This morning I woke up worrying that the last two days were a dream...but I reassured myself by checking my phone history to see all the phone calls and know it was real.

I sure missed Yoga class when I was away and was very happy to be back. My left hamstring issue crept around a bit to the inner part of my knee during Sundays run and has been causing me some grief so I looked forward to trying to stretch it out. Did a little of it but realized just how tight I had gotten again after taking a couple of weeks off and how much further that had taken me from my goal of touching my toes. Apparently finding my birth family does not make me any more flexible ;) and I still have to work on it.

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

After work, I did a "do it yourself" spin workout at the gym using one of TriHarder's podcasts.

15 Mile Spin @ 00:50:00

So I do this endurance thing...and it feeds me for reasons I cannot explain to anyone who does not feel that hunger but is obvious to those who do. Because I do this crazy stuff, I have some training under my belt and have done races/brutal training sessions that have helped me to survive and finish these races.

Nothing that I have done to date though had prepared me for the last 32 hours. After our run yesterday and while we were stretching, I got a call from someone named Paula. My birth sister. It turned out that the lead I had gotten at Korean Social Services allowed us to connect. I spent the rest of the day on the phone with Heather, another birth sister I did not know I had and then finally my birth mother. I am still processing/celebrating/trying to absorb it all.

So obviously, I did not sleep well last night but planned to work because I make it a rule to never call in sick on a Monday. I went to core class in the morning but I just started to cry so I realized pretty quickly on that I would be useless at work. I took the day off and had coffee with friends, got in a soak at the Sauna and then dinner with another friend. It was what I needed for today to be ready to be 100% tomorrow.

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Barbara Rose met me this morning at 7 AM and we headed East for our trail run. Once we hit the pass, we also hit some snow and were the first to leave tire marks in the road to the trail head.

From there, we ran down the Snoqualmie Valley Trail hoping to get in 13 miles and be able to just turn around. We started out in the snow and it was just beautiful! As we got to lower elevation, it got slushier and our feet got soaked. The trail unfortunately ended after an hour an a half so we turned around and came back (uphill) to the trail head. I struggled a bit at that point because my left hamstring was PISSED (and still a bit jet lagged, fighting a bit of a cold) and fortunately had Barbara Rose to help pace me.

Once we hit the trail head, we then had to still get in another hour and decided to run Iron Horse trail. At times, the snow was just ridiculous and we had to lift our legs pretty high to just get through. Fortunately, we were able to laugh about it a bit and pull each other through :)

26 Mile Run @ 04:20:00

I convinced Jeff and Ann to meet early for our 70 mile ride and we set out in the rain before it had gotten completely light. We decided to go North first to get the trail and coldest part over with first and coming down Juanita was very very cold. Once we hit Bellevue, we decided to loop around Mercer and then finish by looping the south end using the f-bomb liberally to be sure our faces did not freeze. Once we hit the I90 bridge, we re-assessed the weather and reason prevailed. We headed back over the bridge.

The bridge itself helped to reinforce that our decision was sound as the wind and rain was especially heinous. After the bridge, Ann declared that 45 was the new 70 and we limped back to the cars.

46 Mile Ride @ 03:17:00

Despite waking up - wide awake at 1:30 AM, I managed to fall back asleep and got up in time to get in a good lift and core class.

Upper Weights @ 00:20:00
Lower Weights @ 00:10:00
Core Class @ 00:30:00

Got in a nice ride on the rollers this morning. My first time on the bike in a couple of weeks and I felt fine. Of course, this is only 1/5th of the the distance of Saturday's ride...

15 Mile Roller Ride @ 00:54:45

Still feeling the effects of jet lag and a bit of a lingering cold so I did not do anything else. I also fell asleep on the couch at 7:15 PM and woke up and went to bed at 8...

Yesterday was the last travel day and I had a really tough time sleeping on the plane. Fortunately, I was able to get some sleep last night and Wally was his sweetest cuddliest ever! I missed him a lot.

