wind. It makes me feel alive.

So I started the ride with smoothly. Around around mile 6 my ride feel a bit bumpy so I asked my teammate to check my back tire and see if I have a flat. She said no so I continue. Since I can't explain why the ride feel bumpy I stopped and checked out both tires. IT WAS THE FRONT TIRE! I changed the tube and cut myself during the process. At soon as I got back to the bike I encounter the gust wind that I read about the night before. The wind was so strong I need to shift my bike to the climbing gear just to move forward.

I then entered the second hill and I feel much better than last week. I still struggle but it was some what easier. As soon as I go down hill I feel the gusted wind again. I slow down and put more weight on the bike because I don't want to get knock over going like 25mph. All the gusted wind I have been eating on hikes pays off. I go down without incident.

I caught up with 2 other teammates at around mile 14. I chatted with them for a bit and continue. I know I need to turn on this street called W Avenida de Los Arboles so when I see W Avenida de... I made a right turn.

So I rode on this street for a while but it doesn't seen like the road that I was on last week. I didn't pay much attention to it and continue. I figured I need to eat something so I take out my Luna Bar and start to unwrap it. As soon as I try I fell off my bike. I landed on my left side and it hurts a little. By this time I am not planning to eat and ride (hey... since I fell off the bike I may as well just eat at the spot). I did a quick check to make sure I am ok then I started eating. I waited for my teammates while eating but they never show up. I checked to make sure my bike is in working order before I get back on. I am glad I do a physical (on me and on my bike) every time I fall because my rear brake was 'open'. If I didn't check this and go downhill, I will have a lot of fun.

I continued and hit a deadend. My instruction said I should make a right on Westlake Blvd but I only see Erbes Rd. I was like what the heck. I should of take my iphone out to check out where I am (using google map) but I got lazy and decided to make a right turn. I rode downhill for 2 1/2 miles and I hit the Thousand Oaks Blvd. By then I decided that I am lost. I took my iphone out and look at the map. Sure enough I was lost. I found out that I turned on E Avenida de Las Flores instead of E Avenida de Los Arboles. I was angry at myself. There are signs that tell me I am not going the right way but I keep ignoring them. I based on what I want to believe instead of what I see and what I know. A classic example of getting lost. I feel ashamed about passing the Sierra Club Navigation Exam!!! I passed my exam using compass and reading topo map. Here I am in a city with street name and I got lost. I am speechless.

By then I can ride to the finish point or I can ride back uphill and go back to the correct route. I called one of the mentor to let her know that I got lost. I told her that I will get back to the correct route and I started running uphill again. I am paying for my mistake! I finished the rest of the ride with no incident and I finished in 2 hours and 55 minutes (last week I finished in 2 hours). The flat and detour definitely suck up a lot time!

After the ride I transition to run 20 minutes. No issues there =)

I learned a few things today and I definitely remember them!

blue arrows is where I am supposed to go

Sometime You Just Have to Count

Sometime I don't count. Say if I order a 10 pieces Fried Chicken from Honey Kettle, I'll just take it and go. Swimming, however, is another story. I don't want to swim more or less, so I count... as if my life is on the line... wait... my life is on the line... nevermind!

Anyway, I needed to go swim the beginner set and it goes something like this (there is an advance set but let's not go there).

Beginner Lanes - distance in yard

- 100 swim

- 100 kick

- 100 pull

- 100 swim

- 4 x 25 build (get faster!)

- 10 x 100 (alternate pull/swim) off 30 seconds rest

- 300 swim

P.S. For pull, you put this floating thing between your leg so you can only swim with your arm.

I know I won't remember my name during the swim, let alone all these math... so I printed them out in big font and put it in a Ziploc bag so I can mentally check them off as we go.

So last night I went to the 24 hours fitness in Altadena, change, set my stuff at the end of the pool, and start my drill.

The first 100 swim was bad. I barely finished and I wondered if I jump back to square 1!!! I was gliding Tue. WHAT HAPPENED???

Then I do the kick. As always, I don't seem to move at all when I kick. It took forever but I did the 100 kick. I need to remind myself to ask someone why I am not moving!!!

The 100 pull is easy... as long as you get a hold of swimming with that float in between your leg. The first time I used it, the coach had to call me back and say... 'Louis we'll try this next time' =P

I then swam another 100. I gotten a lot better but I still struggle and I wasn't as good as Tue. well moving on.

