Off to KL again

KLIA Concorde

Work sent me to Kuala Lumpur again for, but this time it was for 2 weeks. I got a 1 and half days off to get into the city proper. I got to wander around instead of just hanging within a 10 km radius of the airport. Otherwise it was 10-14 hours spent inside the control room at the under construction KLIA2 terminal.

Not a great day, but not the worst.

KL is experiencing a major drought and while I was there a forest and peat soil fueled fire that basically destroyed the air quality. Most days it was just a thick haze and we questioned if they could land a plane. I'm pretty sure visibility was less than 500 meters at some points. There was a couple downpours while we were there and it allowed me to have a nice Saturday in the city.

Massive park just outside of KL Sentral

I took the express train into the city, which took about 30 minutes and cost $35 for a one-way trip. The train gave you some cool views of the surrounding area moving from farm to city. Off in the distance were large hills. Before you knew it you were at the main station. KL didn't seem the most friendly city to walk in. It took me a while to find my way out from KL Sentral. I ended up walking like a local down the side of the street past a cabbie who pulled over for a bathroom break on the side of the road. Glad I was wearing my shoes as I was walking in the "water" in the street. Who knows what else lurks on the street. Most of my afternoon was spent wandering the parks, museums, and area around KL Sentral.

Planetarium recreations

A short walk away you'll find Lake Gardens, KL Bird Park, The National Planetarium, and National Museum of Malaysia. There is also a bike trail going through the park. The park had a sign for my arch-nemesis, the monkey. There was also a section of a zoo where you could see roosters and deer. Well those were the ones that I could see on my brief walk through the section. I also wandered through several museums and learned a lot about the area and the people.


Saturday night, my coworkers and I went into KL for dinner. We went to a section of town that reminded me of New Orleans. It was nothing but bars offering happy hours and people trying to get you in to drink. Once we sat down at one of the bars, the waitress tried to keep pushing the drinks on us. The street was lined by tourists looking to get loaded and watch either soccer or rugby. We ventured across the street to the Black Forest, where we had an very good meal. On our way back to the car, a woman whose affections were available for purchase wouldn't let one of the older gentlemen out of her site. She was like a dog with a bone, but he wasn't having any of it. We made it back to our car and our night just got a lot longer.

Tasted like Squirt

I don't recommend getting into a fender bender in a foreign country. We were hit on the highway by a young lady who tried to merge onto the highway and then cross 2 lanes. She smacked our front passenger tire and then we pulled over. Waited on the side of the road until her brother dropped another young lady off before driving to the police station to report the accident. We had to type our own incident report on the computer. Then we were given guff for not having an international license nor our passport on us. We had to go back to show the passport and then had another meeting scheduled to take photos of the damage. The photo meeting was canceled and the girl was found at fault.

Sunday, I went back into KL and wandered even more. I was in search of finding street food. I got off at KL Sentral again and made my way to the big pointy things in the sky. I found a market and ate with a bunch of locals. It was tasty fried chicken, coconut milk and artichoke hearts over rice, and hard boiled eggs and egg plant covered in chili pepper paste. After lunch, I was checking out more of the sites and I was approached by a guy who didn't speak english, but gave the international sign of take a photo. I assumed he wanted me to take a photo of him. Nope, he wanted to pose for a picture with me. I took off my sunglasses and he gave me a big hug as he snapped the photo. Afterward he gave me a big 2-tooth grin. I continued on my way and made it to the Petronas Towers, which I was shocked to find a large mall in the bottom several floors. I then happened upon a ramen shop a little way from there. Would a 95 degree day with tons of humidity stop me from indulging in a hot, spicy bowl? Nope.

Race Recap

Ironman New Zealand 30th Anniversary.

Laughing at my dad who was using the action mode on his camera.