I did make it to the gym this morning and caught up for a few with Tija before getting in an upper body lift and Core Class.

Upper Weights @ 00:20:00
Core Class @ 00:30:00

Yesterday's visit offered more information, some answers and more
questions. I did get to see the orphanage I was in and even got a tour
of the nursery and meet 5 beautiful residents.

My brain wouldn't let me sleep until after 2 AM but that is fine
because I have 13 hours on the plane to catch up.

Did a quick treadmill run in the gym and then got in some core before
heading to Starbucks.

5 km run @ 00:28:10
Core @ 00:10:00

Sent from my iPhone

Got in a treadmill run this morning on the 19th floor gym here. Today is my appointment with Social Services and I am anxious about what I will learn. And anxious that I may not learn a thing at all...

10 KM Run @ 00:57:30

Today was a travel day back to Seoul and the hour bus, 50 minute airplane ride and hour subway ride was so very much better than the whole ferry experience. I did not get a chance to get in a workout but did some sun salutations in the room before we left.

I went out for a run this morning armed with the resort's complimentary "jogging map" that folds nicely to the size of a matchbox. I shouldn't have wasted the tree...I of course could not follow it and did lots of backs and forths but still got in a solid aerobic run. Got to run along some really sweet wooden paths, over some bridges and see some of the beautiful countryside here.

6ish Mile Run @ 01:00:00

After my run, we went out for a walk to explore some of the local things here. There was a path that led us to three waterfalls and the legend was that faries would descend and bathe there.

We eventually made our way to the largest temple in Korea. It was breathtaking. At the entrance, we could buy three bags of rice to give to the buddhas and so I did. Trying to bow the way everyone else was but at least the intent was pure.

I posted pictures of our "ferry" below. Note how it was inappropriately named "Cozy Island". I still think it must have been a bad dream.

After arriving at our hotel, I took a nice nap and then we went for a walk on the beach where the headwind made me really earn my breakfast. This is the island where Ironman Korea was held but it is not longer. I think it is because those skinny little Koreans could not stay on their bikes in the wind.

I did finally get myself to the gym to do my first sit up in, oh a week plus... I shared the microscopic gym with one very sweaty guy who did not think he needed to wipe off the equipment after he used it.

Weights @ 00:40:00
Core @ 00:10:00

I do not even know where to begin...

A few days ago, we made our plans for the rest of the trip and that included making a reservation on a ferry to get to Jeju. I was told that I had an option of either floor room sharing with over 100 other people or a smaller room with about 28 people with a blanket. I opted for the blanket choice.

If you know me, you know that I am not the one to actually put together schedules. I like to have input. Lots of input but I usually do not handle logistics. It has been now pointed out to me that the ferry was the ONE thing I arranged...

So we arrived via taxi at the ferry terminal 2 hours and waited with the others, including a loud group of very excited women in their brand spanking new Columbia/North Face/other colorful gear complete with matching lipstick. When it finally came time to board, I was a bit excited to see what their ferries looked like and what our accommodations were to be. As we got closer to the ship, we saw this beautiful passenger ferry with nice decks for walking and seeing the journey. It was not ours. Instead, we were headed to a very large rusted cargo ship and as we climbed the swaying "steps"/gangplank, we saw the last of the outside for the next 11 hours.

Our room 310 was exactly that. A room. It was about the size of my living room with nothing but a thin cheap carpet on the floor. We initially shared it with two business men in their suits and ties, a couple of guys in traveling gear, a sweet young couple, three very loud women and were finally joined by about 5 other guys who spoke a bit of English. The group of guys split pretty quickly and we should have followed them as the three women were loud and obnoxious throughout the night. However, I was grateful that the room was not filled to capacity.
The night was long and hard. No blankets arrived and the bathroom was entirely appalling. Of course I did not have food or think through what else to bring. Fortunately, I had enough clothing to layer and used my packing cube for a pillow. The women's snoring was just as loud as their talking and I doubt I got more than an hour or so of sleep at a time. Wow, what an experience and people travel like that a lot. I hope to not have to repeat it anytime soon but I am glad for the adventure as I now write this from the 5 star Hyatt Regency in Jeju :)

Off to shower and nap before checking out the digs.

