Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Who you are is not what you do...

It's been a while since I've blogged. My feet are getting better, not 100% but I can run and swim. Now I need to kick it up so that I can bike. I think the reason why they have taken so long to heal is because I just don't know when to quit. I've always been a hard worker. I've worked since I was 15 years old. I have made salaries from all ranges. My first job was at McDonald's where I was paid $5.90 per hour. It's sad to think that minimum wage has not gone up much since then. The US minimum wage is $7.25. Because I worked at a young age and paid for most of my $60,000 education, I have a lot of respect for money.

Reflecting on where I started and where I am now, I've realized that who you are is not what you do. Who you are is how you treat people. I might have been making $5.90 an hour, but I still did a great job.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A little inspiration for today...

If you don't know me well, you wouldn't know that I am a serious coffee addict. I must, must start my day with a cup of Joe else I am a wreck. Last weekend, I went to San Diego to visit my famiily. I didn't realize that Starbucks cups have quotes on them and I just happen to read my cup that morning. Great quote for you to help you get inspired and believe in yourself:

The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any jobs; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say "no" - they may not be smart enough to say "yes."

Keith Olbermann

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lessons learned - 2009 Swim for Life Across Lake Washington


I did it! On Wednesday August 19th, 2009 I swam across Lake Washington for the first time. This was my longest and most difficult open water challenge and I felt that I had prepared the best that I could. There were many things that I learned on that swim and I thought that I would blog about it for next year.

1) Swimming 2.5 miles is way harder than 1.2 miles, what I mean to say is it was more than 2x more difficult because we never had to swim that much yardage in Masters class - not to mention all at once. After a certain point, your muscles start to fatigue then your form goes, which results in you swimming slower.

2) Make sure you consume enough calories and pee before you swim. I had to go to the bathroom towards the end of my swim and I actually did pee before hand. Also, make sure you eat a lot of carbs before your swim. I was totally feeling like bonking towards the end.



3) Sighting - this was challenging as the thing you aim for is over 2 miles away. At the triathlons that I have done, normally the buoys are no more than 300 yards apart, so it is easier to swim in a straight line. No so easy to swim straight when your destination is far. I did have a kayaker, but we got separated for a while and I was on my own. It might help next year to get your own personal kayaker and have them sight for you.

4) Choppy water conditions - this year was more choppy then previous years so it made getting into a rhythm hard and I found myself using up more energy. I only breathe from one side, so sometimes the water would splash into my face while I was getting air and I would get a mouthful. Lake Sammamish was where I had practiced up until the big swim, and it was always calm.

5) Consider a sleeveless wetsuit. If your wetsuit limits your arm mobility at all, I would consider borrowing a sleeveless wetsuit for this only because it was warm enough and swimming this distance with free arms is much easier. Be warmed, sleeveless wetsuits have the habit of leaving you with nasty tan lines on your back!

Overall, I am really proud of myself for sticking it to the end!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Swim for Life

This week I signed up to participate with a team of 4 friends for the Swim for Life, a 2.5 mile swim across the cold, murky waters of Lake Washington. Why on earth would anyone want to take on a challenge like this? I’m doing it for two very good reasons: 1) to prove that I can do it and 2) to raise funds for a new bloodmobile for Puget Sound Blood Center.

I've had feet injuries that have hampered my triathlon season, so being able to swim this would mean so much to me. I've been training over the past year, swimming regularly 3 times a week. These next two weeks I will be out practicing in Lake Sammamish to get comfortable with the long, long swim. I have never swam more than 1mile continually so this will be a great challenge for me. Yesturday I did 2 laps of the Idylwood buoy line, tomorrow morning I will do 4. 8 laps is equivalent to my swim on August 19th. Wish me luck!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Homeless blog

Today I had the most amazing swim class. Coach Justin invited a two time olympic medalist to coach our class this evening. Her name is Wendy Boglioli and she won the bronze and gold medal in the 70s. She still looks super fit and I'm sure can kick butt still. Great instructor as well as she help us with our free-style, back stroke and kicking off the wall.

