People you meet in Eldoret

I figured out why I haven't seen any runners lately. The County Cross Country races are this weekend. All the distance runners, which is to say most of the runners here, are prepping and tapering for the big race.

So I went for a walk and took pictures of Kenyans in Eldoret (and two from another trip) instead.

We bought potatoes from this roadside set-up - 10 kilos or more for 200 KSH

Joseph. A kind man.

Fisherman in the lake. Soy, Uasin Gishu County.

Running is easier. Without a university degree, options are very limited.

Running late. In work clothes, this man is still faster than me.

On the way home from work.

Motorcycles take the right-of-way, usually by bullying.

Vehicles don't slow for much of anything. The kids know to get out of the way.

Little kids and a pup.

This is Collins. First, he asked me to take his picture. Then he asked me to take him to America. The picture I could do.

Sunday Long Run in Eldoret

First Long Run

Sunday marked my first long run since I got to Kenya. I typically like long runs that meander rather than the measured and business-like runs recommended in most training plans, i.e., 16 miles @ xx:xx pace.

I did that this morning, sliding out to run west along the river. It’s semi-familiar, with the low grasses and the basalt rock. The little things remind me that I’m not anywhere near to home. Pretty flowers that I’ve not seen before, or the call of a bird with a ‘whep, whep, whep’ sound or another that sounded like a gate squeaking back and forth. I saw a pair of Hadada Ibis who, from the way they complained, didn’t like strangers. Little things, as I said, except for the Ibis – they were way cool.

The run started with cloudy skies, something that Justin said is a bit unusual. I think I brought them with me. It cleared later though, with the characteristic blue of the African skies.

In addition to the railroad trestle bridge, which is a bit on the sketchy side, there’s a wooden bridge across the river to the east, and a downed eucalyptus tree to the west. I didn’t use any of them, content to stay on my side of the river. At points I was on cattle paths, dirt road, single track, railroad track, and bushwhacking. My kind of run, in other words, where the play factor is high.

An observation that I made to Justin when I got back – he did his own long run, headed in a different direction – was that Americans are obsessed with their watches at the expense of learning to listen to their bodies. Looking at a watch today would have depressed me. Since I left it at home (deliberately,) that wasn’t an option. For the trip, I’ve been using a Fitbit to keep track of exercise time and heartrate.

As expected, my heartrate spiked when I landed at Nairobi, bumping up about twelve beats per minute. (I don’t trust the Fitbit resting heartrate calculation, by the way – it usually higher than what the device actually shows first thing in the morning.) About a week ago, the rate stabilized and began to drop, the earliest indication that the adaptive response to altitude is kicking in.

For running, I’ve pretty much ignored mileage in favor of time. Kenya, as you might imagine, is somewhat deficient in mile markers. Or kilometer markers. Or markers in general. Today’s run was set for an hour and ten minutes. It’s shorter than it would be at home for a very good reason—as soon as I start to exercise, the heartrate climbs like a rocket. My average on today’s run was about 143, or about 87 percent of max heart rate, depending on what formula is used. For a long run, that’s pretty high. Runner’s World recommend 65-75 percent of max, for example. I can get to that just walking if some hills are involved.

So, the obvious-to-me way to handle this situation is to run by ‘feel’, varying speeds with terrain and my perceived effort. As the chart shows, I managed to do this really well for the first forty-five minutes. Things got a little irregular after that (though one of the gullies is the result of a pit stop – the Kenyan countryside does not have porta-potties.) The last third of the run still showed good consistency when the hills are accounted for.

I didn’t bother to check the Fitbit to see what the rates actually were, but just ran at a pace that seemed pretty comfortable. As long as I’m at altitude, I can expect elevated numbers. Obsessing would drive me nuts, the opposite of the goal here, so I run, enjoy it, and check on my progress afterwards.

Hope your long run this week goes as well – run gently, friends!

Interval Training at Eldoret

Justin took me down to the track at the University of Eldoret to watch some of the runners training. Sammy Matei of Pace Sports Management was there coaching his athletes. So was World Champion Nicholas Bett, the 400m Hurdler. I didn't get many names, so I likely missed some luminaries. Incredibly to watch these men training.

Second Lap of an 800m interval.

The home stretch of a fast 200m

Nicholas Bett, World Champion

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On to Eldoret

New Year’s Day is an eventful holiday in Kenya. The families travel back to their traditional homes to celebrate the day. In my case, I ended up joining a gentleman I met on the plane over. We touched base after we got settled, and Njuguna invited me to join him and his wife, Celia, on a trip into the Central Highlands. He promised me a potluck and a chance for me to learn a bit about the Kikuyu lands.

Roast goat, chapata, a Kenyan version of cole slaw, beans, potatoes, and more.

Njuguna was actually serious when he mentioned that it would be a potluck. At every house that we visited, the families offered us food. It is part of the cultural pattern throughout Kenya, where they treated guests as family, feeding them and offering tea.

Celia came to my rescue. She had taught her European students a phrase, ne meh she ba, (spelling phonetically here, folks. Could well have a different proper spelling.) The phrase means “I am now full.” I suspect that phrase, along with ‘thank you very much’—assante sana,—are going to be in my permanent repertoire. Po le, too. I’m sorry. It actually has a wide and varied meaning from I’m sorry I stepped on your foot to I’m sorry your car has a flat tire. The range of expression of this one word will appeal to my youngest daughter.

Kenyan gatherings, at least this one, are quiet relative to a comparable American party. I liked the difference as I’ve never been much for trying to shout over a group.

The next day, Saturday, marked my trip to Eldoret. Immediate impression – absolute relief at the breezes and the drop in humidity. Also, my allergies are fading which is great. Still a bit of a sniffle but that is fading fast.

Justin met me at the airport, and he drove us to his home, where I’ll be staying. He and his wife have been most welcoming, though I think they worry over me. They shouldn’t as I’m pretty adaptable. After settling in, Justin took me on a walk, pointing out the houses of Olympic gold medalists and other notaries. The views are expansive and I plan on getting out during dawn and dusk to capture some of the images. That will remain a work in progress for now but once I get them, I’ll put them up.

After the walk, we had dinner - traditional food that was very tasty, with Kenyan tea, and then sat talking. For Justin and I, it was a lot of about writing. Running periodically enters into the conversation, too. There are a couple of major races coming up, so I'll have a chance to watch outstanding runners as they go head to head.

Update: Sunday morning. Went for a four mile-ish run/walk with Justin. Still can process enough oxygen but that is something that time will take care of. The terrain reminds me a lot of home. Took a goodly number of pictures along the way.

Today, we’re headed out to Kapkeringon Village to visit Justin’s family.

Yes the gaps are big enough to fall through.

Justin Lagat, looking stylish.