Race Report: Lake Tahoe 70.3, Part II

Prank's over! Weather on race day was perfect. The wind causing white caps on the water from a day earlier has subsided. There was no snow falling or on the ground. Everything was a go!

Our cheer squad, Caitlin and Lauren, actually had to wake up and leave the cabin earlier than the racers because they had to take a shuttle from T2 to meet us at T1 while Mike dropped Justin and I off right at the start.

Swim (0:38:56)
Even though at altitude, it is better to focus on effort rather than time, but I just couldn't help but have swim time goals: 40 minute was a stretch goal and 45 minute was a realistic goal, so I would have been happy with somewhere in between.

This was my first mass rolling start. The gun went off, and the queue didn't move at all. Patience, patience,... and we're off! Swimming at high elevation was harder than I thought. A few strokes in, I was gasping for air. I tried to slow down and get my breathing back in order, but nothing worked. Five minutes in, I thought my race was over. I couldn't breathe! I had to stop! While I tread water, I watched the race that I was ready for slipped away.

Eventually, I started moving again and kept my arms moving at a slower pace. Smooth and steady all the way. Once in awhile, I found some feet, but lost them quickly. I was able to hug the buoy line all the way. I told myself that no matter how disappointed I would be with my swim time, it is worth congratulating myself for swimming in a straight line and sighting well. Imagine my surprise when I realized that was one of my fastest half ironman swim. I couldn't believe it!

T1 (0:05:46)
Running up the beach, I waved at my cheer squad, found my T1 bag, and skipped the wetsuit stripper just as I had planned. Once in the changing room, I had two amazing volunteers grabbing at my wetsuit and helping me into my bike gear.

Bike (3:22:25)

Mile 0 - 12: The hardest part of the start of the bike is not to go out too hard. This first section had three short hills -- a short out-and-back on Fairway Dr, a longer gradual climb in the middle, and a sharp punchy climb before the turn onto Hwy 89.

Mile 12 - 25: From Hwy 89 to W River Rd, we either were on a slight downhill or had a nice tail wind. The ride felt smooth and effortless. Each time I checked my speed, I was traveling faster than I had expected.

Mile 25 - 30: It's all about pacing from W River Rd to the base of the Brockway climb. There was an unexpected detour that I was quite sure this wasn't included in the Athlete Guide. We joined the full ironman racers on a narrow bike path. This was a "No Pass Zone" that was super congested and dangerous. As we emerged slowly from this narrow bike path, we had to make a sharp left turn and immediately we were all caught off guard by a crazy steep climb to get back onto the roadway. Some grunted up the hill and some screamed as they fell off their bikes. Such an unfortunate course design! And I don't know how it's possible but I got the QOM on that little stretch!

 

After that, there were still a few more hills before we reached the real climb of the day. 

Mile 30 - 34.5: Brockway summit. 4.5 miles. I did my best to control my effort and ignore the speed. It was so much nicer to ride a newly-paved, smooth surface, rather than the horribly dug-up road that we rode on a few weeks earlier. Mike reminded Justin and I that as soon as we saw the guardrail on the right, the top would be right around the last turn in the road. That was the best tip ever! At the summit, the GGTC cheer squad was strong. Alex, dressed as a devil, was the best motivation to finish the climb strong!

Mile 34.5 - 38: Brockway descent. For the next 6 minutes, I settled into a fast yet controlled pace. I was astonished at how fast some people were flying down the hill just to make up a few seconds.

Mile 38 - 49: Now we're back on the same first twelve miles of the course. While the course was familiar, I was starting to fade. Even though I added an extra fuel intake than I normally did in a 70.3, my body still signaled that it wasn't enough.

Mile 49 - 56: While I felt weak in this last section, I never doubted that I will get a second wind again in the race. As I turned left towards Squaw, I felt my energy coming back slowly just in time for the run!

T2 (0:02:15)
I forgot that with the full ironman distance race happening at the same time, there were catchers for our bikes at the dismount line. I was happy to see that pooh bears didn't get in my T2 bag overnight as it had happened to another runner. Can you just imagine that there's a bear out there just completely high on sugar for the rest of the day?

