21.1 km = 13.1 miles?! Half Marathon!!

Last year, I participated in the "Fun Run" for Khon Kaen's biggest event of the year.. the Khon Kaen International Marathon!  This year, I wanted to go bigger and give myself more of a challenge. 4.5K is easy peasy for me now.. whats tougher than a half marathon?! Well, only the marathon of course but I knew I wasn't ready for that much of a challenge yet. Better tackle the half first..

9th Annual Khon Kaen International Marathon!

The week leading up to the half marathon, I was a little nervous. I'll be honest, I hadn't take my training TOO seriously and the longest I had ran in the few months prior was 7.5 miles. I was running 4 - 5 miles everyday on the treadmill no problem but 13.1 miles was an entirely different ballgame.  Also, I had been training on a treadmill and the last time I ran outside was at the last race a year ago!  AND Thailand is HOT and HUMID and even though its currently "cold" season, its definitely NOT cold.  Well, this should be interesting.  The weekend of the marathon snuck up on me quickly as time and events have been doing that a lot to me lately and before I knew it, it was marathon weekend! The day before, I shared a cab to the University with some Thai peeps from Bangkok I met in front of the Pullman to pick up our packets and bid numbers.  Once checking in at KKU, I opened up my packet and found my medium sized racing tank and held it up to myself.. now, I am the size I was when I left America and this tank wouldn't even fit a 10 year old child.. better swap it in for the large.. make that, an XL. Thai sizes.. Boy oh boy. I spent the rest of the day mentally preparing for the grueling challenge my body was about to endure and also made a new music playlist to help take my mind off the pain during the race. Then I spent the evening watching numerous episodes of "Jersey Shore", nothing like Snookie drama and watching a house of meat-head guidos living drunken lives to turn off my brain and fill it with trash so I can't think of anything else while watching.

Sunday morning was here.. half marathon day!

2:48 am: Woke up frantically after having a dream that I missed my alarm and knew I was late for the marathon because the sun was up. I was only upset I missed it because I paid 800 baht to run the thing!

3:00 am: Time to get up and get into racing gear!  I had my hair in braids from the night before, threw on my shirt, shorts, running shoes, and put together a quick banana peanut butter toast for breakfast to go.  Couldn't forget my ipod and 90 baht, just in case of an emergency.. like having to stop mid-race and hail a cab home.

3:30 am: Met Jay and Caitlin, two other teachers my age from my school who were running also, downstairs at my apartment lobby to attempt something that has never been attempted by us.  3 tall farangs on one motor bike.

3:40 am: After taking a few minutes to get situated, we were sailing through the empty streets of Khon Kaen and were on our way to the race!  With me crouching in front holding onto the front of the bike and the basket, Jay driving, and Caitlin on the back. Thai people on their way home from their Saturday night out sure had a funny sight to see.  It helped get the adrenaline going quick as all three of us were getting pumped and yelling "YEEEEAH MARATHON" while zooming down the dark quite streets towards KKU.

4:00 am: Arrived in one piece, parked the motor bike, and found the starting line. Scoped out the scene and found some free good smelling muscle lotion stuff.

4:15 am: Jay was signed up to for the full marathon so it was time for him to get to the starting line.  Caitlin and I stood on the sidelines to cheer him on at the start, he was super easy to spot as he was not only farang, but the tallest in the crowd.

5:15 am: Caitlin and I wondered around the area in search for a restroom, which was more of a challenge to find than you'd think, then did a small warm up and stretches.  We saw huge signs and tables for "Food for Marathon/Half Marathon" being set up so I was stoked to have something to look forward to at the finish.  Time to go to the starting line.

5:25 am: AHHH! Countdown of ha, see, sam, song, neung.. GOOO!!! We were off and I started my new playlist. I figured "I Gotta Feeling" and "Don't Stop Believing" were two good songs to start the race off with.

The race was clearly marked with how far we've gone so far and the police/security did a great job with shutting down the roads.  The entire race, I tried to preoccupy my thoughts so I wouldn't think about running.  But of course when you're trying not to think about a certain something, that thing you're trying so hard not to think about ends up being the only thing on your mind.. This is kind of how my race went.

1 km: "Hey, this isn't so bad. Phew, so far so good!"

2 km: "2 kilometers in, 19 to go! Put your hands in the air, say yeah yeah yeah.."

