A Tale of Before
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2009
1
272
273
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, November 19, 2010
While I ate my noodles I was engaged in conversation by a drunk Thai guy who wanted to exercise his limited English (it is amazing how often this happens at Guai Tiao shops) so I, in turn, exercised my limited Thai and we managed to have a half decent conversation before I made my way over to the bus which was just pulling in. I wasted no time and slumped into my seat, donned my blanket and popped in a 'Halls' lozenge. As I reclined in the chair I felt that odd sensation that being ill sometimes give you, when lack of energy makes you feel slightly detached from your symptoms as if your actual consciousness was hovering just outside your body. I realised later that this might, in actual fact, have been the peak day of my cold, the fact that my sore throat had subsided made me believe that I was on the mend, but the colds I have had out here don't seem to work in quite the same way.
The journey was uneventful, I slept quite well considering and rocked up in Mo Chit around 0440. Jiri had told me that she would pick me up and despite my best efforts to persuade her that this wasn't necessary the best I had managed to get was "I'll set my alarm and if I feel lazy I will stay in bed." Knowing Jiri I rather doubted that she would 'feel lazy' but I didn't want her to feel obliged to get up at 0500 on a non-work day.
Mo Chit bus station is a curious beast - whenever I arrive there it appears different to when I depart and this is because I am in a completely different part of the complex which I have never quite been able to marry up with the main building in my head. This time I was determined to achieve this and I eventually saw a small stream of people making their way into what seemed like a service depot for buses - behind which the main building was hiding.
I was going to buy my ticket home for (I realised with a shock) tomorrow. But as I took 2 minutes to collect my thoughts in a chair my phone beeped with a text from Jiri - who was already here at Mo Chit. I thought it would also be simpler for her to find me at the main ticket office but it turns out she had thought it would be simpler to meet me at the bus entrance near where I had got off (she had a point) so I picked up my ticket and made the ten minute march back to the arrivals section where she was waiting.
It was time for breakfast, which I stipulated should include proper coffee, "Do you want to go to Oep Bon Peng?" asked Jiri, clearly expecting me to know what this was.
"Come again?"
"Oep Bon Peng, maybe it is my pronunciation." she said with a grin.
"Yeah, no worries." we set off and drove through town to another neighbourhood to stop outside a familiar chain coffeshop.
"OOOH! Au Bon Pain!! I get it now." Unfortunately it was closed for another half hour so with starvation threatening we headed into McDonalds next door. The coffee was mediocre, hash browns were greasy (I mean greasier than usual), and I got a sausage muffin instead of bacon; but it was McDonalds so what did I expect? We finished off and, being still only arond 0645, headed back to Jiri's place (via Starbucks) to check emails and verify marathon arrangements until about 0800 when I texted Tony to see whether he had my race gear - he did. Around 945ish we set off, Jiri once again having browbeaten me into letting her drive me (I jest) and we arrived at Tony's around 1100 (via more Guai Tiao, fuel stops and traffic).
I greeted Tony with a cheery, "How are you."
"Sick!" he replied, with equal mirth.
"Me too!" I responded with a laugh. It quickly emerged that Tony was worse of than I however, the previous day his body had felt like (his words) he had alerady run a marathon, aching and feverish with various other unsavoury symptoms. We spent an hour or so chatting with Tony and his wife Choloh while Jiri and I took it in turns to play with their impossibly energetic new kitten called Linchee (the Thai word for a Lychee) and then Jiri made a move, we might meet up for some food later and then she wouldn't be there at the start tomorrow but I would see her (on TOny's recommendation) somewhere around the 30km mark.
We headed out for something to eat and continued to catch up and then Tony and I went for a nap upstairs. After about an hour I was just getting really comfortable when TOny knocked on the door and said we would be leaving soon to head over to his friend Peter's who would also be running tomorrow. I had a quick shower and we departed to the skytrain. On the way over Tony revealed that - as of that moment - he was not planning to run, he just wasn't feeling well enough. I admitted too that - just at that moment - I felt I was looking forward to sinking into my seat on the bus home more than I was looking forward to starting the marathon.
We travelled his route to work by BTS and MRT to near St Johns building where Peter and his wife Catherine live with their one year old son Oscar in a HUGE apartment (it doesn't really deserve to be called an apartment but it is all on one level of the building, in fact I think it is one level of the building). Anyway, we settled in and dumped our stuff I surveyed my race pack. NUmber 71 meant I was extremely early to apply (how was I to know there'd be people signing up yesterday?).
I headed out about 1840 to meet Jiri for something to eat, intending to also catch up with Joy who I have not seen since Phi ta Khon but she gave some excuse about having some other committment at 1930 and no time to make it across town (whatever Joy!) We hit up a small eatery for some pasta and garlic bread and then went over the road where I had a fat piece of chocolate cake and a cocoa. I then headed home (via 7-11 for chocolate milk and redbull for the morning) where the folks were watching some of "Running the Sahara" for some inspiration.
Around 2100 we turned in. TOny was feeling slightly better but he wasn't making a judgement until the morning. I found - to my delight - that I was able to sleep even this early and got almost a clear 5 hours before 0145 when my alarm went off.
For just a few minutes while my head cleared of the 'sleep mucus' caused by the cold I was thinking "Adam - what are you doing?" especially when Tony made his final decsion not to run, "he's being sensible," I thought, "you are not tiptop, it will not end well."
This sensation - mercifully - subsided almost as soon as I started donning my kit in earnest, then I went out and joined Peter who was preparing outside (Catherine was running the 10km race and so did not have to be up so early) and with two of us I started to feel more motivated. After Peter had consumed his own secret weapon (A super sticky cinnamon bun - which I envied somewhat) we headed out and immediately got a Taxi.
By now true excitement was replacing apprehension and uncertainty - I was here and it was time to step up to the challenge. The taki deposited at the grand palace and it was a 10 minute walk/light jog to get to the bag dump for Peter to deposit his gear. We then made our way out into the crowd of waiting runners as the heady scent of Deep Heat filled our nostrils. There were about 5 minutes left, I took a few pictures with my phone and waited for the moment to arrive...
