Wednesday, May 31, 2006

7 Miles

I ran 7 miles early this morning. It was warm, but more humid than hot. Got a little red and sweaty. Felt great to get in a good workout before work.

Excellent way to end the month and start the day!

Monday, May 29, 2006

Recovery Run

I was awake, dressed and outside by 6 AM for my first run in a week because I picked up a strain of E Coli that didn't agree with me somewhere between Kathmandu & Timbuktu. I'm recovered and back at it!

Today is Memorial Day. VERY few people out at 6 AM. Gorgeous day in the mid-70's. Saw a swan with some chicks. A couple of dogs wrestling. Birds chirping. Geese flying. Horses grazing. A giant Snapping Turtle crossing a country road. Note: I was faster and I didn't see her at the finish.

It got a bit warmer as the sun rose. I felt great running about a 9:05 min/mi pace. After my 7 miles I was hot, but not dying. Dripping sweat as I walked back down my driveway to get the newspaper. Good to be running at home.

I'm glad I got out when it was cooler. It's gonna be a cooker today!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Not Too Spicy

I ran on the streets of Hyderabad this morning before it got too hot, too busy and too spicy in my tummy with Indian food.

I was out just before 7 AM which is 9 1/2 hours ahead of Chicago time. My Garmin forerunner 201 GPS running watch sync'd up nicely which it had a hard time doing in the other cities I've recently visited with tall buildings. Hyderabad doesn't have giant skyscrapers.

Instead of playing it boring and safe on a treadmill in A/C at the hotel, I was out on the streets of "Cyberabad" to seeing what things look like in the morning. Always an interesting way to see a city.

Lots of little mini-Taxis the locals call auto-rickshaws. They're 3-wheeler mini-bike taxis. Saw only two cows. A couple of cats with longer legs than I would see in the US. Lots of yellow buses, cars, bikes. NO one else out for a run! Lots of people looked at me like I was a bit crazy...or maybe just dressed funny. Maybe I had my shorts on backwards...I did that once in a race by mistake.

It was hot! I ran 3 1/2 miles in about 30 minutes in the early morning 90F weather. Temp is headed to 100+ today!

My final stretch back to my hotel was up this long hill off the main road. What a great way to start the day. Worked up a good sweat...well that happened when I first walked outside ;)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

To the Equator!


What a difference a 1/2 day makes.

I flew to Singapore from Shanghai today on China Eastern Airlines. It was about a 5-hour flight to get down here. S'pore is situated only 1 degree north of the equator so this is the tropics.

Arrived to my hotel and out I went on a run down Orchard Road. It's 90 degrees out with tropical humidity. Feels like early August in the midwest, but more palm trees. ha!

I ran for 44 1/2 minutes. Lots of people out since it was 5-6PM. After about 30 minutes of running, I took an escalator down under the road to get to the other side. It was loaded with people. One of the hotter moments of my life!

Now that I'm thinking about it, Singapore is where I first started running without walking. 5-years ago this month!

Monday, May 15, 2006

Five Me's

I was out in Shanghai early this morning for a 30 minute run. Saw lots of older folks dancing and working out in the park and streets. Didn't think about taking a picture.

I snapped a sweaty picture as went back up the elevator to my room. This afternoon I took a picture of a reflection of me in mirror wall on a curved building.

FIVE me's! It was like Sweden for a moment!

Shanghai Surprise

I arrived in Shanghai this afternoon. Once to my hotel, I slapped on a part of shorts and my running shoes, shirt, hat, socks and shades...and out I went into the unknown!

Since the temp was only in the lower 70's it was pretty nice for running. I ran down to The Bund and then along the river. After 50 minutes I was back to my hotel. I snapped this picture in one of the least crowded area. Holy cow was it crowded at times.

I was only offered about 10 watches, 2 shoe shines, 1 massage and a bunch of other things I didn't understand. All this and I was sweaty & running!

Back to the hotel I showered then walked down the street to Startbucks. It was 28 chinese dollars which is the same as the US, but a smaller cup. Mmmm, it hit the spot! I was offered 2 shoe shines as I sat outside drinking my coffee, but no massage or watches.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Dom Arigato Dai-Ichi

It's Sunday morning here in Tokyo. Ran around the Imperial Palace...the most expensive square kilometer in the world.

It's be drizzling and raining the past few days, but it felt pretty good and kept me cool for my 50 minutes run. Saw a number of other people running early this morning. The palace area is popular for running around both by local people and foreign folks.

As usual, I had my trusty Treo 650 with me for a photo. Yes I was running as I took it!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Good Smile Coffee

The sun is up in Kobe this morning. Once it's peeked up, I put my 800 mile Asics on and headed out...oh yes, some clothes too.

I ran east this morning toward the sun. It helped to have the run up to know which way was east.

Left my cardboard hotel key at the front desk because yeterday it was soggy...and didn't work in my door after I ran. I should have taken a picture of it. It made me laugh in my head.

So what's the "good smile coffee?" Well there's lots of coffee shop including Starbucks, but sometimes the English words are combined in funny

combinations. The good smile coffee sign is right outside my hotel room window. Time for me to go put on a good smile with some coffee :)

Kobe

I was awake by 4 AM. The fitness center at the hotel didn't open until 7 AM so I waited around until 5:45 AM and finally went out for a run. As you can see from the photo there was much going on outside. Now this is Japan. There's a lot of people that live here. They weren't out this morning. I'm not sure where everyone was.

It was dizzling, but I ran for about 50 minutes. I was pretty hot.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Akasaka

I'm in the Akasaka region of Tokyo right now. Looks like I misspelled Alaska! Got on the treadmill this morning for a run. Had to use another fitness machine for 10 minutes while I waited for a treadmill to open up.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Nippon


I'm in Tokyo this morning. I ran for 5k on the treadmill this morning. The workout room is not on the ground floor.

More running to come!