Met at Kapiolani park. Started with drills, then went to Noela hill again. Up and down 9 times.
For the first one, we went easy 3/4 of the way up, then hard the last 1/4.
The second one was easy 2/3 of the way up, than hard up the rest.
The third was easy 1/2, hard 1/2
and the rest were easy 1/3, hard the rest.
No breaks. I did well. Much better than last time. Focused on using the drills to work on my form. Running on toes, swinging arms, and leaning forward.
Ended w/ a 15 minute jog around the park and three wind sprints/striders across a soccer field (the long way). Exhausted, but happy with how I did.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Bike
Monday, September 4, 2006
Easy bike for 75 minutes. From Kapiolani Park to Hawaii Kai boat ramp and back. Alone, so no drafting. Fun.
Easy bike for 75 minutes. From Kapiolani Park to Hawaii Kai boat ramp and back. Alone, so no drafting. Fun.
HMT #4: Kapiolani Park
Saturday, September 1, 2006
From Kapiolani Park over Diamond Head to Waialae Beach Park and back. Waaay harder than it should have been. I melt in the heat. Also should have brought some gels.
From Kapiolani Park over Diamond Head to Waialae Beach Park and back. Waaay harder than it should have been. I melt in the heat. Also should have brought some gels.
HMT 3: kahala loop
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Did drill and then ran from Waialae to Triangle Park, up 18th and right to Arco station and back to Waialae. It wasn't as easy as it should have been, but I did it.
Did drill and then ran from Waialae to Triangle Park, up 18th and right to Arco station and back to Waialae. It wasn't as easy as it should have been, but I did it.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
HMT 2: hill work
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2006
I missed the first day of training on Saturday, so while this is the second day of the class, it's the first day for me.
We met at Kapiolani park and started with a 10 minute warm-up jog followed by stretching and drills: skipping, gazelle, side-steps, butt-kicks, and high-knees. Then we went over to Noela and ran up and down the hill 8 times. I did wheeze a bit, and I was almost the slowest one there, but I did it, and no walking. Considering I haven't run in over a month, I'm ok with that. It's still a vast improvement from where I was a year ago.
I missed the first day of training on Saturday, so while this is the second day of the class, it's the first day for me.
We met at Kapiolani park and started with a 10 minute warm-up jog followed by stretching and drills: skipping, gazelle, side-steps, butt-kicks, and high-knees. Then we went over to Noela and ran up and down the hill 8 times. I did wheeze a bit, and I was almost the slowest one there, but I did it, and no walking. Considering I haven't run in over a month, I'm ok with that. It's still a vast improvement from where I was a year ago.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
LAX->HNL
Sunday, August 13, 2006
We borrowed Mike’s suitcase so we wouldn’t have to carry so much on the plane given the new travel restrictions. We can bring our laptop and electronics, but no liquids, gels, toothpaste, etc. We need to return the suitcase, so dad said he would take it back with him when he and mom go to visit.
We left for the airport at noon and we were at the airport just under an hour later, to our amazement. When we were driving to Mike and Liz’s on the 405N, the south looked clogged up. Also, this morning, my brother went online and got a traffic report which said the 405 S was “jammed.” We took a gamble and took the 5S to the 10W/Santa Monica, to the 110 S/San Pedro, to the 105W. It worked great. No traffic at all.
Within an hour after that, we had dropped off the car, checked in and gotten through security. We couldn’t believe how fast we were in. We still had three hours until our flight and we were already in the terminal, so we got something to eat and I worked on my journal. Dad will be picking us up at HNL. It will be nice sleeping in my own bed, but I’m not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. At least Mike has a few days off so he can take care of all the laundry.
We borrowed Mike’s suitcase so we wouldn’t have to carry so much on the plane given the new travel restrictions. We can bring our laptop and electronics, but no liquids, gels, toothpaste, etc. We need to return the suitcase, so dad said he would take it back with him when he and mom go to visit.
We left for the airport at noon and we were at the airport just under an hour later, to our amazement. When we were driving to Mike and Liz’s on the 405N, the south looked clogged up. Also, this morning, my brother went online and got a traffic report which said the 405 S was “jammed.” We took a gamble and took the 5S to the 10W/Santa Monica, to the 110 S/San Pedro, to the 105W. It worked great. No traffic at all.
Within an hour after that, we had dropped off the car, checked in and gotten through security. We couldn’t believe how fast we were in. We still had three hours until our flight and we were already in the terminal, so we got something to eat and I worked on my journal. Dad will be picking us up at HNL. It will be nice sleeping in my own bed, but I’m not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. At least Mike has a few days off so he can take care of all the laundry.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Bro
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Up at 9:20 because the alarm was accidentally set to 9am. Checked out and went to Costco to look at a suitcase we saw thinking that it might work in case we have to check our laptop and other electronics. When we saw it, we realized it was smaller than we thought and soft-sided, so it wouldn’t work. We figured we would just buy a box, pack some clothes in it and put the laptop in Mike’s (mom’s gargantuan rolling) suitcase.
We left Anaheim Costco at 11:30 and got to Santa Clarita around 1:30. I couldn’t believe it took two whole hours. Our mistake was staying on the five until the 605. We should have gotten off the five as soon as possible. We went the 605 south to the 105 west to the 405 north. Basically the reverse of our route from the airport to Disney, and then the 405 to their place.
We made a stop for some lunch at a small pizza place and on our way out, they offered us free pizza! The second time in two days, how odd. So we took it and put it in Mike/Liz’s fridge when we got to their place at 2.
Their house keeps getting better each time we go. They’ve redone the bar area, the hall bathroom, and the patio. Everything is beautiful. I wish I had Liz’s decorating sense. She has the ability to make things look very elegant without looking stuffy. I should have taken pictures of the bathroom to use as an inspiration for our guest bathroom. One thing I do plan to try is change the orientation of the tub to go along the back wall instead of its current orientation. Then the toilet can go in the slot partially vacated by the tub. With clear glass shower doors, the bathroom looks so much larger. I really think their bathroom isn’t much larger than ours, but it looks huge.
I also like the idea where the tile they used on the shower/tub walls extends out past the shower doors and then comes down to about three feet up the walls of the rest of the bathroom. Those tiles are about 4” squares and match the floor which uses a mix of large (18”?) and small tiles of the same color/pattern. They used real wood maple for the cabinet and stained it to look like cherry wood and used what I think is granite for the countertop. With the recessed lighting, it’s just perfect for my tastes.
When we arrived, Mike was working in the garage. They had just swapped out a broken water heater for a new tankless model ($2500, ugh), and he was fixing the busted drywall where the water heater pipes had been moved around. He was just finishing up, so before long, we were all hanging out on the new patio and jumping in the pool.
It’s a lot of fun playing with the kids in the pool. They like the shark game where the shark (me) has to stay in the pool, and they can get out, but only for ten seconds at a time. Logan is the bold one. Danny and Logan’s friend Griffin are chickens. I can see Danny, as she’s still small, but Griffin’s a big kid. It appears that Logan is a bit of a sore loser as he gets a little salty when he’s the shark.
We had Armenian barbeque for dinner. They bought pre-marinated chicken and steak and skewered it along with onion and bell pepper. It was really good. They also barbequed whole tomatoes and an Anaheim pepper stuffed with goat cheese. Liz cut the top of the pepper off, stuffed it, and then used toothpicks to put the top back on to keep the cheese in. It must of come loose, because it seemed that the cheese partially leaked out. It went on the grill too and was rather good. This was all served with Liz’s margaritas which were pretty much exactly like the one’s we make, using the same mix, tequila, and grand marnier.
Up at 9:20 because the alarm was accidentally set to 9am. Checked out and went to Costco to look at a suitcase we saw thinking that it might work in case we have to check our laptop and other electronics. When we saw it, we realized it was smaller than we thought and soft-sided, so it wouldn’t work. We figured we would just buy a box, pack some clothes in it and put the laptop in Mike’s (mom’s gargantuan rolling) suitcase.
We left Anaheim Costco at 11:30 and got to Santa Clarita around 1:30. I couldn’t believe it took two whole hours. Our mistake was staying on the five until the 605. We should have gotten off the five as soon as possible. We went the 605 south to the 105 west to the 405 north. Basically the reverse of our route from the airport to Disney, and then the 405 to their place.
We made a stop for some lunch at a small pizza place and on our way out, they offered us free pizza! The second time in two days, how odd. So we took it and put it in Mike/Liz’s fridge when we got to their place at 2.
Their house keeps getting better each time we go. They’ve redone the bar area, the hall bathroom, and the patio. Everything is beautiful. I wish I had Liz’s decorating sense. She has the ability to make things look very elegant without looking stuffy. I should have taken pictures of the bathroom to use as an inspiration for our guest bathroom. One thing I do plan to try is change the orientation of the tub to go along the back wall instead of its current orientation. Then the toilet can go in the slot partially vacated by the tub. With clear glass shower doors, the bathroom looks so much larger. I really think their bathroom isn’t much larger than ours, but it looks huge.
I also like the idea where the tile they used on the shower/tub walls extends out past the shower doors and then comes down to about three feet up the walls of the rest of the bathroom. Those tiles are about 4” squares and match the floor which uses a mix of large (18”?) and small tiles of the same color/pattern. They used real wood maple for the cabinet and stained it to look like cherry wood and used what I think is granite for the countertop. With the recessed lighting, it’s just perfect for my tastes.
When we arrived, Mike was working in the garage. They had just swapped out a broken water heater for a new tankless model ($2500, ugh), and he was fixing the busted drywall where the water heater pipes had been moved around. He was just finishing up, so before long, we were all hanging out on the new patio and jumping in the pool.
It’s a lot of fun playing with the kids in the pool. They like the shark game where the shark (me) has to stay in the pool, and they can get out, but only for ten seconds at a time. Logan is the bold one. Danny and Logan’s friend Griffin are chickens. I can see Danny, as she’s still small, but Griffin’s a big kid. It appears that Logan is a bit of a sore loser as he gets a little salty when he’s the shark.
We had Armenian barbeque for dinner. They bought pre-marinated chicken and steak and skewered it along with onion and bell pepper. It was really good. They also barbequed whole tomatoes and an Anaheim pepper stuffed with goat cheese. Liz cut the top of the pepper off, stuffed it, and then used toothpicks to put the top back on to keep the cheese in. It must of come loose, because it seemed that the cheese partially leaked out. It went on the grill too and was rather good. This was all served with Liz’s margaritas which were pretty much exactly like the one’s we make, using the same mix, tequila, and grand marnier.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Disneyland
Friday, August 11, 2006
Up early to get there in time for 8am opening. Did the normal fastpass collection routine. The one odd thing was our second ride on Splash Mountain. Our first ride was normal although there were only the two of us and we were in the front. We got a little wet, but no big deal. The second ride was an entirely different story. We were again seated in the front, but this time with a family behind us. We thought this was a good thing and would help keep us dry by balancing out the boat. I guess it doesn’t work like that because we got wetter than any other time we had been on that ride. Through the ride, we got splashed on both sides fairly heavily, and then on the drop, everything else got soaked. I couldn’t believe it. Fortunately, I was wearing board shorts, but still. I had to spend the next hour or two drying out my top half. Not fun. We decided not to get a fastpass for that.
We had lunch at the new Café Orleans. We aren’t impressed. They charge the prices that used to be charged at Blue Bayou, but it has none of the atmosphere. I was competing with flies for my food. There’s no bread basket provided, the menu is very limited and overall, it just isn’t worth the prices. We had a monte-cristo, a crab sandwich, and the pommes frites appetizer. The fries were great, covered in garlic. Everything else was so-so, definitely not $15/plate food. We don’t plan on going back unless it’s just for appetizers.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel (Anaheim Inn and Suites) and took a nap. Back to the park around seven to ride a few things and then we went over to DCA to watch the Electrical Parade. We stood at the point closest to the park entrance/exit and part way through the parade, after I had my “fix,” we left and went over to Disneyland to catch the fireworks.
We stayed in the park until 11:30 or so, when we realized the lines weren’t really shrinking and decided to go get some dinner. We had checked earlier in the day, and the sign on the menu posted in the front of the menu said they were open until 1AM. We know that wasn’t accurate in the past, but we figured that since this was a Friday in high season, surely it would apply today, if ever. We were wrong. When we got there at 11:45, they told us they were closed. We questioned about the posted hours, and the guy started to say something about how it varies depending on the season, etc. He shut up when I pointed out it was a high-season Friday. Stupid people. I think I’ll write a letter to tell them to take the hours off the sign as it’s full of &@*%. If the hours weren’t posted, we would have asked and all would have been well. Instead, we got screwed.
Instead, we ended up going to the Napoli Restaurant for pizza. We each had a slice and were preparing to leave the now-closing restaurant, when the guy behind the counter asked us if we wanted free pizza as they were just going to throw it away. Thinking another slice each may be nice, we said ok. They gave us an entire large pizza! We each ate a slice and then gave the rest away to people we saw around Downtown Disney. We noticed an interesting phenomenon. Men will always take pizza. Women are apparently too bashful or afraid of looking piggish to take it, even if the men they are with eat some. So the night ended with no Margaritas, but at least the pizza was good and was an interesting experience.
Up early to get there in time for 8am opening. Did the normal fastpass collection routine. The one odd thing was our second ride on Splash Mountain. Our first ride was normal although there were only the two of us and we were in the front. We got a little wet, but no big deal. The second ride was an entirely different story. We were again seated in the front, but this time with a family behind us. We thought this was a good thing and would help keep us dry by balancing out the boat. I guess it doesn’t work like that because we got wetter than any other time we had been on that ride. Through the ride, we got splashed on both sides fairly heavily, and then on the drop, everything else got soaked. I couldn’t believe it. Fortunately, I was wearing board shorts, but still. I had to spend the next hour or two drying out my top half. Not fun. We decided not to get a fastpass for that.
We had lunch at the new Café Orleans. We aren’t impressed. They charge the prices that used to be charged at Blue Bayou, but it has none of the atmosphere. I was competing with flies for my food. There’s no bread basket provided, the menu is very limited and overall, it just isn’t worth the prices. We had a monte-cristo, a crab sandwich, and the pommes frites appetizer. The fries were great, covered in garlic. Everything else was so-so, definitely not $15/plate food. We don’t plan on going back unless it’s just for appetizers.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel (Anaheim Inn and Suites) and took a nap. Back to the park around seven to ride a few things and then we went over to DCA to watch the Electrical Parade. We stood at the point closest to the park entrance/exit and part way through the parade, after I had my “fix,” we left and went over to Disneyland to catch the fireworks.
We stayed in the park until 11:30 or so, when we realized the lines weren’t really shrinking and decided to go get some dinner. We had checked earlier in the day, and the sign on the menu posted in the front of the menu said they were open until 1AM. We know that wasn’t accurate in the past, but we figured that since this was a Friday in high season, surely it would apply today, if ever. We were wrong. When we got there at 11:45, they told us they were closed. We questioned about the posted hours, and the guy started to say something about how it varies depending on the season, etc. He shut up when I pointed out it was a high-season Friday. Stupid people. I think I’ll write a letter to tell them to take the hours off the sign as it’s full of &@*%. If the hours weren’t posted, we would have asked and all would have been well. Instead, we got screwed.
Instead, we ended up going to the Napoli Restaurant for pizza. We each had a slice and were preparing to leave the now-closing restaurant, when the guy behind the counter asked us if we wanted free pizza as they were just going to throw it away. Thinking another slice each may be nice, we said ok. They gave us an entire large pizza! We each ate a slice and then gave the rest away to people we saw around Downtown Disney. We noticed an interesting phenomenon. Men will always take pizza. Women are apparently too bashful or afraid of looking piggish to take it, even if the men they are with eat some. So the night ended with no Margaritas, but at least the pizza was good and was an interesting experience.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Disneyland
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Up at 6:30 and got to the park around 7:45 for the 8:00 opening. We were in within minutes of opening. Note, the early entry gates get changed over to normal entry at the last minute, so stay in a line next to those and be prepared to jump over. We found that out today.
First up was a fastpass to Indiana Jones and a ride on Splash Mountain. There was no line for Splash at all while Indy clogged up in a heartbeat. The line was still empty when we came around after the ride, so they let us stay in the log and go again. The family who rode with us went again too, although the mom jumped out.
Next, we got a fastpass for Splash and rode Big Thunder. Wandered around the treehouse and then used our first set of Indy fastpasses. I think we cut off about 40 minutes of waiting with that, I love fastpass.
Mike needed a coffee, so we got him one and went for a ride on the Mark Twain while he drank it. He finished it before we got off, so he went and got new fastpasses for Indy while I waited in line for the Matterhorn. We had to wait about 20 minutes in the sun. Ick. This was followed by a ride in the nice air-conditioned Small World where both of us felt as if it were putting us to sleep. So to change it up, we went to Roger Rabbit.
There was actually a line so we got to check out the queue, but about 2/3rds of the way through the ride broke. We decided to wait a little bit, and we’re glad we did. It was neat to see the process. They had to evacuate all riders and then do a restart which involved a bunch of big keys and a screen that looked like a DOS prompt. They didn’t type anything in, so hopefully it was just information. Eventually everything came back on and you could hear the people further back in the queue cheer when they saw parts of the ride turn on. They let all the cars go through once and then we could get on. We noticed that they really seemed to hurry people into the cars, and we asked about it. They say when the cars get too stacked up, that’s when the ride breaks.
We were hungry, so we headed out of the park where we picked up our tickets for Fantasmic and then went over to DCA for lunch. Taste Pilots Grill was yummy as always, and while Mike got our food, I used our tickets to get us fastpasses on Grizzly River Run and Soarin’ over California. By the time we finished eating, it was time for Grizzly. We were concerned about our stuff getting wet, so we got a bag from one of the stores and put our phones, etc in it and put that back in the backpack. We did end up getting wet, but no where near as bad as most of the other times. We probably didn’t need the plastic bag, but it’s nice not to have to worry about the phones getting fried.
The Soarin’ line was huge and the fastpasses didn’t kick in for a few hours, so we did It’s tough to be a bug and then headed back to the hotel for a nap.
We turned on the TV and found out that there was a big terror attack foiled in London and now all the airports have gone to high security. Since the plot involved liquid explosives, no one can bring liquids onto planes and in some places, they aren’t letting people take anything on. Everything must be checked. We’ve heard that no electronics are allowed in cabin, so we will likely have to buy a suitcase to get our laptop home safely. Oh well, thank heavens we flew here yesterday and not today and there were no problems yesterday (other than the purloined cherries).
After a shower and a long nap, we went back to the park and headed to the Disney Gallery for our Fantasmic! Dessert Buffet. We went into the courtyard of the gallery where at 8:30, they collected our tickets. At 8:45, they started seating, calling people in the order in which they made their reservation, so Mike’s name was called first. Our seats were in the front row all the way on the left. Very good seats. I’m sure everyone wondered what Mike had to do to be number one.
