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! :) 

Let's go Raw!

Since my last update I've been running lots and have changed my diet! I am trying a raw food diet. Week 1 of the diet change I cut out all unnatural sugars, so any chocolate, cookies, anything that's not natural (aka fruit). I started adding in more vegetables and eating less cooked foods. The following week, I was eating cooked foods but only whole cooked foods, so nothing that was processed. Week 3 I begin with all raw foods only, and have been this was for about 2 weeks now! After the 5-6 days I started to notice some differences, and now I love it and am feeling great! I highly recommend trying this. I am planning on doing it till the end of October, in hopes to shed a few kg's and to really just be more healthy. This diet is tough in general, but I feel like in Korea it is especially tough. Fruit here is very expensive and the selection of vegetables isn't nearly as wide as it is in the states. I have noticed my food cost go up a lot, but it's worth it. The most notable differences in costs are to buy things like avocados here it's about $5 for 2; $7 for 4 grapefruit; $7 for 6 oranges; $6 for 10oz of cherry tomatoes, but lettuce is quite cheap, I can get a whole bag of organic lettuce for $2.50! One thing I don't really like about produce here is it's very seasonal and the seasons are rather short. Grape season just happened, you could buy fresh grapes on every corner big boxes for $10-$20 (like enough grapes for a small army), but about 1-1.5 months later all the stands are gone and the only place I see them is in the grocery stores for ridiculous prices. Nonetheless, the with eating raw I have noticed a big price difference. Some of the great thing I've made:

Raw Date Balls (dates, nuts, fruit - blended and rolled!)

Raw 'Pasta' (zucchini noodles)

Raw apple crisp

Guacamole

Salads

Raw hummus

Raw Thai Peanut Sauce for Thai Coleslaw (so good!)

Raw Almond Butter

Running as has been going great! I am building my mileage in a smart way, a bit each week. I'm getting closer and closer to my next race... a 1/2 marathon! Tomorrow I'll head out for a 10 miler! Looking forward to it :) In the past few weeks, I've done a few races: a 5k, placed about 5-6th and beat my past time by 6 seconds; then I did a 10k and hit my planned splits right on target! Next up is a 10k with my run club at the end of the month and a few weeks later is my race! 

School has been going great! It's nearly done, my contract has about 75 days left on it! I have been applying to school in Seoul for next year! Looking hard for that university job that will give me the ability to teach adults plus the same perks (or slightly better) as teaching in public schools. I recently finished writing an ESL book, it's about 110 pages long full of lessons, worksheets, grammar... Since this is finished, along with all my other lessons for the year, I don't have much to do when I'm not teaching. Lots of time to surf the internet, read, or just chill at work. :) 

1st Place! Oh and Hiking Jirisan

The decision was made, I have opted not to do the 1/2Ironman race in Taiwan. Instead I have changed my focus to running. I need to rebuild a solid base of running before I take on another tri! I kicked off my road races on the right foot!  It was a 5k race, I went into it feeling great - had a pretty good night's sleep, made it to the race just on time, the weather was hot and sunny (just what I like) and I figured I would just give it my all.... a benchmark race so to speak. While waiting for the race to start, myself and my fellow white friend were standing about 1/2 way back when the race director pulled us to the front. They wanted some foreigners in their photo's of the start. Starting at the front is not my style, so soon as the gun went off I took off running and moved my way to the outside as quickly as possible! I ran the first mile of the race with this really nice Korean guy, every time I started to slow down, he motioned for me to keep up. We ran about 30seconds faster mile then I usually run. I was on my own after a mile.... tried to keep up the pace but let it slip a bit. Coming up to the turn around I could see that there were 2 ladies ahead of me. I tried to pick up my pace as much as I could, but to me it was important that I keep running and not slow down. Surprisingly it worked! Shortly after the turn around I passed 1 lady, and about 4 min later I passed the other lady. I knew this meant I was in 1st place for the women. I've never been here before, it was a new feeling, an amazing feeling but I also felt some pressure. I could taste my first ever 1st place win and I wanted it badly! I kicked it up a notch and didn't look back. Literally gave it everything I had. Coming up to the finish, the finish line crew picked up the banner for me to run though! I did it! I came in first place overall for the ladies!!! About 2 min after I crossed the finish line, I almost threw up the water I had, eek! And I was a bit out of it the rest of the day... but it was worth all of it! 

I know this year hasn't been all that I've wanted it to be for running and tri's but it has really been something different. I have managed to earn 1st place in a 5km overall; 2nd place in my age group in a sprint tri; 3rd place in my age group in a 1/2 Ironman! All things I never knew I'd be capable of earning. Now that I've tasted what it's like to win, I want to keep pushing harder in my workouts and my training so that I'm able to keep it up! 

Aside from the fun with racing, I did get out to explore a new part of Korea! In the south there is this massive national park, home to Jirisan mountain. Over the Korean holiday Chusok (similar to Thanksgiving), I had a nice 5 day weekend and took 3 days to travel down south and check it out. I quickly learned why Jirisan's trails are rated a 5 out of 5 on the challenging scale. The darn things are all made of stone! Some genius thought it would be great to make all the paths with stones.... some poor sap (probably literally poor and in need of a paycheck) took on the task of going up into the mountain and laying out stone paths, matching these rocks up like a giant puzzle. I think it could be the worst idea ever... but what do I know, I'm just a hiker that almost broke a few bones trying to navigate the paths! I could see that without the rocks, this hike would have been a ton of fun! But having to watch every step you took made for a tedious (and hard on the knees) long, slow 24km hike. The plan was to do the whole ride - 45km, but that was cut short with how hard the trail was on the body. I believe I need to do some more rock climbing before I can go back and tackle the 45km ridge. Alas, I will return, I have some unfinished business there! I would also like to say, at least I saw some beautiful views.... but with the heavy cloud and fog I saw - umm - cloud and fog. Maybe next time! :)

Decisions Decisions...

