A Different Mother's Day

This year, the day before Mother's Day, I found these roses at the local market. Before I gave them to my wife, Jocelyn, I took this photo of them as a souvenir.

Sometimes holidays give rise to conflicts of schedules, and being very busy these days, I am always a little apprehensive about participating in organized activities, for fear of falling even further behind schedule. Besides, on Saturday night the streets were packed with people going out to eat for Mother's Day, and I immediately imagined myself waiting at the entrance of some crowded restaurant on a noisy and traffic-congested street for more than an hour before we could get served.

So I heaved a sigh of relief when my family members suggested we go for a bicycle ride as a family on Mother's Day late in the afternoon when it would be a good time to take a break from the busyness of life, anyway. The idea was to more or less follow the river which runs only a few hundred yards from our house all the way until it hits the ocean at the other end of the city. In recent years, the local government has expended much effort in constructing bike paths, and it is more or less possible to ride on these paths for miles, usually next to a river (or a lake if one goes in the direction of where I swim in the mornings), with only minimal interaction with motorized transport.
We did not leave home until about 5:30 p.m., and after one or two detours (like where we were on the "wrong" side of the river and there were repairs being made to the bike path), we soon found that the otherwise bright and sunny day was quickly coming to an end. At this point looking down the river we were about two-thirds of the way to our destination (had we gone directly there).

We stopped close to where the Love River meets the ocean to take a few photos and decide on where we were going to eat. Like many of our trips, little had been planned. I kind of like things that way, i.e., a bit more spontaneous.

With less and less light, my little camera was becoming less capable of getting a clear shot, and fortunately James had his new camera with him, a Canon with a 30 mm F 1.4 lens, for those in the know.

As we waited there, the lights on buildings started to come on. I could still get a few reasonably good shots on my camera, because there was still quite a bit of daylight left.

However, without a a bigger and better camera, the above shot would not have been possible. I took it, although James set it up manually first. I should have brought a tripod.

In this picture we can see the four bikes we rode. Only mine on the far left, is a "real" bicycle. Even with gear on it and its much larger size, it still weighs a couple of kilos less than Jocelyn's bicycle. Maybe it is time to find Jocelyn a "real" bike.

After these pictures, we rode about another kilometer to the Fishermen's Wharf in Kaohsiung, which as its name implies is part of the port of Kaohsiung. (This was taken with my "little" camera, which was possible because the lights were very bright.) To get there were rode down a street full of small stores with names in various Asian languages, no doubt to serve the many foreigners who work on the boats.

This was the view (also taken with my camera) that we had as we ate a nutritious meal in an oceanside restaurant. However, instead of getting on one of these boats, we together rode (for about one hour) the 11 kilometers we needed to travel to get home, most of which was along the river and the nice bike paths built for this purpose.

The Impossible Dream

50 meters of outdoor pool open all year round

As I have been going to swim each morning, or at least most mornings, I have looked down the 50m pool and wondered just how fast I could swim a length if I especially trained for it. I remember in 1997 not long after recovering from illness that, at the end of a life-saving training session, I dived in another 50m outdoor pool in Taipei and swam the length in about 50 seconds. At the time, I told one of the instructors about it and he said that for us ordinary folk that was quite good, although of course for good swimmers it was really slow.

Now I can swim the same distance with a dive into the pool in about 40 seconds, and I often will have a go as I finish a 3,000 m workout and am warmed up for it. The world record is somewhere around 21 seconds (20.94 if Frederick Bousquet's recent record in France holds). For my age group, the qualifying time for USMS Nationals is apparently around 32 seconds. So getting my time down from about 40 seconds to about 32 seconds may be impossible or possible depending on which way you look at it.

I would really like to have the chance to qualify in some freestyle distance for the USMS Nationals. I think one of the main reasons is that there is a tendency for people to think that if you were not a good and fast swimmer when young, then you will never be able to become one when you are older. In my case, I did not break 50 seconds for this distance (LCM) until I was "over the hill" in my forties. In addition, in life I have had my share of setbacks and negative feedback, etc. and so to accomplish something, even if only small, will be all the more worthwhile.

