Hong Kong Race II

I just got back from Hong Kong after another weekend of racing. Well, only a Sunday of racing, but it takes pretty well the whole weekend to get there, race, and get back. This race was to be on the south side of Hong Kong Island, at a place called Repulse Bay Beach. I was looking forward to seeing another part of Hong Kong that I probably wouldn't go to otherwise.

I was a bit nervous about how this race would go because I hadn't run since Wednesday. My body felt really fatigued and I was worried that I was over-training, so I took some days off.

I knew my weakness last race was my start and my lack of warm-up, so my goal this time was to get to the start early, get a quality warm up in, and better my position off the start command.

I slept at a new hostel on Saturday night, because my usual one was all booked up due to the World Rugby Sevens tournament being in town. The new place was OK, but the manager and the helper decided to jiggle my door knob at midnight for some reason. Maybe it was to make sure that I had locked it, or maybe to see if I was home, or maybe to try and kidnap me. Whatever the reason, it was really annoying. The room was small, and the door was only about 4 feet from my bed, so I heard it being twisted and tried, so I got out of bed to investigate. Apple the manager (I've noticed a lot of Chinese named Apple...they choose their own English names sometimes) said "Sorry sorry sorry!" and I scowled and went back to bed muttering.

I never sleep well in Hong Kong for some reason, and Saturday night was no different, with the late-night door knob jiggling adding to my sleeplessness. When my alarm went off, I slept for an extra half-hour because I was so tired, knowing that my warm-up time would be sacrificed. I got to the race half an hour before it started, but that was just enough time to get my bib, get changed, and check my bag. I didn't have time for a warm-up, other than a few sprints near the start. Next race I will definitely warm up for longer!

We had to start on the beach, and running in sand is tough. I started fairly close to the line this time, and it was a good plan. I heard there were 250 people in this race, so it was packed. This race I decided to take a page from my highschool cross-country running book, putting out the elbows and jostled my way into position off the gun. Last race I was timid off the line, but this race I was aggressive. It turned out well for me as I didn't have to work as hard to get into a good position later in the race.

We ran a small loop in the sand, and then headed for the pier. We all jumped off the pier into the water that was deep enough that I couldn't touch the bottom at first. I was conscious of water getting in my ears, so I kept my head as high as I could. I'd say the swim was less then a minute long, but it was still interesting because I felt the salt water hit my lips and that surprised me, even though I knew it was coming. This early race swim drenched my shoes and my clothes, and I had to run in this heavy gear for the rest of the race.

The trail then went straight up for the next 38 minutes...some was run-able, some was not. The last section of uphill was pretty much bushwhacking, and running was impossible. I was behind one guy for longer than I would have liked, but it was so tight I wasn't able to pass him. I knew we were getting pretty high when runners in front of me started disappearing into the mist/fog/clouds. It was a cloudy day with a low ceiling, but that is still some pretty serious elevation gain. We came to the top of the mountain, and the view would have been awesome if I wasn't in racing mode. The ocean was just below, with small islands floating all over and boats travelling about. Well, I figure there were boats. I didn't take the time to look, as I had to concentrate on the next section of the race.

We ran down a very steep dirt grade after we reached the summit, and we had to hold on to grass to keep our speed down. I lost control in one place, and ended up crashing through some trail-side bushes and brambles before reining it back in. My hands now have various scratches and scars on them from all the work they got.

The next section was a few kilometres of river-bed running and rock scrambling. I knew there was a checkpoint at the beginning of the river gorge that was about 60% of the way through the race. This checkpoint came up a bit earlier than I suspected, and I was happy to know that I was feeling good and strong at this later stage in the race. It turned out that there were actually two long river rock sections, and they both had checkpoints at their beginnings...so that was disappointing when I realized that while I thought I was 60% done, I was probably less than half finished. My moral was under attack!

The rock scrambling sections took me out of race mentally. They were so long and wet, and it was impossible for me to keep traction. I fell at least four times, and got really frustrated. At the beginning of the canyon, I was with some fast guys and was sitting in 21st place. I could see 19th about 10 feet ahead of me, and really wanted to place in the teens if I could. But then, the riverbed got the best of me. I fell in a pool and couldn't get out, I fell on some rocks and cut up my knee, I slipped and slid all over the place, and was pretty much dominated by this section. I grew frustrated as the pack of runners disappeared into the distance, taking my hopes of placing 19th along with them. There were five of us running together at the start of the riverbed section, and by the end of it, I couldn't see or hear any one of them. After the race, two of the runners I started the section with chatted with me about how I was "all over the place in the river section." They think it was because of my shoe choice. I wear normal running shoes, while the fast guys wear trail runners. I always thought trail runners were marketing exercises, but I learned they have a stickier rubber compound for tread, and other features that would be handy in these types of conditions, like toe bumpers. I stubbed my toes so many times in there!