Run (2:21:36)
Again, the run was all about controlling the effort. I followed my favourite half marathon strategy:

• 5 mi: warm up
• 5 mi: race pace
• 5 km: whatever I've got 

We started the run by doing a loop around Squaw Village. The energy of the crowd was great, plus all the GGTC cheer squad just made the day even better! Felipe and Justin flew past me in the first few miles. I love racing with friends. Trying to spot them on the loops or out-and-backs is a good way to distract myself from the physiological pain.

The run was never flat. It was up and down, and up and down. After the loop, we head out of the village. A slight downhill for about a mile, a slight uphill for also about a mile, a 100-metre steep climb, then a slight downhill all the way until the turnaround, and finally a slight uphill all the way back to the village. We do this twice and finishing up in the village. In a way it was easier to just focus on the uphill section by section, and tried to stay as relaxed as possible while keeping a steady pace on the downhill sections.

With the elevation, I felt like I was always pushing hard. If it wasn't my heart rate threatening to skyrocket, then it was my muscles threatening to cramp up, so I had to really pay attention to how my body is reacting to each step. That was the hardest half marathon that I've ever ran even though I felt that I was in the best shape that I've ever been. Just as the saying goes, "It never gets easier. You just get better."



Overall (6:30:58)
I was happy with the effort that I maintained throughout the race. It wasn't my fastest race, but with the elevation and the course difficulty, I knew I wasn't going to set a PR on this day. On the other hand, I placed 17th in my AG and that is the highest that I've ever placed in an Ironman branded race!

I would say that I would recommend this race to anyone who isn't looking to shy away from a challenge in a beautiful mountainous setting, but sadly the race has been cancelled indefinitely. The cancellation wasn't a shocker given the unfortunate cancellation last year and the low number of registrants this year, but it was definitely one to remember and treasure.

Race Report: Lake Tahoe 70.3, Part I

The Best Prank Ever

I actually didn't register for Lake Tahoe 70.3. My coach did, and here's the back story:

I was hesitant to sign up for this race because
(1) Unpredictable condition: In 2013, it snowed on race day, and in 2014, the race was cancelled due to wild fire in the area. I wanted an insurance policy against snow, wildfire, and any other natural disasters.

(2) Course difficulty: All I can remember from friends who did 2013 IMLT was them talking about how tough the course was. I was super intimidated by the monstrous Brockway climb.

(3) High elevation: I have had high altitude sickness twice -- once at Peru and once at Everest Base Camp -- so I had convinced myself that I don't do well at high elevation.

A few weeks ago, we had a training weekend up at Tahoe to see how I fared. After the weekend, I was still on the fence for all the aforementioned reasons, so my coach registered for me with a $50 insurance/bet that I would cross the finish line. The bet started as something I randomly blurted out during a run, but I was fine with it because if it were up to me, I would've waited until race weekend to decide and paid more for on-site registration.

Here's the prank: In order for me to cross the finish line, it would mean that I would have to show up for the race, right? Since I wasn't able to spend the week acclimating to the altitude at Tahoe, I read that the second best option is to show up as late as possible prior to the race because it is the most taxing for the body to acclimate 24 to 48 hours after arriving at high elevation. Caitlin and I were going to start the 3-hour-ish drive from SF at 7am on Saturday, which should give me plenty of time to check in before athlete check-in ended at noon.

As we drove past Auburn, I realized that I had a few missed texts from last night. Mike and Justin, who were already at the Tahoe cabin, were wondering if I'm arriving Friday night or Saturday morning. By now, it was around 9am, so if I hadn't left SF, I wouldn't have been able to make it to athlete check-in in time. I asked Caitlin if I should pretend that I thought there was race day check-in and hadn't even packed yet, and she agreed.

