[Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui - Hung Hom]

 [Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui - Central]

05:23 Good morning! I'm up, dressed, and off to the 1/2M start. ;)

18:42 Watching highlights of today's race(s) on tv now (TVB Pearl). After getting back from the 1/2-mary, went to the Pacific Club to get in a short swim, then played some serious table tennis with my brother. Had some lunch, then came back to put my feet up (literally--did the raised legs up on the wall thing for about 20 min.). Just got around to editing some of the photos from the race and posted the above.

[Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui - Cheung Sha Wan]

Woke this morning around 7:30p, after a glorious night's sleep. Finally sleeping through the entire night!

Vic took off to Macau last night with Tony and some buddies, to hang out, have dinner, and do some gambling at the new Wynn casino. Apparently, Macau has surpassed Las Vegas in total revenue! That's no small feat! Anyway, Vic didn't get back home until 8:00am this morning--having missed his midnight boat home.

Yesterday after lunch, I met fellow BT'er, Denise K (aka Celeb_ithil) at the Standard Chartered Overseas Registration at the Hotel Miramar. Good thing I called her when I got to the desk or she might be still waiting in front of the closed, upstairs admin office! (Just kidding DK!) Anyway, we had a nice time chatting while registering and will meet up tommorrow pre-race.

Had Dim Sum this morning, with Vic, Eling & Mr K (and their daughter) here in TST (again in the One Peking Rd buildling). It was pretty good. It blows away anything that can be found at home, and we can find some pretty good Dim Sum in SF.

Afterwards, not having much to do this Saturday afternoon, I went to seek out the Flying Ball Bicycle Co. in Cheung Sha Wan (about 6 MTR stops north of TST) to check out the hardware. They had some nice bikes--road, tri, and mountain. They had pretty much everything you could find at say a Colorado Cyclist. Anyway, I did come away with a nice new bike jersey (50% off), new Zoot Sports tri shorts (50% off), a new Fizik Arione Tri saddle (US$ 100), two disc-wheel adapters (aka crack pipes for my HED 3's), and a Bento Box for my bike....

[Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui - Hung Hom]

[Race Taper: Rest Day]

Well, per my previous Half-Marathon program, two days before your race you're supposed to rest, and tommorrow (day before the race) should include a very brief run with moderate-to-high speed work.

Last night, after leaving the office, went with my brother Vic to our favorite custom tailor, Maxwell Clothiers's in Tsim Sha Tsui. We've been customers for a number of years; and have referred countless other friends and family to them. Bottom line: the finest custom-made shirts from the finest materials, delivered in 4-5 days, at the unbelievable price of $31.00/shirt (minimum order of 3 shirts). Back in the States, these same shirts (forgetting even the custom-tailoring part) would retail for upwards of $200 a piece. So, if you're ever in Hong Kong...don't forget to click on the link above and remember to make an appointment!

Anyway, while we were there we got a call from our friend Tony who was looking for a tennis partner to play at The Pacific Club, one of the finer athletic clubs in HK. We told him we'd be right over. So, not having any tennis shoes, we both made a quick stop at the Adidas store, picked up some tennis shoes and met him there to play some Aussie doubles and singles-round robin until 9pm.

Had dinner at Unkai Japanese at the Sheraton (TST). I thought it was okay--not "the best Japanese in HK" as some of billed it. For me, for Japanese I still like Ka Ma Do (One Peking Road) better--plus it has an unrivaled view of HK harbor.

So, we're going to head over to lunch at The Pacific Club today and get a one-week Guest Pass (HK$440--about US$56), courtesy of our friend Tony--which means I can get in some nice swims in the 25m pool! Then, going to meet Denise K. at the Overseas Registration for the Half Marathon at the Hotel Mirimar.

[Hong Kong, Hung Hom]

[Race Taper]

Got to sleep last night about 10:15pm. Intentionally did not sleep much on the flight over (only about 90 minutes of the 13.5 hr flight) in order to get "on time" here in Hong Kong asap. I guess it worked, cause I was able to sleep soundly until 3:30am, then a just a tad of toss'n'turn until 7:00am. Put on my Asics, and headed out to do some loops around the City Golf Centre.

...Just realized that MayMyRun.com works outside the US! Here's my route:

Right-knee was an itty bitty bit stiff, nothing too bad. Went away after warmup. Tried not to push the pace too much, to save my knee for Sunday's Standard Chartered Hong Kong Half-Marathon. Gonna meet up with fellow BT'er, DK (Celeb_ithil), tommorrow at the Overseas Registration.

[Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui]

[Recovery Week, Day 7; and Race Taper]

Got in around 6:30pm. Thing is about crossing the Pacific to Asia, and crossing the International Date Line (IDL), is that you lose 16 hours. So, you leave SFO on a Tuesday at noon, and you arrive at your destination at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening.

Took the Airport Express Shuttle to Kowloon, and hopped on the free No. 2 Bus to the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, getting in around 8:00pm. Then, the bad news...,"the Fitness Center and Pool are under renovation...we're so sorry...until mid-March". :(

So, I had no choice but to run on the road. But, I didn't know where to run, so I ran the Canton Rd. "backroad" along the waterfront, and then towards the City Golf driving range. Then purely by chance, I ran into other runners (!), all were running laps around the City Golf center. By my reckoning, its roughly a 1/2-mile loop (takes me about 4'50" at an easy pace) to do a lap. So, "when in Rome" (or in my case, Hong Kong)....

[Recovery Week, Day 6]

[TRAVEL DAY] [San Francisco (SFO) > Hong Kong (HKG)]

Right knee still a little "tight" from this weekend's run and bike (I think). So, this morning, rather than risk exacerbating it, I decided to forgo the morning's run and rest it for another 16-20 hours.

My plan is to hit the gym as soon as I arrive in Hong Kong. get in a short treadmill run before dinner. Always helps me sleep through the night and mitigates the jetlag.