So Long, Mt. Vic
Today was a very busy day but quite unremarkable, and as I've fallen behind in the blog while playing catchup on work, I'm going to leave this mostly running-centric.
What boxer's look like
The big event today would be moving out of our old place on the top of Mt Victoria. The sole reason: one of our two other flatmates is extremely hormonal and unpleasant. She basically showed no signs of wanting to share life with the people she lived with, droopy eyes, constant snippish remarks, and cold one-line responses to attempts at any conversation. All in all, her outward countenance was the biggest wet blanket I have ever met (and those of you who know who I previously considered a wet-blanket know this is a serious statement to make. At least buzz-killington of old meant well). The only thing she showed any affection for was her boxer, which she apparently rescued from the pro-dog-fighting circuit because it was losing every match. There's probably all kinds of psychology I can read into that choice and for about 48 hours I even toyed with the decision to make it her my project. You know how sometimes you meet someone so unfavorable you want to reach out a little bit? Please, you know you do. Well, I didn't have the fortitude to keep with it once we made our plans to move out and allowed our "relationship" to lapse into silence.
So we find ourselves living for two days with Alex Wallace in his flat. His mates are home for the summer and they've been generous enough to let us use their rooms for two nights before we head up to Tauranga for the next 3 weeks. We'll pick a new place when we get back.
Today we ran for 7miles 48min RE around the Botanic Gardens and down to the waterfront. Did some strengthening exercises.
Day 26: Hostel Relations
Today was our final night in a backpacker. Hopefully for quite some time. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the living part of backpackers, always meeting new and interesting folks. But once you get out of the nature-loving, bed at 10, ultra-considerate personalities on the West Coast, it becomes increasingly difficult to sleep soundly. Something always creaks. Someone always grumbles in their sleep. And light always makes it's way into the room just when you're dreaming about dragon lairs, resulting in your premature roasting, your limbs flailing you back into reality. Good luck falling back to sleep...
Tonight was no different with a window behind the far bunk being slightly ajar and jostling a bit with each occasional gust of wind. Worst part was, it would happen just when you finished being angry with the last gust, finally forgot about the situation, and lost your previous resolve to close it "if it happens one more time".
Good to be going home
Well, we hit the road early as we needed to take those pics at the lookout, get gas, and speed back to Picton to turn in the car and make our 1:10 ferry.
Everything went swimmingly and we even enjoyed some glorious sun on the deck of the massive ship (This time we had the latest and greatest, though apparently finicky ship). I didn't take any photos but it was like a nice hotel in there with mirrors and glass and hard stone everywhere. Wind was quite intense as we were making our way through the Cook Straight, and the captain exclaimed that we would be entering "less than favorable water conditions." The boat rocked enough to make walking hazardous, and there were a few sea-sick individuals curled up with little white baggies. I was uncomfortable enough myself to hold my tongue right now describing their faces. Got over it by lying down for ten minutes before getting up and enjoying walking through oscillations of weighing 50 and 100kg.
Wellington
Let me say right now, Wellington is such a cool city.
- Nelson had great weather and a cute little strip but overall, I'd rate it as just a big town. Also, the population was generally older and less likely to be out or at least visually appealing on weekends.
- Queenstown is indeed very pretty. I could become a recluse and feed off the tourism out there. Lots of money and youth coming through but the excitement was lacking when I was there. Either way, definitely NOT a city.
- Dunedin kind of sucked. The waterfront was horribly industrious and downtown not very pretty. The school wasn't even that attractive to me. The fellas that took us in, however, were awesome! I had a great time kicking it with you guys.
- Christchurch was impressively lovely. Unfortunately, once you get beyond the numerous parks, gardens, and canals, it was like any other city in the US. Grid-like and no real high-rising buildings. In that sense, I can see it being pretty boring after a while.
Well, that's a pretty brutal breakdown of the cities I've seen so far. Let me definitively say they certainly beat most American cities I've been in (certainly beat Boston). But Wellington is awesome! Really stylish, exciting, and diverse downtown district, with suburbs that rise on sharp, steep, twisty-turny hills that tuck the city in. Great waterfront too! I think Cary made a great choice when he settled down there who-knows-how-long-ago.
Alex kindly picked us up from the ferry and we headed straight to practice.