Mike totally bought the story. He called the Ironman hot line to explain the situation and ask if someone else could pick up my package. He got an earful of "NO!" Then, he started devising a plan with Justin to get Lauren, Justin's fiancee, to pretend to be me. (Note: I'm yellow and she's not. It was never going to work.) After sufficient time, I finally fessed up and said, "See you within the hour!" When we arrived at the cabin and saw the reaction on their faces, I declared myself for pulling the "BEST PRANK EVER!"

Race Report: Donner Lake Half Aquabike

I once declared that I would never ever do this race! Lesson: never say never! As a scaredy cat when it comes to downhill, I have always been intimidated by the long, twisty descent on this course. As I've gained more descending skills over many years, I've decided to give this race a chance. Plus the Half Aquabike would be a good lead up to Lake Tahoe 70.3 as well as a good opportunity to see how I perform at high elevation.

Swim (0:46:27)
The 1.2-mile swim is a counter-clockwise, triangular course at Donner Lake. Donner Lake was named after the Donner Party, a group of pioneers who set out for California, but unfortunately became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall. After their food supplies were depleted, some of them resorted to cannibalism to survive. By the time rescuers reached the lake high in the mountains, there were only 48 survivors out of the 87 members of the party.

If the story didn't give you chills, you could safely assume that the lake was cold! Although many would tell you that Donner Lake is warmer than Lake Tahoe because the latter is much bigger and deeper. However, on this race day, the water was cold enough that many racers heeded the advice to wait until the absolute last minute before warming up in the water.

According to the Internet (because anything on the Internet must be true, right?), swimming at high elevation is actually tougher than running at altitude, so I started the swim super easy. After the first buoy, I tried to up my effort level without hyperventilating, but I was only able to increase my effort slightly from super easy to easy. Halfway through, I felt my body temperature dropped significantly and my arms got weaker and weaker. I couldn't even warm up by swimming faster as much as I tried. It was an impossible balance between pushing harder effort and fighting altitude symptoms.

T1 (0:03:55)
My love for excelling at transitions was dampened by the demoralizing swim. When I first started triathlon and didn't know how to swim, I used to claim that the silver lining is being able to easily spot my bike, coincidentally named the "Silver Lining". As my swimming improved over the years, it got harder and harder to find my bike. Coming out of this swim, I was demoralized to see that there was only one bike left on the rack. I sat down to compose myself and somehow still managed to do the transition in less than four minutes.

Bike (4:09:25)

The Aquabike bike course is the same 56-mile course as the Half. Out of transition, we turned left onto Donner Pass Road. This is the only turn on the whole course. We stayed on the Donner Pass Road / Old Highway 40 until the end. The car at the intersection seemed impatient, and for a split second, I thought it was going to disregard the traffic controller. Car vs bicycle: car always win, so I braked, losing at least half a second ;-)

I started the climb up to the top of Donner Pass. About 1,125 feet of elevation in the first 4 miles. This section of the course is closed to traffic, so it was nice and quiet. I played around with my effort level until I found one that seems to be the "right" one given the elevation. It was so much easier to push bigger watts at low cadence. This may be counter-intuitive, but that was how the body reacted to altitude. I caught a few people on the climb. As we passed Sugar Bowl and Donner Ski Ranch, the course flattened out from giant mountain to small rolling hills. We continued past Kingvale and towards Cisco Grove, turned around towards Sugar Bowl and Donner Ski Ranch, and then repeated this out-and-back section again before returning to the finish at Donner Lake.

The last 4 miles was the road that we came up in the first 4 miles. The athletes' guide described this section as "a curvy and speedy descent down Scenic Old Highway 40 where we remind you to use extreme caution." "You will be required to perform a foot down stop at the bottom of the descent... for a minimum of 3 seconds. The reason for the foot down stop is a safety issue. Should the foot down not be enforced, we would be cleaning up cyclists' carnage as they attempted (unsuccessfully) to make the 130 degree turn back into the transition are at 45 mph." Yes, you heard it here: Triathlon is an extreme sport requiring extreme caution!

This descent was the very reason that held me back from entering this race in the past. In hindsight, I loved the course and wished I had done this race earlier and every year! However, I don't think my descending skills would've been sufficient for this course before, and I wouldn't recommend it if you're not comfortable riding down steep, mountainous roads.