So I've been nursing a foot injury for several weeks, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from doing the race. I started packing all my gear on Tuesday after our Takapuna swim session. Knowing it was going to be a long day, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable so I packed a different set of clothes for each event. I wasn't expecting blazing fast transition times as I was doing a full change for each event so I could be comfortable. Early Thursday morning we set out from Auckland to Taupo for the race on Saturday. We stopped by the airport shortly after 6 am to pick up my father. We have a new rule. Don't bring us anything from the States unless specifically asked or cash. All those with any sickness will be deported immediately. (Beth and I both got sick and someone else is alternating between coughing and snoring all night long). We made good time, but weren't allowed to check-in to the room until much later. We grabbed a bite to eat and then it was off to do race things. I had to dip my wetsuit in a cleaning solution, get my race packet, and get weighed. At the athlete's dinner and race meeting we, my co-worker Sebastian and I, found out that there were 52 different countries represented and close to 570 1st time racers. Of which we were 2. The dinner was a massive table of good eats followed by an entertaining segment of former winners and race legends talking about their experiences at Taupo over the past 30 years. We were greeted with a haka and other traditional song and dances as well. It would be an early night.

First race in a wetsuit

I woke up at 4:30 to start my long day. I had a big breakfast at the hotel while chatting with another racer and the waitress. She had come in early to make the food for us which was much appreciated. We were treated to another Maori ceremony prior to entering the water and those guys looked a little chilly. I think it was roughly 40-50 degrees and they weren't covered up much. Waiting for the swim to start we had the starting cannon roll past us. We were in for a treat as they shot it 3 times instead of the planned 2 times. The swim was up close and personal with my closet 1500 friends. We swam on and over each other for the better part of an hour. I was happy to have the layer of protection that my wetsuit provided or I would probably have some wicked bruises and scrapes. I tried to get distance, but people kept swarming around me. I was pretty relaxed during it all and just tried to find my rhythm. I'm glad my swim fitness hasn't totally left me as I haven't swam much since living in Thames. Beth and I have done a few races in a local swim series. It is in Takapuna and the swim consists of a 1500m ocean swim followed by our special event. Ice cream at Movenpick.

After exiting the water at 1:06, we had to run about 400m to the transition up a hill. My toe was killing me, but I kept running for fear of being trampled by other racers. I ended up seeing a lot of friends on the short hill up to transition. There was a small crew from Tauranga and a larger crew from Thames. From there it was off to my 1st personal assistant. I got my wetsuit stripped off and all my gear dropped on the ground. I did a quick change and the guy helped by handing me what I asked for and then put the remaining stuff back in my back and I was off to get my bike. I walked through the transition opposed to running as my foot was throbbing. I started off easy through town and waved at Beth as I rode past our hotel.  I heard more than a few comments about my litespeed. I cruised out of town trying to keep my heart rate low as it was a bit of a hill. Then it was time for the fun. A downhill and a tailwind out to the turn around point. I felt like I wasn't even riding that hard, but I was flying. On the way back it was fighting up against the wind and up the hill. I also played a bit of leap frog with Paulie from the Thames crew on the bike leg as someone didn't have a bike computer. I on the other hand tried to keep my heart rate down all day long and I watched the speed on the computer.

There were numerous flats and a few crashes on the bike course, but I wasn't not among them. I did see a lot of illegal behavior which is hard to police with so few course officials. There was drafting here and there, but the rule most often broke was the biker only passing one in a group of legally spaced riders forcing the passed rider to either ride in the draft area or slow down. I lost count of how many times it happened to me. Its not to say people weren't caught doing wrong as the penalty box always seemed to have someone in it. I'm just glad that I had my flats during my training rides leaving my ride unblemished.

I changed up my nutrition since the Port of Tauranga. I started to consume baby food (apple and banana oatmeal porridge) and a mix of coconut water and cranberry juice. I also suffered a bee sting to the palm while drinking out of my bottle. I yelled at Beth that I was stung by a bee when I passed her at the beginning of my 2nd lap. With 50km to go my foot started to kill me with all the vibrations. I knew that I wouldn't be running any portion of the marathon. With 2 bathroom breaks I finished the bike in 6:03, not too shabby as I've only been doing 60 miles for my long rides.