The buffet was so-so. It had chocolate cake (with surprise rum-soaked cherries), cheesecake, mini-eclaires, macaroons, cheese and crackers, and skewered fruit. They had beverages, soda, mint juleps, iced tea, etc, but there were no hot chocolate or coffee. It turns out the container/dispenser broke just before. That sucks, but basically you are told to suck it up. Fantasmic! was amazing. The view was great and the show is awesome as always. Seeing it from such a vantage point, with no crowds around made the price worth it. I wouldn’t do it all the time, but it’s great as an isolated splurge.
The other slight bummer about it was that we were supposed to be able to stay on the balcony to watch the fireworks. We waited a while and eventually heard the announcement that “due to high winds at upper elevations, tonight’s presentation of ‘wishes’ is cancelled.” It was rather entertaining to hear thousands of people all go “aww” at the same time.
Up at 6:30 and got to the park around 7:45 for the 8:00 opening. We were in within minutes of opening. Note, the early entry gates get changed over to normal entry at the last minute, so stay in a line next to those and be prepared to jump over. We found that out today.
First up was a fastpass to Indiana Jones and a ride on Splash Mountain. There was no line for Splash at all while Indy clogged up in a heartbeat. The line was still empty when we came around after the ride, so they let us stay in the log and go again. The family who rode with us went again too, although the mom jumped out.
Next, we got a fastpass for Splash and rode Big Thunder. Wandered around the treehouse and then used our first set of Indy fastpasses. I think we cut off about 40 minutes of waiting with that, I love fastpass.
Mike needed a coffee, so we got him one and went for a ride on the Mark Twain while he drank it. He finished it before we got off, so he went and got new fastpasses for Indy while I waited in line for the Matterhorn. We had to wait about 20 minutes in the sun. Ick. This was followed by a ride in the nice air-conditioned Small World where both of us felt as if it were putting us to sleep. So to change it up, we went to Roger Rabbit.
There was actually a line so we got to check out the queue, but about 2/3rds of the way through the ride broke. We decided to wait a little bit, and we’re glad we did. It was neat to see the process. They had to evacuate all riders and then do a restart which involved a bunch of big keys and a screen that looked like a DOS prompt. They didn’t type anything in, so hopefully it was just information. Eventually everything came back on and you could hear the people further back in the queue cheer when they saw parts of the ride turn on. They let all the cars go through once and then we could get on. We noticed that they really seemed to hurry people into the cars, and we asked about it. They say when the cars get too stacked up, that’s when the ride breaks.
We were hungry, so we headed out of the park where we picked up our tickets for Fantasmic and then went over to DCA for lunch. Taste Pilots Grill was yummy as always, and while Mike got our food, I used our tickets to get us fastpasses on Grizzly River Run and Soarin’ over California. By the time we finished eating, it was time for Grizzly. We were concerned about our stuff getting wet, so we got a bag from one of the stores and put our phones, etc in it and put that back in the backpack. We did end up getting wet, but no where near as bad as most of the other times. We probably didn’t need the plastic bag, but it’s nice not to have to worry about the phones getting fried.
The Soarin’ line was huge and the fastpasses didn’t kick in for a few hours, so we did It’s tough to be a bug and then headed back to the hotel for a nap.
We turned on the TV and found out that there was a big terror attack foiled in London and now all the airports have gone to high security. Since the plot involved liquid explosives, no one can bring liquids onto planes and in some places, they aren’t letting people take anything on. Everything must be checked. We’ve heard that no electronics are allowed in cabin, so we will likely have to buy a suitcase to get our laptop home safely. Oh well, thank heavens we flew here yesterday and not today and there were no problems yesterday (other than the purloined cherries).
After a shower and a long nap, we went back to the park and headed to the Disney Gallery for our Fantasmic! Dessert Buffet. We went into the courtyard of the gallery where at 8:30, they collected our tickets. At 8:45, they started seating, calling people in the order in which they made their reservation, so Mike’s name was called first. Our seats were in the front row all the way on the left. Very good seats. I’m sure everyone wondered what Mike had to do to be number one.
The buffet was so-so. It had chocolate cake (with surprise rum-soaked cherries), cheesecake, mini-eclaires, macaroons, cheese and crackers, and skewered fruit. They had beverages, soda, mint juleps, iced tea, etc, but there were no hot chocolate or coffee. It turns out the container/dispenser broke just before. That sucks, but basically you are told to suck it up. Fantasmic! was amazing. The view was great and the show is awesome as always. Seeing it from such a vantage point, with no crowds around made the price worth it. I wouldn’t do it all the time, but it’s great as an isolated splurge.
The other slight bummer about it was that we were supposed to be able to stay on the balcony to watch the fireworks. We waited a while and eventually heard the announcement that “due to high winds at upper elevations, tonight’s presentation of ‘wishes’ is cancelled.” It was rather entertaining to hear thousands of people all go “aww” at the same time.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Vancouver, Disneyland
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Got up at 7 for an 8:15 bus to the airport. It was a shuttle that comes right in front of the hotel next door. We were led to believe by the brochure that it took half an hour from there to the airport. When they bus finally arrived, 10 minutes late, the driver took us about five blocks away and dropped us off on Robson street, right in front of where a couple of homeless people were hanging out. Lovely! She said that she just takes people to where the main bus picks them up and a large green bus should be coming shortly. The only other girl who was on our bus made a comment about being told that it was a fifty minute trip from her hotel which was about ten minutes from ours.
We were a little ticked at this point and spotted a taxi. Since we hadn’t yet paid the shuttle company ($13/head), we hopped in the taxi. Just before that, while Mike was talking with the taxi driver, some homeless guy hit me up for money. Just where I want to be stranded! So I bolted for the cab when Mike waved me over, and we were on our way. 15 minutes and $30 later, including tip, we were at the airport. Good decision. We offered to the other girl to share our taxi, but I guess she had already paid, so she said no. Too bad for her. I hope no one bothered her and she caught her plane ok.
At the airport, we did all the standard stuff to get in, and then we had to go through customs where some nasty woman took our cherries. We didn’t mind if she wouldn’t let us go further with them, but she wouldn’t let us retreat to eat a few either. She said once we got that far, it was too late and she walked off with them. It’s not like we hid them or anything, we told her about them. We asked if we could eat just one because they were really good, but no deal. So we told her she should eat them. I bet she just threw them away. At least she let me keep my apricot.
So, we ate our breakfast, sans cherries in the airport and eventually got on our plane. It was a 180 minute flight, and it went by quickly. We read a magazine, did a crossword and some sodukus and then we were landing. Everything else went very smoothly. Got our bags, the Dollar rent-a-car bus was right at the curb when we went out and there was almost no wait to get our car. We plotted our route (the directions I got from Dollar were faulty it turned out) and drove to Disneyland.
At the hotel, it was after 4, so no worries about checking in. Our room is decent. A King bed and a decent size. The air conditioner is pretty strong too, thank goodness, because it’s hot outside. Probably high 80’s. We made a Costco run, and then went into the park about 7.
Rode the newly redone Pirates of the Caribbean and it was ok. Really just a few changes. I kind of preferred the old one, but I can see why people would expect to see references to the movie in the ride now.
We also rode the Jungle cruise, which was really fun. We had a high energy guide which really impressed me because it really seemed like it was her first run of the day when she surely had done many before that.
We tried to hit Big Thunder, but half-way through the line, the ride broke down so we bailed on that. After wandering around a bit, we got some ice cream, watched the piano guy for a while, and went home.
Got up at 7 for an 8:15 bus to the airport. It was a shuttle that comes right in front of the hotel next door. We were led to believe by the brochure that it took half an hour from there to the airport. When they bus finally arrived, 10 minutes late, the driver took us about five blocks away and dropped us off on Robson street, right in front of where a couple of homeless people were hanging out. Lovely! She said that she just takes people to where the main bus picks them up and a large green bus should be coming shortly. The only other girl who was on our bus made a comment about being told that it was a fifty minute trip from her hotel which was about ten minutes from ours.
We were a little ticked at this point and spotted a taxi. Since we hadn’t yet paid the shuttle company ($13/head), we hopped in the taxi. Just before that, while Mike was talking with the taxi driver, some homeless guy hit me up for money. Just where I want to be stranded! So I bolted for the cab when Mike waved me over, and we were on our way. 15 minutes and $30 later, including tip, we were at the airport. Good decision. We offered to the other girl to share our taxi, but I guess she had already paid, so she said no. Too bad for her. I hope no one bothered her and she caught her plane ok.
At the airport, we did all the standard stuff to get in, and then we had to go through customs where some nasty woman took our cherries. We didn’t mind if she wouldn’t let us go further with them, but she wouldn’t let us retreat to eat a few either. She said once we got that far, it was too late and she walked off with them. It’s not like we hid them or anything, we told her about them. We asked if we could eat just one because they were really good, but no deal. So we told her she should eat them. I bet she just threw them away. At least she let me keep my apricot.
So, we ate our breakfast, sans cherries in the airport and eventually got on our plane. It was a 180 minute flight, and it went by quickly. We read a magazine, did a crossword and some sodukus and then we were landing. Everything else went very smoothly. Got our bags, the Dollar rent-a-car bus was right at the curb when we went out and there was almost no wait to get our car. We plotted our route (the directions I got from Dollar were faulty it turned out) and drove to Disneyland.
At the hotel, it was after 4, so no worries about checking in. Our room is decent. A King bed and a decent size. The air conditioner is pretty strong too, thank goodness, because it’s hot outside. Probably high 80’s. We made a Costco run, and then went into the park about 7.
Rode the newly redone Pirates of the Caribbean and it was ok. Really just a few changes. I kind of preferred the old one, but I can see why people would expect to see references to the movie in the ride now.
We also rode the Jungle cruise, which was really fun. We had a high energy guide which really impressed me because it really seemed like it was her first run of the day when she surely had done many before that.
We tried to hit Big Thunder, but half-way through the line, the ride broke down so we bailed on that. After wandering around a bit, we got some ice cream, watched the piano guy for a while, and went home.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Vancouver
Tuesday, August 8. 2006
This was our last full day in Vancouver, so we made the most of it. We got up early and caught the first “Big Bus” to Granville Island to eat breakfast. The bus was about 15 minutes late, so we weren’t too happy with that as we could have slept later.
After Granville, we caught the Big Bus over to Stanley Park where we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. We spent about three hours there. It was interesting, and some parts were extremely well done, but it’s not like the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we spent all day. A lot of fish would have a name posted, but no other information. Since we like to read the signs, it was a little disappointing.
The highlights were the Beluga Whales, the Amazon Tropics area, and of course, the Sea Otters. I could have watched the otters all day. When we first got there, they were sleeping and two were side by side and looking like they were holding hands. Later, they were all awake and playing, chasing each other around and wrestling. The Belugas were neat in that we could go below and watch them through a big glass wall. It’s surprising how much blubber is on those. You can see the fat jiggle around while they swim. It’s fascinating and somewhat revolting at the same time.
After we left the (very crowded) aquarium, we caught the Stanley Park trolley around the park. It’s a free trolley and mostly goes around the perimeter. We got off at “Sequoia Grill at the Teahouse” which was mentioned in one of Rachel Ray’s shows. We couldn’t remember which show “$40/Day” or “Tasty Travels” but after looking at the menu, we were pretty sure it wasn’t $40/Day. Rather pricy, also, as it turned out, they were only serving drinks at that time (4pm) and they wouldn’t start serving food until 5. The girl at the reception area said “What do you expect? We’re just a restaurant.” Meaning, in jest, how dare we be surprised that there’s no food.
The last Big Bus to Granville was just past 4, and we knew we missed that, but we figured if we caught the next one, and jumped off at stop 17, then walked over to stop 5, we may be able to catch the one from before. We told the driver our plans and he radioed ahead for another bus to hold up as he was almost on their tail and since he was running early, he would have to sit at a stop for a while and ruin our chances. So at one stop, we hopped off that one and onto another. Then that driver radioed the bus we needed to catch at stop 5 and warned him that we, and two other people, wanted to catch it. It all worked out because we got off that bus near the art academy, hurried around the corner, and within a minute or two, the last bus to Granville came around the corner. Yay! It was all rather exciting and we were very happy it all worked out.
We got to Granville at 5, and had reservations for the Pacific Cooking Academy at 7. We wandered around and picked up some bread, cheese, pastries, cherries, and an apricot for tomorrow’s breakfast. By 6:30, we were tired, so we went by the academy to see if they could take us, and they did. Dinner was nice, but more expensive than I would expect, just like everything else in Vancouver seems to be.
After a three course dinner, we caught the #50 city bus back home where we packed everything up for tomorrow’s flight to LA and went to sleep. Around 3:30 in the morning, I was awakened by the sound of someone using the shared bathroom. No biggie, but through the power of suggestion, I soon had to go. After waiting for what seemed like forever, I never heard a flush or the sound of their door shutting. I finally checked for a light under the bathroom door. Seeing no light, I unbolted our door. No shriek or sound from the other side, so I reached my hand in and turned on the light. Still nothing, so I stuck my head in and while there was no-one there, the door to the other room was wide open and the toilet was unflushed. Aaaahh, and ewww.
I quickly pushed their door shut, went in and locked everything up. A few moments later, I heard them bolt their door. I hope they were embarrassed. How they could forget that the bathroom was shared is beyond me, but I’m sure they remembered after that.
This was our last full day in Vancouver, so we made the most of it. We got up early and caught the first “Big Bus” to Granville Island to eat breakfast. The bus was about 15 minutes late, so we weren’t too happy with that as we could have slept later.
After Granville, we caught the Big Bus over to Stanley Park where we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. We spent about three hours there. It was interesting, and some parts were extremely well done, but it’s not like the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we spent all day. A lot of fish would have a name posted, but no other information. Since we like to read the signs, it was a little disappointing.
The highlights were the Beluga Whales, the Amazon Tropics area, and of course, the Sea Otters. I could have watched the otters all day. When we first got there, they were sleeping and two were side by side and looking like they were holding hands. Later, they were all awake and playing, chasing each other around and wrestling. The Belugas were neat in that we could go below and watch them through a big glass wall. It’s surprising how much blubber is on those. You can see the fat jiggle around while they swim. It’s fascinating and somewhat revolting at the same time.
After we left the (very crowded) aquarium, we caught the Stanley Park trolley around the park. It’s a free trolley and mostly goes around the perimeter. We got off at “Sequoia Grill at the Teahouse” which was mentioned in one of Rachel Ray’s shows. We couldn’t remember which show “$40/Day” or “Tasty Travels” but after looking at the menu, we were pretty sure it wasn’t $40/Day. Rather pricy, also, as it turned out, they were only serving drinks at that time (4pm) and they wouldn’t start serving food until 5. The girl at the reception area said “What do you expect? We’re just a restaurant.” Meaning, in jest, how dare we be surprised that there’s no food.
The last Big Bus to Granville was just past 4, and we knew we missed that, but we figured if we caught the next one, and jumped off at stop 17, then walked over to stop 5, we may be able to catch the one from before. We told the driver our plans and he radioed ahead for another bus to hold up as he was almost on their tail and since he was running early, he would have to sit at a stop for a while and ruin our chances. So at one stop, we hopped off that one and onto another. Then that driver radioed the bus we needed to catch at stop 5 and warned him that we, and two other people, wanted to catch it. It all worked out because we got off that bus near the art academy, hurried around the corner, and within a minute or two, the last bus to Granville came around the corner. Yay! It was all rather exciting and we were very happy it all worked out.
We got to Granville at 5, and had reservations for the Pacific Cooking Academy at 7. We wandered around and picked up some bread, cheese, pastries, cherries, and an apricot for tomorrow’s breakfast. By 6:30, we were tired, so we went by the academy to see if they could take us, and they did. Dinner was nice, but more expensive than I would expect, just like everything else in Vancouver seems to be.
After a three course dinner, we caught the #50 city bus back home where we packed everything up for tomorrow’s flight to LA and went to sleep. Around 3:30 in the morning, I was awakened by the sound of someone using the shared bathroom. No biggie, but through the power of suggestion, I soon had to go. After waiting for what seemed like forever, I never heard a flush or the sound of their door shutting. I finally checked for a light under the bathroom door. Seeing no light, I unbolted our door. No shriek or sound from the other side, so I reached my hand in and turned on the light. Still nothing, so I stuck my head in and while there was no-one there, the door to the other room was wide open and the toilet was unflushed. Aaaahh, and ewww.
I quickly pushed their door shut, went in and locked everything up. A few moments later, I heard them bolt their door. I hope they were embarrassed. How they could forget that the bathroom was shared is beyond me, but I’m sure they remembered after that.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Vancouver
Monday, August 7, 2006
We didn’t leave the hotel until almost noon because we had so much sleep to catch up on. We stopped at Starbucks and then bought tickets for the “Big Bus, hop-on, hop-off bus tour.” The tickets are good for two days and the busses hit all the major tourist attractions. We plan on this being our main mode of transportation for our stay.
Our first stop was Granville Island where we looked in many of the shops, wandered the public market, and had dinner. We also watched some of the musical entertainment and saw dozens of sailboats motoring by. The weather yesterday and today has been beautiful. Warm and sunny. It’s a far cry from the first day that we were here a week ago.
We spent all day there and finally caught the last tour bus home at 5:00. It took about an hour, but it has a recorded dialog and was scenic, also since the weather was nice and the bus was open-topped, we were happy.
Back at the hotel, we took a nap and then went for a walk down Robson street (the shopping street) and eventually stopped at a Thai restaurant for dinner. We got the two-person prix-fixe menu which was quite good, although my Margarita left something to be desired. We took the left-overs back to the hotel as we have a fridge and there’s a kitchen for us to heat it up in.
We didn’t leave the hotel until almost noon because we had so much sleep to catch up on. We stopped at Starbucks and then bought tickets for the “Big Bus, hop-on, hop-off bus tour.” The tickets are good for two days and the busses hit all the major tourist attractions. We plan on this being our main mode of transportation for our stay.
Our first stop was Granville Island where we looked in many of the shops, wandered the public market, and had dinner. We also watched some of the musical entertainment and saw dozens of sailboats motoring by. The weather yesterday and today has been beautiful. Warm and sunny. It’s a far cry from the first day that we were here a week ago.
We spent all day there and finally caught the last tour bus home at 5:00. It took about an hour, but it has a recorded dialog and was scenic, also since the weather was nice and the bus was open-topped, we were happy.
Back at the hotel, we took a nap and then went for a walk down Robson street (the shopping street) and eventually stopped at a Thai restaurant for dinner. We got the two-person prix-fixe menu which was quite good, although my Margarita left something to be desired. We took the left-overs back to the hotel as we have a fridge and there’s a kitchen for us to heat it up in.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
End of cruise, Vancouver
Sunday, August 6, 2006
We got up at 7:15, got dressed, and by 7:45, we were out of our room, never to return. They needed us out by 8, and the breakfast places closed at 8:30, so we had to get moving although we would have rather slept in. In turns out all the haste was for naught for us though. We docked at 8:45 and our disembarkation time wasn’t until 10:45. They were running late because we weren’t actually let off the boat until 11:30ish, so we found a quiet corner and slept for a few hours after breakfast (waffles, yum).
After our tag was called (Purple, 12), we were off the boat inside of 10 minutes. Customs was a non-event and we soon found our bags. A staff member asked us if we were planning on catching a taxi. We replied that we were, and she pointed at an enormous line and said that was the line for taxis and it would take about an hour and a half. Then she offered salvation, she told us that since we didn’t have much stuff, we may want to consider going past the bus docks and up a ramp to the main street level. She said hardly anyone will be there and it will be easy for us to catch a cab.
