One Week

One week until I run marathon #10. First, I can't believe I've done 9 of these. I was never going to do one. Then I was like, "one and done". And now it's time for #10. I wanted this one to stand out in some way. The last few definitely have stood out, so this one needed to stand out in a different way. Marathon #7 I finally BQ'd. #8 gave me such a great PR. #9 was Boston. What could I do for #10? How about incorporate a marathon during my trip around the world. 

I did a lot of research to see which one I should do. I focused on Southeast Asia, since that worked from a timing standpoint. Although there was one in Jordan that I thought about for a hot minute. But after running Boston and a crazy summer at work, I wasn't fully committed to training and the race was in October. I was also too tired. I also had to be sure I was actually going on this trip around the world. So I gave myself a bit of a buffer and looked for one later in the year. 

For a little while, I considered doing one in Malaysia, which would have been a great place to visit. But I decided running over a 13-mile bridge and back may not be as much fun as it sounded. So I looked even later in the year and finally selected the Chiang Mai Marathon in Thailand. Thailand has been a place I've been wanting to visit for years, so running a marathon here seemed very fitting.  I was concerned that the race was too late in the year. Typically at home, I like running a marathon in October. This one is December 20th. The holidays just get a bit crazy and training part of the way into a NYC winter isn't appealing. However, I wasn't going to be in NYC. So no holiday parties and splurging, and no cold temperatures. So I registered. 

I knew absolutely nothing about Chiang Mai, but as I told people about it, they all praised the city. So this was a very good sign. And it's the 10th anniversary of the race. A nice coincidence to tie it to marathon #10.

First step, register. Second step, train. And boy, was training a challenge. You would think that by not working, you'd have all the time in the world to run. Not necessarily. I want to say I averaged running about 4-5 days a week, as opposed to my normal 6 days for the past few marathons. Also, Central Park was my go-to spot. Living so close was pretty amazing and I knew where I needed to go for long runs, speed sessions, and tempo workouts. Moving around to different cities and countries required a bit of research for route planning and a little bit of hope that it would all work out. 

At first I googled routes to run and had luck finding some spots in major cities, like Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Runner's World was helpful and I was able to get some solid short and long runs in without too much effort. But the further I went away from home, the harder it got to find routes on google. So I then started using the Strava heat map. This eventually became a key resource as I was able to see where other runners have gone in both the larger and smaller cities. I wasn't actually too concerned about small towns, as I grew up in rural upstate New York, so I know I can just run down a road and not deal with too much traffic and obstacles. And it tends to be nice scenery. 

I was able to get a long run in every country I have visited so far. Which is pretty cool. I ran in some crazy heat in Turkey and Israel, and humidity in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I dealt with nonstop honks in Jordan, and cities like Amman weren't even close to being runner friendly. Dogs chased me in Sri Lanka and Thailand, and cows have gotten in my way in India.

Regardless of this, it was all fun and what an experience. I ran along tea plantations in Sri Lanka, I ran with other Israelis along the Mediterranean, I ran in the desert and through the jungle. I ran on rock formations in Turkey and on trails in Laos. I've seen elephants and monkeys (fortunately not chasing me). I've had people cheer me on and look on in disbelief. 

Getting speed and tempo workouts in were a little bit of a different story. Locating a track outside of the US has proved itself impossible. At least for me. I know there must be tracks out there, but I didn't come across any. Even with all my Google Earth searching. I had to make due with basketball courts and uneven paths in tiny parks. Tempos were a little easier as you just need the road. But you also need it uninterrupted, which was tough unless you were out in the middle of nowhere. I was pretty good about getting these key workouts in at the beginning, but it got tougher and tougher, so they became less frequent. I hope some of those earlier workouts will still benefit me, but it may have been too long ago. 

In NYC, I also have my running team and endless people to run with. Running isn't really something that's super popular around the world apparently. Getting honked at in Turkey and Jordan was just inappropriate and stressed me out a little on those runs. Israel was great since there were a lot of active people in the various cities. People in Sri Lanka were just very smiley and supportive. I saw a lot of walkers in India, as well as in Vietnam. I was definitely left alone in Cambodia and Laos. So many times I was just out running on my own. Other travelers like myself gave me a lot of looks. Like why am I running on vacation. I almost found a running buddy in India, but we never connected. I have seen other runners out there, but it's been rare. But I always give a smile to them. And even though I do wish I had someone to run with every once in a while, it's more for them to see what I see more than anything. 

So how do I expect next week to go? I have absolutely no idea. One of things I had hoped for was a lead-up race to the marathon. Ideally running a half marathon about a month out. Unfortunately I couldn't find any, or I was just a little too early. I was a week early for 2 races, one in Vietnam, and the other in Cambodia. I've gotten my long runs in. But my mileage is down a lot from previous training seasons. I haven't done as many key workouts either. So I can't really assess my fitness level. I know I'll finish the race. I would love to PR (who doesn't?), but I do need to set some sort of realistic expectation. I have a range of paces that I'm looking at. I plan to start somewhat conservatively and hope to speed it up as the miles tick by. The weather looks promising, especially at 4am when the race starts. It's supposed to be a flat course, although I do need to check on the elevation of Chiang Mai itself. I get to the city on Wednesday so will use those to days to check out the course and prepare myself. 

If anything, I get to say I ran a marathon in Thailand. Not too may can say that. So here goes nothing.