Lost in Translation: Week of 9/17-23

I'm so exhausted!! Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate the opportunity for a week trip to Asia, but humans just aren't built to fly 24,000 miles in the span of a week. The combination of being sleep deprived from Reach the Beach, jet lag on the way out to Asia, cramming in lots of activities in Asia, and jet lag on the way back has just sapped my energy level. After spending most of my teenage years in Taiwan, I am quite used to the long flight out there, but on top of everything else, I think my body just went on strike. Now I have a head cold which I'm hoping doesn't blossom into anything more serious.

This trip has been in the books for awhile, but it started mostly because I hadn't seen my parents and grandmother in awhile, and they happened to be visiting Japan with my grandmother. So we decided to surprise my grandmother with an impromptu visit. This blog entry will stray a bit from the usual running focus and will include my two other passions, eating and travelling. Here's the itinerary:

9/16: Boston to Seoul
9/17-9/20: Seoul, hiking in Seoraksan National Park
9/20-9/23: Tokyo and Inatori
9/23: Tokyo to Boston

Sunday/Monday
Coming off of the RTB relay, I rushed home and hurriedly packed. I still had to make a pit stop in lab to tie up some loose ends before leaving. I'm still amazed I didn't forget to pack any crucial items. Fortunately, since I had rented one of the team minivans, I had free transportation to the airport the next morning. Once I got on the plane, I promptly passed out and missed most of movies. After a brief layover in Tokyo (during which I got a private room to take a hot shower), I arrived in Seoul Monday evening. Just to give you a little background, my wife is Korean-American and spent an entire year in Korea as a Fulbright Scholar. So, I didn't have the same sense of trepidation at arriving in a new country. Also, having spent most of my teen years in Taiwan, it was nice to be able to blend in somewhere besides Chinatown. We checked into our hotel (which to my surprise had a computer with internet connection and 50" flat screen TV en suite) and promptly went in search of Korean BBQ. We spent the remainder of the evening grilling fatty red meats (Galbi and Samgyeopsal, my wife's favorite) over a real wood coal oven and washing it down with cheap local Soju.

Tuesday
The following morning, I was wide awake at 6AM, and decided it was time to explore the city on running shoes. I headed in the general direction of Namsan Park. I did a double take when I passed by Din Tai Fung, a famous dumpling restaurant imported from Taiwan and my all-time favorite restaurant. Soon, I was surrounded by trees and making my way up the steps that led to the summit of Namsan. What had initially been a pleasant drizzle when I left the hotel had now evolved into a full fledged downpour. I hadn't passed a single runner yet, but there were plenty of senior citizens doing various poses of what looked like Tai Chi. I paused briefly to admire the close-up view of Seoul Tower, then headed down the tarmac road that emerged from the other side of the summit. The rest of the run circumnavigated the park. Today's agenda was to do some sightseeing in the city. We spent the morning hunting down a porridge place, which in retrospect was my favorite meal in Korea. It was like being transported from the middle of the city to a mountain hut somewhere in the country. You could really taste the vegetables and the broth in the porridge. Unfortunately, the rest of the day was a total wash-out thanks to Typhoon Nari. We grinned and bared it through Deoksugung Palace. My wife and I are huge fans of the Korean drama Dae Jang Geum, so imagining ourselves living during the Joseon Dynasty took the edge off the dampness. The rain made for some haunting pictures, but by early afternoon, we were hiding from the rain in the Kyobo Bookstore. The rain relented briefly, and we took the opportunity to browse some of the stores in Insadong, an old part of the city that specializes in antiques. Tired from the day's sightseeing, we retired to our hotel room for some R&R in the bathtub jacuzzi. Dinner tonight was quite a treat! On the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we had the opportunity to try Korean royal cuisine at Yongsusan. The meal was an experience, on par with a tasting menu at any 5-star restaurant. The dishes just kept on coming, in a dizzying array of colors, ingredients, textures, and temperatures. It was another taste of Dae Jang Geum. We went to bed with full stomachs and happy hearts.