After the river gorges were finished, I was running on my own for the remainder of the race. We circumvented the mountain we'd run up at the start, running along a very level and flat sidewalk type thing that allowed maintenance access to the various catch-water basins. It was very curvy as it followed the contours of the mountain, and I got dizzy running there. I was on my own too, so it was a mental struggle to try and stay fast. I didn't see any course markings for quite a long time, and soon thought I was lost. I asked a recreational runner I passed if he had seen any other races, and he said he had, so I wasn't lost. Hurray!

I pulled into the finish line without any drama. Near the end I saw a racer about 50m ahead of me, but I knew I wouldn't be able to take him as he kept disappearing around corners a long time before I got to them. I finished strong even though I didn't have anyone to catch, trying to keep my form solid until the end. I noticed that I didn't have much energy for a kick, and that's good I guess, since it means I didn't leave anything on the course. I came across the line with a thin stream of blood on my leg from going down in the river canyon, but I was OK with it. I wiped it off.

I finished this race in 1:33:32, probably in 24th place or so. I knew my standing after hearing my place from a marshal just before my disastrous riverbed sections. I ran hard throughout the rest of the race, and I believe I was faster than last race. I'll wait to see the results, but I hope to jump a place or two in my age category.

All in all, it was a good race. Completing it wasn't as invigorating as last race was, and this race didn't pump me up for running like the last one did. I think I was really frustrated at my poor performance in the riverbed, and my attitude in that section put a damper on the whole experience. Next race I'll need to be stronger mentally and not get defeated by the terrain. I could buy some new trail shoes, but I think I'll continue to "run what I brung" and make them work.

After I was finished and cleaned up (they had showers on site) I stood about 100m from the finish line and clapped in all the runners encouraging them as they finished. Some were finishing the race an hour after I was done, which would be two and a half hours of difficult running. It can get pretty emotional watching people finish a tough race, because on some of their faces you can tell they've left their heart and soul on the trail! Running is great for that, and watching the runners find something extra to finish strong is one of the reasons I like going to these races.

The next run is in two weeks, and I'll try to better prepared to mentally deal with the terrain. I'll post the results of this race when they're up.

Two cabbies square off.

Carol and I were riding the bus yesterday, and witnessed quite a spectacle.

It was early Sunday morning, but the streets were busier than normal, maybe due to Easter holidays in Hong Kong and elsewhere. As the bus stopped at a light, Carol looked out the window and then nudged me, exclaiming "Fight!"

Since we were in the back of the bus, we were sitting quite high had a good view of the action. There were two cabs from the same company parked very close together at the curb, and a customer standing between them.

The drivers were not in their cabs though...they were busy starting a fight at the curb. I assume it was an argument relating to the lone fare standing between the cabs, who seemed confused. I bet both cabs wanted the fare, with one cutting the other off as they jostled to the curb to pick her up.

The tale of the tape looked fairly even from the onset. One contender was about 5'8", and about 30lbs overweight. The other was a tad shorter and 20 pounds lighter, but looked to be the more spry of the two. Both cabbies were around 35 years old, maybe 40. One contender had weight to his advantage, the other would rely on his superior fitness.

The venue was pretty raw. The ring was loosely defined by the two taxis at the curb, another industrial truck parked near by, a storefront, and a bus stop. The only spectators were those in our passing bus, and a half-dozen bemused civilians waiting for their own bus on the sidewalk. Those waiting watched with detached interest as if they see this sort of thing every day.

The heavier of the two seemed to be the aggressor, while the lighter one fell into a more defensive role. The fight wasn't very exciting, as both parties failed to land any significant blows. Neither driver seemed to have any training or experience in hand-to-hand combat, and the fight lacked a sense of organization and soon descended into a flailing affair. The aggressor initiated most attacks, but they lacked the force and focus needed to score decisive points.

The tussle took a turn when the aggressor flew at the defender with a flying heal kick aimed at his opponent's midsection. The defender parried the blow, and ended up holding the aggressor's shoe in his hand. He took advantage of this new weapon, and opted to initiate the often attempted, but rarely successful, Boutros Boutros-Ghali manoeuvre! He proceeded to beat the aggressor about the head with the heal of his own shoe, most likely eliciting nods and mummers of approval from the more knowledgeable fight fans in the crowd.

From there, both combatants continued flailing at each other as before, occasionally pushing or being pushed against their idling cabs. The aggressor had much pent-up anger, as his face was red, his brow furrowed, and his lips curled in a snarl. He looked at this point to be the odds-on favourite, due to his unbridled emotion.

The disputed fare, still standing between the two taxis, began yelling at the drivers, presumably something like "Hey! I'm late! Could you settle this later and get me to the airport on time? I used to have two options for taxis, and now I have none! Please?"

When our bus began to pull away from the scene, both fighters looked tired and I doubt they'd be able to keep going for very long. I don't think street fights usually end amicably though, so maybe they kept fighting until there was a clear winner. To the victor go the spoils, and in this case the spoils would be that single, originally contested taxi fare. I hope it was a long trip, and worth all the effort for the eventual winner!