Thought about just swimming but my achilles felt good, it was a circuit (not much running?), and I was there without option so I joined in. Actually turned out to be one of the most brutal... anythings... I've done since Bee Hill.
1 mile warmup.
3min uphill tempo "as far as you can go".
Tony set up a devilish set of cones, 100m apart, to sprint between, doing exercises at each end. Let's see if I can remember some.
20sec "press-ups" (push ups). sprint. ah, I already forget. sprint. Squat thrusts (mountain climbers). sprint. Something. sprint. 45s rest. fast feet in ladder. sprint. half-squats. sprint. 45s rest. v-ups. sprint. side crunch. sprint. burpies. sprint. high knees ladder. 3min rest
repeat 3min hill "tempo".
repeat circuit.
repeat 3min hill "race".
half mile cooldown.
5miles total?
Exhausted. Shower. Computer work. McDonalds with Shane. Computer work. Cereal. Computer. Take a dump from McD. Computer. Brush. Bed 2AM. Zzzzzz.
Day 25: Skip Me
Today started way too early. We drove from Christchurch, too "tired" to get the Sunday run in during the morning hours. The drive to Kaikoura ('Kai' meaning 'food'; 'Koura' meaning 'crayfish') was especially nice, as the sun was shining and the breeze was making the ocean spray look especially cool. There were no real "Oh, wow!" moments but we did stop to take a few pics during a stretch break.
Destination of the long run
Once in Kaikoura, we got turned away from two overbooked backpackers before finding some beds in our 3rd choice. Word on the street was, "KaiKoura. Not much there." And I agree, but looks like you should generally book early. We both napped well for an hour or so before taking on our Sunday run.
It had started to cloud over by this point and we got a few drops on the run. First we ran north along the beach, hoping for a nice path. Never really came and after struggling through sand and dunes for 20minutes we turned back to try the other direction. That direction was much nicer from a path standpoint but basically took us through the coast of the town. Eventually we got around a bend and found a very pretty lookout. Perfect destination out of nowhere. Pics to the left are from the next day just before leaving for Picton and the ferry.
13miles 85 minutes. We ran quite easy for the first 45min while my achilles warmed up. Then I got into my stride and ran solidly under 6:00 pace for the rest of the run. Good effort overall. BAD chafing in the liner area. Thank god for pool tomorrow.
...I told you to skip me.
Race Day: NBx-mas Classic 5k in Christchurch
Here we go. Race day. And not just any race day. It's my southern hemisphere debut race day. (Actually, the anticipation of the race was way beyond what ended up being the scope of the race).
Some of the sights Cary saw
The meet turned out to be a pretty intimate affair. You might have guessed that since everything else in the Land of the Kiwis is relaxed, their meets would be pretty laid back as well. Well, you would be right. In fact, it honestly felt kind of like a fun run, even though some of the best 5kers on the island were there.
Leading up to the race Cary and I separated in the hostel and just chilled doing our own thing. His lead-up involved a morning run and a little time exploring Christchurch. For me, I was more comfortable watching Balls of Fury, and some other equally mindless movie while catching up on world (Tiger) affairs. Zing!
Only productive part of the day was writing several postcards. Chance of them getting to their recipients by Christmas? Zero.
The great part about this race is that there is the video, so I'll just focus more on what I was thinking. I did a low-key 1 mile warmup as it was quite hot out (compared to what we've been experiencing. About 24 degrees. Celcius. Deal with it). The race actually went off a bit earlier than I thought it would and I did an abbreviated stretching routine. Cary actually almost missed the race, sprinting over and tying spikes on the line. I don't blame him, it seemed to me like we should have had about 5 more minutes, I only made it because I saw a lot of people gathering in the 5k vicinity looking intimidating. Anyways, the strat going in was simple. Run 70s. Stay in touch. Hope to deal with a pickup after 3k.