Anyways off topic, sometimes when things are going well, we take things for granted. Then we turn on the TV or read an article on the internet and you remember how greatful you should be to be where you are. This is exactly what happened to me today - had a greatful moment. I call them greatful moments because it puts me back at an equalibrium.

As some of you know, I am an avid blog reader and here's a blog I have been reading about the homeless in LA.
LA's Homeless Blog

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Bye Bye CRV...hello Z4

So over the past week, I've been seeing a new physical therapist for my foot. His name is Jason and he is one of the PTs at Corporo Sano. He and Eric looked at my feet and mentioned that there was a lot of atrophy (muscle loss) in my foot. That I need to strengthen my foot to get better. So I have been doing my exercises every night and paying a lot more attention to the way I walk and stand. To remember to tighten the muscles in my feet every step so that they start getting stronger. So far so good, I actually notice some improvements in a very short period of time. I am hoping and praying that I will be able to do the Kirkland triathlon this summer.

On a different note, well I don't know how to say this, but the Honda CRV is gone. It just wasn't fun to drive anymore. I traded it in for a slightly used convertible BMW Z4 :) Luckily Saris makes a bike rack that can fit on the trunk. Tomorrow I will bring it into BMW for regular maintenance.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Inner beauty is important, but is outter beauty better?

A group of old friends are out for a fun filled night in Seattle. Ben and Linh are getting married in 60 days. Both are trying to lose 10 pounds before the big day. I met Linh the same day that Ben did at a party. Over the years they have grown in love. And very recently have decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

Each time I am out with them, she is consciously avoiding carbs and so is he. So at a time where eternal happiness and love should be the focus, both of them are also focusing on their waistlines. These days, your marriage might not last forever (I'm sure theirs will), but your wedding photos will. So as much as inner beauty matters, when it comes down to it, is outter beauty more important? If your significant other put on a lot of weight, what would you do?

Anyways, on another note. Today I got a chance to go get a bra fitting. It turns out that I have been wearing the wrong size. I am now a 32B according to a lady at Victoria Secret. I am lean and mean from all that swimming. I got a chance to try on there new multi-bra and loved loved it! You can wear the straps 5 different ways and it is a push up!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Getting rid of the junk...in my garage

This week is starting off really well. I actually had time to clean out my garage. I still have some empty boxes and paper to recycle which will be done by the end of this week. I filled my trash and recycle bins to capacity so there is a queue of remaining items left in my garage. My deck is all clean and I've gotten rid of those really old wooden beach chairs that were flaking paint everywhere.

Admittedly, I like my home to be very organized. Lately I've come to the conclusion that I have way too much stuff, so I started to declutter. Old magazines, empty boxes that I have kept around, old dishes and utensils. I have some stuff I still need to give away or donate like an old CRT monitor, printer and old computer desk. I've also thought about moving to a single family home next year. Which means I will need to start putting things away in boxes and do any small fixer-upper type things before my current place goes on the market.

Anyways, back to my week. My healthy eating has been alright. I had some pizza on Friday but at least it was vegetarian, piled high with vegetables and not oily. I had some cake as well since I went to a birthday. Yesturday night I had a great weight session, today and Thursday I have triathlon swim class, wednesday is another weight session, Friday I will be going out for an open water swim. Then this weekend we plan on going for a hike. So if things go according to plan...man I love plans. Taking care of yourself, eating healthy, staying fit is a good example of how you treat yourself, and it shows.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Are you eating too many carbs?

