A bit out of touch..

How time flies! It's already December and the last time I updated was post-ironman and England! Since Ironman, I have picked up a coach, he has done some fablous things with my training, both on the bike and the run! I have some new PB's in all my race distances. My new times are:
1/2 Marathon: 2:09
10KM: 57:00  (this should be better, but it was a very bad course)
5KM: 25:20
Olympic tri: 3:11
Sprint tri: 1:24
I am very proud of my season! I trained, toed the line and got mostly through an ironman and PB'ed every other distance.

Shortly after my 5km PB, I was out for a training run and felt quite a bit of pain in my upper shin, the pain ended up not going away and got a bit worse before getting better. Thus, I am just now getting back my running legs. I have kept pushing away on the bike. I'm taking a small break for right now, at least break from the tough session and am enjoying a resting period before I start back the hard work on Jan 7th! Next year I want to make it on the podium of the 1/2 ironman I'm planning for June 16th!

I've been busy with school since I returned from the UK too! At first, I started planning a year in Australia to do some Aupairing and enjoying the aussie life for a little while. With plans to complete my teaching certification shortly after. Then I found a great program, called Teacher Ready. It is through the Univ of W. Florida, it allows me to use my school and the international schools here in Korea as field experience while I complete an online certification program. At the end of it all I'll be certified to teach! I chose my teaching areas as K-6 because I do enjoy the youngsters, but I also chose middle grades Math, because I enjoy math and would prefer secondary school. The program began at the beginning of October and will finish next year in about July/August. In March, I will spend 1 week in America taking 4 exams to pass the FL state licensing tests. Wish me luck!! 

The biggest news since my last update is about my next move. I have been asked to move to London with a very special someone... so at the end of my contract I will be packing up my things, saying good-bye to Korea and leaving on a one way ticket to London! :) From there things get a bit complicated with the visas, but we are going to try and make it work out! I'm thrilled for it! Here is to the next step! With that, I think this blog will draw near and end. 

Thank you to anyone who's followed me and look for a new blog about life in London and training next year! xx

Ironman UK - how it all went down!

Time to fly to England was finally here! I was packed, my bike was boxed, I was ready to go! I had to board the bus at about 4:30am in order to get to the airport 2 hours before my flight for check in. I was most nervous about my bike, I wasn't sure how the airline would charge me. I flew on Southern China Air and I have to say, after calling a few times and getting different answers I was worried my bike wouldn't make it on the plane. However, I showed up prepared with their 'oversized luggage' policy in hand and was pleased with the outcome. Only 81,000w (about $80) to take the bike to England! Fantastic. So this trip was off to a good start. My flights were all on time... the SCA flight got my meal request correct, KLM did not, but I had a very kind flight attendant that shared fruit and yogurt with me! :) I arrived in Europe (Amsterdam) about 25 hours after I left Korea... I had a 5 hours lay over and had realized at that point that I hadn't slept in about 30 hours. Uh-oh! The airport didn't really have a place to enjoy a nice nap, so a massage and some time in a comfy chair listening to music had to do. I thought I would sleep on my flight to Manchester, it was only 45min long, but some sleep would be better then no sleep. I was too excited and that didn't happen. After landing and gathering my luggage, I found my ex waiting for me to pick me up. :) It was about 10pm and I was beyond exhausted. We found the hotel, and as  tired as I was, it was hard to fall asleep and stay asleep that night. The nerves for IM had set in! 

Pre-race day... was too busy! The day started early with a trip to the expo (about a 20min drive), I registered and ended up speaking with a wetsuit company, HUUB about their product. Talking and talking... and I tried it on. I liked how it felt, much better then my current one.... but I wasn't sure if it would be quite right, so I asked and was granted the ability to return it if it was not comfortable, excellent... and off we went to the swim site (about 30min drive) I made it just on time to get in the water for about a 600m swim. Great news - the new wetsuit was awesome! This was a mega confidence booster because my other wetsuit just didn't fit me right. Now it was nearly 10:30am and we needed to get back to the hotel to get my bike together, pack my red and blue bags, eat and go to the 2 transitions to drop off the bags! So it was a quick lunch, good thing England is big on potatoes filled with stuff - I was able to eat carbs without gluten! Getting the bike together and packing the bags took a little longer then expected, about 2:00pm we were off to the swim/T1 site. I made a stop at the mechanic to make sure everything was tightened on the bike, filled the tired up with air and went to the check in. Mind you the cut off time for check in was 3pm for T1 and 4pm for T2, so I was pressured by the clock. I turned in my bike without going for a ride. (hmmmmmmm) Bike bag was dropped off and we were off to find a school to drop off the T2 bag. We arrived about 30min late, but we were far from the last one to get there. The school was tucked away and the GPS gave the directions to an annex, so it was a bit of a challenge to find. Thank goodness for the helpful locals! It was just after 5:00pm when we arrived back at the hotel. At this point, I was beyond exhausted. I had a shower, ordered some room service, and was in bed by 8pm. Race morning would begin at about 3:00am. (somewhere in the day we had a stop at the supermarket for my pre-race breakfast). 