We had nothing to lose, so we started to follow her advice. Near the bus area, we ran into Aunty Miki and the rest of family who all got off before us due to their 2pm flight. We said our goodbyes and went on our way. We owe that staff member a huge thanks as her advice was right on. Inside of five minutes we had a taxi and about 10 minutes and 10 dollars after that, we pulled up to our hotel, the YWCA Hotel on Beatty street.
The hotel is great! While simple, it’s clean and not ickily pretentious as that Howard Johnsons we stayed at our first day in Vancouver. We checked in, and got the ymca member discount without even showing our card as “I have an honest face.” We dropped our stuff off and headed to Chinatown where we encountered a festival.
We wandered amongst the stalls, watched a bit of entertainment and eventually stumbled on a walking tour that was about to start. For five dollars each, we got a 45 minute tour where we got a little bit of Chinatown history and sampled some food. We tried Chicken wings at a Vietnamese restaurant, had a formal Chinese tea in a tea shop, and a pork dumpling (manapua) and another roll that I can’t remember. A great deal overall. Our guide’s name was Ken, and along with another participant, John, a native of Vancouver, we were the first people they had take the walking tour all day.
Some of the highlights, besides the food, and the really cool tea experience, were the world’s narrowest building at 1.8 meters (~6 feet) wide and the Chinese Benevolent society. I got a kick out of the Wong Benevolent Society in that in order for then to help you, you had to be of Chinese ancestry with the last name of Wong. There was another group for a different last name across the street and nearby was the generic Chinese one that we went in to.
We went back to the hotel for a bit and got our coats as it was starting to get dark, and then we headed to Gastown. This was a mistake. Gastown seems like nothing more than a tourist trap. Lots of stores selling kitchy stuff and overpriced restaurants. Besides being pretty and having the “musical” steam clock, there isn’t much else there. The real problem is that it’s near the main “druggie” street. I guess all the services for drug addicts are nearby and the police don’t bother with them, so they come down to the area where all the tourists with money are and accost them for money. It gets tiring to see people coming that are all strung out and determined to hit you up for money. One or two isn’t a big issue, but they’re everywhere. So we beat it out of there fairly quickly and took tour-guide Ken’s recommendation and tried a Chinese restaurant on the third floor of the mall we started the tour in. It’s obviously designed for large groups/family style, but we still enjoyed what we got. I gather that there was wedding in the other half of the large divided hall, so we got to listen to some Chinese karaoke.
After leaving the restaurant, we got dessert in the ongoing festival downstairs. We ordered a skewer of chocolate covered strawberries. They had the strawberries already skewered and sitting in a container. A young girl, about 10 years old, picked one up, and headed over to a chocolate fountain. She paused and asked if I wanted to do it myself. Sure! So she told me to spin it as I put it in and pulled it out, then to shake it off. She held up a small container for me to put it in and then asked if I wanted a white chocolate drizzle on top (also sprinkles, but I said no to that). She then repeated the whole process with Mike. The whole time, her parents were watching her every move and they looked sooo proud. I got a kick out of it. She did a great job.
We got up at 7:15, got dressed, and by 7:45, we were out of our room, never to return. They needed us out by 8, and the breakfast places closed at 8:30, so we had to get moving although we would have rather slept in. In turns out all the haste was for naught for us though. We docked at 8:45 and our disembarkation time wasn’t until 10:45. They were running late because we weren’t actually let off the boat until 11:30ish, so we found a quiet corner and slept for a few hours after breakfast (waffles, yum).
After our tag was called (Purple, 12), we were off the boat inside of 10 minutes. Customs was a non-event and we soon found our bags. A staff member asked us if we were planning on catching a taxi. We replied that we were, and she pointed at an enormous line and said that was the line for taxis and it would take about an hour and a half. Then she offered salvation, she told us that since we didn’t have much stuff, we may want to consider going past the bus docks and up a ramp to the main street level. She said hardly anyone will be there and it will be easy for us to catch a cab.
We had nothing to lose, so we started to follow her advice. Near the bus area, we ran into Aunty Miki and the rest of family who all got off before us due to their 2pm flight. We said our goodbyes and went on our way. We owe that staff member a huge thanks as her advice was right on. Inside of five minutes we had a taxi and about 10 minutes and 10 dollars after that, we pulled up to our hotel, the YWCA Hotel on Beatty street.
The hotel is great! While simple, it’s clean and not ickily pretentious as that Howard Johnsons we stayed at our first day in Vancouver. We checked in, and got the ymca member discount without even showing our card as “I have an honest face.” We dropped our stuff off and headed to Chinatown where we encountered a festival.
We wandered amongst the stalls, watched a bit of entertainment and eventually stumbled on a walking tour that was about to start. For five dollars each, we got a 45 minute tour where we got a little bit of Chinatown history and sampled some food. We tried Chicken wings at a Vietnamese restaurant, had a formal Chinese tea in a tea shop, and a pork dumpling (manapua) and another roll that I can’t remember. A great deal overall. Our guide’s name was Ken, and along with another participant, John, a native of Vancouver, we were the first people they had take the walking tour all day.
Some of the highlights, besides the food, and the really cool tea experience, were the world’s narrowest building at 1.8 meters (~6 feet) wide and the Chinese Benevolent society. I got a kick out of the Wong Benevolent Society in that in order for then to help you, you had to be of Chinese ancestry with the last name of Wong. There was another group for a different last name across the street and nearby was the generic Chinese one that we went in to.
We went back to the hotel for a bit and got our coats as it was starting to get dark, and then we headed to Gastown. This was a mistake. Gastown seems like nothing more than a tourist trap. Lots of stores selling kitchy stuff and overpriced restaurants. Besides being pretty and having the “musical” steam clock, there isn’t much else there. The real problem is that it’s near the main “druggie” street. I guess all the services for drug addicts are nearby and the police don’t bother with them, so they come down to the area where all the tourists with money are and accost them for money. It gets tiring to see people coming that are all strung out and determined to hit you up for money. One or two isn’t a big issue, but they’re everywhere. So we beat it out of there fairly quickly and took tour-guide Ken’s recommendation and tried a Chinese restaurant on the third floor of the mall we started the tour in. It’s obviously designed for large groups/family style, but we still enjoyed what we got. I gather that there was wedding in the other half of the large divided hall, so we got to listen to some Chinese karaoke.
After leaving the restaurant, we got dessert in the ongoing festival downstairs. We ordered a skewer of chocolate covered strawberries. They had the strawberries already skewered and sitting in a container. A young girl, about 10 years old, picked one up, and headed over to a chocolate fountain. She paused and asked if I wanted to do it myself. Sure! So she told me to spin it as I put it in and pulled it out, then to shake it off. She held up a small container for me to put it in and then asked if I wanted a white chocolate drizzle on top (also sprinkles, but I said no to that). She then repeated the whole process with Mike. The whole time, her parents were watching her every move and they looked sooo proud. I got a kick out of it. She did a great job.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Alaska Cruise Day 7
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Today is the last full day of the cruise, and it’s a cruising day, so we just slept in until 10 or so when we got up in time to get ready and go to the “disembarkation talk” given by activities director Eric at 11. The rest of the day just floated by. Mostly we sat on the balcony watching the scenery, packed up, ate, and worked out. We saw quite a bit of wildlife today. We were eating lunch in the buffet when Nicole, Conrad, and Lana joined us. Nicole spotted some dolphins and we all watched those until they went away. While we stood there talking, I spotted a humpback whale. We all got a pretty good view of it, we even saw the underside of its tail, which was huge. We waited for it to come up again, but we were sailing into a fog bank and soon we weren’t able to see much of anything at all. Later on, while sitting on our balcony, Mike and I saw Orcas. Quite a few, mostly in packs. So now, we’ve seen at least glimpses of all the animals I was hoping for. Well, except otters, but I’ve seen those before.
We ended the day with the last of the two formal dinners. The food was ok, but it seemed to have declined as the trip went on. What was funny though, was that since Mike and I missed the last two dinners due to our shore excursions, everyone was asking us where we’ve been, etc. Even Nester, our waiter (Nestor Molina) commented on our absence. We had lobster for the entrée, and it was ok, but slightly overdone.
We had already taken care of the gratuities (the recommended amounts, plus an extra 40 each for Nestor and Meriam, and an extra 10 for the assistant waiter), so we thanked Nestor for the wonderful job he did, and eventually I did the same for Meriam. One interesting thing that she said was “Thank you for being so nice to me.” That seems like an odd thing to say, but I really did make an effort to be friendly with her. I wonder how other people treat the staff.
Since tomorrow is the end of the cruise, we bundled up and sat on the balcony to finish off our wine. The two bottles we brought on turned out to be just right. We took our time and after the last drop was gone, reluctantly went inside to take care of things. We laid out our clothes for tomorrow, packed and labeled our bags and put them outside the door. It seems strange to leave your things in the hall like that, but that’s what they tell you to do. We turned out the lights after midnight.
Today is the last full day of the cruise, and it’s a cruising day, so we just slept in until 10 or so when we got up in time to get ready and go to the “disembarkation talk” given by activities director Eric at 11. The rest of the day just floated by. Mostly we sat on the balcony watching the scenery, packed up, ate, and worked out. We saw quite a bit of wildlife today. We were eating lunch in the buffet when Nicole, Conrad, and Lana joined us. Nicole spotted some dolphins and we all watched those until they went away. While we stood there talking, I spotted a humpback whale. We all got a pretty good view of it, we even saw the underside of its tail, which was huge. We waited for it to come up again, but we were sailing into a fog bank and soon we weren’t able to see much of anything at all. Later on, while sitting on our balcony, Mike and I saw Orcas. Quite a few, mostly in packs. So now, we’ve seen at least glimpses of all the animals I was hoping for. Well, except otters, but I’ve seen those before.
We ended the day with the last of the two formal dinners. The food was ok, but it seemed to have declined as the trip went on. What was funny though, was that since Mike and I missed the last two dinners due to our shore excursions, everyone was asking us where we’ve been, etc. Even Nester, our waiter (Nestor Molina) commented on our absence. We had lobster for the entrée, and it was ok, but slightly overdone.
We had already taken care of the gratuities (the recommended amounts, plus an extra 40 each for Nestor and Meriam, and an extra 10 for the assistant waiter), so we thanked Nestor for the wonderful job he did, and eventually I did the same for Meriam. One interesting thing that she said was “Thank you for being so nice to me.” That seems like an odd thing to say, but I really did make an effort to be friendly with her. I wonder how other people treat the staff.
Since tomorrow is the end of the cruise, we bundled up and sat on the balcony to finish off our wine. The two bottles we brought on turned out to be just right. We took our time and after the last drop was gone, reluctantly went inside to take care of things. We laid out our clothes for tomorrow, packed and labeled our bags and put them outside the door. It seems strange to leave your things in the hall like that, but that’s what they tell you to do. We turned out the lights after midnight.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Alaska Cruise Day 6
Friday, August 4, 2006
Today, we arrived in Ketchikan at 2. Our shore excursion tickets said 11am, but since we didn’t arrive at 2, we were a little confused. After wandering around in the masses for a bit, looking for someone holding a sign with “Best of Alaska, Orca Cove Kayaking”, we finally found a pay phone and called them. It turned out that our tour was really scheduled for 3:30 and someone would be over shortly to meet us. When we left the phones and headed back to the dock, sure enough, a teen-age girl was there holding a kayaking paddle and the sign that we were looking for.
We were the only people she was picking up, so we walked back to the shop right away. The shop was about a five minute walk away (she hit at least one hanging store sign along the way with the paddle). At the shop, they took our jackets and had us put on water pants and jackets along with pfds. While getting ready, two other people, a mother and son (Olga and Mike) joined us. We also had the mother of the guide, who would meet us on the boat at the cove. With that, we got in a small speed boat and were soon zooming our to orca’s cove.
After about a ten minute fast and bumpy ride, we pulled up to a larger boat moored in a cove with a number of kayaks on lines floating out behind it. We were transferred to the larger boat where we met our guide, yet another Mike. So we have three women, and three men, and all the men are named Mike.
They gave us water skirts to put on which are used to seal water out of the kayak. I got in first, and since Mike was the “captain,” the one who had control of the rudder, he got in the back seat of our two-person kayak. We paddled around a bit while waiting for the other two kayaks to get ready.
I think we were on the water for about three hours, in that time, we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife (just salmon, starfish, ducks, and seagulls), but loads of absolutely beautiful scenery. Lots of little coves and inlets which were quiet and serene. Pretty much the whole time we were out there, there was a gentle drizzle. It makes it hard to take pictures, but it does look pretty. As long as we kept moving, it wasn’t too cold, but I did notice that when we were done, my hands didn’t want to straighten out and they just felt like ice.
On the boat, there was a nice surprise. They had set out a spread of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, crackers, and hot chocolate. We all sat in the wheel house and chowed down. It was heaven, just the right way to end the trip. There’s a funny story about the salmon that the tour company owner told us. Apparently, he’s friends with the owner of the salmon company and was selling his cans on the boat. The cans had the label of the salmon owner and soon, people from all over the place were calling him to get more after having gotten some on the boat. I guess he made the salmon more as a hobby, not as a full-blown commercial business, and he didn’t like getting calls directly from consumers, so they made a different label specifically for the tour company.
The weather was taking a turn for the worse, and they needed us to go lest the fog create problems, so we were soon ushered back to the little boat and blazing home. The lady who drives the small boat, Kim, brought along her little dog who’s some type of mutt. She says he always wants to come, but hates it while the boat is really going, specifically when the boat hits waves or wakes and gets really rough. Yet, when we pulled into the dock and the doors were opened, he ran straight to the front of the boat to watch us pull in. A different type of hood ornament.
Back at the store, we returned to our normal gear and took a walk around Ketchikan. Along the way, we looked across the street and saw the Ketchikan fire station with two guys hanging out in front. We walked over and Mike introduced himself as a fellow fire fighter. They let us go in and see their trucks, including a ’26 SeaGrave. They also took us upstairs where they gave Mike some patches in a self-addressed envelope so he can send them some of his. Mike also bought a T-shirt. We all talked story for a bit and we eventually went on our way. Just as we were leaving, the ambulance got a call and Mike took a picture of the station and the ambulance as it was leaving.
We continued our way to Creek Street, buildings built to hang right over the water. Along the way, we came to the site where the ambulance had gone (an injury of some sort) and the fire truck pulled up, so Mike took a picture of the truck too. Creek street was once where the bordellos were, many years ago. There were ladies with names like Dolly and Blind Polly. Now, it’s a tourist area with quaint shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, it was after 8 and everything was closed, so we took a few pictures, saw a seal or two, and made our way back to the boat in time for the 9:15PM final boarding.
Obviously, we had missed dinner, so we decided to wait for the special, one-night-only, midnight buffet! We thought we couldn’t wait that long, so we placed a room-service order which never showed. It was just as well as it turned out we weren’t that hungry after all. So at 12:15AM we joined the masses to go stuff our faces. I don’t understand what all the fuss was about, we both thought it was highly overrated. Yes, there are ice-sculptures, and things are nicely presented, but people are pigs, and unless you were one of the first in line, everything was more or less demolished.
The food was basically appetizers, or pupus, while Mike and I were looking for a proper dinner. I took some things, but most of it was rather tasteless, so I didn’t eat much. We also made the fatal mistake of not getting dessert right away. It turns out that items, once gone, are not replenished. When we went to the dessert table, most trays were empty, and those that were still there, didn’t appeal to me, both in what they were and in that they looked rather handled. So we skipped dessert and just went back to our rooms and back to bed.
Today, we arrived in Ketchikan at 2. Our shore excursion tickets said 11am, but since we didn’t arrive at 2, we were a little confused. After wandering around in the masses for a bit, looking for someone holding a sign with “Best of Alaska, Orca Cove Kayaking”, we finally found a pay phone and called them. It turned out that our tour was really scheduled for 3:30 and someone would be over shortly to meet us. When we left the phones and headed back to the dock, sure enough, a teen-age girl was there holding a kayaking paddle and the sign that we were looking for.
We were the only people she was picking up, so we walked back to the shop right away. The shop was about a five minute walk away (she hit at least one hanging store sign along the way with the paddle). At the shop, they took our jackets and had us put on water pants and jackets along with pfds. While getting ready, two other people, a mother and son (Olga and Mike) joined us. We also had the mother of the guide, who would meet us on the boat at the cove. With that, we got in a small speed boat and were soon zooming our to orca’s cove.
After about a ten minute fast and bumpy ride, we pulled up to a larger boat moored in a cove with a number of kayaks on lines floating out behind it. We were transferred to the larger boat where we met our guide, yet another Mike. So we have three women, and three men, and all the men are named Mike.
They gave us water skirts to put on which are used to seal water out of the kayak. I got in first, and since Mike was the “captain,” the one who had control of the rudder, he got in the back seat of our two-person kayak. We paddled around a bit while waiting for the other two kayaks to get ready.
I think we were on the water for about three hours, in that time, we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife (just salmon, starfish, ducks, and seagulls), but loads of absolutely beautiful scenery. Lots of little coves and inlets which were quiet and serene. Pretty much the whole time we were out there, there was a gentle drizzle. It makes it hard to take pictures, but it does look pretty. As long as we kept moving, it wasn’t too cold, but I did notice that when we were done, my hands didn’t want to straighten out and they just felt like ice.
On the boat, there was a nice surprise. They had set out a spread of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, crackers, and hot chocolate. We all sat in the wheel house and chowed down. It was heaven, just the right way to end the trip. There’s a funny story about the salmon that the tour company owner told us. Apparently, he’s friends with the owner of the salmon company and was selling his cans on the boat. The cans had the label of the salmon owner and soon, people from all over the place were calling him to get more after having gotten some on the boat. I guess he made the salmon more as a hobby, not as a full-blown commercial business, and he didn’t like getting calls directly from consumers, so they made a different label specifically for the tour company.
The weather was taking a turn for the worse, and they needed us to go lest the fog create problems, so we were soon ushered back to the little boat and blazing home. The lady who drives the small boat, Kim, brought along her little dog who’s some type of mutt. She says he always wants to come, but hates it while the boat is really going, specifically when the boat hits waves or wakes and gets really rough. Yet, when we pulled into the dock and the doors were opened, he ran straight to the front of the boat to watch us pull in. A different type of hood ornament.
Back at the store, we returned to our normal gear and took a walk around Ketchikan. Along the way, we looked across the street and saw the Ketchikan fire station with two guys hanging out in front. We walked over and Mike introduced himself as a fellow fire fighter. They let us go in and see their trucks, including a ’26 SeaGrave. They also took us upstairs where they gave Mike some patches in a self-addressed envelope so he can send them some of his. Mike also bought a T-shirt. We all talked story for a bit and we eventually went on our way. Just as we were leaving, the ambulance got a call and Mike took a picture of the station and the ambulance as it was leaving.