So what have I got going for me? Besides having a pool to practice in (even though it is probably not a "fast" one), I have the advantage of height (1m 92s). While I still look like a shrimp compared with some of the "big boys" (who are often almost two meters and much more strongly built), at least I can get stronger through training, although I cannot make myself any taller. I also have fairly big feet and hands, which while a curse when one goes to a shoe shop, may possibly help if I can learn to use them to my advantage.

Currently, I am not very well coordinated on my 50m training "sprints". I can usually do a fairly good dive, but I am still experimenting with the dolphin kick (like they do in the big races) to get further up the pool before actually using my arms. Then I am not sure whether to take short, rapid strokes with my arms, or to fully extend them and take longer strokes with more glide. My breathing seems to be erratic, like 10 strokes then one breath, then 6 strokes, then 2 strokes, etc., etc. I can feel myself slowing down and struggling half way through the swim.

Well, all these things can be overcome, just as can flip turns. When swimming 100 meters where I need to turn, I can flip over so that I lie on my back as I push off the wall. However, often my push is so weak that I must have almost come to a complete stop.

Anyway, there are plenty of things I can work on, and it is well worth the effort. It is a great feeling to go down the pool and find out that a second was knocked off one's previous best time.
Another reason for focusing on the short distances is because in the past I have always tended to train for much longer distances. While I have developed a lot of stamina, I have always tended to be slow, and I could rarely pick up the pace in a short race (like a short Peaman or Mango sprint). So even if in the end I cannot reach the USMS qualifying standard, my overall performance in a "short" race with a swim of up to half a mile should be improved.

Second by second, pressing toward the goal

Swimming Alone in Taiwan

What do all these pictures have in common? The answer is that I am the only person in the 50 meter pool. This is a regular occurrence, since most of the few people that swim here are out of the water by 7:45 a.m. and I usually stay another half hour to "finish" my training. This is something I never could have dreamed of when I left Hawai'i almost two years ago - being able to swim all year round in a 50 meter outdoor pool, just 4.5 kms from our home mostly along quiet, scenic roads by bicycle, Kona weather all year round, except December and January when it is slightly cooler here, but still swimmable outside if one is mentally prepared for it. However, what about all this swimming alone?

Many years ago, I heard the story of someone who had stopped talking, not that he couldn't speak, but he felt that by not talking he would be less likely to say something bad and offend someone. Better to keep quiet than to start an argument or else be accused of being a gossip. Likewise, reclusivity may be a virtue. Just focus on yourself and live life for yourself, and spend lots of time training and reviewing your training.

Well, at times life may be like that (being on my own, etc.), especially after leaving Hawai'i and having to say goodbye to many good training buddies. There is the whole issue of culture shock when one relocates, not shock from an unfamiliar culture in my case (because I was just returning "home"), but having to start all over again, getting to know people, finding interesting things to do, etc., and discovering that people like those crazy friends that I trained with before don't seem to exist here (at least there are very few that I have the chance to meet).

Of course, nowadays we have blogs and Facebook, and so at least it is possible to keep in touch and share photos and video clips, etc. It is such an improvement over just using the telephone. And by keeping in touch, it is possible to plan trips to exotic places like Hawai'i to train and race with friends, and while a trip may be expensive, overall one still saves money as it is usually a lot cheaper living somewhere else the rest of the year.

As for my own training, in March I generally swam between 1,500m and 2,000m each day roughly six days per week, and this month I have upped the distances to between 2,000m and 2,500m per day. Not a lot, but I need to work harder this year than last as our boys are going to further their education overseas. While an extra 1,000m may not take that long in the water (even for me), I am more concerned about the onset of sleep later in the day when I am supposed to be getting things done. Still, I can't complain, I still feel as if I am retired, only that I have to be very careful with time.