Edgy on Easter.

I'm not dealing with China well today.

Carol and I went to Church this morning, and got there early anticipating the Easter overflow. The church we go to is for Foreigners only, and you must show you passport or ID to get in. This is because the Chinese government doesn't want local citizens exposed or interested in organized religion. Of course the issue is much deeper and more complicated than that, but the end result is that in order for there to be a government sanctioned church service, no local citizens are allowed to participate.

Every week this fact is relayed from the lectern, and the announcer always expresses his (women rarely appear at the front) condolences for the way things have to be, and always reminds us to bring our passports or IDs, or photocopies of them, to church with us. I always forget, but don't put much effort into remembering either, since in my opinion I don't look too Chinese so there shouldn't be too much confusion as to my citizenship.

This week, a big, friendly, African greeter welcomed me at the door, and asked where I was from. In the spirit of Easter and good conversation, I mentioned Canada. He suddenly changed gears from friendly greeter to stern bouncer, and asked if I had any proof that I was indeed from Canada. I looked in my bag and thought about it, and realized I had nothing with me but some Chinese currency and book borrowed from the Church library that I meant to return. And an umbrella with one broken rib.

I said I didn't have ID, and the bouncer said that they were doing a special check today and he needed proof of my citizenship. Again, he asked if I could I prove I was Canadian. I pointed to my face and said "Umm...I'm white?" Some people handing out bulletins behind the bouncer laughed at my comment (or at me, I don't know). I figured I didn't want to fight to get into church. I know I didn't bring my ID, so I understood why I wasn't to be let in. I turned on my heel and walked away, planning to go home, or maybe to the bookstore. As I was thinking about what to do with my newly free Easter morning, I remembered I had a book I needed to return, so I went back to the door and asked the bouncer if he'd return it for me since I couldn't go in.

At this he hugged me and said he didn't mean to embarrass me, and let me in. (Why is there so much hugging at church?) I returned my book, and sat down under a cloud of frustration. I had a long time to be frustrated too, since the preacher decided he needed to preach the whole gospel in one shot, which took more than an hour.

I understand the rules, and am not complaining about them. I guess I was frustrated that I was given a hard time because I couldn't prove that I wasn't a Chinese Mainland local. While there may be some Chinese Mainland citizens out there who exhibit no Asian facial features and can't speak a spot of Mandarin or Cantonese, I haven't met one. Perhaps the bouncer thought I was the first. Maybe I looked like an exceptionally surly character today or something. Or maybe he was just making sure that I will bring my passport next time. If that's the case, his methods worked as I don't want to be hassled again. Next time I'll even bring a copy for him to take home and hang on his fridge.

When I got home I took a classic Sunday nap, then went out for a long run. When I was just about finished, I was hassled again, but this time by an ugly little Pekingese Terrier with Small Dog Syndrome. He was barking, snarling, and nipping at my heals, and the small Chinese girl at the end of the leash couldn't control it. Before I knew it I was in the middle of the path pointing down and yelling loudly at the dog that I was going to beat it down and kick it in the face if he didn't stop. Afterwards I ran off with a chorus of "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" coming from the dog's handler.

I'm definitely not dealing well with life's little inconveniences today.

What I eat.

I think I need to eat better. I've never been a fan of the Chinese fare offered in the school cafeteria, since it always seems like rice and a random steamed vegetable thrown in. But it has to be better than this Campbell's Chunky.

I've been buying a lot of Western food at the special grocery store downtown, and I wonder if it's worth it. I buy pasta, sauce and parmasean cheese, and also grill cheese ingredients like bread and Kraft Singles (high in calcium!). These things are imported from America or Italy or wherever, so the prices would be high even in the Canadian market. I think I should stick it out and choke down the school's food.

I went to an Easter dinner of sorts today, paid for by the school's principal. All the teachers were there, and everyone was stoked because it was free. I got word that everyone was there at about 10:30, and made my way there as I was already close by. I got to the restaurant at about 11, and everyone just sat around for an hour before the food came at noon. It's weird to me the way official Chinese meals take so long!

Carol wasn't at this meal, so I was the token foreigner that all the teachers liked to watch eat. I guess they find it interesting to see me struggle to down cow intestine, and pass on frog legs. I was given a lot of fish too, and got a bone stuck in my throat crossways, but I washed it down with a mouthful of rice. It's normal to eat the bones, then drop them out of your mouth on to your plate, where they land with a ting.

I was struggling at one point with a pork rib or something, and one teacher told me I could use my hands, so I did. Then, since there were no napkins, I licked the sauce off my fingers. This was apparently a no-no, since another teacher told me what I just did was really bad.

