NanjingMan 2010

Friday May 28, 2010 dawned just like any other day. My day was filled with Yoga, a trip to the kids' school and 5 trips to different sporting goods stores to gather supplies for Sunday's race. I was feeling a bit anxious, to say the least. 

1:00 pm

Lee called at 1:00 to say that he had to work Saturday and wouldn't be riding the bus with me to Nanjing. I felt my blood pressure rising, rising rising. I couldn't seem to get my head around going to Nanjing for my long awaited race without Lee there by my side. I was so stressed I could think of nothing else. Our good friend Bryant helped me out by purchasing a train ticket for Lee. Whew! Suddenly I could manage my life again, knowing that Lee would be there by my side for my race.

Friday evening Lee and I packed our bags, checked our equipment and rechecked our supplies. We then headed out for an evening of relaxing, with dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant followed by foot massages with our friends, Bryant and Elizabeth. Since Bryant is the one who talked me into doing a triathlon, I subjected him to all sorts of last minute questions about the race. I am sure I was driving him crazy by the end of the hour.

Saturday 6:00 am

Even though I didn't have to leave the house until 10:00 am to meet the chartered bus to Nanjing, I woke up bright and early at 6:00 am, full of anticipation. At 8:00 am I kissed Lee goodbye as he left for work, knowing I would meet him later that night in Nanjing. It sounds so simple to meet someone at a designated place, but in reality, when you've never been to that place and it's in a foreign country, it's a little nerve racking. At 10:00 am I got into the car and drove to Bryant and Elizabeth's house, where we packed the bus with all our equipment, bikes, gear etc. I was still feeling nervous because I rarely travel without Lee. He's my caretaker, my organizer. He's the one who makes the reservations and books the airline tickets. He's the one who checks us in at the hotel, hails a cab and makes sure we all get where we are supposed to be. I didn't like not having him there with me.

By noon we had reached our second pick up point, where the majority of the other folks were waiting to be picked up by the bus. I looked out the window as we pulled up to see a group of very athletic, very fit and very prepared looking people. Talk about some fancy bikes! Whew! I felt a bit intimidated to say the least. We finally hit the road for our 3 hour bus ride to Nanjing. Everyone was pretty subdued along the way. I had a lot of time to worry about the following day's race.

We got to Nanjing later than expected and got a bit turned around. By the time we sorted things out, checked into our hotel rooms and got back on the bus, we were pretty late for our orientation dinner. We got there just in time to get some chow and sit down for our orientation. I was feeling pretty calm at this point... that is until they started to go through the bike route. It was very confusing. They used PowerPoint slides to go through each intersection, telling us turn by turn how to navigate the course. I was sure by the end of the slides that I would never make it through the course. Talk about feeling nervous again!

10:00 pm

We didn't get back to our hotel until 10:00 pm, where we agreed to meet again in the lobby at 5:20 am for the race. We still had to go upstairs and put our bikes together. Lee had (mercifully) managed to meet us along our bus route from the dinner to the hotel and I was so happy to have him with me again. We proceeded to put together my bike, Lee's bike and two other participant's bikes before falling into bed at 11 pm. Although Lee didn't do the triathlon, he brought his bike so he could get around the course and around town.

Race Day, 4:54 am. 

I woke up with a start and realized that I had not set my alarm clock right. Lee and I were due downstairs in 26 minutes. I knew at that point that my day would not slow down even for a minute until the race was over. Lee and I hustled to get dressed and get all our gear downstairs so that we wouldn't get left behind. Bryant came down to the lobby just shortly after we did and it was obvious that his morning wasn't going so well. His pedals were mounted wrong! So Lee and I sent the rest of the group on without us and stayed behind to help Bryant with his pedals. I was, again, very thankful to have Lee with me. Not only did he assemble 4 bikes the night before, but without his help Bryant may not have been able to race. It took quite a while to get the pedals sorted out. Bryant (who is fluent in Mandarin) very resourcefully approached a little van which was stopped at a stop light and offered him a small sum of money to take us and our bikes to the race. Whew! We crammed our bikes and our bodies in and off we went.

6:25 am.

We finally arrived at the lake, where we would complete our 1/2 mile swim. I was amazed to find that the lake was very well populated by older Chinese men and women, who were out for a morning swim. 

We set up our bikes and our gear to transition after the swim. It was really fun to see everyone getting ready. This was my first race of any kind and I really enjoyed watching everyone stretching, talking and getting ready.

Here we are testing the water. I'm wearing black bike shorts and a black sports bra, standing in front of the two guys not yet in the water (on the stairs).

This guy cracked us up in his underwear! He was NOT a participant!

7:15 am

There were about 100 of us participating, more or less. I'm not a very fast swimmer and this was my very first open water swim, so I opted to hang out at the back of the group rather than get trampled in the mad dash. The whistle blew and off we went!

Lee was my hero. He took some amazing pictures and worked the whole race long to capture the event for me. I was so surprised later to see just how dedicated he was to documenting the race. Here's a shot of me doing the breast stroke. 

Although I had trained for months in the swimming pool, nothing could prepare me for swimming in a cold lake with 100 other people at 7:00 in the morning. The water was very dark and very murky. In the initial scramble to get started, I felt a little panicky and crowded. I remembered everything I had read about open water swims and took a minute to clear my head and start again. Although I had practiced and practiced and practiced my freestyle stroke, I ended up doing the breast stroke almost the entire swim. I couldn't seem to get my groove on and everytime I started freestyle again I got out of breath and tired. 21 minutes later I thankfully got out of the water and made my way to my first transition.