We continued our way to Creek Street, buildings built to hang right over the water. Along the way, we came to the site where the ambulance had gone (an injury of some sort) and the fire truck pulled up, so Mike took a picture of the truck too. Creek street was once where the bordellos were, many years ago. There were ladies with names like Dolly and Blind Polly. Now, it’s a tourist area with quaint shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, it was after 8 and everything was closed, so we took a few pictures, saw a seal or two, and made our way back to the boat in time for the 9:15PM final boarding.
Obviously, we had missed dinner, so we decided to wait for the special, one-night-only, midnight buffet! We thought we couldn’t wait that long, so we placed a room-service order which never showed. It was just as well as it turned out we weren’t that hungry after all. So at 12:15AM we joined the masses to go stuff our faces. I don’t understand what all the fuss was about, we both thought it was highly overrated. Yes, there are ice-sculptures, and things are nicely presented, but people are pigs, and unless you were one of the first in line, everything was more or less demolished.
The food was basically appetizers, or pupus, while Mike and I were looking for a proper dinner. I took some things, but most of it was rather tasteless, so I didn’t eat much. We also made the fatal mistake of not getting dessert right away. It turns out that items, once gone, are not replenished. When we went to the dessert table, most trays were empty, and those that were still there, didn’t appeal to me, both in what they were and in that they looked rather handled. So we skipped dessert and just went back to our rooms and back to bed.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Alaska Cruise Day 5
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Today was likely the highlight of our trip. We arrived in Juneau at 8:00AM, and Mike and I got our walk-up call at 9. We eventually staggered out of bed, got ready, had breakfast (waffles, yum), and made our way off the boat.
The weather looked rather forbidding. It was cold and rainy with low cloud cover. At 11:20, we found the lady to get us started on (JU10A) the extended helicopter and glacier trek. It was to be a tour of a helicopter ride to and from Mendenhall glacier, along with four hours of hiking around on it. The lady told us she needed to gather up the other participants and then she would check to see if it was on or cancelled due to weather. I was determined to not be too disappointed if it was cancelled as I would rather that than fly in scary weather. She took our tickets and recorded our weights.
Eventually, we heard her call the shop on her cell and we were delighted to hear a surprised “Oh, really?!” Within a minute or two, we were on a van out to the airfield. We got to the place and as soon as we walked in, it was an assembly line. The lady at the dock must have phoned in our weights as they had all our gear laid out and labeled with our names.
The provided everything: pants, jackets, polar fleece (if we wanted), boots, leg coverings, gloves, and harnesses. They also gave us backpacks containing a bagel, salmon-flavored cream cheese, an energy bar, and a bottle of water. There was another bag labeled with our names into which we shoved personal things that weren’t coming with us (the boots and sweaters, etc we had just taken off in exchange for theirs).
We signed the standard waivers, and soon we were headed out to the waiting helicopter. Six tourists to one helicopter and we were assigned seats based on our weights. Mike got the window behind the pilot and I was next to him.
The helicopter ride was the part that had me most nervous. It’s hard to forget there’s just a rotor holding you up and should the engine fail, you’ll fall like a rock, but eventually I told myself that worry accomplished nothing, so if I’m going to die, I should at least be enjoying myself when it happened, so I did. The rest of the helicopter ride was a blast. The pilot took us on a little tour around, going into nugget valley and showing us nugget glacier and a big waterfall. It was amazing.
Eventually, though, we made our way to Mendenhall Glacier and landed. Someone met us at the door to the helicopter and motioned us out and over to the “base camp,” a large yellow tent that we never got to go into.
Here, we hit another assembly line where they gave us ice picks and strapped crampons on our feet. Then, we were on our way. We would go a short distance, and then our two guides, Dave and Dawn, would stop and give us a lesson in something. We learned how to go uphill (dig toes in, take small steps, use ice pick in front of you), downhill (stomp feet down like having a childhood temper tantrum and keep ice pick behind you), and sideways (keep ice pick uphill from you and crab walk). The general rule seemed to be that unless you are going uphill, keep as many crampons in the snow as possible. The group, (of 11 tourist and two guides) would get periodically spread out and then they would stop us to talk about things until everyone caught up.
It seemed that everyone was pretty fit and there were no obvious laggards, although one fellow who was extremely tall seemed to have a harder time than others overall. Maybe this is one case where being lower to the ground is helpful as it really seemed fairly easy to me.
At one point, they told us we could walk into an ice cave in groups of one or two to look around. It was a narrow enough crevasse that people wouldn’t be able to pass each other. Eventually, Mike and I went and it was very narrow, but sooo cool. I bent my head around the corner and saw water falling from the ceiling and the whole inside was that beautiful blue color. Still, the water had to go someplace and we were standing in the river it was forming and I guess some of it topped over the edge of my right boot and my foot was rapidly wet and cold. The guides told me not to sweat it, that it would warm up soon and they were right. After five minutes or so, once we got moving, I never thought about it again until the end when we took off all our gear (ewww).
The rest of the four hours that we actually spent on the glacier was maneuvering through crevassases and over ridges. They took us on a route they had never done before as they wanted to scout it out and no one in the group had any objections.
At one point, a fellow from (I think) Costa Rica, was holding up his camera and saying “photo, photo.” I guess he was trying to get a group picture. He stepped sideways and stumbled into a stream. While I was horrified at the moment, I didn’t fail to notice that while he let his body go into fridged water, he did all he could to hold that expensive camera out to the side to keep it from getting wet. He didn’t entirely succeeded, but after we (the guide and I) pulled him out of the water and he dried off his camera, it still took pictures. He showed no concern for himself at all, just the camera. In the end, we all gave our cameras to Dave and had him take a few group shots.
While the whole trip was amazing, there were two highlights that just blow my mind. At one point, to get over a vertical drop, we clipped onto a “zip-line” of sorts. We don’t let go and coast though, rather, we lean back with our weight on the rope and walk somewhat horizontal to the ground, putting our crampons flat into the vertical wall while descending sideways.
The other highlight was that they let us try out ice climbing. They ran down two ropes and each guide acted as a belayer for a rope while we went up one by one. In each hand we had an ice pick and our harnesses were attached to one end of the rope. We were told to swing the pick as high as we could over our heads and use our legs to climb up to it. We were to stick our butts out and look down at our feet, concentrating on jamming the toe picks into the ice and keeping our feet level.
Mike went first and had no problems at all. Some of the others of our group can’t say the same thing. Two of the women in particular only went half way up and then wanted to come down. Just before I went up, I watched a fellow who really looked like he had done this before and I took cues from him. Particularly swinging my arms independently instead of putting them both at the same height like some were doing. It seemed like only seconds until I was at the top of a several story tall climb and sitting back in my harness, I was lowered down. At the bottom, Dawn asked me if I had ever done that before. I replied no, and she told me that it looked like I had. Neat, I didn’t look clueless! Bonus! Still, I wish I could have gone again, as does Mike. Heck, we were both about twice as fast as some of the others, shouldn’t we get to go again?
In all too short a time, we were back at the helicopter where they took our ice picks and crampons and had us board. We waved to Dawn and Dave as the helicopter took off and soon they were gone. The ride back was over in about five minutes. I guess we got the scenic route going out to the glacier, and now they were in a bit more of a hurry.
Sure enough, there was another group waiting to leave when we arrived. We were told that ours was the first group of the day that got to go. All the ones scheduled before ours were cancelled due to the weather. For us, though, the weather was great. The clouds lifted and all was well. I can’t believe our good fortune yet again. This was one of the more amazing experiences of my life. I will never forget it.
After all this, we were driven back to the boat where we boarded and dropped things off and then headed back out to the town. The first few blocks of Juneau are a little depressing as they are so obviously made for tourists, but go up a hill, and you are at a more real-looking place. We even found a place that we gather was Juneau’s “Down to Earth” where I found my Ginger Snap cookies that I like so much.
After wandering around a while, we got hungry, so we went back to the boat and headed over to the sushi bar where they actually had all the good kine sushi along with wasabi, shoyu, and ginger. Yum. After quite a bit of that, we got a small pizza and took it up to our room where we opened our second bottle of clandestine smuggled wine. We ate it on the balcony as the ship left port.
Tomorrow is Ketchikan. We don’t arrive until 2, so Mike and I are planning on sleeping in.
Today was likely the highlight of our trip. We arrived in Juneau at 8:00AM, and Mike and I got our walk-up call at 9. We eventually staggered out of bed, got ready, had breakfast (waffles, yum), and made our way off the boat.
The weather looked rather forbidding. It was cold and rainy with low cloud cover. At 11:20, we found the lady to get us started on (JU10A) the extended helicopter and glacier trek. It was to be a tour of a helicopter ride to and from Mendenhall glacier, along with four hours of hiking around on it. The lady told us she needed to gather up the other participants and then she would check to see if it was on or cancelled due to weather. I was determined to not be too disappointed if it was cancelled as I would rather that than fly in scary weather. She took our tickets and recorded our weights.
Eventually, we heard her call the shop on her cell and we were delighted to hear a surprised “Oh, really?!” Within a minute or two, we were on a van out to the airfield. We got to the place and as soon as we walked in, it was an assembly line. The lady at the dock must have phoned in our weights as they had all our gear laid out and labeled with our names.
The provided everything: pants, jackets, polar fleece (if we wanted), boots, leg coverings, gloves, and harnesses. They also gave us backpacks containing a bagel, salmon-flavored cream cheese, an energy bar, and a bottle of water. There was another bag labeled with our names into which we shoved personal things that weren’t coming with us (the boots and sweaters, etc we had just taken off in exchange for theirs).
We signed the standard waivers, and soon we were headed out to the waiting helicopter. Six tourists to one helicopter and we were assigned seats based on our weights. Mike got the window behind the pilot and I was next to him.
The helicopter ride was the part that had me most nervous. It’s hard to forget there’s just a rotor holding you up and should the engine fail, you’ll fall like a rock, but eventually I told myself that worry accomplished nothing, so if I’m going to die, I should at least be enjoying myself when it happened, so I did. The rest of the helicopter ride was a blast. The pilot took us on a little tour around, going into nugget valley and showing us nugget glacier and a big waterfall. It was amazing.
Eventually, though, we made our way to Mendenhall Glacier and landed. Someone met us at the door to the helicopter and motioned us out and over to the “base camp,” a large yellow tent that we never got to go into.
Here, we hit another assembly line where they gave us ice picks and strapped crampons on our feet. Then, we were on our way. We would go a short distance, and then our two guides, Dave and Dawn, would stop and give us a lesson in something. We learned how to go uphill (dig toes in, take small steps, use ice pick in front of you), downhill (stomp feet down like having a childhood temper tantrum and keep ice pick behind you), and sideways (keep ice pick uphill from you and crab walk). The general rule seemed to be that unless you are going uphill, keep as many crampons in the snow as possible. The group, (of 11 tourist and two guides) would get periodically spread out and then they would stop us to talk about things until everyone caught up.
It seemed that everyone was pretty fit and there were no obvious laggards, although one fellow who was extremely tall seemed to have a harder time than others overall. Maybe this is one case where being lower to the ground is helpful as it really seemed fairly easy to me.
At one point, they told us we could walk into an ice cave in groups of one or two to look around. It was a narrow enough crevasse that people wouldn’t be able to pass each other. Eventually, Mike and I went and it was very narrow, but sooo cool. I bent my head around the corner and saw water falling from the ceiling and the whole inside was that beautiful blue color. Still, the water had to go someplace and we were standing in the river it was forming and I guess some of it topped over the edge of my right boot and my foot was rapidly wet and cold. The guides told me not to sweat it, that it would warm up soon and they were right. After five minutes or so, once we got moving, I never thought about it again until the end when we took off all our gear (ewww).
The rest of the four hours that we actually spent on the glacier was maneuvering through crevassases and over ridges. They took us on a route they had never done before as they wanted to scout it out and no one in the group had any objections.
At one point, a fellow from (I think) Costa Rica, was holding up his camera and saying “photo, photo.” I guess he was trying to get a group picture. He stepped sideways and stumbled into a stream. While I was horrified at the moment, I didn’t fail to notice that while he let his body go into fridged water, he did all he could to hold that expensive camera out to the side to keep it from getting wet. He didn’t entirely succeeded, but after we (the guide and I) pulled him out of the water and he dried off his camera, it still took pictures. He showed no concern for himself at all, just the camera. In the end, we all gave our cameras to Dave and had him take a few group shots.
While the whole trip was amazing, there were two highlights that just blow my mind. At one point, to get over a vertical drop, we clipped onto a “zip-line” of sorts. We don’t let go and coast though, rather, we lean back with our weight on the rope and walk somewhat horizontal to the ground, putting our crampons flat into the vertical wall while descending sideways.
The other highlight was that they let us try out ice climbing. They ran down two ropes and each guide acted as a belayer for a rope while we went up one by one. In each hand we had an ice pick and our harnesses were attached to one end of the rope. We were told to swing the pick as high as we could over our heads and use our legs to climb up to it. We were to stick our butts out and look down at our feet, concentrating on jamming the toe picks into the ice and keeping our feet level.
Mike went first and had no problems at all. Some of the others of our group can’t say the same thing. Two of the women in particular only went half way up and then wanted to come down. Just before I went up, I watched a fellow who really looked like he had done this before and I took cues from him. Particularly swinging my arms independently instead of putting them both at the same height like some were doing. It seemed like only seconds until I was at the top of a several story tall climb and sitting back in my harness, I was lowered down. At the bottom, Dawn asked me if I had ever done that before. I replied no, and she told me that it looked like I had. Neat, I didn’t look clueless! Bonus! Still, I wish I could have gone again, as does Mike. Heck, we were both about twice as fast as some of the others, shouldn’t we get to go again?
In all too short a time, we were back at the helicopter where they took our ice picks and crampons and had us board. We waved to Dawn and Dave as the helicopter took off and soon they were gone. The ride back was over in about five minutes. I guess we got the scenic route going out to the glacier, and now they were in a bit more of a hurry.
Sure enough, there was another group waiting to leave when we arrived. We were told that ours was the first group of the day that got to go. All the ones scheduled before ours were cancelled due to the weather. For us, though, the weather was great. The clouds lifted and all was well. I can’t believe our good fortune yet again. This was one of the more amazing experiences of my life. I will never forget it.
After all this, we were driven back to the boat where we boarded and dropped things off and then headed back out to the town. The first few blocks of Juneau are a little depressing as they are so obviously made for tourists, but go up a hill, and you are at a more real-looking place. We even found a place that we gather was Juneau’s “Down to Earth” where I found my Ginger Snap cookies that I like so much.
After wandering around a while, we got hungry, so we went back to the boat and headed over to the sushi bar where they actually had all the good kine sushi along with wasabi, shoyu, and ginger. Yum. After quite a bit of that, we got a small pizza and took it up to our room where we opened our second bottle of clandestine smuggled wine. We ate it on the balcony as the ship left port.
Tomorrow is Ketchikan. We don’t arrive until 2, so Mike and I are planning on sleeping in.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Alaska Cruise Day 4
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Today was Hubbard Glacier day. We got up early to shower and eat. Around 9, we started to get interesting views outside our window. We ordered in hot chocolate and coffee and sat on our balcony to watch the world go by. Eventually, we came to a stop in front of two glaciers: Hubbard and Valerie. Hubbard is the one that’s really impressive, huge in size and very pretty. It’s also the one that was doing the most calving. At several stories tall, any chunks falling off make a big splash. At one point, a huge chunk that went up almost the whole height of the glacier fell forward, like a door that’s come free of its hinges. Very cool. I’m glad we got to see one big calving. I found the noise of the calving to be fascinating. It was almost like gunshots in the distance.
Today was Hubbard Glacier day. We got up early to shower and eat. Around 9, we started to get interesting views outside our window. We ordered in hot chocolate and coffee and sat on our balcony to watch the world go by. Eventually, we came to a stop in front of two glaciers: Hubbard and Valerie. Hubbard is the one that’s really impressive, huge in size and very pretty. It’s also the one that was doing the most calving. At several stories tall, any chunks falling off make a big splash. At one point, a huge chunk that went up almost the whole height of the glacier fell forward, like a door that’s come free of its hinges. Very cool. I’m glad we got to see one big calving. I found the noise of the calving to be fascinating. It was almost like gunshots in the distance.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Alaska Cruise Day 3
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
My birthday! Oddly enough, I didn’t remember that today was my birthday until after we had gotten up early, worked out, and taken showers. We were both a little forgetful. We ate breakfast in the main dining room, which proved to be a big disappointment. I thought they would know how to do eggs benedict, but I think Cinnamons has ruined me for all others. The eggs were rock solid, and the hollandaise was lousy. I pulled off the eggs and ate the ham and English muffin, but it was basically just for food, not because I wanted it.
Today, we were in Sitka. We took a shore excursion to Tongas Forest National Park which was very nice. It consisted of several hiking loops in the park with a bathroom break in the middle. The hikes weren’t too strenuous, just a little up and down. What really impressed us both was the quality of the trails. They were cleared and well maintained. Most of the trail was covered in gravel or wood stairs. Someone spends a lot of time working on them. We’re told that Sitka has 12 miles of roads and 15 miles of trails. For a town of 4600 square miles, they only have roughly 8000 residents. Very small town with a lot of room. The town only has two stoplights.
At one point on the tour, between trails, a man ran past us and said “there’s a grizzly.” We thought he was joking as the rest of his group was still out in front. It turns out he was running to get his camera, not to get away. It was actually a brown bear, about 800-1000 pounds, hanging out in a field. Every so often, he would pop his head up over the tall grass and check us all out. All I have are a few pictures of a little head above the grass. Still, it was really neat to see.
We had three guides on the tour and there was some dissention among them. One is rather familiar with bears and was willing to take the largish group along the planned trail while another didn’t want to go, yet she didn’t want to do a different trail with only two people (the ones that were willing to change course), so the reluctant ones came along and basically implied that we were all stupid. The first tour guide (Laura?) gave us all a rather stern lecture before we continued stating that we were to stay within one arm’s length of the person in front of us. Also if the bear stands on it’s hind legs and sniffs the air, that it’s ok, but when he stands on all fours, lowers his head, and walks towards us, then we’re in trouble. She said when that happens, don’t run, instead, talk loudly, and make yourself look as big as possible. It was all for naught as the bear never moved from his spot and we were soon long gone. It was quite a thrill all around.
On the bus ride back into town, we also saw an eagle sitting in the top of a tree and flapping its wings. The guides pointed it out stating that it had made a nest there.
After the tour, we had a little time before we had to catch our tender back to the ship, so we wandered around. Didn’t accomplish much except take a few pictures of totem poles
(they’re everywhere), and establish that the prices are outrageous.
On interesting thing is that the tour gave us bars of chocolate. It came with the story that the chocolate was made by a former forest ranger who wanted to spend more time with his kids, so he took his hobby and made it into a business. It’s a big success, and the guides seemed rather proud of him.
We got back just in time to change and head down to dinner. Mike told the waiter it was my birthday and at the end of the meal, I had four tables plus about 6 wait-staff all sing happy-birthday to me. I think I must have turned crimson, but it was a nice gesture.
