January – I have been building base since the second week of November, so this month finally included some progressions, tempos, and speed workouts. And because of the cold weather, I finally got the opportunity to stay indoors for ALL of my cycling (thanks to Trainer Road and the Sufferfest for keeping my workouts interesting). The highlight of January wasn’t the running, it was a indoor cycling tour called the Tour of Sufferlandria…9 consecutive days + 12 rides = one killer week+ of training. Best of all, I got to watch movies while cranking out wattage. Can you recognize what movie this is?

February = GMAT + Hong Kong + 1st win of ’13 + unexpected stomach virus + marathon fun!

Studying for the GMAT was much like training for a marathon and I’m glad it is now over (for now).

I spent the rest of the month hiding out in Hong Kong, mainly to catch up with family and friends. And what is a vacation without doing a race overseas? I had signed up for the a trio of events – the Lantau Base Camp 14km, AVOHK Tai Tam Reservoir 11km and the Hong Kong Marathon.

The Lantau Base Camp 14km was held on the Saturday before the 11km reservoir race, so it was a good call to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. My race partner and I even took a pit stop at the top of the climb. I love the views from Lantau Island…

Things got interesting on Sunday at the Tai Tam reservoir race. I had showed up about 45 minutes early to get my number. It wasn’t until 5 minutes before the start that I realized that the women giving out the numbers had given me the #200 instead of my #220. I alerted the race organizers and they were very prompt, finding my correct number within a couple minutes. Well that was interesting…

On to the race – The uphill start was definitely a struggle for everyone but I took the lead from the start, hoping that I don’t take a wrong turn or fall during the steep descents to the reservoir. Luckily, none of that happened. About 2 miles into the race, I was leading by about 20 seconds. Miles 3 & 4 were all uphill, which included a single track trail climb around one of the reservoirs. By the time I had looped around and approached the base of the final climb, I took one glance and saw no one on my tail. The last 2000m was simply a big climb followed by a big descent. My finish time of 47:27 was good enough for the win. And here’s 5 seconds of fame, a mention in the South China Morning Post.

The third installment of my events was the Hong Kong Marathon. In 2012, I ran it alone. This year, I paced my dad! It’s been 20 years since my dad last ran a marathon and it has always been a dream of mine to run alongside him, other than training runs. I can go on for days about this experience, but I’d like to keep it concise. Long story short, we finished in 3:53, which was a massive PR for my dad. And if I ever get another opportunity to pace him again, Sign Me Up!

Here’s some snapshots from Hong Kong: