Is it because this would be my third 70.3 or simply that I would be treating this Sunday as a training event that I took the week off for our annual pilgrimage to COSI, Cambodia? I wouldn't have it any other way.
So it was back to dirt roads under dry hot weather for me. Three runs. The first was a 14km 5x2km interval run with increasing pace. The one strange sound was music, when I was about 3km into it. It turned out to be a Cambodian wedding. The contrast - loud ceremonial music, bright colored tents, well dressed groom and bride and guests - was stark. Probably a well-to-do farming family. As was the norm, the guests looked at me with some amusement. Not your typical sight in rural Cambodia.
Dogs were aplenty, as usual. Many simply barked at me and ignored me when I went past. One took a fancy to me, however, and trailed me for a a few meters and fortunately for me, got bored. It was only about 6km into the run that I saw a pack of dogs - 7 to 8 of them - that prompted me to turn around and head back. My self-defence - my trusty water bottle - would be effective against so many of them.
Incidentally, I had it all figured out in case of an assault by my canine friend. A squirt of water at their head (a trick learnt from the cycling community) is the first line of defence. The second is to take the offence - snarl, raise bottle to strike and even run at the brute. The last line is peak performance training - an all-out run (away).
The second run was a 5km recovery, and the third a 2x2km threshold run.
This being my seventh trip was meaningful for a number of unexpected reasons. Clearly, this would not be my last.
1 comment:
Good luck in the forthcoming 70.3. Reading this post reminded me of when I ran through some villages near Kampot. Nice memories and ono dogs to worry about, only an elephant :)
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