Super Monday
13.1 miles in 95-degree heat. I have run much further, and run in hotter, but Sunday has to be one of the better overall runs I have ever had. It hurt so much, it was so hot, the traffic was constant and unnerving; every uncomfortable running condition was there (right down to the sunburned lips I now smack with pride). It is funny to run here, Aceh is a beautiful but congested city with lots of traffic and little in terms of traffic laws. To survive a long run I go to the main highway (which is about three lanes wide with traffic moving in different directions and no traffic lines to distinguish lanes) and run straight, the road goes on for several miles before you get to the next town.
Now for the embarrassing addition, my driver follows behind me in the car. He drives slowly to protect me from oncoming traffic. It is funny; here is this crazy sweaty American running through town with a new beautiful Landcruiser following behind, very inconspicuous. At first I was embarrassed by this but have now become entirely addicted. I stock the car with water, Gatorade and whatever other running aids I need and every few miles I make him pull over and give me something to drink. The driver will say something encouraging about the heat or how strong my legs are and we will both laugh as I roll my eyes and start running again.
I really struggled on Sunday but I was fortunate, my friend Ilisa came and ran with me for the first eight miles. Ilisa is visiting from NHQ and loves to run so I was thrilled to have her poke and prod me along. After eight miles, she got in the car and was my cheerleader for three more. Seeing that I was dying, she got out and paced me for the last two (a pace person is the one that runs ahead and tries to keep the speed constant), it worked as the last two miles were done at a good fast clip. This is not an exiting post but it makes me happy.
The best part of my runs are the people. They are always so shocked to see me running and the dynamic is always the same. First, they start out by making fun of me, then, after a while, they start to say hello and try to engage me in conversation and in the end they always end up cheering. I have had runs where Indonesians will slowdown in their cars just to give me a high-five, the other day a group of kids bought, and brought, me a small bottle of water. It’s so amazing to me how insignificant differences are the moment people put their guard down. Initially they see an American and are understandably standoffish. Yet, the moment they see me struggling and bumbling, they forget that and start seeing a person trying his hardest and they begin trying to build me up. This wouldn’t be so amazing if it didn’t happen every single time, but it does. I wish I could be more eloquent but I just don’t have the words to say how comforting these simple revelations are.
Lastly, the Super Bowl. I watched in on a 5ft by 5ft projection screen. I had the equipment at my house because I had a big presentation on Saturday. I have never seen a super bowl on such a big screen, right in my living room. I will now have to buy an HD or LCD Projector because I can never watch football on a small screen again. The only thing missing were the commercials—we supplemented the long European commercial breaks by putting the satellite on Fashion TV and watching lager than life runway models walk down my big screen. If you have to watch the game at 6am this is the way to do it—the beers weren’t bad either, though breakfast beer is a decidedly infrequent delicacy.
13.1 miles in 95-degree heat. I have run much further, and run in hotter, but Sunday has to be one of the better overall runs I have ever had. It hurt so much, it was so hot, the traffic was constant and unnerving; every uncomfortable running condition was there (right down to the sunburned lips I now smack with pride). It is funny to run here, Aceh is a beautiful but congested city with lots of traffic and little in terms of traffic laws. To survive a long run I go to the main highway (which is about three lanes wide with traffic moving in different directions and no traffic lines to distinguish lanes) and run straight, the road goes on for several miles before you get to the next town.
Now for the embarrassing addition, my driver follows behind me in the car. He drives slowly to protect me from oncoming traffic. It is funny; here is this crazy sweaty American running through town with a new beautiful Landcruiser following behind, very inconspicuous. At first I was embarrassed by this but have now become entirely addicted. I stock the car with water, Gatorade and whatever other running aids I need and every few miles I make him pull over and give me something to drink. The driver will say something encouraging about the heat or how strong my legs are and we will both laugh as I roll my eyes and start running again.
I really struggled on Sunday but I was fortunate, my friend Ilisa came and ran with me for the first eight miles. Ilisa is visiting from NHQ and loves to run so I was thrilled to have her poke and prod me along. After eight miles, she got in the car and was my cheerleader for three more. Seeing that I was dying, she got out and paced me for the last two (a pace person is the one that runs ahead and tries to keep the speed constant), it worked as the last two miles were done at a good fast clip. This is not an exiting post but it makes me happy.
The best part of my runs are the people. They are always so shocked to see me running and the dynamic is always the same. First, they start out by making fun of me, then, after a while, they start to say hello and try to engage me in conversation and in the end they always end up cheering. I have had runs where Indonesians will slowdown in their cars just to give me a high-five, the other day a group of kids bought, and brought, me a small bottle of water. It’s so amazing to me how insignificant differences are the moment people put their guard down. Initially they see an American and are understandably standoffish. Yet, the moment they see me struggling and bumbling, they forget that and start seeing a person trying his hardest and they begin trying to build me up. This wouldn’t be so amazing if it didn’t happen every single time, but it does. I wish I could be more eloquent but I just don’t have the words to say how comforting these simple revelations are.
Lastly, the Super Bowl. I watched in on a 5ft by 5ft projection screen. I had the equipment at my house because I had a big presentation on Saturday. I have never seen a super bowl on such a big screen, right in my living room. I will now have to buy an HD or LCD Projector because I can never watch football on a small screen again. The only thing missing were the commercials—we supplemented the long European commercial breaks by putting the satellite on Fashion TV and watching lager than life runway models walk down my big screen. If you have to watch the game at 6am this is the way to do it—the beers weren’t bad either, though breakfast beer is a decidedly infrequent delicacy.
posted by Banda-aid at 1:31 PM
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