The Great Wall Workout

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=MJ_Herbert]MJ Herbert
The Great Wall at Badaling outside of Beijing, China. I had the unique opportunity to visit Beijing in China. I finally had the chance to mark one off the bucket list - a trip to the great wall. This wall provides a fantastic opportunity to boost your heart rate and get a great workout along with breathtaking views. It was an extremely foggy day in Beijing and started to snow. My Chinese friend was hesitant, the road may be closed, it may be snowing, the fog may be too much. I was not going not let these minor things stop me. I get concerned when 70 mph winds close lifts at the peaks of mountains, sometimes... It is all about being prepared and I was. I had the full range of coats and boots and was ready for anything. (Actually - I had my backpack complete with my 10 essentials - boy scouts will understand - first aid, flame, water, compass, knife etc) As expected - it seems the culture there is a little conservative. We ended up parking 2 spots away from the tram and soon we ascended on a tram to the top of the mountain at the wall at Badaling. It was a perfect day - no wind, about 0 deg C and no crowds.
We started out walking up the wall - I quickly realized it would take a while as people were pulling themselves up the steep walkways (a little icy, very little actually). �Most of the areas has steps but some were just flat ramps. �It required pulling up the side rails, it reminded me of the climb up Half Dome at Yosemite! Some of the stairs were like the stairs you would go down to your basement. Almost vertical! �We walked for about 10 minutes and I noticed my friend was starting to lag. �We made it about 2 blocks when he indicated he was winded and could not continue. What? AHHHHH! I gathered my calm... I talked him into another 10 minutes - including down some steep hills. I decided he was more than I could carry and from his breathing, a heart attack may be next. We decided we were as far as he should go. I decided to go further alone. �I was prepared, the weather was perfect and I was here for adventure.
I figured I would catch him on the way back. I pushed on and continued - now at a faster pace since I was not waiting for anyone. The number of people quickly dwindled. I could tell my endurance training was kicking in as I passed a lot of people looking pretty harried. After several steep hills, I came across a lookout tower. It had a room with 2 locked gates. I can only imagine it was for prisoners. It had to be pretty cold there! I continued on for maybe an hour. It was awesome.
If I did not have to go back and catch up with my friend - I would have taken several hours. I decided I had maybe 1 hour to spend on my little workout. I could have walked all day. Sigh. I started back with a little speed. I soon was really hot. Off came the coat and I had the military look going. Just a t-shirt and a backpack cruising up the hills. I got some serious sweat on! This was becoming a fairly nice workout. People were aghast at my tshirt look as they bundled up like it was Antarctica. Silly. I soon was back to the last few blocks and came across my friend. I had caught him! It was indeed a good workout. NICE!
After talking with some locals - I found out there is actually a Marathon held at the wall. (Yes - also a half and a 10k). For a tour price of about $1200 USD, you can do it right including visiting some of the nearby required sights in Beijing. It includes the Forbidden City, one of the shopping "malls" (Silk or Pearl). �Airfare not included in this price. I found a site dedicated to it. See   rel=nofollow [http://www.great-wall-marathon.com/Itinerary.aspx]http://www.great-wall-marathon.com/Itinerary.aspx. I am thinking I just added to the bucket list. How can I not do this?
About the author: MJ Herbert has been active in Triathlons for over 4 years and has created a checklist of critical gear needed to be successful in triathlons. An entire year of workouts can be ruined by forgetting a critical item. Don't be the person that sits in transition wondering how they forgot a critical piece of gear. Get your copy of the [http://giftsfortriathletes.com/?page_id=27]Triathlete Checklist now. This list also is the perfect list for finding [http://giftsfortriathletes.com]Gifts for Triathletes. You have full permission to reprint my article as long as this box is kept unchanged.
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