Days 13 & 14: Sydney

Day 13
It was an easy and unstructured day. Did an early morning run around Hyde Park, Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanic Garden and Central Station. After a late breakfast, planned to take the ferry to Watson's Bay then head over to Coogee, but decided to explore the surrounding neighborhoods instead. Walked around the Surry Hills and Darlinghurst areas, discovering cool little streets filled with cafes, little design and boutique shops. Just my kind of thing. Then headed over to Darling Harbour to scope out my route for tomorrow's run.

Day 14   My last day...
Early morning run around Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour and crossed the Pyrmont Bridge. Last minute shopping at Kinokuniya bookstore, Woolworths, Sportsgirl and Paddy's Market. A lot of salivating over Australian designed items especially the Sheridan linens and Japanese/Eastern inspired clothing. Evening flight out of Sydney back to Manila.

That concludes my trip to Australia.

Travel planning

My aunt and uncle invited me to visit them in the Gold Coast region of Australia. I jumped! HIGH!

This could well be my last hurrah before I move to San Francisco in March. If only I can get a ticket!

All PAL & Qantas flights to Melbourne/Sydney in February are solidly booked. There are a few business class seats available, but that's way over my budget... I'm waitlisted so I'm crossing my fingers that someone cancels!

My itinerary ::
4 nights in Melbourne, daytrip to Great Ocean Road
5 nights in the Gold Coast
4 nights in Sydney

This will be a super budget trip because I'll most likely be traveling solo. Therefore I'll be hostelling it in Melbourne and Sydney.

Running around Macau

It was my first time to Macau and I enjoyed it. The weather was perfect, sunny during the day and chilly at night. Six days is more than enough time to get to know, enjoy and wander around this charming little city. Here are some of the things I did:

• a day trip to Coloane Village and Hac Sa Beach
  
• a shopping expedition in Zhuhai (similar to Shenzen)
  
• a visit to the Da Vinci Exhibition
  
• and walking tours all over town

The cold weather, despite the wind, was conducive to running. I could have kept going and going, but sadly my days were packed. I was able to get four runs in, all of them good ones:

• two around Lago Nam Van and Lago Sai Van
  
• Fisherman's Wharf / Outer Harbour
  
• Penha Hill / Lago Sai Van ~ my best run ever
  
• and a hike up and around Guia Lighthouse

One thing this trip wasn't, is a foodie trip. My father likes eating simple meals. And after several days of eating Chinese food, he craved for something else. On New Year's Eve, it was a McDonald's burger he craved for, so there we all ate. Oh the burger I had, it was so good!

Snippets of the trip:
Discovered :: Daiso, a Japanese discount store
Daily Eats :: LemonCello gelato, various flavors
Savored :: egg tarts from Lord Stow's in Coloane Village
Tried :: fried squab at Dumbo's in Taipa
Money spent gambling :: zero
Total miles ran :: 16.87

Oh, what a year this will be!

I had a tough but exhilarating run on a cold, windy New Year's morning in Macau. The first half of the run up and around Penha Hill was, for lack of a better word, hilly. If ever you find yourself in Macau, I recommend a morning run up to Penha Church ~ the view is spectacular, with the rising sun casting a warm soft glow all over. Plus it's a great workout for the legs. I stopped often to take countless of shots which contributed to the 997 some pictures I shot in 6 days!


Macau Tower

Bring it on, 2008! Wishing everyone great runs, all year long. Happy New Year!

Off to Macau

with the family and returning on the 2nd. Hoping to get a few runs in.

By the way, another milestone was reached yesterday. I logged 600+ miles on Nike+, and reached the Top 5 in Distance in the Philippines! :-) What a way to end the year, eh?



Have a wonderful New Year!

Oh my, Batanes

I haven't watched a movie in a long time, so over dinner last night, my cousin, sister-in-law and I all expressed interest in watching the movie, Batanes. Consequently,plans were made to watch it today.

You know how sometimes plans are made, but often times those plans just tend to fizzle out? Well unfortunately, this plan did push through. Not that I didn't enjoy the company, I did! It's just I wish I could recommend this movie, but I won't. So instead, I will leave you with images of Batanes...

Boracay, overdone

I'm back in Manila from a great but exhausting trip to Boracay! It was early morning runs, lazing underneath the shade of an umbrella, traipsing around the island, happy hours starting at 4pm... I'm not as young as I'd like to think I am, so I held back and didn't bother keeping up with friends. Still, my body couldn't handle all the activities, and so here I am nursing an upset stomach. Because of this, I had to forego my scheduled long run earlier today. It's too bad, because running conditions in Boracay at this time of the year is close to perfect. You've got the view, a bit of wind, a little sunshine, clean air...

Did 2 not so easy "easy" runs over the weekend though, for a total of 8.2mi. Again experienced some shin problems on my right leg. Did the walk/run bit as my shins were way too tight and I was in pain. I need to get this checked before it gets out of control. Shoes used: my old Salomons.