The 4 X 25 build was tough. Basically the coach want you to swim fast. I wasn't going that fast at all (compare to other times). I think it is because I was losing my form. But again, I managed.

I took a few minutes break before I do the 10 X 100 (that's 1000 yards yo). By now I feel a little funny because I only breath on one side so I only turn on right to the right (kind of like zoolander... he can't turn left). I took my time to relax and focus on my next task.

I did the first 700 yards with 30 seconds breaks per 100. I started sluggish but it gotten better and better. I know that if I don't focus on my form I will get more drag... which slow me down and make me more tired! You definitely learned by memory... kind of like a dog. 'Hand' equal to food... 'Focus on my form and glide' equal to less tired.

Somewhere between one of the 700 yards swim I lost count for a second and I don't know if I did 650 or 600... I was like oh shit... did I swim it? Did I swim it? Well I put that aside and continue.

By the end of my 700 I was beat up. My arm was tired, and I feel a little dizzy (from turning my head only to my right for the last 1200 yards. On top of it I was running late to meet up with my marathon teammate for dinner. It seems like the perfect time to quit, call it a day, do the rest later. I am sure Tyler, Virginia, and Beverly don't mind. But no I don't want to quit. I swam the last 1200 yards. I gone that far and I don't want to stop. I am supposed to swim 1800 and I can't say I finish this workout unless I finished all 1800. Breaking the swim in half is not an option for me. This is the path that I don't want to take.

So I swam for another 100 and I needed to go pee. Did my body tell me to stop swimming again? No, my body just told me to pee, so I went to pee (in the restroom of course!!!) and jump back to the pool. I stay focus and did the last 200 and I was like... finally... 10 X 100.

By now the only thing that left is the 300 swim. That's swimming 6 laps in the LA fitness pool. The longest I swam nonstop is Tue and it was 200 (Remember the What the Heck in my other blog entry?). I took a few minutes break and stay focus. I don't think the Coach want us to take that long of a break. But I am a bit lightheaded and I wanted to vomit at the last part of 10X100... so I didn't want to like pass out... because I still need to do my 300. For those of you who are reading this and concern about my safety... don't be. If you know me long enough you know I don't do stupid things (Ha you joined the ironteam!). If I am really feeling sick to the point where I see star... I will stop. In fact I am so concerned about my safety, I make sure I stop even before I see the little star). I think the extra rest is justified.

I stayed focus and finished the 300. Remember earlier I wasn't sure if I did 50 yards less? I swam an extra 50 just to make sure I don't miss anything... so I ended up doing 350.

I completed the swim set! I finally feel like I am in the ironteam for once. After I shower at the gym I went to Wurstküche with my marathon teammates and I ate 3 hot dogs. I actually can't taste the hot dog because I took a few shots at the pool. It's nice to meet up with familiar faces.

What it takes to be an ironman #1: Lot of Powder!!!

Endurox (recovery), Endurance (Carb), GU2O(carb), Pocari Sweat (Fun)

Check this out, my Ironteam coaches want everyone in the team to drink/eat carb during our exercise so we have enough energy to last the whole thing. The amount of carb depends on how height you are. For me, I will need to consume 91 grams of carb per hour. Solution? Powder! I hate drinking powder stuff but now I feel like I am one of those gym people that want to build big muscle... except I am not building muscle.

So let me tell you what the heck I am drinking
Endurox: This is a recovery drink. I actually drink this from time to time after a long hike. Why? Because I think Mars Bonfire, Tom Hills and Wayne all drink these stuff. I copy them just so that I think I can hike faster! It tastes like crap!

Endurance and GU2O: I just got these. They have around 30g of carb per serving. You mix it with like 20 oz of water. I am going to add this thing call Carbo Pro to get more carb out of the drink

Pocari Sweat: Why sweat? I don't know, go ask the Japanese People. I drink this stuff when I was small so I just keep drinking them. I like the taste and it's different.

Who knows... maybe the coach wants me to drink more protein... in that case I'll be drinking worm powder like the bodybuilder.

I glide like a swan

No, I don't really glide like a swan but that's how I feel today.

Anyway, most of you know that I suck at swimming. I have been swimming, swimming and swimming... and I can barely go across 25 meters. To add to the insult, the coach wanted us to swim 1 km nonstop this last Sunday.... and if you divide 1000m by 25m... that's 40 times. I did the distance, but I made a lot of stops and I also drink a lot of pool water. Let me tell you, 24 hr fitness pool water tastes the worst!

