Week 21 : Beijing

 A city filled with history and culture.

 

Entrance to the Forbidden City with Mao on the front

Bird's Nest

Tiananmen square

Golden Knobs for Good Luck

Forbidden City

 

 

 

The Sacred Way to Ming's Tomb

Mr.Ming

 

Enemalware Cloisonne Info

Enamel (Jing Tai period 1450-1456)

The history behind Silk

Silk (30th Century BC)

Temple of Heaven (1406)

Summer Palace "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony" (1750)

17 arch bridge, linking the human world with the Penglai Fairyland

Rickshaws (19th Century)

A local family invited us into their home for lunch

We saw a band playing music and we ended up being the rock stars of the event!

Running in the morning

Week 20 : Conquering the Great Wall

"We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them." - Buddha

JIM teammates

Day 6 : The Great Wall Marathon

3:00am

I prepared my favourite sports breakfast, instant oatmeal, put on my lime green Joints In Motion (JIM) team jersey, packed my backpack and jumped on the bus. Together the JIM team, which consisted of 33 people from all over Canada drove 2.5 hours to Ying Yang Square in Tianjin Province.

 

By 6 am, we arrived at the Great Wall to meet over 2,000 participants from all over the world. Finally,  the runners were united after months of grueling training to run 5,164 steps along one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. 

           

    After warming up for the run, I waited patiently next to Nick "Danger" who had completed this marathon in 2008. I added the "Danger" to his name because he has really lived life on the edge. Nick "Danger" has completed 55 international marathons by the age of 55. I don't think I could have sat beside a better and more experienced marathon runner than Nick. I was inspired by his achievement.

Before the run

I asked him which marathon was the best and most difficult in the world and he said this one. "Once you complete the Great Wall Marathon, all the other marathons will seem much easier " said Nick. "It's an adventure marathon, go out there and have fun!" All of a sudden all the pressure to run my best was set aside to ensure I enjoyed every moment of it.

Nick "Danger's" achievements have included parachuting, travelling under the Atlantic on a submarine; driving in demolition derbies and building and living in an igloo. As well, he nearly lost his life in a Yukon blizzard when trapped just under the summit of Mt. Logan, Canada's highest peak.   

Warm up

Start

7:45 am

3...2...1...Go! The second round of Marathons took off! 6 teammates hiked 5km up the mountain to the Great Wall Entrance. We ventured the Wall together like children, making funny gestures, finding new discoveries and filled with excitement. There was no step high enough, steep enough, or cricked enough to get in the way of crossing the finish line. No matter how long it took. After 3.2km along the Wall, Charlene and I ran through Ying Yang Square, waved hello to our teammates and then headed towards the near by Village. 

Ying Yang Square

Charlene and I

I have never seen so many different shape, size, and width type of steps all along the same path. As well, the Wall was slanted. One glance up to enjoy the view might be risky.  One lady went to get her camera out as she was running tumbled over the water canals. This was one route which required extreme balance, leg strength and endurance. 

David

Village

Villager

The local people of Duanzhuang Village welcomed us with open arms. The marathon is a big event in this village, as families lined up along the course to cheer us on and children gave us hand picked flowers. Running from a paved road to unpaved with mixed surfaces through the most basic housing, took my mind away from the marathon and into the lives of the locals.

 

 

Got an invitation to her home.

Only 19 Km

21 Km - Mission accomplished!

 

Ran through the finish line with a burst of energy 4 hours later! I wanted to continue back up the mountain for a second round. 

I can't believe I trained 4 months to run 21 Km at this special event. I noticed that I was well prepared and all of the training paid off. I did not feel muscle soreness or tightness the days following.

Participating in this event was truly a physical component to "Fighting Arthritis"! I would love to return to run the full marathon in the future!

Week 19: Faith

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see, the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. 

 - St. Augustine

I am off to China to conquer The Great Wall towards my "Fight Against Arthritis!"  

 

 

 THANK YOU for all of your SUPPORT!

Love Elise

Week 18: Excellence!

 “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. 

We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  - Aristotle 

Countdown 12 Days

"Picturing" myself on The Great Wall

“No man ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation” -  Horace

    In November 2010, I saw the advertisement for this wonderful opportunity presented by The Arthritis Society. I thought to myself...I can help make a difference while pursuing my passion for health and fitness. I knew this task was not going to be easy but I was ready to put my mind, body, and spirit into challenging myself and helping millions of Canadians.

*My"Fight Against Arthritis" has been featured in SNAP Newspaper*. Click Here!

I came across many speed bumps and detours along the way. My biggest challenge of all was fundraising. How was I going to raise nearly $8,000? I was shy at first and didn't know how to approach people and what their responses would be? I kept reminding myself that "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" (Winston Churchill). All I knew was that I believed in fighting for a good cause. 

Elise treating an Arthritic patient

I am very thankful for the positive responses from people and their support to achieve my dream! They helped make all my road blocks fade away and strengthen my journey!

 

"Life is a journey, not a destination" - Steven Tyler.

    Being a member of the Joints In Motion Training Team has truly been a journey. I have learned more about Arthritis, the importance of giving and how to prepare for The Great Wall Marathon. When I signed up, I did not know what I was going to be faced with. Just as the quote states above it was a "slow and painful process of study and preparation!"

"I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

In Chinatown  -  Chinese Souvlaki

    Count down! One week to go before I depart for Beijing. I pretended to be a tourist in my own city and explored Chinatown! The streets smelled like fish, covered in red and yellow banners and plenty of Chinese people. 

I saw this food stand and had no clue what kind of souvlaki it sold until I read their business card...it was lamb. From looking at this stand the only information I could understand were the numbers. The year this Chinese souvlaki may have been invented (1661) and a phone number with out the English name of the stand. Maybe I should start learning Chinese?  : )

Thankfully they had an array of pictures to choose from! 

Steamed dumplings anyone?

Thank you again for all of your support!

I am still fundraising and please donate what you can.

Need to raise $1,160 more!

Week 17: Go for the Goal!

"Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world."

- Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe

18 Days - 439hrs - 26346mins - 1580816s

I set out to run 20K this weekend and completed 17K. I covered more distance than last week in the same amount of time (2 hours). Very happy!

I am running for people who have discomfort with movement.

I am fundraising to improve Arthritis research and quality of treatments.

I am traveling to the Great Wall to witness what thousands of slaves were sacrificed for the completion of this ambitious endeavor.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” - Napoleon Hill

“Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.”

 - Dale Carnegie

 

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!

- Audrey Hepburn

What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

- Robert H. Schuller

THANK YOU 

FOR 

YOUR SUPPORT!!