Overview: The Thanksgiving holiday afforded my friend and I the opportunity to explore southeast Utah where we logged over 1800 miles on the road, backpacked amongst ancient ruins, mountain biked 2 famous trails, slept in a solar-powered yurt and only showered once!

Kane Gulch: The 12-hour, 750-mile drive from San Diego to Utah finished atop of the Mokey Dugway just outside of Mexican Hat, UT at 4:30am. We parked the truck off the road, pitched the tent and got 5 hours of much needed sleep. We awoke to a grey sky and a breath-taking view of the Monument Valley and the Valley of the Gods.

With rain in the forecast we knew our backpacking trip through Kane Gulch and into Grand Gulch was risky since flash flooding can occur from .2 to .5 inches of rainfall. This route is best known for the well-preserved collection of Anasazi aka Ancient Pueblo People ruins in this canyon from 1200 BC. Tim and I really wanted to explore this area so we decided to give it a shot despite the eminent danger. To safeguard, we shared our itinerary with our emergency contacts, registered with the Kane Gulch ranger station and designated an escape route through a side canyon 11 miles into the loop.

Here's the trip plan:

The scenery was beautiful as we made our way through the flat and into the wash which led way into the canyon. Our pack weight was a reasonable 40 pounds which made for a pace of roughly 3mph. At mile 7, we came across the first set of ruins. It was fascinating to see the small little dwellings, the petroglyphs and the pot shards. It was like an outdoor and interactive museum. After a few more miles of trekking, we set up camp and ate dinner just as the rain started at 6:30pm.

Thanksgiving Day: By morning, the rain hadn't let up and was only getting worse. The tent was beginning to leak and water was flowing down the trail like a stream. Our camp site was at the junction of the side canyon we designated as our escape route so we made the logical decision and called off the rest of the trek. Our escape route was by no means a walk in the park. This was rugged third-class scrambling over boulders, through streams and up steep and slippery cliffs. By the time we reached the highway and started trekking alongside the road, we were cold and wet but knew we made the right to get out. A mile later, 2 cars stopped and gave us a ride back to our truck at the ranger station which was a much needed morale boosted. The group was from Arizona and they were planning to do the same route we were until our story convinced them otherwise.

Here's the slideshow:

Once we were back on the road, the rain turned to snow as we climbed in altitude. Our friend's yurt in Monticello, UT sits at 7,500 feet and already had a couple inches of accumulation. It was a relief to take refuge in the warm and dry yurt and to eat our backpackers Thanksgiving feast. 

The next day we met the rest of the folks staying at the yurt. The snow let up so we cleaned our gear, helped out with projects around the newly constructed yurt, made a run into town for supplies and feasted on real Thanksgiving leftovers with our friends.

Slickrock: The rest of the group went to rock climb at Indian Creek while we made the drive into Moab to ride the famous Slickrock trail. On the drive to the trail, we dropped off the recycling from the yurt at the Canyonlands Community Recycling Center. I couldn't believe how beautiful the terrain was with the La Sal Mountains to the east.

Our ride at Slickrock was a real eye-opener. I was pretty nervous when we first got going because the rock was still wet in places from precipitation the day before which made for some sketchy climbs and descents. My wheels were literally slipping and spinning out at times. I stayed in my easiest gearing for the majority of the ride because when we weren't climbing straight up, we were dropping into a freakishly steep descent met by another steep climb. I was exhausted by the time we completed the main loop but back at the mountain bike shop I purchased a 5-minute shower which really lifted my sprits (and 4 days worth of dirt).  Where to get a shower in Moab

Here's the slideshow:

Porcupine Rim: On our final day, we decided to kick it up a notch and attempt the point-to-point mountain bike route known as the Porcupine Rim Trail. The four of us dropped a car off at the end point and shuttled to the top. The ride started with a few miles of very technical climbing before reaching the ridge and beginning the descent back into Moab. The entire ride took us four hours and was the highlight of our trip. The views from the top were incredible, the terrain was technical and fun and our group enjoyed the whole experience. We finished the day off with a great meal and a few pints at the Moab Brewery.

Here's the slideshow:

Recap: This experience was just what I needed to celebrate my passion for adventure, the outdoors and our beautiful country although it does seem unconventional in the traditional sense of Thanksgiving in America. I did have the chance to speak with my family back east while they were together for the holiday and continued the family tradition of finding the family Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. I am very much looking forward to joining them in two weeks to finish the year together, celebrate all that was 2008 and get excited for another year of adventure in 2009. Happy Holidays!