3 km: "Are you kidding me?! I didn't know that there were hills on this course!"

4 km: "I bet that was the one and only hill and at least that means it'll be a downhill on the way back. Feeling good, stick with the Thai chick with the pink shoes."

5 km: "What the heck is this woman doing? Not only is she stopping mid-half marathon to get her photo taken in front of marathon signs but she is wearing a purple feather dress. I can't let her beat me. Just gotta do what I just ran, 3 more times!"

6 km: "NOOO Why does that look like another hill up ahead?!"

7 km: Feeling good, singing to myself and dancing in my mind to "Teenage Dream" and "I'm Sexy and I Know It". "Hey, am I actually having fun running? Lets see, 7 km is how many miles? Hope my hair looks okay."

8 km: "WHAT the marathon Kenyans are on their way back already?! Damn, they're fast. What the heck, they have to run marathons as a living.  Marathon chasers and they win them ALL. What's this, the immigration office? Man, we're in the middle of no where! Hey, theres a new Tesco Lotus here?!"

9 km: There were a few minutes around this time that I totally had a "Aha! I LOVE Thailand and I love my life" moment.. It really inspired me to keep going and I felt really good mentally.  It was a cool feeling to have while I was doing something so challenging.  Then I tuned back into my surroundings, I think I look around too much. "Wow, its getting lighter.. half marathon sun rise over Khon Kaen! I'm gonna high five that old Thai man. Grrr people, stop taking pictures of me!"

10 km: Half way done and at the turn around point in the course!! "WAHOO! Better grab that cold water and dump it on my head in celebration.. AHH water in my ear! Cold, cold water!" "HAHAH look at that silly person in the dog costume dancing"

11 - 15 km: This part of the race was tough for me, think there was a lot of cursing in my mind to try to motivate me to keep on going. Think the heat and humidity was getting to me.

16 km: "What would I do if that huge stray dog right there eating trash on the sidelines started chasing me? What if he bit my leg? What would I do? I'd get my money back, thats for sure. PHEW past him."

17 km: "MAAAN my legs and booty are sore.. Oh sweet, a fruit stand! I CAN'T stop! Better grab a banana and watermelon on the go.. mmmm juicy watermelon." After sticking half the piece of banana in my mouth "**cough cough cough** Ahh, piece of banana stuck in my throat! **cough cough cough** *finally cough up the banana and spit it out* Lesson learned, no eating and running during marathon!"

18 - 19 km: "Survive, survive survive! Remember what Coach McCarthy said in high school cross-country.. 'Pain is temporary, glory is forever!' Just suuuuurvive! How is that 60 year old man so quick?! Why is this Thai guy running with me and asking where I'm from? Can't he see I'm not in a chatty mood right now?"

20 km: "One more KM! Less than a mile! Pick up your feet and go!"

Last 500m: "500m! The faster you run, the faster your done! I see the finish line! 400! 300! I'm getting ice cream for dinner! 200! French fries too if I want them! So close! 100! Pass that chick and GO GO GO GO GOOOOO YEEEES!"

I did it!! I crossed the finish line faster than my goal time by 4 minutes and received a finishing medal!  After wobbling for a few minutes, I realized how much pain my legs were in. Some woman clearly saw that I could barely stand and took me to this little stretching hut with her "new innovation" ..a huge stick thing with a rope used for stretching out your legs. After sitting for a few minutes, I felt okay enough to hobble around to watch the finish line for my friends.  Not long after, Caitlin ran in and not long after her came in Jay! We all finished the race and were alive!!! All three of us were so happy and felt so good (minus the physical pain), runners high! Our friends Emily and Michelle came to show their support and were so surprised to see me finished early and with a smile on my face. Not too long after, I scoped out the free food which was mostly fish ball soup, deep fried meats, white rice with egg, and 7/11 bread. Ehh, not my thing so I had plenty of the free water and sports drinks. After chatting some more at the finish line and taking a few pics with the multiple groups of Thais who requested to take photos with us, Jay, Caitlin, Michelle, Emily and I all headed home for some much needed rest.. and this time, all five of us squeezed on the motorbike! Haha, just kidding.. but maybe we should try it.

WAHOOOO half marathon! Cross that off my life bucket list!

Ps. I've already done some internet searches and have begun planning for my next big race!

WINNING! Medal winners!