03-24-2026 Swim/Ride

Slept okay, although I did wake up in the night hungry and ate some cereal (<!>). Read for a while as well, but got back to sleep, which is the key for me. Got up after 6:00 and got ready for a swim at the WWC. There was a distinct marine layer on the way over, but several swimmers were in the pool while I was there. Did two 500s, with a brief pause between them, and then a third one with swim fins. Felt a little more controlled in my stroke on this day vs. the previous one. Here are the splits for the three 500s: 9:18, 9:35, 8:49. I focused in the second 500 on trying to keep the lower half of my body from sinking in the water, by arching my lower back. That seems to be positive for improving my efficiency moving through the water.

Avg pace = 1:51/100 yds (Video, not including pauses between 500s)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 17:42 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm (Zepp, possibly)

Relative Effort = 37 (possibly)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.47 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/17842143988

Had some coffee and a very small breakfast when I got home, then I got ready for a bike ride with Paula from our house. We left a little after 10:00, headed up to Duenda Rd and then took W Bernardo Dr to RB Rd. Up to 4S Ranch, then CdS over to San Dieguito Rd. I pushed the pace just a little bit on the CdS bump, and Paula kept up pretty well. We rode down I to Fairbanks Ranch and the took El Apajo / Via de Santa Fe to Calzada del Bosque. Up to Via del Alba, turning left here (not sure I've ever gone this way) and riding up to Puerta del Sol, turning right and taking it up to Linea del Cielo. Left turn there, then another left onto Las Planideras, which had a long gradual descent. We stopped briefly for a pic, then rode down to VdlV, the descent got steep at the end. Took VdlV over to ECR, then an easy-paced ride on San Dieguito Rd. I pushed myself a bit on the second and third parts of Three Witches, waited for Paula after the turn onto CdS. We rode back to PdS and over to CdS, then took the new normal way back to Matinal Rd and home through the neighborhood.

Avt speed = 15.1 mph. Total mileage = 28.6 mi

Avg power = 121 W. Weighted avg power = 154 W

Total elevation gain = 2140'

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 50

Training Load = 101

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17844601322

Ann talked to Paula a bit as well. I had some lunch and a relaxing afternoon, including a short nap in the late afternoon. Picked up a prescription for skin cream from CVS, then watched some TV before and after dinner while Ann went to bell choir practice

03-23-2026 Run/Swim

Slept okay, overall. I did get up in the middle of the night an watch TV for an hour, having something to eat as well. But I got back to sleep and woke up around 6:00. Got ready for an early morning run down by the park, doing the usual 5k route. Had negative splits for the first three miles, legs felt a little heavy during this run, but I loosened up over the course of the run. Heartrate was high during this run, a clear indicator of my fitness falling off during our trip.

Avg pace = 8:30/mi

Total distance = 3.20 mi

Elapsed moving time = 27:16

Avg heartrate = 142 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 26

https://www.strava.com/activities/17827883270

I had a little time to relax after I got back, didn't eat anything though. Patched an inner tube, then I got ready for a swim (my first in three weeks) at the WWC. Thought I would swim 1000 yds and see how I felt. My legs still felt heavy during the swim, stroke was decent at the beginning but became a little more ragged over the course of the workout. I had a clean pool to swim in, just one other swimmer in lane 1. Splits for the two 500s were as follows: 9:28, 9:48.

Avg pace = 1:56/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1000 yds

Elapsed moving time = 19:16 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 168 bpm (Zepp, probably not)

Relative Effort = 54 (probably not)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.26 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/17828997085

I forgot to pack my towel, so the ride home was a little more brisk than usual. Got home, watched a little TV but didn't eat much for breakfast. I relaxed in the morning before showering and getting ready to head over to The Shop with Ann to meet the Four Amigos and their spouses (sans Kenda) for lunch. We talked a lot about our Vietnam trip (Vivian, Ross, and Kenda have all visited there), and Dennis and I discussed some books we have been reading. Food was decent. After lunch I dropped the package for Ross off at the post office, then we headed home. I was largely successful in avoiding napping in the afternoon, although I did close my eyes for about 10 minutes. Then I got up and worked on my cycling analysis program, continuing to incorporate the ability to read and process FIT files.i ended up having a nap in the early evening, likely a mistake. No dinner after a big lunch watched some TV in the evening.