Visit Yurtcation.com for rental info

Overview: Successful trip and Olympic-distance triathlon debut at the Chicago Accenture Triathlon.

Thursday: I flew Southwest from San Diego to Midway. Checking the bike box was $50 each direction. I met someone at the race who flew Delta and was charged $400 one way. Be sure to call ahead to determine if that cheaper ticket to your race is really worth it with the hidden cost. I was greeted at the airport by my friend Paul who I hadn’t seen in over 3 years. He took me into the city to get checked in to my hotel, and then we had Gino’s East legendary Chicago-style deep dish pizza dinner before calling it a night.

Friday: First thing I did on Friday was make coffee and build my bike. I wanted to get a ride in early enough before the race Sunday to check if any parts were damaged in the transport or if I put it back together incorrectly and needed to make adjustments. I found that being super organized when packing the bike for the trip out helps speed this process up. Plus, taking the bike apart goes much faster than building it. I even took pictures of my handlebar and aerobar alignment with my camera phone to double check.

I had a fast and flat eight-mile ride on beautiful Lake Shore Drive to my friend Paul’s apartment. Coincidentally, Paul and my co-worker Trish lived exactly one block away from each other. Crazy, right? After a year of working together over the phone, through email and IM, Trish and I finally got to meet in person and to top it off, we did a swim in Lake Michigan. Trish was also signed up for the triathlon on Sunday, racing the sprint distance. 

After a delicious and nutritious dinner with Paul and his girlfriend Jenny, I headed back to the hotel for the race reception. There I met a colleague, introduced myself to Sarah Reinertsen and chatted with pro triathlete Kevin Everett and his wife who were incredibly genuine people and all racing Sunday.

Saturday: I met Trish and her friends Brett and Santiago at the hotel race expo. We got checked in, body marked and found our wave assignment for the race, After checking out the gear at the expo, Trish and I headed north on the L so I could get my bike from Paul’s place. I rode the 8-mile Lake Shore Drive route back to the hotel and prepared my race gear while watching the men’s Olympic marathon on TV. I also packed my non-race gear because I had to fly out after the race.

Sunday: My alarms went off at 4:15 am and my crazy day started. I went through my pre-race ritual of hot shower, coffee and music headed out the front door of the hotel on my bike with backpack full of gear for the day. I set up my transition area amidst a sea of bikes, being sure to note certain landmarks for the transition that would help me quickly locate my area. 

I set up next to Team Goody StayPut triathlete Laura McDonald from Denver, CO, who would later place 77th overall and win our age group! She was super cool and we hung out while we waited for our wave to be called. After close to two hours, it was time to race. 

The Swim: I lined up near the front inside of my wave, wanting to get out front during the 380-yard swim to the turnaround buoy. The swim start was super chaotic and I was kicked, climbed on and dunked underwater all the way down to the turnaround point where I finally broke free, found my rhythm and pulled ahead of the pack. It felt fast but I preferred going harder and using more energy on the swim to being apart of the mess that was back behind me. The water was warm, around 70 degrees, and I started to feel good. It was really cool to see the spectators above on the lake wall when taking breaths during the swim. I exited the water and had trouble calming my breathing down at first, but there was a really long run to my transition area during which I settled my breathing. I passed the timing mat in 27 minutes and had a 2-minute, 30-second transition.

The Bike: Before I even got on my bike, I began having problems. I keep my shoes clipped in my pedals, a common practice in triathlon but what I didn’t anticipate, which no one usually does, is stepping on a piece of glass barefoot while running with my bike. I was in the bike mount area when I reached down and pulled the piece of broken beer bottle out of the ball of my left foot. I caught a quick glimpse of blood, I tried mounting my bike, one of my shoes came out of my pedal, and I bumped another racer who almost fell off his bike into someone else… I was that guy.

Anyhow, let’s fast forward 10 minutes into the bike, I was settling in, spinning well into a headwind and getting some needed nutrition after the aforementioned debacle. The ride was a tad windy, the road itself was in pretty rough shape and I began noticing more and more folks fixing flats. I began concentrating my efforts on choosing the cleanest and smoothest lines I could take as to avoid a flat tire. This seemed to work and the south-bound tail wind was a nice relief during the return loops. I was off the bike with an hour and fifteen minute split which is a 20.4 mph average and into T2.

The Run: My run transition was only a minute and a half, relatively fast considering the never-ending transition area that added quite a bit more to the day’s run total. I was greeted by Paul, Jenny and their awesome dog Ari during my first half-mile into the run followed soon after by Trish and her friends. It took me 2 miles to settle in and find rhythm on the run during which the temperature began to rise. I hydrated with Gatorade at each aid station and was able to maintain a 7:18 pace during the 10K run by sites like the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. I finished my first Olympic-distance race in 2:29:12 which was good for 262nd of 4,089 overall and 62 of 519 in my age group.  

