Exercise update

If you were here last summer, you know I decided to cut back a little of my workload in order to get healthier physically. So I started running. Had a few hiccups in the beginning as life intervened as it always does for the best laid plans. Decided to look back and see what positive results I had.

Below is my training summary from DailyMile.com. I can't say enough about this website or the many folks that make it such a great resource for anyone wanting to be healthy and active, whether young or old, newbie or elite runner. My 'friends' are always giving me encouragement which is especially great on the bad days. I know I've been more successful with this running program because of them.

What I've done so far in 2011

I just finished week 10 of Hal Higdon's Spring Training (Novice) with two more weeks to go. After that I will probably continue with a marathon program developed by the Hanson Brothers. So far I've decided to do three races this fall:

Upcoming Races
North Face Endurance Challenge 08/27/2011
- 10K = 6.2 miles
Kansas City Marathon 10/15/2011
- half marathon 13.1 miles = 21K
Gobler Grind Marathon 11/20/2011
- marathon 26.2 miles= 42K

I know my distances are a lot better than last summer. Back in October, I did a 5K run at a 11:12/mile and now I'm doing 5 miles (8K) at 10:36/mile pace. So, definitely improving both in endurance and speed. And while I have lost 5 inches off my belly and 3 inches off my waist, I had hoped it would have been more. Hopefully when I get back home to KC, I can really work on my diet, which is almost impossible here in Mongolia.

Besides my running, I'm back doing Bodyrock.tv workouts. I'm not very good but I know they are helping in other areas like balance and coordination.

Other future plans include doing a lot more trail running when I get back to KC with the Trail Nerds, a Kansas City area group of trail runners. The other thing I'm looking at is pseudo-barefoot running with either New Balance Minimus shoes or Luna running sandals. I've known that barefoot running is healthier for a long time, but recently the success of a book called "Born to Run" has given it new importance.

Hiking with my students

A group of my students, led by Ganbaa, took me hiking this weekend. We went to Mandshir Khiid, which is about 45km from Ulaanbaatar. It is the site of a destroyed monastary. We had a bit of lunch, and then from there hiked up to the top of the mountain to Tsetsegun Uul (7,400'), about 2-3 hours of climbing. Reminded me a lot of the Appalachian Trail in the US. It was a cool day, overcast and threatening rain (which didn't start until we got in our cars to leave), so a great day for hiking. Undraa was our youngest student at 14 and she was so excited because this was her first 'outing' on her own. I had a wonderful time.

At Face Rock with Baskaa and Deegii

Taking a break on the climb

The ovoo on Tsetsegun Uul

Our hiking expedition

Lonely Planet Information:

Bogdkhan Uul Strictly Protected Area

Legend has it that Bogdkhan Uul (2122m) is the world’s oldest nature preserve. It was founded in 1778 and for the next 150 years it was guarded by 2000 club-wielding lamas that protected the mountain from poachers. Lawbreakers were hauled away in chains, beaten within an inch of their lives, and locked inside coffin-like jail cells.

These days it’s perfectly safe and legal to walk on the mountain and you can enjoy some terrific hiking and horse-riding trails. From Ulaanbaatar the mountain appears dark and menacing but, once you’re on top, the forests and rocky outcrops are a beautiful sight.

Mandshir Khiid

For the 350 monks who once called this place home, the gorgeous setting around this monastery must have been a daily inspiration. Like most monasteries in Mongolia, Mandshir Khiid was destroyed in 1937 by Stalin's thugs, but was partially restored in the 1990s. Just 6km northeast of Zuunmod and 46km by road from Ulaanbaatar, the monastery is a perfect half-day trip from the capital, or can be used as a starting point for hikes into the Strictly Protected Area.

The main temple has been restored and converted into a museum, but the other buildings in the area remain in ruins. The monastery and museum are not as impressive as those in Ulaanbaatar - it is the beautiful forest setting that makes a visit worthwhile.

As you enter from the main road from Zuunmod you'll be required to pay an admission fee of around Tug5000 per person, which covers the around Tug2000 museum entrance fee and the around Tug3000 national park fee. You'll have to buy both tickets even if you don't plan on entering the museum.

From the gate it's a couple of kilometres to the main area, where there is a shop, a lacklustre museum, a restaurant and several gers offering accommodation. Look for the huge two-tonne bronze cauldron, which dates from 1726 and was designed to boil up 10 sheep at a time.

The remains of the monastery are about 800m uphill from the museum. The caretaker lives in the compound next door and will open up the main building for you. The monastery museum has tsam masks, exhibits on the layout of Mandshir and some photos that show what it looked like before Stalin's thugs turned it into rubble. Look out for the controversial Ganlin Horn, made from human thigh bones.

If you have time, it's worth climbing up the rocks behind the main temple, where there are some 18th-century Buddhist rock paintings. The views from the top are even more beautiful, and you'll find yourself in the midst of a lovely pine forest.

Mandshir Khiid to Ulaanbaatar Hike

This approach to Tsetseegün from the south side is the easiest route by far. As you face the monastery, cut over to your right (east) until you get to the stream. Just follow the stream until it nearly disappears and then head north. About three hours' walking should bring you out over a ridge into a broad boggy meadow, which you'll have to cross. If you've walked straight to the north, the twin rocky outcrops of the summit should be right in front of you.

When you start to see Ulaanbaatar in the distance, you're on the highest ridge and close to the two large ovoo (a shamanistic pyramid-shaped collection of stones as an offering to the gods) on the summit (GPS: N47° 48.506', E107° 00.165').

We're on your mobile

Yippie. One of the most difficult things about using the iPod Touch to surf the web, is that 99% of the web is not ready for mobile devices. What you see is the whole web page in miniature. Sure, you can zoom in and pan left-right-up-down. But, oh what a pain. Even Apple.com's website is not mobile-friendly.

But you gotta' hand it to the guys over at Google because now they have an option where you can 'enable' mobile templates for your blog. Right now, that's all you can do - you can't change the template or even edit it - but at least my blog is now easy to view on a mobile device.

Here's what it looks like now, if you go there with an iPhone:

Hopefully, in the near future, there will be a way to edit, change and modify the template to improve it's overall look and readability. But for now, I'm happy to be on the cutting edge. Yeah!!!