Great Wall Marathon 2013

Beijing at 3:00am still swarms with taxis, shuttling rowdy expats from bars in Sanlitun home to their apartments in the Guluo hutongs. So I didn't worry about finding a taxi at 2:50am, when the BFF and two more of my colleagues joined me on the way to the Beijing International Business Hotel. I had brought them with me on my second journey to the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall. Whether I had accurately advertised running the Great Wall Marathon to them or swindled them into signing up for a crazy, difficult race was yet to be determined. But when we arrived at the hotel to meet the buses, my group of faithful followers was in high spirits and excited to get started. Seven joined me on the bus, while the CG and his wife met us at the start of the race. All together, Team Shenyang was made of NINE intrepid runners who would all face the Wall and its 5,164 steps of history.

The marathon weekend had started the day prior, when a group of us departed the 'Yang by train and made our way to Beijing. Thanks to the BFF's incredible amount of hotel points, I shared a room with her at the Crowne Plaza Chaoyang U-Town. To whittle away the time before we had to head to an early bed (given the early start!), we made our way over to Sanlitun to shop and eat. We stopped at the Bookworm, a real book store, to quench our thirst for the written word in physical form. Watching the two of them at home among the many pages was like watching two kids come home to the welcoming arms of their parents. Nothing is more normal than those two enjoying a good book. So glad we got to stop there. After a tasty Persian meal at Rumi, we caught the Metro home and made our way to bed.

So there we were, riding the early morning bus to the base of the Great Wall in heightened anticipation of what's to come. I was feeling very nervous. I felt I hadn't prepared enough this time around. Last year, I had gotten to about 11-12 miles in my long training runs. I had logged significantly more miles in total, as well. This year, I had been focusing much more on strength training, with a concerted effort to improve my leg strength and glute strength. My mileage was much lower and I had fewer opportunities to get outside due to both a busier schedule and poorer air quality. With all that on my mind (plus the stress of hoping everyone was having a good time), I didn't really notice that all of a sudden I was at the start line and we were running.

The course is difficult. The first 3km are uphill, along the mountain access road that leads to the Great Wall parking lot and entrance. Very early on, I lost A among the faster runners. "Godspeed and good luck!" I called out to him as he passed me out of the entryway. As I climbed the hill, I felt a difference from last year. This wasn't so tough, these hills seemed steeper last year. Sooner rather than later, I got to the top of the hill and made my way to the Wall. The next 3km are up and down the steps of the Wall. After the heavy incline, the steps actually helped loosen my calves. Now it was my quads and glutes on fire. Jog jog jog, and wait; jog jog jog, and wait. That's the tempo on the wall because of the bottlenecks. It's not a particularly wide section of the wall, so people are forced to take their time down the stairs as they come. But eventually I rounded the final corner of the wall and saw the Yin Yang Square below me. Halfway there, I thought, and I don't event feel tired?! This feels great!

By the time I made my way through the Square and onward to the village, I had found my true running stride and I was truckin'. The asphalt road to the village has an ever so slight downgrade, so I let the wind push me and gravity pull me through to the village entrance. Right around the time I was stopping at drink station 9 to get my snacks, I saw A coming toward me, having just finished the village himself. "Almost there!" Seeing him come through that connection gave me inspiration to keep going, along with the realization I knew my legs were solid. I had such better muscle strength than this time last year. I remember the agony of running the back stretch and feeling the strain in my legs and knees as I struggled to finish. This year, I kept a steady pace, cruised to my music, and just let my feet go. And go they did!

Finishing 17 minutes faster than last year, I made it through the finish line with more energy, more strength, and more emotion than last year. What a great feeling! And guess who was there to see me cross? Everyone who had finished already from my group! A cheering squad of colleagues and a round of hugs. Nothing could have been better.

I want to take a minute to thank everyone who came to participate in Team Shenyang this year. Your finishing stories were amazing to hear and I'm so happy to have been able to share this wonderful experience with you. I'm proud that you were able to trust me and believe in yourselves that you could do it too! The Great Wall Marathon is now ours and for once, when we say "Shenyang wins again!" we really did win!! Bravo!