So I was curious what the recommended amount of carbs a person should consume a day. Now, of course there is not magic number that fits everyone. Your intake will depend on how much activity you do, your age, genetics. But they say a ball park number is about 45% of your calories a day should come from carbs. So if you have a 2000 calorie diet then that would be 900 calories from carbs. Now if you are an endurance athlete you really want to consume foods with more glycogen (anything fiber like fruit, veggies) and take in more fat. You need to avoid the "white stuff" because they will make you glycemic (raise your blood sugar levels) - this is especially important if you want to lose weight. Foods that are glycemic don't hold your appetite and you will want to eat more often.

This is day 2 of my low carb plan. I will refrain from using diet, since diets end and I do wish this to be more of a lifestyle. I've been pretty good at avoiding the Krispy Kreme donuts that run-eth so freely in our hallways at work. So far so good...and I am blogging about this to stay accountable. Summer is just around the corner you know.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

No more heels...

I am back on my healthy eating bandwagon. This weekend, I spent hours scrubbing my deck. It was back breaking work as I had to get down on all fours to scrub off all the mold. All the wet days in Seattle make it really hard to keep the stuff from growing on my deck. I know that having a clean deck will make we want to grill my dinner more often. So the past few days that was what I have been doing - cooking at home BBQ style.

This month I have signed up for Triathlon swim class with my tri coach Michael. Unfortunately, this is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings which means I am typically too tired to also attend Master Swim class in the evening. I wish we had a Monday and Wednesday class as well.

Anyways, since I am injured still there's not much to write about. All I can do is sit on the sidelines to watch my friends race. It's tough because I really want to be out there to participate as well. Getting through injuries is so hard for me. I have obviously not made the right choices the past few months. Over exerting myself on many occasions, not icing or stretching every night and wearing high heel shoes. This has GOT to change...starting now.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Too busy partying, no time to workout

Last weekend was my birthday a bunch of us celebrated all weekend. There was a club thing on Saturday night, then a Beach party with volleyball on Sunday. Needless to say, my workout schedule sucked because I was too busy partying. On Thursday we went to see Jerry Seinfeld, Friday went to a party, tonight we went clubbing. Tomorrow we're going to Skagitt Valley to see the tulips. I will make it up later in the evening, I swear!

Anyways, today I went shopping. I purched a new pair of Cole Haan Nike Air sling backs on sale from $275 to under $90. My biggest purchase was a BCBG dress for my friend and cousin's wedding later this year. Here is a picture of it, it is super cute.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Adamo Peloton

So last year I purchased an Adamo ISM Road Saddle for my Cervelo. This saddle is quite unique as it alleviates pressure from your groin area while riding. I've been spinning on my tri bike indoors and riding on occasion on my road bike outdoors. I really notice a lot more discomfort when using the more conventional saddle on my road bike. So I've decided that I need to upgrade my road bike saddle to an Adamo ISM saddle as well. Looking at their website, they seem to have some new models this year that I would be interested in. The Adamo Peloton is very attractive to me as it is narrower than my current one and a little lighter.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Waterproof Garmin

Garmin is releasing a new GPS watch...and it's waterproof! Geez, I just bought the 305 less than half a year ago. I shoulda known that they were on clearance for a reason. Anyways, luckily I bought it at Costco, so if I want to shell out another $200 I can return my 305 and upgrade to the 310xt.

Anyways, today Jill and I exchanged some email and she mentioned that she had plantar faciitis not too long ago and it "KILLED, KILLED, KILLED" her when she got up in the morning. She instructed me to use the TriggerPoint kit and dig my calves into the block with the ball. She said she spent couple of hours a night massaging her calves.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Anyone want counterfeit luggage?

So it has been 3 weeks since I got back from my Asia trip and I have finally found some time to put things away. I had luggage all over the place. It was then that I remembered a carry on I bought since I had purchased one too many things on my trip. It's China right? Things are cheap so you wanna buy because there's no way you would find such a deal in the USA. Well, you get what you pay for...quite literally. My carry on luggage said "Samsomite" on it and I didn't realize this when I bought it. Luckily I didn't pay "Samsonite" prices for it. So anyone want any counterfeit luggage?