I thought licking my fingers would be fine, because table manners in China, even at nice meals, are a lot different from what I am used to in Canada. When you eat soup or rice, it's just fine to bring the bowl right up to your face (or lean your face right down to the table), pucker your lips, suck in, and shovel/spoon the rice or soup into the suction. It sounds like a household Hoover would if you tackled a pile of soggy vomit with it. This savoury symphony allows everyone around to enjoy your food with you.

Even though it's hard, I must have better eating habits. I can't be running a lot and eating overly-expensive processed food. I need to buy more fruit and brave the school cafeteria more. We'll see how I do.

Race Results (Now with video!)

The results are in, and you can find them here.

I placed 23rd overall, and 6th in my 20-29 age group. There were 159 racers in total, and 33 in my category.

edit: Here's a link to some video someone shot. I haven't seen it yet because my internet here is too slow, so let me know if I'm in there! Most people are wearing the yellow shirts we got at the race, but I feel it's bad luck to do that. I needed to wear my lucky racing Brazil jersey, so I did. Look for the only yellow shirt with sleeves, and it's probably me. I'm number 22.

Click Here to watch video highlights. Apparently it's shakey and might make you nauseous.

I'm pretty excited about the next race, and want to do even better! My category is pretty fast, so it'll take a lot of hard work to advance in the standings.

Here are a few excerpts from the next race's newsletter, in the course description section. I haven't changed grammar or caps.

"...short jump off the 1.5-2m wall into the ocean, PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME AND DON'T LAND ON THE PERSONS HEAD IN FRONT OF YOU AS CAN BE DANGEROUS IF YOU JUMP ON SOMEONE)."

"...trail goes up the backside of Violet Hill to the top (very overgrown with many tree branches near your eyes so keep your hand in front of your face for protection."

"...sharp left down river gully 500m which is more like rock scrambling or boulder hopping, hand rope lines down a small waterfall cliff."

"...after running on rocks and slabs for 1km you will exit by climbing a short 2m ladder to the left side."

So, looks like fun!

Racing in Hong Kong: a blow-by-blow recap.

Today I ran a race in Hong Kong, at the Pak Tam Chung Country Park.

Carolyn and I both made the journey from Guangzhou for this race, and we arrived in Hong Kong on Saturday night. We took a new train, and it was fast! Our top speed was a cool 200KM/H!



(Remember, click on a picture to make it bigger. It will open in a new window.)


I'm happy Carol came along, even though she wasn't racing. It's the worst when you finish the race and there's nobody there to welcome you back! We got a nice hostel room with two single beds and a washroom attached. This trip we opted for the smaller bed size, as it saved quite a bit of money. My feet hung off the mattress, but it wasn't bad at all. I think in the future it will be worth the money saved to sleep in a bed that is just a tad short.

The race was scheduled to start at 9am, with registration beginning at 8. This meant it would be an early morning for us, because we needed to navigate all aspects of Hong Kong's public transportation to get there. I knew what buses we could take to get to the Country Park, but didn't know how often they ran, where to get them, or any of that. So I printed off the rough directions provided on the race website, and planned to keep them close for the entire journey. We would need to wake up at 6:30, and leave by 7.



First, we took the MTR (subway) for about half an hour from our hostel to a stop on a different line, so we had to transfer. Hong Kong has 9 subway lines, so it's a good bet you can get near to where you're going using the MTR. From there, we took a Green MiniBus (number A1) for about 20 minutes to a marketplace with a transit terminal. Before we got on the MiniBus, we saw some other people with helmets and no bikes, so we figured they were going where we were, and began to follow them. Turned out they didn't know where they were going, so Carol and I led the way to the Green MiniBus (still number A1). When we got off, we began to chat with them, and decided to share a cab to the race start. All in all it took about an hour to travel from the hostel to the Country Park race site.



I registered for the race, got my bib and pins, and looked around at all the runners. I would say there were about 150 people there, and Asians were slightly in the minority. I heard a lot of accents from both the UK and Australia, and one from America. There were lots of foreigners there, and it was nice to chat with them. The race organizer/director/convener was a foreigner without an accent that I could place, so maybe he was from Canada or the United States. He summoned us and we gathered at the start.



We all donned our helmets and prepared to race. The race organizer gave us a briefing of the course, beginning by questioning us as to who had not run this course before. Without looking around too much, I'd estimate half the runners, including me, had their hands raised. The organizer chuckled into his bullhorn and said "Well, you're in for a treat then!" He then told us what the treat was...the race was about 13KM in length, with the first chunk being all uphill. First, we'd run up a two lane paved road for about one kilometre, and then start climbing to the top of the hill. He mentioned that last year, the fast guys completed this climb in about 20 minutes, with everyone else coming in around 30 to 45 minutes. Yikes! I realized that this sounded like more of a mountain to me, and figured it would be more of a grind than I had expected! The race was almost an out and back, but with a loop at the top. If you mapped the course, I figure it would look like a needle. The start and finish would be the sharp end, and the eye would be the loop through the gorge. The director expected the top runners to finish the entire race in 1hr 20minutes, based on previous years.

