I was scheduled to leave Beijing today, but due to excessive airport traffic, my flight has been cancelled.  Thanks United Airlines.  Everyone is trying to get out of town today.  I’ll fly out early tomorrow morning instead.  I enjoyed my stay in Beijing, but I’m ready to go home.

Although I had an extra day in Beijing, I chose not to take advantage of it.  I haven’t seen the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, but I just wanted to relax.  I went running around the Olympic Green, which is now empty.  The huge crowds were gone, and workers were deconstructing sponsors’ displays and merchandise tents.  The Village is also emptying out.  Many of the people left in the Village were busy trading uniforms and pins.  I wasn’t interested in trading away my USA gear, and I really don’t understand the fascination here with pins.  Pin-trading is taken very seriously at the Olympics and could probably be an Olympic sport.  Some athletes and coaches work all day outside the dining hall and near the souvenir shop, excitedly asking strangers, “Want to trade pins?”  When anyone asked me, I’d always say, “Not really.”

My former-UNC teammate, Alice Schmidt was still in the Village, so we hung out by the pool.  For dinner, we walked outside the Olympic Village to a local restaurant.  Luckily for us, the restaurant we chose had a menu with pictures and English words.  I wasn’t in the mood to end up with something weird, like fish heads or crickets.  We just got some beef and rice.  My main problem at Asian restaurants is eating with chopsticks.  I just don’t have the dexterity necessary to use them.  I fumbled with them while trying to eat our “delicious peanut” appetizer before giving up and using my fingers.  The waitresses laughed at me, but then kindly brought out a fork and knife.

Last night, I attended the Olympic Closing Ceremonies.  Although not as hyped-up as the Opening Ceremonies, I found the Closing Ceremonies more enjoyable.  It was shorter in length and more relaxed, especially for the athletes.  We were able to watch most of the show from the floor of the stadium.  We watched as Beijing passed the Olympic flag to London.  Some famous British people, including David Beckham, drove in on a double-decker bus.  Beckham kicked a soccer ball off the bus and knocked over one of the Chinese volunteers.  The volunteer wasn’t hurt, and he was happy to have the ball.  Once the Brits’ bus drove away, a few hundred Chinese acrobats made a human torch and flew on zip-lines around the stadium.  It was unbelievable.  London has a long way to go to match the Beijing Opening and Closing Ceremonies.     

My semi-final race didn’t go as well as I had hoped, and I didn’t advance to the final.  I was in the second of three heats, and the pace was very slow.  We ran 2:24 for the first 800m, over 10 seconds slower than the first heat.  So, I knew I’d have to kick hard and finish in the top 3 to advance.  The pace picked up with 500m to go, and I was in good position.  I moved well and stayed near the front of the pack.  With 200m to go, I felt strong, and with 100m left, I was in about 4^th place.  I continued to accelerate and had a clear path to the finish line, but I was bumped and thrown off by another competitor.  I lost a stride or two, and that was it.  I could see that my chance to finish in the top three was gone, and I tightened up.  I ran my last 400m in 60 seconds, but the women who advanced ran 57/58 seconds.  In these slower-paced races, it's all about the finish.

I raced well and put myself in great position, but things just didn’t work out.  This would be tough to deal with in any race, but because the Olympics are such a huge event in track and field, I was really disappointed.  There wasn’t much to say.

I’m feeling better about things now, though, and I’m eager to get back out and race again.  I have three or four more races to run in Europe – The British Grand Prix in Gateshead on August 31^st; Lausanne, Switzerland on September 2^nd; Rieti, Italy on September 7^th; and possibly, the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany on September 13^th.  I worked out again on the track this afternoon, and I know I’m still in good shape.  I think I can run a new personal best before the season is over. 

Tonight, I’ll watch the women’s 1500m final.  My training partner, Shannon Rowbury, is in it, and I think she’ll run well.  I’m excited to watch her, but I also feel like I’m missing out.  Hopefully, watching this event will keep me hungry to keep training for the next Olympics. 