Race Day: First alarm 03:00, fill myself with an apple and a few raspberries. Lay down for about 45min. I tried to sleep but mostly just went over my race plan and visualized. 03:45, alarm #2, up for my cereal and some coffee. Time to get changed, gather my white bag (post race bag) and get out the door by 04:30! It was about a 30min drive to the race site. After getting there, I left my ex with my wetsuit and bag, visited my bike and met up with my friend who was also doing the race. It was comforting to know he was there doing it to. After a little chat, I was out to get my wetsuit on and line up to get in the water. The race officials did some announcements and then let us all in. The time went by so quickly. Before I knew it, I was in the water waiting for the start. I picked a spot out to the right and about in the middle. After my last experience in a Korean race where swimmers hit, kick, swim over/under you, I wanted to be safe. The swim started after about 10min of waiting in the freezing cold water. With this race, a wetsuit was mandatory due to cold water temps. So you could imagine how cold I was after 10min of just treading water. The race started 10min late, so at 06:10 we were off! I will describe the swim as friendly and calm. I did not once get kicked, hit, swam over/under, and there were no attempts to drown me! I really enjoyed my swim. I did go a bit slower then I was planning to. My legs experienced some cramping on the 2nd loop, but overall, it was a good swim. I exited the water in 1:30 (for 2.4miles), then was off to get the wet suit off, get my bike stuff, and get on the bike! I moved a little slower than I wanted to, it took 8min to get everything done. Some things I did: remove wet suit, put on shoes and helmet, get out nutrition to put on my bike (I missed the briefing due to timing of the day, so I had no idea about special needs bags, meaning all nutrition had to be on me), ran to my bike, filled my 'bento box' and was off, all in a matter of 8min. I wasn't moving as fast as I should have, but I was cold! The first bit of the bike was about 20miles out to the 3 loop course. This went by quickly. About 10min into it my watch had flown off my handle bars, so I had to stop and get it than put it back on. Arriving at the beginning of the 3 loop course was a great welcoming party, that faded as I approached the first climb, a 3 mile slog up, up and up some more, some parts were 12% grade, most were 8%... I would say this climb was followed with a fun and fast downhill, but the downhill part was a bit scary. I don't mind going 40mph, however I was riding on these ZIPP 303 wheels, and the breaks were different than mine, and it made me nervous. First time on the big downhill, I froze, the morning temps were only about 16C and the sun was not shinning. I was still wet and shivering the whole first loop. After the big up/down, there was another good climb that wasn't nearly as bad, the downhill the followed was much more fun. After the first loop the temps had started to go up and the sun had come out. It was much more to my liking. However, a twinge in my knee had kicked in. I had a feeling that I knew just where it had come from, my seat being too high. Towards the midway point, I found my friend on the course, after a short chat, I was feeling energized, but was in pain. The 2nd half of the loop is all up/down, shorter stuff, but not ideal. It hurt. Really hurt. At this point, some back pain had set in as well. As I finished the 2nd loop I was looking at the time trying to determine if it was possible to finish before the cut off. I was moving much slower then I expected. I decided to endure the pain of the big hill and see how the 3rd lap went. This was tough, very tough. The big hill reduced me to walking for about 20meters, just up the 12% part as it was very painful. The downhill was good, I was used to it by now. But the next big climb that followed was a bit disastrous. It bought me to tears while riding. After getting to the top, I stopped to stretch out my leg a bit hoping that would help. I recalled the reasons why I was there, the fact that I spend the last 6 months training for this, the time, the effort, the money I raise, the people expecting me to finish.... and I put all the pain aside, picked up the pace and went for it. Much of this last 15-20 miles was filled with grinding my teeth and tears, but I pushed though the pain, constantly trying to do the math - do I have enough time... will I make the cut off... I think so! I can do it, if I keep up this pace, or push a little harder. I was within a mile or so, I knew it would be close, I kept pushing... I arrived! I was greeted by a race official to tell me that he would have to take off my timing chip and that I had just missed the cut off. *heartbreak* I was gutted, absolutely gutted. My race day was over, just like that. 