Once again I had an assistant to help with getting changed into my running stuff. After changing, I got sprayed with some sunscreen and was out on the course at a quick walking pace. People were egging me on to run through the pain. I quickly tired of trying to explain that I came to the race injured, but I was aiming to finish regardless. My friends told me to enjoy the day and make the most of it. I was in a sour mood the first lap as I really wanted to run, but even the walking got to be painful as the laps progressed. Beth got a couple phone calls from the race organizers as my timing chip evidently wasn't being picked up at the outbound mat. They asked if I was still on the course. She replied of course he is. She got a little worried and ran against the flow of the race and spotted me walking along the waterfront. I must have gone over the mat so slow that it didn't register.

I had a lot of friendly volunteers that walked beside me and chatted for a bit not mention all the food stops where I gabbed with the volunteers. Much like food challenges, Greg ended his 1st race heavier than when he started. I took this as a challenge. I ate cookies, chips, pretzels, moro bars, lollies, oranges, bananas, and some baby food while drinking water, coke, and an electrolyte mix.  I also used the bathroom at every stop by the end of the day. There were times that I saw guys from the Thames crew on the course and I wished them well. I ran into a friend of a friend from Tauranga who I climbed and mountain biked with while I lived down there on my last lap. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes. Both Beth and my pops walked next to me during the final leg. It was great to have such encouragement for my family but the strangers were good too as it gets lonely on the course as the day progresses. There were some awesome supporters out there blaring all sorts of music throughout the day and even a guy who left his bbq open and I grabbed a sausage as I "blitzed" past. During the marathon, I told Beth I wouldn't be happy only doing one Ironman as I didn't really race it. I just finished it. She had already said something to that effect to my dad back at the hotel. I guess I'm a little predictable in that capacity. I walked down the finishers chute roughly 14:43 hrs after I started to a bunch of cheering supporters. Hands started popping out for high-fives and I just walked down the chute trying to slap them all. It was cool feeling. Beth said I should do a little dance as I crossed the finish line as I walked past her. After crossing the line I was escorted into the med/recovery tent where I was given my finishers metal, t-shirt, and towel. I had my timing chip removed and my weight taken. I had only lost 2 kgs during the day's event.

Following the race, I realized that I had 2 popped blisters on the back of my heels, my left foot was swollen, my bee sting swelling went down, I chafed my thighs, and I was starving. I ate some food and took a hot shower. I tried to sleep but I was boiling up then I was freezing. It was hard to sleep on the bed so I ended up on the floor with my legs up in the air against the wall. I was back to riding to work on Tuesday so any soreness didn't last very long.

How do you say in Portugese...

It started in 2005 with a Christmas gift I never expected. Beth got us tickets to see a 2006 World Cup game. Not just any game, but the 3rd place match. It ended up being Germany vs Portugal  with the host nation dominating the flow of the game. It was such an amazing experience that we decided we would make it our thing and attend the tournament every 4 years.

2009, I entered the FIFA lottery not exactly sure what was going to happen. Multiple rounds went by and no email or other notification of a successful bid was received. We had gotten an email saying we would be notified by such a date and as that date passed we made other plans. We booked a flight to Argentina to visit some friends who were temporarily living down there from Minneapolis. On Saturday, I received an email saying our bid was successful! We purchased tickets on Monday for South Africa. We had tickets for US vs England, Japan vs Cameroon, and US vs Algeria. With our vacation spent on Argentina, we were able to stay for 2 of the 3 games. Unfortunately, we missed the US vs Algeria game, but we able to watch it back in the States.

Just imagine getting through security wearing that!

This year is no different. We have been paying attention to the qualifiers as best we can. We have put in to the lottery. No official email has come, but after logging on to the site and getting a notification from our credit card. We have been successfully charged for our sets of tickets!  We will be seeing Uruguay vs Costa Rica, US vs Ghana, and Japan vs Greece. We have already purchased our tickets for Brazil as well. These were not cheap and our itinerary back home is surely going to be long. As I took new employment recently, my vacation situation is different than while at TCDC, so unfortunately I wont be able to make it back to the States this year. Unless I get sent there for work, which is a good possibility.