03-22-2026 Ride

Woke up after a night of periodic sleep, with vivid dreams. In the night I also had an early breakfast. Got ready for a ride with Rob, the first one in a long time. Rode over, using a longer way through the neighborhood, to his place, then we headed back to Poblado Rd and then took Duenda Rd to W Bernardo Dr, turning left there. Down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd. We rode at decent pace out to the base of the first climb, then Rob slowed down as we got to the top of the first climb. We had a brief rest by the entrance to Mia Marie, then we rode back down, slowly, and over to Pomerado Rd. Left there and up to Paseo del Vera N, turning left and intending to go to the coffee shop by Bernardo Winery. But it was closed, so we followed this road back to Pomerado Rd and turned left to go up to Bernardo Heights Pkwy, turning right there and then left on Calle Pueblito to get to Paseo Lucido. I waited for him at the corner, and we stopped so he could place our order online at Mostra Coffee in CMR. Then we rode over to this place, by See's Candy. Of course, there was no line, and it turned out there was no coffee either, the online order had been rerouted to the shop in 4S Ranch. The barista was super nice and made our coffees anyway, no charge. We chatted about our trip, the HP EER (he's probably not going to take it), and Juliette's Ring ceremony, which happened while we were at the shop. Then we rode back down Paseo Lucido to the bottom of Bernardo Heights Pkwy and took Bernardo Center Dr to RB Rd. Over to W Bernardo Dr and then a left on Poblado Rd to head back to his house. His legs were shot, but he hung in there until we got back. I rode home the normal way from there. Was a little more distance than I had planned, but my legs felt fine at the end.

Avg speed = 13.2 mph. Total mileage = 27.4 mi

Avg power = 127 W. Weighted avg power = 155 W

Total elevation gain = 2250'

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm

Relative Effort = 64

Training Load = 118

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17819229785

Looking at my power output and heartrate data from these last two rides, it's clear that my fitness has dropped off in a measurable way. Will have to work to bring it back. Had a quiet afternoon, backed up the photos from Ann's phone, watched some TV, had some lunch, and read. I avoided taking a nap this time. Also updated my blog posts from the trip. Talked to Laura (not Joe) in the afternoon about her race, the wedding plans (October 17), and the upcoming trip to Italy. I picked up the house key from the Krista Garrett. Was a quiet evening, I turned in a little early.

03-21-2026 Ride

The flight wasn't as long as the one over there. I watched three movies: Bugonia, Argo, and Batman Begins. There was a little girl two rows ahead who was periodically, and loudly, screaming uncontrollably throughout the flight. It was impossible to listen to. I was so glad to get off that plane. We got through customs pretty quickly and were super fortunate to get right on the shuttle to our off-airport parking lot. The drive home was longer than expected, they were doing maintenance on the freeway and shut it down to one lane. I made a wrong turn later and had to backtrack a bit. Was tired but not sleepy, again really glad when we got home. I ate a little bit and went to bed. Slept until around 6:20, then got up and had some toast and coffee for breakfast. I went for an easy bike ride a little later, was quite cool initially but warmed up okay. Down by the park and over to Pomerado Rd, taking it to the time trial route and following that back home. I was just cruising on this day, working on getting back in shape. 

Avg speed = 15.9 mph. Total mileage = 19.6 mi

Avg power = 127 W. Weighted avg power = 154 W

Total elevation gain = 1390'

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 36

Training Load = 65

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17805249198

Got home, Ann was still asleep. I made the mistake of lying down and ended up napping into the middle of the afternoon. Ann went to the store, so I shaved, showered, and backed up the pics from our trip. Hamburgers for dinner were a welcome change, and we had a quiet evening, albeit with interrupted sleep (<!>).

