Y’all I was minding my business today. Yesterday I sat down and did a to do list for today and I had settled down to get to it. I was already feeling proud of myself when a friend N, got in touch asking and explaining why he needed an accountability partner. Of course I listened. I’m a good friend like that.
We’ve shared our plans with each other and now we have to keep to it and check in regularly.
Fast forward to the afternoon and my Team captain D reaches out and asks me to help him with some club admin stuff. We’ve talked about my goals and how I am working on them. He’s seen me working towards my goals and likes my ideas for the club. He likes my fire and drive.
It’s great and I am thankful for the accountability partners. Now I have more impetus to keep at it and be a better person cos we know once you start working on one part of your life, the rest the other parts also get aligned.
The inaugural Uhuru Classic Marathon happened this Sunday…and what a race it was..an experience.
Where to start? I don’t even know where the beginning is.
The day before the race I suddenly got nervous..not about anything specific but just nervous excitement. It’s been cold in Nairobi and I hadn’t hydrated well so I made it a point to drink a litre of water and to make sure I did, I added some oral rehydration salts.
I went to bed but found it hard to sleep, when I eventually got sleep at 11pm, I woke up at midnight feeling refreshed and sure I was up just before the alarm, but I had 5hours and 45 more minutes to sleep.
I woke up and showered, had some oatmeal with chia and banana and I was off.
I was 2.8km away from the start point at Nyayo National Stadium and I used that as a warm up. Strangely I did not come across many runners as I have in the past on that walk. I met only 3 runners.
The stadium however was FULL of people and the noise, the music!! Oh! So glorious.
I was wearing my Team Jasho tee and so it was easy to spot other team members in a sea of red. We talked and hugged even when we didn’t know each other..united by the love of running and the joy of a physical race.
The race did not disappoint. It was well organized, the races started right on time, signs, water and toilets were right where they were supposed to be and people had fun posing with them. I met a friend and we took the time to catch up and walk together. I took it real easy last week and so the 10k felt longer than usual.
The worst part of it was that there was no shade on the course but I expected it and had my hat and sunscreen.
That cup of tea was the best cup of tea I have had ever. Tea is my recovery drink. So is chocolate milk.
The elites passing by like small vehicles was exciting. Every time a team member passed by we cheered each other on. Hearing the music get louder and louder as I got closer to the finish line, till I got into the stadium and received my medal. The MC welcomed us all and the energy was high….everyone was cheering. It felt amazing. As I walked out of the stadium I met a big group of my team and I joined in for photos. Another highlight was seeing people I had seen last weekend at the marathon relay like Tuzo from Breakasweat365. I think he got a PB too. However, I was suffering from a migraine and I left them in search of a cup of tea.
The team was meeting at a restaurant for lunch and good vibes. That was another lovely time. We analysed the race, and at what point did we see who, who won, which of our friends was still on the course. Runners high was real and contagious and a beautiful thing to watch and soak in. I really really really really didn’t want to leave but my migraine said otherwise.
When I got home, I found my family having tea and it was the perfect congratulatory drink to receive from them. I then went and took what felt like the world’s best shower and nap. Does anyone else find that sleeping diagonally is more comfortable especially when you’re tired?
When I got up, I had some more water with ORS and a cup of chicken soup that my body was so so grateful for.
I look forward to the next race and I hope it is soon. I leave you with a picture of the bling earned.
Ahh..what to say….sadly I did not get to do the 42k that I wanted.
On Friday I had an early start and was not able to do the 10k I planned.
Saturday I managed 6k. Sunday I was not feeling well and had family over so could not be gone for too long. I did 8k. Monday was recovery. I was feeling better in the afternoon but the rain had other plans.
Some people can run in rain, others can’t for different reasons. I am in the second category. I know my body and no amount of layers will get me out to run in the rain so please, spare me any advice. I’ve heard it all and tried it too. It’s better I run when it’s not raining.
