I'm baaaaaacccckkkk.... and ready to race!

Well, I’ve been back in Beijing for over 2 weeks and so I guess it’s time for a blog update. Now, I haven’t started work yet and the city doesn’t seem so new this year, so I thought I’d start the year with a blog about my first triathlon in China! On September 10^th, I raced in the Beijing International Sprint triathlon (the Olympic was the next day). Now, having not trained all season besides a bike ride here and there, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But wow, it was amazing! Not only that, but I came in second in my age group! (I wasn’t even very fast hahah) it was a westernized Chinese experience for sure and I’m excited to share it.!

So the first thing was getting to the race venue.  My lovely friend May told me she hired a man with a van who would pick me up at 4 am. Great! The only problem is I’m currently living within a campus and the gate closes at 11 pm and the security guards go to sleep. But I knocked on the window for a good ten minutes and finally a sleepy eyed, half dressed 17 year old security guard let me out. Success!! I loaded my road bike into the van and off we went to the Garden Expo Park in the southwest corner of Beijing. When we arrived, there were NO SIGNS. No people around, no directions. We hopped on our bikes and started to explore. Some Chinese on mountain bikes (no joke) started to follow us thinking we knew. After a stressful 45 minute bike ride, we found the transition area! Under the highway, on a concrete slab, next to the lake we were going to swim in. But check out that blue sky!

Immediately, I found three other expats I know who were also racing. One told me she checked the water quality for the lake and couldn’t find it. However, the lake on the left hand side had a level of 2 (1 being the worst possible). So that was.. fun… not?

Anyway, the pre race was very relaxed. Everyone was taking photos of themselves and their bikes. These bikes were all shapes and sizes. Now, im not against people doing triathlons- the more the merrier. But wow, these were some bikes. From super expensive to the biggest heaviest city bike. This would be an interesting race! We walked down to the water to get our timing chips and get into our corral. because there were only about 300 people, the lines were moving fast. When the first wave jumped into the water, something seemed strange. I couldn’t figure it out until… I realized they were all doing the BREAST STROKE! And that’s when I truly knew I was in China 

Then it was my turn. Annndddd… I freestyled my way past so many Chinese men who were breast stroking before me. Others were clinging to the rafts as if they were going to drown. And others were just floating. It was hilarious. After a quick swim, I got out of the water and was next to my friend May! So we ran back to transition together, like two little old ladies on a morning walk.

 

The bike was super fast, pretty flat and easy. However, there were lots of technical turns and those mountain bikes were not doing so well. I passed a ton of people and was starting to think… hmmmm, I could place in this!

Off the bike to the run- complete with my panda hat! It was a gorgeous run through the park, along a river, next to beautiful trees and lily pads. Every 500 meters or so there was a police officer and a volunteer. When they saw me coming, they would start to clap and yell Jia You! (le’ts go!). It was so adorable and I loved the energy from them.

 I made it to the chute and half of my tri club was there to cheer me on! It was a great morning. The best part? I placed second in my age group and had to get on the stage to accept a (unbelievably heavy) glass trophy. Lots of smiles and lots of wins among my friends. Can’t wait to do some more! A lovely welcome back to Beijing indeed.