Today, my brother didn't wake me up early. Maybe he did, but I fell back asleep and forgot about it. I was really tired, but so was everybody else, apparently. Must be something we ate.
We went on a team ride after breakfast. I expected 10 people to show up, maybe a dozen, based on the amount of people at breakfast (significantly more than yesterday). There were 60 (ish). The diversity of the team is amazing. I met people who were on the same flight as me from Toronto, as well as people from all over the country. East coast, west coast, way up north, and even farther south. They were young and old (actually, I was the youngest), fat and thin (okay, maybe not so fat) and of all different skill levels. There are also a number of paratriathletes. I met one man with one leg. It's inspiring to see them overcoming their disadvantages and working hared to achieve what they have done. The reigning Paratriathlon World Champion is my teammate. And it's official: the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will include Paratriathlon as an official sport.
For many of the athletes, this is their first World Championship as well. I met one guy (kind of a team leader) who has been to eleven World Championships. His birthday just happens to be on the same day as mine (Happy Belated Birthday, Jason!).
We rode the course as a group, then came back after for a group swim. The Swim Course Familiarization went well, although the waster is very murky and has a funny taste (don't swallow). The motorboat fumes were actually a relief. Apparently, it's better than the World Championships last year, in Budapest, where the water was so bad, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.On the positive side, it is very warm (not wetsuits allowed) and very flat. Unlike all of the races I did this year, there is not a wave in sight. It will be a very fast swim this year.
When we got there, there was a ton of security. We had to have our passes, saying we are athletes, and had to go through metal detectors. There are tons of people from the army; you can even see groups of them up in the hills.Preparations are well underway. There is blue everywhere with Beijing posters, ads, ITU logos and World Championships banners everywhere. It felt really cool to be a part of it. Standing there, where all the magic happened in 2008, it really hit home what was happening: it's on. Some guy asked me to sign an enormous flag/banner (eventually all the other athletes did, too) and I got interviewed with a teammate for the Beijing Newspaper. I don't know if I'll actually appear in an article (the intern didn't take any notes or pictures) or if I'll even be able to read it, but it felt great being treated like a celebrity. It's almost surreal: I just turned 18, and I'm already doing interviews and giving out autographs.
After, we went back, and I had lunch (very spicy noodles), a nap (finally), and went to the Aquathlon meeting. An aquathlon is like a triathlon, but the format is slightly different. It consists of a 2,5km run, 1km swim, then another 2.5km run, back-to-back-to-back. During registration for the Worlds, I signed up for the Aquathlon, since it was only $12, and would serve as a good warm-up for the race on the 11th. Tomorrow mornnig (tonight at 11:00 PM for you people at home), I will be participating in the 2011 World Championships for Aquathlon!
I'm not sure if there is live coverage of the race, but there might be something (maybe a finish line feed) at either triathlon.org or triathlon.org/tv. That's at 11:00 tonight, folks.
After the meeting, we went back to the Auspicious for dinner again (it's just that good). We mixed it up a bit, getting some new dishes (noodles to carboload before the race) and some old one (the amazing duck). In my opinion, it was even better than last night, and for even less (less than $12). These days, you can't even get a decent meal at McDonald's for that price!
The air quality was significantly lower today. My mom and brother both had to take their puffers. IT was so hazy and smoggy that you could look directly at the sun. Yesterday, the moon looked brown from all the particulate in the air. Today, you couldn't even see it. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. Why can't they fire the missiles at the clouds (it's called cloud seeding) like they did for the Olympics?
Anyway, big race tomorrow (tonight, whatever) so I'm off to bed. If the Internet is working (yes, it appears we have broken the Internet), I'll update this as soon as I'm done. Results should be live at triathlon.org somewhere. Don't ask me; figure it out.
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