I’m sad I didn’t get to complete this challenge but I want to make up for it by doing at the very least a 5k 4 times this week and daily strength training of 30 squats, pushups and burpees. I will use the 15k I did this Easter as a baseline for next Easter’s challenge.
Cheers to us all on this journey.
Cheers to my country people for winning #BOSTON marathon.
As per my last post I was attempting to do 42k in 4 days.
I got a friend, M, to help me.
Day 1 I did 7k, the longest distance for her.
It was a cloudy day with a bit of drizzle…cloudy, not too hot or too cold, my kind of weather.
Day 2 I was alone and I did 7k. I felt good, my legs told me that they could do a longer distance but I decided to take it easy cos I planned to do a 10k and more on the Saturday.
Saturday my friend and I went to Ngong Forest Sanctuary to do her first 10k. she was so excited!
We met other members of the running group who had braved the morning rain. It started raining as I was leaving the house and I was not too happy about that but I hoped that the sun would come out and shine by the time I got to the start point. And you know what, it did!
We warmed up and set out..and do you know, it started to drizzle when we were at the 5k point. M and I discussed turning left and continuing the 10k with the drizzle or turning right and ending it halfway thus doing 5k.
We turned right.
I’m bummed we didn’t do the 10k but 5k is still better than zero.
It was great to go our in a different route and be in nature and smell the wet earth, hear the birds and watch the monkeys watching us. When I got home all I wanted to do was eat and sleep and eat some more.
For some reason on Sunday I was super tired. I knew I could do 10k but I blew it off to sleep and eat. I can’t wait to go and do it again and neither can M.
So out of the 42k I did 22kms. I could have done more in day 1 and 2 instead of leaving it to day 3 and 4 without any solid plans of how to get it done. Just saying I’ll do it in the evening was not good enough. I should have a plan of at 4pm/5pm I’ll do 8 or 9 kms. It had been a cold few days and I did not hydrate as I should but I was not thirsty. I was also not hungrier than usual up until day 3 when the hunger hit hard.
The official dates for the challenge are the Easter weekend. Between now and then I will work on my endurance and distance..careful not to get too tired close to the dates.
Also I want to do a 15k run. Someone suggested doing it on the first day of the challenge but I fear that I’ll get tired quicker and not complete the challenge. I’ll try it before the challenge perhaps.
Aah..Kilimanjaro marathon, affectionately known as Kili. I’ve been dreaming and thinking of you for years, almost 10years and I finally got to see you, face you and almost conquer you.
I got together with Team Jasho bright and early and started the trip to Moshi.
I did not realise how much I had missed being in the company of other runners on the way to a race.
On the way to the border point at Oloitokitok I was feeling tired and had a mild headache that I put down to not hydrating properly in the course of the trip. My friend and I got to the hotel, we had a great dinner talked with other runners from Uganda and Kenya then retired to rest for what promised to be a great day.
Morning came and I had low energy for some reason and my mind was foggy.
We to the finish line and all the people and high spirits continued to exhaust me. My friend was concerned and kept asking if I wanted to continue. I knew I would not be able to do the half so I made the choice to do the 5k. As the sin rose higher and higher, it was becoming clear to me that even the 5k would not be possible. Sadly I had to drop out.
I went to the hotel room and got very very sick. I had a bad case of food poisoning. Bummer.
I rode it out and I was able to travel back to the city relatively comfortably.
I loved the travel and in person racing. The pandemic has really taken a lot from me, from us.
The Tanzanians though, they laugh in the face of Covid. No masks were in sight no social distancing but there were hand sanitisers in some areas like hotel receptions.
So what do I take from this:
a) There is nothing more important than taking care of your body.
b) Next year I want to do the half marathon and in order to do that I have got to work on my training and make it better than it was a week ago. More strength training, cardio, yoga and swimming has to be incorporated into my routine.
c) I liked the accommodation and will likely stay there again. There was great breakfast and transport to the start line.
d) The Team Jasho were great company but I would like to go on Friday so as to have Saturday to rest and walk around town then do the race on Sunday.
