Upcoming events –

Napa-Sonoma Half Marathon, July 20, 2014
Noble Canyon 50km Trail, September 20, 2014

Saturday, August 9, 2008

I'm okay, I'm in Dalian

There's been some bad news here in China. Two American tourists were attacked at a popular Beijing tourist site early this afternoon. One of them died on the scene and the other is in critical condition. The attacker jumped to his death immediately after the attack.

I don't know if the local Chinese news stations are covering the story or not, but I'm sure it will be on in the US in the morning. Full story at Yahoo.

The USOC has asked us to tell everyone we are okay. "It was an isolated incident, a crazy person, not politically motivated, etc, etc." So, please, no worrying. This morning, I flew from Beijing to Dalian and am staying at a maximum security compound. No, wait, it's actually a fancy beach resort for the US Track & Field training camp, however the security here, even before today's incident in Beijing, has been very very tight. Even within the hotel, I was stopped and forced to go back to my room because I forgot my credentials when I went to lunch. And we are the only people staying in the hotel. The only other people here are hotel staff and Chinese security personnel. The hotel is 40 minutes from the Dalian airport and we had a police escort the entire way. Traffic ahead of us was forced off the road and at intersections, all cross traffic was stopped and backed up for blocks. Our manager said that we were being given the same kind of security details as a visiting head of state would receive.

In order to get in a long workout, I have to leave the compound (it really is a 'compound' with fencing and a security perimeter). There is a practice track 10 minutes from here by bus. Tomorrow, they are closing 7.5 miles of roadway along the waterfront for all of the distance athletes to use as a training site. I have to sign up for the shuttle to any training venues two days in advance which is going to be hard for me because I often decide what my workout will be the day before.

I'm going to write more about the Opening Ceremonies in a future post (and sneak in some photos), but for now I need to get some rest. It's been another busy day. I'm looking forward to a nice easy 22km workout tomorrow, a dip in the hotel pool, and a nap. Training camp: gotta love it!

1 comment:

bjosemora said...

Good luck from Spain!!!