Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Travel day: started in Hong Kong early in the morning and finished in Oslo in the late afternoon (with a few time zones thrown in to elongate it). Flights themselves were fine, with a few minor annoyances at each end - at the starting end, taxis are no easier to find at 6 on a Sunday morning in Hong Kong than they would be in the Melbourne CBD (also, I suspect, showing the effects of a big Saturday night was the person who spewed in front of me in the passport control queue - I wonder what the Hong Kong equivalent is of a "dodgy kebab"?); at the far end, the Oslo luggage system wasn't having one of its better days but my bag did arrive eventually.

According to flightradar24, it was the busiest day in global aviation history, and it would be fair to say that neither Helsinki (in the midst of what appears to be a needed terminal expansion) nor Oslo were coping too well with the crowds.

Didn't get to see as much on a daytime flight as I would have hoped; the Gobi Desert wasn't being terribly deserty and there was barely a break in the cloud between Hong Kong and Novosibirsk.

C • Oslo luggage system 10

Quiz question: in which national event did Jenny Casanova run against Maureen Ogilvie?

C • I’m gonna say it’s somethin... 9

Seemed to be a bit more improved this morning, so decided it was time to take the plunge. Didn't feel as bad as I expected to (not a high bar to clear), but glad I wasn't going any further. Essentially did a circuit of Yuexiu Park, which is quite hilly (in contrast to my last outing here).

Headed to Hong Kong this afternoon, which went pretty smoothly as far as the station in Hong Kong. My hotel is in the middle of three MTR stations, but in my usual state of bloody-mindedness I thought that getting a taxi was an indication of surrender. By the time I'd walked 10 minutes uphill with my gear in the humidity I was ready to dissolve in a ball of sweat. (As for how much I actually saved by doing so, I suspect it was well under A$10).

Still not 100% but on the way up, so felt confident enough to do a session of some kind, if not to venture into the humidity to do it. Original plan was to do a session on the stationary bike in the hotel gym in the morning, but what I thought was the hotel gym wasn't open then (in fact what I was looking at was a separate gym and the hotel one was elsewhere), so went in the afternoon instead (having gone for a walk in the park as my morning plan B instead). A bit tedious as stationary bike sessions are, but at least I didn't fall to pieces and it was good to get something passing for exercise.

The hotel pool (next to the gym) had a sign which listed the conditions which meant you were prohibited from using the pool. It's probably a relief that psychopaths are excluded. So are those with venereal diseases, although I'm not quite sure why; carrying out activities in the pool which could lead to the spread of venereal diseases would presumably be in breach of other rules.

The meeting wrapped up today; whilst still wondering what I've let myself in for, I've emerged from this week with a much better idea of what I'm supposed to be doing and when I'm supposed to do it. (Since I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment, one of the bits of the report I'll be responsible for is the one which deals with how much global temperatures have risen and how close we're getting to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 C above pre-industrial - no pressure....).

C • Chinese pools 1

Still no better today (in fact probably a bit worse, although that may have owed something to my thinking at dinner last night that I was more recovered than I actually was). Not bad enough to affect my participation in the meetings, but I suspect dehydration would catch up with me in a big way if I attempted to run in these conditions.

One benefit of holding an international meeting during the World Cup is that it provides an instant conversation-starter with a fair number of the people present, as demonstrated this morning when I was standing next to people from Colombia and Senegal (who play tonight). There were a few miserable-looking Germans this morning.

Last night's dinner was nice at the time, not quite so good at 3.30 this morning. Certainly not the worst stomach upset I've had but enough to make me think that going out possibly dehydrated in Guangzhou's current conditions probably wasn't a good idea. Had hoped to do something in the gym after the end of sessions today if I felt OK (which I did), but the meeting ran too late for that to be an option.

Looks like Oslo is going to be almost as hot, but somewhat less humid.

And can any readers who are more into shopping than I am (not an especially high bar to clear) enlighten us as to what one would do with 567 handbags?

C • 567 handbags 4

Various bits of me felt awkward before the start so I wasn't surprised when it didn't work out (the steps coming out of the metro station which is the only practical way to get to the park across the main road east of here were enough to set me off). Hopefully better tomorrow, in a week when I'm really only in maintenance mode. No less humid today (probably no less humid here until sometime in September).

Continuing a gradual acclimatisation process (if you can ever properly acclimatise to these conditions, although I guess people who live here must manage it). What in other circumstances would be an easy recovery run was pretty hard work here, and I suspect I wouldn't have coped with much longer. Found a decent place to run, though, based around the park to the west of here and then finishing up around the block taking in a bit more of the residential area; the big plus of such a route is no road crossings other than one big underpass.

As I expected, I was not alone in the park (I doubt if there is any such thing as being alone in a public place in this part of China); lots of walkers and a few runners, but also some well-used public table tennis tables and badminton courts, and numerous practitioners of tai chi.

Got down to business today. It's going to be an interesting ride, although there will undoubtedly be times in the next three years where I'll be wondering why I put my hand up for this.

And I noticed on TV last night that ads for 4WDs on Chinese TV feature landscapes (and roads of questionable quality) which I presume are in Tibet or somewhere near Tibet. I would also speculate that there's about as much chance of the average 4WD sold in Guangzhou ever going anywhere near Tibet as there is of the average 4WD on the roads of Toorak ever going anywhere near the Kimberley or Cape York.

C • chance? 2