Another Nairobi International Marathon, with a dare
Reason
I like the slogan for Nairobi International Marathon – ‘run for a reason’. It does not tell you the reason. It asks you to run for the reason that you know yourself. In 2015 I was doing the 8th International marathon with ‘a reason’ – to finish in 1hr 35min. (Visit the organizers page and you shall be bombarded by many ‘reasons’ why people shall be running. From the rational, humorous, to the utter nonsensical – but that it their ‘reason’)
When the institutional bus set off from the work place at 6.05am, on this Sunday, October 25, 2015, I has ‘the reason’ etched in memory. I had prepared for this, albeit more psychologically than physically. I knew that I had already done the toughest marathon on earth aka Ndakaini about five weeks prior. To me, that was preparation enough. Of course, I tried to do my three runs a week thereafter, but none of these runs were over 13km. I believe and I am convinced that Ndakaini is the final preparation for Nairobi. I have done three Ndakainis and I can declare that. I was now ready. I had already adorned my runner number 6026 and fixed ‘the gadget’ on the left running shoe.
Security
This year the level was security was higher than previous years. Sample this, full body search at all designated entrances to the Nyayo stadium… thereafter, a pass through a metal detector, then another body search after the detector. Triple secure! We had already disembarked at Nairobi West shopping centre, just on the other side of the stadium, and even taken the pre-event photos by 6.45am. I was in time to see the start of the 42km that was ‘gunned-off’ at exactly 7.00am (or how do you call a run started by the sound of a gun?). Or why did the organizer remind the runners, ‘not to be scared’, when the ‘gun goes on’, that is what he said – I was there!
The start of that 42k run did not leave us much time before our own run. For ‘a reason’, the 21km run, which has always started at 7.30am was started ten minutes earlier. The reason was the introduction of a new run category, the corporate sponsors run, that was squeezed in at 7.40am, just before the 8.00am 10km run. The corporate run was a 3km run, generally around the stadium compound. Qualification was by the amount of donation to the cause, the cut-off was 100k.
Timing
I had a well-planned strategy for doing the 21km in 1hr 35min – just do all the splits (each km) in 4min 30sec, a 13.33km/h average speed. During practice on the infamous Ndumboini route, hill and all, I usually did a 5min per km average over the 10-13km distance. Squeezing out 30 seconds from each split would be difficult, but not impossible. I just needed the willpower, some adrenalin that should come with the tension and excitement… and lots of water. The weather was perfect. Not hot, not cold, a bit cool and no sun (until after nine).
One thing noteworthy about the new route through city streets is the many turns that you have to meander through. We call it the ‘zigzag’ run. As you hit the first km, you turn to Haile Sellasie avenue and back. As you hit the 3km, you turn to Parliament road all the way to Police Hq, and back to Uhuru highway. We still have the tour of Kenyatta avenue between 5 and 7km, before visiting the University way to emerge around 9km as you now head to Museum Hill. The hill takes you to the Parklands turning point at 11.5km, then back to Uhuru highway, through Uhuru park (where I now noticed they had introduced a new zigzag), where you exit on the 18km mark to face Upper Hill and back to the stadium on 19km.
Near is far
As you turn to Aerodrome road, you run along the stadium fence, but you are not getting to that stadium yet! You must run towards Langata road and back towards Uhuru highway, before you finally get back to the stadium – just of the sake of killing the last two kilometers. I could not hide the urge to look at the time as I did the turn on 20km mark – 1hr 31min. That meant running the last very tired kilometer in 4mins flat! – Difficult and impossible!
I just wanted to finally get to the stadium and have this run done with. I liked the new finishing route, which is just a few hundred meters from Uhuru highway turn back. Previously, you had to run back to almost the 20km mark, before turning back to the stadium at Kenol petrol station. The new finish was sweater – turn to the stadium just next to the Post Office. I hit this last stretch with all I had, finally crossing the timing mat at the ‘Finish’ apron in a time of 1.36.55. So did I run for ‘a reason’? If the reason was a 1.35?
Numbers
Let me probably examine the culprit in this run, by analyzing the km splits in the course, as per my new timing gadget:
Distance = 21.56km (My gadget says the distance was longer, no wonder!)
Average speed = 13.4km/h (I needed a 13.26km/h, to get my 1.35 run, which I exceeded!)
Max speed = 18.5km/h (Must be at the start or the Parklands section)
Calories average = 1039 kcal/hr
Calories max = 1498 kcal/hr
Calories = 1679 (no wonder I was that tired after the run!)