So, we lined up and waited for the start command. I didn't really want to push my way to the front of the starting scrum, since there were a lot of serious looking runners with big calves there. I figured I'd begin in the middle of the pack.



We were counted down from 10, and set out. My start was poor...I should have jostled a bit more on the line. I made up for it though, by passing quite a few people in the first kilometre of open road, which had a tough but not insane uphill grade. I knew I wasn't in the best position to start, because there were lots of people in front of me with lumbering strides, awkward gaits, and other types of poor form. I felt I had more experience than they, and wanted to get in front of them. I turned it up a notch and was able to keep that pace going until we were funneled off the road on to a flight of really steep concrete stairs.

By the time we got to the stairs, I had reached a single file line of runners, so I was happy with my strategy. It could have been quite a bottleneck there, but I was in a good position and wasn't held up by anyone in front of me.

We began the uphill slog. It was all very steep, too steep to run really. Everyone I could see was walking up the trail, and would jog a bit when the terrain levelled out for a few meters. The trail was about a metre wide, and wound its way up to the top of the hill/mountain. I could see the leaders in the distance working their way up the hill, way ahead of me.

The pack spread out a bit here, and I tired to keep contact with a group of 4 runners a head of me. It was another good bit of strategy, because I opened up gap behind me. Running fast is easier when you have people to focus on, so I was really wanting to stay with them. We had left the tree-line behind, and were running through grasslands with no shade. It got pretty hot up there, but I don't remember thinking it was unbearable.

After a solid half-hour of climbing we came to the crest of the hill, and began running down. A lot of the trail was really steep with loose rocks, but in the steepest spots stairs has been made out of concrete. Running downhill is really tough, and I kept stubbing my toes on big boulders, and stumbled a few times. I never went down though, which was good as I'd be picking gravel out of my wounds for weeks if I had. The stairs were really tough to negotiate because they were short and steep, so I had to take really small steps while trying to keep speed but also keep control. I thought it best to hit every stair, rather than go every other, so that I wouldn't get going too fast and lose my footing. Out of nowhere an Asian guy passed me going mach-noodle down these stairs, his feet pumping like pistons. I don't know how he kept it together, but he did somehow. He conquered those stairs like he runs them every day! He kept his speed and disappeared down the trail into the woods and I never saw him again.

We got to a plateau and began running toward the river gorge. This section was relatively flat, with short uphills and downhills. The trail cut around trees and over boulders, and it was a fun section. By this time, there were three of us running together, and I passed the two guys and took the lead of our small group with a burst of speed. After a few minutes we arrived at the halfway point that signaled the start of the river gorge leg of the race. There was a water checkpoint here too, and about four volunteers were running it. We weren't allowed to take bottles from the checkpoint with us, so I stopped and drank a whole one since I wasn't wearing a camelback like some other runners were. The bottles were all floating in the ice-cold river water, and we were to go and pick a bottle out of the water on our own. I did that, and chugged as fast as I could. When I was drinking, the two guys from before passed me again, so I took off in pursuit. We picked up another runner at the checkpoint, so now there were four of us running in a line. My time at the halfway checkpoint was in the 45 minute range.

Before we got to the checkpoint, the running was fairly straight forward. You could get a pace going, and keep it fairly easily since it was just rough trail we needed to negotiate. In the river gorge though, there was no trail. We were running through a creek-bed of sharp slabs of rocks, and it was pretty well impossible to run. There were often times no flat spots to place your foot. This was my weakest section. The guys in front of me gained time, and I fell back.

Soon, the creek bed started getting really hairy, and we needed the aid of ropes to keep going forward. It was very intense...now, we were scrambling up sharp pointy rocks! The ropes weren't necessary, but I made liberal use of them. At one point, the rope was strapped to the side of the cliff, and the "trail" was about one foot wide with a rock wall to my right, and a 50-foot drop to my left. I got pretty nervous! I had to keep going though, since I was feeling pressure from a guy behind me, and was still trying to catch the two guys in front. At one point, the two guys in front of me took a higher route with the rope, and I took a lower one without it. My route was faster and I passed them easily, and was soon in the lead of our foursome again.

The rock climbing got worse. The ropes used to be there to help us while we scrambled along, but they soon became necessary for forward travel. The trail, marked by red flagging tape, went straight up, and up, and up, and we needed to climb up by pulling ourselves up with our arms while finding footholds. The rope had some friendly knots tied in it to help, and that made it possible to keep going. I got nervous here, and one guy passed me. We got to a small pool, where there was no way around. We had been told about this pool, and I was ready to wade across the waist-deep water. It was about five metres long, and we all just waded in. The bottom fell away suddenly though, so I needed to swim about three breast strokes to get to the other side.

