Surf City Marathon, Feb 7, 2010, was my first full marathon in about 3 years. Ever since I relocated to Sol Cal, I had only done couple half marathons and never done any full marathon races or even trained long distance. Moving back to Bay Area last year in March, the first thing that I picked up was running and I am so glad that I have coming back to this. I started from almost scratch — 3 miles at Los Gatos Creek Trail, and wasn’t sure if I was any good still.

To keep myself disciplined, I started to Tweet about my runs and forced myself by “going public”. I gradually ramped up the miles and did several half marathons toward the end of the year – RnR San Jose and Nike Women in Oct, Santa Barbara in Nov, RnR Las Vegas in Dec, and I felt I was ready to take up a full marathon challenge. So I mapped out a training program for myself — started doing my two 6 miles on weekdays and long runs on weekends, and working on my core strength twice a week at the gym.

I also realized that although not able to train with a coach or with a team, I was getting faster than 3 years ago despise the fall outs and it’s just possible that I “may” break that 5 hours record. You see, all my full marathons in the past I was doing 5:42, 5:29, 5:43, 5:27…etc.;  I could never break that 5. But this time I actually felt pretty good about myself and a sub-5 race seems to be not too farfetched.

Weeks before the Surf City, it started to rain like crazy non-stop. The down-pouring rain and thunder had interrupted my weekday runs and my last couple long runs. Mid Jan, I was forced to go out and run in the rain and constantly had to worry about the lightning and thunder above my head. The week before the race, Sol Cal started to rain as well.

When I landed L.A. on Friday, the rain was so hard that I got soaking wet just standing in line to pick up my bib – the expo tent was on the beach. Friday and Saturday nights I could not sleep because of the pressure and worry, and I was so afraid that I could not do well or the worst – couldn’t finish the race. My friend Linsu asked me when I was sharing this race experience with her and Hsiao, “Why worry? Isn’t that just an event? You were not really racing, right?”

Well, yes and no. Of course I am not one of those elite runners that race for the top prize, but still each race is important to me, especially this Surf City was like my “coming back” debut and I was getting lots of pressure from myself. I admit that I could be an over-achiever nut and I take running very seriously. I actually went out to the race start the day before the race, just to get an idea how I was going to get there 12 hours later and I memorized turn by turn directions, and even planned alternative routes in my head in case the traffic was bad the next morning.

Race day morning, I arrived Huntington Beach in absolute dark and it was so cold and windy at 5:00 in the morning. There were about 2,000 full marathoners vs. 18,000 half marathoners, and our start time was earlier. To everyone’s surprise, our prayers were answered and there was no rain at all. The first 2 miles were pretty straight forward — we ran on the Pacific Coast Highway then weaved through some residential area for the next 7 miles or so, and coming out to the PCH again. 3 more miles on the PCH and I made my first turn and had no idea the frustration ahead of me.

Between mile 13 to 15, I started seeing half marathoners passing me and they were running pretty strong since finishing line wasn’t too far from them. I cursed in my head and questioned myself why I signed up a full marathon anyway? I had to turn right onto an along-the-beach trail to continue my race, and I felt so lonely on that much less runners’ route. About mile 18, there were RVs parked on the state beach and young men and women sitting on their beach chairs enjoying beers on a relaxing sunny Sunday morning. Me? Running my ass off with glaring sun that was burning my neck and face. My toes and the bottom of my feet hurt and I was panting hard, but I had to continue the slow descending trail toward the mile 20 marker. By this time, I really could not appreciate the ocean on my left at all, but I am sure it must be very breath-takingly beautiful. Only few runners ahead of me after the turn around, and I started hearing the little voice inside my head telling me it’s OK to walk.

I was debating if I wanted to start walking or taking a short break, but I saw the race cameraman standing on top of the hill between mile 22 and 23, and I really could not allow myself to slow down or look like a wimp, could I? No matter how much pain and suffering I was enduring or how slow I was, I was going to “run” this race from start to finish, till I crossed that finish line.