Anyways, my "forever" plantar fasciitis is still not healed yet. So all I have been able to do is weight training and pulling in the pool. Easy spinning for a short period of time. I don't feel comfortable doing anything else. It seems like if I stay off them for a while, the the pain will go away, but my feet remain volatile so it comes back after moderate activity. So to keep myself busy when I cannot train, I have been hanging out with my friends and working on my other hobbies. Here's a photo I took at Chapel this weekend. I cannot wait until my 35mm 1.8 arrives!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Back to reality

Hello I am back from vacation. Well, technically I got back last Sunday, but I was inflicted with a serious case of jetlag as Tokyo is 16 hours ahead. I went into the office on Monday morning after my 6am swim and my manager greeted me with some work that she wanted to be priority 1...AKA look at it ASAP and report back to me by noon which is how I interpreted it. I only surived until 1pm that day as I had not slept the night before. Pretty much the entire rest of the week I had really strange hours. I would either come in really late and work until 11pm or come in really early and leave a little early. Since we are on some deadlines right now, it was really hectic and stressful. Anyways, enough about work, let's talk about my two favorite hobbies: triathlon and photography. Since I was gone the past 3 weeks, here is some photography for your enjoyment.

Here I am standing in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing

Here I am at the Summer Palace in Beijing

Great Wall of China

Inside the WaterCube where Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals

Shanghai's famous skyline at night

The famous district in Toyko called Shibuya at night
I also went to Tokyo disney and the Tsukiji fish market where I watched the blue fin tuna auction. It was an amazing trip!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Busy bee...

So I tested out my feet on the bike trainer last weekend..OK, "tested" is probably not the correct, does 3 hours of spinning sound like "testing" to you? Well, my feet despite going on a very easy gear were sore. So back to chilling with swimming and aqua jogging. Luckily, I've been busy planning my trip to Asia and getting all my Beta 1 deliverables done to feel sad about my physical condition. Last night, I worked until midnight.

Tonight Lily, James and I went to see The Watchmen. Let me just say that it is definitely not suitable for kids, there is a lot of violence, sex and a big blue radioactive penis. But it was good entertainment, a perfect way to end a stressful and busy week. This weekend I have 2 birthdays, both starting around noon. I need to figure out how to fit my workouts around them.

So, more details about my trip to Asia. First city will be Beijing, there we will stay at my friend David's place. The big sites we plan to visit there are the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Wa Fu Jing market, the Central Square and some Olympic sites. From Beijing we will take the over night train to Shanghai where we will stay in a nice hotel in the Bund district. We will be meeting up with Roland, a former coworker. In Shanghai we plan to see some gardens, temples and night markets. Finally, we hit Tokyo where we will stay at a hotel across the street from the Shinjuku station. There are many things to do in Tokyo, including the famous fish market, electronics district, Shibuya and Shinjuku. While I am there, I will be doing a great deal of walking, but no swimming or cycling, so my feet should get good amount of rest as I won't be pounding them as hard.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Splish makes a Splash

As some of your know, I've been working with Jill to design new swim suit for the team. I went a little overboard and started designing a whole bunch of suits for me and the team. I really like them and would love to order all of them. I swim a lot, but not enough to get 5 new swim suits. Here's what I came up with, which one should I get? I think my favourite non team suit is the one with the Canada flag or the shark.




Thursday, February 26, 2009

A lesson to be learned

After taking a break from cycling and swimming, I attempted to swim last night without the pull buoy and today my feet are archy. So no more kicking for me...dammit, this is so disappointing. This evening, I went to Masters class, luckily there were only 2 people in my lane...me and Lilia. So we split the lane and I pulled the entire time, and worked on my breast stroke with coach Justin. "Pull, Kick, Glide!" I got the pull and the kick, but not the glide.