When I awkwardly climbed out, the rock climbing wasn't finished. The trail continued its ascent straight out of the pool, and to make things more interesting, I was now soaking wet, with wet shoes that squished and squeaked every step. The sharp jagged rocks were also wet from previous runners shedding water all over them, so it got downright dangerous! I was pretty nervous a few times, I mean the whole time, but didn't think about it too much because I kept my mind on the guys behind me. The last bit of rock climbing was really steep, and was a couple of ropes long. To finish, we had to surmount a nearly vertical slap of rock by getting a good grip over the top, and hauling ourselves over.

This river section was definitely my weakest part of the race. I didn't feel confident in my speed or agility over the rough and jagged terrain, and wasn't fully confident in my rope-climbing skills either. A slip or a fall would have been disastrous! So, I was very happy when I emerged from the gorge into the trail network again. A friendly marshal encouraged us telling us it was all familiar territory from here to the finish, meaning we were back on trail that we had already run in the opposite direction.

I was happy to feel safe again, and pushed my pace now that I could run. I dropped the three guys from the gorge, and set my sights on a guy ahead of me. The rest of the race was running down the huge uphill we had run up at the beginning of the race. It was very steep, and it was a chore to keep my speed at a manageable level. I caught up to the guy in front of me by grinding up some shortish, steep sections, and we were soon running pretty much together. I was happy at this point that I had been doing a lot of hill reps in my training, because I knew how hard I could push and for how long.

I led him down the stairs that led to the road and the last kilometre of the race. As soon as we hit the road, he took off and I figured he was gone. I kept my pace up though and didn't quit. I soon found I was gaining on him, and was able to take him with about 300m left in the race. I really had to dig to pass him though, and kept going fast all the way to the finish line because I didn't want to be passed at the end! It was so painful...I find when I need extra strength, yelling encouragement to myself helps a lot, so I was doing that down the final stretch. Carol saw me coming, and said that she heard me coming from far away too! I kicked it home, and almost fell over after I crossed the line.





I was so happy to be finished! The timekeepers took my number and name, and I struggled to stand up straight and had to catch hold of their table to keep myself upright. I finished the second half of the race in about 50 minutes, bringing me in at about 1hour, 35 minutes. During the race a marshal told me I was in 23rd place. I figure I got passed twice after that, but couldn't keep track. We'll wait for the final results, but I believe I came in around 25th. So I'm very happy with that!







It was an amazing race, and I had so much fun. As intense as I found the gorge section to be, nobody seemed as surprised as I was. This race would definitely not be run in Canada, because it's too dangerous. But in Asia it's a different story I guess! This race, and the mountain trek in October, have showed me the different standards that Asia has...what is considered dangerous, and what is considered acceptably risky. Asians are hardcore, and ready to take on anything. I'm pretty happy that I've had to challenge what terrain I thought to be race-able. Now, when I come up on a tough section in a race, I'll know I can handle it!




Thanks to Carol for taking all the pictures!

Game On!!

I'm registered for the race tomorrow! I've also secured a room at the trusty Cosmic Guest House, but might have to deal with small Asian-sized beds this time since the bigger beds were all booked. It's OK though, since it'll be cheaper.

Yesterday I went out and bought a helmet. I knew exactly where to go to buy it too, since I'd been in the store a few times before. The store is a shoe store that you can't see from the street, and you pretty much have to go through another store to get to it. The first time I was there, I saw a box of shoes addressed to an Aldo store in Burlington, but was ripped open showing the packed shoes. So that was neat...definitely a case of some product that "fell off the truck." This store also had some bike helmets for some reason, and I remembered.

Here's my helmet! It cost me 50RMB, about $7.50CAD. It's pretty light, and pretty cheap. I wanted to buy a nice helmet since I like to have nice bike stuff, but I figured if I buy a cheap one, I won't have a problem leaving it here. Plus, adult-sized bike helmets are hard to find here since nobody wears them. So I took what I could get.

I didn't like how the helmet looked out of the box (actually, off a nail in the wall...it didn't come in a box and was all dusty) so I dug into my teaching supplies and decorated it with holographic stickers! I figure that if I'm running in a helmet and feeling like a dork, I might as well go the whole way and look like one too. You can't see the robots since they're on the side. Notice the pineapple in the middle. For speed.





I'm pumped! Carol is coming too, so I might be able to post some shots of the helmet in action, once the race is over.

I checked out some pictures of the terrain I'll be running in, and it looks pretty awesome. Trees, trails, mountains, water...I'm really excited. Come back for a full recap once the weekend is over!

Running in Helmets?!

I found a race to run in Hong Kong this weekend!

I'm pretty pumped about it, although I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to run it. I'm concerned about same-day registration, as the website didn't specifiy anything about it. I won't get my hopes up too high in case I can't run. I've emailed the race organizer about signing up on race day, and I hope I get a reply soon.

It's a cross-country type race, and about 12K long. It involves fording a small creek, and scrambling down steep rocks with the aid of ropes. Because it's semi-dangerous, all competitors must run in a helmet! When I first saw the website I was really confused why everyone was running in biking gear, but then saw the helmet rules. It's either going to be the most intense run I've ever completed, or it's going to be the run that makes me feel silliest at the finish line, since I'll be wearing a bike helmet!