Continued on the beach front trail through mile 24, then I came onto PCH again. I knew I wasn’t too far from the finish line when I saw Jay on the road side; he came up and was trying to run with me, but I shut his face with my right palm and a serious glance — “Don’t talk to me.”  All I cared about at that moment were the last 2.2 miles and my sub-5 race; I had visual of the clock at finish line and my sole focus was on crossing that!

As soon as I heard the “beee” when my strides crossed the finish line, I looked down at my Garmin 405
and it told me 4:52 — I had made my sub-5 finally and it’s a PR for me! I know, I know… for my speedy runner friends, their PR are like breaking 3:30 or qualify for Boston, but for me this tough and painful 4:52 was my PR, and I felt so good about it that I forgot about all the physical pain and mental suffering. I can’t believe, and YES  I can, that I have actually made it.

I had joined the Bay Area Runners group last April after moving up from L.A, and glad to have met very nice and easygoing running buddies. Some of them asked me if this (Surf City) would be my first marathon, after seeing me training myself on my own by adding extra miles after our group runs. Actually I have completed several full marathons and half marathons through Team in Training between 2005 and 2007, and I truly love the experience of both being a participant and a mentor.

However, with the financial weigh down, I can’t go back to the Team again, so I decided to map out a training schedule for myself and see how I would do. During the process of coming back as a long distance runner, I need to keep myself entertained and motivated to run faithfully, therefore I signed-up and completed the exciting and hilly  Nike Women Half, San Jose Rock n Roll Half, the unexpected hot Santa Barbara Half, and running with Elvis Las Vegas Half in Oct, Nov and Dec. Slowly I built up my mileages by running 5 to 6 miles on Tue and Thur mornings, and running the long runs on weekends on my own.

I remembered couple years ago Brian asked me if I liked to run alone yet, at that time I did not understand the “yet” part, but I believe my answer back then was I had just discovered the fun of running solo. Many people have told me that they don’t like to run alone, or they can’t keep up running without a partner. But I found the time with myself very precious and almost therapeutically; I like to use couple hours to speak to my inner-self, or just quietly self-reflect. I even found myself running with big grin on my face in cold, rainy and windy morning on the almost secluded trail.

There are other new discoveries this season, first and the best is my new Garmin Forerunner 405 – the GPS enabled sport watch. I used to have a heavy and bulky 201 that’s simply too big for my wrist, and I haven’t used much of that one. For Christmas, my friend Jay gave me this wonderful 405 as my Christmas present and I just absolutely love it. So far I have only used couple and very basic functions of this Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch, but I love the applications that friends have suggested.

I started using the Running Ahead training log that Chris has been posting on Face Book, and for the first time that I am seeing all the details about my runs. The graphs, course maps and runs summary are really fun to read. Feride had told me about turning my running mileages into charity donation and I discovered that I can continue to support TNT with my miles – every mile I run will convert to $0.18 to TNT. Even Joe at Plus 3 Network has also been extremely helpful; not only had he helped me with my cause setup, he even proactively suggested how I can contribute more to TNT.

Another great discovery is the Compression Socks which I saw Loi wearing them at Nike Women’s Marathon. I decided to give it a try after reading all the positive online reviews posting by runners, so ordered mine from Road Runners and gave tried them on my 20 ml long run. Not sure about the O2 thingy, but I did find the socks gave my legs a strong “hold” feeling and I felt I got stronger legs/less wobbly legs during the entire 20 ml, and the next few days after the long I did not experience the usual pain associate with a long run. Love the socks!

One more new “like” is the KT Tape. I got a sample in my goodie bag from Santa Barbara Half Marathon and tried it on the race day. Not sure it was psychological or it really worked, but my ancient left leg stiffness and pain seemed to disappear during this race. I have had pain on my left ankle and calf as the miles of my run increases, after reading the product blog posts I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try it on my training runs. The only problem was where to find it. After some research and driving around, I finally got them at the Sport Authority in Great Mall. I tested the KT Tape on my left ankle and calf, and compare how I felt after an 18 ml run. Very clearly I could tell that my left ankle felt less pain from the pounding on the ground. I think I will continue using them and may try the tape on my shoulder as well during race day.