Post race:  The real challenge of the day began after the race as I had to schlep my tired body back to the transition area, gather my race gear and ride back to the hotel. I met Paul, Jenny and Ari at the hotel and immediately disassembled my bike, packed it in the bike box, took a shower, checked out of the hotel and Paul dropped me at the airport. A special thanks to Paul for dealing with me in all my spandex glory

Recovery: Flying so soon after the race took a toll on my body earlier this week but now I’m good to go after lots of stretching and some body work by Holistic health practitioner, Haunani Chong.

Recap: Great trip, cool city, awesome tune-up race and relieved to have no lingering hamstring issues after the scare on the track just 2 weeks ago. There is still much work to be done to find success in the full-iron distance Silverman triathlon in November. Stay tuned as training kicks up a notch. Thanks for stopping by to read this longer post and I apologize for the delay in posting.

Preview

I feel like a new man after a couple weeks of multisport training and a refreshing cross-country trip to surprise my parents in MA for July 4th.

Typical week

Monday: ActiveX, La Jolla Shores swim

Tuesday: Cycle-commuting, TCSD track workout (see below)

Wednesday: ActiveX

Thursday: Cycle-commuting, trail run

Friday: ActiveX, La Jolla Cove swim

ActiveX: The variety plus the social aspect of these group sessions is great. I noticed a great deal soreness initially and my body has already adapted to the fast-twitch, full-body workouts. This picture is from a weekend workout/fundraiser.

Open-water swims: The Ocean is gorgeous right now at an average of 68 degrees for these Monday & Friday ActiveX / TCSD group swims. Check out the video:

Cycle-commuting: It’s been good to get on the bike since I can’t stand driving anymore. A group of us at the office live close to one-another and have started to carpool on the days we don't ride in which is pretty cool.

Track workout: Speed is my new focus for the Accenture Chicago Triathlon in August. Tuesday, I attended a TCSD track workout for a two-mile time trial to determine how fast I should run the weekly intervals. I ran 2 miles in 12:12. I also began a demo of the new Zoot ULTRA Tempo+ for a review I will publish after Chicago.

July 4th trip

My brother and sister-in-law flew me out to the east coast as a surprise for my parents. We had a great Independence Day Weekend together. It was a much-needed trip for the whole family. The weather cooperated on Friday and we got out on my parents boat for the afternoon.

My bro and I got in a couple cool trail runs in NJ on his local trails which prevented any sort of jet-lag during or after the trip.

Weekend:

I met my friends Carrie and Jesse, who were my teammates in the La Jolla 10-Mile Relay Swim, for a 2-mile open-water swim on Saturday. It was our first of the season because temps are still below 60 degrees. I thought it was going to feel colder than it did which was a nice surprise. The swim went well and I'm glad we got out there at least once before the Ford Ironman California 70.3 on March 29, in Oceanside, CA.

Monday:

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is making a stop at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park this week. I scored Marie and I tickets for tonight’s showing. Check out this epic preview:

Tuesday:

TCSD track workout

Wednesday:

TCSD master’s swim workout

Thursday:

I’m meeting Tara Coleman, CCN for a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test. Tara has been a long-time Active Community moderator with an extensive nutrition knowledge-base. Check out  and be sure to ask her any of your sports nutrition related questions.

Tara is going to help me devise a nutrition strategy for my 100-mile run in June. The RMR test will provide a baseline to help us determine how many calories I will need to ingest during the 31-hour race. Tara is going to analyze the foods that I use during training to determine how much I will need to have prepared for the race. It is critical that I relay this information to my crew team so they can monitor my food intake throughout the race. I’m really excited to gain this knowledge because it’s going to make me that much more prepared to step into the unknown.

+++++++++

Inspiration

A few weeks back, I randomly met a local endurance athlete who is also training for the SD100. Jill Childers joined me and my SD100 crew team out in Cuyamaca State Park for a 20-mile trail run. We chatted with her during the run and Jill was really cool and super fit. I asked her about her experience in Kona in 2007 but it wasn’t until reading this interview from Competitor called Bouncing Back, when we learned of her truly inspirational story. Check out how Jill recovered from a life-threatening bike accident to compete in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Make it a great week!

These are some of my favorite pictures taken last year. Enjoy the show!