Wednesday
Morning greeted us with a break in the weather (yes!). Today, we had our sights set on a day trip to the famous Seoraksan National Park. This park has been the inspiration for numerous paintings, and this picture (yes its a photograph) says it all. We made it on the 6:30AM bus, but not without much confusion (isn't all international travel like this?). In fact, we were still unsure of where we were getting dropped off when we got on the bus. Three hours later, and much gorgeous scenery, we were dropped off in Donghae with little direction. Fortunately, the No. 7 bus stop we were looking for was only a stone's throw away. We had our ticket into the park! When Korean’s think of autumn leaves, Seoraksan Mountain is the first thing that comes to mind. We were about a month early, but the scenery was gorgeous nonetheless. Can you imagine the picture bathed in the red and orange of autumn? We decided on a 5 hour hike through the Cheongbuldong Valley up to the Yangpok Falls (5 Ribbon Falls). There were more photo opportunities than we could count.!I envy the individuals that have been able to walk the valley at the apex of foliage season. The hike back down the valley was equally enjoyable, and about twice as fast. We were back at the main bus terminal by 3:30. Once on the bus back to Seoul, we sank heavily into the leather, reclined the seats, and savored our Asian pear slushies. And wouldn't you know it, it started pouring shortly after the bus pulled out. Dinner tonight was sushi, Korean style. What a treat! Fresh fish on a huge bed of glass noodles. The local fish was very different from Japanese sushi, full flavored and dense versus the delicate flavor with which I'm more familiar. Of course being in Korea, we had to cap off our evening at a Soju lounge, so we headed to Apgujong (like Rodeo Drive) in search of a place called Ahn (peace). We selected yogurt soju and pineapple soju, which arrived as a large concoction within a hollow pineapple seated in a bowl of dry ice. What a production! Fortunately, it tasted as good as it looked. What a day! Off to Japan tomorrow.

Thursday
As we had a 10:15 AM flight to catch, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 to get in a run. On our way to Seoraksan, I had noticed a nicely paved bike path along the Han River. After a little searching, I found the entrance next to a bridge and got in a nice run along the river. Although dark and drizzly, it was meditative to getting lost in my surroundings, listening to the quiet power of the river flowing. Based on the km markers, I think I got in about 7 miles at a good clip. We caught the 7:15AM airport shuttle, but due to unbelievable morning traffic, we arrived at the airport at 9:45. Check-in and immigration was nerve racking, but we both caught our flights with time to spare. In fact, I don't think I've ever made it through in 15 minutes. Tonight's culinary adventure is my favorite tempura place, Tsunahachi. Some interesting history on tempura: "Before the mid-sixteenth century, the Japanese had no deep-fried food, and little fried food. Tempura was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by early Portuguese visitors. The word tempura may be derived from the Portuguese noun tempero, meaning a condiment or seasoning, or from the verb temperar, meaning "to season". There is still today a dish in Portugal very similar to tempura called peixinhos da horta, 'garden fishies'." Food just seems to taste better with a little history behind it! Our chef even spoke English well enough to describe each dish to us. It was fascinating watching him work; he really babied the deep fryer, much like a neonatal nurse does with a newborn. Every piece came out perfectly fried, light and pale gold on the outside; juicy and succulent on the inside.