Yesterday, we took the express train (up to 303 kph) to Busan from Seoul. First class tickets cost a little over $60 and at least I get to say I traveled first class at least once :) The trip took about 3 hours.

Had a great all you can eat seafood buffet and managed to make up for all calorie deprivation I have had the last few days. This morning, I got into their pool on the 6th floor and overlooking the ocean thankyouverymuch and got in a decent workout even though I could tell my body was a bit weak. I know the pool was shorter so I am guesstimating the distance.

2000 Meter Swim @ 00:50:00

Off to see more of Busan and then on to the overnight ferry to Jeju. The tickets I got also come with a blanket and I am curious to see what kind of accommodations are in store...

Here's a picture of me and the temple we visited.

Back to the land of the living! Kind of..

I felt better yesterday, definitely not 100% but better. Jen had booked a trip to the DMZ and we set off from the USO at 7 AM for the hour long bus ride North. Our tour guide was charming although I understood only 10% of what he said. There were very strict rules once we got there regarding where we could or could not take pictures. It turned out to be fairly interesting (it was, after all the reason I was born and all) but the military really holds no special fascination for me. At one point, we were escorted into a building and watched by some very baby faced but fierce looking S Korean guards.

This soldier (Black Belt) straddled the line between North and South Korea and we could go to the other side only from where the picture was taken at the other end of the table. There was another soldier at the door to North Korea to keep us from going there. Just outside the building, we could be observed by the North Korean soldiers and were under strict orders to not make eye contact or point or gesture towards them even if we were provoked.




We were taken to various posts and outlooks and the tour finally ended around 3 PM when the bus taking us broke down. Fortunately, it happened in Seoul right near a train station so we were able to make a break for it.

After that, we headed to the Insadong area where there were great little shops and many more people spoke English. Unfortunately, I still felt nauseous and didn't get to enjoy it as much. Finally ended up in the room after vetoing trying to eat any dinner and got some more rest.

This morning, Jen woke up with the same thing I have had so now we know it was not food poisoning but some sort of stomach flu. We are supposed to go to Busan today by train but plans may change depending on what she is able to do.

I am going to try to get in some core work and sun salutations today. I had grand plans to run but since I really have not eaten much in the last couple of days, I think I can offer my body one more day of rest.

Today finds me very sick. I am not sure if it was last night's dinner or if I caught something but I spent most of the night and morning purging the contents of my stomach. Add on to that very achy quads, a fever and I am one very miserable puppy.

I did want to add a correction to my race report. I did not do it in 3:21, but 3:51. I WISH I could have hit 3:21 but probably not in this lifetime.

I also realized that I pretty much skipped over the race experience itself. There were lots and lots of traditional drummers along the way so it was the Korean version of the Rock and Roll marathon without the rock or roll. That was absolutely my favorite. I also learned that Koreans really really like to tape up their legs and most of the men had stretchy athletic tape running vertically, horizontally and in intricate designs. Like usual, I ended up running mostly with the middle age men and actually felt a bit like a giant among them at times :)

There was a point where there were some older men on the sidelines doing some sort of call and answer cheer and it was SO cool to be in the midst of the men as they responded. Really cool and powerful because I could feel the reverberations in my chest.

I have an appointment with Korean Social Services next Monday and while I may not learn anything new, I would have regretted not making effort.

Seoul Marathon Race Report 2009

I have been surprisingly casual about this race and have actually trained less for it than any other marathon I had done. I signed up for it to ground me a bit in a familiar place as I returned to the place where I was born. Last night, I was Cranky McCrankington (poor Jen got the brunt - sorry) and I suspect a bit of it was the upcoming race although that really is a blip in the other things that were swirling around and poking me.