The first part of the race was perfect. I fell in with the lead pack, didn't get clipped too much, and felt really solid for the first mile doing exactly 70s (nice pacing List). I think my big problem that whole time was I was hyper-sensitive to how my body is feeling. I just don't know what else to think about. It's so damn boring. Anyways, I was happy to be breathing smoothly and striding well at the 1 mile mark. Unfortunately, that's really not too far into a 5k. Just like my first 5k 8 months ago, I began to feel my legs get weary at the halfway mark. No one took off at that point, and as I expected, the move was subtly made when the leader started dropping to 69s with 1600 to go. Me and my little running buddy (Mark Bailey), on the other hand, started pulling 71s. I knew the right move would be to get around at the 2 mile mark but I was just too tired, and, come on, I still have a MILE to go! The urge to move around kept hitting me, and with 600 to go I felt like I should be going anaeobic. But there was just too much distance left. As it was, I began kicking with 300 to go and it was still too early. I just couldn't muster any strength that last 2k. The whole time, I was just holding on. Holding on. Really kind of frustrating. Mostly because you just have sooo long to berate yourself.
So yup, I still hate the 5k. On the plus side, a race that consists of just 4 silly laps around the track sounds too good to be true.
I finished 4th at 14:37 (results). Despite the boredom and then pain I just put myself through, I'm actually reasonably happy with the result. Don't get me wrong. I hate that I lost, and that I'm weak, and that I was thinking about giving up for about half the race. But 14:37 is a good time for me and here's why:
- I've only been back in the saddle for 4 weeks.
- I'm coming off of 3 weeks of straight traveling.
- My achilles isn't terribly strong right now, purhaps affecting my stride.
- I'm not used to the heat (though, judging by today's times compared to previous years, everyone was affected).
- And last, I just haven't run very many 5ks. The result being that I don't feel comfortable feeling like jello with so much race left.
Above all else, it's great to have a solid indicator of exactly where my fitness lies. Up til now, it's been all guesses, comparisons, and speculation. I'm going to talk to Mitch soon and hope to come up with the 2010 gameplan.
Big 3 mile cool down with the fellas. Talked a lot to the other international, a fellow from Sweden. 7 miles
Beyond the race, this meet was awesome, everyone knows everyone else and the atmosphere is so stress free. I would specifically like to thank the meet director (Craig?) for burying me in NB gear (I think he pitied me running in a T-shirt). But even beyond the incredible material generosity, everyone was remarkably friendly in a way you would never get in the states. Yes, I'm hating on the States. However, I will say, the friendliness is kind of born out of necessity. If you alianated your competition here, you'd have like 2 friends. The US can afford to fragment into competitive little groups, whereas the running community here is just not big enough to support major factions. Plus, here, for some reason, everybody's just so like-minded anyways. Its not like some runners are Californians or Texans or New Englanders. No, here you're just Kiwi. Cary and I were invited and attended an amazing BBQ that night at the house of one Gus Taylor, where we ate and drank with almost everyone in the race. Things were fun and funny there through midnight at which point we ended up hitting the impressive Christchurch nightlife scene.
Bed at 3AM with a long run looming in the morning.
Day 23: Out of Place
Today we made our lethargic way to Christchurch where we'll stay the night before our debut track race. On the way we hit up two more attractions. Both were decidedly out of place.
First, was Larnach Castle, sticking out rather absurdly on the top of the farm ground that makes up much of the Dunedin peninsula. The price to get into the castle was absurd, calling for $25/person if you wanted to actually walk within the walls. However, the visit was Cary's idea and he was actually a lot more interested in the grounds and gardens for, you guessed it, the shrubberies. So all pictures are from the castle grounds. The unbelievable thing to me, was the number of people checking out this historic fixture.
For me, I couldn't help but marvel at the cookie-cutter life of William Larnach. You know, the one so many movies, books, parents, and pastors warn you about. Larnach had 200 people working for 3 years on his dream home and master European craftsmen spent 12 more years embellishing the interior. Basically, no expense was spared. Some of the stats on the castle are absurd. Yet! Larnach had 3 wives and 3 divorces before eventually killing himself at some parliament or something (I forget). Listen to this though, his kids let the castle go into ruin and it changed hands 2 more times, each time being refurbished for a brief period of time, before it was found, let me repeat that, FOUND!, completely abandoned in 1967, its main ballroom being used to pen sheep.... But damn, if I could buy a car here, then I'd REALLY be happy
Splintering Boulders
Moving on, we also stopped at a random beach that had nothing interesting but some surreally spherical rocks. I didn't hear about why they were that way, but they are. Some have some cool cracks in them that pretty closely resemble a soccer ball.