Friday
We finally reached the raison d'etre of our trip. My grandmother has been having some chronic hip pain, so a trip to the hot spring was just what the doctor ordered. My parents were planning on visiting her, but she had no idea that we were coming as well. Our final destination was the resort town of Izu-Inatori, on the east coast of the Izu Peninsula. Before getting on the train, we made a brief pit stop at the Daimaru food court to stock up on some Japanese goodies (can you believe the $5 apple?). The trip down offered up some great scenery of the coastline, which was a great backdrop to lunch. When we arrived at the our hotel, I was just unprepared for the look of surprise on my grandmother's face. She was slack-jawed for a good minute; that alone was worth the trans-pacific trip! After a spot of afternoon tea, we checked into our rooms and headed straight for the onsen (hot spring). If you've never experienced onsen before, its a sex-separate nude affair. Being Japanese, the facilities are spotless. There's even a guy who's sole job is to take your slippers, wipe them down with disinfectant, and then lay them down in a row. After a cleansing shower, you have the option of either the indoor or outdoor bath. On the heels of a hard training week, there was nothing better than just laying out in the hot spring, soaking up the clean seaside air. I could run 60+ miles for weeks if I could to do this every other evening. Dinner tonight was in a tatami room. Dishes were brought in that I had never seen before. This hotel's specialty is the "dancing abalone," which I will admit is a bit cruel for a dish. Fresh, live abalone is served on a cold hibachi stone grill. The charcoals are lit and the abalone proceeds to put on dance show while still on its shell. I think if I had liked abalone, I would have been less struck by the cruelty of the dish. After dinner, we ventured outside in our yukatas to work off the meal. Here's my dad and I doing our best Marilyn Monroe impression.

Saturday
I woke up with a scratchy throat this morning. I thought it was just the dry air, but it turned out to be worse. Unfazed, I set off early to do my weekly long run and in the process, explore the coastline from Inatori down to Shimoda. It was still dark when I set out, so the roads were relatively clear. I had to remind myself to run on the right side of the road, because cars drive on the left here. The run was hilly, but the ocean views were fantastic. The route took me along inlets that dotted the coast, and one larger size community where I watched a couple surfers negotiate the waves. The tunnels were a little hairy, as there were no sidewalks, so the exhaust sounds were magnified. I really thought I was going to get run over a couple times. I ran for about an hour south, made it to the outskirts of Shimoda, and then turned around for the return journey. I ended up averaging a 7:39 for 15+ miles, and the temperature was just right. Hard to imagine a more beautiful route. I made a beeline for the hot spring room and jumped right into the ice cold bath for a post-run soak. Breakfast was quite a treat, although I don't think I could name a single dish. After one more soak in the onsen, it was time to catch our train back to Tokyo. The ride back to Tokyo involved a lot sleeping. On the menu tonight was tonkatsu, at the oldest tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, Honke Ponta. One of the curious characteristics of many Japanese restaurants is their singular focus on preparing one dish perfectly. This is certainly the case here, and the owners know this: their hours of operation are only from 11-2pm and 4:30-8pm. Clearly, work does not get in the way of life. The fried pork was better than the tempura we had Thursday night, and the hand-cut shreds of cabbage looked like they had come from a deli slicer. Following dinner, we took the Tokyo subway to Roppongi to explore the swank new shopping/entertainment/residential complex of Roppongi Hills.

Sunday
Ah.... the trip has come to a close. My wife and I spent the morning exploring Ueno Park in our running shoes. It brought back memories of my grandfather taking me to the Ueno Zoo when I was not even 10. I remember how much I used to hate Japan when I first moved here and now, I don't want to leave. We spent the last hour or so wandering through a toy store near the Ueno train station, and then sipped on Starbucks coffee as we recounted the trip with my parents. For the first time on this trip, there were no travel incidents on the way to the airport. While waiting for our flights, we shared a last taste of Japanese sushi before boarding our flight home. Even the flight back was great... I got to catch up on all the movies I'd missed during the summer. I'm glad I didn't spend money on Shrek 3 or Ocean's 13 because they were a bit rehashed.

So the trip, in summary, was a cultural cornucopia of East Asia. I don't think I've ever crammed so much into 6 days of traveling. Like I said, now body is on strike. Let's hope this doesn't get worse.