This morning, I woke up before the planned wake up call and ate the bagel I had picked up from Starbucks along with some of Starbucks' newest product - Via, their instant coffee that is actually pretty good! Then we got on the subway and headed to the race start. Jen goaded into trash talking the Kenyans while waiting at the subway....

There was about an hour before the race was supposed to start and we found refuge in the office building lobby where I had picked up the race packet the other day. The whole place though smelled like my grandmother and not her Lavender perfume. No, the stinky icy hot kind of stuff she would wear to try to relieve her arthritis pain. Apparently the Koreans scoop that stuff up by the vatful. Not only did they thoroughly apply the stuff to their legs before, but there were people throughout the course wearing aid uniforms who would slather athletes with it at a moment's request. It made me a little nauseous after a while and if I do not smell that stuff again for a long time, it will be too soon.

Every race has its bathroom drama and this one was no exception. I got in line for a porta pottie carefully standing in line for the ones marked with the pink girl sticker. When I opened the door, there was a bit of a surprise as it was simply a hole with some sort of step up. It was too late to back out now so I did my best to squat (thank you Jerome for making me do all those squats) and I managed not to fall in. My second trip, I used the one they opened in the office building for us and noticed the men did not follow the gender guidelines as well and were hogging both the men's and women's bathroom. I am still trying to figure out which will win the worst pre-potty award. The squat or sharing the 2 stall women's bathroom with very very very gassy Korean and Japanese men...

Then it was time to get herded to the start and I was assigned to the E group. AKA the foreigner, old, slow and/or female group. The start seemed to take forever and of course, there was not a lick of English spoken over the loudspeaker so there appeared (to me) to be many false starts. There were a lot of calls and answers and I gamely participated in each one thinking that finally, we can get moving and stop freezing. But no dice and then I heard someone singing and really hoped it was the Korean National Anthem. It was but even that did not get things moving because I learned later that they put a lot of time between the A and B group and the rest of us. Finally we were off and Jen even managed to find me in the crowd and shoot a quick movie.

I set out to do a 5:30 km pace and had a tough time hitting it at the beginning when things were so crowded. I finally did my share of shoving and broke loose a bit to get in a good rhythm. At the halfway point, I was really feeling pretty good and decided that I might even be able to qualify. It is always a bad idea to re-set goals halfway through a race but I figured I would give it a try.

Of course that led to me fantasizing about all sorts of things beyond qualifying. Winning my age group...being invited back next year as an honored guest and unfortunately on and on. The next slight hill fortunately shook me back to reality and I went back to my goal of keeping my km pace.

Near the end, I really thought I was going to make it but I had done the math wrong and had 1 km to go and did not have much time left. We entered the Olympic Stadium and had to run most of the lap around the track and I really busted it (thought about last mile, Kimchee Mile thanks Ruth) but slid in 22 seconds too late to qualify. And of course win my age group or be invited back as an honored guest or be carried off on every one's shoulders...

I have no idea when the official results will be in but I have my finish time at 03:51:21 will call it good. Thanks everyone for your great energy and I took you all with me during the race!

Still dealing with the time change here and find myself wanting to take lots of naps even though I cannot actually SLEEP when I try. Last night, we went out and saw some street vendors and a a bit of a crowd and wondered what was going on. One block turned into many and we found ourselves in the thick of things and people. How fun!

I just HAD to eat some greasy thing made of some sort of glutenous rice that they deep fried on a stick. There was a vegetable leaf wrapped around it so I call that my veggie serving for the day :) Here's me waiting at the stand -- it was SO COLD last night!

Then this morning we headed off to the Korean Tourist Center and got a lot of helpful tips from the first person we met who spoke English well enough for us to converse. I got a map to the orphanage and also a number for Korean Social Services. I may call them on Monday to make an appointment but just at this point, I am trying to take things one minute at a time. It is still quite cold here even with the sun out and I am in the lobby trying to thaw out before venturing to a nearby market.