After two weeks of preparation and waiting, I’m finally going to race tonight.  Normally, before an evening race, I watch TV during the day.  I like to keep my mind off racing until I get to the track.  But, since our Olympic Village dorm rooms have no TVs, I’ve decided to do some blogging.

So far, the track and field events have been very exciting.  I didn’t go to the track last night, but I watched the meet on TV at my coach’s hotel room.  I was amazed as Usain Bolt broke Michael Johnson’s 200m world record of 19.32.  Unlike during his 100m-record run, when he high-stepped across the line like Deon Sanders returning an interception for a touchdown, Bolt had to focus all the way through the finish line for the 200m record.  He looks unstoppable and also, like he’s having a lot of fun.

The US Track and Field Team aren’t having as great a time as Bolt and the Jamaicans.  Watching the women’s 100m girls get shut out by the Jamaicans, then watching Sanya Richards “only” get the bronze was disappointing, since we’ve grown accustomed to US athletes dominating the sprint events.  But, the sweep of the men’s 400m hurdles was great, and I was pumped-up to see that all three Americans in the women’s 5000m and men’s 400m advanced to the final.

Since returning to Beijing last Saturday afternoon, I’ve done most of my training at the Beijing Normal School (BNU).  The USOC rented the BNU, and it’s the main training facility for all US teams.  I’ve seen the men’s basketball team practicing there a couple of times.  It has two tracks, a weight-room set up by 24-Hour Fitness, and a top-notch medical staff.  It also has the best food I’ve eaten since arriving in China.  The USOC flew in tons (literally) of fresh food from the US, and it’s prepared by US chefs and served in a formal dining setting.  My favorite dishes so far have been the London broil and braised salmon.  It’s a big step up from the Village food, which is ok, but more like college dining hall fare.

I’ve been spending most of my time training and trying to rest and relax, so I really haven’t done much sightseeing.  The only non-Olympic related activity I’ve done is shopping.  Beijing is famous for it’s shopping, and has everything from high-end, 5^th Avenue-style shopping around Jianguomenwei to the lower-end Silk, Pearl and Yashow markets, which are like the Pennsauken Mart on steroids.  I opted for the latter.  If you ever wondered where you could find the most fake handbags, watches, sunglasses, and clothing in the world, Yashow is it.  It has five, bustling floors of it.  I actually didn’t buy too many fake things, but I did have a winter coat and dress shirt tailored made for about $100.  Part of the shopping experience at these markets is haggling.  Since everything is fake, it’s important to only offer to pay about ½ of what the seller offers you.  Usually, if you stick to your offer and are willing to walk away, the seller gives in.  You feel like you’re getting a great deal, and the seller is probably making out well, too.   I’d highly recommend visiting one of these markets the next time you’re in Beijing.

I’ll let you know how things go this evening in the 1500m semi-final.  I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, so I hope to stay just relaxed and race well to advance to the final.  I race in heat 2 at 7:09pm China time, or 7:09am EST.  The top 3 in each heat (there’s 3 heats) and next 3 fastest times advance to the final on August 23^rd.

Things in at the Dalian training camp were uneventful.  I never left the hotel area, except to go to the track because we were far from town and security was so tight.  One day, I went for a walk on the near-by beach, which, like the Jersey Shore, had a boardwalk and an amusement park.  Even during the walk, a plain-clothes police officer followed about 10 meters behind me.  I think he was trying to be inconspicuous, but it was pretty obvious that he was following me.  I guess security is necessary for a US team traveling anywhere, although the people in Dalian seemed extraordinarily friendly.  The hotel staff was great, and people would wave at our bus from the side of the road. 

