Boston Day 2 – Getting kicked out of the Expo

I was a man on a mission!

Operation Boston Crème Pies and clam chowder was still in the works.

It was Day 2 and already my frustrations were mounting. Eventually our tummies were getting super hungry walking down Boylston Street and we were desperate.

 Poe Burger

Not the same as Boston Crème Pies, but a comparable alternative was this awesome Poe Burger. The patty was stuffed with lobster limbs - need I say more?

Hard to read, but a rule we can all abide by on the menu...


" *Consuming Raw or Undercooked Meat, Fish, or Eggs Can Pose a Risk to Your Health. So Can Smoking,  Riding a Bike, or Crossing the Street. Eat, Drink & be Merry!"

...I can certainly appreciate the balanced facts.



Just outside, I ran into this shoe. I asked for directions for the coveted Boston treat. The shoe claimed Toll house cookie and Indian pudding were better! We got into a heated debate in the baking sun. The shoe told me Boston Creme Pie didn't really exist and it was just a load of pudding-cake (not pie).

Long story short, we had to settle our differences and became good pals with the conclusion Boston Creme Pies does exist!  

Okay the story didn't really pan out that way, but there is a little bit of history on the dessert.


Slowly Carl and I made our way to the expo. We brought an Aussie friend, Keith, who we met at the hostel, along for the experience.

We were somehow leading a group of strangers into the gate, with no real sense of directions.  Oddly enough the doors, located just near the arch gates, lead into this massive underground convention centre (we were above it the whole time).

Carl was done early on. Keith and I felt like little kids in a candy store. The big running names were all here! I guess that shouldn't be surprising considering most of them are based in Boston. We couldn't leave.


Keith and I were ushered into the end where all the official merchandise were located. By this point, Carl probably had been waiting for a few hours and got in more than some good reads from the Boston Marathon magazine. 


Security had to kick us out (kindly show us the exits), before I even had the chance to try on a couple items. Nevertheless, I grab them anyways and made it to the cashier. On the positive side, there wasn't any long lines. =)

Before we knew it, the day was gone. Operation Boston Crème Pies and clam chowder had to wait another day!

Boston Day 1 – Fleeing to the Freedom Trail

Boston is a big running city. 

Running stores were plentiful. Sidewalks were generally wide and flat. Each intersection was uniquely old-looking in its own angular way. I couldn’t believe the number of people running on the streets. I felt a little overwhelmed. The Boston Jackets were everywhere!

Carl and I have just arrived in Boston with only 5 days to explore. The hunt for Boston Crème pies and clam chowder and seafood officially began. 

We had to kickoff the trip with the Freedom Trail to check out the historic sites. On the way we past by Boston Public Garden and started at the Boston Common. I couldn't help but take some pictures during the run.

 Boston Public Garden

The Freedom Trail was about a 4-km route that connected several key revolutionary and colonial-era sites in the downtown core. 

 Massachusetts State House

 

Looks like some Occupy action.

Quincy Market

It wasn’t hard to immediately notice the downtown core had plenty of running festivities in stored for the big marathon. The whole city was in a running frenzy. Quincy Market had some street theatrics and quite the selection of food (more to come later!).  

Most of the Freedom Trail consisted of a zigzagging path of red bricks. We simply just followed it.

I had to capture the shooter of the model!

Across the bridge we went.

Charlestown Navy Yard

Don't worry these are only "defensive guns". The offensive ones are missing.

WWII Era Destroyer needed some touch-up.

Nearing the end at Bunker Hill Monument.

And up the 294 steps we went (probably not the best taper idea)! 

The end of Freedom Trail. 

IT’S A WORKING MAN PB!

UBC Tri/Du Race Report 

Proof!

This race was supposed to be a “friendly opener” to the race season. All that changed when more than 50% of the top contenders are the people you train with. All of a sudden, this friendly race became a hotly contested showdown ie. every precious second spent during the transitions actually counted – not that it never did, just the stakes were higher.

I showed up to this race with my game face on. I knew there was no way I was going let last year’s sandbagging time beat me again, which had given me a little more confidence heading in.

All that was left was the unpredictable weather!

The previous night forecast wasn’t pretty…DUN DUN DUN how am I going get in my action shots? My personal photographer (aka Dad) threaten to not attend had the weather not been pleasant. Ironically, my sister was playing volleyball in a nearby gym (War Memorial) during the same time, which would had made it convenient excuse for ditching me. Thanks Dad!