My birthday! Oddly enough, I didn’t remember that today was my birthday until after we had gotten up early, worked out, and taken showers. We were both a little forgetful. We ate breakfast in the main dining room, which proved to be a big disappointment. I thought they would know how to do eggs benedict, but I think Cinnamons has ruined me for all others. The eggs were rock solid, and the hollandaise was lousy. I pulled off the eggs and ate the ham and English muffin, but it was basically just for food, not because I wanted it.
Today, we were in Sitka. We took a shore excursion to Tongas Forest National Park which was very nice. It consisted of several hiking loops in the park with a bathroom break in the middle. The hikes weren’t too strenuous, just a little up and down. What really impressed us both was the quality of the trails. They were cleared and well maintained. Most of the trail was covered in gravel or wood stairs. Someone spends a lot of time working on them. We’re told that Sitka has 12 miles of roads and 15 miles of trails. For a town of 4600 square miles, they only have roughly 8000 residents. Very small town with a lot of room. The town only has two stoplights.
At one point on the tour, between trails, a man ran past us and said “there’s a grizzly.” We thought he was joking as the rest of his group was still out in front. It turns out he was running to get his camera, not to get away. It was actually a brown bear, about 800-1000 pounds, hanging out in a field. Every so often, he would pop his head up over the tall grass and check us all out. All I have are a few pictures of a little head above the grass. Still, it was really neat to see.
We had three guides on the tour and there was some dissention among them. One is rather familiar with bears and was willing to take the largish group along the planned trail while another didn’t want to go, yet she didn’t want to do a different trail with only two people (the ones that were willing to change course), so the reluctant ones came along and basically implied that we were all stupid. The first tour guide (Laura?) gave us all a rather stern lecture before we continued stating that we were to stay within one arm’s length of the person in front of us. Also if the bear stands on it’s hind legs and sniffs the air, that it’s ok, but when he stands on all fours, lowers his head, and walks towards us, then we’re in trouble. She said when that happens, don’t run, instead, talk loudly, and make yourself look as big as possible. It was all for naught as the bear never moved from his spot and we were soon long gone. It was quite a thrill all around.
On the bus ride back into town, we also saw an eagle sitting in the top of a tree and flapping its wings. The guides pointed it out stating that it had made a nest there.
After the tour, we had a little time before we had to catch our tender back to the ship, so we wandered around. Didn’t accomplish much except take a few pictures of totem poles
(they’re everywhere), and establish that the prices are outrageous.
On interesting thing is that the tour gave us bars of chocolate. It came with the story that the chocolate was made by a former forest ranger who wanted to spend more time with his kids, so he took his hobby and made it into a business. It’s a big success, and the guides seemed rather proud of him.
We got back just in time to change and head down to dinner. Mike told the waiter it was my birthday and at the end of the meal, I had four tables plus about 6 wait-staff all sing happy-birthday to me. I think I must have turned crimson, but it was a nice gesture.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Alaska Cruise day 2
Monday, July 31, 2006
Cruising day today. We basically spent the day checking out the boat and eating. We started off with sleeping in, then we went to the gym. Around one, we had showered and went to get “breakfast,” eventually eating in the aqua spa café.
For dinner, this was the first “formal” night. Also, aunty Miki had planned a cocktail party, which included a photographer. Mike looked very handsome in his new suit, and I wore the black strapless cocktail dress. I gather black was a popular color that evening. All the men and almost all the women were in it.
Cruising day today. We basically spent the day checking out the boat and eating. We started off with sleeping in, then we went to the gym. Around one, we had showered and went to get “breakfast,” eventually eating in the aqua spa café.
For dinner, this was the first “formal” night. Also, aunty Miki had planned a cocktail party, which included a photographer. Mike looked very handsome in his new suit, and I wore the black strapless cocktail dress. I gather black was a popular color that evening. All the men and almost all the women were in it.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Vancouver to Alaska, Cruise day 1
Sunday July 30, 2006
Vancouver->Alaska
We woke up this morning at 6:00 AM by alarm. We had also scheduled a wake up call at 6:10 in case the alarm didn’t work. When the phone rang, there was nothing on the other end, just silence. Odd, but I guess effective.
We showered, and went down to Main street where we eventually stopped at a café called “Waves.” They only had breakfast burritos, which sounded good in theory, but weren’t so hot in reality. Still, it was a funky little place with decent seating and free wireless internet.
Eventually finishing breakfast, we made our way back to the hotel, checked out and met everyone else downstairs at 9 AM when the bus arrived. We somehow crammed all the luggage in underneath, and drove off, eventually arriving at Granville Island where we had an hour and a half to wander.
The Granville Market is an amazing thing. We were getting rather jealous looking at all the amazing food. It’s a foodie’s paradise with all sorts of fresh fish, sausages, cheeses, fruits, veggies, and just about any other ingredient you can think of. I think we would blow a bundle there if we had a kitchen.
We did buy two bottles of wine at a store there. We took recommendations from a girl with glasses. She saved us when we told her we planned to smuggle them onto the cruise ship. She told us to be sure to put them in checked bags, rather than carry ons as they scan the carryons (she was right, they did). Since we were planning on doing the opposite, we were very grateful for the advice. Even if the wine isn’t so hot, she’s forgiven just for the tip.
After this, we all got back on the bus and went to the mall near the pier. We had 45 minutes there, and Mike and I picked up small bottles of hand cleaner (I couldn’t find mine before we left) and some lip balm (labello, which they don’t sell back home). At the very last minute, we found a Starbucks and I got my final Green Tea Frappacino until we reach a port.
Back on the bus, and 10 minutes later we were off and heading towards customs. The bus driver took care of our luggage, we only had to deal with carry-ons, which was very nice. We had to go through several lines: one for security, one for customs, and one for getting our room key, and then finally on the boat.
The boat itself, The Celebrity Infinity is enormous. It dwarfed the Norwegian Cruise Line boat docked next to it. As we boarded, they provided Champagne and Mimosas. We grabbed a champagne each and headed over to the shore excursions line as we had been neglectful in making those reservations. So, we booked the incredibly expensive glacier trek and a hiking trip, and then headed to our cabin.
Room 9132 is ok. The room itself is nice, oddly enough, the bedspread brings it down quite a bit. The room would look much better with a less threadbear cover, but the rest of it is fine. I do notice the inevitable signs of wear and tear, but we have a balcony and that makes up for a multitude of sins.
We grabbed a late lunch sitting on an outdoor deck in the back of the ship. The food (salad and veggies for us) was quite good and the staff seemed very friendly. We wandered around a bit and entered a give away (which we didn’t win), and eventually made our way back to the cabin where we found our luggage waiting outside the door.
As we unpacked, there was a knock at the door and we met our stateroom attendant, Meriam. It’s strange unpacking to such a degree, but nice to not be living out of a suitcase, which we plan not to touch for the remainder of the trip.
At 5, we had a lifeboat drill where we had to go down to deck 4 (from 9) and stand around listening to euphemisms for “we’re sinking” while we all wear large orange life vests. People on the dock laughed and took pictures, but we know they’re jealous they aren’t coming.
45 minutes later, we were finally back in our cabin getting ready for dinner which was supposed to be a six. While we were getting ready, there was another knock at the door, and Meriam brought in a covered dish which contained chocolate covered strawberries from Mona (the girl we booked the cruise through). Very nice touch. Since we were about to leave for dinner, we put it in the fridge for later.
Even though it was casual night, we still had to put a little effort into our clothes as we can’t wear jeans. It turns out we were the best dressed people at our table. It also turned our that we were the only ones at our table for at least a half an hour. I don’t know what the hell that was about, but apparently the habit of being late doesn’t reside solely in Aunty Lynette.
We went ahead without them and we were into the second course when everyone finally arrived. We are seated with all the family: Aunty Miki, Uncle Stan, Lana, Nicole, Conrad, Grandma, Aunty Keala, and Uncle Harold (who apparently hadn’t been out of his room in three days back at the hotel).
Mike and I had the same things until dessert: Shrimp Cocktail, Tomato Bisque soup, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib, and dessert. I had the Crème Brulee, and Mike had the Raspberry Cheesecake. Everything was excellent, except the salad was too drenched in dressing for my tastes, so I ate very little of it.
Our water’s name is Nestor, but we aren’t sure if that’s his first name or his last. He seems very nice and helpful. He’ll be our waiter for the entire cruise.
After dinner, we went to see Aunty Miki’s room, which is actually a suite as they had grandma with them too. It’s beautiful. There’s a separate bedroom with a walk-in closet and a wide-screen plasma TV. The bathroom has a whirlpool tub and a window to the living room, which has panoramic windows. The rooms are located in the front of the ship and stick out a bit. There is no balcony, but they had floor to ceiling glass and the effect is really something.
Later, we walked around the ship checking everything out and at 11, made our way back to our room. We sat outside with the strawberries and the cheaper of the two bottles. It wasn’t bad. A little more fruity than we’re used to, but a hint on the dry side. Has a great smell. For $12 Canadian, it was way better than the $8/glass wine we had with dinner (the name escapes me). Went well with the strawberries too.
When we finished the strawberries, and were just chatting, we caught the distinctive smell of Marijuana. Leaning over the balcony, I noticed a young guy in a white tee shirt and baseball cap way up ahead on the same floor. He was clearly the one as I saw him take a puff and when he turned and saw me, he pulled away from the railing and neither he, nor the smell made a reappearance.
After describing what I saw to Mike, we both realized that it was likely Conrad. The area we saw him in was about where his cabin is, and I can’t imagine there’s another stupid teenager right around there. We plan to mess with him tomorrow, mentioning in front of others how we smelled pot from our balcony while he’s in earshot. It just blows the mind that he’d be stupid enough to smuggle pot across an international border. I wonder if he realizes what could happen.
So, now it’s about 12:40. We should be in the inside passage tomorrow.
Vancouver->Alaska
We woke up this morning at 6:00 AM by alarm. We had also scheduled a wake up call at 6:10 in case the alarm didn’t work. When the phone rang, there was nothing on the other end, just silence. Odd, but I guess effective.
We showered, and went down to Main street where we eventually stopped at a café called “Waves.” They only had breakfast burritos, which sounded good in theory, but weren’t so hot in reality. Still, it was a funky little place with decent seating and free wireless internet.
Eventually finishing breakfast, we made our way back to the hotel, checked out and met everyone else downstairs at 9 AM when the bus arrived. We somehow crammed all the luggage in underneath, and drove off, eventually arriving at Granville Island where we had an hour and a half to wander.
The Granville Market is an amazing thing. We were getting rather jealous looking at all the amazing food. It’s a foodie’s paradise with all sorts of fresh fish, sausages, cheeses, fruits, veggies, and just about any other ingredient you can think of. I think we would blow a bundle there if we had a kitchen.
We did buy two bottles of wine at a store there. We took recommendations from a girl with glasses. She saved us when we told her we planned to smuggle them onto the cruise ship. She told us to be sure to put them in checked bags, rather than carry ons as they scan the carryons (she was right, they did). Since we were planning on doing the opposite, we were very grateful for the advice. Even if the wine isn’t so hot, she’s forgiven just for the tip.
After this, we all got back on the bus and went to the mall near the pier. We had 45 minutes there, and Mike and I picked up small bottles of hand cleaner (I couldn’t find mine before we left) and some lip balm (labello, which they don’t sell back home). At the very last minute, we found a Starbucks and I got my final Green Tea Frappacino until we reach a port.
Back on the bus, and 10 minutes later we were off and heading towards customs. The bus driver took care of our luggage, we only had to deal with carry-ons, which was very nice. We had to go through several lines: one for security, one for customs, and one for getting our room key, and then finally on the boat.
The boat itself, The Celebrity Infinity is enormous. It dwarfed the Norwegian Cruise Line boat docked next to it. As we boarded, they provided Champagne and Mimosas. We grabbed a champagne each and headed over to the shore excursions line as we had been neglectful in making those reservations. So, we booked the incredibly expensive glacier trek and a hiking trip, and then headed to our cabin.
Room 9132 is ok. The room itself is nice, oddly enough, the bedspread brings it down quite a bit. The room would look much better with a less threadbear cover, but the rest of it is fine. I do notice the inevitable signs of wear and tear, but we have a balcony and that makes up for a multitude of sins.
We grabbed a late lunch sitting on an outdoor deck in the back of the ship. The food (salad and veggies for us) was quite good and the staff seemed very friendly. We wandered around a bit and entered a give away (which we didn’t win), and eventually made our way back to the cabin where we found our luggage waiting outside the door.
As we unpacked, there was a knock at the door and we met our stateroom attendant, Meriam. It’s strange unpacking to such a degree, but nice to not be living out of a suitcase, which we plan not to touch for the remainder of the trip.
At 5, we had a lifeboat drill where we had to go down to deck 4 (from 9) and stand around listening to euphemisms for “we’re sinking” while we all wear large orange life vests. People on the dock laughed and took pictures, but we know they’re jealous they aren’t coming.
45 minutes later, we were finally back in our cabin getting ready for dinner which was supposed to be a six. While we were getting ready, there was another knock at the door, and Meriam brought in a covered dish which contained chocolate covered strawberries from Mona (the girl we booked the cruise through). Very nice touch. Since we were about to leave for dinner, we put it in the fridge for later.
Even though it was casual night, we still had to put a little effort into our clothes as we can’t wear jeans. It turns out we were the best dressed people at our table. It also turned our that we were the only ones at our table for at least a half an hour. I don’t know what the hell that was about, but apparently the habit of being late doesn’t reside solely in Aunty Lynette.
We went ahead without them and we were into the second course when everyone finally arrived. We are seated with all the family: Aunty Miki, Uncle Stan, Lana, Nicole, Conrad, Grandma, Aunty Keala, and Uncle Harold (who apparently hadn’t been out of his room in three days back at the hotel).
Mike and I had the same things until dessert: Shrimp Cocktail, Tomato Bisque soup, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib, and dessert. I had the Crème Brulee, and Mike had the Raspberry Cheesecake. Everything was excellent, except the salad was too drenched in dressing for my tastes, so I ate very little of it.
Our water’s name is Nestor, but we aren’t sure if that’s his first name or his last. He seems very nice and helpful. He’ll be our waiter for the entire cruise.
After dinner, we went to see Aunty Miki’s room, which is actually a suite as they had grandma with them too. It’s beautiful. There’s a separate bedroom with a walk-in closet and a wide-screen plasma TV. The bathroom has a whirlpool tub and a window to the living room, which has panoramic windows. The rooms are located in the front of the ship and stick out a bit. There is no balcony, but they had floor to ceiling glass and the effect is really something.
Later, we walked around the ship checking everything out and at 11, made our way back to our room. We sat outside with the strawberries and the cheaper of the two bottles. It wasn’t bad. A little more fruity than we’re used to, but a hint on the dry side. Has a great smell. For $12 Canadian, it was way better than the $8/glass wine we had with dinner (the name escapes me). Went well with the strawberries too.
When we finished the strawberries, and were just chatting, we caught the distinctive smell of Marijuana. Leaning over the balcony, I noticed a young guy in a white tee shirt and baseball cap way up ahead on the same floor. He was clearly the one as I saw him take a puff and when he turned and saw me, he pulled away from the railing and neither he, nor the smell made a reappearance.
After describing what I saw to Mike, we both realized that it was likely Conrad. The area we saw him in was about where his cabin is, and I can’t imagine there’s another stupid teenager right around there. We plan to mess with him tomorrow, mentioning in front of others how we smelled pot from our balcony while he’s in earshot. It just blows the mind that he’d be stupid enough to smuggle pot across an international border. I wonder if he realizes what could happen.
So, now it’s about 12:40. We should be in the inside passage tomorrow.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Trip: Honolulu->Vancouver
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Last night dad took DH and I to the airport. Our flight was on Air Canada at 8:50, so we dropped off the car at mom and dad's just before 6:30 (after picking up a splitter at radio shack) and then we switched cars and headed over H3. At 7, we pulled up to the terminal and DH and I both rejoiced at seeing no one else unloading. Then we came to a stop, and realized no one was unloading because everyone else was already there. Bummer.
Fortunately, the line moved quickly and we were soon greeted by a very friendly agent. She gave us our seats and when we realized that we were assigned to the middle section with an aisle and a middle seat, we requested different seats. She told us the flight was very full, but she would see what she could do. So she gave us our boarding passes and then told us to find her at the gate in a little while. In all this, she almost forgot to check our bags. She never even weighed them, and we had spent so much effort making sure the big bag was under the limit.
We went and bought Chocolate Chocolate Chip Frappaccino from Starbucks for us to split (earning the envy of a little boy who walked by) and headed for the gate. The agent from before was already there, and she told us we had great timing, and then gave us the window and aisle on the left side of the plane. YAY, no-one sitting next to us! What a nice lady. Mike says her name was Kris. We should write a letter or something.
The flight was uneventful. They served us a meal (only because it was international) and then showed a movie starring Anotonio Banderas (dance something or other). It was ok, although rather formulaic, especially at the end when the kids take over the ballroom.
The flight was just over five hours and the time difference is three hours, so about 5:30am, we arrived in Vancouver. Going through customs was almost a non-event. The line wasn't very long, probably just people from our plane, and they didn't even ask us if we had anything to declare. So, one stamp in our passports later, we were officially in Canada.
Our first order of business was to get some cash, so after an initial misfire, we found a working ATM that eventually took our card once I got mad at it. Then we caught a cab to the hotel, the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel on Kingsway. It's ok. The rooms are rather humble, with the smallest bathrooms I think I've had yet, but there's a restaurant with cheap food downstairs, lots of shops and other restaurants nearby, a free paper, and cheap internet access. Could be worse.
We got to the hotel, and our room wasn't ready yet, so we went to call Aunty M when we discovered our phones didn't work in Canada! Crud. So we asked for the room number for the B family and got three. Trying one, we got Aunty K who came downstairs to get us. We met up with Uncle S for breakfast and then they let us sleep in their room until ours was ready. They went in the bus to go pick people up at the airport and do a little sightseeing.
Eventually, we got a room, slept a while, and then showered and went out. The neighborhood seems slightly seedy, but generally safe. I see a lot of new businesses opening up, and a lot of new condos being built. It looks like it's in a rebuilding period. The new things are all very nice, and the old looks like it's being brushed away.
We tried to get a new sim card for our cell phone, but the guy at the store did a trial run and it didn't work. Our phone seems to have a block on it, so we are trying to get that removed. We also tried to follow one of Rachel Ray's recommendations and try a dim sum place about a mile away, but it appeared to be booked for a wedding. The bride was right at the door greeting people, so we backed out.
Eventually, we just grabbed a slice of pizza and made our way home. We're doing pretty good, ready to sleep some more, but ok. I seem to be coming down with a cold, but hopefully I can avert the worst of it.
Going to bed, planning on watching a movie on the computer.
Last night dad took DH and I to the airport. Our flight was on Air Canada at 8:50, so we dropped off the car at mom and dad's just before 6:30 (after picking up a splitter at radio shack) and then we switched cars and headed over H3. At 7, we pulled up to the terminal and DH and I both rejoiced at seeing no one else unloading. Then we came to a stop, and realized no one was unloading because everyone else was already there. Bummer.