Recap of the week
Mon: off
Tue: 8 miles @ 8:30, tough run in the rain up and down Namsan
Wed: off
Thu: 7.2 miles @ 7:48, easy run along the Han River
Fri: off
Sat: 15.7 miles @ 7:39, hilly run along the coastline of Izu Peninsula
Sun: 5.5 miles @ 10:54, recovery run in Ueno Park
Total: 36.4 miles

Its cool to see these exotic locales in my running log.

Plan for next week 9/24-30
Mon: AM - pool & core, PM - 7 miles EZ
Tue: 12 miles including interval work w/ BAA
Wed: AM - pool & core, PM - 6 miles EZ
Thu: AM - 10 miles @ MP
Fri: off
Sat: 22 miles w/ 10 @ MP
Sun: 6 miles EZ
Total: 63 miles

Austin Marathon Race Report

OK, so this post is going to be long and detailed and probably on the melodramatic side. But as they say, you're only a 1st time Boston Qualifier once in your life.

Abridged Marathon History
Miami, January 2006: 3:19 - Made an ill-conceived attempt at a BQ in my 1st marathon. Hot and humid, with starting temps in the high 60s. I was not prepared for the conditions after training in New England through the winter. Started fading at around mile 18 and was about 8 minutes off by mile 24, so bagged the attempt from there. Otherwise a pleasant experience for a first marathon.

Boston, April 2006: 3:30 - Raised money for my University and started with the 2nd wave. Tried to run a 7:15 pace amidst mostly 8:30-9:00 pace runners. Wasted a lot of energy swerving and was spent by mile 16. Struggled through the hills, but finished comfortably. Vowed at the finish line that I would start with the 1st wave next year.

Bay State Marathon, October 2006: 3:35 - see previous blog entry. Injured my ITB 3 weeks before the marathon. Worst marathon to date.

Game Plan and General Strategery
If you've been following my blog, you will see that despite the injury back in October, I have recovered nicely and strung together 7 weeks of really solid training. I was very confident in my conditioning this time around and was still toying around with the idea of going for a 3:05. So, I set 3 time goals going in, a wet dream goal of 3:00, a reachable goal of 3:05, and a minimum goal of 3:10. The course is really tailored for a negative split. I will refer readers to a more detailed course guide, if you're really interested. To summarize, the course starts with its largest hill over the 1st mile, but then goes back in to town on a good downhill. From there, it is relatively flat until mile 9, at which point the course hits a series of rolling hills for the next 5-6 miles. This is followed by a gradual, almost imperceptible, climb until mile 17.5. Then, it is downhill to the finish line except for a short, steep hill at 23.5, and a more gradual one at 25. I knew I couldn't fight the course design by going out hard, and since the marathon was supplying pacers, I thought the best plan of attack was to stay with the 3:10 pace group and depending on how I felt, I could make a run for it at either mile 13, mile 17.5, or mile 22. I knew from my training that a 7:15 mile was going to feel comfortable, so my race strategy really fell to how much of a gambling man I was.


Pre-race
I got to bed around 10pm and was half awake and restless by about 4AM. I'll take 6 hours of sleep before a marathon anytime! At 4:50, my alarm went off and I stepped out of the hotel room into the atrium to have my breakfast of 2 multigrain waffles and a cup of gatorade. It's amazing how much better waffles taste when toasted! I took a quick shower, fussed with my running gear, and then got back into bed to chill for about half an hour. At 5:45, I woke my wife up and started to get dressed. At this point, I could feel the nerves setting in. We headed down to the Congress St. bridge and discovered that the start line was a little further up the bridge then expected. It was surprisingly chilly, but having only left Boston two days ago, it really wasn't that bad... high 30's maybe. I took off for a quick 10 min. warm-up jog down the river punctuated with a pit stop in the middle. I found my wife again, left my sweats with her, gave her a quick peck on the cheek and set off for battle.

It was a bit of an ordeal squeezing through the mob trying to find the 3:10 pace group, but found them I did. Then, I did the proverbial pre-race jig to stay warm. I distinctly remember a Hispanic woman giving me the look-down for wearing so little. Apparently, temps were in the high 30s, but I had no idea at the time. Some pre-race fireworks went off following the national anthem, and the gun went off not much later.

