track fan

I had to share the treadmill with Dean today -- so I ran 25 mins and then I worked out on the elliptical machine for another 20 mins while Dean ran on the treadmill.  The elliptical machine was actually in worse condition than the treadmill!  Again, it was so odd to be working out in the bar (next to the pool table) -- very very hot in the room.

My talk went well and the workshop seemed to be a success.  The University here paid for our plane tickets, room for 4 nights, and an honorarium.  They paid us in Taiwanese dollars after the workshop minus money for the next four days worth of tour and an extra night in Taipei ... the Taiwanese money is in dollars ... about 1000 NT = 30 USD, so it looks like a whole lot of  money!!

Later in the afternoon (after yet another huge meal - more on this later) we went to the National museum.  The museum has a whole bunch of mainland Chinese artifacts that were smuggled out of the country during the revolution.  Very very cool things, some of them about 3000 years or older.  It was very crowded, the shear population density takes a little getting used to ... still pretty tired about 3PM, but getting better every day. 

~50 with Dean on a bike path running alongside the Dunshuei River.

We saw a bunch of crabs run across the path!! People, for the most part, were stunned to see Westerners, but were friendly (just stared a lot).   This is a college town (but, as most "towns" in Taiwan very dense in the city-center), so I am sure it is not completely unknown to see non-Asians, it is still pretty rare.

Great run, great to be outside, even though it was a little scarey running back to the hotel on the road!  We had to bob and weave from scooters, bicycles and cars, no sidewalks. 

Run at about 5:30 AM (partly in the dark) on the road around Sun Moon Lake --  very pretty.  Not too much traffic, so it was safe!  Plus it is very very rural here, so not nearly as scary anyway.

Very hilly loop (about 800 meters/lap) -- ended up turning into a short Lydiard style hill workout - Dean did some "bounding" every other lap -- looked funny but I am sure it was a good workout.  I just tried to run faster!  Dean said it was an 'efficient' workout (short time but very intense).  We were at about 9000 ft at the top of a mountain!

Ok ... this is funny.  We got up at 3:30 AM to take a train to the top of Alihan mountain (different one from yesterday - on the other side of the island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alishan) so we could watch the sunrise -- apparently is one of the "must do" things in Taiwan.  Anyway - it was too dark to run before we went - so we decided that we would run back to the hotel from the sunrise.  Well, the whole thing took about 2 1/2 hours (to get from the hotel to the railway station, and then up to the veiwing area, + standing around waiting time).   The sunrise was pretty, and about 3 mins after you could see the top of the sunrise our tour guide came up to Dean and I and in broken English said "Ok, there's the sunrise -- you go run now, go go go)" - so we had like 2 seconds to get our warm-ups off and he is standing there waving us 'to go' ...  I was laughing so hard I could barely run -- this basically summed up the whole tour: ' let's hurry up, get on the bus, go to somewhere - a temple, a famous view or site' -- enjoy for 5 mins and then 'let's hurry up ... we need to get to the next place' ... so this whole, wait for 2 1/2 hours and get 3 mins to enjoy it was just par for the course.  

Tough day to run -- but I was happy we got a run in!! 

treadmill -- better calibrated than the last one, but this is still my first of a handful of treadmill runs, I have to say -- it is tough!!!  I am so bored AND it is so hot on them!

Treadmill!!!!  Today we get to spend 20 hours traveling and get home 2 hours after we leave!