Running and cycling with Bill

Name:
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Tuesday, November 28, 2006


Wow, where does the time go?

In September I found myself jetting off to Beijing for a conference on avian and pandemic influenza preparedness, on behalf of my current employer, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. While it was a short trip, what an amazing place Beijing is. There are some 7,000 construction sites in the city, and there is little question that China will be the economic powerhouse of the world in the near future.

We had a little time for sightseeing, and of course a highlight for me was the Great Wall. There is a marathon run there, which must be incredibly difficult, as the steps are so very low in height, even walking is a challenge. I rode the cable car up to the Wall at Mitianyu and walked back down. It was truly an inspiring event; I never thought I would ever see the Wall. No matter that it is restored in that section; it's unbelievable that it was constructed at all.

I only ran outside once, as the pollution in the city is a challenge. My run was my own personal Terry Fox Run, as I missed the one in Ottawa, and the one in Beijing, due to travel. So I ran the 8k route on my own, getting lost of course, and much to the amusement of the Chinese. The rest of the time I ran, reluctantly, on the hotel treadmill on the 18th floor, looking out on the gathering haze.

I am still biking to work, and will do so until the weather becomes really nasty. Recently I did an 11.3k cross country race, and got rather muddy, and then was a pacer in the Ottawa Hospital 10k. A guy from Australia found me on a running website and showed up for the race after several emails; he was here for awhile on business.

An earlier post told of my incredible bad luck in having two flat tires on my bike and two in the same tire on my car within four days. Would you believe that recently I got another flat on the same rear tire on my bike, and the same week, four days later, got yet a third flat on the same tire on my car. I think I will buy a lottery ticket.