We got into Christchurch, carbo'd up, and got a twin room for some good uninterrupted sleep. Tomorrow, we race.
Oh, no running or training to mention today. Resting up for the race.
Day 22: Training Day
Today was a bit more down to business. I got up early due to the cot situation and our flatmates rescuing me from my restless slumber around 6:30AM. Sucks they have to be at their construction job by 7:30. Pretty brutal.
In the morning I made some good egg/ham sandwiches and hacked away at my computer for a while. By the end of the morning i was ready for a nice little run. I ran down to the waterfront, which was quite industrial and unattractive where we were, and back with Cary. My achilles felt particularly bad, but I persevered for 30min. We finished on a nice grass field though and,
I did about 45 min of stretching, core, balancing, and drills. Good morning. 30min, 4 miles RE.
Who knew?
After cleaning up, Cary and I investigated the downtown attractions of Dunedin (duh-NEE-din). We took a lengthy tour of Otago Museum, which was mostly devoted to the history of the Otago region. The museum wasn't really my cup of tea. For the most part it was devoted to "natural history", the ecological and geographical changes over the past millions of years. Right up Cary's alley though. I did learn that ancient Polynesians and Melanesians used to "bowl". And they also played darts. They were way ahead of their time.
We saw a large selection of exotic birds at the Aviary in the Botanic gardens and also traipsed around Otago University. Unfortunately, all students had already abandoned the college for their summer holiday two weeks earlier. Oh, college students are "uni students". We also checked out my local store, and put our Carolla through the ropes on the world's steepest hill. It passed. Good thing, cause I don't know what we would have done if it didn't...
Around 5 we headed to the track for our workout at 6. For that hour I mostly just worked my achilles and soaked up the rays. Tony Rogers was calling for 8x300m@45,45,44,44,43,43,42,42 with 3min rest. I really don't think I want to be doing that much speed work and I know I have a bit of a weakness in the tempo range (maintaining speed for an extended period of time), so I decided to fall back onto the Mitch special. Aerobic Base for 30minutes. I ended up running 27:40 and finished with a 5:12 mile. Here's how it broke down:
1.5 mile warm up.
5:22 mile on the track followed by 5:30ish pace (faster effort) running a 2.2k loop around the complex twice. Then I came back in and finished with a 5:12 mile on the track. In total, the distance was probably just under 5 miles/8k.
1.2 mile cool down.
I didn't push and run another 800m as I didn't want to put too much strain when I was tired on my achilles and I was happy to do a little less looking ahead to the 5k this weekend. Other positive was I did it in trainers, so a good flats workout would be a bit easier. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this one.
7.5 miles
Chillin in the flat
Grabbed some food and got another great night's sleep in the comfy bed.
Day 21: Nada
Ahhh, life has taken a brief turn for the normal again. I'm loving just lounging around the track flat, doing nothing I don't want to do, sleeping in, not traveling, and giving myself all the time to stretch and work on those extra bits of training you never really find time for otherwise. Yup, life is good.
Today, we really, truly did nothing. The big accomplishment for the day was cooking up a solid pasta dish for our hosts. Spaghetti with a sauce of beef, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, peppercorn, red pepper, medium onion, 6 cloves garlic, and several mushrooms. Garlic bread on the side. It was a recipe Cary picked up watching a fellow cook in Punakaiki and quite as delicious tonight as it smelled then (Wow, have I really resorted to writing about food?). Well, like I said, luxuriously empty day. Lots of NZ TV in the morning. Ooo, that's a fun topic.
NZ TV here is basically the same as in the states. Commercials are just as polished and people are attracted to the same basic things. However! There are two key differences I've noted. First, commercials are more extreme. Avid YouTubists may remember seeing awkwardly graphic domestic violence commercials (more accurately ANTI-domestic violence). The same exist here for drunk driving (specimen below).
"Stop staring at me!" Yah, it'll put a real damper on the chatter in the room. This commercial airs once every hour or so. On the plus side, their beer commercials are funnier and their swimsuit commercials are sexier. So you get the good with the bad.
