Getting out to the wall was a little like the Amazing Race. We were in a mad dash to find the Great Wall office to pick up our kits and catch the bus on time.

After a 2 hour bus ride, we arrived at the wall. The race itself was really organized but pre-race was chaotic. Leading up to the race I constantly had to transfer money and half the time it wouldn’t go through. China does not believe in credit cards.  Arriving at the Great Wall we weren’t sure where we were staying or where to go.

More importantly, I wasn’t sure what we were going to eat. At the hostel check-in, I saw a girl with 5 pizza boxes. I was all, “Sa-weet, we can order pizza to the Great Wall of China!!! Hellooo 21st Century!” Ya. No, you can’t. Those girls were smart and brought food in advance. There are slim pickings on the wall peeps. We found our hostel and they told us they didn’t have any food either. Being prepared is not my motto.

At least where we stayed was beautiful.

We eventually found Chinese food and laid around watching The Notebook all night. You know, a typical pre-race, pump-up movie.

The morning of the race was FREEZING.  Being the horrible ex-Brownie I am, I was not prepared at all.

We had to be at the start 1 hour and 1/2 early and everyone was standing around freezing their buns off.

It was awesome to see hundreds of people from all over the world gathered together in costumes and country colors.

I don’t know if people felt more united over traveling so far to run on the Great Wall or the fact that we had to use side by side squatters. Wide-open.

90% of the female runners saw my bootay pre-race. No shame.

The 5km runners were taken to the wall and started 30 minutes before us.  Then it was time for the first corral half and full marathons to line up. Just as we were about to start the sun came out…

These were a few of my fav’s:

 Marathon Maniac’s: This was a couple from the states who had run 163 marathons. They were flying home Monday and going to compete in 2 more marathons next weekend! In order to be a maniac you have to run 3 marathons a week at some point. They are awesome. 

 Team South Africa: These guys actually became my friends at about 35km as we struggled to climb up the wall  the second time. 

 Brazilian Brothers.

Slipper man: I thought he was just going to run barefoot until I saw the chip fastened to his shoe. HC.

And of course, my Vancouver girl representing the Canucks!

  Proof that the Wilderman and I actually completed the race.

I’m currently sitting at the airport waiting to board my flight to Beijing for the Great Wall Marathon. EeeeeAhhhhhOuuuuuu.

To be honest, I’m feeling a little nervous. I think because I’m  under-trained. I’ve done a lot of stair work-outs but not enough long runs. I have also been tapering for almost 3 weeks now. Oops.  I just like going fast so much better than I like going long. I’m already looking forward to training for a 10km at home in July with my dad.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am running this for the experience and I should take it all in but my competitive side wants to do well. I feel like every race I have run lately I have wimped out because it has been a “training” race for this one.

Example: A little half marathon in Yangzhou a couple of weeks ago that I never blogged about…. because it was really bad.

It began with a ROAD TRIP with my Chinese running team.  CRAZY. PARTY.  HUBBA HUBBA. What happens on the bus… stays on the bus. (You all want it to stay that way, I had to listen to 40 people introduce themselves in Chinese while I tried to sleep). Chinese people gone wild!

Anyway, it was great traveling with a team because I didn’t have to worry about anything. My Chinese friends were happy too because I didn’t have to call them every 5 minutes to translate.

My only critique was the food selection. Chinese food is very, very oily. I can handle one or two meals a week but eating Chinese food all weekend left my stomach feeling pretty upset. It’s partly my fault because I love trying the traditional foods of different places so I couldn’t turn down this dumpling.

Ya, sucking up pork fat with a straw is probably not the best pre-race meal.

Yangzhou was a really beautiful city and  we spent the day before the race walking around a really expensive park.

The morning of the race itself was a little stressful because I did not have a BANANA!! The horror. I need my banana to succeed. Frazzling.

The race was the most organized Chinese race I have run yet. It was a great course and there were school children all along the route cheering us on. Probably just like the Boston Marathon. 

For me, I started off feeling great but large crowds stress me out and I went out way too fast. I thought I could hold off for the 21km but around 14km I became really dizzy. I started walking and then people yelled at me to “keep figh-ting” and I got annoyed so I left the course.  I wanted to drop out but about 10 minutes later I realized the only way back to the start was too run  so I had to re-join the route. Meh. 1:45 later I was finished.