I suppose in a way I was a little lucky, my ex was there waiting for me at the transition to cheer me on. This came in handy for getting back to the hotel, as the race did not offer a ride to the finish line (odd, I assumed it is something they would do). I made a stop at the medic to try and get ice, which they didn't have, but I got some Ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and pain. Than we were off to find a cab back to the hotel. 

The rest of the day was spent trying to hold back tears, gathering my bike and bags, and eating a pizza that I did not feel was deserved. 

Being my biggest critic, it has been hard to come to terms with what happened on race day, needless to say, my failure was all my fault. I can't say the elements or food intake contributed. My body (stomach, energy levels) felt find when I arrived at the end of the bike, I am confident if I had arrived just a few minutes earlier, I would have finished the race. This was a huge learning experience for me, and I have a laundry list of items that I would change. One thing that worked well was my calorie plan, so that is something I will stick with. I know that for my next one, I want a faster swim, faster bike and faster run.... so back to work I go now that I'm back in Korea! 

The rest of my trip in England was magnificent! Some relaxing in the north, London, and some of the Olympics! Couldn't have asked for a better time, thanks to the one who treated me :) 

2012 IronYear

So I haven't updated at all this year, and it's now August. Guess I have some slack to pick up on! This year has been good, it has been nothing like last year. Last year, I played tourist a lot. This year I have been living in South Korea like I would anywhere else. At the beginning of the year I changed jobs and have been enjoying working for Bundang YBM PSA. It is a good school, I have a great boss and nice co-workers. My Co-teacher is about the laziest person in the world, but the kids listen to and respect me, so I could care less about her. I did catch a nasty illness after beginning school, it knocked me down for about 4 weeks, I used up all my sick days and took unpaid time off all within the first month of my new contract! Luckily, I haven't been sick since. I guess I just needed to build up my tolerance to young children, haha! This year my main focus has been on triathlon, the Ironman to be exact. From the point I was well enough to train again, I started on my journey to IM. This meant I spent nearly all my free time training...

I began my training program about mid-February, and it slowly built up. About 12 hours a week to begin and about 26 hours a week in the end. My life slowly became: eat, workout, eat, work, eat, sleep, workout, eat, sleep... repeat. My weekends were all day long workout, eat, nap, workout, eat sleep. I loved it, there were high points and low points, but overall I made a huge commitment to become and Ironman and to train up for this massive race, and I enjoyed it. I am very happy I made this commitment! My friendship have suffered, which is unfortunate, but I have made new friends that are in training as well. So if I'm in need of a training partner, there is usually someone around! 

Each month I would budget out the things I needed to buy for Ironman: wetsuit, aerobars, saddle, nutrition, plane ticket, race entry, water system, shoes, pedals, pool membership, trainers, and the list goes on... I can say at this point, I feel very prepared for any upcoming tris! I honestly felt like my entire life this year has been triathlon. No complaints though! I would say those around me, may complain a little.... I eat nonstop and was always training or tried! 

At the beginning of July I became both very excited and very nervous. Not only was I off to attempt my first Ironman, but I was off to spend 10 days with my ex! So much to think about! I was also unbelievably excited to go to a western country after spending the last 1.5 years in Asia! So many great things all happening in one little holiday! 

Pertaining to the Ironman, I had followed my schedule, nearly to a 'T', a few missed workouts here, but many hours/miles were logged. I was ready. And race day approached! :)

2011.... almost over

The air is cold, the lights are up, their is a tree in every window. Christmas is here again, this time in South Korea. This year has passed incredibly quickly. I almost feel like I've missed part of it. It has been an amazing year. So many wonderful things to reflect on. So many things to be thankful for. But with the close of one year, comes the start of a new year. With new hopes, new dreams, and new goals.