Festivals galore

Summer is winding down, but the festival season seems to be in full swing. There was the Chinese Lantern Festival the other week, which Shiv, Kathryn, and I hit up. It was from Thursday to Sunday ending with a massive firework show off the SkyTower. We definitely ate our share of good food while listening to music and watching the festivities.

This past weekend we planned on hitting up Rice and Beans on Saturday and Japan Day on Sunday. The weather didn't cooperate for an outdoor festival on Saturday, but we did spend several hours at Japan Day! We watched an Aikido and a Ninjitsu demonstration. One was good and the other was like watching Monday Night Raw.   I did spend 2 hours riding in the rain on Saturday. It wasn't that much fun.

This weekend is my race, which is going to be difficult. My coughing and congestion is finally gone! However my foot is not better even though I haven't been running for the past several weeks.  If I have to I should have ample time to walk the marathon, but I'm planning on running what I can and hitting the pain meds when it hurts too much.

The following weekend, we are doing glow worm kayaking, paintball, and Pasifika (another festival). So we are keeping busy.

Not forgotten, just busy

I have been neglecting my rants, ramblings, and peek into our life as of late.  Its already February and I have a lingering sickness.  It knocked me out over our long holiday weekend and then some.  I'm still feeling the affects a week later.

Beth and I headed to Taupo this past weekend so I could do the course.  I did more than a single lap of the bike as I missed the turn and ended up on State Highway 1 south of where I was supposed to be.  The ride has an ascent and descent right out of town, but its pretty flat to Reporoa.  I hope they get the section of gravel repaired before the race, but I don't think that is going to happen.  Then again if they do it will probably me large chip over the tar which is almost as bad.  I saw plenty of riders heading back into Taupo as I was heading out and passed only 3 people on my way to Reporoa.  On the way back there was a horrible headwind most of the way and I flatted shortly after the section of gravel.  I made a quick swap and was back on my way.  The ride took a little longer than expected with the deviations on the course and the flat, but Beth was waiting for me a the hostel where I quickly changed and we went out for a run.  I did one lap of the run course and I hurt.  My quads cramped. I got dehydrated. I dry wretched.  I finished it.  Sat in the sauna and stretched a bit before heading out for some much needed food.  I had half a chicken with veggies, naan, and a samosa. The next morning I was out of the room at 6:30 for a 10 mile run.  I did over a single lap and I felt amazing.  It just goes to show that you have to pay attention to your fluids and nutrition.  I did try some new things the day before which helped on the ride, but I had nothing on the run and it was a warm one and I went through my 24oz of water pretty fast.  I probably should have had a bottle while I was changing.  So for the nutrition I tried baby food.  I've had some problems keeping gels and bananas down in previous races so I'm trying to switch it up to find something that works.  So I had some apple yogurt smoothie and an apple blueberry porridge.  Both come in squeeze tubes and sat fairly well.  I also drank a mixture of coconut water and cranberry juice for potassium. This complimented my water.

Race is less than a month away so I've dropped my bike off at the shop for a service and I'll be starting to scale back on the training. Which has been disrupted moving to Auckland. I've had to work out of the country for a week, visitors for 2, sick for more than one. However, I've still got in some good workouts, just not the frequency I would have liked. While in Taupo I ran into some of the guys from Thames out doing the course as well.  It was a bit of a surprise to be recognized or recognize someone in a different city.  However I saw both Paulie and Gavin do the run course.

My dad is coming out again and will be on hand to watch the race. I hope we get to do some cool things while he is in town. Beth and I have been hitting up various night markets as well as the local neighborhoods. I have been finding new ways home from work and have found some interesting trails while on my bike or by foot. I'm not as good as I am at navigating the back streets like Minneapolis, but I had many years of practice. I'm sure if we make Auckland home for several years I'll become even more familiar with her hills.  There is a crazy amount of elevation change hence why Beth says she has quite biking.  I have a short windy hill to ride up each morning on my way to work.  Nothing like starting your day with your legs burning.