I have benefited a great deal from the freestyle teaching video prepared by Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen, who continues to be a great inspiration as she breaks more Masters' records. My workouts start out with a longish warm-up, followed by relaxed sets as I slowly build up speed. However, instead of getting out once I have covered a certain distance, I usually like to finish with a 100m or 50m at at least 90 percent effort. That is the highlight of the day, and puts me in good stead for the work I do later in the morning, which requires a lot of mental concentration.

I have recently made friends with a cardiologist I see at church. Don't quote me on this, but when I asked questions like: "Will I have a heart attack as a result of going flat out on a 50 meter sprint?" he appears to be of the opinion that as long as I train regularly this would be extremely unlikely, and when the unimaginable does happen, it may be due to a problem with the heart that existed at birth. Anyway, it is important to train regularly and consistently and to warm up well at each workout. I have not had any shoulder discomfort this year and had very little last year even with longer distances.

In closing, after writing this, I am not so keen on becoming a recluse, and I do have a few good swimming friends here - someone had to take the pictures. So while it may not be so easy to train together, at least we can train and follow each others' blogs and maybe have the chance to race against each other in the not-too-distant future.
The pool is occasionally used by other people, like this Saturday morning. The children are mostly in elementary school and belong to a swim club. They are training for a meet and are all pretty good.

Alishan's Cherry Blossoms 阿里山的櫻花季

On March 9 & 10, we went on a family trip to Alishan in Chiayi County in central/southern Taiwan. Well, it was supposed to be a family outing, but James sprained his foot badly the day before and the doctor advised him to stay home. So just three of us went. We can always go again some time.

The real start to our adventure, as you will see below.

This little diesel train, and another further up the hill, were going to spend the next four hours transporting us to our destination.

The early stages of the train ride. Normal weather and plenty of betel nut trees (a cash crop that is not environmentally or medically friendly).About half way (a little above one thousand meters) and above one set of clouds. Morrison is already warmly dressed.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip we had to change trains which involved a 15-minute walk over hilly and muddy trails - all because of a landslide some time ago that broke the line in two.

As the afternoon wore on, we would occasionally see some nice cloud formations (now about 1,600 meters)

After we reached the end of the journey and our hotel at 2,200 meters and about 7 degrees celsius, we went out to eat our evening dinner - hot pot!The next morning we were up early and joined a prearranged tour that would take us to see the sunrise.

Two of the many sacred trees that we saw during our stay.

We were fortunate to see the sun as not every morning is clear.

The scenery up here (at 2,700 meters) is a lot different from what one usually has at sea level.

Some trees made people look like midgets.

The cherry blossoms that we saw later the same morning were the highlight of our trip, the icing on the cake as it were.

Hsiu-chin even had the clothes to match!

Many people have seen Christmas trees with lights, but they cannot compare with a Tokyo cherry tree like this. (To see the flowers more clearly, click to enlarge image.)

This tree was located next to the Alishan hotel (which we did not stay at, but would consider doing so another time)

These blossoms are unbelievable (thanks Morrison for the pic)

Blossoms by the roadside.

There are trees everywhere and also a lot of blossoms.Two generations at the three-generation tree.

Certainly a nice place for a walk! We did not have a lot of time, unfortunately, at at this point we had to make plans to get back the the hotel to check out.

The 21st largest tree in the forest here. This one is still standing.

This sacred tree, after a life of two thousand years, in recent years (with the help of an earthquake) finally bit the dust. One wonders of the struggles that the ones still living are having to face just to survive in this day and age.

Sadly, the prearranged tour had us taken down the mountain in a 9-seater van. Had I been traveling the usual way I travel, I would have just got on this train instead (at Fenchihu station).

After we go back to the old Chiayi station, we caught a bus which took 20 minutes to reach Chiayi's high speed rail station. Then, we rode the shinkansen for 35 minutes. After another 10 minutes we were back home. I really think we need to go again. We did not see it all.