I've never really been great at making decisions, especially big ones. I tend to research things out and try and make the best decision based on that. Other times, I (like many others) like the comfort of my trusted friends opinion. But there are just some decisions that just need to be made on your own. 


I bought a new bike yesterday, it was a big decision. I had a budget but I also had a few things the bike 'needs' to have for me to buy it. I am not nor have I ever had a big tolerance for bargain shopping or going from store to store to find a good deal. I usually have my stores that I'm loyal to, and when I need something I just go pick it up. If I were back in the states, I would have gone to the tri shop and one other store that I know and trusted and picked a bike from one of those places. Here is Korea, there is many shops, but I think compared to my old bike shop, they have a minimal selection. For example, the first shop I went to only had 1 bike that fit what I was looking for, and it was just a bit outside of my price range. Luckily, someone helped me find another shop with a bit bigger selection, at least online they looked like they had a bigger selection. I went there to find the bikes I saw online (the discounted 2011 models) were all too big for me. And if there is one thing I've learned in the last few weeks, it's size is the #1 factor in bike buying! They had some 2012 models that fit was I was looking for - carbon, min of 105's or equivalent from a different brand for components. Then it came down to fit. Out of all they had, there was just 1. They were able to discount it to the high end of my budget, it is full carbon and it has 105's. It really did fit just what I wanted. So I bought it. It only took about 2 min of looking at it to hand over my deposit. Why bother going to another 2-3 stores... I might save $100 (yes I get it, $100 can be a lot of money) but when you have to travel 1.5hrs each way(+subway time) and pay $10 (+subway money) a trip to get to/from Seoul, it comes down to the fact that my time is worth more to me then that $100 I might save, and who know's I might end up back at the same shop a few days later to buy the bike anyway. So I made a big decision, without the support of friends! 


Now I have another one to make... I have been training for this Ironman 70.3 in Taiwan. I haven't been cycle training though, since the last 4 weeks or so I've been playing phone-tag with the insurance company and slowly working towards settling. And prior to that, I have off the bike just to recover from my last Ironman 70.3, so I'm about 9 weeks away from the race and have to start fresh on cycling. This worries me, as I had a lot of improvements to make. With my running slowly improving, I think I might have picked a race that is just too soon for the improvement I'm expecting to make. So at this point, I am considering my options... I could postpone my next 70.3 till 2012, and then train for a December marathon. This way, I can have a solid running base and keep up some swimming and cycling, but have my focus be on running improvement. Or I could do the 70.3 give it all I have over the next 9 weeks and hope to shave 30min off my time (vs. the min 1hr I am aiming for). At this point I'm leaning toward the marathon. Either way, both are great tests of my strength and commitment to endurance events. Both are races I've done before and have not been satisfied with my times. While I'm out enjoying my new wheels and doing some running this weekend, I'll be making a final decision about which event to do. 

Accident Resolved!

Just a bit of good news to pass along! My accident has been resolved. I settled with the insurance company yesterday. I believe the amount I received was very fair, it was just a tad bit more then I had lost in total as a result from the accident. Although, money is nice, so I can get a new bike and return to my training, it can never take away the fact that I was hit by a car while cycling. A painful and traumatic experience that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. I thought I was a careful cyclist before, but now I will be extra cautious. It is unfortunate, that due to the accident I missed out on a once in a life-time bike trip and a good friends going away party, but I suppose the most important thing was that I was not seriously injured. ....and at least it gave me the chance to slow down and check out Thailand, which was completely unforgettable! 

The training continues... without a good bike

I'm just rounding out my week of training, on today's schedule is a 1.5hr run in zone 2 (with surges into Z3). This seems to be my standard run during this phase of my training, regarding the HR Zones, the time varies a bit. I just gave my friends blog a quick read, she live in MI and is training for her first Marathon, reading her blog reminded me of time I ran with her and running in MI. One great thing about that state were the 100's of miles of running trails. Here in my tiny city, I can run the perimeter in 5miles, so I tend to run the same route my attempt to change it up involves doing an out and back vs. a circle. I'm really looking forward to moving out of this city.  I have 4 months left in my contract... that's 4 more months of miles on my own. The most exciting thing I can do is run on the roads and find new routes. The sidewalks in Korea are made of bricks, so they aren't ideal for running. It's best to stick to the bike path or the roads. As I've learned the hard way, the roads aren't the safest place to be. Nonetheless, this evening I'll set off to complete my 1.5hr run, maybe thinking about the trails in MI, or my old trials in TX... and try and avoid starring at the massive spiders that line the trail in Anseong. 

This week is my biggest week so far in this training plan. I've got 10.5hrs schedule between running, biking, and swimming. I don't have any weight sessions schedule, so I'll add a few in on my own. My swims have just passed the 3k mark, I'm really looking forward to them! 

I finally have a meeting scheduled with the insurance company, it's Tuesday. From what I've been told, it should go something like this: here is our offer xxxxxxx; I'll either agree or disagree, possible make a counter offer, and see if an agreement can be reached. I would like to reach an agreement. I really need to get back on the bike (on a good bike). Keep your fingers crossed the offer given is something I can agree with. If it's not, I'll have to look into what the next steps are... assuming it will involve me taking the insurance company to court. I really don't want to waste my time and energy on that, so I am really hoping that the insurance company will settle at a good price with me and I'll have enough money to fix/replace my old bike. :)

Another stamp in my passport - THAILAND!

