Track and Field Blogs - Jenny Barringer

Ni-hao,

The morning after my 2am recap of my race I woke up at 6:30 bright-eyed and ready to make the trek over to BNU where my coach has been staying. I caught a bus an hour later and bounced in my seat like a 5-year-old anxious for the warm welcome of a proud coach. My expectations were met when I saw Mark in the lobby and he was indeed very happy with my race and with my whole season. We communed over breakfast before he caught his Chicago-bound plane later in the afternoon. More importantly, Mark was Buffalo-bound. His mind is always with his team. I respect that and was happy to see him returning to Boulder quickly to rejoin our beloved Cross Country team as they commence a new season. A little sad too though because it was the first real indication that this fairy-tale trip is beginning to wrap up.

Now, I'm enjoying the "post-race bliss" as a former coach of mine put it in an e-mail to me. It's even more than post-race, it's post-season. I'm actually taking a short break and not running while I enjoy being more of a tourist here in Beijing. I spent my first free day with two of my family members that traveled here to watch my race. They were only able to be here in Beijing for one night so I wanted to make the most of my one day with them. I left directly from BNU to meet up with my family and travel to the Great Wall.

The Wall was so much fun and a must-do for any China trip. I went to a section of the wall that requires a ski-lift to get up to and then includes the thrill of a toboggan ride down the slope! I took a ton of pictures and really enjoyed catching up with my family a little bit. There was a point where I decided to go ahead because I wanted to climb further on the wall and I was going to come straight back when I had had my fill. Well, I managed on a straight wall to get lost (no surprise to Heather). I somehow managed to pass my family on the way back and walked way beyond where they were waiting for me. So, the end result was me getting to walk a very large section of the wall TWICE. Now, that doesn't seem like an adequate punishment for my unwillingness to pay attention to where I am but I assure you, if you've ever climbed the steps of that wall, you will feel sympathetic. By the time I finally found them I had definitely had my fill of the Great Wall as far as climbing it goes. It was beautiful though and a special highlight of my whole trip here.

After that we went to lunch (traditional Chinese and my family speaks Chinese so it was a special treat!) and then to a market. We bargained for kites and again just enjoyed being together and connecting in a foreign country. Last, we traveled back to Beijing to spend the evening there and the finale was a traditional pekin duck dinner. It was scrumptious and fabulous Chinese family-style where we shared tons of dishes and ingredients on a lazy-suzan in the middle of the table. And, I was excited to show off my chop-stick skills. The whole experience of interacting with the Chinese a little more in their own element because I was with native speakers was a wonderful gift. I even learned a few phrases and got to try them out. I asked where the bathroom was all by myself! I also learned how to say "See you tomorrow" and impressed the cute Chinese girl that stands at our door at night when I came in later that evening.

Today I was pretty spent from all of the action yesterday so I let myself sleep in and enjoyed a lazy day of phone calls home, sauntering to and from meals, reading, and writing letters. In the evening I went to the track to watch my roommates run, Shalane and Sanya. I got another cool and unexpected adventure. My family told me they ran into some people from Winter Park, Florida when they were in the Bird's Nest and that they had a number for me to call if I was interested in hooking up with them. I called them tonight when I got to the track to see if they might be watching the events at the stadium. It ended up being Donny, a member of the oh-so-memorable (and dominant) men's WPHS cross-country team of '05 and his brother and father. I ended up sitting with them to watch the rest of the meet. We caught up and shared some Beijing stories. It was a lot of fun to make that connection again and I look forward to maybe running into them again before we both take off to the States.

This has been a trip full of all kinds of anticipated thrills but the icing has been those unexpected meetings, connections, stories, and adventures. While I knew being a part of the Olympic Team and representing the USA would leave me with lifetime memories, this trip has been sprinkled with additional surprises like meeting up with my family and Donny. In ten years when I go back to this blog or my journal to taste some precious moments, the sprinkles will be the best part.