i am leaving for China on Sept 4th for the world ITU triathlon championships in Beijung. i am going as an age group competitor having qualified in a race in New Brunswick last year. It is really just an excuse to go somewhere i would not go otherwise. The reality of it is setting in. I am only going for 10 days as i am busy at work and it is a stuggle to take off more time than that. I have two days trips booked; one to the Great Wall and one to the Forbidden city and around Beijing. I am going with a group as part of triathlon canada so i won't really be alone and i expect i will meet people.
my training has been going well. it is always a challenge to balance work, social activities and training. Summer on PEI is very social and there is always lots going on. I think my swimming and cycling are very good and my running is ok. I have been working hard on my running and i see some improvement but it is not as rapid as i would like. I will be getting organized this week; packing including packing my bike and other triathlon gear. Travellling with a bike is becoming an increaing problem as planes are getting smaller and they frequently don't have room for them. The airlines simply don't put them on if it is crowded and make no apologies. it can take several dasy for your bike to get to your destination. the biggest challenge for me in getting my bike to china is getting it out of charlottetown airport where all the planes are small. i am going to go early on departure day and speak nicely to someone to see if i can impress upon them that it needs to get on the plane.