So looking at this blog, I really look like a slacker for the past 2 days but I do get to use the excuse of a day of travel (24 hours total on a bus or plane) AND losing 1.5 days in the time change.

The trip there was fairly uneventful but I did start to cry a bit when looking at everyone else who was boarding the plane to Korea but that was about it. When we finally arrived (4 movies later), I was so tired, I slept on the 45 minute bus from the airport to the hotel. Went to bed shortly after checking in @ 9 PM and slept fitfully because I was trying to sleep during my most productive time.

There is a gym on the 19th floor in the hotel, a very small but immaculate one with some very nice treadmills overlooking the city. I got in an aerobic run and overestimated my speed because I did not think km conversion thoroughly. I had to stop halfway for some water and ended up blacking out the tiniest bit so I took my speed down to a more reasonable pace to finish strong.

10 km run @ 01:00:00

This morning, I decided I wanted a real Korean breakfast and after finding a bagel for Jen, we ended up in a restaurant where there was no English evident. I ordered the rice cake soup by pointing at the picture and had it, with some Kimchee and other pickled veggie. I did okay but was chased after when leaving because I tried to leave a tip and she would not take it.

Then off to find out where to pick up the race packet and it was in an office building. After turning over my passport to the lady at the front table in exchange for a card key, I found the place, identified only by the pile of Asic boxes on the floor. My shirt is rather unattractive and rather large because I had no idea of the size and ordered the second to largest one I could find.

We were very close to the palace so we went there to take pictures and marvel at its sprawling buildings and grounds.

What is striking to me is how clean the city is. I have yet to see any litter both on the streets and in the subways. The subway appears to be easy enough to navigate but there is just little enough English to make it difficult.

For lunch, we checked out the food court across the street. It was very crowded with office workers and the system was a little intimidating. First you walked around to restaurant after restaurant and picked your dish by a number. But you had to go to a booth to order it by number and pay. Note, WRITE DOWN the number of you may find yourself eating Albalone Gruel - a green colored fish smelling bowl that ended up being one of the more expensive dishes there rather than the yummy seafood pancake thing you wanted... Oh and then being yelled at when told to pay more money than the amount the pancake was. It was okay, but I may have to hit one of the many Outback Steakhouses before we leave just to be sure I get what I mean to order.

I did have to console myself with chocolate after though and got a supply to last through my PMS :)

Fortunately, traveling with someone who is white has been helpful because she gets all sorts of help and props for trying while I am looked at curiously. Maybe I am appearing to be mentally challenged because I kinda look the part but sure cannot even fake it for a moment...

Yoga class was good again and I even had a small victory! My right
heel touched the ground during downward dog.

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Sent from my iPhone

The Greenlake pool is now closed for a couple of weeks so I got in a lift before core class.

Weights @ 00:30:00
Core @ 00:30:00

Then I got in an aerobic ride on the rollers before Katie came over to help clean out leftovers and help me pack.

13 Mile Roller Ride @ 00:45:00

I met BR at Gasworks for our planned 13 mile run. We ended up making up our own route and I put together a decent run that included the Arboretum, running ALL the way up Madison and Lake Union. As usual, the company was perfect and the taper run felt really great.

14 Mile Run @ 02:18:00

I opted to ride inside instead of with the cycling group because I did not want to risk getting sick right before my trip. I really did wus on the distance and got in less than 25 miles total...

24 Mile Ride @ 01:40:00

Happy Birthday to ME! Swam with the big girls today and hung on as best as I could...

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then went to Core and they all sang me Happy Birthday too :) Jen gave me Birthday Eve cupcakes from Cupcake Royale to take to class and they were well received!

Core Class @ 00:30:00

This morning, I did a 10 mile time trial on the rollers. I set the resistance back to zero and warmed up for 4 miles, did the time trial for 10 (00:33:20 - 17.9 mph) and then cooled down for 1 mile. Now I have a decent baseline to improve on as I continue to get in better shape.