Fortunately, the line moved quickly and we were soon greeted by a very friendly agent. She gave us our seats and when we realized that we were assigned to the middle section with an aisle and a middle seat, we requested different seats. She told us the flight was very full, but she would see what she could do. So she gave us our boarding passes and then told us to find her at the gate in a little while. In all this, she almost forgot to check our bags. She never even weighed them, and we had spent so much effort making sure the big bag was under the limit.
We went and bought Chocolate Chocolate Chip Frappaccino from Starbucks for us to split (earning the envy of a little boy who walked by) and headed for the gate. The agent from before was already there, and she told us we had great timing, and then gave us the window and aisle on the left side of the plane. YAY, no-one sitting next to us! What a nice lady. Mike says her name was Kris. We should write a letter or something.
The flight was uneventful. They served us a meal (only because it was international) and then showed a movie starring Anotonio Banderas (dance something or other). It was ok, although rather formulaic, especially at the end when the kids take over the ballroom.
The flight was just over five hours and the time difference is three hours, so about 5:30am, we arrived in Vancouver. Going through customs was almost a non-event. The line wasn't very long, probably just people from our plane, and they didn't even ask us if we had anything to declare. So, one stamp in our passports later, we were officially in Canada.
Our first order of business was to get some cash, so after an initial misfire, we found a working ATM that eventually took our card once I got mad at it. Then we caught a cab to the hotel, the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel on Kingsway. It's ok. The rooms are rather humble, with the smallest bathrooms I think I've had yet, but there's a restaurant with cheap food downstairs, lots of shops and other restaurants nearby, a free paper, and cheap internet access. Could be worse.
We got to the hotel, and our room wasn't ready yet, so we went to call Aunty M when we discovered our phones didn't work in Canada! Crud. So we asked for the room number for the B family and got three. Trying one, we got Aunty K who came downstairs to get us. We met up with Uncle S for breakfast and then they let us sleep in their room until ours was ready. They went in the bus to go pick people up at the airport and do a little sightseeing.
Eventually, we got a room, slept a while, and then showered and went out. The neighborhood seems slightly seedy, but generally safe. I see a lot of new businesses opening up, and a lot of new condos being built. It looks like it's in a rebuilding period. The new things are all very nice, and the old looks like it's being brushed away.
We tried to get a new sim card for our cell phone, but the guy at the store did a trial run and it didn't work. Our phone seems to have a block on it, so we are trying to get that removed. We also tried to follow one of Rachel Ray's recommendations and try a dim sum place about a mile away, but it appeared to be booked for a wedding. The bride was right at the door greeting people, so we backed out.
Eventually, we just grabbed a slice of pizza and made our way home. We're doing pretty good, ready to sleep some more, but ok. I seem to be coming down with a cold, but hopefully I can avert the worst of it.
Going to bed, planning on watching a movie on the computer.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tinman Triathlon!
Sunday, July 23rd, 2006
Today, I did the Tinman! I am a triathlete! On the way over, I prayed for no accidents and no flat tires. Not walking on the run and coming in under my predicted time (3 hours) would be bonuses, but no big deal. I got everything I ever hoped for and more. My race went better than I could have imagined. No accidents, no flats, no walking (except through the three aid stations as I have not yet mastered the art of drinking while running), and nine minutes under the time I was shooting for!
I was up around 2:50AM and left the house at 3:30. The race packet said parking would be scarce. They lied. Just after 4, I pulled into the lot we go to all the time for our training days, and it was wide open. Maybe 10 cars were there of about 150 or so stalls. Check in was from 4 to 5:30, so I imagine it filled up not too long after though.
By 4:30, I had managed to get someone to write my number on me and went into the bike area. I got a great spot on my wave's rack right at the end of the rack. It was right in front of the chute that we run through after the swim, so no searching for my bike. I set up my stuff and mentally went through my transitions a few times to make sure I had everything laid out right. I did the standard bathroom run and then got my timing chip from the race organizers.
I was feeling a little uptight at this point, so I lathered on the sunscreen, tucked my swim cap and goggles into my swim top strap, and taking part of a pb&j sandwich, headed for the beach. At this point it was still an hour from my start time at 6:05. I was in the last wave, and happy for it. It was still completely dark, and the idea of swimming in darkness wasn't one I relished, so being last gave the sun a chance to come up. Also, there wouldn't be anyone left to pass me and bum me out. It's all good.
I sat down and leaned against a coconut tree and looked at the ocean. The sky was clear and the water calm. In the darkness, the lights of Waikiki twinkled along the shoreline curving out to the right. It was just beautiful. It seemed that everyone was in their own world, very little conversation, so all was quiet. It struck me again how lucky I am to live here.
After a while more and more people congregated there, and eventually I saw some people I knew. We all talked story for a bit and faster than I would have imagined, the first group was getting in the water. These were the elite athletes along with men 20-30 years old. I never even heard the start, it turns out it was being done by a guy with a bull horn. You don't hear him unless you're in the water. Odd. Anyway, suddenly, the water turned into one of those "piranha" scenes you see in cheesy movies. It started to boil and thrash as they all started to swim. Visually, very entertaining. I was amazed at the speed at which some of these guys can cover 800m. In about 8 and a half minutes, the first guy was dashing out of the water while most of the pack was still at the half-way point.
The crowds parted to let the competitors dash into the chute towards the bike rack. At one point, a couple of guys swung wide and came out way to the side of the chute and the crowd had to point them in the right direction. I guess the leader of that small group didn't sight things quite right and the others just followed him. When he started up the sand, he looked up, saw the crowd (and no chute) and look of befuddlement passed over his face for a second until he took the hint of the people pointing to the side and he dashed off.
One wave at a time, all my friends and training partners went in until eventually I was alone, with a bunch of other people in black caps. This was the 30-34 women along with relays. Excepting a few guys who must have been doing relays, it was all women. The guys made a few comments about how fortunate their circumstances were. We made our way into the water and I was amazed at how warm it was. I've swum at Queen's beach at all different times of the day, and it's always been on the cold side and at least a little murky. Today was perfect. It was like bathwater, and so clear. You could see every detail on the bottom.
The bullhorn announced the one-minute warning, then started the ten second countdown where I started my watch timer, and then we were off. The swim went about as well as could be expected considering it's my first time in a large group start. Since swimming isn't my strong suit, I positioned myself near the back of the pack. I didn't really get kicked, but we all felt each other up a bit before we spread out some. I think I finished somewhere in the middle, but I didn't look back as I ran out of the water and up the beach. I was stripping off my cap and goggles when I saw mom and dad, which was cool as I wasn't sure if they had come (Mike wasn't there as he had to work).
Did my first transition without a hitch and started to dash for the bike exit when I had to grind to a halt for mom to take a picture. I wasn't too happy about that at the time, but I was sure happy about it later (details to come). Out on the bike course, I initially didn't feel too strong. I was heading into the wind down Kalanianaole when I thought maybe I was hungry. So I put a piece of pb&j into my mouth and promptly gagged. Hmmm, that was unexpected, but I persevered and eventually managed to swallow, and...all was well. Don't know why it didn't want to go down, but once in its destination, it was soon converted to fuel.
I went along the course and eventually made my way up heartbreak hill and at the top I caught a second wind. Suddenly, I felt great. I blazed down the hill and started picking people off one by one. One girl tried to pass me back, but I caught her and never saw her again. The return trip was a blast, I don't know why the first half was so whimpy, but I'd rather get better over the course rather than weaken. In what seemed like no time at all, I was heading into the bike chute. I jumped off and started to run, and then there were gumby legs. It seemed that my legs lost all bone structure for a moment and just decided to do whatever they felt like. Ok...so I walked quickly for a few steps and then they were fine again and I dashed off, pausing for another gritted-teeth photo.
2 minutes or so later (and another photo stop) I was out on the run. The run starts with a loop around the zoo and then a left from Paki onto Monserrat which is basically a big long uphill. Oddly enough, I remember almost nothing about going around the zoo. I know I did it, but other than a tiny recollection of some volunteers on a corner, it's like it never happened. The hill on the other hand, I can't forget. It looms above you and your tired legs. So, looking down like an ostrich putting its head in the sand, I labored up the hill. This wasn't going well, but I know this hill always sucks for me and I get better once over the top. Sure enough, at the top of the hill, I hit the first aid station and was soon on the downhill.
Around now I got a decent rhythm and I think my pace increased throughout the run. Even going up diamond head was no big deal and I was able to pass quite a few people, which gave me more motivation. Then you finally hit the corner of Kapiolani park and your brain screams "It's not fair, I'm at the park, I should be done...Where the HELL is that finish line?!" Eventually you round a corner and there it is, so you accelerate (ok, it was imperceptible, I'm sure, but it felt like it), and soon, I was done and someone was molesting my ankle to steal my timing chip.
I walked into the finishers area and the runner who had finished just in front of me leaned over and started heaving. I'm not sure if that means she had a good race or not, but I got out of there rather quickly. The rest of the morning was spent comparing stories and we had a post-race party in the afternoon. I finally went to sleep at 9 last night and slept for 10 hours straight.
The aftermath: My timing chip was defective...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. Not happy. They lost all my times except my final overall. Here's where the pictures came into play, each one had a timestamp, and as she took pictures before and after my bike and run sections, I can calculate within 20 seconds or so my times. So here's what I got:
Overall: 2:51:40.9
Swim (800m) and T1: 19:30
Bike (40k): 1:27
T2: 2:10
Run (10k): 1:03
All in all, it was a good day. I don't know what I would have done differently, and as for my first triathlon, I'm very happy with how it all went. Of course, it didn't take me five minutes after crossing the finish line before I started thinking about how I can improve for next year. One year ago I was being a couch potato, and I just finished a triathlon. It's shocking to me, but I'm sure happy about it.
Today, I did the Tinman! I am a triathlete! On the way over, I prayed for no accidents and no flat tires. Not walking on the run and coming in under my predicted time (3 hours) would be bonuses, but no big deal. I got everything I ever hoped for and more. My race went better than I could have imagined. No accidents, no flats, no walking (except through the three aid stations as I have not yet mastered the art of drinking while running), and nine minutes under the time I was shooting for!
I was up around 2:50AM and left the house at 3:30. The race packet said parking would be scarce. They lied. Just after 4, I pulled into the lot we go to all the time for our training days, and it was wide open. Maybe 10 cars were there of about 150 or so stalls. Check in was from 4 to 5:30, so I imagine it filled up not too long after though.
By 4:30, I had managed to get someone to write my number on me and went into the bike area. I got a great spot on my wave's rack right at the end of the rack. It was right in front of the chute that we run through after the swim, so no searching for my bike. I set up my stuff and mentally went through my transitions a few times to make sure I had everything laid out right. I did the standard bathroom run and then got my timing chip from the race organizers.
I was feeling a little uptight at this point, so I lathered on the sunscreen, tucked my swim cap and goggles into my swim top strap, and taking part of a pb&j sandwich, headed for the beach. At this point it was still an hour from my start time at 6:05. I was in the last wave, and happy for it. It was still completely dark, and the idea of swimming in darkness wasn't one I relished, so being last gave the sun a chance to come up. Also, there wouldn't be anyone left to pass me and bum me out. It's all good.
I sat down and leaned against a coconut tree and looked at the ocean. The sky was clear and the water calm. In the darkness, the lights of Waikiki twinkled along the shoreline curving out to the right. It was just beautiful. It seemed that everyone was in their own world, very little conversation, so all was quiet. It struck me again how lucky I am to live here.
After a while more and more people congregated there, and eventually I saw some people I knew. We all talked story for a bit and faster than I would have imagined, the first group was getting in the water. These were the elite athletes along with men 20-30 years old. I never even heard the start, it turns out it was being done by a guy with a bull horn. You don't hear him unless you're in the water. Odd. Anyway, suddenly, the water turned into one of those "piranha" scenes you see in cheesy movies. It started to boil and thrash as they all started to swim. Visually, very entertaining. I was amazed at the speed at which some of these guys can cover 800m. In about 8 and a half minutes, the first guy was dashing out of the water while most of the pack was still at the half-way point.
The crowds parted to let the competitors dash into the chute towards the bike rack. At one point, a couple of guys swung wide and came out way to the side of the chute and the crowd had to point them in the right direction. I guess the leader of that small group didn't sight things quite right and the others just followed him. When he started up the sand, he looked up, saw the crowd (and no chute) and look of befuddlement passed over his face for a second until he took the hint of the people pointing to the side and he dashed off.
One wave at a time, all my friends and training partners went in until eventually I was alone, with a bunch of other people in black caps. This was the 30-34 women along with relays. Excepting a few guys who must have been doing relays, it was all women. The guys made a few comments about how fortunate their circumstances were. We made our way into the water and I was amazed at how warm it was. I've swum at Queen's beach at all different times of the day, and it's always been on the cold side and at least a little murky. Today was perfect. It was like bathwater, and so clear. You could see every detail on the bottom.
The bullhorn announced the one-minute warning, then started the ten second countdown where I started my watch timer, and then we were off. The swim went about as well as could be expected considering it's my first time in a large group start. Since swimming isn't my strong suit, I positioned myself near the back of the pack. I didn't really get kicked, but we all felt each other up a bit before we spread out some. I think I finished somewhere in the middle, but I didn't look back as I ran out of the water and up the beach. I was stripping off my cap and goggles when I saw mom and dad, which was cool as I wasn't sure if they had come (Mike wasn't there as he had to work).
Did my first transition without a hitch and started to dash for the bike exit when I had to grind to a halt for mom to take a picture. I wasn't too happy about that at the time, but I was sure happy about it later (details to come). Out on the bike course, I initially didn't feel too strong. I was heading into the wind down Kalanianaole when I thought maybe I was hungry. So I put a piece of pb&j into my mouth and promptly gagged. Hmmm, that was unexpected, but I persevered and eventually managed to swallow, and...all was well. Don't know why it didn't want to go down, but once in its destination, it was soon converted to fuel.
I went along the course and eventually made my way up heartbreak hill and at the top I caught a second wind. Suddenly, I felt great. I blazed down the hill and started picking people off one by one. One girl tried to pass me back, but I caught her and never saw her again. The return trip was a blast, I don't know why the first half was so whimpy, but I'd rather get better over the course rather than weaken. In what seemed like no time at all, I was heading into the bike chute. I jumped off and started to run, and then there were gumby legs. It seemed that my legs lost all bone structure for a moment and just decided to do whatever they felt like. Ok...so I walked quickly for a few steps and then they were fine again and I dashed off, pausing for another gritted-teeth photo.
2 minutes or so later (and another photo stop) I was out on the run. The run starts with a loop around the zoo and then a left from Paki onto Monserrat which is basically a big long uphill. Oddly enough, I remember almost nothing about going around the zoo. I know I did it, but other than a tiny recollection of some volunteers on a corner, it's like it never happened. The hill on the other hand, I can't forget. It looms above you and your tired legs. So, looking down like an ostrich putting its head in the sand, I labored up the hill. This wasn't going well, but I know this hill always sucks for me and I get better once over the top. Sure enough, at the top of the hill, I hit the first aid station and was soon on the downhill.
Around now I got a decent rhythm and I think my pace increased throughout the run. Even going up diamond head was no big deal and I was able to pass quite a few people, which gave me more motivation. Then you finally hit the corner of Kapiolani park and your brain screams "It's not fair, I'm at the park, I should be done...Where the HELL is that finish line?!" Eventually you round a corner and there it is, so you accelerate (ok, it was imperceptible, I'm sure, but it felt like it), and soon, I was done and someone was molesting my ankle to steal my timing chip.
I walked into the finishers area and the runner who had finished just in front of me leaned over and started heaving. I'm not sure if that means she had a good race or not, but I got out of there rather quickly. The rest of the morning was spent comparing stories and we had a post-race party in the afternoon. I finally went to sleep at 9 last night and slept for 10 hours straight.
The aftermath: My timing chip was defective...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. Not happy. They lost all my times except my final overall. Here's where the pictures came into play, each one had a timestamp, and as she took pictures before and after my bike and run sections, I can calculate within 20 seconds or so my times. So here's what I got:
Overall: 2:51:40.9
Swim (800m) and T1: 19:30
Bike (40k): 1:27
T2: 2:10
Run (10k): 1:03
All in all, it was a good day. I don't know what I would have done differently, and as for my first triathlon, I'm very happy with how it all went. Of course, it didn't take me five minutes after crossing the finish line before I started thinking about how I can improve for next year. One year ago I was being a couch potato, and I just finished a triathlon. It's shocking to me, but I'm sure happy about it.
Tinman Triathlon Eve
The race is on Sunday, stupidly, I started getting ready (relatively) late on Saturday. I frittered away the day thinking I had time, and suddenly the hours accelerated, and the day was over. Never again. Next time, I will prep everything two nights before or the morning before the race. I ended up running around gathering things when I really should have already been in bed.
Devoting all that thought to what I needed for the race just amped me up and created a little anxiety where there had been none before. If I had gotten everything ready two nights before, that would give me that time to contemplate anything I had missed, which is my primary anxiety-inducing thought. Also, dashing all over the house gathering things elevates the heart rate, so you're not exactly ready to climb into bed. So, two nights before, from now on!
As it was, I climbed into bed around 9, but couldn't fall asleep until after 11. When you are getting up at 3, that's not good. Fortunately, when I did fall asleep, I slept hard. Not the fitful sleep I had before the marathon. When the alarm went off, I would have liked more sleep, but the adrenaline did the job of getting me up without being too groggy.
What I did right:
- took a shower right before I went to sleep. It's one less thing to deal with in the morning, and it helps to cool you down before getting in bed on a hot night.
- eating - I'm writing this after the race, which went well, so for future record, I'm recording what I ate. On Friday, and Saturday, I drank only water (barring the green tea frappaccino I craved on Saturday morning, oops). I noted what I ate Thursday through Sunday's race. Note that Thursday absolutely sucks nutritionally, but it didn't seem to do too much harm. Friday and Saturday were ok. I think Sunday went almost perfectly nutrition-wise. No bonking, and it seemed I got a surge of energy each time I started to feel weak.
Thursday:
oatmeal
half an eggplant-parmesan sandwich
nachos and margaritas (bad jen!)
Friday:
oatmeal
1 slice thai veggie pizza
thai chicken/veggie curry
Cobb salad
Saturday:
oatmeal
green tea frappaccino
Tuna sandwich on whole grain bread
Veggie whole wheat pasta salad minimal w/ butter/olive oil/white wine sauce (artichokes, broccoli, bell pepper, zuccinni, sun dried tomatos, and capers)
Sunday (race day):
3:15am - oatmeal
3:30-4am - fruit smoothie in car on way to race
5:00am - 1/3 of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
~6:25 (T1) - 1 'espresso love' gu
~7:00 (bike course) - one 1.5" square of pb&j which did NOT want to go down. next time stick to gu.
