10k Update--"On Being 007"

It's over. It's done. It's finished. I know the start of this blog post may seem like an exercise in redundancy but I still have to remind myself on this day after Race Day that I don't need to panic anymore. You're probably wondering why I would panic over something as small as a 10 km race. I'll tell you, before yesterday, I had never before run 10 km consecutively. Ever.  

Let me narrate as best as I can the events of Saturday and Sunday (day before Race Day and actual Race Day)...

On Saturdays, I teach at the BSC from 8:30 AM to roughly 3 PM so upon finishing teaching, Liz and I caught a taxi to the Thewet Army Club, where they were doing registration and pre-registration for the races. I had been meaning to sign up for the 10k for about a month but had been putting it off because I knew that I had until the 17th to sign up.

Bad choice. In a city as big as Bangkok, there were more than enough people who wanted to compete and had already registered. So many, in fact, that there were signs posted everywhere saying that registration was closed due to too many participants. I was told by one of the staff members that I could run without a number and no one would stop me. However, at this point, I was looking around at all the limber, fit runner types who had traveled to Bangkok just for this race and started to panic. Who was I to think I could actually do anything longer than a 1.5 km race? My body obeyed all the cliches and my palms started to sweat and my heart thundered in my chest. I couldn't even register so there was no reason to do it other than the commitment I had made to those sponsoring me, to the Kelley family, and to the God who made me and gave me two perfectly good legs.

My desire to quit was strong but thankfully, Liz was able to remind me why we were running and encourage me to persevere. I can't say swallowing the discouragement I was feeling was easy because it certainly wasn't. I don't know what finally pushed me to re-commit to run the race other than the Spirit of God lifting me up from the pit that I had fallen into somehow. That's what He does after all; He "redeems your life from the pit, [and...] crowns you with steadfast love and mercy" (Psalm 103:4).

Crystal and Brandon (an awesome couple from LifePoint Church, Liz's and I's BKK church) invited us over for a pre-race dinner so armed with baguettes, we headed over to their apartment. Crystal made chicken cacciatore and pasta. Eating lots of carbs before a race is a good thing (or so I've heard). After dinner, Crystal, Liz and I went back to the BSC for a few hours sleep before our EARLY morning wake-up call.

I decided in lieu of going to bed right away, I would stay up an additional hour to make a very memorable race number for myself--007.

My almost complete race tag, only missing the #KelleyFamilyAdoption hashtag!

After four very short hours of sleep, I woke up at 2 AM to lace up my sneakers, throw on a headband and some clothes and head out the door with Liz and Crystal. We hailed a taxi to take us to the starting line of the half-marathon and were able to safely arrive exactly where we needed to go (praise God!) 

There's a strange sort of energy in the milling around of people right before a race. Soon after we got there, the marathon runners took off (they're straight-up crazy) so we just hung out and took some photos while we waited for the half-marathon to start.

Crystal and I watching the Thai band play English/Thai songs while we waited

It was such a joy to hang out with her and chat about all sorts of things and of course, people-watch. I highly recommend going to a race just to watch people. It's fascinating. Soon it was time for Liz to get her half-marathon on and we were able to find her in the line-up!

Liz getting her pre-race Gangnam style on!!

Liz took off running and Crystal and I went to find some motorcycle taxis to take us to the 7 mile mark. Thankfully we were able to find two of them together who would take us. It was my first motorcycle taxi that I've taken in the five months that I've lived in Bangkok (shameful, I know) and it was so exhilarating, I may make this a regular means of transportation (just kidding, Dad!)

We found the 7 mile mark pretty easily thanks to the assistance of a Thai man who was running in the half-marathon. It was still pretty dark out but our location provided an excellent view of the runners. We even saw the winners of the race sprint past (Africans, of course). I was so glad that I decided to make my unique race tag because as I cheered people on, they grinned, waved, gave a thumbs-up, or most often, said "Suung suung jet! Suung suung jet!" (that's 007 in Thai) or "Skyfall!" or just "Bond!" Thank you Daniel Craig for your latest movie masterpiece. It was so fun to get to encourage them at the  halfway point in their race because some of them looked so completely wasted.

At about 6:40 AM, Liz got to the 7 mile marker and Crystal and I joined her in the race. Running was much easier and more fun than I thought it would be. I had my music, my running partners, and the thrill of the race to keep me going. I got to see a different side of Bangkok that morning as the sun rose on the city. I discovered that Bangkok can be way more beautiful than I had given it credit for being.

I was able to get this shot as I was running, believe it or not

As the fun started to wear off and fatigue set in, I wanted to slow down to a walk so many times even though my steady jog may not have been much faster than a walk. I remember when I was training how excited I was to be able to run for 25 minutes straight (pretty dang excited in case you were wondering). I ran for three times that during the course of the 10k (last 6 miles of the half-marathon). Not even I believed that I was capable of doing that.