15 Mile Ride @ 00:54:00

I planned to do a stair workout today using the stairs here because it was just so darn miserable outside. Unfortunately, when I got to the door to the stairs, there was a big sign that it was for emergency exit only and an alarm would sound :( I really need to contact facilities to get access for those for future stair workouts. So I went outside and decided to do an interval workout and used the stretch between Royal Brougham Way to Dearborn (.29 miles) with a 45 seconds or so walk/easy jog in-between. I kept negative splitting my laps unintentionally and was actually not happy about it because I did not want to kick my own ass today.

6 Mile Interval Run @ 00:50:00
10 x 2.9 @ (2:12, 2:11, 2:08, 2:06, 2:08, 2:05, 2:03, 2:06, 2:05, 2:01)

I swam in my old lane today but led it so I got in a good workout. We did a ladder increasing by 25's to 200 and back down. I got in a lot of rest in between and even managed to sprint the last 50.

2675 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then I ran around the lake. I am not sure of the time because apparently I did not look closely enough at the clock when I took off so either I did a killer sprint in 23 minutes or poked around at 33 minutes. I definitely did not sprint but I did keep my pace up so I will just call it good at 30 minutes.

3.2 Mile Run @ 00:30:00

I get some serious points for getting in my lift tonight! My cousin was in town to drive with her daughter back to CA and we met for Happy Hour. Even after a drink and some appetizer bites, I still made it to the gym after I got home. The gym was super crowded and I had to do some adjustments to get in my workout. My iPhone also kept acting up on me and kept switching to the spinning MP3's I had downloaded. I guess that it was the universe's way of not letting me listen to my Pandora's playlist of country songs full of stories of regret.

Weights @ 00:30:00

Last night, Wally and I stretched (not kidding, he stretches at the top of my head) and he is way more flexible than I. This hamstring thing continues to be tight and even though I am stretching EVERY DAY, I barely seem to get any more flexibility out of it. The good news is that it does not interfere with my swimming/running/cycling.

Yoga was really good in that really hard way today.

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Made it to core this morning and Jon was uncharacteristically kind to us...

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Then I ended up staying at work a bit later than expected so I cut my bike workout short. However, I do not have an issue with it because I (finally) increased the resistance on my rollers by one increment and that was definitely harder!

7.6 Mile Ride @ 00:30:00

I really have been in denial about the fact that I am doing a marathon in less than 2weeks but this e-mail helped to remind me.

Thank you for contacting Seoul International marathon.

When you registered at our website, if you left foreign address or registered after Feb 23, we could not send a package(The race bib number and other amenities).

So, you have to pick it up personally.The race bib number and other amenities can be picked up on March 9 ~14.If you want pick up the package on Mar 10~14, you can pick up marthon committee. (Am 10:00 ~ PM 6:00)

Marathon Committee is 7th floor Dong A -Ilbo building which is in front of Gwanghwamun station exit number 5 on line number 5.If you want pick up March 15, you must pick it up at information center at starting point.

Start line is closer to Dong A - Ilbo building.When you pick it up, please let us know your name and birthday.

Please contact us back if this information is not enough and we will provide follow up assistance.

Warmest regards
Seoul International Marhthon Comitte
Tel : 02-2020-0708
Email : mararhon@donga.com
Fax : 02-2020-1639

동아마라톤사무국 Tel: 02-2020-1630　 Fax: 02-2020-1639

BR picked me up at 7 AM and we headed East for a run on the trail. We started at the park on Exit 32 (hi Ann!) and ran the Iron Horse Trail for 85 minutes before turning around and coming back. My quads were not very happy with me the first half hour especially since we were running slightly uphill. We hit some snow and wind about 70 minutes in but felt like bad-asses as we continued. On the way back, we had a tough time keeping our pace down and ended up negative splitting it by 10 minutes...

17 Mile Run @ 02:40:24

Here's my smile for the day from Cheryl :)