Iron people, 3 pieces

That is the literal meaning of the Chinese translation for 'triathlon'. The men's triathlon was today. Val and I left at seven a.m. to get on the subway to take our favorite 919 bus to the K34 Olympic bus to the Triathlon venue, where we were hoping to get a glimpse of the action. We didn't have tickets, but that didn't faze us. We were determined to find a spot alongside the road where we could cheer on our USA athletes.

On the subway, we happened to be next to a couple who looked as if they were headed to the same place (she was wearing a USAT shirt... hm, I wonder!), and soon they asked us if we were going. We told them of our situation and we all braved the Beijing bus system together. Matthew and Alayna were great, and half the fun of the Olympics is meeting all kinds of people from around the world... or at least the other side of the country!

I have to admit, I was a little more skeptical of our plan than Val, but she was sure that we would be able to watch the race. We got off the bus and began walking up the hill to the security tents where you gained access to the venue. I don't know what I was so nervous about, but I really hoped someone would just hand us some tickets. Val was more proactive, thank goodness, and started asking spectators if they had extras.

Sure enough, an American guy said he had one. One. Oh no. We couldn't leave each other out of the fun. But Val took one for the team, and told me I had to go no matter what. The guy, a friend of Matt Reed's, sold it to me at face value (so nice!) for only about 7.50 USD. I was in! I headed up to go through security while Val continued her search.

A few minutes after I was in the venue, she called me with great news: she had found a ticket as well! Someone actually just gave it to her... we played our cards right, I suppose, by staying at the bottom of the hill and catching people early. There were many wannabe spectators at the top holding out wads of cash, hoping to score some tickets.

I considered myself lucky and was so thankful for the opportunity to see world-class athletes compete in an exciting sport at a beautiful venue. Amazing.

But it gets better: after Val and I watched the swim conclude and the bike portion of the race begin, we decided to find an area that someone recommended as a good viewing point of a hill climb. We ended up somehow in a restricted area for athletes, media and race officials only! Oops! We did have our Olympic credentials on (they let you ride the public transportation for free), but I mean, I had an American flag draped around my neck-- we definitely didn't look ready to work.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. We stood at an amazing position so we were facing the athletes head on at a turn before they entered the transition area! It was fantastic. We met some nice people while we were enjoying our view, and I even saw a photographer that I work with at the Velodrome. They're everywhere...

We headed back up to the spectator area (somewhat reluctantly) and watched the rest of the race from there. Val and I had a great time, and were glad we were persistent and didn't give up on our quest for the triathlon tickets. We watched Jan Frodeno cross the finish line to his gold medal and then cheered on Team USA as they finished the race.

After the conclusion of the race, it was time to head back to Laoshan for our last day of track cycling. I watched as Vicky Pendleton of Great Britain dominated the women's sprint finals, while fellow Brit Chris Hoy won his third gold medal in the men's sprint. These two are unstoppable and unbeatable. It was a great show.

Argentina took home the gold in the men's Madison, which is similar to points race but done with partners and even more complicated. I really think I would have had at least three crashes going ten times slower than what these guys were riding. It was crazy to see them all coordinating their relays as they zoomed around the track. I was happy to see another country take home some hardware (Great Britain totally dominated the track scene), especially because one of the riders, Juan Esteban Curuchet, is, at 43, the oldest track cyclist at the Olympics. It was also his final international competition, since he is retiring.

The Purdue photo group went to an amazing burrito place in Sanlitun after work. My chicken burrito was so good! It was a great end to a fantastic day. Goodnight!