Some things that happened in 2011 - completed Ironman 70.3 Korea, cycled 140 miles at one time, did my first multi-day cycling trip, hung out on the beaches of Busan, Saw the beaches of the East Coast, Traveled to Thailand, made some amazing new friendships, and discovered many things about myself. 

With all of that, 2011 seems like it might be a tough year to beat... but I have a few things on the horizon for 2012! A full Ironman, Great Wall of China Marathon(big maybe but great thought!), cycling the island of Jeju, Summer in London - including the 2012 Olympics, having a solid training group like I used to have in Texas, teaching Kindergarten at my new school, and living in Bundang, trail/mountain running!

Till then, Christmas week is upon us. This year Christmas will be different then any other, but not any less special. I will be spending Christmas eve at a showing of the Nutcracker and then a wonderful dinner! Christmas day will be spent enjoying a full Christmas dinner, at a restaurant, which will be new to me. Nonetheless, it should be a funfilled memorable weekend. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Final Countdown....

23 Calendar days.... 13 days at school... 10 days of classes.... ALMOST DONE!!!!!

Wow, I cannot believe it's almost been a full year here in Korea. At the same time, some of it has felt like it's dragged on and just gone too slow!

I have decided on my job for next year: Bundang, teaching Kindergarten! I will work from 9:00-4:30pm M-F. I will get 10 days vacation and any Korean holidays! This is very similar in terms of vacation/holidays to what I had back at RBC in the states. The hours are a whole new concept! Really 9am - 4:30pm! WOW! The best hours I was 7:00-4:00 at RBC, I had some flexibly in there and could stay late or go early if necessary! I'm really looking forward to the move! I'll live in a really great area, work with some great teachers, at a great school! Overall... it's great! I begin work on January 2nd. My contract will be 14 months, so I will work till the end of Feb 2013. I have a co-teacher and classroom assistant, so 3 adults. We have up to 20 children. I will teach from 9:30am-2:40pm, switching on/off with the Korean teacher. It's a lot like a normal kindergarten back in the states... the kids go to art, gym, computer, and cooking class too! The school has been around for a long time and has a great reputation! Plus I have some friends who work there!

Overall, I can't really say I hate Anseong, just a very strong dislike. And it's me, not you... ha. I am not a small town girl, and am way to high energy, in need of constant interaction and things to do to even consider living in a small town again. I am happy that I survived this year. I know that I will miss some of my students, most of them can't say anything other then "Hello" and "I'm fine how are you" but there are a few that care enough about English to learn it and speak it, those are the only kid's I was able to get to know, and I will miss them!! I will also miss my co-teacher, she has made this year so easy on me!!! I will not miss anything else about this town, not at all. Well, if fruit and veggies are more expensive in Bundang, I'll miss cheap prices, but I'll survive. At least in Bundang I'll get a bit more variety.

So I'll be between Seoul, Anseong, and Bundang for my Christmas vacation. And my small break between contracts might be spent skiing in Pyeongchang (place for 2018 Olympics). I have a lot to do with packing and moving, plus have to celebrate Christmas with my friends here!!

I am still waiting to find out some details about my new housing, but providing it's big enough I'm either bringing Brodie over here or getting a new kitty. I miss my furry friend!

This year I've done a great job of being busy! And the few weeks left of the year are no exceptions! I have my first Korean wedding to attend, a year-end banquet for my run club, the Nutcracker Ballet and some other fun things!! So much to look forward to!

Some news on Tri-training! Although plan was to complete my first Ironman in 2012, depending on when my vacation is, this might not happen. At least not at an Ironman branded event. The official announcement was made that IM Korea has been cancelled. There will be a different organization putting on a half-distance triathlon, (probably as well organized as last year), but there will not be a full distance event. I have my eye on Ironman UK at this point, but will be anxiously awaiting when my holiday will be in July! Fingers crossed I can do IM UK! :)

Job Process...