Dining:: Manana, True Food, Lemon, Dos Mestizos, Smoke Resto, Real Coffee, Moondogs
Happy Hour:: Manana, Aria, Discovery Shores, Tides, Cocomangas
Made:: 2008 NY resolutions and a pledge to do a weekly photo exchange with CV
Word Tripping:: 517

Off to Boracay

Puka Beach, July 2007

I hope the rain lets up, so I can get a few runs in.

La vida Hong Kong

What a trip! The last time I was in Hong Kong was in the mid 1990s. I don't remember much of it, maybe because I travelled with my family. But for sure I had a great time. This trip however, I hung out with a couple of cousins and a friend. We had fantastic meals and pre/after dinner drinks at swanky places. Took a few good photographs of Victoria Peak, Stanley Market, central HK, and other places. I was able to get only one run in but it was at the Four Seasons' gym on a state-of-the-art treadmill overlooking the Kowloon harbour ~ life can't get any better.

I also broke down and bought the most coveted "toy" on my wish list, an iPod Touch. I blame it on a cousin who was taking too long in an electronics shop. How I'm justifying this expense is that I didn't have to pay for accommodations. Yeah, right...

As good as it was, I missed the main reason for this trip ~ the Federer/Sampras exhibition game! Arrrgh!!! I can't blame anyone but myself. On any given day, 3 hours would be more than enough travel time to get to Macau from HK. When I got to the terminal, I qued up for the very long line. 10-15 minutes later, the board showed that the next available ferry will be in 2.5 hours. Which didn't leave me enough time to meet a friend (who had my ticket) at the Venetian before the game. What makes it worse, is that I missed Sampras' win over Federer. Oh well, que sera sera.

DINING / COCKTAILS at:
- Yun Fu 43-55 Wyndham St, Central HK ~ roast duck, braised green bamboo shoots; amazing buddha lined staircase with swanky modern/asian interior
- Feather Boa 38 Staunton St, SoHo HK ~ yummy chocolate strawberry daiquiris; parissiene bordello like interior; for members only
- Cafe Deco Victoria Peak HK ~ really good pizza w parma ham, arugula & black truffle oil, awesome view of HK skyline
- Aqua Roma 29+30 Floors, One Peking Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon ~ to die for squab w foie gras & roasted fig; uber chic, amazing HK harbor and city view
- Insomnia 38-44 D'Aguilar St, Central HK ~ good Filipino band, super packed, expat crowd
- Azure LFK Tower 33 Wyndham St, Central HK ~ drinks atop LFK Hotel, stunning views
- Yan Toh Heen InterContinental Hotel 18 Salisbury Rd, Kowloon ~ omg, I don't think I've had better Peking Duck ever. The fat is skimmed off the skin right in front of you, for a "healthier" and guilt-free dining experience.
- XTC Gelato LFK area (and all over HK) ~ wow, it's good, good, good! too many exotic flavors to choose from.

Training Sched Week 5

This week's training schedule:

MON:: Swim
TUE:: Easy 3mi
WED:: Quality 7mi
THU:: Rest (travel day)
FRI:: Quality 6mi
SAT:: Easy 4mi
SUN:: Long 9mi
TOTAL:: 29mi

I'll be traveling again in a few days so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I follow through with my training this week. Going to Hong Kong, mainly to watch Federer and Sampras play an exhibition game and also to catch up with some friends. I'll be back next Monday only to leave again on Thursday for Boracay.

CURRENTLY
Playing:: around with Garmin watch
Searching:: for HK running trails

Recap of week 4's training:
MON:: Rest
TUE:: Easy 5.22mi
WED:: Easy 2.93mi
THU:: Interval 6.77mi
FRI:: Swimming 40min
SAT:: Pace 4.72mi
SUN:: Long 12.85mi
TOTAL:: 32.49mi

The Colors of Beijing

stunning sights, local cuisine overload, unbelievable smog, bargain shopping, an assault to all senses... i was able to fit in four runs for a total of 16+ miles :-)

Training Sched Week 2

will hopefully look something like this...

MON: Easy 3mi
TUE: Speedwork 5mi
WED: Easy 5mi
THU: TRAVEL
FRI: Easy 5mi
SAT: Pace 5mi
SUN: Long 7m
TOTAL: 30mi

Just as I’m getting serious with my marathon training, it will be difficult to keep the momentum going due to upcoming trips. As much as I love traveling and vacations, the next few trips will be done somewhat reluctantly. I need to find time and some interesting routes to run while away.

Travel Schedule:
Nov 1-6: Beijing
Nov 8-11: Baguio
Nov 22-26: Hong Kong
Nov 30-Dec 2: Dumaguete
Dec 27-Jan 1: Macau