~7:50 (T2) - 1 'espresso love' gu
packing list:
I used the smaller-than-my-normal-bag pink bag since I was going to need to ride my bike with it. In it, I crammed:
towel (left in the car to cover the seat afterwards)
two rags (one to sit on, one to wipe feet with)
water bottle (to wash feet with)
goggles (bring spare)
swim cap (official one if provided)
helmet
socks
bike shoes
shades
bike jersey
sunscreen
blister-shield
run shirt
running shoes
Misc things that needed to be done the night before:
fill water bottles on bike
lay out clothes: swim top, tri-shorts, long-sleeve shirt, yoga pants, socks, hairband, watch
make pb&j sandwich to eat before race, cut up and put in fridge
put food (3+ gus and opened bag of shot bloxs) in bento box
put sticker number on helmet
put number on bike shirt
put number on run shirt
put number on bike (note, my water bottle was too big and got stuck once the number was on. use a smaller water bottle in the front holder)
get oatmeal bowl ready
mix fruit in container for smoothie and put in freezer
put blender in living room with towel to deaden sound
Misc things that needed to be done on race day:
eat oatmeal
make smoothie
put sandwich in bag
get number written on arm/leg (someone was there to do this)
make sure chip works (hear a beep after going over a mat? this cost me)
Devoting all that thought to what I needed for the race just amped me up and created a little anxiety where there had been none before. If I had gotten everything ready two nights before, that would give me that time to contemplate anything I had missed, which is my primary anxiety-inducing thought. Also, dashing all over the house gathering things elevates the heart rate, so you're not exactly ready to climb into bed. So, two nights before, from now on!
As it was, I climbed into bed around 9, but couldn't fall asleep until after 11. When you are getting up at 3, that's not good. Fortunately, when I did fall asleep, I slept hard. Not the fitful sleep I had before the marathon. When the alarm went off, I would have liked more sleep, but the adrenaline did the job of getting me up without being too groggy.
What I did right:
- took a shower right before I went to sleep. It's one less thing to deal with in the morning, and it helps to cool you down before getting in bed on a hot night.
- eating - I'm writing this after the race, which went well, so for future record, I'm recording what I ate. On Friday, and Saturday, I drank only water (barring the green tea frappaccino I craved on Saturday morning, oops). I noted what I ate Thursday through Sunday's race. Note that Thursday absolutely sucks nutritionally, but it didn't seem to do too much harm. Friday and Saturday were ok. I think Sunday went almost perfectly nutrition-wise. No bonking, and it seemed I got a surge of energy each time I started to feel weak.
Thursday:
oatmeal
half an eggplant-parmesan sandwich
nachos and margaritas (bad jen!)
Friday:
oatmeal
1 slice thai veggie pizza
thai chicken/veggie curry
Cobb salad
Saturday:
oatmeal
green tea frappaccino
Tuna sandwich on whole grain bread
Veggie whole wheat pasta salad minimal w/ butter/olive oil/white wine sauce (artichokes, broccoli, bell pepper, zuccinni, sun dried tomatos, and capers)
Sunday (race day):
3:15am - oatmeal
3:30-4am - fruit smoothie in car on way to race
5:00am - 1/3 of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
~6:25 (T1) - 1 'espresso love' gu
~7:00 (bike course) - one 1.5" square of pb&j which did NOT want to go down. next time stick to gu.
~7:50 (T2) - 1 'espresso love' gu
packing list:
I used the smaller-than-my-normal-bag pink bag since I was going to need to ride my bike with it. In it, I crammed:
towel (left in the car to cover the seat afterwards)
two rags (one to sit on, one to wipe feet with)
water bottle (to wash feet with)
goggles (bring spare)
swim cap (official one if provided)
helmet
socks
bike shoes
shades
bike jersey
sunscreen
blister-shield
run shirt
running shoes
Misc things that needed to be done the night before:
fill water bottles on bike
lay out clothes: swim top, tri-shorts, long-sleeve shirt, yoga pants, socks, hairband, watch
make pb&j sandwich to eat before race, cut up and put in fridge
put food (3+ gus and opened bag of shot bloxs) in bento box
put sticker number on helmet
put number on bike shirt
put number on run shirt
put number on bike (note, my water bottle was too big and got stuck once the number was on. use a smaller water bottle in the front holder)
get oatmeal bowl ready
mix fruit in container for smoothie and put in freezer
put blender in living room with towel to deaden sound
Misc things that needed to be done on race day:
eat oatmeal
make smoothie
put sandwich in bag
get number written on arm/leg (someone was there to do this)
make sure chip works (hear a beep after going over a mat? this cost me)
OTT: #24, 25, 26
This is the final week before the triathlon, and I did no training with the group. Here's what the coach sent out:
Monday: easy 40' T.T. and easy 40' run.
Tuesday: no training. stretch
Wednesday: Swim at Queen's beach (nobody did this as there was the potential for jellyfish that day and we had a group pre-race dinner at Buca di Beppo scheduled for later that evening).
Thursday: short super easy run and bike. One hour max.
Friday: short swim with a couple of bursts of 30-60 seconds. 10-15m total.
What I did:
Swam 1300 on Thursday.
Oh well. Hey, at least the pre-race dinner was good!
Monday: easy 40' T.T. and easy 40' run.
Tuesday: no training. stretch
Wednesday: Swim at Queen's beach (nobody did this as there was the potential for jellyfish that day and we had a group pre-race dinner at Buca di Beppo scheduled for later that evening).
Thursday: short super easy run and bike. One hour max.
Friday: short swim with a couple of bursts of 30-60 seconds. 10-15m total.
What I did:
Swam 1300 on Thursday.
Oh well. Hey, at least the pre-race dinner was good!
Monday, July 17, 2006
OTT #24: Bike/Run
Saturday, July 15
Rode the Tinman route and then we were supposed to do a 15 minute jog after, but I didn't do that part. During the ride, I had an accident and I figured it would be best for me to go get some ice on the knee I banged up.
The accident? There was a dump truck in the bike lane. It extended a little bit into the lane on the left. There was a Mercedes in the lane that was slightly blocked by the truck, but it started to accelerate as if it was going to pass the truck. Seeing this, I looked back to make sure I could merge safely into traffic to get around the truck, and when I looked forward again, the Mercedes had stopped! I ran into the back right corner of the Mercedes and fell over (fortunately, I fell out of traffic).
The Mercedes? It drove away. I don't think they even know I hit them. As they drove off, I noticed a mark on the back. I'm not sure if I dented it, or if it was a dirt line from my tire. If it's a dent, they're sure going to be pissed off when they find it.
As for me, I'm ok, just my knee is a little tender and I have a lot of scrapes and bruises. All should be fine for the race next week though.
Rode the Tinman route and then we were supposed to do a 15 minute jog after, but I didn't do that part. During the ride, I had an accident and I figured it would be best for me to go get some ice on the knee I banged up.
The accident? There was a dump truck in the bike lane. It extended a little bit into the lane on the left. There was a Mercedes in the lane that was slightly blocked by the truck, but it started to accelerate as if it was going to pass the truck. Seeing this, I looked back to make sure I could merge safely into traffic to get around the truck, and when I looked forward again, the Mercedes had stopped! I ran into the back right corner of the Mercedes and fell over (fortunately, I fell out of traffic).
The Mercedes? It drove away. I don't think they even know I hit them. As they drove off, I noticed a mark on the back. I'm not sure if I dented it, or if it was a dirt line from my tire. If it's a dent, they're sure going to be pissed off when they find it.
As for me, I'm ok, just my knee is a little tender and I have a lot of scrapes and bruises. All should be fine for the race next week though.
OTT #23: Swim/Run
Wednesday, July 12
Queens Beach. 1 lap swim. Run the Tinman course (6.2m). This run went great! I ran the whole thing, and I did a good pace. It took just under one hour (shy about 30 seconds), including four stops for water. The last two miles or so, I caught up with Glenn and we pushed each other to the end. It was a good strong pace and at the end he thanked me for pacing him. This cracked me up because I was about to do the same to him. I thought he was pacing me! I guess there's a bit of competitiveness in both of us.
Queens Beach. 1 lap swim. Run the Tinman course (6.2m). This run went great! I ran the whole thing, and I did a good pace. It took just under one hour (shy about 30 seconds), including four stops for water. The last two miles or so, I caught up with Glenn and we pushed each other to the end. It was a good strong pace and at the end he thanked me for pacing him. This cracked me up because I was about to do the same to him. I thought he was pacing me! I guess there's a bit of competitiveness in both of us.
OTT #21: Swim, Bike, Run
Saturday, July 8
Today was a run-through of the entire Tinman course. We met at Queen's beach, both our group and the other Boca tinman group together. So we did the entire swim, bike, and run. We couldn't do proper transitions as there was no-one to watch our stuff.
Here are my times:
Swim 18m
Bike 1h 40m (ugh)
Run 1h (didn't do the whole thing)
I wasn't too happy with how today went.
Swim: I went out too fast. I'm not a fast swimmer and I shouldn't act like it. Going out fast only leaves my winded and floundering, so for the race, I should just cruise along.
Bike: Today was very windy. Between the wind and all the stoplights I got caught at, I wouldn't have expected a good time, but I still didn't expect as slow a time as I got. I wasn't going all out as they told us to do this moderately.
Run: This just sucked. I did the run as they instructed, leaving out the 18th ave-Elepiao section. It took about an hour, but that section probably cut off about a mile. I did a lot of walking up the hills. On flats and downhills I did fine.
In trying to find an explanation for my poor performance, it could be a poor diet the day before or lack of sleep. For some reason, I couldn't sleep at all last night. Perhaps it was the caffeine in the soda I had (although that was around 6pm). As for the diet, I had a high-protein, low-carb dinner the night before and in general, just didn't pay attention to what I ate. I'll have to do better for the days leading up to the race.
Today was a run-through of the entire Tinman course. We met at Queen's beach, both our group and the other Boca tinman group together. So we did the entire swim, bike, and run. We couldn't do proper transitions as there was no-one to watch our stuff.
Here are my times:
Swim 18m
Bike 1h 40m (ugh)
Run 1h (didn't do the whole thing)
I wasn't too happy with how today went.
Swim: I went out too fast. I'm not a fast swimmer and I shouldn't act like it. Going out fast only leaves my winded and floundering, so for the race, I should just cruise along.
Bike: Today was very windy. Between the wind and all the stoplights I got caught at, I wouldn't have expected a good time, but I still didn't expect as slow a time as I got. I wasn't going all out as they told us to do this moderately.
Run: This just sucked. I did the run as they instructed, leaving out the 18th ave-Elepiao section. It took about an hour, but that section probably cut off about a mile. I did a lot of walking up the hills. On flats and downhills I did fine.
In trying to find an explanation for my poor performance, it could be a poor diet the day before or lack of sleep. For some reason, I couldn't sleep at all last night. Perhaps it was the caffeine in the soda I had (although that was around 6pm). As for the diet, I had a high-protein, low-carb dinner the night before and in general, just didn't pay attention to what I ate. I'll have to do better for the days leading up to the race.
OTT #22: Bike/Run
Monday, July 10
Met at Boca for a bike/run day.
Bike:
1' hard, 1' easy
2' hard, 1' easy
3' hard, 1' easy
4' hard, 1' easy
5' hard, 1' easy
4' hard, 1' easy
2' hard, 1' easy (I didn't skip 3, it just wasn't done)
1' hard, several minutes rest
Followed by 10 30" hard, 30" rest intervals.
The run as a 30 minute out and back with hills thrown in as we want. This part went really well. I felt fast and strong. I did a lot of hills and seemed to recover quickly.
Met at Boca for a bike/run day.
Bike:
1' hard, 1' easy
2' hard, 1' easy
3' hard, 1' easy
4' hard, 1' easy
5' hard, 1' easy
4' hard, 1' easy
2' hard, 1' easy (I didn't skip 3, it just wasn't done)
1' hard, several minutes rest
Followed by 10 30" hard, 30" rest intervals.
The run as a 30 minute out and back with hills thrown in as we want. This part went really well. I felt fast and strong. I did a lot of hills and seemed to recover quickly.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
OTT #20: Swim/Run
Wednesday, July 5
Ala Moana swim with drills. Finger-drag, Side-swim, Fist-swim, etc. Then a 20 minute temp run. This went well. I held a decent pace, but Tom had me soundly beat. I discovered I have to go back the way I came because I did a loop and found out that the second half of the park isn't long enough to match the first half, so I had to keep running past the stopping area to make the 20 minutes.
Ala Moana swim with drills. Finger-drag, Side-swim, Fist-swim, etc. Then a 20 minute temp run. This went well. I held a decent pace, but Tom had me soundly beat. I discovered I have to go back the way I came because I did a loop and found out that the second half of the park isn't long enough to match the first half, so I had to keep running past the stopping area to make the 20 minutes.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
OTT #19: T.T./Run
This Monday was the first day of two "hard-weeks." We did the Turbo-trainer workout followed by a run at Kakaako Waterfront park.
Turbo-trainer:
5' on, 1" off (on is at the hardest pace you can smoothly maintain for the time. 95-100 rpm.
4' on, 1" off
3' on, 1" off
2' on, 1" off
1' on, 1" off
Then we did 10 iterations of 30" on, 30" off. The "on" pace was the hardest we could handle. About 95-100rpm.
For the run, we went to the waterfront park. We went to a vent pole at the top of one hill and had to run from there, down the hill, then back up another hill to another vent pole. We just kept going, no rest, up and down, over and over. I don't know how many iterations, but we ran for about 15 minutes.
The coach said this was a big "deposit into the endurance bank." I think I did rather well overall, so hopefully, it bears well for the future.
Turbo-trainer:
5' on, 1" off (on is at the hardest pace you can smoothly maintain for the time. 95-100 rpm.
4' on, 1" off
3' on, 1" off
2' on, 1" off
1' on, 1" off
Then we did 10 iterations of 30" on, 30" off. The "on" pace was the hardest we could handle. About 95-100rpm.
For the run, we went to the waterfront park. We went to a vent pole at the top of one hill and had to run from there, down the hill, then back up another hill to another vent pole. We just kept going, no rest, up and down, over and over. I don't know how many iterations, but we ran for about 15 minutes.
The coach said this was a big "deposit into the endurance bank." I think I did rather well overall, so hopefully, it bears well for the future.
OTT #18: Swim/Run
This Sunday, some people were doing a triathlon at Barber's Point, but the rest of us were to do the workout on our own. It was a 1500m swim and a 4.5 mile run. I did the run first and then the swim. The run went well in spite of it being rather hot out. It was 10AM, but it was a good breeze so it wasn't too bad. I only did 1000m of the swim. The pool opened for lap swim at 11 AM on weekends, and it fills up rather quickly.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
OTT Class #17: Swim/Run, repeat
Met on Wednesday at Ala Moana. We swam for 10 minutes and then ran over to the beach in front of the Hilton. Swam there for 10 minutes (got stung by something along the way), then ran back to Ala Moana and swam a final 10 minutes. I think we went to the other beach to put in perspective how nice Ala Moana really is.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
OTT Class #16: T.T./Run
Started with a Turbo Trainer, and then a 20 minute out and back run.
The T.T.:
30s hard, 30s easy x5 (high 90's rpm)
60s hard, 60s easy x3
90s hard, 90s easy x2
Some one-leg drills
10 minutes at hard, stead pace
2 minutes rest
10 minutes
Then jump off, change into running shoes and go for an out and back run for a total of 20 minutes. The first 3 or 4 minutes was to be easy and then steadily increase the pace to a harder run. I was talking with someone as we jogged out, and before I knew it, 10 minutes had passed and we had reached the end of Kakaako Waterfront. So, I picked up the pace and set out to catch the leaders. I felt surprisingly strong and did manage to catch the few that were in front of me excepting one. I was gaining on him, and was sure I was going to get him when the coach stopped us one block early to stretch in the park. Darn! Very encouraging though.
The T.T.:
30s hard, 30s easy x5 (high 90's rpm)
60s hard, 60s easy x3
90s hard, 90s easy x2
Some one-leg drills
10 minutes at hard, stead pace
2 minutes rest
10 minutes
Then jump off, change into running shoes and go for an out and back run for a total of 20 minutes. The first 3 or 4 minutes was to be easy and then steadily increase the pace to a harder run. I was talking with someone as we jogged out, and before I knew it, 10 minutes had passed and we had reached the end of Kakaako Waterfront. So, I picked up the pace and set out to catch the leaders. I felt surprisingly strong and did manage to catch the few that were in front of me excepting one. I was gaining on him, and was sure I was going to get him when the coach stopped us one block early to stretch in the park. Darn! Very encouraging though.
OTT Class #15: Bike/Run
On Saturday morning, we met at Kapiolani park and rode the Tinman course plus two times up and over Heartbreak hill. I remember when the backside of Heartbreak was hard for me, now it's practically a rest after doing the frontside. That's big improvement.
On the way back, we were to ride hard, the fast group was sent out first. The coach named off the fast people and then asked me if I wanted to go with them, so I said I'd try. I think I did ok, but it wasn't long before I was alone. I was last in the pace-line when a light changed and severed the last three of us off from the rest (should have been five, but oops). Then the two in front of me pulled over to get a bee off the front rider's shirt. Since they are both much faster than me, I went on ahead. Eventually, one of them passed me, but I didn't see the other, and I did eventually manage to pass one of the guys who went through the light.
When we got to the cars, we were to treat it like a transition and put our stuff away and head out on the run as quickly as possible. We were to do a total of 25 minutes during an out-and-back along the tinman course. So, I ran off up Monserrat. It sucked, the heat just bore down on me and I didn't do well going uphill at all. Downhill and flat land was ok. I need to do more hills.
On the way back, we were to ride hard, the fast group was sent out first. The coach named off the fast people and then asked me if I wanted to go with them, so I said I'd try. I think I did ok, but it wasn't long before I was alone. I was last in the pace-line when a light changed and severed the last three of us off from the rest (should have been five, but oops). Then the two in front of me pulled over to get a bee off the front rider's shirt. Since they are both much faster than me, I went on ahead. Eventually, one of them passed me, but I didn't see the other, and I did eventually manage to pass one of the guys who went through the light.
When we got to the cars, we were to treat it like a transition and put our stuff away and head out on the run as quickly as possible. We were to do a total of 25 minutes during an out-and-back along the tinman course. So, I ran off up Monserrat. It sucked, the heat just bore down on me and I didn't do well going uphill at all. Downhill and flat land was ok. I need to do more hills.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Food diary
Monday, June 19, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
- 08:30a Oatmeal
- 09:30a Soda
- 11:40a Pesto
- 12:00p Pineapple
- 01:30p Muffin
- 09:00p Tom Yum
- Water: ?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
- 08:30a Oatmeal
- 09:30a Soda
- 12:00p Fajitas
- 05:00p Ginger Snaps
- 06:00p Chicken bake, caesar salad, soda
- 08:30p Churro
- Water: ?
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
- 08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
- 10:00a Oatmeal
- 12:30p Fajitas
- 03:00p Strawberries
- 09:00p Thai Chicken Curry and wine
- Water: 2L
Thursday, June 22, 2006
- 08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
- 10:00a Oatmeal
- 12:30p Pizza
- 03:00p Strawberries and soda
- 09:00p Nachos and Margarita
- Water: 1L
Friday, June 23, 2006
- 08:30a Oatmeal
- 09:00a Soda
- 12:00p Pizza
- 03:00p Strawberries
- 06:00p Taste of Honolulu
- Water: 1L
Friday, June 23, 2006
OTT Class #14: Swim/Run
Wednesday was another Swim/Run day at Magic Island. We started with a 5 minute out and back (10 min total) swim to warm up and then we all met on the beach. Coach had set up two cones on the beach and put a buoy out in the water.
