Taipei City – not as much fun as you’d think!

After my awesome trail run on Friday, I had a pretty good day – hit up a Yin yoga class taught by awesome yogi Emily (and got to see the equally awesome Jen in class, too!).

Then, a mellow Friday evening w/ the architect and the Roku.

Saturday, I got up bright & early (9ish, I think) and prepared to take my car in for a check-up. There were a couple things I was concerned about – namely, the trunk fills up with water every time it rains, which creates a weird, swampy ecosystem back there, and renders the trunk completely useless when it’s raining. Which, in Portland at this time of year, is fairly often.

Also, about three years ago, someone tried to break into my car while I was at a job interview, and jacked up the passenger side lock. Which means I can’t use the key to open that door. Which, you know, since I have keyless entry, wouldn’t be such a big deal. Except my keyfob doesn’t work, so I knew I needed new batteries. And new windshield wipers (I understand that the purpose of the wipers is to clear away that aforementioned rain while driving, making it easier to see where you’re going – FANCY!)

So – I drove to the Hyundai dealership, and sat down with my book to wait.

I pulled my phone out my purse at one point to check the time (no clocks in the waiting room – it’s like Vegas, but with fewer seizure-inducing flashing lights). My phone told me that it was 3 am. On Sunday. Which, confused me…how long had I been in this waiting room? Was I in some kind of purgatory? With cable and free wi-fi?

I looked more closely and saw that it also said I was in Taipei City. The weather was set to Taipei (50 degrees & raining, if you care). This upset me more than it should’ve. I tried all sorts of things to try to get back to Beaverton, but alas! I was unsuccessful. Finally, I gave up & resigned myself to being stuck in SE Asia for the duration.

About 3 hours and $950 later (and that’s not including fixing the trunk leak or replacing & aligning two tires…ouch!), I was able to leave. I have to go back next week to actually replace the door lock, keyfob & brakes (which are at the 2/32 or something terrible [no idea what that means, but it is apparently serious, according to serious-faced service guy).

At that point, I needed to go to a FedEx to drop off a package. BUT – guess what? There are no FedEx places in Taipei. So, I just wandered around Taipei/Beaverton until I found one, and then decided to have some lunch. All I could find were coffee shops & Asian food. So, I figured, as long as I’m in Asia anyway, and my phone won’t help me out with some Mexican food, I might as well get some Thai food (I couldn’t find any Taiwanese restaraunts…not that I looked).

I finally made it back to the states – which was nice!

The rest of the day was spent doing homework & whining about how much it cost to fix my car (less than a new car, as I’m trying to tell myself).

Today was another run. A less challenging trail today – Leif – but even faster! My run portions (2 miles! Woo!) averaged a 9:37 pace, and the overall pace was 11:37. That is freaking awesome. An 11:37 pace would work for me even if I hadn’t walked.

My splits (I love this! So much!)

Uphill

Warm-up Walk: :25 miles;  3:43 (14:52 pace)
Run #1: .5 miles; 5:29 (10:58 pace)
Walk: .25 miles; 4:08 (16:32 pace)
Run#2: .5 miles; 5:17 (10:34 pace)

Downhill

Walk: .25 miles; 4:07 (16:28 pace)
Run #3: .5 miles; 4:17 (8:34 pace)
Walk: .25 miles; 3:41 (14:44 pace)
Run #4: 4:10 (8:20 pace)

Awesome, right? I am definitely getting there (or somewhere, anyways). Plus, two runs in three days in Forest Park = bliss…

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