T2 (0:03:21)
Rolling into transition, I dropped off my bike back on the rack, thinking that I was done for the day. I wandered over to the water stop and casually asked where to return my timing chip. Unbeknownst to me, I had to run out the transition and into the finish chute for my time to count for the Aquabike.

Total (4:59:47) 

Thank goodness I didn't have to run a half marathon afterwards. I could barely stood upright while waiting for my 1st AG trophy. There was only one person in my AG, but that's minor detail! :-)

Race Report: Vineman 70.3

Vineman is a course that I know like the back of my hand. From the first year that I started triathlon, I did the Vineman Half Aquabike, and then progressed to the Vineman 70.3 the following year. A few years later, I did the Vineman Full Aquabike as a prep race towards IM Canada that year. Not to mention the countless number of times we went up north from SF to train on the course. Yet each year the race director required us to attend the mandatory pre-race meeting, which was truly mandatory unlike other races that may say it's mandatory but it's really not. In this case, we couldn't check in until we received a hand stamp after attending the meeting. I don't usually fall asleep in public, but after the long drive, I apologize for any snoring that you may have heard coming from the top of the bleacher!

Pre-Race Logistics
I love racing Vineman, but I could do without the two-transition logistics. After the long drive, pre-race meeting, and packet pick-up, first we transferred our run gear into the T2 bag provided and dropped it off on the other side of the school. Next we checked in to our hotel and went out for an early dinner. Then back in our hotel room, we sorted out all our gears. Finally, before we could go to sleep, we had to drop off one of the cars at the T2/Finish for post-race logistics.

Swim (0:43:21)
Shannon and I arrived at the start way earlier than we needed to because Julia's wave started about an hour before ours. I'm a "Just In Time" type, so I was actually lost on what to do with extra time. After setting up, I wandered around and pretended to do some warm up. I'm also not a "Warm Up" type. I figure the first few miles out of the 70.3 miles is the warm up. I was so disoriented from all the extra time that I almost missed my wave start.

Maybe it's because of the narrow river, I always find the swim start at Vineman super aggressive. In the past races, I have stayed closer to the shore on the way out which supposedly has less current to fight against on the upstream, and then swam along the buoys on the way back to takes advantage of the current on the downstream. This time, I ended up swimming along the buoys both ways. I think it worked out better because it was easier to swim in a straight line. Moreover, there was less spots where the river was too shallow that would break the flow and force to stand up. Depending on whether you prefer to run in water than swim, then you could choose to walk as much as possible given the low level of water due to drought.

The swim exit was lined with spectators for us to soak in some cheers before the long, quiet bike ride on narrow country roads.

T1 (0:03:33)
By the time I got to my row, Shannon being the faster swimmer of us two had already left. To help her speed up her transition time, I had promised to pull her towel off her if I saw her in transition, so she had made sure to clear transition as quick as possible. I was hoping to crush the T1 in under 3 minutes (note: I take great pride in my transition time). I did my best to minimize gears as athletes are responsible for putting everything into T1 bag due to the two transitions, but I struggled a bit with putting on my sun sleeves with cold, shivering fingers.

Bike (3:09:28)
Mile 0: The first 50m of the bike is always a little comical. There's a small hill at the mount line, and some would have difficulty getting on the bike while some would run up the hill and then hop on, causing those who got on the bike earlier to weave around or stop abruptly. My tactic is the safer but not necessarily slower method of run up the hill and ride.

Mile 0 - 5: It's easy to go out too fast because the road from the start to Sunset is flat. I set out on a comfortable pace and tucked in instead of pushing hard to gain speed by reducing air resistance. I'm always on high alert at the beginning of the bike because some racers would go past recklessly or some drivers, likely spectators, would buzzed by too close trying to catch up to their racers. At the end of this stretch, some quick shifting would be required. We would make a sharp right turn with a hidden downhill, curve left around the block, and another right turn this time with a hidden uphill.