We started at one cone and swam easy out to the buoy. Then we were to swim back to the other cone hard, run to the original cone hard and swim back to the buoy hard. Then we could swim in easy. The hard portion was meant to be like a race. Once done, we all met on the beach and did one more cone, buoy, cone loop at a moderate pace.
I did surprisingly well. For the first half (the harder part), I came in third. What was really surprising was that I was matching another guy stroke for stroke throughout the hard swim part. I've never come close to matching him before. Afterwards, he commented on how I was swimming much faster than I used to.
After all the swimming, we got our run gear and headed over to the path on magic island for intervals. We did a five minute easy warmup jog and then stopped for instructions. We did easy/hard intervals:
1" hard
1" easy
2" hard
2" easy
3" hard
2" easy (yes 2, not 3).
Repeat once for a total of two iterations.
This went rather well, too. I wasn't feeling really strong, but I still did it. I kept pace with leader and pretty much stayed with him the whole time except the last minute of the final 3" interval. At that point, I faded a little, but I didn't fall very far off, so all around it was good. Much better than my running on Saturday. I think I'm back from where I was, so it doesn't seem like I've lost much ground. I'm so relieved.
Our coach said the interval running we did today and the tempo run on Monday are the two most efficient workouts you can do. The most bang for your time I guess. He said all you need to do is add on hills and you've got a really solid foundation. I'm not sure where long, slow runs fit into there.
We started at one cone and swam easy out to the buoy. Then we were to swim back to the other cone hard, run to the original cone hard and swim back to the buoy hard. Then we could swim in easy. The hard portion was meant to be like a race. Once done, we all met on the beach and did one more cone, buoy, cone loop at a moderate pace.
I did surprisingly well. For the first half (the harder part), I came in third. What was really surprising was that I was matching another guy stroke for stroke throughout the hard swim part. I've never come close to matching him before. Afterwards, he commented on how I was swimming much faster than I used to.
After all the swimming, we got our run gear and headed over to the path on magic island for intervals. We did a five minute easy warmup jog and then stopped for instructions. We did easy/hard intervals:
1" hard
1" easy
2" hard
2" easy
3" hard
2" easy (yes 2, not 3).
Repeat once for a total of two iterations.
This went rather well, too. I wasn't feeling really strong, but I still did it. I kept pace with leader and pretty much stayed with him the whole time except the last minute of the final 3" interval. At that point, I faded a little, but I didn't fall very far off, so all around it was good. Much better than my running on Saturday. I think I'm back from where I was, so it doesn't seem like I've lost much ground. I'm so relieved.
Our coach said the interval running we did today and the tempo run on Monday are the two most efficient workouts you can do. The most bang for your time I guess. He said all you need to do is add on hills and you've got a really solid foundation. I'm not sure where long, slow runs fit into there.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
OTT Class #13: Swim, Run
Met at Ala Moana and swam 30 minutes (out to the pole and back). Then ran around magic island. When we reached the road, we started a 15 minute tempo out-and back run. Slightly below race pace, seven minutes out and then back. We went right and ran along the path around Ala Moana Park.
The swim was ok, I'm still swallowing water, but my stomach doesn't seem to be getting as knotted up as before. Still is a little bit, but at least it's managable now. The coach says my stroke actually isn't bad, but I'm sighting too much. My reply was that I keep going off course. His suggestion was to swim in a pool and do a few strokes with my eyes closed. Note which way I drift and figure out how to compensate. Eventually I should be able to go further and further without looking.
The run was surprisingly good. I stayed with the front runners for the first half, and didn't drop too far back once the pace picked up. I wasn't giving it everything I had as I wasn't sure if I would be able to maintain the pace after my lousy showing on Saturday, but I should have. I felt great, very strong. No weezing, legs felt normal, basically back to what I felt like before I got sick. Yay!
On an interesting side note, I ate crap all day long. Couldn't get enough to eat, and was craving sugar. All around, a lousy nutrition day, yet, I had a great workout. Go figure.
The swim was ok, I'm still swallowing water, but my stomach doesn't seem to be getting as knotted up as before. Still is a little bit, but at least it's managable now. The coach says my stroke actually isn't bad, but I'm sighting too much. My reply was that I keep going off course. His suggestion was to swim in a pool and do a few strokes with my eyes closed. Note which way I drift and figure out how to compensate. Eventually I should be able to go further and further without looking.
The run was surprisingly good. I stayed with the front runners for the first half, and didn't drop too far back once the pace picked up. I wasn't giving it everything I had as I wasn't sure if I would be able to maintain the pace after my lousy showing on Saturday, but I should have. I felt great, very strong. No weezing, legs felt normal, basically back to what I felt like before I got sick. Yay!
On an interesting side note, I ate crap all day long. Couldn't get enough to eat, and was craving sugar. All around, a lousy nutrition day, yet, I had a great workout. Go figure.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Food Diary: Tues 6/13-Sun 6/18
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
06:30a Oatmeal
09:00a Flax Sticks
10:00a Salad w/ turkey
11:00a 4 small Sushi rolls
11:40a 2 Dark Hershey Kisses
06:30p Salad, Lasagna, & Wine
Water: 3L
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
11:40a Lasagna
12:20p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
09:00p Veggie Sandwich
Water: 3L
Thursday, June 15, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frapp
11:40a Lasagna
12:30p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
02:00p Soda
06:00p Brown rice, Fish tempura, Shrimp scampi
Water: 1L
Friday, June 16, 2006
08:30a Green Tea Frapp
11:40a Summer rolls
12:20p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
09:00p Fajitas
Water: 3L
Saturday, June 17, 2006
06:00a Cereal
10:30a Smoothie (jamba)
01:00p Pizza and soda
08:00p Pesto and chicken
Water: ?
Sunday, June 18, 2006
10:30a Eggs and Sausage
12:00p Soda
04:30p Misc snacks and soda
09:00p Tom Yum Soup w/ Salad and Margarita
Water: ?
06:30a Oatmeal
09:00a Flax Sticks
10:00a Salad w/ turkey
11:00a 4 small Sushi rolls
11:40a 2 Dark Hershey Kisses
06:30p Salad, Lasagna, & Wine
Water: 3L
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
11:40a Lasagna
12:20p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
09:00p Veggie Sandwich
Water: 3L
Thursday, June 15, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frapp
11:40a Lasagna
12:30p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
02:00p Soda
06:00p Brown rice, Fish tempura, Shrimp scampi
Water: 1L
Friday, June 16, 2006
08:30a Green Tea Frapp
11:40a Summer rolls
12:20p 3 Dark Hershey Kisses
09:00p Fajitas
Water: 3L
Saturday, June 17, 2006
06:00a Cereal
10:30a Smoothie (jamba)
01:00p Pizza and soda
08:00p Pesto and chicken
Water: ?
Sunday, June 18, 2006
10:30a Eggs and Sausage
12:00p Soda
04:30p Misc snacks and soda
09:00p Tom Yum Soup w/ Salad and Margarita
Water: ?
OTT Class #12: Swim, Bike, Run
Met at Queen's beach and swam 750m. My time was 19 minutes. It was a little rough with larger swells than normal. This was followed by 40 minutes or so on turbo trainers set up in the grass along the beach. It was a beautiful day and we were in the shade with an ocean view. It was lovely, but very hard to stay focused.
The run, a 10k loop following the Tinman course, sucked. It was hot, and I'm pretty sure I needed to have eaten more (I've been feeling nauseated lately, so I didn't eat much for breakfast). I just died. I limped in perhaps dead last, I'm not sure. I had to walk at points, and just felt like my legs weighed 50 pounds each. I don't know if it's that I'm still recovering from my cold, or the food issue, but this better get resolved, or I'm in deep trouble come race day. What a miserable experience.
The run, a 10k loop following the Tinman course, sucked. It was hot, and I'm pretty sure I needed to have eaten more (I've been feeling nauseated lately, so I didn't eat much for breakfast). I just died. I limped in perhaps dead last, I'm not sure. I had to walk at points, and just felt like my legs weighed 50 pounds each. I don't know if it's that I'm still recovering from my cold, or the food issue, but this better get resolved, or I'm in deep trouble come race day. What a miserable experience.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Swim
I took a swim yesterday (Thursday) at the pool during lunch time. I think I did 1000m (1100yds) but I may have done +/- 50 as I lost count. I did mostly drills, finger drag, catch-up, catch-up for three strokes and a kicking pause, sideways, and fist-swim.
I think something clicked today. This was only my second time doing the sideways drill, and it's definitely my least favorite as I tend to swallow a lot of water along with getting it up my nose. Yet, it seems to be the catalyst for the realization.
I know that I am supposed to really rotate my body and try to keep one arm out in front of me. I am also supposed to keep my head on the arm. I was told these things, but it never really clicked how it came together until just after the sideways drill. I finished 100yds of that drill and then started to swim a catch-up drill. I noticed that I was really rotating to the point of almost going perpendicular along the surface of the water. My head was on the lead arm and it all felt right.
I soon lost the feeling, but with more drills, hopefully I can attain that consistently. Hopefully this is what I'm supposed to be doing and I haven't interpreted things wrong. I only counted strokes once because I really wanted to focus on the stroke and the counting obliterates all other thought. I counted 23 strokes, but I'm not at all confident about its accuracy.
I asked the lifeguards at the pool about swim coaches, and they didn't know of any, but pointed me to the master's swim club. The club is pretty expensive, but they mentioned that I could pay a $5 per day fee. So maybe I'll do that a few times to get some help before the triathlon.
I think something clicked today. This was only my second time doing the sideways drill, and it's definitely my least favorite as I tend to swallow a lot of water along with getting it up my nose. Yet, it seems to be the catalyst for the realization.
I know that I am supposed to really rotate my body and try to keep one arm out in front of me. I am also supposed to keep my head on the arm. I was told these things, but it never really clicked how it came together until just after the sideways drill. I finished 100yds of that drill and then started to swim a catch-up drill. I noticed that I was really rotating to the point of almost going perpendicular along the surface of the water. My head was on the lead arm and it all felt right.
I soon lost the feeling, but with more drills, hopefully I can attain that consistently. Hopefully this is what I'm supposed to be doing and I haven't interpreted things wrong. I only counted strokes once because I really wanted to focus on the stroke and the counting obliterates all other thought. I counted 23 strokes, but I'm not at all confident about its accuracy.
I asked the lifeguards at the pool about swim coaches, and they didn't know of any, but pointed me to the master's swim club. The club is pretty expensive, but they mentioned that I could pay a $5 per day fee. So maybe I'll do that a few times to get some help before the triathlon.
OTT Class #11: Bike/Run
On Wednesday (6/14), started at Triangle park, all of us on our bikes and carrying our running shoes in backpacks. Rode over to Kilauea hill. Bike up the hill once, run uphill for 4 minutes and return to the starting area. Repeat two more times for a total of three bike/run iterations.
Considering this was my first day of really trying after being sick, I didn't do half bad. There was one moment I would rather forget though...I hit a parked car. I was going uphill on my third iteration and was dead tired. I had found that looking down made things psychologically easier as I didn't see the vast expanse of the hill up in front of me. I remember at the start of the cycling clinic they warned us about that, saying people have hit parked cars before. I remember snorting at that and thinking "who would do something so stupid?" Now I know, it's me.
I had looked up that section of the hill and didn't see the car. I have no idea why, I'm sure it was there when I looked. So, I went on my way, looking down and thinking the way was clear and I wouldn't have to look up until I crested that section of the hill. At one point, I glanced up and there was a car about one foot in front of me. I gasped (like that would help), and hit it doing maybe five miles an hour. The car was unharmed, although I did interrupt the even distribution of dirt on its bumper.
As for myself, I laid splayed out on the ground for a minute, contemplating my situation. My first reaction was what any person would do when not actually injured...I looked around to see if anyone saw me. I thought I had gotten away from that mortification when I heard a voice ask "Are you ok?" I looked around and saw no-one. Perhaps my helmet hadn't done its job? Then the voice said she was upstairs. I still saw no-one, but assured the disembodied voice that I was ok.
I got up, moved my bike over to the sidewalk and put the chain back on. I'm surprised it had popped off, but no damage seemed to have happened. I checked the car, saw only the dirt was disturbed, and then got on and rode off. I did notice a silver lining, I felt nice and rested starting my way up the rest of the hill!
Considering this was my first day of really trying after being sick, I didn't do half bad. There was one moment I would rather forget though...I hit a parked car. I was going uphill on my third iteration and was dead tired. I had found that looking down made things psychologically easier as I didn't see the vast expanse of the hill up in front of me. I remember at the start of the cycling clinic they warned us about that, saying people have hit parked cars before. I remember snorting at that and thinking "who would do something so stupid?" Now I know, it's me.
I had looked up that section of the hill and didn't see the car. I have no idea why, I'm sure it was there when I looked. So, I went on my way, looking down and thinking the way was clear and I wouldn't have to look up until I crested that section of the hill. At one point, I glanced up and there was a car about one foot in front of me. I gasped (like that would help), and hit it doing maybe five miles an hour. The car was unharmed, although I did interrupt the even distribution of dirt on its bumper.
As for myself, I laid splayed out on the ground for a minute, contemplating my situation. My first reaction was what any person would do when not actually injured...I looked around to see if anyone saw me. I thought I had gotten away from that mortification when I heard a voice ask "Are you ok?" I looked around and saw no-one. Perhaps my helmet hadn't done its job? Then the voice said she was upstairs. I still saw no-one, but assured the disembodied voice that I was ok.
I got up, moved my bike over to the sidewalk and put the chain back on. I'm surprised it had popped off, but no damage seemed to have happened. I checked the car, saw only the dirt was disturbed, and then got on and rode off. I did notice a silver lining, I felt nice and rested starting my way up the rest of the hill!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Food Diary: Mon 5/29-Fri 6/2
Note that the food diary drops off for quite a while starting Friday. That's when I really started to feel ill, so I let myself eat whatever sounded good, and didn't bother writing anything down.
Monday, May 29, 2006
06:00a Cereal w/ soy milk
11:00a Eggs Benedict
04:00p Green Tea Frappaccino
09:00p Tomato/Cheese on Ciabatta w/ wine
Water: ?
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
11:00a Soda
12:00p 1/2 Eggplant Parmesan sandwich and oven fries
03:30p 1/2 Eggplant Parmesan sandwich
04:00p 5 Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses
Water: 3L (note: no dinner tonight)
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
12:00p Pasta w/ chicken & shrimp
02:00p Fruit smoothie (jamba)
04:00p 5 Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses
08:00p Turkey, Butternut Squash, Stuffing, Biscuit, & wine
Water: 3L
Thursday, June 1, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
12:00p Pasta w/ Chicken & Shrimp
02:00p Soda
07:00p Pancakes and milk
09:00p Wine
Water: 1L
Friday, June 2, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
Water: ?
Monday, May 29, 2006
06:00a Cereal w/ soy milk
11:00a Eggs Benedict
04:00p Green Tea Frappaccino
09:00p Tomato/Cheese on Ciabatta w/ wine
Water: ?
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
11:00a Soda
12:00p 1/2 Eggplant Parmesan sandwich and oven fries
03:30p 1/2 Eggplant Parmesan sandwich
04:00p 5 Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses
Water: 3L (note: no dinner tonight)
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
09:00a Oatmeal
12:00p Pasta w/ chicken & shrimp
02:00p Fruit smoothie (jamba)
04:00p 5 Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses
08:00p Turkey, Butternut Squash, Stuffing, Biscuit, & wine
Water: 3L
Thursday, June 1, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
12:00p Pasta w/ Chicken & Shrimp
02:00p Soda
07:00p Pancakes and milk
09:00p Wine
Water: 1L
Friday, June 2, 2006
08:00a Green Tea Frappaccino
Water: ?
OTT Class #10: Swim/Run
Today was King Kamehameha Day and I had the day off. I guess other didn't, so they were still holding the class in the afternoon. Since Mike and I had plans for the rest of the day, I decided to try do the workout on my own in the morning. Not such a hot idea.
At 9AM it was about 85 degrees. I ran the 4 miles and felt like passing out at the end. A little dizzy/lightheaded. My legs were fine, it was the heat that seemed to just be beating me down. When I went to do the swim at the pool, it was closed. So I drove over to the beach and couldn't get parking. I finally gave up and went home.
Later, I heard that there were a lot of man-o-war at the beach today, so it was just as well.
Still not done with the cold. There's still some ickyness in my chest. On the plus side, I finally got some asthma medication. It's a long-release type that I take half an hour before exercise. It seemed to help. With today's heat and the stuff in my chest from the cold, the wheezing was practically guaranteed, yet, I could breathe just fine! Hooray!
At 9AM it was about 85 degrees. I ran the 4 miles and felt like passing out at the end. A little dizzy/lightheaded. My legs were fine, it was the heat that seemed to just be beating me down. When I went to do the swim at the pool, it was closed. So I drove over to the beach and couldn't get parking. I finally gave up and went home.
Later, I heard that there were a lot of man-o-war at the beach today, so it was just as well.
Still not done with the cold. There's still some ickyness in my chest. On the plus side, I finally got some asthma medication. It's a long-release type that I take half an hour before exercise. It seemed to help. With today's heat and the stuff in my chest from the cold, the wheezing was practically guaranteed, yet, I could breathe just fine! Hooray!
OTT Class #9: Swim/Bike
I missed the last several classes (and days of work) due to that cold levelling me. Still not 100%.
We were to either run the Jamba Juice 5k, or swim 1000 at Ala Moana on our own. We then met up to ride over to Lagoon Drive for a Bike/Run relay. One loop up and back on the bike, then a 1/2(?) mile run. Repeat for a total of three iterations. I did the swim, but I only did the first bike and then I had to leave to go to a funeral.
We were to either run the Jamba Juice 5k, or swim 1000 at Ala Moana on our own. We then met up to ride over to Lagoon Drive for a Bike/Run relay. One loop up and back on the bike, then a 1/2(?) mile run. Repeat for a total of three iterations. I did the swim, but I only did the first bike and then I had to leave to go to a funeral.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
OTT Class #6: Bike/Run
I missed Wednesday's class as I was coming down with a cold (still have it today, oh joy). It was swim 1000, run 45min picking up pace the last 15 minutes.
Today we met at Paki Ave and biked the Tinman course including going up and over Heartbreak hill and back again. The bike went ok considering the cold. I wasn't as strong as I would like, but I did ok. It took about 2 hours with a few stops for everyone to regroup. The run was a completely different story. We only had to jog 2 miles, and I could barely do it. I walked probably the last 1/4 mile. I just didn't have anything in me at that point. Hopefully, it's just because of the cold.
Today we met at Paki Ave and biked the Tinman course including going up and over Heartbreak hill and back again. The bike went ok considering the cold. I wasn't as strong as I would like, but I did ok. It took about 2 hours with a few stops for everyone to regroup. The run was a completely different story. We only had to jog 2 miles, and I could barely do it. I walked probably the last 1/4 mile. I just didn't have anything in me at that point. Hopefully, it's just because of the cold.
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