General Discussion Triathlon Talk » running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok Rss Feed  
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2012-04-02 4:59 AM

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Subject: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok

Gotta share this--BT folks would appreciate as there have been recent discussions about ideal run cadence and lack thereof, running on vacation, etc.

Early Saturday AM I did a long run in Lumbini Park in central Bangkok. Had zillions of people, locals and expats, for company, including one memorable running club composed entirely of what appeared to be Thai men over 60, some possibly well over 80. Many wore Bangkok Marathon T-shirts. They were slowly circling the 2.5 km running loop in neat, two-abreast formation. The two guys in front beeped large blue air horns to keep everybody in cadence--I timed it--180 strides per minute.

Several greeted me enthusiastically as I ran past; I accidentally said, "Sabaidee! ("Hi" in Lao instead of Thai.)  One of them corrected me, "Sawadee kaa!" Unfortunately, this is what women say (men use a different ending), so his buddies gave him heck for it, not realizing he was just correcting my attempt at Thai.  Merrily laughing along, they still kept their cadence.  What a great show!

I did pretty well against the geezer parade and the Lumbini Park denizens in general--but got my butt kicked by what looked like a Kenyan guy. Embarassingly stuck for a lap and a half next to two handsome expat guys with M-dot tatoos who matched my pace exactly but otherwise ignored me while debating vigorously whether someone (female) was, or was not, an Ironman. If it was me you were discussing, dudes, no, I'm not, you could've asked, and if you're gonna use me as pace booty, how about a little eye contact and a "Sawadee kaaap?"

The park was full of runners, walkers, swimmers, people joining clubs and classes for tai chi, weightlifting, yoga, etc. etc. In Saigon I almost never see more than one or two people running at any given time. It was great to see so many people out there doing something healthy and fun!



Edited by Hot Runner 2012-04-02 5:18 AM


2012-04-02 6:53 AM
in reply to: #4123979

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Subject: RE: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok
Sawadee krop

Gotta love it when the whole community gets into it.

2012-04-02 7:01 AM
in reply to: #4123979

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Subject: RE: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok

Glad you are enjoying Lumpini, where the smell of Tiger Balm ointment is omni present!
2012-04-02 8:10 AM
in reply to: #4123979

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Melon Presser
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Subject: RE: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok

Ya gotta love this place. All of it, the whole Southeast Asian sweltering circus dealio! Makes me so happy I have peeps here who understand ... great, great images there. Thanks for sharing!

I'm in for Bintan HALF if you do the half ... ha ha ... I know TriBob puts on a good show, but something tells me that doing my inaugural iron race during THE inaugural iron race in INDONESIA may not be the wisest move.

Or, let's find a killer cyclist and launch ourselves onto the relay podium. I have a candidate in mind who's coming into town this weekend ... any thoughts on your end?

2012-04-02 8:30 AM
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Subject: RE: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok
Hmmm....either one. Why don't you see what the cyclist thinks? On the one hand I haven't run a marathon in quite some time and want to do one next school year if I can. It would also be nice not to have to deal with the bike. On the other, we are talking a marathon at the equator that probably begins in the early afternoon, for which I'll not even get a finisher's medal because I'd be on a relay. I guess kind of leaning toward the HIM myself for those reasons, and as I'm not sure how the race in June's going to shape up. I have my own concerns about hypothermia there (the swim, mainly). If for some reason I DNF or have a really yuck experience, I'd want to try the distance again while I still have the base.  I know--I need to figure it out and enter soon; plus set up accomodation. There are also issues with leave from work--have to look at the race times and figure out if/when I'd need it--hard to request in advance as we have a new interim head coming in. I will get going on it as soon as I figure out my next race in May! Keep me posted!
2012-04-02 9:51 AM
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Subject: RE: running funnies--keeping in step in Bangkok
When is the race and how strong of a cyclist do you need...


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