The second interesting tidbit is the tv personalities are friendlier. It may just be the Kiwi accent that does it for me, but news, sports, and weather commentators all seemed a bit less formal and a bit more... chummy. Actually, on second thought, it's definitely the accents. Still, there's a lot American TV can do to improve the "stiffness" of the general face that the media puts on. Moving on.
Training today was just a medium run around a Dunedin park. The trail was gravelly and quite steep at times. It reminded me a lot of some of the Ohio trails, but more extended slopes. At one point, List took off and tore down hill ala Bill Ference style. I was behind Cary and we sped up but navigated down at a decidedly "safe" velocity. Catching back up to List, he mentioned his "favorite" part was coming up, so I thought I might do the Chaffee family proud. Harkening back to the days when Bill and I charged down Mountain Meadow at a totally uncontrolled bound, I jumped in front of List and performed a controlled fall down the steep slope. The one-man trail twisted and turned and we both used small saplings, ferns, rocks, anything to keep us on track. Everything was going well until right at the bottom a new tree had fallen over at waist height across the path. I was nearly clotheslined by the trunk, instead managing to wrap my body around it after skidding out the five meters leading up to it. It marked the end of our glades experience. I did manage to achieve my goal with List's statement, "That must be the quickest I've ever come down that trail." Alright!
55min, 7.5 miles RE mostly.
Tonight Cary and I switch beds. He gets the lovely full. I get the 5'10" cot. Oh boy.
Day 20: Tickled Pink
Tickled Pink
Title seem a bit suspicious to you? Well, it was all I could do to contain myself when Cary was wine tasting at Wooingtree Vineyards in Cromwell on our way to Dunedin. The woman whipped out a sparkly pink bottle and proudly announced "This is our dessert wine. You'll find it a bit sweeter than most, with a hint of blah blah blah... We call it 'Tickled Pink'."
"...Excuse me?"
Well Cary ended up purchasing the wine cause he, "thought Jane might like it." The whole event made feel incredibly unsophisticated. Cary had fortunately done a little homework on wine tasting before the session and came off at least having some constructive things to say about the wines he was sipping, talking about tannins and whatnot. It was a very amusing situation none the less. I'll admit I was very curious to try and discover if I could taste some of the differences but, alas, I had been declared DD.
We did indeed take the scenic route from Te Anau to Dunedin, stopping for cabbage tree seeds (there is a particularly hardy strain that grows in central Otago) and wine testing at New Zealand's finest. In fact, NZ grows some of the world's best Pinot Noir, so that makes these wineries some of the best on earth in that area.
We also checked out some local produce stands and I finally got to test drive some Turkish Delight. Read about it in 'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' but was never able to satiate my curiosity until now. The kind I tried had pistachios in it and covered with powdered sugar. I have no idea how to go about describing the flavor. The closest thing I've had to it is probably some Malaysian treat Sherwin used to share with me back in the day. The consistency is very chewy, similar to that of gumdrops. Overall, not bad. 4 stars. I think my expectations were a little high after reading the book's description.
Looking for Cabbage Tree seeds
We finally arrived in Dunedin after 6 hours on the road with a sigh of relief. No more travelling for 3 days. Chilled out for about an hour before James got home from his construction job. At that point we downed a cup of coffee and made for the track for our workout. Let me just say I can't imagine working construction for 10 hours and then turning around and plugging away at a workout. It was a bit motivating to see James working so hard.
abs/balancing in AM
The workout was a bit up and down but turned out to be a good effort overall. Better than I expected after 3 when I was feeling like dirt.
15min warmup
10x3:44@1500 pace. 2min recovery.
60,59,60,61,61,62,62,60,60,59
9min cooldown.
7 miles
List warmed up a good meal for us and we relaxed the rest of the evening. Love the house.
Day 19: Felonies
Today is the last day of what I'm calling "The Scenic South". After tonight we will be out of the mountains for good and on to the more arid East Coast. I expect our time there will be more about just getting into the Kiwi lifestyle living in a Dunedin track-house with a runner named James List and his mates. Then we'll head to Christchurch to see what's left of our legs after all this travelling. But today, we feast our eyes on the most spectacular panoramas I've ever seen.