With the bike accident, I now have 3 weeks off work and no plans! Cycling the West coast is out... and Thailand is in! I booked my flight on Wednesday and was off to foreign land on Sunday. I was only able to book 15 days since I booked it so close to the travel time, flights back were sold out or very expensive. So I had 2 weeks to do whatever I wanted in this great place! I was flying in and out of Bangkok. I had read the Lonely Planet and had a game plan: 1 day in Bangkok, night train down to the south and boat to islands on the East coast (the Gulf of Thailand) island hop a bit then head over to the West side and island hop a bit more before heading back to Bangkok for my flight. Bangkok was a cool place, a bit dirty though. I stayed on Khao San Road, which is known for being a backpackers haven. I met a group of people who were from Africa, hung out with them for the night! It was a fun time. The next morning, I was up pretty early for a run around Bangkok, then was off to see some sights and would need to be at the train station by 6pm for my train! I waited to book the train until I arrived in Thailand, and it was much cheaper then booking it online. It was very quick and easy to book all my travel (boats, taxi's, trains) on the go! 
By midday of day 2, I had arrived on Ko Samui! I decided to stay here for one night! It was beautiful. I made sure to get a massage and enjoy the beach. I booked the afternoon boat over to Ko Phangan, which for me was a little more my style for an island. I made my first stop a place called "Backpackers Thailand" a place run by someone from Austrailia, asked a few questions about the island and met some people who were there and had the same idea as me. The 3 of us shared a cab up to Hat Yao, the place that was recommended as one of the islands best beaches! I was very pleased with this recommendation! After locating a good place to stay, the first thing I did was head down to the beach and get in a swim!! I ended up spending 4 days on this island. It was so much fun! 
The first night I had a dinner with my new friends, the following day I did a tour that involved: elephant ride, crocodile show, a temple, hiking to a view point, a waterfall, lunch, seeing a beach, walking to an island, and snorkelling! It was a great tour!!! The next day was my relaxing day, I read and soaked up the sun, I also rented  a kayak and explored some of the other beaches, I had dinner at the Night Market, I had to take a cab there, was able to take a motorcycle taxi on the way back! Very cool way to travel. The night market had great authentic Thai food, for very very cheap! The following day I made the transition to my next island - Ko Tao! This island is very tiny, 21km in diameter, I could run the whole thing and it would be a 1/2 marathon! Now if only it wasn't covered in rain-forest, then I could have run it! Instead of running around the island, I ran on the beach I was staying on, took a scooter on the island road, checked out most all the beaches, hiked up to 2 different view points, and did one AWESOME tour!!! The tour was really great, I spent my morning abseiling down about 30meters on a rock that was about 300meters up on a mountain top! It was very nerve-racking the first go-around. 

After the abseiling, we went to another rock and began climbing, then over to one more rock to climb again! The afternoon part was postponed to the next day, since we had a quick rain and the zip line was too wet to use. I spent my afternoon on the motorbike! The next day, the tour finished off with a boat trip to one of the top 10 beaches in the world, doing an island to island zip line, hiking up to a great viewpoint, and snorkelling!! It was great! I watched a near-perfect sunset, and boarded the night boat to make my way to Krabi! 
Krabi is the town on the west side of the country, it's home to Ao Nang and Railey beaches! I found a great little bungalow on Ao Nang, right on the beach and it even had hot water (a luxury you have to pay extra for in Thailand, I was able to find a place that didn't change extra for it!). I made this place my home for the time I was on the West Coast. I lined up activities for the days I was there. Rocking climbing at Railey beach, great limestone massive rocks, and it's known to be one of the best places in the world to climb! I did a boat tour of 3 different islands, it included snokelling, and seeing a really cool looking cave, one of the beaches we was was the beach where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. 

The next day was a kayaking cave tour, we toured 4 caves via kayak, then did a walk through the rain-forest and saw a wonderful waterfall. While here, I also rented a scooter, explored a few beaches, and had a fun dinner with my friends from Seoul! Finally, I had to make my way back to Bangkok, spend a few hours there seeing the 'weekend market' and mailed a few things to the states. Then I was off to the airport to make my way back to Seoul! I met a ton of people on this trip from all over the world! It was an amazing experience!!! I cannot wait to set sail and add a few more stamps to my passport! 

Car + Bike = Bad News

So I'm quite excited to be working with a coach now, my first week of training was complete, it was all HR tests and speed tests... now I'm on the the actual training. I set of Saturday morning for my 1:20hr spinning ride, and I was about 1:10hr into and I was thinking about being home, I was quite bored with my ride, and didn't really like the route I had picked. I was near downtown Anseong, and crossing an intersection when a car from the other side decided not to stop. I was more then 1/2way across the intersection and did what I could (slow down and turn left!) to avoid meeting the car's grill.... it wasn't enough, I ended up being hit by the car anyway. I was a bit shocked it happened. I jumped up as soon as it happened to make sure the guy driving didn't leave. I looked at my bike, front tire was completely bent! I was so angry! I called my co-teacher right away to have her talk to the guy, I didn't want to him drive away and leave me with a broken bike, stranded. Luckily, as I was calling my co-teacher, a police officer pulled up. I had my co-teacher talk with him. She and another co-worker were on their way. Even though it was Saturday morning, the school was still open, classes are still going on... ick! The police office kept asking me if I needed to go to the hospital, I said I was ok... they were all very concerned about all the blood coming from my elbow. It was dripping... a bit gross, but it wasn't a bad cut. After about 10min my co-teacher and co-worker showed up, they all insisted I go to the hospital and at least get x-rays, so I went. They took my bike to an impound place, I assume they gave the driver a ticket (but who knows), they said I would hear from the insurance company soon. By the time I finished at the hospital (only about 30min they are quick here), I had received a text from the insurance company with their phone number and a case number. After I got home, I showered and relaxed, I started to feel some pain, mainly just aches. I did feel dizzy when I was standing, my ears were ringing, my head hurt, and I was nauseous. All signs of a concussion.... so after a few hours of trying to relax, I decided to go back to the hospital. HA! This is how much of a JOKE the hospital in my city is... 1st, they never once asked about my head the first time I was there. Then when I go back to tell them all my symptoms, the one thing they care about the most is that I'm nauseous, and they give me a shot and some medicine for digestion.... idiots!!!! They said if my head still hurt on Monday they would give me a CT scan. Good thing I've had a concussion before and I'm not an idiot... I spent the rest of my day watching some movies with a friend who offered to come over and chill out with me. It was very nice of her! She cooked some soup for me too! :) The next day, I was sore... very sore!!! I spent the day just relaxing, I talked to my coteacher, she said to just take Monday off school. My head was feeling much better but my back was really hurting. I was using ice and heat to help ease the pain. I went back to see the doctor on Tuesday morning, he told me I should take 2 weeks off from working out... I thought to myself, they guy is crazy. He is not a sports doctor and he doesn't have a clue how my body functions. I probably could have run as soon as Wednesday, if not run, for sure swim, but I 1/2 listened to the doctor. I did my first run on Saturday, just a week after the accident and I felt great. Took it slow and easy, but no problems at all.