03-20-2026 Walk

Travel and tourism day. Slept well, I feel nearly fully recovered from my mild cold (<!>). We took our time getting up, it was going to be a long day. Ate some of the remaining food for breakfast, went downstairs for a coffee (iced coffee with condensed milk was tasty), read, and watched a little TV before finishing off the drinks and leaving the flat. We walked to a place not too far away to drop off our luggage, then went for lunch to the restaurant we had originally planned on eating at the first day we were here. I was not hungry, had some spring rolls. Then we walked over to the Independence Palace (took a while to find the entrance) and toured through it. The grounds were pretty, and I really liked the 60s vibe of the palace design. Ann was less thrilled with it, since it was mostly open-air and she was sweaty. Her mood improved when we found the air-conditioned room where they were showing a film about the palace history. We walked around the grounds after that and eventually exited, walking from there to the Ben Thanh Market. I found a likely fake Zippo lighter for Ross, bargained down to what I thought was a decent price (<$6) and got it. We walked from there back to Bui Vien Street and stopped for drinks at a corner bar, low key and the IPA was very good. Then we caught a Grab to the airport, short distance but heavy city traffic (8 km in 40 minutes). Got there okay and through immigration quicker than usual, since Ann paid Klook for a fast pass. No problem getting the lighter through the security check. The prices in the airport were crazy for Vietnam, so we had enough for a terrible sandwich, bottle of water, and a cider. That pretty much tapped us out, I kept a couple of bills to give to Ross as well. Flight to Hong Kong was shorter than expected, but takeoff and taxiing were delayed, so we had a really short transition time. Lines were long, and right away I started stressing. Justified, in this case. We were at real risk of missing our flight. I had to get in another line for manual passport control and got behind Ann in security. Was able to talk a security agent to allow me to jump the line and get through security quickly, but I was really stressing and didn't see that Ann got stopped for a bag check and ended up behind me. Ran to the gate, I was one of the last people on the plane, and Ann wasn't there. They called her name on the plane, and I got worried she was going to miss the flight. I think she ended up being the absolute last person to get on, she didn't seem to be worried about it. Yikes! We really live a charmed life.

03-19-2026 Walk

First time using the Blogger app, I hope it's a much better experience than the website, which is quite poor on the phone. Woke up early-ish, had a shower and light breakfast, then walked over to the War Remnants Museum. This was memorable, a significant reminder that humans are eminently capable of extreme cruelty to other humans, and Americans are no exception. War is a terrible business, it degrades the human spirit. I thought the presentation was fair in its portrayal of the wars as ways to claim dominance over a people and their cultural mores. Spent a little over two hours there, not much joy in this museum. I walked from there to a cafe to meet Ann for an egg cream coffee. It was really delicious, a rare treat. We walked from there to the HCMC central post office, which apparently was designed by Gustav Eiffel. Close to Notre Dame Cathedral, which was closed for renovation both inside and out. From there we walked to a central market area, lots of food, clothes, shoes, and souvenirs. May go there tomorrow and buy some things. Then we headed back to the Airbnb, found a Mexican food restaurant on the way, and stopped for lunch. Nobody in the restaurant knew how to make a margarita, which was a little sad. Food was okay but could have been replaced with another cuisine without difficulty. Somewhere near here, I came across a major street corner where two people were doing scooter repairs, I clouding having one scooter extensively disassembled (when we walked by this corner in the evening all evidence of the pop-up repair shop was gone except for the grease on the sidewalk) Back to the flat from there, and a rest break in the afternoon. Made spaghetti for dinner, that sauce was pretty bad. We watched a Netflix show before going to an area of HCMC, Bui Vien, known as a party scene, similar to Beer Street in Hanoi. It was busy but not super crowded, sa a couple of fire breathers, sat at a place across the street from  Vietnamese cover band, listened to their music (definitely not great), and people-watched. Lots of scooter traffic, a surprising number of scooter families with small kids. We walked back to the flat after this and settled down for the evening.

03-18-2026 Walk

Travel day. Slept pretty well, although I was still somewhat congested (<!>). We had some food in the flat that we could eat for breakfast, so we did that, packed up our stuff, then went out for coffee (my cappuccino was great). Walked a little bit by the river before heading back and finishing up getting ready to leave. We caught a Grab to the office where the bus was to take us to Ho Chi Minh City. The drive took about three hours, and we stopped for a break at a rest stop on the outskirts of the city. Got another Grab from the drop off point to our Airbnb, which was in a highrise building. We got there around 1:30, no key in the mailbox, it took about 30 minutes to straighten up the situation, which involved switching to another flat. But it all worked out okay, just some delay. We dropped our stuff off and walked to a Vietnamese place for lunch. Prices are noticeably higher here than every other city we've been in this trip, still reasonable. Got some more cash after lunch and picked up more snacks at a small nearby market. In the evening we watched a follow-up movie, El Camino, about Jesse from Breaking Bad. Wasn't great, and it told a lot of the story from the series, so that will be a small letdown if I ever finish watching it. Had a small dinner from the grocery supplies we had been carrying, was filling enough. The rest of the evening was quiet.