Henry's Notes

Last week (ok, it's a few weeks ago now, but I am post dating this blog), I was in Taiwan for my grandpa's birthday celebration. His birthday isn't actually in November, but my parents (the celebration organizer) decided Thanksgiving week would work better for people from US because it's cheaper to fly and easier to get vacation.

My grandpa is 95 years old. He doesn't speak much anymore, has a hard time walking, and spits out most of what he eats. However, his spirit still remains fairly high... a major improvement over the time I visited him in August when he was suffering from intestinal problems that required major surgery.

Back to the main story... We traveled by bus as a group from Taipei (the name translates directly to Taiwan-North) all the way down to Kenting - the southern most tip of Taiwan. We stayed in Chateau Beach Resort the entire 3 days, which is a good idea because grandpa's limited mobility makes it difficult if we have to move every night. The beach resort is a nice facility with sea-side rooms facing the Taiwan Straight, clean (but not elegant) dining areas, and beautiful swimming and spa area. Their customer service, on the other hand, is a bit sub-par for a high-end resort. The worst part of the trip was the weather. Apparently, there was a typhoon (a Pacific version of hurricane) just south of Taiwan so the weather was extremely windy and chilly. Fortunately, it wasn't a wet storm so we were able to do outdoor things without getting too wet. Also, the weather did clear up on the last day, thus allowing me to go swim in the sea.

Highlights of the trip are:

• Visit to ChiShan (sp?)- the banana land where my grandpa was once a principal of an elementary school AND where grandma's sister still lives in their home unchanged for over 60 years.
• Early morning bike rides in Kenting - cold, windy, slow, but fun
• Visit to Kenting lighthouse - the southern most point of Taiwan
• Visit to Kenting aquarium
• A tour on a semi-submerged boat to view underwater reef life - cool, but the waters were a bit too dark because of the cloudy weather
• Visit to Be-tou-chou (sp?) - the 2nd southern most point of Taiwan
• Visit to the Kenting National Park

Oh yeah, you should visit Luke's blogs for his thoughts and pictures (you might need to scroll through a few pages...).

CAUTION: a political rant, read at your own risk...



Here is a new article supporting un-natural CO2 level and rapidly rising global temperature: Study: More CO2 Now Than Past 650K Years. According to the article,

... measurements are disturbing: Levels of carbon dioxide have climbed from 280 parts per million two centuries ago to 380 ppm today. Earth's average temperature, meanwhile, increased about 1 degree Fahrenheit in recent decades, a relatively rapid rise...

This is scary stuff. The result is rapid de-icing of the North and South poles, rising ocean water level, thus causing floods and other disasters. In addition, rising water temperatures would mean more and stronger hurricane/typhoon/cyclones. The disaster possibilities are endless.

The Bush Administration cited that global warming is a naturally occuring process, so there is no direct evidence that human activities worsened the conditions. However, these new findings directly refute the administration's claims. How much more evidence does the administration need to admit that CO2 emissions are the cause of the rapidly rising global warming?

I am taking a month off from Tucson. Hehe. Seriously, I drove from Tucson to LA last Thursday to join my friends for a bike ride on Saturday (more about it below). Then I work a few days in LA at KHS. And today - Wednesday (I am writing this entry on the plane) - I am flying to Taiwan for a family reunion with the excuse to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. I'll be back to LA on Nov 27, where I'll spend 2 more days before flying to Orlando, FL on Wed Nov 30 where I will exhibit KHS's Spnergy indoor group cycle at the Athletic Business Convention. I'll be there until Sunday, Dec 4, then I'll drive back from LA to Tucson on Dec 5. So, that all adds up to a month of being away from Tucson! I always thought I would like traveling, and sure it's all very exciting because everyday is different. However, it really makes life complicated. I always have to plan what to do next and exercise seem to take a back seat. In fact, I haven't done any form of exercise since the bike ride on Saturday. I have to figure out how to get some exercise in during the rest of the trip. Speaking of which...