After being told to take 2 weeks off, I was upset. Between the time off and my bike being ruined, it was looking like my summer vacation was going to suck! While roof-top tanning, the idea came to me about going away, just lounging on a nice beach somewhere. FAR away from Korea! Perfect idea... I looked up plane tickets online, and within about 24hours I had booked a flight to Thailand. I would leave on Sunday. I had something to look forward to now, a new place to run and swim, plus tan, relax, read, and do some fun activities!!! 


Within a few days I was feeling back to normal. I elbow still hurt a bit, and my bruises were still there to remind me of the accident. They were big and ugly on my legs and arms. They were there for about a week. Now the biggest stress, dealing with an insurance company to get my bike paid for. UGH!


The insurance company so far has worked quickly. Within a few days they had an offer to me, they said the accident was 60% their clients fault and 40% my fault, ha! They offered to pay 100% of my medical costs, but would only pay 60% of the bike repair costs. I think that this has to be a joke or a nightmare. Not a chance in the world am I going to come out of pocket... If I hadn't slowed down and turned (which is why I assume they think it's partly my fault) they I could be dead, I sure as heck wouldn't have gotten away with just a few bruises. These people are crazy!!!!! At this point, I am refusing their tiny offer. I am just waiting to hear from them again. I am very anxious to get a new bike and get back out there. Hopefully this will end well and soon! 

Working with a coach - Day 2

Monday was my first day of working with my new coaches. My task is to record my resting heart rate (RHR) every morning this week. I started off on Monday, my RHR is lower then I thought it was! Came in at 54bpm. The day was a rest day, but they did have me do 30min of stretching by following their stretching video. It felt good, I know I tend to skip stretching in when I work out. 

Day 2, I measured my HRH again, this time it was 57bpm. The evening was my first work out, it was a max heart rate test while running. I set out to do my 30min tough workout. Finished up and reviewed my data... my MHR came in at 189bpm. I am waiting on feed back from my coaches! :)

70.3 Round 2!

The first one was great, I loved it... and I spent the last week relaxing, eating all kinds of food I don't usually eat, even enjoyed a few too many glasses of vino! But now it's time to get back to work. The target is Ironman 70.3 Taiwan! The date is November 6th, 2011! The game plan is to training with the help of some others! I am officially a coached athlete! I was recommended so great coaches from one of my friends in Seoul. So I talked to them, and feel really good about using them. I think they will take the guess work out of the whole training process, but most importantly, they will keep me on track! I was given my first week of workouts today, they look great! I'm ready to dive in and get down to business. :) 
The other big change that I am making for this go around with training is my bike. Yes I did just buy my current bike. But I bought it on a very small budget, I just wanted to pick something up to get me cycling, it has served it's purpose well. Now it's time for me to finally have a 'grown-up's' bike! I picked up my new frame this weekend, this will actually be a bit of a project. The frame is by Giant, it's a blend of carbon and aluminum. I got it from a friend who now has a sponsored frame. The bike sells for $3,000 and is about 4 months old. I don't have a full bike yet, just a frame, seat post, saddle, and crank. So I have some parts to buy and then will have to put it all together. I have been looking into components, so far I am leaning towards the Sram Rivals. Because I am building it and got a great deal on the frame, I'll be able to put it together to be a light (about 8kg), fast, bike at a good price! A bike that will be perfect till I'm ready to invest in a tri-bike! As for my current bike, that will be turned into a touring bike, so I will have to buy some racks and bags and it will be great for my multi-day trips! 

I am an IRONMAN (70.3)

Race weekend... I had it cleared with my school to leave early on Friday in order to catch the bus up to Gimpo airport.

 I had called the English help line to find out the time tables and how long the ride is. After being told the bus ride is about 2hr 20min I opted for the 4:10pm bus, thinking I'd have about an hour to kill before my flight.... turns out the bus ride took over 3 hours and I missed my flight!! Ah! I did get lucky enough to find an open airline that had a seat on their plane and room for my bike, I made it to Jeju on Friday night... of course since it was late I missed dinner. I though to myself, great I hope this isn't an indication of how this weekend will go.... 


Saturday morning was a busy one! Up early to get my bike assembled, and go with my roommates down to the beach for a swim! We rode down there and back, about 24km total. I went to the registration to get all checked in.... did some shopping at the Ironman store. Picked up a few things for my bike at the expo. By this time it was a little past noon, and I was starving! Myself and a few others went to the restaurant at my hotel to grab some lunch... then it was time to go to the mandatory race meeting. They reviewed the course and some of the rules. 