Auckland bound, visitors, and more

We are still settling in to our place in Auckland.  Even though I needed to be up here almost exactly a month ago for work, I've only been in the new house for about a week.  The first week was spent working in Malaysia.  The day I got back, Beth picked me up and we went back to our place in Thames.  We decided to use that house as our vacation bach for when her parents were out.  The next week I spent in Auckland working while Beth's parents arrived on Wed and they went to Thames. 

Chicken in a cone.

On Friday, they came back up to Auckland and we hit up the Auckland Night Market.  These take place nightly from Thursday to Sunday in different locations.  There is your typical arts/crafts, shirts, and food stalls.  We also hit up the 2nd Hobbit as they had been out to Matamata to see Hobbiton the day before.  This also happens to be the cheapest movie ticket I've ever seen in New Zealand! 
 

On Saturday we boarded the ferry and went out to Rangitoto Island.  Its an interesting place to go see, but the next time I go there I would like it to be apart of the 5k swim.  We got to explore some lava caves, see the crater, and sit on a idyllic beach.

 

 

 

 

 

Was thinking of climbing it

I don't recall the day, but we drove around the Coromandel Peninsula.  We stopped in Whangapoua and hiked out to New Chums Beach, where I happened to sprain my ankle.  I had just stepped to the side to allow an on-coming person to pass on the track.  Last time that is going to happen, ever.  If this place sounds familiar, it is where my friend Phil has a bach that he let us use.  Its a really awesome place and if you ever get a chance to visit, stop in to the only store in town and ask Steve for directions.  Let him know that Phil sent you!  We were torn between my ankle and doing more.  We ended up going to Hot Water beach bypassing the long (2 hr) hike to Cathedral Cove.  It has been about a year since my last sprain and I've tried to be careful with my half on Jan 4, but that didn't work out so well.  I would have rather stayed at New Chums and left the masses to the few spots to catch the hot water.  We may head out that way during the off-season when the bus loads of tourists will most likely not be at capacity. 

On Christmas Eve, the plan was to hike the Pinnacles and camp out in the 80 person tent.  I had enough problems walking down the steps that I opted out of the hike.  Beth and her parents did the hike and left early on Christmas morning to avoid the worst of the downpour that hit New Zealand's North Island.  Prior to making our last moving trip up to Auckland with the camping gear and some other odds and ends, we hit up the first tour of the Thames Goldmine site.  The site has been going under renovations over the past couple years however the battery stamper was not functioning.  It was interesting to see the site as I had ran past it so many times over the last year, but it was behind a fence. 

Cathedral Cove

We then spent the following week in Akaroa on the Bank's Peninsula, SE of Christchurch.  We were staying in a timeshare located on the edge of town.  The weather didn't cooperate for us as it was pissing down.  Beth and Betsy did puzzles and Bill and I read.  I finished the 5th Jack Reacher, Inferno, and 2500 pages of Game of Thrones.  I also got 3 chapters done of my T-SQL studying done.  When it wasn't raining (at least not that much) we got out on the Fox II for a trip around the harbor and out into the ocean.  It was nice to meet Captain Roy, from NY, who seemed knowledgeable about the area, but liked to repeat himself when describing landmarks.  We got to see a bunch of dolphins, penguins, Cathedral Cove, seals, and enjoyed being on a boat.  Well Bill got sea sick and Betsy and Beth got really cold. 

Over looking Akaroa

We did get out to do some hiking around the crater around the town as well as walking around the town.  The hike went from Sea Level to about 600 m for us.  We didn't summit as the trail wasn't that flash and I didn't want to further injure my ankle.  Betsy and Bill went to the summit and I believe they both took a spill.  The views up high were pretty awesome.  There were sheep a plenty and I couldn't stop harassing them with my 'baas'.  We also stopped into Barry's Cheese where every other day you can watch them make cheese.  It appeared to be a milk delivery day when we were there so we watched a short video and bought some cheese.  We also took in a Maori and Colonial Museum that reminded me of Centennial Village back home.  There were a lot of buildings with a lot of displays that gave insight into the region and some of the colorful history.