Here are some pics I gleaned off the event web site. They're not the best, and they're a bit blown out but I don't know how to fix that. They give an idea of what the race will be like though.





Carol may come with me, and if that's the case she can take pictures and I'll have some real ones to post.

It's a five-race series, and the first one has already been run. They're all cross-country races, and runners who participate in three or more qualify for series points. Since my weekends are pretty much open, I'm thinking of doing as many races as I can. They're pretty frequent, with one race happening every two weeks. It would be sort of expensive going to Hong Kong twice a month, but totally worth it if the races are good.

I feel I'm in racing shape too, so this race could tell me if I'm right or wrong about that. I've been running a lot lately, and am feeling good. I haven't been running more than fifty minutes at a time though, so this race could challenge my endurance as it's expected to take between 1.5 and 3 hours. The winner last year ran finished in 1 hour 20 minutes.

It turns out Hong Kong has a good running community. I gather that most people run around mountains, because that's the only place where buildings haven't been built yet. I've seen the map of this course, and it takes place in a "Country Park" and has some hills in it. I'm up for anything, since half my workouts have been hill repeats.

Hopefully I get to run this race. There are some pretty heavy sponsors lined up, including Volvo, so I expect it to be pretty good. If same-day registration is an option, I'm good to go!

HK 5.0?

Here's a quick note to keep you interested and reading.

I might go to Hong Kong on the weekend, again. I have some money matters to take care of there, so whenever I go for that reason it's usually pretty satisfying.

While I'm there, I may head over to the Adidas factory outlet and buy some soccer shoes. While I was searching for a soccer jersery for Erik, I met a guy in a soccer store who wondered if I wanted to play on his soccer team, and maybe watch some Premier League games. I don't feel comfortable calling him until I have the necessary gear to play if the option comes up. I need to buy the soccer shoes in HK because I've seen pairs that fit me there, while I have yet to see a single pair of shoes, of any kind, that fit me here in Guangzhou. So, if I buy the soccer shoes I'll be prepared to call him back.

I'd love to get some touches on the ball, and some time on the field...in China especially! That'd be pretty fun. I wonder what their skill will be like, and I wonder what mine would be like since I haven't played in an organized game for something like 4 years.

Another thing I'm thinking of buying in Hong Kong is a camera. I still don't own one, and want to buy one before I leave China. More importantly though, I need one for Bali and wherever else I go in Asia afterwards. I'm looking at a cheap ones, and am not interested in a lot of features or mega pixels. I'll see if I can find what I'm looking for in Hong Kong. I have priced cameras here in China, so I know what different models are worth. I wish I could have afforded to buy one in Canada, but I decided to buy some new shoes instead!

This Hong Kong trip will be an in and out. I'll leave Guangzhou as early as I can, and hopefully be back before dark. I know the transit system there and know exactly where I need to go for my different errands, so hopefully I won't waste any time wandering around lost.

I'm going to try a new train to get there though, so that will add some uncertainty to the whole trip. I have always taken the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Through Train, which costs 200RMB (30 dollars) for the 2 hour trip. It's called the Through Train because it zips right across the HK/China border, and stops right downtown where you go through customs. I want to try out the Guangzhou-Shenzhen train, which costs half as much, and takes about an hour. It also leaves every 15 minutes. The catch is that the trip ends in Shenzhen, a city on the China-Hong Kong border. I will have to get off the train, go through customs at the station, then take the subway downtown. It's apparently pretty convenient, as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen route terminates at the beginning of the Hong Kong subway, so it's just a short walk across the station and through customs. I'm anxious to try it, as the train is apparently so fast that cell phones don't get coverage. I've never been on a super fast train before.

That's my plan for the weekend. Happy shovelling everyone!

Flags

Here are some thoughts on various countries' flags. I have a place-mat that I got at the teaching supply store in London that features 150 flags. I look at and study my place mat every day while I eat, so that has got me thinking about flags again.

Today, I'll post some of my favourite flags and will write a few comments about them. My aim is to make more flag posts in the future, but if I don't end up doing that, this is still a post that stands well on its own.


^^^This is Nepal. When the rest of the world is thinking right angles and rectangles, Nepal defies convention and gives us two oddly sized triangles. I like it mostly because of the shape. When confronted by a page full of flags like that of my place mat, Nepal's flag is the first to draw my attention.


^^^Bhutan. This is a small country in the Himalayas that shares borders with China to the north and India to the south. While many countries elect to feature soulless geometric shapes or bands of colour, Bhutan opts to feature its national symbol, the complicated Thunder Dragon. I imagine young Bhutanese children groan whenever they're required to reproduce the flag in school!



^^^Lebanon. I love the green cedar tree in the middle. In the days of wooden ships, the tall and straight Lebanese cedars were a most coveted material, prized for their use in sail masts. I like how they've featured it on their flag.



