I’m A Little Bird

March 1, 2013 / Sloan / 1 Comment

Since I have been recovering from a nearly death crippling illness (I might be exaggerating) I have been walking around the park. Yes, walking. It’s actually quite embarrassing, I went from running for hours in circles around the park just a month ago, now walking. Please, don’t get me wrong, walking is awesome exercise and there is nothing wrong with it; but I enjoy running. I feel weird wearing my running shoes and not running.

I won’t be modest here—I’m kinda famous at the Kamphaeng Phet historical park. The guards at the front know me, they often see me twice a day, once at 6am when it’s still dark out and my half asleep ass stumbles in to get a lap or two in; and then again at 5pm after work for a few more. I hate showering, but when I’m showering twice a day due to running it’s okay.

While on my walks this week I always smile at the other walkers, I curse the runners because that’s what I want to be doing and I’m jealous! (being sick left me knocked on my ass for 4 days, I’m now trying to get rid of a hacking cough that is really super attractive.) Every evening I see a group of men that are completely decked out in nice running gear, split shorts, singlets, and run at an even pace chatting away (I can only assuming they are talking about running, because that’s what runners talk about.)

Yesterday we passed paths, they gave a shout and smiled! Before I knew it I could hear the group behind me, they had met their turn around point and were headed back. I kept on with my slow and steady walk (I wouldn’t even call it a power walk, more like a I wish I was running but this is all I can do, better have good posture walk.) As the group approached behind me they didn’t all move to one side like I expected them to. They surrounded me, they scooped me up in their wake and my legs began to run!

I imagined this is what it’s like stray for birds during migration. They draft off one another, using each others energy and force to continue moving forward. Well, these men had picked me up and began asking questions in broken English, “What is name?” “Why are you in Thailand love Thailand?” As we conversed they pointed to each other and gave thumbs ups, “Fast man!!”

My cough surfaced and I heard them whisper “Oooh, mai sabai” she doesn’t feel well. When they turned to check on me I gave a thumbs up and kept moving. As we approached the gate then men slowed and turned to a walk high fiving and wai-ing one another. I thanked them and continued home with a bit of a skip in my step—some Thaicouragment was what I needed to get moving again. A running community is the same anywhere, just run, laugh, and smile and maybe talk a little shop and it’ll get you swooped up, even it if is only for half a mile.

Off into the sunset

Loss

February 7, 2013 / Sloan / Leave a comment

Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.

Marcus Aurelius

Man down, man down! Lost a toenail and got several blisters during the race last weekend. I’m mourning the loss that I won’t be getting a pedicure with my roommate this tomorrow–but am embracing the delight of a completely fulfilling experience.

Wing

February 4, 2013 / Sloan / 3 Comments

Aka and I at 3:30am about to leave the hotel

I love the fact that the Thai word for run is wing. Some days that’s how I feel when I run, like I have wings and could just fly through the miles, soaring over trees, the wind carrying me. Other times my wings feel broken, stressed out or just tired. But wing in general is a word that sounds positive and lifts you up and carries you through the next mile.

My bus left my Thailand hometown at 11am and slowly but surely made it’s way to the next station where I missed my connecting bus. Damn. A two hour wait for the next one that leaves at 3:30pm and would take 5 hours to reach Pak Chong, once I reached Pak Chong I would need to find a motorbike taxi to my hotel and from my hotel I needed to find a ride no later that 3:45am, yes am, to Khoa Yai National Park where I had to pick up my bib, chip, race shirt and rules, store my stuff, go through the mandatory gear check (things we MUST have: head torch, the ability to carry 1litre of water, food, cell phone, med kit, a whistle, map) kind of a long ridiculous list if you ask me and the other hundreds of racers racing the The North Face 100 50k or 100k. but we oblige. Needless to say the travel aspect and little details were stressful. Mai pen rai. I got there, made it on time and passed the checklist. Start time was 5am, an hour and a half before sunrise—I guess the headlamp was a good call.

By the time the sun came up I told myself it was a new run, I had fresh legs and those first 12km or so didn’t exists. We could finally see the ground, I could dodge the rutted mud and gravel more easily, I could no longer blame kicking the rocks on lack of light and only had my own clumsiness to blame, my right ring toenail is nice and purple due to this fact, I suspect it will fall off sometime later this month.

The race was a wide variety of mostly farang from all over the world. I chatted with an Austrian, a guy from New Zealand, some Aussies, a few Britts, a guy from Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, I battled mile after mile with a man I referred to in my head as the Red Frenchie.

The Red Frenchie was a good-looking French guy that for some reason decided to wear the race shirt (which is red) for the race (totally dorky if you ask me) and red shorts. We battled mile after mile for the lead (not the lead but the lead between the two of us). He would run ahead, then walk and I would run ahead and then walk—it was like this for most of the race. It was a nice motivation to keep moving at every moment. I don’t know if he even noticed me, most of the time he was focused on his I-pod, heart rate monitor and a cadence beeper—I’m not sure he even knew he was in Thailand in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, he was so distracted.

I beat the Red Frenchie, FYI.

Before long we were at another aide station and the woman there was telling me we only had 15-16km to go. NO WAY, I feel awesome. Is what popped out of my mouth. At the same time a tractor started blowing a whistle at me to get out of the way. Dodging a tractor at an aide station, nothing I’ve had to deal with before—mai pen rai. I hit the trail feeling good, started feeling awesome as I approached the 40km mark.

Many people had been complaining of the hills. In reality this trail run is not what any one from Oregon would consider trails, hilly or really all that scenic. Most of the course was quite flat, dirt roads that have left my ankles tired and swollen. We got to look at the mountains but as far as climbing them, the most vertical we got was climbing a hill up to a Buddhist Wat.

After feeling amazing at the 40km mark two Britts and myself decided we could bust out some 10-minute miles and finish in 6 hours. Totally do able, right? I was convinced it was possible. I told myself I had fresh legs again, I led the three of us and quickly dropped the two lads for my own pace. A mile of pavement down hill quickly led to hip discomfort, and eventually when it flattened out led to walking. I was tired. I needed energy and motivation.

I would walk and then run and pass the Red Frenchie, and then walk and he would pass me. I truly felt we must be getting close. Looking ahead I soon noticed a group of children in orange t-shirts standing in front of a school. As soon as they saw me they began to cheer, jumping up and down, excited to see a sweaty, tired farang sluffing her way toward them.

All the children reached out for a high fives! I took a moment to bust out my camera (the teacher in me needed these photos,) as soon as they saw the camera 5 more kids ran out from behind their Thai teacher and struck a pose with me, cheering the whole time. THAT is what I needed to get me through the rest of the run, these kids pumped me up, made me smile and reminded me where I was and what I was doing. Not only running a 50k in Thailand, but I’m in Thailand. Here. Now. This is where I am.

Wing, wing, wing.

Community. Motivation. Sweat. Mountains. Inspiration. These things have left me with a perma-grin on my face. Since being in Thailand I have lacked community and inspiration and the ability to be. This race, being surrounded by an international community lifted me so high that more than 48 hours later I am still flying. I met people from all over the world that I hope to stay in touch with. This weekend has left me with a feeling of bliss that I hope I can maintain, that I hope I can continue to feel and pass on.

[wordpress is being incredibly slow and not uploading the photos fast enough for my satisfaction, so either be friends with me on facebook or be patient and I’ll load some more soon, I promise!]