Here I am, two weeks till Surf City Marathon and I am both excited and anxious. Excited because I haven’t done a full marathon since June of 2007, and anxious because I have been training without the help of coach, captains and teammates. I want to know if I can achieve the goal all by myself, so can’t wait till race day to taste that victory after those 26.2 miles.

The whole morning I looked at the running pants and socks and debating if I should go to the gym and keep up with my training program, which I mapped it out for my Surf City Marathon on Feb 7 – yes, less than 3 weeks from now. But the thought of running on a treadmill just wasn’t very appealing to me, so I just sit on the thought and not too excited about it. Since I work from my home, I figured I could always go to the gym in the afternoon after I took care of work related stuffs. However, the miracle sun came out around 11:45 and rain had ceased. I was so happy to see the bright and sunny outside; quickly changed to my running cloth I went out for my run.

I ignored the drizzle that had just started again, and took off my run on a quiet and almost secluded trail. Very soon  I realized that I could not do my speed work today because of the trail condition, so instead of focusing on my pace, I had to shift my focus to those puddles of water, fallen branches and leaves, and nuts and cones. The last thing I want was injured ankles weeks before the race.

Throughout my 5 ml run this time, I only came across 1 runner, 3 walkers, and two bikers. I guess the bad weather had put people staying indoor today. By the time I finished my run, I was feeling so energetic and refreshed – the reason why I love outdoor running so much. And the sense of gratification and joy after a long run is almost like a bug that once I caught it just can’t quit it.

People enjoy different workouts and we all have our pick and tend to stick to it, however I recently discovered a very interesting study and thought we might start to rotate our workout routines a bit. New research shows that something as simple as swapping scenery or ditching our training partner can help us squeeze bonus benefits out of the same old workouts. See how you can reap more rewards below.

*Source: Santa Clara University

The Top 10 Lists of Me-news for the year of 2009 are –
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#1 Best Work Decision – leaving the unhealthy company

#2 Best Life Improvement – kicked sleeping aids & anti-depressant

#3 Best New Interest Acquired – blogging

#4 Best Old Interests Re-discovered – running

#5 Best Eatery Found – The Boiling Crab

#6 Best Trip Taken – road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon

#7 Best Social Activities – joining the Bay Area Runners group via Meetup

#8 New Friendships – Phu, Miriam, Val, Tim…etc. from BAR

#9 Best Accomplishment – finished 4 Half Marathons in 3 months

#10 Best Bad Habit Quits – shopping addictions

Sure there were many ups and downs in 2009, but I can say that I am a much happier and healthier person than 2008. Now only few hours to 2010, looking forward my wish for the year to come is to live strongly, and face any obstacle in professional life or personal life with positive attitude. I will welcome new endeavors and challenges with enthusiasm and high spirits. I will cherish the love and support I receive, and I will give to those in need.

Happy New Year to everyone, and Happy Birthday to myself.

During this month-long break, I have discovered that I, and probably many of you, am creature of habits. When first started blogging, often I felt there were thoughts constantly threading and weaving in my head, and I merely was writing in result of that “magic push” — a force of power that I could not ignore or stop. But once I stopped writing for a week or so, that needs to write diminished and even my heart wanted to re-pick up the habit;  somehow I got stuck and could not move forward. It’s not hitting writer’s block I know, more like the same force of power just wanted to work the opposite way. The magic of habit.

Though I have stopped writing my own blog, but  I have spent lots of time researching work related material and have came upon many nice commercial blogs. I took my time to study and digest, and found enormous amounts and supplies of information with the help of internet, both very useful ones and useless ones.  A good website that keeps readers coming back are those with contents that are relevant and useful to readers. Unfortunately many corporate websites are merely “others have it, so we also have it” results.  I call that “homework to please the boss”, and totally useless to readers and consumers.

Blogging is a very pleasant and enjoyable experience, and should not be a mental burden, at least to me. I did not start it as a “duty”, therefore I will continue to write as long as I find it’s enjoyable and fun doing it. There are bloggers that faithfully posting new articles daily or weekly and I envy their dedication with great admiration, really. But I will continue mine with the “write to my heart’s content” attitude, the same way I enjoy other activities in my life – reading, running…etc.