As I'm coming to an end in my first contract in Korea, I am looking for a new job. Luckily, here, there are tons of jobs... so it's more a matter of sorting through to find a good recruiter and good job! Much different from the states. I started off trying to get into a University, sadly that dream was shot down by strict requirements. However, I know what I want out of my next year in Korea, and know the best way to get it is to go for a higher paying job, even if it requires a bit more work. I did apply for public school, and was accepted to work for them, however their pay scale is a bit lower then private schools. Also with public school you get more vacation time, which is fantastic, however, if you are me and have a bad habit of spending money - specially when you are not occupied with work, having an extra 10 days off a year could amount to an extra $2000-$3000(or more) spent very easily. So I decided private school is the best fit for me. Then it came to finding a good one.... there are horror stories all over about working for private schools, I've even seen them happen to my friends. One friend was sent home after 10 months because her school shut down, her working conditions were terrible.... another simply hated her school so much, worked far too many hours, and the housing was horrid, she still stuck it though till the end of her contract. With that, I started looking at schools - first by pay then by hours. After that, I searched the blacklists and contacted people who worked for these schools. With that I lined up 3 interviews, I've completed 2 of the 3 and have the 3rd tomorrow. At this point I am sure I will go do the interview, although it means another week night trip to Seoul (another $10 spend on bus rides, getting home after 10pm, not getting dinner till really late or eating out...), because I want to be sure I am making the right decision. For many reason I want to live in Seoul, but the job I am leaning towards is in Bundang, I have quite a few friends there - with the same interests as me i.e. run, bike, swim, lift. The school was really great, and the director was very genuine and seemed like she would be a great boss. 


If I take the job in Bundang, it comes with one upsetting thing, that I can deal with, I just hope people aren't too upset at home.... my vacation back to the states will be very short or not at all. I know my family and friends care about me and want me to be happy and in a good job... so I know they will understand if I cannot make it home. Details on that after the decision is made.


As for my running and training. I have hit some major lows in my motivation this year. I thought coming into this year that it would be my best year yet, but that turned out to be wrong. The year is not over and I can still get in quite a few miles. I thought that being here, not having much to do but run, I would, well, run non-stop. However, it turns out that my dream of running trails and all over this city were shot down... considering there are no trails here, and the city consists of a 5mile loop. Thus, completing the same run time and time again has failed to keep me interested. Not to mention, I find that I am longing to even see other runners out running. I am the lone runner here, I have tried night running/day running/morning running, the most I have ever seen was 2 runners out on the 5 mile loop. My shoes have not been hung up yet, but with winter coming/here I know the next month is going to be tough. I think I am going to re-join the gym, at least I can use the treadmill. 


With my next update I should know when and where I'm moving, and when I'll be able to visit the states!!! :)

Down for the count....

Just as I was getting up there in mileage and running was going well - bam! I'm out for over a week. A few days after finishing eating only raw foods, I noticed that I was starting to feel sick and by the end of the week I felt like I wasn't well enough to run, and finally by the end of the weekend I had come down with strep throat. Eeek! This put me out for the whole week. I only went to school on Friday, I had to visit the doctor twice, and I missed just over a week of running. I found myself sleeping 10+ hours a night, napping during the day and living on ice cream since it's the only thing I could eat without wanting to cry. I recall have strep once as a child, I remember my mom giving me lots of Gatorade and Popsicle and staying home from school for a week or so, but I don't remember being in so much pain. It was not fun. I can't quite figure out where I picked it up from, but I'm glad it's over. 


From today, I will start with training again. I am sure I haven't lost much fitness, but I can't go back to running with the mentality that I am 100%. I need to get back to it slowly and carefully, I can't push myself, and mostly I can't make up lost mileage. So this week I'm planning to take it easy and run 3 times before my 11km race on Friday. Friday is 11-11-11, once in a life time date, and my run club is putting on an 11k race! Of course I'll be there! Even if I have to take it slow and run/walk it, I'll get it done. It's even at 11pm. Should be a ton of fun. This coming weekend should be filled with run club fun. 


I have decided after getting sick, that it's probably best for me if I return to raw, or mostly raw foods. I found the diet to be very expensive, so I will allow myself to eat some cooked foods to help cut costs. But most importantly - no sugar and no processed foods (unless I do it myself). I started my morning with an apple and some egg whites and had some homemade applesauce for a snack. So far I'm on the right track, not I just need to stick with it. 


Being that it's November, I am getting quite close to my contract ending (52 days, but whose counting). I am slowly getting my plan for next year worked out. I am not done with Korea, but I'm more then done with Anseong. So the plan is to find a job in Seoul. I have had 1 interview so far, which resulted in a job offer with Seoul Public schools. I have another interview this week. I hope I am able to get in a few more interviews this week so that I can get this decision made quickly! I will be back in American for at least 1 month, and am planning on a trip to MI, Vegas, and TX! Can't wait to see friends and family, and eat some yummy foods! :)