Mile 0-7
I tucked myself in behind the 3:10 pace leader and as soon as the excitement of the start wore off, I realized I had to pee real bad. I swerved over to the row of port-a-johns and as luck would have it, every single one was occupied. Damnit! At the end, I had to settle for the handicap stall. When I emerged, I was way behind the pace group. It took me almost a mile to catch up to the pace group. This led to a very slow 1st mile (8:05), but I didn't panic... kept telling myself to slowly reel the pace group in. I think I caught the pace group around mile 3 and settled in behind a dude decked out in Longhorns gear (longsleeve shirt, shirt, AND tights... i couldn't believe he wasn't overheating). The view of the Austin skyline was excellent bathed in the morning sun. Around mile 4, on a steep uphill towards 5th street, I passed by a laboring Henry Rono. I was a little starstruck and missed the 4 mile marker. A right turn on 5th street brought a really cool sight. With the sun climbing higher, everything was heavily silhouetted against the sun... felt like we were a cavalry riding into the sunrise. A right turn on Cesar Chavez brought me into plain sight of my wife, who I think got a good video clip of me running. Between mile 6-7, I noticed one of the potential qualifiers, who had been chatting up the pacers, was losing some time at the aid stations, and then sprinting up to catch up each time. I wanted to say something to him about catching more gradually, but I kept my mouth shut for some reason. At this point, I was still debating in my head about whether to stay with pace group, or to pick it up and go for the faster time. It was still too early for any sudden moves, especially with the tough climbs approaching.

Mile 7-14
There was a pretty steep, but mercifully short, uphill leading up to Lake Austin Boulevard. My HR may have climbed up to about 167-168, but it was pretty brief. From here, it was a real nice flat section for almost 2 miles. I think I felt a mild twinge in my right hip flexor started acting up here, but fortunately, it was never a major issue. A sharp right at Enfield coincided with another steep hill. This section marked the beginning of a set of major rollers for the next 3 miles. It was still early in the race, so these weren't too bad. Each uphill was balanced by an equally long downhill. A hill at around mile 10.5 was especially long and steep. I started noticing how the pace group would disperse at the aid stations, and then reform each time. It must be quite a sight from a bird's eye view. After mile 12, I started to feel a hot spot develop in my right foot because I didn't tighten the laces enough. I stopped shortly before mile 13, as I was approaching a downhill, to tie my laces. At this point, I was still feeling pretty fresh, definitely better than previous marathons, and most of the serious climbing was behind us. There was no sign for the half, but I projected it out to be 1:34:58, right on the dot! I had to really push the pace to catch up, so mile 14 was fast (6:45).

Mile 14-21
The long stretch on Great Northern boulevard was a nice change of pace from all the turning. This section was a sparse on spectators (mostly residents in lounging clothes with a cup of coffee in one hand and sprawled on a lounge chair). At around 15.5, I put in a surge because I needed to make another pit stop. These pit stops were a little annoying because I felt like I was doing a fartlek run. But, I caught up with the pace group again within 0.5 mile and still felt pretty fresh. As we rounded the bend and headed towards the Northcross Mall, there were throngs of spectators. After passing mile 17, the thought began to creep into my head that I could really do this! I still wasn't feeling much fatigue in my legs and I still wasn't breathing hard. I remembered reading several course description that pinpointed 17.5 miles as the highest point on the course and from then on, it was a 40ft/mile drop. I debated surging ahead but again decided to be conservative as there was still ~9 miles to go. A fellow 3:10 hopeful named Jesse decided to go for it and slowly pulled ahead. I started running slightly ahead of the pace group pack to facilitate aid station stops. I don't remember much from about mile 17-20, which probably was a good thing. When I hit the 20 mile mark, I was surprised to find that I was still relatively fresh. This was the cliff shot zone and I remember some crazy woman handing out advils and I kept thinking, "muddy brown casts (med school humor)". I also noticed that the pace group, not the pacers, was dwindling.