Then it was time to set up my transition bags, I needed one for the swim to bike area and one for the bike to run area. I needed to put anything I would need in these bags, (shoes, visor, helmet, food, etc). Once that was complete and all my numbers were on my bike, helmet, and race belt I was ready to ride my bike down to the beach again to set it up for Sunday. On the way back to the hotel, I shared a cab with this guy who flew over from the USA, he works for Good Morning America as the show's personal trainer, he also does some health segment on the show. Now it was time to for a quick shower and to meet up with a few friends for dinner!! We ended up at Crazy Burger, there didn't seem to be many options around the resort area for food. Luckily I was able to get a salad, so I kept my pre-race meals healthy! Finally got back to the room about 8-830pm, time to settle down, watch some TV (CSI of course, haha), and go to sleep!! Alarm set for 4am, since my roommates were doing the full ironman, their start time was 7am! 





Race morning!! After my roommates left, I was able to relax and close my eyes for about another hour. Got up and had some break fast, got ready and met my friend before heading to the shuttle  to the start line. I was surprisingly calm at the start line, I had a bit on nerves on Saturday morning while warming up, so I guess I had gotten it out of my system. I hung out with the girls I knew who were also doing the race, and watched the people doing the Full Ironman swim. As 9am approached I did my final bit of getting ready and made sure my bike was set up, and moved my way to the beach. 



This race was a mass-start meaning that all participants will run into the water and start at the same time. My plan was to start at the back and swim my way up. 9am hit and the "canon" (or weak sounding gun) shot off and the race began! I ran/walked my way into the water and then tried to get into a rhythm with my swim. I was able to overtake quite a few people, I did have some problems keeping a rhythm because there were so many of us in the water at once (about 250 people). I manged to get out of the water in 41min. I saw quite a few bikes still racked when I got to mine, so I must have done a good job on passing people. Now it was time to put all the biking I've done in the past few months to work. The course was all hills, even when it looked flat it was usually a false flat, and was really a hill. I was told after the total elevation climbed was 3500ft. I had fun and tried to keep the pace that I planned on riding. I had a race plan and it was very tempting to ride faster or really push it on the up-hills, but I didn't want to use too much and have nothing left for the run. About 46 miles into the ride my back began to really hurt. Felt like some sort of spasm or something. Making the last 10 miles really painful! By 52 miles into the ride, my only thought was pedal faster and get off this bike! My legs were getting a bit fatigued at this point, but not bad. My source of pain was my back, and my feet a little bit. The bike did take a bit longer then I planned on it taking, but all in all I didn't mind. I made it almost an hour before the cut-off time and was left with 4 hours to complete an 1/2 marathon. After making it into T2, I felt an awesome since of relief. I knew even if I walked the entire 13.1 miles I could do it in under 4 hours! After a quick change of my shoes, I sucked down a melted snickers and set off on the 'run' or as I will call it, the ironman-shuffle! Ha! The hills on the run were non-stop and killer. Not one section of the run was flat! Since my feet were hurting, I took the first 1-2miles in a fast walk/slow run. As my body adjusted to the run, I actually was able to do a slow trot for most of the whole 13.1miles. I did walk on some of the up-hills near the end. At every aid station, I took in water and most I took in some gatorade too. I was constantly using the sponges to try and keep cool. I had an American Flag with me, I had intended on just having it in my pocket during the run, but since the sun was shinning bright, I decided to cover my shoulders with it. A really good idea since my back was already burnt from the bike!!! For as little as I ran in my training, I was a bit surprised that I was able to run most the race. I had this little voice in my head telling me, if I keep moving, I can place in my AG. I knew my competition and I knew where they were on the course, so I used this as my motivation. The run was an out an back, the way out felt like it was easier then the back. There was more downhills on the way out. The last mile of the race was all up hill too, this made it a challenge. I saw quite a few people doing the ironman-shuffle out there. A lot of people looked like they were suffering! I made a good attempt at being a cheerleader on the run and encouraging people as we passed each other! I even saw one guy napping in the bus station! After making it up the hill and around the corner knowing how close I was to the finish, I picked up the speed and let the joy of finishing this race take over my body. True to my fashion, I sprinted in for a strong finish! Flag held high above my head with a huge smile on my face!!!


After the race I got my massage, and attempted to eat... didn't go as well as I wanted. I was a bit dehydrated  boo! There really wasn't enough time to get back to the hotel, disassemble my bike, and make it to the airport in time for my flight, so I called the airline to have it changed. I was able to attend the award ceremony and dinner... where I got my trophy for a 3rd place win in my age group! At dinner, I filled up 2 plates full of all the different foods they had, and kept trying to eat... fail! Still feeling like I was going to be sick, I gave up on eating and went back to the hotel for shower. I spent the rest of the evening down at the finish watching the full ironman competitors come in! So awesome to see this!!! :) I was so happy to be there and to have completed my race! I made it back to my room a bit before midnight to go to sleep! 


Monday morning (happy 4th of July to my fellow American's!), got up early and had a good breakfast down at the hotel restaurant! Much needed after not being able to eat on Sunday! I woke up with a great deal of pain in my back, other then that, my legs were just a bit sore. I packed up and went to catch my plane. By the time I made it back to Seoul, my legs were sore for all the sitting. 


Overall it was a totally awesome experience. I was so happy to be out there racing. I had such great spirits and a big smile on my face all day. I know that I gave my all and did the best that I could do. I learned SO MUCH from this race! I am so ready to take on another. This time I'll do it teamed with a coach, as to help me stay on track and get the most out of all my workouts! Thank you all for your support in this! I am now 1 step closer to my goal of completing a full Ironman! :) 

Ready to Fly!!!

I'm close enough to my first Ironman70.3 that I can count it in hours. 46.5 to go! My flight to Jeju is this evening. Last night I packed my bike up and all the things I will need on race day, and Saturday. Lots of food, vitamins, protein, etc! Plus some clothes to wear before/after the race and my race outfit. I have 2 checklists to go off of to make sure I have everything! I also have some great friends out there who have been here for me to calm my nerves! They really kicked in last night! I about went crazy with mixed thoughts and emotions. Today, I've got my head on straight. My mantra is all I'm thinking (and about my race plan!) "Just keep swimming (running/biking)" is one mantra, repeated over and over like in Finding Nemo.  Another is "I ain't gonna stop until I die" A catchy line from a recent Black Eyed Peas song! Also, "You can do it"!!! That one got me though my first marathon!  