Working the angles
Milford Sound. We traveled 6 hours today just for a few short hours in the Sound (which is actually a Fjord, since it was glacially carved). Once there, we went for another short Monday shakeout run. 32min, 4.5 miles (Note for anyone planning on tramping the Milford Track: you need to take a boat to the trail head). However, running around the local little bay was enough for our requirements today.
Time for the main event. Cary and I splurged for an afternoon cruise that took us to the mouth of the Fiord and back. Some commentary was provided by the captain as we sailed. The experience was unreal. I have never felt so dwarfed and insignificant in my life. There was one cliff face that was actually beyond vertical, so you could actually look directly up and inspect an overhang 1000ft up, looming over the vessel. It would be tough for me to describe the experience in text so I would encourage you to check out the pics and caption commentary for a modest portrayal of the experience.
Now we come to what I really want to write about today: driving. Cary finally relented and I got my turn at the wheel today. Boy, did I take advantage. It took 2 seconds to get used to the whole left-side of the road crap. Really not a tough adjustment (though I have sat shotgun for the last two weeks. Might have helped). One thing does urk me to no end though. Freakin' blinkers! I have to flip them with my right hand now. I can't tell you how many times I tricked the windshield wipers into thinking we're in a hailstorm while just trying to turn left.
There are two real treats to driving in NZ: solitude on the road, and turn-difficulty signs. The latter might have you scratching your head, but before I get to that: solitude. In NZ, at least on the west coast, population is sparse enough that, not only are you guaranteed not to see a cop, but you're unlikely to run into more than a two cars/mile on the opposite side of the double yellow (by double yellow, I actually mean dashed white. Passing is permitted nearly everywhere). Also, it would seem that everyone in NZ drives like their wife is about to give birth, so you're unlikely to be behind anyone. If you do find another American tourist, you can safely zip right on by. True story: I got passed doing 140km/hr by a currency-security van (armored car). Give me a break...
Also not uncommon...
Turn difficulty: This term refers to the fact that on all major roads, the speed limit is 100km/hr. However, if a turn coming up is sharp enough, they'll signal that you need to reduce to some speed by saying "(arrow-signaling-turn) 85" or "(twisty-signaling-3-turns-in-a-row) 65". This will signal, before you get there, the approximate strength of the curve. I discovered you are likely to be able to navigate a curve, without a sharp breath from Cary, at about 20kph faster than indicated. This is what I mean by turn-difficulty signs.
Driving in the mountains was also thoroughly entertaining as I was also able to pretend I was in a 2-gear manual, constantly shifting between drive and neutral, to allow for better coasting and gas mileage. All in all, quite a treat. Just wish I had a manual...
Slept the night in an especially good looking bunk in Te Anau. Got a good lesson in "looks aren't everything" as the bunk ended up being the most wobbly/creaky of any we slept in. Combine that with other dormmate's night terrors and you get a pretty sleepless night. I've really discovered sleeping in hostels is pretty hit or miss. Best advice: get mad tired during the day.
Day 18: Queenstown, Extreme-ly Restful
Today, my good cousin and I found ourselves in the often touted "most beautiful town in New Zealand". There's no doubt it deserves that name. To it's other: "Extreme Sports capital of the world", however, it wasn't quite what I expected. Sure there are bungies and cliff swings, multiple opportunities to skydive, even a skatepark that has a cute little stream running through it. For us, however, it was nothing but serenely beautiful.
I believe the summer is actually an off-season for Queenstown. Each one of the dozen or so lodges and hotels jut out with the same angular wooden architecture familiar to Vermont's ski-topias. The kind of architecture that suggests the structure must deal with knifing through dozens of feet of snow each year. It very well might.
Today started early for me. Too early after a Saturday night, but once in a while the parents must know it's not a monkey banging out these posts. So at 7AM I woke myself up and groggly got up to speed with the happenings in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. That was the only difficult part of the day, for today, we do not travel! Instead, I perused the internet, something I have not done enough of. Looked at the results of Club nationals in Kentucky. Shout out to Chris Ellis-Ferrara for PRing through 5miles on the way to a 31 minute 10k, and Clay and Lisa Burnett for their performances in a distance they haven't had to run in who knows how long. Oh and Brian Harvey, for proving DIII guys can step up to the 10k. EYOP was about to kick off and I wish I didn't only have 4 of those. As a matter of fact, I am approaching the longest I've been away from Williams in 3, yes 3, years. Feels time.
