So, for those of you that don’t yet know, I’m heading off to Cambodia in a few weeks’ time, and will be there for almost four months – hence the massive complications about how to train for the London Marathon. Eek. I have however been researching options, and also keeping a low profile blog that will be all about what I get up to in Cambodia (feeling inadequate and confused mainly, much like life in Sheffield but with more humidity and fewer Smilies). The blog hasn’t really got a voice yet (sorry if that’s pretentious) but if you are interested it can be found at https://cambodiacallingsite.wordpress.com/ it will be more general than just running stuff so I appreciate may not appeal to my running buddies. However, I thought this post was worth sharing with other runners out there because it tells us that:
‘To run is to be totally free, to think & to build up your strengths, both mentally & physically,’ (yeah, well, you knew that) but it adds: ‘whilst making you more interesting and attractive to others!‘
If Running in Cambodia can do this for me, I am going to be laughing all the way round our great city of London come April 2017!
I’m reblogging this post from Cambodia Calling to Running Scared, partly just to see what happens with the technology. I think there is a limit to what my loyal reader will tolerate blogging wise. I was going to pause my running blog whilst I was away, but now I’m not so sure. My regular reader might be fretting about whether or not I’m keeping up with my training what with all the distractions of the big city lights in Phnom Penh. Perhaps I should be cross fertilising with posts between the two? Who knew that I’d need a venn diagram for the overlap between my ‘running’ exploits and my new life in Cambodia. Eek. Don’t get your hopes up, I’m only going for a few months….
Oh the plus side, as friends have told me previously, because I’ll be keeping a blog it will save you from actually having to talk to me at all over the coming weeks. Always a boon I’m told. I think the phrase used was ‘that’s brilliant, because if you write it all down, I won’t ever have to talk to you again to find out what you’ve been up to!’ Friends are great when they are candid aren’t they? How we laughed. One of us with more hollow hysteria than the other…
To run is to be totally free, to think & to build up your strengths, both mentally & physically, whilst making you more interesting & attractive to others!!
Can you be an armchair runner? I believe so, I’ve found an outfit to wear whilst I browse the internet looking for running options to help me train for the London Marathon whilst living and working in Phnom Penh.
What do you think? It’s described as ‘adult bear sleeping bag‘:
Soooooooooo, what has my armchair research yielded?
Well, not all that promising to be fair. There’s the Phnom Pen Hash House Harriers, but they are ‘drinkers with a running problem‘ and that’s not my thing, though I’ll probably go along once at least just to see. They meet ‘every Sunday 2:00 PM at the Phnom Penh Railway station. Truck departs from the railway station at…
View original post 1,020 more words
Running Scared 
You could also find a swimming pool, acquire an aqua jogging belt or flotation vest, and absolve some of your kms in water. I do aqua jogging sometimes as an alternative training, and it’s a pretty effective workout. Yes, you do feel a bit silly, ‘running’ like mad and getting almost nowhere, and yes, it gets boring as hell………. but it works the same muscles as running without killing the joints, and isn’t difficult to get the hang of. Just a thought.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my goodness, I’ve never heard of that! I have no idea if this is a wind up or a serious suggestiong – could it work? There is a pool at the gym I intend to join, though I don’t know if it will be clean and useable or not yet… Lx
LikeLike
this reminds me of a gym I used to go to in London – the pool was absolutely tiny, so they had a water pump and you had to swim against the current, while staying in exactly the same place. It was quite soul-destroying, swimming and never actually moving forward!
I like the idea of aqua-running though, may even try it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah OK, this idea is gaining some currentsea (see what I’ve done there?) Lx
LikeLike
Hope you have a great time, but we shall miss you here in Teddington.
I would like to leave you with a wise old saying you will hear many times in Cambodia…
ខ្ញុំពិតជាសោកស្តាយប៉ុន្តែខ្ញុំមិនអាចយល់ពាក្យដែលអ្នកកំពុងនិយាយថា
LikeLiked by 1 person
ha ha that’s brilliant! Hang on – let me find google translate. Lx
LikeLike
ah thought so – thanks Mike, that saying is just the job! Lx
LikeLike
Not a wind-up – it’s perfectly serious. Google it – there are loads of videos. This one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4PDaIjpZz0 is in German, but the video of the movement is very clear. I had another idea too: if you can find an athletics track that is open to the public, you could run rounds there – safer than taking your chances on the dangerous-sounding roads.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aha – this is great, keep the tips coming. There is an athletic track in Phnom Penh but I can’t work out how public can use it. However, in other news, I had a pm from a member of the PP Runners group offering to go out with me …. at 5.00 a.m. weekdays! She says it’s safe at that time but not really once the traffic is out. However, I’m feeling cheered!
LikeLike
http://www.athleticsweekly.com/featured/athletics-cambodia-16431 An article for you to read; it says Cambodia has a ‘burgeoning road-race circuit’, so there must be runners there. Not too hopeful on the athletics track front, though…………….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh where do you find these? I’ve found there are a few races in Cambodia, but it’s a bit opaque as to where they are and how to register. However, I am feeling a bit more confident there must be other runners out there somewhere. If I spend half as much time actually running in Phnom Penh, as opposed to surfing the net trying to find out about running in Phnom Penh I’ll be mega fit in a few months time! 🙂
LikeLike
http://www.cambodia-events.org/ You’ve seen this, I presume? I don’t know where Angkor Wat is, but it has a half marathon on 4th December. May be other events too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’ve seen this – and I’ve made contact wtih another runner who is doing the half hilariously. It’s nowhere near where I am unfortunately, and as I’ll have only just arrived at my job I think it’s a bit early to get my act together and head off, and also I wont be at all adjusted to the heat. However, you are on fire here. You can be my designated events researcher! I’ll be in Phnom Penh by the way. I dont know yet how easy it will be to travel about, but I daresay that will become apparent! Lx
LikeLike
Ah, looking at the results from last year, I see they have a 10k too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed so – it’s very tempting (though really not realistic – Angkor Watt is The Famous temple site – the classic photos you see of roots growing through amazing architecture / temple of doom film shots are all taken here.
LikeLike
It’s near Siem Reap, at the top end of a big lake, and from the pictogram, it has an airport……….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know… definitely tempting, just not very realistic, but then again, never say never… it would be super-cool to do just one race event whilst I’m away, and I am there for their relatively speaking cooler months so you never know. A christmas race would be A.Maz.Ing. Lx
LikeLike