Me at the finish line!!

I am so grateful for Liz and Crystal and to God who sustained my strength the entire time! I really hope that He was honored through Liz's efforts and my efforts to raise funds for the Kelley's adoption. What I hope even more through this race is to show that anyone is capable of doing this. Seriously, if I can do it, you can do it. I hope you consider ways in which you can be an adoption advocate at home in the States because I may be "on the mission field" here in Bangkok but I have some news for you, so are you. I hope that you pray over ways in which you can get involved in the Kelley's adoption and if you decide to run a 10k, you can always ask me for advice or encouragement! I'd love to share what I've learned with you!

[Liz posted about her experience running 21k here, check it out!]

Happy Veteran's Day/Update on Thai School

I promise these two topics are related... Veteran's Day was this past Sunday and as usual, it felt strange celebrating an American holiday in a country where no one else is celebrating or even acknowledging that it is happening. Thai people are already ushering in the Christmas season because no one celebrates Thanksgiving here besides American ex-pats like myself. Yeah for being an American!

I am exactly 12 hours ahead now that Daylight Savings has started in the US so when people post things on Facebook, I'm already well into the next day (the day after Veteran's Day was a Monday). Monday was a pretty ordinary day...I talked to my Mom on Skype, exercised, then I went to Thai school for an hour and a half, followed by lunch at the BSC.

My Thai teacher, Eh, decided to walk back to the BSC with me to eat at the BSC canteen (what the eating area is called). We had a really good conversation partly in Thai, partly mostly in English that somehow led into a discussion about Veteran's Day (I had seen so many posts about it on Facebook, I guess it was still on my mind). I learned that Eh was a soldier before he became a Thai teacher.

In Thai, they have two words that describe soldiers: 1. soldier "tha-haan" 2. soldier who has gone to war "tha-haan rohp." Since Eh has never gone to war, he is in the first category of soldiers. It was difficult to explain that a veteran in the US is anyone who has ever been in the military or still is in the military. Since I know so many veterans, this seemingly insignificant holiday is actually rather significant for me. It was a joy to get to talk to Eh outside the classroom and learn something about his history.

I am in my third and final month of Thai school and it has been so awesome to learn the language of the country where I'm currently residing. I'm nowhere near fluent but I feel way more confident than I did before I started Thai school. I prayed before I started learning Thai to just have some grasp of the language, and thanks be to God, I finally do! My last day of Thai school is November 26 and though I'm excited about ministries I am going to get more involved in after this commitment is over, I will be sad to conclude my studies and time in the classroom with Eh.

Eh at Friday Night Life [photo credit: Laura Landry]

Cultural Snapshot-- "On Unlearning Things"

When I started this blog, I promised that I would share a few cultural insights that I've gained since living in Thailand. In my class yesterday evening we talked about social customs in different countries including Thailand. The main insight I gained is that if you think you know something about Thai culture, you're wrong.

For instance, the textbook highlighted how in Thailand you're NEVER EVER supposed to touch someone, especially a child, on the head. My students were like, "It's okay to do that!" One of my students proceeded to rub her hand on her classmate's head to illustrate the point (my inner cultural awareness sirens were going off like crazy). My students then explained that you probably shouldn't touch a stranger on the head which is true everywhere I think. (If you were in the States and reached over to touch someone on the head on the Metro, that would definitely not be okay either.)

However, the textbook noted that it is inappropriate in Indonesia to use your foot to point to things. My students emphatically told me that in Thailand, you shouldn't EVER do that. So much for thinking I knew a thing or two about Thai culture. Maybe in a future blog post I can tell you something that I've actually learned instead of something that I have to unlearn!

Race Day

My 10k is in 15 days!! This will be the first race I've ever run (I'm not including the Turkey Trot I ran like, 8 years ago) and I am a bit nervous.

I've been training consistently for the past six weeks (as those on Twitter are bound to see my posts) and whether or not that's enough to carry me through the race will be decided on Race Day (hereafter known as RD).

Some of my milestones that I've hit so far include being able to run for 22 minutes straight, incorporating sprints (I'm being very generous towards myself in calling short bursts of speed "sprints"), and cross-training on the days I'm not running. This cross-training has included yoga (Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown), Tae Bo (I'm a longtime fan), and some other exercises I found online. It might be too soon to say this, but I think I'm getting stronger. I miss having my younger sister around to encourage me and motivate me through this but seeing Liz's example is very inspiring.

If you are interested in pledging to support the Kelley's adoption through my race, please let me know ASAP! Shoot me a message on Facebook if we're friends or send an e-mail to clairececil11@gmail.com. Whatever you are able to pledge is more than generous (even $10, $1/km is great)!

BKK 2011 Race