A friend helped me perfect my race plan this morning! He's done quite a few 70.3's and will be there this weekend trying to earn a slot at Kona, during his first full Ironman! Tonight I'll be able to go over everything with my friend at the airport. She will be doing her 3rd full Ironman and also trying to get to Kona! I'm so lucky to be surrounded with great, dedicated athletes!!! It's a real inspiration! 

My race plan is a bit detailed, but overall it is swim at my pace, quick though the transition, fuel ever 15min on the bike, bike at my pace, power though the hills, love the downhills, quick T2, and run slow and steady. The run will be challenging, but I know I can do it. I have 2 points to take in solid fuel and will rotate between water and Gatorade. I have times in my head for if the race goes GREAT, goes as expected and if everything goes wrong! No matter what, I will be out there racing MY race, giving everything I can to get across the finish line in the best time I can! As tempting as it will be to hunt down the people in my AG, I don't even want to know who they are until after the race is done. The last thing I want to do is use energy I don't have to pace with them or to find them and try and race them. My race is with the clock! It will be awesome if I can place, but overall I'm out there to have fun, to push my body to the limits and to love my sport!!! 

Remember you can find me on www.ironmanlive.com! Can't wait to write up my race report! Weather I finish in 5 hours or in 8 hours it will be a good one, because I will be a (half) Ironman!!!! 

5 Days till the Big Race!

Yes, I am only 5 days away from my big race! :) I feel a mix of feelings right now. I am very excited for the race. I can't wait to be out there on the course giving my all to cross the finish line. At this time, I am most nervous for getting to Jeju with my bike and everything I need. My flight is Friday at 7:40PM, I can't seem to find the information about the buses online, so I do not know how long it will take me to get to the airport. I know when I can take the bus up there and where to get it. At this point I'm just really hoping my school lets me out just after lunch so I can take the bus up early! 


I am working on my race plan, so I know just what to do on race day. The weather will play a factor, since it is monsoon season here, there is a chance it could be extra windy, or even storming. I hope we will have a nice pleasant day, but chances are slim. If everything goes the way I want it to, I can plan to finish the race in as little as 5:45hrs, if things go the way I expect them to, I will finish in 6:30hrs, and if things go wrong I am looking at about 7:15hrs. The most important thing is that I cross the finish line with a smile on my face. I know this will be a very hard course, it is filled with hills, and the island is usually windy. 


This past weekend, I did a short tri, called a sprint. It was just 400m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. I managed to take 2nd place in my age group, and 4th place overall for the females. And I held back on the run, since the last thing I want to do is get hurt during a little race the weekend before my big one! I was really happy with coming in 2nd! I got a cool trophy and a big boost in confidence!! Just what I needed coming up to Jeju!!! 


I hope to have a good race report after Sunday!!! I will post my bib # when I get it so you can track me on ironmanlive.com!

Go Big or Go Home... Right?

As you all know, I have been into distance running and triathlons for a little while now. Just thought I would share how and why I started. 


It was 2005, I was a Junior at University, spring was upon us. :) I had been running most every day, just about 2-3 miles a day for fun, to be fit, to be healthy. I really enjoyed it. One day, I got this little post card in the mail. It said something like - You Can Do A Marathon... I was convinced ;) That's really all it took was a post card. It came from the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (LLS), Team in Training program. They offered to help me train for a race, give me a coach, a training plan, a group to workout with, even a T-shirt.... all I had to do was commit to raising money for LLS. Ok, that sounded great to me. Not only do I get to try out running a marathon, hopefully meet some new people, but I can raise money for cancer. So I turned to google and found out how far a marathon was and proceeded to register for the information meeting. Then I started telling everyone I was going to run a marathon! It was exciting, the thought of 26.2 miles didn't even phase me - it was new, challenging and exciting. I claimed this would be the biggest physical challenge of my life. Mind you, I had never done a race before. But in my head the idea was, go big or go home. So I went big! After 5-6 months of training and fundraising, I lined up at the Detroit Marathon (Oct 25, 2005). What an amazing accomplishment it was to finish the race. I had such a great time with TNT and met my best friends from the program, that when I moved down to Texas, I gave it another go! So on June 4th 2007, I completed my 2nd marathon - San Diego Rock N' Roll marathon. 


Something else happed in 2005 that would change my life forever. When I look back on it, it's almost silly. I was relaxing and watching some TV.... and happen to stumble across the special on Kona Ironman World Championship. I was sucked in right away!! Watching people cross the finish line of this amazing race (that I had never heard of but has been around since 1981!). I watched in awe as 1,500 people from all walks of life completed this race. Their day began at 6am and they had until 12am to complete it. The TV show captured amazing, inspiring stories of the participants. Some were cancer survivors, some were missing limbs, there was even someone who was blind doing the race, some were people who battled with obesity and were doing the race after losing 100's of pounds, and some were busy mothers/fathers. All had their reasons and stories, and all set out to complete the biggest challenge of their lives - 140.6 miles of swimming, biking, and running. I watch and was seriously inspired... so inspired that right then and their I claimed that I would complete Kona by the time I'm 30! I was 21 at the time, so I gave myself plenty of time. 


Shortly after setting the goal, I learned a little about the race, you have to qualify to be there, only 200 people there due to a lottery. So I altered my goal a bit, complete an ironman by the age of 30 and earn my way to Kona by 35! To this day, I still am working towards that goal. This random goal I set at 21 is now being pursued. And 6 years later, I'm getting closer to completing it. 


