the end of siam

Well the trip to Thailand is finally over, and I am back in the USA. I am still trying to recover from the trip. I have about the worse case of jet-lag I have ever had. I am feeling a little sick to my stomach as well, and I am hoping that it is not the revenge of the Mekong river.

Some things I learned from the race in Mukdahan:

--Buddy Bike/Run is the National Sport of Thailand (No it is not Muy Thai)
My buddy Bucky and I decided to enter this race on Friday morning (two days before the Triathlon). There was some prize money involved, and we thought we would clean up. Wrong! First off, Ill explain buddy bike/run: one person rides a bike with a 1 foot rope attached to the bike and to the runner who runs next to the bike and you do so for 25k (16miles). You can switch places at any time, but the rope must be connected.
We got absolutely schooled. We were behind from the start. We figured that everyone would eventually die, but no one did. By the time we realized that we were going to finish way, way back we were so far in the middle of nowhere we had to finish. We got outsprinted for 19th place! So much for cherry-picking.....

The actual race was a lot like most season openers go: sluggish and a little rusty. Had a good swim, but between head-butted a buoy and tripping on the way out of the water, I was the first person to not make the first pack. Onto the bike, I was feeling the effects of 5-6 hour weeks on the trainer. We averaged around 45kph on the bike, so I was hurting!!! Onto the run, I was cooked. The heat index was over 100 degrees. It was a death march. I had plenty of miles in my legs from the winter, but I was dead by the run. I struggled all the way to the finish. I ended up 15th. A little rusty, but I know what I need to work on for the rest of the season. Im ready to put in some big miles before Wildflower. All in all it was a great trip, full of exciting times and great memories.

Here are some great pic's from the days before the race:

Last night with the sis in Chaingmai

Training in Mukdahan

Random elephant on the street

The oasis in the middle of nowhere....literally

The crazy tuk-tuk

Me, Bucky, Manny, and Luc in the crazy tuk-tuk

All this in less than one night!