Not So Fast! First Place is Still an Illusion....

Wow! The Redheads Cara & Jamie were thinking that they finally managed to come in first place, and Phil hands them a clue and says "keep racing!" Lucky for Keisha & Jen, who had a major meltdown at a task, meaning they won’t be eliminated this leg and have a chance to catch up.

Our teams are told to fly to Beijing, China and find a foot massage spa. Tammy & Victor were excited since they were just to Beijing for the Olympics and had a familiarity with the city. After the Mat argument last week, Luke is saying "It’s done with Keisha & Jen. We’re going to finish in the final three and kick their ass." Margie & Luke get to the airport first and as Keisha & Jen wait behind them to book tickets, they all find out that particular counter doesn’t accept foreign credit cards. Margie gets upset and mumbles that Keisha & Jen get to the other counter first rather than "go in the order that they were there in the first place." It doesn’t matter in the end, as they are all on the same flight. Tammy & Victor, using their language skills, ask the seating agent to give them seats as far up front as possible and put the other teams as far back as possible (leaving the Redheads in the last row). Tammy mentioned that "we will bring shame to our family" if they didn’t make it through this leg of the Race.

Once in Beijing, Luke and Keisha bumped into each other as they were running for taxis, but luckily nothing came out of that - I’m sure neither wanted to end up arrested in China for fighting at the airport. Keisha & Jen ended up with a slow cab driver and Cara & Jamie passed them up, even though they were the last off the plane after being stuck way in the back. Tammy remarked that she didn’t like feet, and was hoping that the task at the foot massage spa didn’t involve having to give foot rubs. Cara & Jamie make it to the spa first and find a Road Block. "One team member had to first drink a Chinese medicinal tea. Then, they would sit back and "enjoy" a foot massage, known for its therapeutic powers, which walked the fine line between pleasure and pain and lasted ten minutes. If the racer could endure the therapeutic massage for the entire ten minutes, they had to drink another cup of tea to receive their next clue. However, if the pain was too intense, the racer could say, "Uncle", to stop the massage, but if they did, they had to restart the massage from the beginning." Cara wasn’t thrilled with anyone touching her feet but I’m sure she would have welcomed a regular foot massage over what was to come. She was reduced to tears, squirming all over the chair as Jamie threatened her not to say "uncle." Keisha had to bite on her jacket to get through the "massage." As Tammy went in and saw the two of them, she asked "is it really that bad?" and Cara told her "having a baby has to be easier than this!" After a few minutes Tammy admitted that she’d much rather mess with someone else’s feet than endure the pain. Luke overruled Margie, who offered to do the task, and was sorry, signing "ow" over and over again. He and Tammy ended up holding hands for courage, and after Tammy left, he bit on his cap to get through the rest. (I don't even want to know what the "happy ending" at this spa was!!! Plus, the shots of the local spa ladies grinning creeped me out.)

The teams had trouble finding a taxi to take them to the Guangcai Natatorium which allowed Margie & Luke to catch up. Keisha & Jen were first to leave, and Cara & Jamie were going for the same cab as Tammy & Victor, who were telling the cab driver where they needed to go. Jamie bulldozed her way to the cab, telling Tammy "not this time, sister," and Tammy decided to let it go because "Jamie scares me." (All Tammy would have to do is scream in Chinese that Jamie had a gun or drugs and she’d be a bit delayed, I’d think! Of course, I can only imagine the penalty Phil would give her for that....)

At the Natatorium, Tammy & Victor get there first and get the clue, which is a Detour - Sync or Swim. "In Sync, teams would try to master the skill of synchronized diving by jumping off the three-meter springboard and hitting the water in perfect unison. When they performed a jump where they hit the water simultaneously, and received a passing score of five from the judges, they would receive their next clue. In Swim, teams had to change into the revolutionary Speedo laser suit, the same type of suit worn by Michael Phelps when he won 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Then, they had to swim eight lengths of the pool in a 400-meter relay with team members alternating every two lengths, and competing against Michael Phelps’ time of 04:03.84 in the individual medley. While teams did not have to beat Phelps’ time, each team member had to complete 200 meters of the relay to receive their next clue."

Tammy & Victor decide to try the diving after watching a diver bounce twice on the board and jump in feet first, thinking it would be easier than the swimming. Victor looked embarrassed walking out of the locker room with the bathing suit they gave him, a little Speedo, saying "this is skimpy." It was funny watching them try to "dive" in unison - they were getting scores of 1's and 2's - they couldn’t even jump off the boards at the same time! Keisha & Jen had gotten there by this time and decided to try the diving because Jen had a huge fear of water and figured this would be easier to take than swimming. Jen walked out to the edge of the board and said "I can’t do this" so they decided to switch tasks. As they changed into the laser swimsuits, Keisha mentioned that "I don’t think these are made for someone with these thighs," trying hard to squeeze into the suit. She jumped in first to swim the first leg, and while I thought she was taking so long and grabbing onto the lane markers on the way back, I realized she was doing that after about 10 meters (which isn’t like a skip in the park, but c’mon already!) I was a swimmer in high school, but we swam yards - when I got to college I visited the pool and jumped in to do a few laps, and realized it was a meter pool - and meters are much longer than I expected! Still, the teams were not expected to go fast or look pretty doing it, or not even stick to one stroke (they could dog paddle if they wanted). After her first lap, Jen convinced Keisha to go back to the diving board for another crack at that.

Cara & Jamie had decided to do the swim, and while they weren’t anywhere near graceful in the water, they kept at it and finished the 400 meters in 9:53. They got their clue and were told to head to the Pit Stop at Drum Tower. They were excited, thinking that this was finally the leg they could come in first, but knowing that they’ve been first to leave tasks before and something always managed to screw them up like bad drivers or directions kept them anxious.
In the meantime, Margie & Luke did the swim and while Margie complained that it was hard to breathe in the swimsuit, they finished the race with a time to beat of 8:05. Talking in the cab about the troubles Keisha & Jen were having, Margie said "Jen and Kisha, bye bye. They’re tough on land, but in the water, they’re nothing."

Tammy & Victor finally decide to stop attempting to dive after failing miserably on numerous tries and switch to swimming. After two dives, Jen started falling apart, crying that she didn’t want to do the task any more. Keisha tried her best to convince Jen to keep moving, saying "we want to go out strong," and pretty much resigning herself to the fact that it was the end of the line for them. After their swim was over with a time of 10:29 and Tammy & Victor found a cab, Victor started having horrible cramps in his legs and they had to take some time for the cramps to stop so Victor could bend his legs and sit in the cab. By this time Keisha had convinced Jen to go back for the swim, and they Keisha put on a flotation jacket to show solidarity with Jen, and they managed to get through the 200 meters each. (Okay, if one can’t swim this makes sense, and they had to know it would be available - I just can’t fathom someone being that petrified in a pool [as opposed to a lake or river] and wearing a life vest! A definite advantage over the other teams not using the life vests.)

With Victor having cramp trouble, I figured this gave the producers a chance to show a little mystery - maybe Keisha & Jen had time to catch up (their swimming time was 18:19). Would there be an actual race to the Mat for 3rd place?

Well, no. As Cara & Jamie proudly jump on the Mat in front of Phil, pretty sure they finally finished a leg in first, Phil pulls out a clue and tells them "this leg of the Race is not yet over. Keep racing!" I almost felt sorry for them - almost. Maybe if they’d been a bit nicer to people along the way.....

So we find out next week who our final three teams are! Got a favorite? Who do you want out next week? Let's talk!