As I am writing this, I noticed that I don't have much to blog about since I have not been able to train. I really messed up my feet and now it is taking forever to heal. I appologize to all my readers. I wonder if there is a lesson to be learned here? It would probably be something like, don't push yourself too hard and listen to your body. Focus on healing first...triathlons will always be around.

Monday, February 16, 2009

JFT swim suit

I've been playing around with Splish.com to help the team design a new swim suit. Here is what I came up with:


Bikini versions:


Sunday, February 8, 2009

Crash landing

The Yuppie Triathlete has crash landed. After seeing a specialist in active release technique, Dr Neno about my feet, he said that I needed to stop all my activities that are aggrevating it, which means no cycling, running or swimming. My feet are actually getting worse.

He said that he has a Masters in orthodics and doesn't like them. He suggested that I not wear mine....come to think about it, my feet have gotten worse since wearing them. I took them out of my shoes today and they actually feel more comfortable since the arch part is not poking into my plantar fascia.

So this weekend, I got creative and modified my workouts. On Saturday, I did weights, swim with pull buoy and aqua jogged in the deep water pool. Today, I swam again with the pull buoy and jogged in the deep water pool. To make sure I stay nice and fit, I will be eating healthy.

I'll be heading to China in 1 month, so I'd better get these feet under control.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Water cube here I come!


So big news, my coworker Eric and I are headed to China and Japan next month for vacation! Yeah! Does anyone have a bong I could borrow? I found us the cheapest flights ever! Seattle --> Beijing --> Shanghai --> Tokyo back to Seattle for $1075! W00t! Between us, we now have a mountain of guide books to sort through. I also just bought myself a netbook, the Lenovo S10. I can't live without internet and I needed a place to upload my photos during the trip. Getting a netbook made a lot of sense, they are very affordable computers, not to mention really tiny...perfect for backpacking around Asia.

Anyways, after my swim yesturday morning it left my feet feeling really sore - even with duct tape. So I decided to stop swimming (pulling is OK) for a couple of weeks and seek treatment called ART (Active Release Technique). I just realized that the root of my plantar fasciitis is tight calves. Thus, I have been stretching and rolling out of my foam roller. I've contacted Jill to see if she has an extra TriggerPoint kit for me so that I can use it after my workouts. TriggerPoint is a great way to release tension and improve blood flow to your muscles. At work I now have a water bottle in the freezer at work that I use to roll out my foot while I sit at my desk. I am determined to get better now. Also, I wear this Strassburg sock at night.

Tonight in swim class we focused on power. Luckily I was able to do the drills with the pull buoy so that I didn't have to kick. We discussed the mechanics of the pull and catch. All your power comes from your upper body. You drive with your hips in combination with your catch to give you more power. If you're doing it right, you will see your elbows pop out and feel that snap as you are moving through the water. Kim suggested that before we do our swim that we need to adjust our body to the water. So start with floating - head down in the water, arms like a "Y" above your head. If you are doing it correctly, your legs will be right on the surface of the water...the key to this is head position. If your head is sticking out, your legs will sink. Next is a modified doggie paddle drill...the difference being that you are stretched out a little more and extending with your arms while not lifting your shoulders. This technique will work your core and engage those muscles.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Window Office or one step closer to the outside?

So I've been a busy beaver this past week. I completed & efiled my tax return and it was accepted by the IRS. I will be getting a decent refund because of my mortgage, itemization of my receipts and donation of my clothes that are loose. I also shopped around for home owners insurance and got that setup...now in case something bad happens like fire or theft I will be covered.

I got some good news today. To my surprise, I will be getting a window office. Window offices are tough to come by in my building because there are so few of them and they go by seniority. I'm so happy that I will be getting some natural light now. This should improve my overall productivity.

