Second Time Trials

Yesterday we had our second time trials at 6am. This time I was able to run with the group rather than simply organise the race (thanks to Will & Chanty for making this possible!)

Those who are competing in the 5km race in Pursat in two weeks time ran 4km for their time trial. Theary and Arnold were first and second home, while Sokheun improved her previous pace to finish the first out of the girls in 22:45. Joshua and I were the only ones who took on 8km yesterday. He kept pace for the first half and finished just 3.5 minutes behind. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if Joshua beats me in Pursat!

After training we stretched and read Lesson 9 out of 10 of the mini lessons on how to train for and race a distance event. By 7:15am we were finished and it was time for a quick shower, change, breakfast and handing out emergency flood relief at Group 42. But that's another story...

smiles

Run Club is back after the floods.

A small group of five did the 6am highway run yesterday. Afterwards I incorporated some silly stretching into the usual warm-down routine. We 'swam' to remember the floods that engulfed the villages a week ago. We did chicken actions to remember the livestock that has been lost. It was goofy but it made the youth smile. There's my pay cheque.

market

Today I thought I had an awkward load on my moto... until I checked the guy in front of me.

a compliment

On Thursday night I stayed in Phnom Penh. As Gretch & I came home and entered the front gate of her apartment we were met by half a dozen kids with a dozen arms wanting to give & receive hugs and a dozen legs jumping about excitedly. (I'm told this is a daily event!) I watched for a moment, then started asking the kids some simple questions about themselves. The eldest girl stared at me with a puzzled look on her face. She grabbed Gretchen again and asked, "Is she Khmer?" Oh happy day! Yay for the 12-year-old who wondered if I was one of her own people!

yes, that was our hallway....

A guy burst into our house on Friday night wearing a blue 'wife-beater' singlet, a pair of boardies & flip flops, wielding a sledgehammer in his right hand. He knocked the top off some tiles in the kitchen then smashed a hole in the back wall. Ten minutes later he strolled out the way he came and we said, "thank you"...

It was just after 10pm and I was reading in bed when I responded to the urgent sound of the doorbell being pressed repeatedly. I skipped down three flights of stairs, unlocked the padlock and opened the French doors to see my neighbour standing in front of me in her usual daytime/ nightime/ anytime cotton PJ's. She yelled, "The water is coming!" Even as that short phrase left her mouth, the first wave of water gushed over my toes. Then started the scramble. We hoisted most of the furniture from out lounge/ meeting room up to the first floor. We unplugged the computers and stacked books, files and folders from the bottom levels of the bookshelf. We lifted our 50kg of rice out of the murky waters. Then we waited....

Heavy rains in over six provinces in NE Thailand meant that the swirling rivers spilled over to NW Cambodia over the weekend. According to today's Bangkok Post, one of those provinces (Nakhon Ratchasima) experienced the worst flooding in 50 years.


In our house, we had a new tributary flowing about 20cm deep for almost 24 hours. There were all kinds of creatures caught in the flow: frogs, centipedes, crickets, fish and earthworms. I saw the usual street rubbish float down our hallway: soy sauce bottles, soda cans, straws, an empty tube of beauty cream.... There were a few larger items too: driftwood and branches... again, all these floated effortlessly through our doorway, past the loungeroom, through to the kitchen and over the back step.

On Saturday night and Sunday we syphoned & scooped; mopped and cleaned. Now things are back to business (but Internet in our office has been down since the storm...) However, many houses in Poipet are still flooded. Even so, the people I chat with are still positive! The common reply to the question, "What do you when it floods?" is "Fish".

weekend weather

at the beach

Maybe we're better when we don't try so hard to be good.

Last week we had holidays on Thursday & Friday so three chicks from Poipet traveled to Phnom Penh to meet another beautiful friend and continue our journey to the beach. (To the beach, to the beach.... three hope-filled words not matter how long it takes to get there... to the beach.) From the moment we left home I was in holiday mode.

We left at sunset and drove until midnight. The 25-year-old taxi driver was keen to talk. His favourite topics of conversation were what I thought about Khmer guys and about the Christian faith. (Easy topics for me!) He asked: Where is God? How many Christians are there in Cambodia? What is truth? Are all religions essentially the same? Do you think that all Cambodians should follow your religion? I don't know if this guy was asking because he was really seeking answers or if it was just something to talk about to pass the time, but I asked enough stuff about God as a flippant thirteen year old to know that even those who seem to have an attitude can listen and hear.

