I have had a tradition for myself: every Summer Olympics, I would run a half marathon each week during the three weeks of game time. Watching athletes competing really gets me excited and inspires me to do something to challenge myself.
Doing sports is part of my life since I was very young. When I was ten years old, I was selected by the coaches to play volleyball at the Beijing Eastern District Youth Physical School, 东城体校. They came to our elementary school and observed us during one physical exercise class and selected two tallest girls and I was one of the two. Actually, I was only tall early, lucky me ～ I am 5"6', not very tall. So I played volleyball after school from 4pm until 7pm everyday since ten and this lasted until high school. I continued to play in college for another four years and was the captain of the Women's Volleyball team.
I did and loved many other types of sports: tennis, swimming, yoga... Running is a relatively new hobby for me (since 2009) and it is so easy to do, just put shoes on and out you go. There in nature, I become a happy kid again, sweating, competing, observing the beauty of the natural world. Many of my poems came to my mind during those lone,peaceful hours.I used to think running was boring and was for those who couldn't play ball sports well. I later found out that it was not the case at all: running is addictive, and a good addiction, I may say.
During last Summer Olympic (August 5, 2016-August 21, 2016), I ran three half marathons each week, and interestingly, in three different cities. The first week, I attended an academic conference in China. I ran one in my hometown Beijing, along the Chang An Avenue. During that run, I even bought an egg scallion pancake from a street peddler and ate it,and waved at the stone-faced soldiers in front of 中南海,haha.So cool to tour hometown on foot that way. The second week, I was in Chicago visiting my sister. I ran one along the Lake Michigan. A beautiful course, very vibrant running crowd. Free water and Gatorades along the road sponsored by Chicago companies, very nice. The third week, I was in Grabby, Corolado, for a family vocation. So I ran one in a 18-hole gulf course nearby. This third one was the hardest due to the high altitude condition. I didn't feel sick but I felt a little harder to breathe. I managed to finish it anyway. Now I understand why the national teams take the team to train in Corolado. Once they come down to the normal altitude and breathe with the normal level of oxygen, they perform extremely well ～
Now, five years later, it is the summer Olympic game time again. I plan to follow my own tradition and run a half marathon each of the three weekends. Would my body still be able to take the challenge? I am not sure. I am five years older. We will see. I ran the first half marathon yesterday. I felt great. After a hottub soak and some rest, I was able to bounce back to normal, and even did some cooking, penne pasta with meat sauce, hahah. Below I share with you some of my photos. Marathon is a lone affair. I am used to not having any audience. On a second thought, it might be fun to share my adventure with a friend or two, like you : )