Well the coach keep telling us that we will be fine as long as we do our training. Louis on the other hand feels like he is falling behind, so he started talking lessons at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. I started my first lesson Monday night and it was good. I feel like I made a lot of improvement. The weird thing about swimming instructors is they tend to give you general guideline and you really have to ask them for specific stuff... like how you breath... how you pull...etc. I feel great after the lesson. I felt like I was ready for Tue Team Training.

So today I am supposed to run 50 minutes in the morning, then swim with the team in the evening... and being me I was running late in the morning so I ran after work... RIGHT BEFORE SWIMMING. I took it easy on the run just to make sure I am fresh for the swim... and boy I WAS SO WRONG.

I got to the pool and jump into the water. I swam 50 meters freestyle and I was dying!!! We then did other drills for like another 200-300 meters and I wasn't getting any better! My legs are tired, I was winded, and I basically feel like shit. I was upset. I told the coach Monday night that I gotten a little better but now I swim like a... I don't know... a chicken? So I continue to struggle... and then the coach told us... now you are going to swim 8 100meters with 30 seconds break in between each 100 meters. Sorry for my language, but I was like WHAT THE FUCK! I cannot swim 100 meters nonstop (100meter is like swimming at those 24hr fitness pool 4 times). The coach told us to take our time so we don't get tired. The coach then told us to make sure we reach out and glide... I was like...hmm... glide... hmm... ok. Then he told us to make sure we utilize the gliding time to rest and I was like... hmm... hmm... ok... rest is good... I need those freaking rest because I am always running out of breath.

So I started the 100 meters thing. I kick off the wall and start swimming... I told myself to go slow, reach one hand out of the water to glide while I pull (or whatever you call that) with the other arm to propel myself forward. I was going very slow and I feel ok! I wasn't dying!!! Then I told myself not to kick so fast because kicking fast take up oxygen... so I kick like a dying fish(I am guessing they barely swim with their fins). So this is what I did... I glide... I pull... I breath... and I kick like a dying fish. And you know what... IT WORKS!!! I swam the 100 meter!!! All of it!!!

But I am not out of the blue yet... I still have to do this 7 more times!!! Luckly we get to use this floating thing to pratrice our strokes every other 100 meters so I have additional time to rest.

Let me tell you, I have been trying to swim as fast as I can for the last two months. I wasn't going fast at all and I get winded. But with this gliding thing, things become 10X easier!

Anyway, the coach gave me additional pointers so I gotten better and I was doing it. However since I only breath on my right side... I am getting a little dizzy and I am also getting hungry... and of course.. drinking pool water doesn't help either!

So finally... I finished!!! 8 X 100 meters... that's 0.8 km!!! But guess what... just when I thought I was done. The coach told us... ok guys... now you do an easy 200 and then we are done. I was like WHATTTTTTT? 200 meters nonstop????? I feel like everytime the coach uses the word 'fun'... he is about to drive a nail into the word 'fun' so it will never come up again. (I borrow this quote from the book 'You Sucks') But I suck it up and did the 200. It wasn't too bad...

When I am finally done, I wanted to cry (not really but sort of)! If the coach didn't tell me to glide, I am probably staying at the hospital right now!!! But you know what, I bet the coach have been telling me to glide all along... I probably just didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

So after training I went to eat with few of my teammates... well I like to call it 'the group therapy session' because every one of us complains about our trainings. Some of us can't swim, some of us can't bike, and some of us can't run... so you get to hear a lot of interesting stories. You know... when all of us are bitching about the samething, we tend to bond faster! I told my teammate about me gliding like a swan and they were like you have to put that on your facebook... so I decided to write a blog about it.

Anyway, now that I know I am supposed to glide instead of muscle my way though, I can focus more on my breathing and my form =)

Until next time... Go Team!

swan rock at the bridge to nowhere hike

Reasons why I am not blogging as much

1. I don't know if people actually read this.

2. There is too much going on... work, training, clean up, eating right... sigh.
Example: I got off work at 5pm today, ran 50 minutes around the rosebowl, then went to swim practice for another hour... then I'll bike for 2 hours on wed.

3. Also there are too much stuff to blog. Unless marathon which I only talk about running... now I have to talk about swimming, biking, running, eating better, fundraising...etc.

I am trying!!! But I really need to clean my room first *_*