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My ultimate fitness goal for 2008 is to complete the San Diego 100-mile endurance run (SD100) on the third weekend of October. With some guidance, I’ve outlined a series of incremental goals, races and periods of rest over the course of the year that will gradually prepare me for this main event.

After finishing 2007 with a 52-mile training run and beginning 2008 with a 50-mile race, I’ve decided to use the sport of triathlon to build my fitness while taking a small yet strategic break from ultra running. My first half-Ironman distance triathlon is on March 29 in beautiful Oceanside, California. To prepare for this particular 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run, I’ve broken my training schedule into three phases and the first phase began Monday.

Bike course:   

For the next 16 days, I’ll be training in all three triathlon disciplines, a variety of cross-training exercises, plus racing a Triathlon Club of San Diego (TCSD) Duathlon on February 2. My next break is President’s Day weekend, where I’ll use a long-weekend of backcountry skiing in the Sierra Nevada as active recovery before beginning the second training phase.

The focus of phase two is “brick” training or the combination of two triathlon workouts into one and less of a focus on cross-training. For instance, upon arriving home from cycle-commuting, I will immediately go for a run. The purpose of this is to train my legs to learn how to make this transition and get used to the switch so on race day, I can jump off the bike and break out into a fast half-marathon. During this phase, I will bump up the weekend mileage on the bike and race in another TCSD Duathlon on March 3.

Phase three includes brick training, a long training ride, plus a trail race in San Luis Obispo called the Mountain of Gold on March 16. I plan on running the 25km option and Marie will run the 50km race. This way, I can fit one last long run in before my event and I will be able to pace Marie for the first two loops of her four-loop course.

I’m nervous about the half-Ironman since it is an unknown but I like the pressure since it is rapidly approaching. I need to focus right away and get to work. Having confidence in my base fitness helps, but I’m honest with myself and admit that my swimming needs work, my cycling needs work and I must include plenty of brick workouts between now and March 29 to have a decent race.

Now that I have my sights set on the SD100 in October, I’m excited to get into triathlon shape and to roll over the fitness into the next event on the list: The Leona Divide 50 on April 19. This year is off to a great start and I plan on checking in with you all along the way. Let's make thisa fun and exciting year. All the best to you and your 2008 goals!

Yours in Adventure,

~Toby

In November, I wrote about my good friend and fellow adventurer, Albert Lin, who kept an email journal of his five-week journey all over China. Once again, Albert has returned to his homeland for the holiday season and this time, there seems to be a deeper and more intimate connection to his land. Please read the latest installment to Albert in China.

Nearly two months after my return from the road I found myself once again crossing the pacific towards asia.  This time to visit my aging Grandparents in Hong Kong.  Christmas and Newyears in the city had become a bit of a tradition in the previous years.

I walked beside my gong gong (Grandfather in chinese).  He had decided to get out of his wheel chair and was now slowly strolling down the pathway which bent around the Hong Kong harbor.  We talked in mandarin about our mutual adventures, his over 50 years ago, and mine barely more then 50 days past.  A light breeze passed through the park, its peaceful embrace hidden away from the bustling streets in this sanctuary of serenity.  It carried along with it the scent of a small cropping of Gui trees which had been planted within a garden in the middle of the park.  The beautiful smell wafted into my nose and traveled deep into my mind, extracting the most subtle of memories from the darkness of time.  As thoughts of the road swirled through my head my heart began to pound with the excitement and longing one gets from seeing a long lost lover pass by in the street. The realization that the past is never with in reach strikes painfully at the sweet sanguinity of hindsight. The faintness of those beautiful memories being weathered by the hands of time, only grow more precious with age.  I stood struck in my steps, taking in the fragrance of Guilin.  Before a word was spoken I turned to my gong gong only to find the same distant stare in his eyes.  The same breeze had transported our souls, if only for a moment, to the tree lined streets of Guilin.  And for a brief second the hands of time had been thrown to the side, and my grandfather and I were on the Big Road together.  The rising limestone camel back mountains, the voices of food stand owners, the winding canals, and the spirit of the city danced through our minds. We stood for a few minutes and reminisced over the town which had captured both our hearts.  He had spent over two years in Guilin, escaping the Japanese solders during world war II and being one of the last men to evacuate the city as it fell into enemy hands.  I had spent only a few wandering days in this magical city, exploring its many parks and streets via the back of a motorcycle cabbie.  Yet in the end we had a chance in this lifetime to walk that road together, and if even for a couple of minutes, it was incredible.  For although time inevitably changes all things, the road is constant, and it is in front of us all.

Albert Yu-Min Naching Lin