So, for the last two weeks, I've been in China, taking pictures, and documenting what can mildly be said to be an experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately, due to the Communist government there, a lot of US websites got blocked, Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, so there was almost no way (short of using supar slow VPN to bypass the internet censor) of updating or posting things. So, over the next several days (read: weeks to months), I'll be posting my [mis]adventures in China. Edited heavily from original journaltasticness (which ended up being 23-ish pages in Word, Calibri font, size 11, single space), with pictures (hopefully). If you wish for the unedited verison, just let me know. I may send it over your way. A word of warning, though. Contains lots of ranting, opinions, and... well.. me.
Sad to say, though, the trip isn't done, as I hoped it would have been. This two week trip has kicked my ass, and I'm literally crawling home. It's the trip that just won't end. Today, the flight from PEK (Beijing) to YYZ (Toronto) got delayed by an hour, which resulted in my family missing the connection to CLE (Cleveland). Staying in Toronto at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (by the airport) overnight and catching a 9:05AM flight tomorrow morning. Hopefully, I'll be back by noon tomorrow.
I figure I should throw some things up as notes for now (and I'll edit the post as needed when more notes are needed).
Note 1: Chinese currency is known as the yuan (元) (as in 25元). Also prefixed by the ¥ (as in ¥25). Also displayed with "RMB" suffix (as in 25 RMB). 1 USD ($1) is equal to about 6.6 to 6.7 yuan
Note 2: China's time zones on the easter coast (which is a pretty big swath of land) is 12 hours early to Eastern Standard Time (New York time). All times (if any posted) will be based on EST, so tack on an extra 12 hours for actual time the post was written.
20100813
20100727
Chicagoland Inline Marathon (7/25/10)
[Edited from http://skatelogforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=410854&posted=1#post410854]
It may take the better part of the week for me to recover from all the fun. (Sore ankles (to be explained later), sore lower back (can't bend forward, have to crouch to pick up stuff off the floor), sore quads(though not so much)) I'm glad I flew, or I probably wouldn't have made the trip back home in my car without some serious rest area time. This is the second time this year I have skated 20+ miles. Previous time was in March on a personal skate.
Should have conditioned more over the summer... and broken in the new Bont Jets more (came in 2 weeks ago), but it was still a blast. Time: 2:09:54 in a 4x90 setup in 110 frames.. yeah, go ahead and laugh. Not bad, though I was probably unrealistically hoping for a sub 2hr time, as I was able to hit a sub-1hr time in my 4x90 fitness skates in a halfie (on a much flatter and smoother course last month). Considering how fatigued and slow I was a some points, especially with the "all hills all the time" mantra, I'm amazed how fast I still went. I usually averaged 10-11mph on my 15 mile workouts before using the Jets (12.1mph here). My form took some serious willpower to maintain on the 3rd loop, though. It was a real test of will to finish.
Did I mention about the hills? Whoever mentioned on the Skatelog forums about hills at Chicago wasn't kidding x.x I was pretty much dead on the third lap, but willpower and focus on technique to avoid excessive left foot eversion kept me going (my left skate frame still needs to be brought in (and better heatmolding)... or I need more ankle strength in the foot). Trails were a bit rough, and there was a good amount of roadkill along the course
Personally had a pre-race collision with another skater. We both somehow managed to not eat tar. I also ended up neck-and-neck with another skater (who was in rec skates >.<) over the finish line and managed to beat her by a few inches with my extended left foot... "The foot wins."
One paramedic call for a downed skater at the bottom of the hill about 1.5-2 miles from the finish line.
And to top off the marathon, I went for an additional 7 mile skate along gorgeous Lake Michigan later that afternoon. The weather was just amazing (minus that crazy wind) the whole day.
Overall tally:
Miles skated Sunday: 26.2 mi (marathon) (+ 7-ish miles with lake skate)
Water downed: 2.7 L during the marathon (+ 1L for the lake skate)
FiberOne bars eaten during the marathon: 2 (those things were life-savers for refueling)
Collisions: 1 (pre-race)
Downed skaters: 1
Bont speed skates: a lot; noticed a lot of fitness folks preferred the SemiRace
Roadkill: too numerous to count
Blisters/hot spots: 0 (booties for the win)
Crushed foot arches: 1 (right)
Lessons learned: need to replenish electrolytes better (pack bananas next time?) as my quads were starting to seize toward the end of the second lap.
Synopsis: Would condition a little better for next time and would do again if I can find a weekend to do it. And in the Jets (next time properly broken in and heatmolded). Unfortunately, I have no more summers of fun in sight for a very long time, so I'll have to play it by ear.
It may take the better part of the week for me to recover from all the fun. (Sore ankles (to be explained later), sore lower back (can't bend forward, have to crouch to pick up stuff off the floor), sore quads(though not so much)) I'm glad I flew, or I probably wouldn't have made the trip back home in my car without some serious rest area time. This is the second time this year I have skated 20+ miles. Previous time was in March on a personal skate.
Should have conditioned more over the summer... and broken in the new Bont Jets more (came in 2 weeks ago), but it was still a blast. Time: 2:09:54 in a 4x90 setup in 110 frames.. yeah, go ahead and laugh. Not bad, though I was probably unrealistically hoping for a sub 2hr time, as I was able to hit a sub-1hr time in my 4x90 fitness skates in a halfie (on a much flatter and smoother course last month). Considering how fatigued and slow I was a some points, especially with the "all hills all the time" mantra, I'm amazed how fast I still went. I usually averaged 10-11mph on my 15 mile workouts before using the Jets (12.1mph here). My form took some serious willpower to maintain on the 3rd loop, though. It was a real test of will to finish.
Did I mention about the hills? Whoever mentioned on the Skatelog forums about hills at Chicago wasn't kidding x.x I was pretty much dead on the third lap, but willpower and focus on technique to avoid excessive left foot eversion kept me going (my left skate frame still needs to be brought in (and better heatmolding)... or I need more ankle strength in the foot). Trails were a bit rough, and there was a good amount of roadkill along the course
Personally had a pre-race collision with another skater. We both somehow managed to not eat tar. I also ended up neck-and-neck with another skater (who was in rec skates >.<) over the finish line and managed to beat her by a few inches with my extended left foot... "The foot wins."
One paramedic call for a downed skater at the bottom of the hill about 1.5-2 miles from the finish line.
And to top off the marathon, I went for an additional 7 mile skate along gorgeous Lake Michigan later that afternoon. The weather was just amazing (minus that crazy wind) the whole day.
Overall tally:
Miles skated Sunday: 26.2 mi (marathon) (+ 7-ish miles with lake skate)
Water downed: 2.7 L during the marathon (+ 1L for the lake skate)
FiberOne bars eaten during the marathon: 2 (those things were life-savers for refueling)
Collisions: 1 (pre-race)
Downed skaters: 1
Bont speed skates: a lot; noticed a lot of fitness folks preferred the SemiRace
Roadkill: too numerous to count
Blisters/hot spots: 0 (booties for the win)
Crushed foot arches: 1 (right)
Lessons learned: need to replenish electrolytes better (pack bananas next time?) as my quads were starting to seize toward the end of the second lap.
Synopsis: Would condition a little better for next time and would do again if I can find a weekend to do it. And in the Jets (next time properly broken in and heatmolded). Unfortunately, I have no more summers of fun in sight for a very long time, so I'll have to play it by ear.
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