My First 10k Fun Run November 23, 2008
Posted by Martin in : Health & Sport, Leisure, Thailand , trackback
I’ve been in training for a 10k fun run in Bangkok and today, I’m proud to announce that I really enjoyed it.
The run, sponsored by Standard Chartered, began and ended at the Grand Palace and this was the biggest Bangkok run of the year with 48,000 participants. It actually started at midnight for the marathon runners and the 10k runners began at 7.
The course itself was around the historic part of Bangkok and I’ll always remember the seas of white jogging shirts swarming over the suspension bridge. It made overtaking people difficult and there were a few times at the beginning of the run where we couldn’t do much beyond walk fast.
The organization and camaraderie beyond runners was fantastic and, towards the last few kilometers I’d managed a few quick chats with fellow athletes.
Over the last 3 months I’ve been training for this run and, since buying an IPod Nano a month back, I can honestly say that I really enjoy it – to the extend where I get twitchy when I haven’t run for a few days.
Generally I’ve been training alone in Lumpini Park but I’ve joined up with Patrick a few time to run elsewhere.
My goal for the run was really just to complete it and to keep things fun. I wasn’t interested in beating any records or friends because this really is the first solo activity I’ve ever trained for.
Joining us that morning were Patrick and Sophie – the most experienced runners, David – my tennis partner and Ingo, Patricks’s business partner.
Sophie finished well before the rest of us but it seems we finished within a few minutes of each other. I think I did the run in about 70 minutes – not great by athletic standards but a huge leap forward in my personal development.
We celebrated by going out Kapa restaurant for a large meal.
When I began training, every footstep pained me. I remember my first run with Patrick 3 months back where I struggled to keep his pace beyond a few hundred meters so I’ve definitely come a long way.
I have lost 8kgs (from 74) over the last 3 months. This has been due to runningg at least 4 hours a week as well as a 2-month diet of predominantly raw fruit and vegetables.
I’m planning to continue my training. I certainly can dedicate a few hours each week and to have an hour or two spare to listen to Podcasts and music’s a great way to relax.
At the end of January there’s a 20k fun run in Khon Kaen which I hope to participate in. I have a feeling that training myself to run from 10k to 20k won’t be nearly as touch as training for those first ten.
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