Cheers to the next Kilimanjaro marathon. In the meantime there are other races to tackle and conquer.
Quite a bit has happened in my life..ended a relationship..twice…sigh what is life?
But we move, we keep moving
I decided to take on a fitness challenge, one that I have wanted to do for years.
Working out for 100 days straight.
I’m on day 47. I’ve walked, run, done yoga and swam…my body loves the days I’m in the water. Perhaps I should take that up as my next challenge. Hmm..an idea. There’s a race that’s coming up in February that I’ve always wanted to do.
So far, I’m really proud of myself…and I’m toying with the idea of registering for a half marathon.
There have been days when all I want to do is sleep or somehow find myself in a pool.
Knowing my why is what has kept me at it.
To keep me accountable I have signed up for challenges on Strava and with a running group.
There is a November challenge I’m doing that requires me to either walk, run or cycle for 5k a day and report to the team captain.
This is my second time doing it. I like it, plus the bling is unlike any other race bling I have ever received.
Leaving 2020 behind and stepping into 2021, I wondered what to do how to go about it. Do I just fumble through it or do I get some sort of plan in place?
I like to have some form of organisation so I came up with a plan of sorts.
I decided to come up with words that would define my year guide me through it.
INTENTION. SIMPLICITY.
Those are my words for 2021. (I feel like I shoudl tatoo them on my arm or something lol)
In order to live an intentional life I should have a plan..there are some questions I should ask myself:
Do I have a choice? Hell yeah I do.
What kind of culture is around me? Drinking? Drugging? Hard workers? High achievers?
Examine myself and be honest about what I see. This was a hard one.
Next I knew that I had to put some practical steps in place:
Decide to live my life. Not to compare myself to others. Live my truth and my purpose.
Define what my purpose is.
Set goals. Small goals that lead to bigger goals.
Stay focused and on task.
Learn from others.
So far one month into the new year I have written out what my goals are and how to go about achieving them. What I find difficult is how to get back on track when life gets in the way.
For example one of my goals is to run 1000kms this year. Pretty doable. To keep myself accountable I have registered myself for the medal that will be handed out at the end of the year (end of November actually)
In order to achieve this I am putting it down here as well for further accountability.
In anuary I did 30 kms so I owe 50 kms, add that to the 83 km for February. The plan is to do 83kms per month. It can be in 17 5ks or 8 10ks or do 2.7k every day of the month.
If there is one thing I know about myself is that I love to be active. As a child and teen I loved running around and loved the way my body moved seemingly effortlessly, though I didn’t like too much or too little structure, sometimes competition made me nervous and then fiercely fiercely competitive to the point that I didn’t recognise myself.
I did a thing that led to another thing… All good things.. I think
The first thing I did was to start (or is it continue) with my fitness plan. This time I want to do 100 days of fitness with a rest day scheduled every 4th day.
Which leads to the second thing, to further document and be accountable I created an Instagram account just for this purpose.
I’d love to be a brand ambassador for some fitness clothing companies because who doesn’t love new clothes (but I really love fitness gear) but most importantly I want to get fitter and stronger and smash my goals and set bigger and harder ones.
I’m coming up on a year post op. I am feeling better than ever. God is good. I’ve been doing a 100 day workout #100daysofsweat
It’s been hard but I’ve made it to the 7th set of 10..I’m happy with myself. The last time I tried this, I gave up somewhere halfway through..
I’ve been following a workout program and gone on YouTube and looked for workouts depending on what my mood is for example I’ve done capoiera, yoga, cardio..of course running 🙂
I feel good and grateful..
The Gabon marathon is coming up at the end of the month, something else to look forward to and work towards.
I went on a run, the first run since February, there was no pain..win! I was able to run a bit but of course it is nothing like it used to be.
That gives me hope.
I’ve been trying to get more disciplined with exercise (some days it works) and meals (some days I don’t eat dinner) all these things… Some days are good and some days not so good. The important thing is that I keep trying, right?
elbowsandtongue 