This past Saturday, I did a century (100 mile) bike ride called the "Solvang's finest" with my college ski friends. The ride is set in the picturesque town and countryside of Solvang, CA, which is known for vineyard, winery, rolling hills, strong winds, and Michael Jackson's Neverland. My friends (pictured from left to right: Alison, Chris, Tracy, me, and Bob) and I have been planning on doing something like this for months. It's a chance for us together and do something fun. We couldn't have asked for a better condition. The weather was perfect - mostly sunny with temperature at 50's in the morning and 70's during the day and fairly light winds; Alison had 1 flat; and no one got injured... well maybe except for me.

My lower back apparently hasn't recovered from the half iron race. It started to hurt again around mile 20. It really slowed me down. Fortunately, Chris, who has been training for cycling races, was able to break wind for us AND push me up the hills, literally. Although I am sure we are going too slow for even his training pace, at least he got his "strength endurance ride". With my lower back disabled, I guess my body must have re-routed all the energy output to come from my legs, which made me more fatigued than ever. At mile 70, my legs finally gave out in the form of the most painful cramp I have ever experienced - so much so I had to lie down on the ground for a few minutes. Fortunately, I was very close to an aid station where they supplied me with plenty of electrolyte tablets, food, Pepsi (yes), and tums (calcium is suppose to relieve cramps). The bad news was that I still have a *EVIL* 3 mile hill to climb. Chris again pushed me several times and told me stories of his experiences with leg cramps and how to deal with it. I immediately applied Chris' lesson because I got another cramps, but this time, I worked it through just as Chris instructed me. The rest of the 30 miles was slow and on the edge from cramping, but thanks to Chris' company and encouragement, I managed to finish the ride :) I have done many centuries, but victory has never been so hard...

From Nov 1 to Nov 5, I was in Chicago for Club Industry 2005 Expo. I was exhibiting the indoor group fitness bike for KHS. KHS has been making this product for over 8 years, but are now producing and marketing it under its own brand - Spnergy Studio Cycle. It was the first time KHS exhibits at a fitness show so we were not prepared. For the booth, we (another employee from KHS was with me) only had 2 bikes, a table, and 2 chairs, but no decoration nor any signage; it was a bit embarrassing. Otherwise, the show went pretty well for us because we had a few interests and contacts, which I would need to follow up.

Show aside, Chicago was unusually nice to me. The weather was warm enough for me to wear short sleeves outside; I was also able to run in the morning with shorts and t-shirt. Very beautiful weather. Since I stayed in a hotel next to Lake Michigan, I ran along the bike-path on 2 mornings. It was very nice.

On another note, I was impressed with how easy and inexpensive it is to use their public transportation. I rode to and from the Midway airport to downtown (30 minutes) for $1.75 each way. I also got around by their bus system, which is pretty easy to figure out. All you have to do is look at the map posted in all the bus station. Sigh, I am very envious of their public transportation system.

Oh yeah, I also went to the Field Museum where I met a very large female name Sue...

This past Sunday, I completed the Soma Half-Ironman event. I was aiming for 6hrs, but I finished in 6:26 (close enough for now). The bike portion turned out to be the hardest for me because my lower back was hurting. I could have bike a bit faster if it wasn't because my back was killing me. I'll need to do some back exercises before any more races. I averaged 16-17mph including the 3 stops I took to stretch out. As for the run, I was averaging 10min/mile. I felt much better than I did last year when I did the quarter on the same course. Although I was extremely tired, I had fun at the event. Here is the official result:

Swim(1.2miles)= 0:45:28 (2.15/100yrd)
T1            = 0:04:45 (yeah, slow)
Bike(56miles) = 3:19:13 (16.8mph)
T2            = 0:02:51 (I did some stretching)
Run(13.1miles)= 2:13:24 (10.18min/mile)
==========
TOTAL         = 6:25:41

On another note, thanks goes out to all the Tricats volunteers. It was a great feeling to pull up to the bike station and have everyone cheering for me. It was even better when I can pull up and have a "pit" service, as you'll see in the pictures here (to see more, click here).







My lessons learned from the race are:

• with proper training, you can do a half semi-comfortably
• don't forget to strengthen your core... I paid for it on the bike because my lower back was killing me.
• racers should call out what they want to the bike/run volunteers
• if you are hot on the run, pop some ice in your mouth
• if they are running out of cups on the run course, keep on in your back pocket
  
• I think I will do another half :)