I am just 19 days away from my first 1/2 ironman race, this one is only 70.3 miles. Physically and mentally preparing myself for what will be the greatest physical challenge I will ever complete. I feel both excited and nervous. My training has had it's up and it's downs. On the tough days I tend to think about the thing that got me started. Not only this inspiration I felt when doing my first marathon or watching my first Kona Ironman on TV, but the fact that I claimed that I will put my heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into my racing for the one person who fought so hard for her life and was just unable to win.... my mom! She has been the biggest inspiration in my life, specially since her passing. 


I can't help but think about this, as I am getting closer and closer to my goal. But also because my Aunt, (mom's sister) has just under gone brain surgery! Luckily, everything went great and she is at home recovering now. Things like this make me think that I'm blessed to have my body, my ability, and to be able to get out and train and complete races! 

Bump in the Road

"It's a long, hard road and it's going to have its bumps; there are going to be times when you fall and times when you don't feel like going on anymore, times when you're just crazy tired but it takes focusing on that one step you're taking."


I have hit a bump in the road in my training, and in my life in general. Last weekend I was healthy, loving life and cycling the East coast of Korea. This weekend was spent between my couch and bed. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling under the weather, it got worse as the day progressed. By the time I finished at school, I came home and took a nap, just to wake up and go to bed. Thursday morning, I felt the best thing to do was use a sick day at school. I made my way to the doctors late morning, the pharmacist across the street from the hospital speaks great English and is super sweet, she is the pharmacist that most all the foreigners in Anseong go to see when they are sick, or just visit when they are near by. She walked me across the street and checked me into the clinic. She took me to the waiting area. The whole experience was much different then in the states. From check in to check out I was only in the clinic for about 10-15min. Then when it came time for my co-pay, I was shocked again - $5! Yep, only $5 to see a doctor. I walked back to the pharmacy to have my 2 prescriptions filled - cough meds and antibiotics... about 3 min later I paid my $2.50 for the 2 prescriptions and was on my way back home. That's right, it took me longer to walk to the doctors then it took to get in and out of the checkup and have my prescriptions filled, all for less then the cost of lunch! Aside from the fact that I was feeling ill, the whole doctors experience wasn't bad! 


I wish I could say the rest of my week was as easy going as the doctors visit. I slept on and off on Thursday, went to work on Friday, luckily I didn't have to teach since the kids were taking some test. I was exhausted by the end of the day. When I got home, I crashed. Right into a long nap. Just to wake up and go to bed... hmmm... sounds familiar. Saturday was a bit better, I woke up feeling rather good compared to the past few days. I managed to go grocery shopping and baked some banana bread with a friend. My friend and I ended hanging out and later getting some fried chicken (ew - never again). Fried food is not really my style, but I had a little bit of it anyway. Just as I was feeling better, I ruined it... AHH! About an hour or so after eating I started feeling ill, again. You guessed it - a touch of food poisoning from the fried food. So I've spent my Sunday mostly on the couch recovering from a bad choice in dinner. It's been 6 full days of not working out! Which is enough to drive me crazy. Although I'm still not feeling 100% I'm going to go to bed shortly with a positive outlook on tomorrow. I'm going to set my alarm for an early morning jog before work. Wish me luck on feeling great next week and getting back to my training... 3 weeks till the big race!!!!


:)

3 Days of Beautiful Oceans and Mountains!

This past weekend, we had a long weekend - Monday was memorial day for Korea! Whooo! Which meant, time for me to come up with something fun to do. So I decided to gather a few people and set off on a 3 day ride from the city of Busan up the East coast to a city called Uljin. The distance covered was about 180miles (300km). The ride was filled with hills... many many hills. Mostly just rolling hills. The biggest climb was about 550ft. The downhills were very rewarding. I took some fabulous photos! We rode about 80 miles on day 1, 80 miles on day 2, and 20 miles on day 3. 




The trip included beautiful beaches, awesome mountains, lots of crabs, the East sea, a sunrise on a Buddha! Some of the photos are below, click the link for all the photos!!!  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100216092680452.2596306.12104592&l=533911f1a2  

My BIRTHDAY!

Well Tuesday was the day.... my birthday!!! I'm now 27, wow! Sometimes, I feel like I just graduated form university. I've done so much since graduation, sometimes it's hard to believe I'm only 27. Although, here, when I tell someone I'm 27 they are shocked and think I look like I'm about 21 or 22. :) No complaints there!! I had a fabulous birthday! My day started with an excellent 25k cycle. After my morning class at school, one of the boys gave me a candy bar. The teachers all sung me happy birthday and we all had cake for breakfast. My co-teacher gave me a really nice house plant! One of my co-workers gave me a mini-cake! Also, I was lucky enough to not have to teach any of my regular classes for the day! In the evening, I met with a few of my friends in Anseong, we had wine and real cheese!!! Cheese here is either rather fake, or imported and very expensive! My friends are awesome and were kind enough to give me some cards and gifts! It was a great birthday!!! :)


On the weekend before my birthday, I did something I never really thought I would do - or would enjoy doing... I took part in a 12hour bike race!!! The race was up in Seoul and all along the Han river. The race began at 9pm and went through till 9am. The goal was to complete as many KM as possible during the 12 hours. I had a riding partner, and about an hour in, we added 1 more to our group. We had picked a good pace and decided to stop every hour, on the hour, for a short rest to have a snack and drink/refill water/Gatorade. At about 3am, we had already completed 75 miles. The 3 of us stuck together till about 4:30am, where myself and Dan slowed down a bit and Michael speed up! I hit the 'century' point at about 6:30am! I had to stop and take a photo of my Garmin because I was so excited. At that point I had a goal in mind and about 4 hours to get it.... so I began my chase... took a bit of it alone while Dan rested... then he joined me for about the last hour. I hit my personal goal, of 140 miles, at 8:45am. I choose 140 because it's the distance of an Ironman race. Our original goal was 150 miles, but the last few hours I was quite tired and had lost my pace. I was very proud to only miss our team goal by 10 miles and to hit my personal goal. I was really surprised what I could do - a 12 hour race thought the night! I did a total of 224km in 12 hours, which put me in about 6th place! Micheal who sped ahead only beat me by 20k. All of the races were between 200k - 243k! I wasn't far behind the leader, and wasn't last! :) Quite pleased with it! 