After the week we jetted back to Auckland for the evening before heading to Tauranga.  While in Auckland, we ran around town getting some things for Betsy and Bill to take back with them and I tried in vain to get my bike inspected.  Who would have thought the 2nd would still be a holiday and many shops would be closed?  Not this guy.  We got to Tauranga about mid-day and our first stop was Koop's to get my bike and helmet inspected.  It was good to see the guys again (Dan, Craig, Will, and Phil) who all gave me a little crap for becoming a JAFA. We then went to our old neighborhood in the Mount to check into the hotel and drop by the registration booth.  We later went out to La Barca, a small Italian restaurant that was surprisingly not packed.  It often is.  A lot has changed in the Mount in the last year.  There are new places on Maunganui Road and even a board walk on Pilot Bay replacing the foot worn path I was used to. 

I could bore you with the race information, but I didn't do as well as I hoped, as I had some strange cramp/pulled muscle that made it very painful to breathe deep and I couldn't keep food down and I vomited 4 times.  I did finish and my first 2 events went well.  It was my first time racing with a wetsuit and it was too hot.  The bike ride was easy and I averaged 21.5 mph,, but I realized that my stomach was starting to go pear shaped on the 2nd lap.  I about lost it eating a banana so I stopped eating solids and kept trying to drink my nutrition but that still made me feel funky.  I started the run feeling good but after about 2 kms I had what I felt was a stitch, but it never went away.  It appeared to be something else as it continued to hurt after the race and hurt every time I breathed in deep, coughed, yawned, or tried to sit up from a laying position.

Now its back to a normal life for awhile.  I have 8 weeks until Taupo and it sounds like my dad is coming over again.  So its now time to study and train.  Hope you guys are enjoying your days that are getting longer as they are getting shorter here. 

My treat post race of fried Moro bar.

New Role

The last I wrote was about the starting of my new role.  I was tossed into the deep end and had to make sense of a live environment in Malaysia.  Prior to boarding a flight with my boss and a co-worker for the red-eye flight to Singapore, I was handed my company laptop and a stack of induction paperwork.  This was at 11 pm on the night prior to my first official day.  Little did I know, but I would be going full throttle all week and it doesn't stop there.

KLIA Terminal 2

I slept almost the entire flight to Singapore only waking momentarily to eat some food.  I was told that we were going to maximize our time on site so we would most likely go right to the site.  What is this site?  It is the new KLIA terminal that is scheduled to be opened in May. So what are we doing here?  We are installing the baggage controlling system.  This means all the physical aspects including conveyor belts, sorters, and scanners, as well as the software to manage the entire operation from a control room.  I'm currently getting very familiar with all the data being produced for the site.  I'm working with all the BI and database development with very little understanding of the environment.  As I'm doing trouble shooting, I have an end point to work back from and I've gained a much better understanding of the data structures in my first 50+ hrs on the job.

The Control Room

There was no exploring of Kuala Lumpur as I would have liked, but I was there to work first and play second.  The days were long and I hardly moved from the control room.  That had some benefits as the temperature was in the 90s and very humid.  This played some havoc in my training schedule as I didn't have a pool or bike, but I did get out and do some predawn runs where the temp was still in the high 70s.  I had some tasty eats while there, but the curry balls and the venison curry probably rank the tastiest. 

Venison Curry was still in the kitchen

My 2nd week was actually in the office.  I drove to work the first day as I had my laptop to get to the office, but since then I've been doing the commute on my bike (approximately 10 miles a day).  Its a good ride uphill that requires a cold shower before starting my day.  I'm currently working on several projects.  I'll probably talk in reference to location to keep things straight.  KL is having site acceptance testing 6/1-8/1, so I'll be adjusting my hours to reflect their business hours.  STL is looking to have some changes done to appease the TSA and Perth is going to have a factory acceptance test next week.  I'll be busy getting their environment up and running as the data warehouse scripts haven't been written nor the SSAS cubes.  However, there are 2 students doing an internrship that I get to assist with some of the report writing.  I've also started to study for the MSCE: Data Platform exams.  There are 5 of them and at our final team meeting (my first meeting) the expectation for all of the development team was to have the exams done by March.  I'm going to be a busy guy with my training and studying.