Now, I am back and sharing my thoughts from my new site – www. michelesun.com

Taking Chance was based on a true event, but not an anti-war or pro-war movie; it’s a film about death, fallen solider, about respect, patriotism, family and love. It’s about lost, not the administration or system’s lost, but OUR lost. It gave an almost documentary feeling, since it’s very straight forward without twisting the movie too much in a fluffy Hollywood way. I am glad that there was no political bias in this movie either; simply a true story of the respect that has been paid to everyone who died in defense of our freedom. We don’t see many stories that have this kind of honesty in it.

Kevin Bacon plays Lt. Col. Michael Strobl as the military staffing officer who volunteered to escort taking the remains of a dead soldier, Chance Phelps, home to be buried. Kevin Bacon’s performance was just right as was everyone else because the story was greater than all the parts combined. Particularly rewarding to watch, while the coffin, covered by the flag, was at airports or on the highway, was the way ordinary people took it upon themselves to pay their respects to someone they didn’t know but who had died for his country: for them.

Taking Chance must be the most powerful movie I have seen in many years, and again it’s moving and heart-breaking in a word-less way – so powerful that my heart has sank so deeply and I could not keep my eyes dry. I, and I think many of people out there, have gotten tired of reading war news or watching another war movie; we got cold-hearted after years of senseless wars, and we civilians just want to live our normal life and filter out what’s happening out. However, I think every Americans must see this movie, doesn’t matter you are in military or civilian, doesn’t matter you agree with our nation’s administration and policy or not. We should never forget what they have done for this great country of ours, and show our tribute to those who serve and protect our daily normal life.

The excitement of this trip to Alaska started before reaching Anchorage, as I looking out the window from the aircraft I could see snow capped mountains and they were so bright at 1:00am. During this time of the year, the sun goes down around 2:00am and comes out around 4:00am; that’s why this race is called “Midnight Sun Marathon”.

I took my parents to breakfast before I headed out to pick up my bib and timing chip at the Expo, and was so thrilled to run into Jerald, Coach Tim, Chris, and Rob… etc, whom I had not seen for 2 months since I left for my trip to Asia. Jerald was even saying that he wasn’t sure if I would come back for this race. Gee, how could I miss Anchorage Marathon? No Way!!!. This is one of the coolest places to run a marathon, and no way that I would miss it after the training and anticipation.

This marathon offered very unique opportunity to traverse Anchorage from the stunning Chugack Mountains on the east to the historic Cook Inlet on the west. The varied race route has very different and distinct terrain and vistas. The route covers bike trails, gravel, rocky and paved roadways, and I had been warned so many times about the steep rolling hills.

The race started in a cool and crispy 50 degrees, and soon the rain came down and became very cold. I saw a huge female moose near mile 4, and I am sure that my mouth was opened wide enough to swallow my own fist. Other fellow runners were just as surprised and excited as I was; we actually stopped our runs and all gasped “Wow, moose!”

Came upon the Oilwell Tank Trail (between miles 7 -15) — a gravel road with rocks as huge as baseballs. I had to stop couple times to take out those rocks from my socks and got to carefully watch my footing from twisting my ankles. Rain continued on and my whole body was shivering because of the rain.

I had really looked forward to this race, but unexpectedly I wasn’t able to train as much and as hard as I should due to the 6-week business trip to Asia, and that reflected after mile 16. My whole body ached and I could feel the strength was slowly declining. As I looked up the mountain and sky in front of me, I felt so beat-up and lonely on this long trail. Then I remembered the conversation I had exchanged with my friend Jay prior my departure.

“Err, I am worrying about this race, and I don’t think I would be able to finish the 26.2 miles,” I had said it sadly. He asked “Do you plan to win the first place?” “No! But I do wish to beat my own record” I shoot back. “So what if you are slower than your last event? Is this going to be your last race?” He then went on “Well, if you are worrying about not able to finish it, might as well not doing it“ shit face Jay said that and that kind of pissed me off; what a weird way to motivate me, you moron!@$#%

“So I am slow today and I am in great pain, BUT I should just enjoy this run and have fun!” That’s how I encouraged myself to keep going and not to think about the remaining 11 miles ahead of me. Why not use this time to collect my thoughts and plan for next event – should I sign up Rome Marathon in March, or should I do the Disney World in Jan? Also time to think about whom I should thank after this race!