Wazigou - A trip to the village

China is a great, big country. Like America, it is a country with a great deal of geological diversity, from the far western dry deserts to the hot and humid southern coast, to the northern steppes and the rocky eastern coasts. Although most people choose to travel outside of the country to regain one's inner peace, visiting China's non-cities can also be rejuvenating and extremely adventurous. Once you get there.

This weekend, a group of us from the Consulate decided to take a two-hour road trip to a small village called Wazigou 瓦子勾, known for its rural home stays 农家院. The BFF & husband, along with J & J had been there before, so this was a return trip to the countryside for them. For the rest of us, this was our first experience in touring the Dongbei's rural homes and sleeping on a kang.

Despite our best efforts of getting out of Shenyang at a reasonable hour, heavy traffic, crazy construction, and absurd detours prevented our anticipated timely arrival in Wazigou. However, once we finally got onto the highway, it was smooth sailing to the village. Driving in China's cities can be extremely frustrating; on the other hand, driving on the highways is actually pleasant since most of them are newly built and empty of traffic. The trouble lies in the maps that advertise highways before they're actually finished, which is often the case in China. Needless to say, it's always an adventure driving anywhere outside city limits.

Our patient driver and co-pilot

On our way, the boys got hungry, so we stopped at the first establishment we saw off the highway that offered food. After inspecting the kitchen's stocked ingredients and negotiating with the cook, two guys in the group ordered us a feast! I'm not the most adventurous eater, so naturally I'm always skeptical when trying out new places. But these guys knew what they were doing and every dish was quite tasty.

Our feast!

After lunch and a bit more driving, we made our way to our home for a night. For those who aren't aware, a rural home stay normally involves a villager family opening their homes to guests (normally rich Chinese or foreigners like us) in a bed-and-breakfast style. The Dongbei-style home stay also includes sleeping on a kang, basically a stone slab bed that's heated from within. In the winter months, kangs seem like a brilliant idea. Toasty beds covered in blankets and pillows to keep you warm. But without all the blankets and pillows to soften the hard concrete? I was skeptically looking forward to seeing what all the hoopla was about.

Our home stay was nothing fancy (most things in China aren't), but provided a good respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. We settled into the second floor balcony overlooking the countryside, drank some beers, and read a bit. The rain came in and out for a good hour, but once it cleared up slightly, we headed down to the reservoir geared up with a baseball and football, fishing pole, and of course, more beer. I wish I had been able to take some photos of the beautiful lake, but the rain came back once or twice and would have been bad for the camera. Once the rain passed, the skies opened up and the sun heartily warmed us. By the second hour, the stresses of Shenyang had left us behind and we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

The gang's all here!

Dinner was being served at 7:00, so we headed back in anticipation of our special order. While the home stay did provide regular dishes, we had also called in advance and specifically ordered a whole roasted lamb for our group. While the sun set behind the mountains and provided a beautiful ending to our day, everyone was looking forward to dinner. When it finally arrived, it was go-time!

They named her Mary. 

What's the best way to end a night in a nongjiayuan? With a hootenanny, of course!

Shenyang's hoot, coming to you live from Wazigou

We followed that with a bit of a stroll "downtown" to serenade the neighbors, meet the locals, and enjoy the stars. A great night of fun, lots of laughs, and GREAT company. Couldn't have been a better weekend.

After a rough night of sleep on the kang (not very comfortable, by the way), the BFF, A & I laced up and went for a run around the reservoir. Again, I wish I had brought my phone to take pictures, but it was nice to be unplugged and able to unwind. Worked our way up some killer hills, and got a good leg workout in. This was the last long run in preparation for next weekend's activities, and so the taper begins.

Post-run breakfast was perfect, with everyone pitching in some goodies: freshly roasted coffee from R, delicious raisin scones from M, spicy & fragrant tea from the BFF, and some brie & crackers to top it all off. All in all, the trip out to the village couldn't have been any better. It's experiences like this that remind me why I love the foreign service and why I am so lucky to be among such amazing people friends.

Wazigou 2013 -- don't stop believing.