Mile 5 - 8: From Sunset to Wholer, I called this the first feed zone in order to take in enough fluid with nutrition whenever I can while sticking the plan of riding at an uncomfortably-comfortable pace.

Mile 8 - 17: We crossed a little bridge, and then from Wholer to Kinley, the road went up and down, up and down, and up and down some more. Knowing the course well, I could anticipate which is the best gear to be in for each hill.

Mile 17 - 25.5: The section from Kinley to Canyon is often precarious with angry trucks with trailers buzzing by too close for comfort. Race day was no different as the course was not closed to traffic. Once we turned onto Canyon, it got better.

Mile 25.5 - 28.5: On Canyon, we were greeted with an uphill. For some odd reasons, I love this hill. I always pass other riders with ease without putting in any extra effort. I think maybe it's because my power/weight ratio is just perfect for this incline. What goes up must comes down, and down we go to the end of Canyon turning onto Geyserville.

Mile 28.5 - 39: After fueling up at the Geyserville aid station, it's time to kick it up a notch in effort. I call this next phase: comfortably-uncomfortable, aka race pace, but still conserving a bit in anticipation of tackling Chalk Hill. It's similar to uncomfortably-comfortable in name, but completely different when it comes to RPE.

Mile 39 - 44: From Chalk Hill Road to the top of Chalk Hill, this is where I always lose focus during training rides. Thinking it's because I'm low on fuel, I decided to take in an extra nutrition to boost my energy. It kinda worked, but still felt a bit sluggish going up the hill.

Mile 44 - 56: Finally, we were all done with the hills, and it's time to take it home at a good strong pace.

T2 (0:04:15)
I had completely blocked out the fact that the transition required dismounting at the parking lot and running with our bikes around two buildings into transition on the other side of the school. Not only was it challenging to run in bike cleats, the path was not wide enough to pass causing stop-and-go traffic hazards.

If there was another timing mat at the end of the path before the transition field, I bet my real transition time would have been under a minute. I chose to wear a hydration system for this race, and other than changing shoes, I just grabbed the hydration pack. My visor, race bib and sunscreen were all attached to the pack, so I could put them on as I ran out the run exit.

Run (2:17:33)
I was happy to off the bike and on the run. The run start was lined with spectators and I enjoyed spotting as many people as I know and giving as many high-fives as possible. I was hoping that by the time the crowd thinned, I would have found my running legs, except it took almost 5 miles before the legs came alive.

At first, I was wishing that I didn't have the hydration pack on me, but I knew I was benefiting from taking regular sips almost every minute. For the next 5 miles, my pack was already much lighter and I was working through the crowds. And once I saw there was only 5k left, I switched to Coke at each of the aid station and was pumped and ready to bring it home!


Total (6:18:10)
This was almost an hour PR from the last time I raced Vineman 70.3. I actually learned to swim after all these years, knew what pace to push it on the bike, and finished the run strong. What a difference consistent training makes!

Post-Race Logistics
Tired legs weren't the worst part. The post-race logistics was always the nightmare. After gathering all our friends, we had to drive or shuttle 16 miles to pick up the car at the start, drive 16 miles back to the finish to pick up our bikes and gears. The whole process took so long that we were hungry hAngry again before we even had a chance to return to the hotel. Thank goodness we found Jaded Toad, a barbecue joint, eager and ready to feed triathletes!

Keeping the Travel Blog Alive: Tamarindo, Costa Rica

My sabbatical is long over. Only 5 years and 25 days until I'm eligible for the next sabbatical, but who's counting?!

I'm back in Costa Rica for the third time! I once heard Costa Rica described as "Canada of Central America" - peaceful, beautiful and friendly (but warmer), so naturally it's hard for this Canadian to stay away!

Sunset glamour shots at Playa Tamarindo

It's always interesting to learn how other travelers find out about a travel destination. Witch's Rock Surf Camp (WRSC) is one of the popular surf camps that gets a lot of word of mouth. I first learned about WRSC when I was in Montezuma last year, and most of the campers I've met learned about the place through friends who have returned to this magical spot year after year. One person has been here consistently for the past 20 years before the place was even built.