Monday, January 26, 2009

3600 Microsoft Shoes waiting to drop

Well, as I'm sure you have heard...like everyone around the world was talking about the layoffs at Microsoft. I luckily am not part of the initial 1400 people that got laid off last week, but some of my friends did not escape unscathed. There will be more layoffs over the next 18 months. An additional 3600 jobs are planned to be axed. That's a lot of shoes to dodge for our CEO. He better seek out Bush to get some shoe dodging lessons.

Anyways, back to tri talk, that's why I have this blog right? I finally found a way to swim without irritating my foot. It's called duct tape! Yes, that's right. I tape up my feet to give it stability and it works! I can kick now! This weekend my diet was blown to pieces. What I mean to say is, I ate very unhealthy as there were parties and stuff. On Saturday, I did strength training, indoor cycling and swimming. On Sunday I did 2 hours on my bike trainer. Tonight, I will do some cardio and some strength. Tues-Thurs are my heavy swim days. I sure hope my foot gets better now that I am taping them.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Going Long

I was hoping to find "Going Long" by Joe Friel at Barnes and Noble but was disappointed...twice. I ended up purchasing it on Amazon along with The Triathlete Training Bible also by Joe Friel.

Today I took advantage of the rare sunshine and went for a 25 mile bike. At first, I was worried that what I was wearing would not keep me warm, but I was sweating like crazy...only my toes were frozen. I live not too far from the Red Hook Brewery, so from my place I rode along the Lake Sammammish River trail until I hit Marymore park then did a portion of Lake Sammammish. As always, I had to climb Juanita Woodinville Way hill (nasty) to get back to my place. While I was riding I realized how much triathlon has changed my life. Race day is only small part of the journey...because there were so many times I just wanted to stay in bed or head home instead of training. But I persist on and I grow stronger because of it.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Researching...

So today my idea of getting a coach was put into jeopordy. After speaking with Rhae about getting a coach for my first Ironman 70.3, she suggested that for my first 70.3 to not waste money on a coach, but to go online to research training plans and find a mentor. Hiring a coach really comes in handy when you train for a full Ironman.

I this weekend I will sit down at a coffee shop and do more researching on training plans. Ideally, I would like a 20 week program to build my base a bit more. Next week, my office will be taking us to Barnes & Noble for an event where will we get a $25 gift card. I will purchase the Triathlete's Training Bible with this.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Triathlon season training as begun...

OK, So Chilly Hilly is coming up in February and from what folks tell me, it is very hilly...hence the name. My friend Su wants to do two loops (66 miles)...thus this means that I need to hit the Lemond trainer hard and get as much weekend outdoor riding as I can. Here's my current schedule:

Monday: Lemond bike 1 hour + strength training
Tuesday: Tri swim class (morning) + Masters swim (evening) OR Lemond bike 1 hour
Wednesday: Swim coaching with Kim Lorton
Thursday: Tri swim class (morning) + Masters swim (evening) OR Lemomd bike 1 hour
Friday: Lemond bike 1 hour + strength training
Saturday: Outdoor bike 2-3 hours
Sunday: Lemond bike 2 hours

Wednesday is sort of a rest day, as the class is only 45 minutes and focus on technique only.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Happy New year plus 12 days....


Jason finally posted the pictures for New Years. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. I popped my first bottle of champagned, pole danced and breathed fire all in one night!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Stomach Flu

Well, the 2009 training season has officially started. I will be hiring a coach this year so that I can get more customized training. After speaking to Coach Michael about my cycling watts, he recommended that I do the Strong and Steady program on the Lemonde indoor cycling bikes. On those machines, I can average about 110 watts. So still need to improve by 40 watts which is approximately 3 watts/kg. Over the next few years, he would like to see me get as strong as 3.5-4.5 watts/kg.

Anyways, I'm starting off the new year with the stomach flu. This totally sucks, as I've been puking my brains out. Couldn't even keep water down. After seeing the doctor today, he prescribed me some serious anti-nausea meds. I was finally able to eat a little bit of oatmeal. Unfortunately, I still don't have much of an appetite.