During the last few miles, I started passing my teammates who were better and faster runners than I was, and suddenly I was empowered by some kind of invisible kryptonite. I just kept going and going, fast and strong; I said “Thanks, but No Thanks” to TNT supporting staffs that wanted to run in with me – I was feeling so strong that I wanted to start and finish this race on my own. I saw the mile 26 marker ahead of me and started sprinting toward the balloon arched finish line.

In no time, I heard the announcement — “Now coming in is runner Michele Sun from California!”

It’s an indescribable feeling at that moment and I simply can’t put that into words. At that very moment I felt that I possibly could defeat any obstacles or challenge that may entering my life. I know this would sound very arrogant and foolish, but the sense of accomplishment was simply too great for this race – an under-trained but over-achieved race. I did beat my own records from San Diego and Honolulu!

I thank my parents for flying 8,456 miles to Anchorage watching me crossing the finish line, and the secret TNT staff that had prepared those two bags of ice in my tub for my after race ice bath. For those friends out there that had supported me with emails and hugs, I am more than in debt to their kindness.

So, what did I do after the Anchorage Marathon? I went on to ride the Alaska Railroad, flew to Mt. McKinley, rode huskies sleigh, horseback riding on the street, and plenty of sunshine and rain during the continuous daylight — this has been a race and trip of a lifetime.

Nike Women’s Marathon has always been my favorite race to participate, besides the Tiffany necklace as a finisher medal, I truly enjoy the scenes – Pacific Ocean is simply breath taking when you reach the top the hills. So is there a scary race in memory? Sure!! Looking back, the Rock n’ Roll San Diego on 06/04/2006 must be the scariest race I have ever participated. It’s my first 26.2 mile full marathon and it was so much tougher than I could ever imagined. However, I had enjoyed the experience even though I was in such great deal of  pain the following week.

Now taking time to reflect the week before my race day, it was simply stressful. I had to work through the Memorial weekend in Vancouver, and it just happened to be very cold and was constantly raining there. Despise the repeat warning about “stress sucks your energy” from my coach, I had gone through the entire weekend with lack of sleep, alcohol, stress, emotional up-and-down…etc. Staring at the harbor of Vancouver waterfront all night, I was recounting my personal issues.

06/03/2006 – The night before the big race, I went to pasta party at 6:00pm and faithfully ate the pasta and bread to carbo-load myself. Went back to Hilton hotel, dimmed the light, and went to bed at 8:30 pm, hoping could get couple hours sleep before 3:30am – I had to get up very early to prepare myself and head over to the race start with the rest of the TEAM. But nerve was so wired that I could not sleep at all, too too excited!

In the darkness my roommate was going “Oh shit, I forgot my sport bra.” What? I have heard of about forgetting about running shoes, but missing the sport bra? At 9:00pm?

I told her “Don’t worry! I have a rental car with GPS, so lets’ go find a nearest Target and buy one.” So two Silicon Valley chicks driving on San Diego highway in a foggy night, tried desperately to find a sport bra. The GPS wasn’t working well at San Diego somehow; it directed us all the way down very south and I was thinking “Sh*t, if I keep driving like this, we will end up in Tijuana.”

By 9:35pm, Target was still not in sight, so got out my cell phone and called 411 asking for Target. Continue driving like crazy and suddenly spotted a Mervyn’s off the Highway 5, 9:58pm *_*V

06/04/2006, Race Day

3:30am, I slept well after the sport bra drama last night; sit up in my bed quietly munching on my banana. Took a hot shower to get my metabolism going, and I was ready to Rock n’ Roll.

4:30am, Balboa Park, start line, sky was dark and air was chilly; got in line for the porta potti; ate half bagel; got back to porta potti line again; had a coffee; went back to porta potti again. A San Diego local media came up to me and asked me to pose for his camera. Sure! Supergirl!