At the first transition I dried off my feet and put on my running shoes. We had to run one kilometer from the lake to our bikes and along the way I stopped for a potty break. I knew I had 2 hours left of the race, and lets just face it - I can't hold it that long!

Lee thought it was hilarious that I had to pee during my race and couldn't resist the opportunity to document the event. My honey ran the one kilometer with me to the bike transition, with his camera around his neck! 

I chatted with the women next to me as we both got ready to hit the road. She told me that she had come in last the year before. I was so impressed to see her at it again, excited and ready to have a great time. 

7:45 am

Getting out on the road was a little scary. The swim course was very well set out. There were huge inflated buoys in the water marking the route and everyone was in the water swimming and easy to see and follow. By the time I go to the bike transition, almost everyone had left already. There was no one to follow and no signs indicating the way. I felt nervous setting out on my own. Lee wished me good luck and I started pedaling. 

The course was so beautiful! I felt like I was in the middle of a national park. I quickly came upon a volunteer who directed me to the first turn. I was thankful she was there to show me the way. Soon enough I encountered more and more riders. I was thankful for the company. Shanghai is very, very flat. I had been training for months with no hills whatsoever. Nanjing is NOT FLAT! At the first major hill I thought I would have to get out and push my bike. I passed a girl walking and decided that I wasn't getting off my bike unless I had a flat tire. After overcoming the first hill I regained my composure and just kept pedaling. Bryant passed me going the other direction. He had made it to the turn around point and halfway back before I had even gone 1/3 of the bike route! I enjoyed seeing his familiar face as he raced past me. Man he was fast!

One of my biggest fears before the race was that I would get a flat tire and not be able to finish the race. I went to 4 different stores to get what I needed before the race to be prepared. At almost the halfway point I passed a poor rider who had a flat and didn't have the tools he needed. I was grateful to be prepared.

While I was busy tackling hills, Lee was busy finding just the right spot to camp out and take pictures. He found a great corner with a clean dry drainage canal to sit in. Here's a beautiful view that he captured:

During my ride I was passed by and also passed a group of 13 year old boys with their fathers. I loved seeing them in action. We rode together off and on for about 25 minutes or so. These awesome dads stuck with their boys for the entire race. I was really impressed with them. They were German and it was fun to listen to them with their boys. At the halfway point of the ride, I pulled out my energy gel to give me a boost. I watched the dads handing their boys muffins and bread to give them energy to finish the ride. 

I came flying down the road and was really happy to see Lee sitting in his spot, smiling at me with his camera as I  came past.

My girls later asked me why I was going so slow. Ha! I was getting ready for the turn! Lee hopped on his bike at some point and raced to catch up with me. I was happy he was with me as I came into the second and final transition point. My 16 mile bike ride was over and I was ready to head out on my 5 mile run.

9:00 am

Elizabeth was waiting for me at the transition point. She told me to dump my stuff and go! 

I was feeling tired but ready to finish the last section of my race. The boy standing behind me was part of the group that I had been biking with. I started my run, only to be passed right away by the boys and their fathers. I tried not to feel discouraged by the fact that a bunch of kids were going to beat me!

The running route was equally beautiful. It looped around a lake (not the same lake that we swam in). It was a very busy day on the running path. As I jogged I had to dodge local joggers, electric scooters, bicycles, kids and dogs. After I got over feeling like my legs would melt into a pile of mush on the pavement, I really enjoyed my run. The scenery was so interesting. There were women selling hammocks and children playing with their parents. I ran and ran and ran. Out of all the segments of the race, the run was the hardest. I remember thinking that I would know I was close to the halfway turn around point when I saw the German father/son group heading towards me. They had long since disappeared from my view (that's just how slow I am!). I finally reached the turn around point and walked for about 100 feet. As I jogged back towards the finish line, only 3 people passed me on their way to the turn around. I knew that I was probably one of the last participants still running. One of the 3 passed me after they turned around. I wanted to walk so badly, but kept telling myself that I wouldn't finish last.

As I jogged along, willing my body to continue I had a wonderful experience. I began mentally thanking each part of my body for all the hard work it had done that day. I thanked my arms for pulling me through the water. I thanked my legs for pushing so hard up each hill. I especially thanked my knees for all the torture they had endured over the last 4 months.  As I systematically went from one part of my body to the next, I felt overwhelmed by the love that my Heavenly Father has for me. I am so thankful for a body that is healthy and strong, for the wonderful feeling that I get as I exercise and use my body for good purposes. I was tired but felt so good as I continued onward.

About 100 yards from the finish line Bryant and his children and two other children were waiting on the sidelines to  cheer me on. I was so happy to see them! The kids joined in and ran with me, which really made me smile!

10:00 am

As I crossed the line I was so tired. I actually asked Lee and Elizabeth "Where's the line? Did I cross it? Can I stop running?"

Wohoo! I did it! I finished! Those last two runners didn't pass me! Yehawww!!!! 

After cooling down, we biked the 10k back to the hotel, cleaned up  and packed and headed down to pack the bus. It was 11:30 am and we still hadn't eaten breakfast yet. We were starved! We had McDonald's for lunch, loaded up on the bus and headed back to Shanghai. After about an hour of drinking beer (of course Lee, myself and Elizabeth and Bryant didn't join in) everyone finally settled in for the long ride - most of us catching up on all the sleep we had missed out on the night before. 

So what's next? I'm currently trawling for the next race, much to Lee's dismay. :) I do get a little obsessed when I get into something and Lee is looking forward to a break from all the tri-talk. With any luck, he'll be racing with me next year!