This coming weekend, I've got another big challenge! Myself and 2 others are taking the bus down to Busan on Friday night, and Saturday morning we begin our cycle journey to Seoul! :) Not sure if we will make it, we only have 3 days, but it will be one fun, beautiful, and challenging ride!!! 


At this point I have 31 days till my Ironman70.3 and I'm feeling very confidant in my abitilty to reach my goals. My goals are: To finish, To finish with a smile on my face, and To have FUN! :)

HOLIDAY!

I've been a little slow in updating my blog! I've been quite busy with training for my Ironman70.3, I have less then 6 weeks till the big race! I'm very excited and nervous. I have been making a ton of improvements with cycling and am really enjoying it more then I did back in the states. My running has suffered a bit, I'm not as fast as I used to be, so I need some more work in this area. Swimming is good, I could use some more pool time, but it's tough here. My local pool has closed, so I have to travel about 45min via bus to a pool. The good news is, the pool is a 50meter! Plus the swim hours are not limited. 


The whole month of May is an easy one for teaching. We had Children's day, May 5th, off work, as well as May 9-10th off for Buddha's Birthday. My students had their school trip on My 18-20th, so I was off those days as well. :) This week is my first full week teaching since Late April. I'm trying to get ahead with my lesson planning and am currently stress free about it. **I hope this continues**


With my day's off I did some exploring! I took some time to get to know some other athletes and made it out to run and swim with some new people! I went out to dinner a few times, had some Mexican and Indian food... the Indian was great, not so sure about the mexican though. Eating out at a foreign restaurant here is a bit pricey, cost about $20 each time, not including drinks. 


The most exciting thing I did was this past week, I took a trip down to Busan. Busan is on the SE coast of Korea. It has many beaches and was beautiful! The weather was great the 1st two days, and rained the 2nd two days. I took my bike with me on my trip. That was interesting, and easier then I expected. The bike fit well in the back of a cab, so I could get it to the bus station, then it fits in the storage compartment under the bus. The trip took 6hrs to get there, only so long since I had to take the bus to Seoul then another bus to Busan, and then it was an hour on the subway to Haeundae beach. 


While I was in Busan I saw 6 different beaches, took a long bike ride from Busan to Ulsan and back (71miles total), saw the Aquarium, had some great food, did some shopping, went to the fish market and had fresh caught sushi, and saw many of the tourist things Busan had to offer. My favorite thing, of course, was the beach!!! Here is the link to my photos, I took so many! I hope you enjoy them :)  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100190911039662.2590746.12104592&l=02ceea9183


My dad is sending me some spices this week, I'm excited to add some new flavors to my cooking!! :) 

Happy Easter *best Easter gift ever*

It's been a few weeks since I've updated... this past Sunday was Easter Sunday. It was a great day! I went up to Seoul in the morning to check out the finish of the Tour de Korea (http://www.tourdekorea.or.kr/) which is similar to the Tour de France in the since that its a stage race. It was 10 days long and went throughout the country. They had both a profession and amateur race going on. I was lucky enough to know a few people in the amateur race. I enjoyed seeing all the nice bikes, makes me want to go out and buy another, ha ;) After the race finish and a bit of socializing I was off for an hour long run. My legs were shattered from the ride and swim on Saturday, so the pace was quite slow. Once I finished, I met my friends over at the bus station and we made our way down to Pyeongteak (a town next to Anseong) where a friend of ours was hosting Easter Dinner! It was a fabulous spread of food... ham, turkey, lasagna, mac and cheese, artichoke dip, veggies, potatoes, cheese and sausage, hummus, salad, etc... it was nice to see a bit of 'home' here in Korea for the holiday!! I enjoyed carb-loading on the lasagna and mac and cheese!! Very tasty!! 


On Friday, I provided myself with the best Easter gift ever!!! ** I signed up for my first Ironman70.3, the Ironman Korea!** This means I now have just under 10 weeks to prep myself for race day. A grueling 70.3 mile race made up of 1.9km(1.2mi) swim, 90km(56mi) cycle, and 22km (13.1mi) run!!! To get ready for this I'm following a training schedule that has me doing 11 workouts per week, 9 cardio (swim, bike, or run) and 2 weight training sessions. =) 


This week is a short week at school, the children have mid-term exams, so I am not teaching this week at all. I'm here, desk-warming, on Monday and Tuesday. Then Wed - Fri I'm off to teacher orientation. I hope its not incredibly boring or a waste of time. I know it will be good to meet some new people and make new friends. I am quite concerned with how much training I'll get in while I'm out of town. I am planning on a morning workout Wed and evening on Fri, that leaves me Thur to try and get some running in at least. 


I started to teach the teachers at my school last week. This has been fun, I am getting to know them all better which is great! A lot of them are too shy to speak English with others around. My teachers classes are small, only 3-4 per class. I found out the music teacher, shes only 1 year older then me, and she studied at MSU for a semester! Small world! :) 

Photo's!!!

Run Club Shirt

View of the lake near the Temple (4/2/11)

Temple at Bottom of Mt. Seounsan (hike and bike 4/2/11) 

Pic of the different trails up Mt Seounsan (4/2/11)

The Mt Top (4/2/11)

The TOP of the Mt. (4/2/11)

Some of the 1/2marathon Race course - we ran towards the mountain in the distance (4/10/11)

My race swag and medal (4/10/11)

Korean Baseball Game Heros Vs Giants (4/9/11)