river kwai

A few months ago we thought it would be a great idea to run an adventure race just outside Bangkok, along the River Kwai. It featured unknown amounts of running, biking, swimming and kayaking. After signing up I got down to business and did some serious training (meaning I swam a few times, biked one day in Burma, ran, and fondly remembered how I had mastered paddling a kayak with four extra people on board at Hatch Patch). 

Rocky, content with the fact that it was a team race, and therefore all he had to do was keep up with me, could have spent his entire race prep eating oreos and watching cricket (the only sport we get on tv) and still be better prepared than I. 

Race day came around and we headed out to Kanchanaburi (2 hours outside Bangkok). I snapped this awesome pic of me regestring with a giant bag of sweet, street popcorn sticking out of my bag. I'm legit. We buy it at a weekly market near our home for about 20 cents a bag. We have a standing order for 10 bags a week and at Christmas, a 100. I'm considering asking the popcorn lady to sponser me next year. 

 I asked Rocky to be in charge of race prep, as he does stuff like this all the time. This is what he brought home:

 Apparently the race to is to see who can get diabetes first. Also, these are all imported, so now we're broke.

 The sign in our hotel room. Durian is a fruit that stinks really bad. Supposedly it tastes really good too, but I've never been able to get over the smell.

 Rocky bought his sweet matching shirt and shorts in the swim section. I joke that it was in the oversized children's swim section. 

 My pre-race fuel, asian style. I actually took this picture to rub into E that I'm eating Honey Stars. A Thai cereal that I'm too cheap to buy for her.

I love the racing atmosphere. Even if you're like me and not a real competer, it's still so fun to be a part of. 

 Dan looking like an awesome Russian. Amy seems unsure of his look.

 Quick history lesson: The bridge was an integral part of the railway Japan built during WWII to link Rangoon to Bangkok. It was called Death Railway because so many POWs  and civilans (brought from Malaysia and the East Indies) died working on it. The numbers are staggering. It is estimated that 13,000 POW's and 80,000-100,000 civilans died working on the railway. 

The bridge standing today was built linking the railway together. It was also was not built over the River Kwai, instead over a river named the Mae Klong but after so many tourists came looking for the Bridge over the River Kwai, Thailand renamed that portion of the river. Another reason Thailand is fantastic at tourism. 

 

Since the race involved swimming (actually floating down river in a giant life jacket that made you feel like a huge egg--the only stroke we were capable of doing was elementary backstroke) I did not take any pictures. Just picture a blistering hot day, running through banana trees, climbing through barb wire fences, being cheered on by barefoot children yelling, "Hello! How are you?", biking around rice patties, falling repeatedly and the occasional emotional break down when the biking just seemed too hard. (I tried to tell Rocky to just keep it together.)

The race website said it takes an average of 3-7 hours. In a huge vote of confidence on my part, Rocky said it would probably take us 6-7 hours. We actually made great time....as long as we weren't on the bike. Turns out I'm no Lance Armstrong, blood doping or not. I am quite possibly the slowest off road biker in the world. At one point I told Rocky we would be going faster if I got off and walked my bike. He answered with his silence. 

Since it's an adventure race, you have no idea what's next on the course or what the distances are--turns out that's the way it's supposed to be. I learned this at the end of the race and spent the entire time thinking it was the most disorganized race ever. Because you never know what's coming or how close you are to the end, you just have to try and pace yourself as best as possible. 

We finished the kayak (3 events from the end) 5 minutes ahead of Dan and Amy and then we hopped on our bikes. After about 10 kilometers (felt like a million) of biking, we emptied out into a field near the hotel so we suspected the race was almost over. Just as we were crossing that field, they passed us. We tried to catch them on the swim but turns out racing elementary backstroke, giant easter egg style, is no easy feat and they finished the final 100 meter run just a minute before us. Now we owe them dinner at Outback and 'make your own Magnum bars'. (win-win, I guess).  Luckily, we still finished ahead of our other friends who's kayak didn't have a cork and filled entirely with water. Good thing the crocodiles were sleeping. Also, unscrewing all those kayak corks paid off. 

It was a blast and we will definitely do it again next year. 

When we went back to turn in our bikes, my tires were completely flat and full of stickers. Rocky swears it happened at the end but suspicious. 

I'm so glad Amy got this going!

I'm also glad Rocky stuck with me the whole time, even though at one point on one of the runs he casually mentioned the pace I had chosen would be his pace if he was running a 100 miler. 

I like this picture because the shadows make it look like I have arm muscles. 

A little Asian race refuel. I loved it. Really. I was clearly born to live in Asia. 

Vi is a huge fan of our medals. After asking if we took first place and hearing our negative response, Eliot wasn't interested in them, but Vi wears them around all day.