Please note all the Chinese people having the time of their lives stretching and me in the corner with a towel over my head being depressed.

Blew that one. At least the team photographer was there.

Here’s hoping GWM goes a little better.

Like getting rubber duckies across the pond…

With a Newfie Duck Catcher…

Or a fishing wheel…

Without falling into the water and catching 32174 diseases…

It’s all about being resourceful…

And teamwork…

The students have never been more engaged…

If only this was on the provincial exam.

We stretched.

We love our teacher so much that we decided to get her name on the back of our jersey sold our jersey online and had to wear our teachers.

We cheered.

We  “coached.”

We supported our team and the China umbrella business.

We played.

We won!

Soccer tournament champions!

“omg trail racing is so sweet”

“never road racing again”

“this is BADASS”

“ I am so good at blowing snot rockets out of my nose” (OK not really the last one, I was spraying in 6 different directions  but you get the drift.)

I had to cut the race short in order to catch my ride home but I actually wanted to keep running! That never happens to me, usually I think about dropping out every 5 meters.

A slight dramatization of running conditions.

BUT the title of this post has a question mark in it and that means it wasn’t all rainbows and puppies… mostly just rain. I had an unfortunate incident where I ended up at the bottom of a mountain village: cold, wet, lost, dirty and bloody.  The high I had felt while running in the pouring rain through traditional rice fields in China was long gone.  I forgot every word I knew in Chinese (I know 6 now!! Pretty much bilingual, holla!) I was literally holding up my cut hand (blood+rain+dirt= looks way worse then it is) and crying, trying to get someone to stop and pick me up and take me back to the hotel so I could get home. Thank you 3 drunk men in a taxi for letting me in. Sorry about the snot on your coat.

Anyway, the morale of this story is that most of the time, trail racing is pretty sweet.

This is why I think so:

#1. Running through nature is way better than running on a road. Cars vs. trees= no contest.

#2. How HC do you feel when you fall or slide down mud! BAMF

#3. It’s easier on the body. Technically this race should have been really difficult. 27km up and down mountains is pretty gruesome but there were so many start/stops and technical parts where you couldn’t run that it didn’t  feel as tiring as racing.

#4. Trail racing is new to me and I never know what to expect so I go into the race without any time goals and therefore less disappointment if they aren’t met.

#5. I like beating other people more then myself. (I know! It’s wrong. The only competition is yourself, aim for your best,  beat your time, etc, etc. I’m working on it…)I know I’m not a good trail runner so the competive side of me doesn’t appear. I have learned to take it slow and steady. Turns out slow and steady is a lot more enjoyable than fast and furious.

#6. It’s an excuse to wear a camelback!  This was my first time wearing a camelback during a run and those things are actually pretty awesome. I didn’t even feel it, my hands were free and I did not get thirsty or stressed about the next water station the whole race! I wouldn’t wear one on the road but trails= acceptable (in my opinion).

#7. Getting lost in a road race would not be cool, getting lost on a trail… kind of fun. You can make up all kinds of crazy scenarios in your head…

I might be here for at least 3 days…ok I have 1 clif bar left…i will eat one bite every 5 hours…that spot over there will be my bed…there is the bathroom…I think I can build a shelter out of these branches… i will probably become best friends with a squirrel…i’ll need to devise some sort of sling for my arm…I hope I don’t bleed to death…

It’s like being 10 all over again!

#8. Nothing fakes a tan better than dirt!

I'm ready for summer!

I really miss my dad.

The Bad: It left me very dehydrated.

The Good: I rehydrated with Happy Hour.

The Bad: I woke up dehydrated again. 

The Good: Meeting a friend in Shanghai for a long run.

The Bad: Having to run 30km hung-over.

The Good: Shanghai= Costa Coffee, Gatorade, lots of water!

The Bad: Someone STEALING your water and Gatorade 5km into your run!

The Good: Making it to 20km without any water.

The Bad: Constantly repeating I need water, I need water, I need water to your running buddy from kilometre 20-25.

The Good: Seeing a nice looking women offering you a water bottle outside the park.