Another New Computer

The addition of a new PC (a BenQ Joybook), was in my mind a necessary addition to complement the better quality MacBook that I also recently bought.

Not long ago I posted an article about a new MacBook that I had bought and compared it with the aging computers that I had previously been using. The other day, I bought another new computer, not to replace the MacBook, but to complement it. It is a PC Notebook, with a 13.3" screen (the same size as the MacBook). I had toyed with the idea of getting a "mini Netbook" (with about a 10" screen), but ended up getting this one, a BenQ Joybook S31VW-T27, at a special price (just under US$500 dollars). The reason it was so cheap was that it was a demo model in a large store. So maybe there is a little risk involved there, but the price I paid included a 3-year guarantee. The 10" screen PC is the craze at the moment, and a lot of people "follow the crowd". However, they are also around US$500 and, besides being "ergonomically challenging" (if that is the right expression), they are relatively weak. There is only so much stuff you can squeeze into such a small space.

This tree, which is situated next to the swimming pool I go to each morning, provides great shade from the strong sunshine we have had recently. There are wooden tables and benches next to it where I can work in the mornings.

My reason for buying the PC was that I occasionally have to do work that cannot easily be done on a Mac, and while I did install XP Home on the Mac, it does not work well, and so I just decided to get an extra computer. In addition, I plan to travel on longish trips by bike and I want to take a computer with me, as I need to carry a mobile office with me. Should something happen to this new PC (which runs on Windows Vista) on a trip, at least I will know there is another machine waiting for me when I get back home.

This pond lies next to the entrance into which I turn to ride the last few hundred meters to the swimming pool (along the road shown below). Views like this, seen from a bicycle, certainly help me relax. This pond is 4.4 kms away from our house.

Being slightly more than one-third of the price of the MacBook, the PC has some shortcomings compared to the MacBook, one being that the Mac is a lot better for playing Youtube videos, even though I am using the same ADSL cables at home. The Mac appears to be able to get a lot more power/receptivity out of a weakish Internet signal as it were. The Mac is ideal for blogging and editing photos and movies, for typing Japanese, etc., and so I doubt I will bother to use the PC for this. However, sometimes the Mac will reject a research paper with a lot of mathematical equations, etc., whereas the PC seems to be much better designed for this. A Taiwan PC is also better for handling documents in Chinese since the operating system is in Chinese, whereas Chinese to the Mac is just one of the many foreign languages.

As a friend remarked, the cherry blossoms are really nice. My family and I will go to see more of them soon.

The BenQ brand may not be known much outside Taiwan, but here their computers are well-known for their good looks. After all, the insides of the computer are often much the same whatever brand you get. It has an Intel core duo chipset. Not a high-ranking one, because the machine is about one year old already. This 13.3" model is also no longer made. A pity in my opinion (for other people, that is). A 12.1" notebook has a narrower keyboard (which is a factor I consider) and the now popular 14.1" model is a tighter fit in a pannier bag on the back of a bike. Now at least my MacBook and PC being the same size can share the same carrying cases and sleeves, etc.

The building on the right serves as the entrance to the outdoor 50m swimming pool. Because these private grounds are all part of a "youth activity center", there are a lot of activities like camping and get togethers for school children of all ages. So when the kids come, they really like to live it up. (Click to enlarge photo)

One word of advice when choosing/buying a computer. First, see what is available locally in case there are some good buys. Then go home and do some homework on the Internet, trying to read reviews, and finding out current prices and specifications. Then ask the sales clerk to switch it on and check things like the screen (for unusual lines, etc.) and the keyboard (in case kids have played games on it in the store). If you can make your mind up, then you won't be easily talked into buying a newer model or something you don't really need at a significantly higher price. This computer was the "last one" they had left of that line, and I think most people passed it by. If I get two or three years of good use out of it, I will certainly feel I got my money's worth.