It's not surprising that I'm now in the camp (pun intended) of "I love Witch's Rock Surf Camp" after a week of paradise.

Beachfront location with an infinity pool

I see lots more wavecation to come! 

See ya later, witches!

Video from Everest Base Camp Trek

Finally got around to sorting through the photos from the EBC trip a few months ago. An epic trek!

(video only works from desktop? not sure why.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Everest Base Camp, The Finale

I can't believe it's been a week since we've been home. Only a week ago, we were just wandering the streets of Kathmandu trying to figure out whether we could get home a day earlier because typically tours will leave an extra day at the end just in case our flight from Lukla back to Kathmandu is delayed due to unpredictable weather. I suppose I should finish up my EBC post before my memory fades, or before my next adventure starts (foreshadowing? where?!? what?!?) :-)

Best of EBC continued: 

5. Flying into and out of Lukla airport is an adventure sport itself. 

First, we were just awestruck by the amazing views of the Himalayas mountains throughout the whole 25 minutes of flight time. Then, as the plane approached the runway (that is at an incline) at Lukla, for a split second, I really thought we were going to hit the wall at the end of the shortest runway ever! At the last possible second, the plane slowed down just enough to turn away from the wall and into the smallest airport ever! 

We watched several flights go in and out. After the first plane departed, we all exclaimed, "did you see the wheels of the plane brushed past the grass just at the end of the runway?" Then when it was our turn to say goodbye to Lukla, we got to experience what it was like to speed down the downward-sloping runway. It was exactly like a roller coaster ride when the roller coaster drops sharply downwards and so does your stomach, and then within seconds the plane pulls up quickly at the end of the runway and so does your stomach. Whew, what a ride!

4. Having the best team of sherpas, porters and cooks on the trek. 

There were 22 staff for 15 trekkers. That's a ratio of 1.5 for every one of us. As Trey, one of the trekkers, puts it best: "we are very fortunate to have the A team!" They felt like a family extension of our group, always on top of everything and even anticipating our every needs, while they were having fun with us, especially when it comes to card games, getting competitive with us. 

The A Team

I met a few other travelers, some from another group and some trekking solo, and one of the main complaints from the other travelers is the lack of food variety at this high of an altitude. Meanwhile our chef was making us the most delicious cuisine every night. We got an apple pie, Christmas cake and a New Year cake, all made without a stove!

Apple pie made in a pressure cooker

A special "Merrey" Christmas

Happy 2015! To another adventurous year!

3. The group of 15 trekkers. 

I think we were so lucky to have a full group. In a way, we all self-selected ourselves to be on this trek, so we all already had that in common. Plus if we were all going to be stuck with each other, feeling tired, unbathed and altitud-y, then might as well have fun meeting people from all walks of life!

My fondest memory is when Alex, who is the sweetest and most brilliant sophomore girl, said to me as we were parting ways, "when I grow up, I wish I could be just like you." I think I was glowing the whole day!

 

2. Jokes that won't translate once we get home. 

I'll always remember laughing so hard that I couldn't gasp enough oxygen at high altitude.

"Miro. Rato. Haze."
"1100. Ok, tell you what, I give you a good deal, one thousand and one hundred."

"1500. No, for you 3500."
"Are you going to make some more in the back?"
"The yak bell is pretty like her!"

"Downstairs is here."

"New man? Do you feel like a new man?"
"Oh no!" "What is it? Is it the dog? Is it a zokyo?" "No, it's Santa Claus."

"Meeerry Christmas" in Santo's voice

"More dude!"

"That kid doesn't have any friends. Just a zokyo is his only friend."

"And when you rim it like this..."

"First you gotta put some hays down for the yaks (and the cows)"

"You just prove my point. You're being supportive and you don't even know her."

"I went to public school."

"Watch out for what's coming in the Dropbox."
"Pokhara is just like the Interlaken of Nepal." 
"Sherpa flat."
"I've never drank so much tea in my life! Oh no wait...."