The Bad: Turns out she is charging for this bottle. You have no money. You have already drank half. Played the confused foreigner card.

The Good: Re-hydrated and back in the game.

The Bad: Drinking water too fast does not feel good.

The Good: First 5, 5k loops were all fairly consistent between 25 and 26 minutes.

The Bad: The last 5km was completed in 33 minutes. Slow and painful.

The Good/Bad: Fall asleep at 8pm on a Saturday night.

The Good: Sunday’s 8km race doesn’t start till 9:30. Lots of time for coffee.

The Bad: Coffee does nothing, still tired. Want this to be over with asap. Must wait 30 minutes for children to run a 2km.

The Good: Watching children and families run 2km. So cute!

The Bad: There are 6000 people trying to line up for the start. Elbows up!

The Good: I did not get trampled at the beginning.

The Bad: It feels difficult right away.

The Good: We run through a very Western part of Shanghai. Lots of families oot and aboot, kids playing soccer, men drinking on patios. Just like home.

The Bad: I contemplated quitting every 30 seconds. Running fast is so hard.

The Good/Bad: Being a Western girl means Chinese men want to run with you… and won’t let you quit.

The Bad: Teams should put the flags away before they start running. Flag in face is not fun. 

The Good: They gave slap bracelets to the first 50 runners. Those things are illegal in Canada!

The Bad: I ran a 8km in 35:10. My goal was under 34.

The Good: I was the 4th girl.

The Bad: I had to wait 2 hours for the awards ceremony to watch a hot dog eating contest, a fancy dress competition and a wannabe Lady Gaga perform scandalous dance moves.

The Good: Top 10 finishers get prices.

The Bad: Top 3 got trophies and sneakers. I got a towel.

The Good: Racing is always fun when it is over.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The really, really Good: One of my best friends and summer sistah is biking across America in honour of her father and to raise money for the American Lung Association. Her blog is so good. It’s real and will make you laugh and cry. Check it out and donate if you can. http://www.katnarvbikesamerica.com/

Other than hot boys, we saw a lot of hippies. So many that we started giving a hippie dictionary. Next time you travel, try to spot them all. It’s not difficult. The difficult part is getting pictures. Cameras are a social construct devised by the government so they can secretly control everything we see… I mean, we should all just live in the moment, just feel it, breathe it in. Peace, love, happiness.  Who needs things?

Old-Time Hippie- The ORGINIAL hippie. Oldish, long hair, leather skin, has had dreads for years.

Short-Term Hippie- Traveling for 1 month or less—adapt quickly to lifestyle of not showering and wearing hippie clothes.

Modern Hippie- Live the hippie lifestyle but clothes are more modern. Cool tattoos and wash their hair approximately 2 times a week.

Hippie Family- A mixture of the old and modern hippie with the addition of innocent children… usually naked. Attire= thai pants, dreads, cotton shirts. Kids are running loose, laissez-fairz parenting. Hippie families come in droves with other hippie families.

Hipster Hippie- Strategically placed headband with “messy” hair. Trying to look “dirty.” Wears flowy dresses or vintage tees that cost more than my wardrobe to accent tattoos and piercings. Lots of bracelets. You are all the same.

Gypsy Hippie- Runs out of money and begs tourists for help in exchange for all of their possessions or a “joke”.” Seriously, it’s called a credit card. How are you going to get home?!

Hippie Couple- Matching dreads and hippie style. Like to talk to non-hippie couples about their lifestyle and travels. Usually trying to out-pierce, out- tribal tattoo, or out-layer each other. PDA non-existent. Could be mistaken for brother and sister.

Minimalist Hippie- Wears all their belongings and brings one shoulder bag. This bag has lots of pockets to hold trinkets from travel. Often found meditating in the middle of a busy street.

Rave Hippie- Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Party the whole trip. Dance all night and beer for breakfast.  Who needs sleep? Or the beach? Or to see the area you’re visiting?

Meditating Hippie- Will mediate anywhere, including busy street intersections. This type usually own yoga re-treats. No deodorant.

I think that is it… oh yah, some advice. Never call a hippie a tourist.

Grass:

Grass: An endangered species in China. You can look, but don’t touch.