6:25am, Band marched in and played, we sang national anthem

6:38am, I had to start the race painfully slow because the crowd was big, and I did not want to get injured at mile 0.01

It’s very interesting to see all the bands along the course, my favorite was the uniformed Navy officers, cool, very cool…

Mile 8 – Uphill… my favorite kind of run. I always enjoy uphill running because it’s tough and challenging, and I just LOVE the sense of accomplishment!

Mile 10 – I could feel my right ankle hurts… Oh! Oh! Too early for this kind of pain and I was worried. Kept telling myself “You are going to have a good day and you are going to have a good run”

Mile 12 – Nissa came up to me and checked how I was doing. She suggested that I slow down because my pace was too fast and might exhaust myself later. But I was feeling OK except the ankle problem.

Mile 14 – Right ankle hurt so bad that I had to stop and redo my shoe laces hoping it would help.

Mile 15 – can’t remember how I felt… HOT…

Mile 17 – Talking to myself in my head and got me thinking “It’s tough to run this marathon but must be much tougher for people going through chemo”…Hot!

Mile 18 – “The tough is good and you are doing well,” I told myself as I became very philosophical. Own the things you can control. Prepare for things you cannot. No excuses. No deficits. Some days are great, some aren’t. Try and make every day the best it can be. Marathons are NEVER easy. I might as well try my best.

Mile 19 – I could feel the heat coming out of my chest, throat, face, and the top of my head… HOT! And where is John? Jen? Aaron?

Mile 20 – Have heard about marathoners hitting the “wall” during a race, so when and where would I see mine? .HOT! Physically I was not in my good condition that day, but mentally I was HIGH!

Mile 21 – A volunteer handed me a bag of ice, oh heaven! Placed the bag of ice behind my neck, rubbed my face, put it on top of my head…

Mile 22 – Looking for familiar faces, so where were my mentors, captain, coach? Really needed to see some faces now. If the pain earlier this morning was Tall, now I had just entered into not Grande but Venti stage, just so much pain.

Mile 23 – “You can do it, you can do it!” seeing people just walked, limped, and I told myself “You start in style and you will finish in style. Just keep running. You are having a good day and a good run.”

Mile 25.5 – Chris Barber came up to me and pointed a tower ahead of me “See that building there? Make a left turn and you are almost there.”

Mile 26 – where is THE @%$!^##! finish line?

Mile 26.1 – Almost there! Raised my arms up and ran toward the finish line..

Mile 26.2 – Big smile!

One week after the race and recovery, I had been walking funny for several days, but very proud of myself for being “No Wimps!” You know, no one can run the marathon for me, and when I was out there it’s all ME. Of course, many people on the TEAM sure made it a lot easier and fun for me, not only at the marathon but also throughout the entire season. So once again I need to thank my TEAMmates, Mentors, Captains and friends who cheered me on – in person or in spirit. Most importantly, to the Honorees, they were the reason why I started running. They have been the inspiration to keep me going, and they are the motivation to continue to celebrate my healthy life through running.

Do what I want today instead of what I can’t tomorrow!

As of June 30, all U.S. troops have left Iraq’s cities — except for Baghdad where municipal borders were redrawn so a U.S. base doesn’t have to move, Mosul where some troops will remain as “advisers,” and other cities we haven’t heard about at this point.

A year from now, the U.S. will still have upwards of 50,000 ‘non-combat’ troops in Iraq — a rather bizarre concept to any soldier who has been in a combat zone. Not until the end of 2011, two and a half years from now, are U.S. troops finally scheduled to be gone, and even that distant deadline could change.

There is a 2007 released movie call “Grace Is Gone”, an exceedingly sad story based on a true event, about one family’ s painful loss. Stanley’s wife was sent to Iraq, ever since then he had to stay in Minnesota and played the role of mom and dad Grace, to take care of two young children. Then Grace, the wife, mother and solider was killed during a military engagement in Iraq. Upon receiving uniformed visitors and hearing those dreaded words, “I regret to inform you…” Stanley, played by John Cusack, finds him unable to deal with his own emotions of losing his wife, not to mention those of his two young daughters, twelve year old Heidi (Shelan O’Keefe) and eight year old Dawn (Gracie Bednarcyk).

