Mahidol Sports Science 10k

The Mahidol Sports Science 10k, was a race that I was sorely under-prepared for but still managed to have a great time at.  I had not run in about two weeks, but was still able to drag my lazy butt out of bed to go for a run with a great team of co-workers.  While the course was... scenic... and quite... random, it was still a beautiful morning, and with the weather hovering around 63 degrees Fahrenheit, it was one of the coolest runs that I have had the chance to take here in Thailand.  

I think there is a real awesome thing about a photo right after you finish a race of any distance.  You are in pain, you have just eaten more bugs than anyone else who might be asleep, you are covered in sweat, but still on that post-run high.  May as well get you before the real pain and soreness kicks in.  

I really cannot make sense of the race course.  The nice thing though is that it was a full 10k, which seems to be rare here in Thailand, as most of the courses seem to be estimated, and not measured accurately.  I am also pretty happy as I went into the race thinking it would be a "lap" race, and never once had to retrace any steps.  I cannot tell you how much most runners dislike the idea of running around in circles just to add distance onto their total run length.  

It was a great run, with a very confusing, but fun course, and I would totally do this run again.  Full points in my book!

Plus, the chance to run in 63 degree weather in Thailand should never be passed over.

Sneak preview of the new classroom!

Figured I ought to give everyone a look at the new classroom.  I have not taken many pictures outside the room as a lot of it is still under construction, but hey, new building, hard to complain right?

The building itself is amazing, and I will add a lot of photos of it when I get a chance, but I thought I would do a quick post and show everyone what the classroom looks like so far.  I still have a lot of decorating to do to make it a proper "Tumin" classroom.

AKA a coffee maker and tacky posters/post cards.  All of my old students will understand this for sure.  
If you want to see google sphere of the room, click here.

Google spheres are these awesome spherical photos of places that allow for a person to move the photo with their mouse or finger if it is on the cell phone.  You can take a virtual spin around my room at your leisure.

The view from the front of the classroom towards the back.

The view out the window

The view from the back of the classroom towards the front

Obligatory selfie

It is 5:59pm and all is quiet...

There is something truly beautiful about running around Mahidol University. The beautiful Thailand sunsets, the canals, the Asian fusion architecture, and the wonderful tree-lined boulevards all make for a memorable experience. It is amazing just how well this university and its' setting would fit in perfectly in any college town in the United States. 

It is also quite inspiring how the university is both so incredibly modern while still preserving the Thai feel of the locale. 

It has all the features that make it world class, while still having those Thai moments that remind you that you are not wandering a New England university. One of those is the six-foot monitor lizards. The other is what happens as the clock strikes 6:00 pm.

I love to run in the evening because it offers a bit of a reprieve from the oppressive Thailand heat and humidity. I am obviously not the only one who feels this way, as the joggers start to come out of hibernation at around 5:30 pm.

The really interesting thing is that even though the sidewalks and roadways are full of joggers and bikers at 6:00 pm, everyone comes to a respectful stop as the loudspeakers come alive. First you hear an announcement, followed by a quick piece of music, then you hear the Kings song/anthem. The first two items last about a minute and people continue to do whatever they had been doing, but as soon as the Kings song comes on, everyone stops.

This is not a stop and stretch sort of thing.

This is a full and complete stop. 

There is a very respectful nature in the evening air, as people wait for the song to end and them continue their jogging and walking. There is no talking, no checking of cell phones, just a respectful waiting period.

For those of you who are wondering, no, it does not feel staged or false, it really does feel like a genuine love and respect for their long-reigning monarch.  While I doubt anyone would raise a fuss if I were still running during that time, it just would not feel right. Plus, there is something that is just right about taking the time to respect a tradition.

Again though, what a beautiful evening for a quick four-mile run.

Beautiful Run around Mahidol University

Mahidol University if situated on a piece of land that is criss-crossed by canals, teeming with fish, turtles, and some species of lizards that should have never been spawned from the black lagoon.  More on them later...

The university is the very definition of beautiful, and was set up to be very friendly for people who are using foot and bike transportation.  Dotted throughout the campus there are countless groves and benches, water parks, and meandering trails.  A person could spend hours walking the university and still come across some quaint area that takes you away from the fact that you are in the middle of a semi-urban campus and allows you some peace and quiet.  

The running route combinations are endless.  So far I have been able to find an amazingly beautiful route that takes me about five kilometers around the edge of the campus, and today Edward Saengwilai Johns joined me for a run.  We did almost seven kilometers, but as any runner knows, it is not about the distance, but enjoying the great company and the beautiful scenery.  I had no shortage of either.

Stone sidewalks and amazing lighting.  This school is not only a running haven, but would make any amateur photographer delighted as well.

Now, the university is criss-crossed with many canals, and of course that makes for the travel from the proverbial point "a" to point "b" quite complex at times, as you can see by the awesomely copied and completely plagiarized Google map...

Pretty much any speck of green that you see on the map is water, canal, or swamp.  It is not as bad as it seems.  This pretty much is my view every single day as I walk to work.

I took that that yesterday morning.  Ain't no thing, right?

Now, as I mentioned before, these damn monitor lizards.  Just so you understand what they look like, I am going to plagiarize yet another picture... Here you go.  Authentic...

If you look closely, you can see the monitor lizard in the region just slightly left of the middle of the frame.  You really can't miss him...

Now of course this is just how my mind sees them, they look much closer to this picture here.

Terrifying, right?

But again, with views like this, and a commute like the video below, I guess I can look over some prehistoric dinosaur that wants to kill me.

A Beautiful Morning Run Around Mahidol University (Monitor Lizards and Sunrises)

Woke up at about 5am for some unknown reason, so I decided to get up and see the local area during the early morning hours.  The time right before sunrise is my favorite time to go for a run and explore, as most people are not up and about yet, the air is cool-ish, and there are usually a lot of nocturnal animals that are still out and roaming.  

Besides a few packs of very friendly, yet still feral dogs, there was only the usual array of birds and such to listen to on my run.  

That is until I saw this guy:

There is a monitor lizard in the lower part of the picture, just swimming around and doing whatever it is that those guys do.  After being told that they can grow to be upwards of ten feet long, I am quite glad that he was more scared of me than I was of him.  Once you find a monitor lizard, you can follow them as they swim under the somewhat murky water by following the bubble trail that they leave in their wake.  I was thinking about how cool it was that I was able to find one, and then watch it move around underwater based on the bubble trail, until I noticed just how many different bubble trails there were in the area... I decided to continue on with my run at that point.

Mahidol University is stunningly beautiful.  It has a ton of little canals and channels that criss-cross the university, and most of the architecture is modern but has a Thai twist to it.  

The school that I am going to be teaching at is a laboratory school that is located on the grounds of this beautiful university.  I feel very lucky.

After about 5 kilometers of jogging and picture taking, I decided to head back over the pedestrian bridge to my apartment.  I love the architecture here!