While on my beach walk, I met an American woman.  There aren’t many non-Chinese people in Dalian, so this lady spotted me (she termed me a “BAW,” Big American Woman.  Big compared to Chinese women, anyway) and came over to chat.  She was a teacher at a school for ex-pat American students, and she explained that her school had expanded from 12 kids to 180 kids in just three years.  Intel is moving a chip factory to the area next year, so she expects even more students in the future.  I was amazed at the amount of growth and construction around Dalian.  High-rise, concrete office buildings and apartment complexes are under construction everywhere.  Some of these apartment complexes advertise that they will house 20,000+ families.

Since there was not much to do at the Dalian training camp, I had plenty of time to rest and train.  I ate well, got massages and treatment from USATF staff, and, including naps, probably slept 12 hours per day.  I got in four good workouts on the track, and I’m confident that I’m ready to race.  Our workout track was part of a youth sports academy.  The facility had an indoor and outdoor track, weight room, throwing fields, and basketball courts.  Chinese teenagers trained here for track events, as well as basketball and gymnastics.  After their workouts were done, they would sit by the track and cheer for me and the other American athletes. 

On Friday night, I was excited to watch the Women’s 10,000 race, which featured my former UNC teammate and current (sometimes) training partner, Shalane Flanagan.  To my disappointment, no track and field events were shown on TV.  This was shocking to me because China is showing Olympic coverage on 8 channels.  Couldn’t they put live track action of one of them?  No, doubles badminton, table tennis and replays of a Chinese judo wrestler’s match were much more important.  I guess Chinese people watching NBC coverage in the US must feel the same frustration when all they can find is beach volleyball, BMX biking and Michael Phelps.  My roommate, Shannon Rowbury, and I waited for the results to come up on the internet, and we were ecstatic to find that Shalane had won a bronze medal.  En route to her 3^rd place finish, she also set an American record time of 30:22. 

I flew back to Beijing this morning, and I’m glad to be back.  I went for a run around the Olympic Park and went to the stadium to watch the track events.  In Dalian, things were so quiet that I almost forgot I was in China for the Olympic Games.  I can feel the excitement here again.

I have an update on my race: the first round on August 19^th was CANCELLED, due to lack of entries.  Actually, there are 36 girls entered, enough for 3 rounds, but the local organizing committee decided to cut it out anyway.  So now, my first race will be August 21^st at 7pm China time, 7am EST.  There will be 3 heats of 12 runners and the top 4 in each heat and the next 2 fastest times will advance to the final on August 23^rd.

Athletes from all countries live, eat and train in the Village.  It’s got a dining hall (featuring a McDonald’s), workout facilities, shopping areas, lounges, and other meeting areas.  It’s surreal to see all of these athletes from countries around the world in this place.  For instance, I saw Yao Ming, who is fairly easy to spot, casually grabbing a drink in the dining hall. 

The day after I arrived, I marched in the Opening Ceremonies.   This was a memorable experience, filled with great excitement and lots of sweat.  The US Team wore Ralph Lauren Polo suits, which looked sharp, but were a little heavy for the Beijing heat and humidity.  Aside from the perfuse sweating, the Opening Ceremonies were amazing.  Walking into a stadium of 90,000+ people and watching the torch lighting is something I’ll never forget.

The day after the ceremonies, I left the Olympic Village and flew with some other members of the track team to a training camp in Dalian.  Dalian is port city on the Yellow Sea, and the US Track and Field team is staying at a golf course resort hotel north of town.  Security around the hotel is tight, and we’re the only group actually allowed in the hotel area.  Police block major roads and escort us anytime we leave the hotel.  I feel very VIP, but I also feel a little embarrassed that we may be inconveniencing this city of 6 million people every time we need to go somewhere.  I know I’d be mad if police shut down Route 70 or 295 because some runners needed to get to a track.

Partially due to this security, the Dalian training camp is much quieter than Beijing, and I’m finding it easier to relax and focus on training here.  Since the first round of the women’s 1500m is still over a week away, I can get in a few more quality workouts.  Today, I did a tempo run and some drills, and tomorrow, I’ll do a harder interval session on the track.  I’m feeling good, and I’ve completely adjusted to the time difference.  I’ll let you know how things go here in Dalian and back in Beijing.