He decides to take the two girls on a road trip, during school days, to a place of their choice. Little Gracie wants to go to “Enchanted Garden”, an amusement park several days away by car. The 3-day journey to a fun theme park becomes a metaphor for the grieving process as Stanley learns to reconnect with his children and find a way to share the bad news.

Stanley initially thought the girls would not be able to handle the sudden loss, but the twelve-year old Heidi had always followed the Iraq war news and had suspected something had gone wrong. She had been losing sleep and dozing in classes for a while, but the Dad had never found out nor realized the cause to it. I see this as the difference of Dad and Mom; a mother would notice the behavior and emotional changes way sooner than a father.

So is this approach going to work? When addressing sad news, should we take children on road trip, and wait till they have their fun and gets all tired and windup to announce the bad news?

I think the way Stanley handled the situation is quite mature; first he ensured the two girls are completely loved even if their mom had been absent. Then he waited for three days, after the tragedy, to recompose his own emotional pain and then delivered the bad news; in a way I think he was re-breaking the bad news to himself as well, and the trip is not only for the young children, but also a road trip of discovery for him.

The deepest fear for young children must be losing beloved family members, to help children to adjust and ease from separation anxiety, the surviving relatives or parent must ensure the children feel secured and loved.  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist and the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying, would say “parents have transformed into butterflies and move to a different world”   when telling children about death of their parents. I think this is a more comforting and less traumatic approach to delivery sad news.

“Grace Is Gone” is not an anti-war movie, but a beautiful heart-wrenching movie about loss and love.

So, here is how MY story goes –

It was five or six years ago, I was at San Jose Airport terminal waiting for my Alaska Airline flight to Seattle. I was going to visit a reseller and to support the Washing State Education & Technology Conference. I was just standing in line and looking around to kill time, then a guy walked up to the same gate and stood behind me. He was in a polo shirt that had two circles and some letters on his left chest, so I noticed and pointed at the logo said–

“Nice shirt,  I like the two circles”

I had no idea what logo/company that was, but my blue chambray shirt had my company logo AOpen on it very clearly.

He said “oh, it’s from a race and I won it.”

“Oh, nice~~ so what kind of race was that?”

“Bicycle,” he said “it’s from Tour de France.”

I went on while knowing nothing about that Tour whatsoever  “So how far did you have to ride? Couple miles”

By that time, my fellow passengers around me probably started laughing in their guts, but of course no one was showing it though.

“ Six days,” he smiled and replied like my oblivious was nothing or the six-day was nothing.

“Wow, that’s tough, and you must be practicing really hard.”

This nice guy went on “Yeh, I train everyday.” Not sure if he said “train” or “trained”, but did not matter to me anyway.

Then he flipped over the magazine he was reading and pointed at the cover “This is me,” nice smile!

That was a Bicycling magazine and his face was on the cover alright.

“You must be very famous” the clueless me kept going. And now looking back to that day at that moment, people must be trying really hard not to laugh out loud about this dumbest Asian girl.

“By the way, I am Lance, Lance Armstrong” he extended his hand and introduced himself.

I replied with my “oh, I am Michele, nice to meet you”, see I am a polite and friendly person also.

Then we boarded the Alaska Airline together and I buried myself deeply into the PowerPoint that I was going to present throughout the entire flight.

Two days later, saying goodbye to gloomy Seattle and back to my office in San Jose, my colleague Little James asked about how the trip was and how the conference went. Then I told him that “Oh, I met a guy at the airport and he talked like I AM supposed to know him or something, apparently he rides a bicycle. His name is something Strong or something.”

James shouted in amazement “What?? You met Lance Armstrong? Did you shake his hands or asked for his autography?”

I answered in 120% innocent “Am I supposed to know him?”

“You never watched ESPN? He is on the news everyday now.” James nagged in more disbelief.

I was embarrassed a little, but REALLY wanted to kill myself after I bought and read the “It’s Not About the Bike”.

So there you go, the dumbest embarrassing story of the century, and no one can never top that, EVER!