^^^Kenya. This flag depicts a Masai shield and two spears. I like how they have symbolized their cultural heritage this way. Unfortunately, Kenyans may be on the verge of fighting a civil war, so the flag may soon become too literal a representation of the country.



^^^Brazil. I love this flag for its colours. It uses geometric shapes well, and I like the sphere in the middle. An added bonus is that the Brazilian flag can easily be mowed into a soccer pitch!



^^^Canada. I like our flag. It's easily recognizable, and has a touch of originality because of the leaf. Drawing a good Canadian flag is a challenge, and one is rewarded with a feeling of great accomplishment when it turns out well.

Time for bed. Hopefully I'll do another flag post tomorrow.

This is the site I used for all my flag pictures. They have a handy index that makes finding flags easy.

Arughhh! *crushes cue-ball in fist*

So I'm frustrated a bit today.

I've been on edge because there is lots of talk going around the school about making Carol stay an extra two weeks to make up for the time she missed due to her ear infection. I guess the school sent out a letter volunteering her time, and the parents are in favour. Carol was never asked about it though.

So that's frustrating me, because they might want me to stay too. I want to leave on July 4th and go to Bali, as the school schedule says. It seems they are manipulating the school's schedule, and anyone could be a victim. Carol has said she's leaving on schedule and won't stay the extra two weeks.

Carol has heard that they might fight back and say we owe them for our plane ticket because we're not staying a full year. We came in August to teach in September, and the school year will be over in July. There is a summer session that we never agreed to teach, but maybe now they want to claim we're breaking the contract if we don't teach it. So, there's talk (not official talk, just rumours) about making us pay back the $1000ish that they gave us, which represented one way of our round trip tickets.

It's a bit frustrating. Anyway, the point of this post isn't to talk about the politics at school, but mention how they affected my teaching style.

It's Friday, which is usually a good day to teach. But I've been frustrated today, so I've been edgy. We play Letter Bingo on Fridays, and it's fun. We got though that OK, then the kids started being bad. Guo wasn't in the room, so they were a bit more misbehaved because of it.

I asked them to take their chairs to the circle, which most did. One boy tried to steal a girl's chair, and they ended up fighting over the chair, each grabbing two legs and trying to pull it away from the other student. We have fourteen students in the class, and about twenty chairs, so there were lots of extras. They were fighting over the chair, and yelling, and I was upset.

So, I grabbed the contested property from them, opened the classroom door, and threw it outside. I told them we have lots of chairs, and they shouldn't fight over them. I thought it wasn't the best move, since I lost my temper. But then I reasoned that it was fine since class was in session and all the other teachers would be busy teaching, so nobody would know. And at least I wasn't yelling, beating the kids, swearing, or anything like that.

When I went out to retrieve the chair a minute later, I saw the head teacher and another teacher standing about ten feet away from the chair, chatting away as if nothing happened. It must have been interesting for them a minute earlier, talking about school or pregnancy or relationships, or whatever, and a random chair comes flying out of my classroom.

So, that's the story. I threw a chair out of my classroom. I regret it, but the guilt will pass I'm sure.

I think it already has.

Swimming

I started swimming today. My hope is to go every day that it's nice outside, in an attempt to prepare myself for surfing in July. It's a struggle at this point though, as I find it hard to go even twenty five metres without stopping. I understand now how hard it is for some people to start running, if it's not something they're used to doing. I went on my two hour lunch break, when the children are napping and the other teachers are watching over them. I usually nap as well (what else am I going to do?), but today I opted to go for a swim and will go to bed earlier tonight.

If I take my swimming slowly and don't expect results too fast, I will hopefully see improvement. I find it a struggle to regulate my breathing and getting used to breathing out under water, and inhaling some water along with air. Today I only used the front crawl, because I want to get my upper body used to paddling a surfboard. However, because I haven't swum in more than fifteen years, I got tuckered out in less than twenty minutes. I think if I supplement my front crawl with some breast stroke, I'll be able to last longer in the pool and get a better workout. I will try that tomorrow if it's nice outside. Maybe I'll even go out there if it's raining, to prove my mettle! Of course I'll only go if I feel up to it. Maybe by tomorrow my body will feel like I got hit by a cement truck, and if that's the case I'll give it a rest before I heard to the pool again.

Back in Victoria I bought goggles with the aim of going swimming, for a full body workout. The pool was full the first day I went, and I couldn't get to the other end of it without stopping. I was embarrassed and never went back. My swimming fitness isn't any better five years later, but I have the whole pool to myself here in China, so I'm not as worried about how my flailing looks. In a month, if I'm able to stick with it, I'm sure I'll be smoother and my form will be better, and I won't have to stop every thirty seconds to catch my breath.

If I can continue to combine swimming and running workouts on a regular basis, I will be in good shape for surfing. The hardest part is getting out the door...so I must make those first few steps.