This is a map (by the side of the road opposite the youth activity center) of the "Niaosong Bike Path". The red line refers to a separate path that is only for bikers and pedestrians. The youth activity center and the swimming pool are located about 1/3 of the way down the red path to the right.

Relaxed Freestyle Swimming

Cheng Ching Lake at about 7:00 a.m., which is about the time I reach the swimming pool.

February, being only 28 days this year, went especially quickly. At the end of January the pool temperature was still a chilly 66F. A few days ago, it had reached 78F, before falling to 76F today. So the winter appears to be past here, and the weather is generally very pleasant without being too hot.

Alongside much of the lake pictured above, is a separate bike path, designed to keep bicycles and other road users separate. That is my new bike on display there.

My swims in the last few weeks have typically ranged between 1,500m and 2,100m, maybe not a lot, but I have often not wanted to get too tired from swimming, as I have been busy most of the rest of the time. Life often appears to require trying to excel in a number of different areas, and for me swimming is only one of them.

While this path is intended for bikes, the surface appears perfect for running, and there are distance markers.

So, while I may not have been quite as fit as in times past, I have been compensating for this by trying to improve my freestyle swimming technique, and that means swimming as relaxed as possible (and often fairly slowly) as I think about and work on issues like breathing, head position, extending and pausing before taking the pull, and so on. While I don't attend swim classes here, I am constantly working through what I remember of the Swimming 101 classes I attended with Steve Borowski in Hawaii as well as some of the recent variations in my swimming technique that I have been learning from Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen.

On seeing these pictures with the blossoms and leaves on the ground (the pool is about 100m up this road), one would not think that the temperature when I took them was about 87F.

Timing is very important in swimming, and not just when one breathes. In particular, it is very important to learn just how much to pause after extending the hand and shoulder forward. Pausing before pulling does not mean one is wasting time. Even if the forward hand stops momentarily, one is still gliding in the water, and getting ready for a more powerful stroke.
As I swim each morning, I do attach a lot of importance to trying to relax. My life as it is is relatively stressful already, and when swimming it is easy to feel uptight, to feel "slow" and to worry. However, I find that if I relax, say, by taking the first half of the workout very easy, then it is much easier to crank things up later. Then, some of those shorter swims (like a 50 or a 100) feel barely moderate, with long smooth strokes, and the end result is a time which is equally as good as that hard swim only a couple of weeks ago.

The two tables here just behind and overlooking the swimming pool is an excellent place to get some work done before returning home in the mornings. Often one just has the birds for company.

My flip turns are a lot more relaxed now and at least in most cases I keep on going. I still have a little difficulty judging exactly how close I need to be to the wall when I flip, so I sometimes don't managed to plant my feet squarely on the wall, or else get a fairly weak push. However, it is coming, and since I am only occasionally getting water up my nose, I am tending to flip turn more often. Today most of my turns are flip turns where the intention (not always realized) is to push off the wall while lying horizontally on my back.

One reason I feel more relaxed is because my new mountain bike is so much more comfortable to ride than the old bikes (which are too small for me) that I had been using to get around town. It is a 15-min ride to the pool and about that coming back, so while I may not be doing any serious cycling, I am at least on the bike every day. The scenery close to the pool is particularly beautiful and I get to experience this just about every day.

The grounds of the youth activity center which houses the swimming pool are not always quiet. One day last week all these high-school students had an activity here.

On the subject of bikes, I passed a small bike store today and noticed that they had two "Argon 18" road bikes for sale (unfortunately way too small for me). However, I did ask the repairman there where they were made (Central Taiwan) and he gave me the name of the company. I don't know if they could make me a 61cm tri-bike frame, so I could get back to some road racing. One of my greatest triathlon heroes (or heroines) rides an Argon 18, and so surely if I was to get one, I would get a lot of respect wherever I go. Maybe the bike's name isn't important, but in many ways it is.

Bicycles serve many purposes, one being to transport heavy metal objects. In this case, the metal was on its way to a recycling center.