Mile 21-End
The whole race I had been targeting mile 22 because I had run the last 4.2 miles, starting at mile 22, the day before. It was a little psychological boost for me knowing we were entering familiar territory. Just before hitting mile 22, we caught our friend Jesse at mile 22. He looked OK, but a little tired. This was what I feared happening if I had surged ahead at mile 17.5. I later learned that he did not have a good last 4 miles. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I started feeling fatigue for the first time after mile 22. It took me a little longer to get my last gel down and I started getting mentally prepared for the steep hill after mile 23. I started chatting with a fellow named Steve to see if he wanted to break from the pace group. He said, "let's do this, only 3 miles left." I coached him up the steep hill, which probably kept my mind off the pain. We picked it up as we made the turn onto Duval, which had a very nice downhill leading into the UT campus. We paced each other for the 2 miles or so, all the while, still hearing the cheers for the 3:10 pace group that couldn't have been more than 50 meters behind us. This was reckoning time! I had to really concentrate to maintain tempo. After powering up the last hill up Martin Luther King Dr., we made the turn on to Congress and caught our first glimpse of the Capitol. Yesterday, the sight had given me goosebumps; today, I would characterize it more as relief. I was really struggling at this point...wanted to stop, but I kept telling myself, "you can't come all this way and run a 3:11." I think Steve pulled away after passing the capital building... he had an incredible kick! The final downhill stretch on Congress Ave. was less of a triumphant finish and more of a countdown for me, "10th Ave., 9th Ave., 8, 7, 6, 5...." I looked up to see 3:10:00 and knew I had made it! The only thing I remember clearly of the last stretch was my wife screaming, "Go, go, go... Boston, baby!" I tried to celebrate as best as I could crossing the finish line. Then, I turned around and waited for the pacers to come through and gave them both high fives. They had both done a beautiful job of pacing and were still pushing runners through to the finish line coming down Congress Ave.

Post-Game Summary
Overall, this was the best marathon experience to date. The weather was absolutely perfect and the crowd support was consistent throughout the course. The race directors also did a great job with logistics. I still marvel that the start line was literally a stone's throw away from 5 different hotels. Even though I was initially disappointed that they had done away with the fast downhill course, I think the new course kept me from going out to fast and burning myself out, so kudos to the race directors! I kept waiting for the wall to hit but it never came.

I would also like to send a special acknowledgment to my blog buddy Ryan, whose inspiration has been immeasurable on this BQ journey. Thanks for your support!

Splits
Total time - 3:09:08 (159/170)
Mile 1 8:06 (149/166) Pit stop
Mile 2 6:51 (164/168)
Mile 3 7:13 (153/157)
Mile 4 7:09 (156/161)
Mile 5 7:09 (156/161)
Mile 6 7:05 (156/160)
Mile 7 7:19 (156/161)
Mile 8 7:18 (159/168)
Mile 9 7:12 (160/165)
Mile 10 7:13 (161/165)
Mile 11 7:12 (162/168)
Mile 12 7:05 (161/167)
Mile 13 7:23 (158/167) Shoe lace
Mile 14 6:45 (162/170)
Mile 15 7:30 (158/163)
Mile 16 7:17 (161/168) Pit stop
Mile 17 7:16 (162/167)
Mile 18 7:17 (160/165)
Mile 19 7:12 (160/164)
Mile 20 7:13 (160/164)
Mile 21 7:23 (157/162)
Mile 22 7:16 (163/167)
Mile 23 7:08 (160/163)
Mile 24 7:01 (162/166)
Mile 25 7:05 (162/166)
Mile 26 7:01 (165/168)
Mile 26.2 1:29 (165/167)
HM splits: 1:34:58, 1:34:10