On Saturday night we were sitting by the beach with French fusion food and a glass of house red. Someone had the idea that we could go to church the following day if there was one in town. I asked the waiter then some other staff at the restaurant if there knew of any churches or places where Christian people meet. They laughed. They didn't know any Christian place. As a final thought, I asked our Tuk Tuk driver on the way home. He also said that he did not know of any church. "But you should come and start one!" he said. I was curious as to why a Buddhist guy would invite someone to start a church in his town so we talked about it some more....

Sunday morning started with an easy 8km trail run with views over the ocean. As I ran I thought about church again. Since we couldn't find anywhere to "go to church" I suggested to my friends that we "do church" in our lodge. So we did something like church... whatever church is meant to look like.. with prayers and thanks and Scripture readings and a short sermon and discussion and a blessing at the end. It was good. But I wasn't trying to be good. I'd just relaxed into a place of being drawn to God and found myself delighting in speaking with curious strangers who wanted to know something about me.

carbon chookprint

When I was in Australia in June-July, I wondered about the environmental impact of driving a car a hundred kilometres or more in order to get to a meeting. But Cambodia's shared taxis are much greener. Yesterday's 320km round trip was typical: one Camry, seven adults, two children and a couple of chooks.

Staff Retreat photos

Photos from Will's camera: Master 2 Years; Will's 'wedding' at the cultural village & Road Trip.

I got to go on retreat

(Photo: Thanks Jordy)

(Photo: Thanks Jordy)

Last week week we had a three-day staff retreat in Siem Reap. This year I invited immediate family members & our 2 Aussie interns to join, so we had a total of 8 adults and 4 kids. Good times...

A couple of months ago I read an article about changing our list of "have to's" into "get to's". As someone who's in a to do list dependant season of life, the article connected with me! I don't know if the Staff Retreat was holiday or work time, but Siem Reap was an opportunity for me to practice changing my "have to" mindset into a rich, amazing "get to" party! It was three days of working some of the best "get to" aspects of my job. I got to dream and execute a plan of how to give to our fabulous team. For example:

I got to send Sim's boys off to see Angkor Wat for the first time. I got to witness Will's 'wedding' when he was chosen as the groom in a re-enacted tribal wedding at the Cultural Village. I got to spend an hour searching Siem Reap by tuk tuk in order to find kid-sized bicycles for hire. Sir 9 Years and Little Mr 6 had such a great time exploring the city by bike with their dad and the other guys on staff. Master 2 Years, meanwhile, sat on the back of dad's bike for the ride. For the Girls Only morning, I got to take care of Sim's 6-month-old while mum enjoyed a 1.5 hour massage. (Lots of smiles & cuddles for me... only a few noisy cries!)

I got to put small amounts of money into envelopes for each family unit for their breakfast & additional spending needs. This meant that mum and dad could buy Master 2 Years a toy car while they were away, rather than the gift coming from a white, rich chick. What else...? I got to teach Sim how to use the remote for the air-conditioner so that it wasn't set at 30 degrees after the first night! I got to plan some spiritual reflections/ exercises. In two languages, we gathered together to worship, learn and encourage each other in Christ.

I got to eat, laugh, pray and play with my crew. Awesome!

Time Trials

Yesterday we had our first Run Club time trails in preparation for the Pursat River Run in November. Many of the runners did a 3K time trial as prep for the 5K at Pursat. Those training for the 10K did a 6K time trial yesterday.

The course wasn't fancy. Out and back along the highway, finishing at the front of our house. I conducted the race briefing just after 6am and it went something like this, 'Do your best. Walk if you need to. Run as fast as you can. Remember this is still a highway so don't take on any cars or motos. Be careful. Have fun. See you soon.'

The runners gathered behind the pink chalk line and on the count of three they were off. I rode my moto down the road to the 1.5k point and drew a large arrow on the road to mark the first turning spot. I continued along the highway and waited at the second turning point, having drawn another arrow with the same bright pink chalk. Soon it was time to ride back again. As I rode West I could see the line of runners in their stride. A dozen brand new runners, mostly in their teens, were out pounding the highway, heads up, straining for the finish. A short-term volunteer (Jordy) was at the front of the house recording names & times. She gave up her opportunity to run so that she could cheer each one home and make sure they had an accurate record of their first trial race. As the Poipet athletes cooled down, we read through the next lesson in the How To Run booklet I put together (translated into Khmer by Phoeurn). Runners borrowed a calculator to figure their estimated finish times for a longer race.

At 5:30pm I went out for a training run myself. It was a good run. But seeing young guys & girls push themselves and watching them improve week by week is an even greater reward. Our second time trials are in three weeks (4K & 8K). Coach Pip is pumped for it!