Running is cheaper than therapy!

You know that reaction, patting your loose pockets to make sure your wallet is still hanging there? Well, reality really hits hard when you pat again, only realizing it’s not hanging there anymore.

Aw dangit. Not cool Winstorm! Instantly, I knew my helpless wallet was stranded on the 135 bus while heading westbound towards the sketchiest part of town – the downtown eastside. Like a true roadrunner, I was calculating the pace of the bus and even flirted with the idea of chasing the bus down.

Instead my better judgement took over; I tried asking every bus driver heading in the opposite direction if they had seen anything, but nothing. Eventually a kind lady bus driver helped me to get the message out to dispatch. I spent most of the remaining Friday making frantic phone calls and creating new duplicates and unfortunately having to bail on a run with Eddy.

Yep, let bygones be bygones. I try to remind myself that I can still do amazing things without my wallet.

No ID, no money, no problem! How to become one step closer to global domination, STEP No. 12: Stay humble.

That doesn’t necessary mean no fun. No need to dwell on the pain of my own stupidity!

So, running is cheaper than my therapy. Having no wallet, my decision was a no brainer. I accepted Scott’s invitation to do some late afternoon track intervals. We held 3 by mile + recovery lap @ 90sec rest at under 4 min/km pace in the heat. It ended up being a solid 11km run, surely a good way to let off some steam.

EPIC therapy session No. 1 - Friday 11k interval run

I didn’t stop there. Due to a combination of convenience and perfect timing, I got in an equivalent Ironman distance in 4 days.

EPIC therapy session No. 2 – Saturday 3.9k swim

Next morning, we hit up Allouette Lake at Golden Ears park for our traditional Guo family big bbq boating trip. The seven of us had to share 26 lbs of bbq meat. If you mix the summer heat with the weekend, the lake was infested with all sorts of boating vessels making it somewhat sketchy to swim in. Nevertheless, I swam across with the constant fear of getting run over by a sea-doo (canoes, I can handle) to the other shore near the earth-dam 3 times. Scott’s Garmin said it was about 650m-700m each way.

EPIC therapy session No.3 – Sunday 184k ride

Next morning, I had trouble getting up 6am for the 8am ride as originally organized by Vince. Truth be told, the thing that allured me to this ride was the thought of seeing Matt’s brand new Argon 18 E-112 TT bike. It ended being a pretty fun, chilled ride; we explored a lot of new territory in Delta and Richmond.

GoogleEarth was delighted with giddiness.

EPIC therapy session No. 4 – Monday 32k long run

It’s week 2 to my 10 week marathon program. That means I must run 25k. Realizing the inconveniences of not having a credit card and bus pass, I started from home. I took it easy at 5:30ish pace for the first 25k. Had a chilled break, and then sluggishly survived the remaining 7k home.

GoogleEarth realizing what a nut job I was.

EPIC therapy session No. 5 – Tuesday 11k recovery run

I enjoyed my long run so much, I felt the need to go for a recovery run. Maybe my better judgement would have consulted my training log first, but I didn’t. Ekk, I’ve done 97km of running in the past 14 days! Crazy, miles sure fly by when you're enjoying so much therapy!

There you have it, the M-Dot challenge in 4 days and in sequence (guess that officially makes me an Ironman wannabee),

“Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life,”

claims the now registered trademark of Ironman.



I made an effort to check the lost and found today. After a short wait, the guy at the counter asked for my middle name, and I figured it had to be good news! Just like my “bolt” moment in Victoria on race morning!

Found! Guess all that therapy paid off.

Massive sigh of relief!! Despite a missing twenty dollar bill which I will gladly give up, all my personal items, including three (two expired) TriBC cards, were still there. I was impressed, the person whom found my wallet must had handled it with great care to not drop any of the loose change inside (a buck fifty worth in coins). I wasn’t expecting any of these items back! But thanks world, I really appreciated it. =)