Training, Temples, and 10Ks

I'm training for a 10K on Christmas morning.  We'll apply the term "training" loosely since my hardcore prep really only started this week.  I've run a couple of 5Ks in the past few weeks and even though I've never run as far as 10K before, I'm hopeful for a happy ending on Sunday.

I've been running with a few other teachers/staff members from Grace who are also crazy enough to get up at 4:30am on Christmas morning to run a loop around the historic old City.  We did a serious trail run on Wednesday morning that took us back behind the Night Safari park and into the Thai country side, complete with quaint little ponds and a shoulder-high field of grass.  Thursday we needed something a bit more relaxed, so we hiked up the ancient steps to the temple on Doi Kham; a small mountain just west of our neighborhood.  Aside from a pack of menacing looking temple dogs we ran into on the way, it was a nice break from the usual flat run. 

I didn't have my camera with me, but I snagged this photo from the blog of another Chiang Mai traveler:

The staircase leading up to Wat Phra That Doi Khom

We climbed these 500 or so steps plus 3 times this many on our way up the mountain.  One of the monks was nice enough open the locked gate when we got to the top.  We were rewarded with a fantastic view of the city and a glimpse of a gigantic Buddha statue before jogging back down the steep road to our car.

Think of me on your Christmas eve around 5pm as I stand shivering in the early morning cold about to embark on my first long run and an irreplaceable memory.