1. The best sabbatical ever!

I look back at my notes and it feels like not that long ago I couldn't decide where to go and what to do, and now in a blink of an eye, I'm at the end of this sabbatical! 

In these last few days, I definitely had a hard time adjusting being back home. My super smart PhD, published and accomplished friend, Alli, made a good point the other day that it's interesting that I feel very much myself and at ease while I'm on the road whereas most people are comfortable at home and feel anxious abroad. We didn't have a chance to fully psychoanalyze me but the one thing that I came away with from this adventure that kinda surprised me is that my first weekend home was filled with friends and loads of catching up, so it dawned on me that perhaps, maybe, just maybe, this alien (me) does belong here in SF (?)....

As with every travel adventure, there were inevitably highs and lows, but sometimes when things happen unexpectedly is what makes good travel stories. I could write a whole chapter on travel bloopers.. or just another year full of adventures!

Until next time, OM MANI PADME HUM!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Everest Base Camp!

I'm home now... I suppose my blog wouldn't be complete without the Everest Base Camp chapter, but really my mind is racing with thoughts and replaying this incredible journey that I'm having trouble forming full sentences, so here's my best attempt at capturing an amazing trek to Everest Base Camp!

Best of EBC:

#10. Trekking to base camp was so hard and altitud-y which makes it that much more sweeter of an accomplishment.

17,600 Feet!

If reaching base camp is #10 on the best top ten list, then what could possibly be better than trekking to EBC on an EBC trek? That is because the journey there was so much bigger than just that one moment.

Here's an excerpt from my journal two days prior to the Everest Base Camp day:
(I can't believe I'm actually going to share something private. This is why you never write when you're not thinking clearly, but anyway, here goes)

"A different Christmas and New Year than any other. Not Taiwan, not Whistler or any other ski resorts, not France or Italy or anywhere in Europe. Not the familiar grounds. This year I'm chasing a different dream. Climbing Everest was never an item on a check list for me. In fact, it wasn't even on the original itinerary when I first started planning my sabbatical, but it just fell into place for whatever reason. It was more the process, the experience, the journey that I wanted when I signed up for the trek.  I wonder if the goal when achieved will be just like Ironman Canada, a small moment in time surrounded by something much bigger."

We made it!

The answer to the last sentence is YES. It was truly a small yet magical moment in time surrounded by something much bigger!

#9. Not climbing to the summit of Kala Patthar. 

How can not reaching a goal be better than reaching base camp? Trust me, there were moments when I was gutted that I couldn't make it because of AMS, but once I quickly accepted that I probably would have put my health in jeopardy, and even more so being a burden to others in the group, all I feel is this genuine happiness and pride for everyone else in the group who kicked ars and made it to the top of Kala Patthar.

The Kala Patthar crew!

#8. My own tent or teahouse room.

Paying $31 instead of prepaying $500 for a partial single supplement. I can't help it! I love a good deal! And if Cory is reading this, she can assure you how much I love free or cheap single supplements when we travel!

#7. Post-trek spa!

Paying $48.50 for 4 hours of post-trek spa at Heritage Spa, an oasis tucked away in the middle of the busy city of Kathmandu. Love another good deal! The hour-long pedicure was heavenly after 14 days of hiking. The hour-long body scrub was even more decadent, followed by a massage and a facial. And as if this wasn't enough pampering, we went back for 90 more minutes of massage the next day at Seeing Hands, a unique massage experience from professionally-trained visually impaired massage therapists.

#6. Stupa time in the afternoon. 

A stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the ashes of Buddhist monks, used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.

2nd most favourite stupa spot

On most days our trek finishes with a couple hours of daylight left. Before the sun dips behind the mountain when the warm air instantly dissipates into frigid cold evening, this is the perfect time to find a stupa or a good sun spot to read a book, write in the journal, meditate, take a nap (just as long as you don't drool on your stupa buddy), or just be completely in awe of the majestic Himalayas mountains!

Ama Dablam

To be continued... such suspense... :-)