   

Good news, those little mm’s were a no show on race day and I got in my action shots. My race ended up being close to 10 minutes quicker than last year. Overall I was quite pleased with all swim, bike, and run. It was a positive sign that I was ranked top 15% in all three swim, bike and run (but obiviously some of the faster swimmers who took time to change before getting to T1 were shafted of a better swim split muahaha). This has never happened before!! YAY! Now I can say I'm equally as slow fast in all three.

Let’s back up. The swim felt awful. Perhaps that’s how I should get the job done. Coach Tia was able to time me with a clocking of 27:50 for the 1.5k swim. I was having severe stomach cramps and felt slower than during swim practice. I suspect that the cramps might have been caused by those uber tight new tri suites. They look fabulous by the way!

My dad who was braving the cold to take pictures thought I was attempting a new “topless” approach to pedaling since he only saw me leaving and arriving to the transitions. These were the only pictures he captured of me on the bike.

Me leaving T1

Me entering T2 – What a complete dork!

I knew my slow runs wasn’t going make me a faster runner. A lack of intervals training was my downfall so far. This explains why my legs felt fresh at the finish and why I had to pretend a little to seem tired. My lungs on the other hand were spent. Hey at least I know where to improve. It’s still march and early in the season! =)

My Race Stats for UBC Tri/Du

I want to try something new this year. For the races I've done consistently in the past, it would be neat to get a comparison by rank percentage to the race field and my PB achievements. UBC Tri/Du is one of those races. Sure, in some years I may shave off a few kms and heck even the race field may be a little more-or-less competitive, but in general I would like to think I've come a long ways from the mountain-bike & board-shorts and pre-Garmin eras (exciting times!). 

This is probably too nerdy to post on facebook. Here it is..judge gracefully.

Race report and photos to come. =)

Birthday Post

I figured my day of birth should warrant an update post.

Oh man Boston training has been a little rough this week, shall we say... I've been eating so much king-crab, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and as well as boozing and bubble teaing it up this past week, it's ridiculous. This isn't exactly making me faster.

But it is prepin' me for the Boston Creme pie, Boston clam chouder, and lobster and other great stuff.  

Oh man, I'm getting excited for Boston, only 52 days to go!  =)

Mount Constitution and Mountain Lake Hike on Orcas Island

http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-constitution

Panorama from Mount Constitution

I just couldn’t resist when I heard some friends were signed up for this ultra-trail race extravagant hike on Orcas Island for this past weekend, which consisted of morning breakfast, a few food stations, post event beer and pizza, despite a miserable 50K and 8000ft in elevation gain along the way (wait, pretend you didn't just read the latter part of this sentence). 

It turned out to be a great roadtrip and a brilliant escape from the concrete jungle to steer my training temporary off-roads. In other words – I SURVIVED!!

We headed down the border and took the ferry from Anacortes to Orcas Island. I was astonished to learn a little geography lesson that we were so close to home and within 10K from another island I’ve been on – Saturna Island which is on the Canadian side of the border.

Some highlights from the trail.

Powerline Trail

For three very long kilometres, we had to journey up the West Boundary Trail, better known as the steep powerline stretch. It felt like Garmin wasn't ticking. My approach was just one step in front of the other until the top, which pretty much single-handily destroyed my running legs. Truth be told, the Ironman run should be a cake-walk in comparison. 

Powerline Trail is on the left

 

 A look down (left), and a look up.

Cascade Falls

An engineering marvel exists at the eastern tip of Mountain Lake and basically in the middle of nowhere. How on earth did all this concrete get there? Runners do enjoy the best "dam" trail running experience here for a good reason and will be hard-pressed to find something similar.

Panorama from Cascade Falls

Cascade Lake

The trail around the lake is much flatter and well maintained. It was a welcomed break for my legs. There was not a single bug in sight!

More engineering marvels at hand.

Mount Constitution

The most rewarding part of the trails on the island is the view up from Mount Constitution. This might be more obvious with the pictures that are about to follow:

Me at Mount Constitution

If time wasn't a limiting factor, I would have definitely checked out the stone observation tower.

We did lucked out with this crisp clear weather. 

Dear Summer,

Please come sooner!  

This hint of white stuff is taking over. My pavement runs can be better classified in my spreadsheet as trail runs. My swims practices (in the outdoor pool) have been cancelled indefinitely. My long rides are a mistake as somehow I always seem to be poorly dressed despite my best efforts. My spins sessions are uneventful. 

I propose my bulletproof formula: 

 Summer + Road Trips = Fun!

Summer you are missed, please come back sooner.

Best!

Winstorm

PS - My new roof bars & bike rack have just arrived after nearly a year of waiting!