Queenstown water front
At about noon we headed out on a run that took us along the waterfront.
47min, 7miles I did have 5minutes of shakeout 5:15 effort (AB). All in all not too bad after that beast of a run yesterday. Quads feel like I have corks in them.
We tried to get a free trial of the local Les Mils but got shut down by the one worker there. It was really small anyways (sour grapes, I know).
After a shower and a little more lounging we went out on the town at 4PM. We wandered the streets and took some photos before heading to the main attraction of the day: the gondola and luge.
The gondola was nice and the view impressive but I absolutely loved the "luge". Now, if you're like me, "luge" means sled-on-ice. So I was thinking sled-on-slide-with-anti-static-mat. What it really is, is far better. It's go-carts! Skyline Luge I wisely purchased two runs (because the first you can only go on the "scenic" course). The second you can do "advanced". Cary and I got in our carts and familiarized ourself with the ingenious breaking system. Actually, I can't really render a good description, but in the simplest terms: pull the handle-bars back and you break, push them forward and you go. The entire downhill run takes about 2 minutes at leisure. And we had some fun and took a few shots of each other.
La Luge
The next time, on advanced, I went for raw speed. This course was incredibly well designed! There are some risers where I actually was able to get some air, or at least feel like I got some freefall. And the turns were well banked to allow you to keep your speed. I made it down in 1:35 and immediately asked the employees about course records. They hadn't the faintest idea.... Are you KIDDING me. Two mid-twenties workers, with all the free rides they want, don't race?! Real extreme.
After that experience we stopped at the highly recommended "Ferburger" restaurant, where they literally serve you more fries than you can eat. We got the leftovers of 2 people around us before we even started on ours and threw away more than we started with. The burgers were cheap and awesome too! Well worth it.
Afterward, I quested for some unlimited bandwidth as I had a queue of downloads I needed to perform. God thats a nerd-worthy sentence. Rubin would be proud. Anyways, that quest put me on the doorstep of Patagonia chocolaterie boasting "free internet". Took me forever in there to find the signal and get online, at which point I abruptly lost it again. Asking a chocolateur, she mildly informed me that while the store (I had asked earlier) closes at 10PM, wifi shuts down at 8PM... Whatever, they did serve an incredible hot chocolate worthy of Juliette Binoche (If you get that reference, you're either a girl or Paul Rudd[If you get that reference, you're me*]).
Well, I packed up the netbook and headed to an internet cafe I saw. Those places are the ticket. In NZ at least (being fresh out of college where free internet is everywhere I can't speak for the US), bandwidth is a commodity. And usually an expensive one. However, at the internet cafe, you walk into a dimly lit room (deja vu) and the asian at the front desk (5/5 with the asians so far so it's OK to make that generality. Also, 4/5 times, they've had take out brought to them. Now that IS a coincidence. I don't spend THAT much time in these places.) the asian says 8, meaning you are assigned to computer booth 8. To this I say, I have my own machine. "Booth 3", the response. I happily sit down, plug in, swap terabytes at blistering speed with the world, and after a while get back up. I payed $2 NZ. Incredible. All this time, I've sweated KB on expensive YHA plans, and I just did $30 of transactions in 15min. Speedy, efficient, and cost effective. Awesome. (So far, I've managed to stay under my $30 2G limit YHA plan).
Back to the dorm for a little work and a good sleep before the crowning jewel of NZ scenery: Milford Sound.
*Julliette Binoche is in 'Chocolat'. Paul Rudd loves 'Chocolat' in 'I Love You Man'.
Hush, it's dark and I can't sleep.
The Author
I'm a runner who's managed to escape the NE winter for a NZ summer. This is a chronicle of my travels.
Cheers!
Cell: +64.021.123.1347
Archives
Calendar
Recent Albums
Recent Posts
- Its Over
- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- Kiwi Nationals Day 3
- Kiwi Nationals Day 2
- Kiwi Nationals Day 1
Recent Comments
- Jared Konkle on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- Dad on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- Macklin on Kiwi Nationals Day 3
- Joey on Kiwi Nationals Day 3
- Jared Konkle on Kiwi Nationals Day 3