Time in zone = 00:24’21” (I still do not understand this metric)
Splits per km:
km01 = 04.26, km02 = 04.11, km03 = 04.14, km04 = 04.21, km05 = 04.21, km06 = 04.23
km07 = 04.21, km08 = 04.31, km09 = 04.29, km10 = 04.52, km11 = 04.04, km12 = 04.28
km13 = 04.37, km14 = 04.36, km15 = 04.29, km16 = 04.29, km17 = 04.36, km18 = 04.44
km19 = 05.02, km20 = 04.31, km21 = 04.26, km22 = 02.37
From the data, the outlier is the 05.02 at 19th lap. This is the section from Uhuru park to Upper Hill, past the British High commission and back to the stadium – ‘The hill’. The preparatory phase on the 18th lap as I headed to ‘the hill’ also messed up my time slightly with a 04.44. Finally, I still doubt the distance. The gadget never lies, but that is a story for another day.
Dare
As we celebrated our ‘reasons for running’ with some snaps at the bus, we were already strategizing for 2016.
“The reason why I did 10km,” Zelpha said, “Was because veterans like you are doing 21… and surely we cannot be running the same race!”
I thought about this for a moment. The full bus, of about twenty had heard that lamentation. For lack of a better consolation, I had to say something….
“OK, next year I shall move to 42k”
“Count me in on the 21km run then,” she responded in triumph.
It is now four hours since I finished the run. I am not as tired as Ndakaini. In fact, I did not even take as much water after the run as I did in Ndakaini (three bottles of three hundred mils, compares to eight). However, the issue on my mind at the moment is…
Would I dare? Would I get ‘a reason’ for 42 come 2016?
WWB, Nairobi Kenya, Oct. 25, 2015
Reason
I like the slogan for Nairobi International Marathon – ‘run for a reason’. It does not tell you the reason. It asks you to run for the reason that you know yourself. In 2015 I was doing the 8th International marathon with ‘a reason’ – to finish in 1hr 35min. (Visit the organizers page and you shall be bombarded by many ‘reasons’ why people shall be running. From the rational, humorous, to the utter nonsensical – but that it their ‘reason’)
When the institutional bus set off from the work place at 6.05am, on this Sunday, October 25, 2015, I has ‘the reason’ etched in memory. I had prepared for this, albeit more psychologically than physically. I knew that I had already done the toughest marathon on earth aka Ndakaini about five weeks prior. To me, that was preparation enough. Of course, I tried to do my three runs a week thereafter, but none of these runs were over 13km. I believe and I am convinced that Ndakaini is the final preparation for Nairobi. I have done three Ndakainis and I can declare that. I was now ready. I had already adorned my runner number 6026 and fixed ‘the gadget’ on the left running shoe.
Security
This year the level was security was higher than previous years. Sample this, full body search at all designated entrances to the Nyayo stadium… thereafter, a pass through a metal detector, then another body search after the detector. Triple secure! We had already disembarked at Nairobi West shopping centre, just on the other side of the stadium, and even taken the pre-event photos by 6.45am. I was in time to see the start of the 42km that was ‘gunned-off’ at exactly 7.00am (or how do you call a run started by the sound of a gun?). Or why did the organizer remind the runners, ‘not to be scared’, when the ‘gun goes on’, that is what he said – I was there!
The start of that 42k run did not leave us much time before our own run. For ‘a reason’, the 21km run, which has always started at 7.30am was started ten minutes earlier. The reason was the introduction of a new run category, the corporate sponsors run, that was squeezed in at 7.40am, just before the 8.00am 10km run. The corporate run was a 3km run, generally around the stadium compound. Qualification was by the amount of donation to the cause, the cut-off was 100k.
Timing
I had a well-planned strategy for doing the 21km in 1hr 35min – just do all the splits (each km) in 4min 30sec, a 13.33km/h average speed. During practice on the infamous Ndumboini route, hill and all, I usually did a 5min per km average over the 10-13km distance. Squeezing out 30 seconds from each split would be difficult, but not impossible. I just needed the willpower, some adrenalin that should come with the tension and excitement… and lots of water. The weather was perfect. Not hot, not cold, a bit cool and no sun (until after nine).
One thing noteworthy about the new route through city streets is the many turns that you have to meander through. We call it the ‘zigzag’ run. As you hit the first km, you turn to Haile Sellasie avenue and back. As you hit the 3km, you turn to Parliament road all the way to Police Hq, and back to Uhuru highway. We still have the tour of Kenyatta avenue between 5 and 7km, before visiting the University way to emerge around 9km as you now head to Museum Hill. The hill takes you to the Parklands turning point at 11.5km, then back to Uhuru highway, through Uhuru park (where I now noticed they had introduced a new zigzag), where you exit on the 18km mark to face Upper Hill and back to the stadium on 19km.
Near is far
As you turn to Aerodrome road, you run along the stadium fence, but you are not getting to that stadium yet! You must run towards Langata road and back towards Uhuru highway, before you finally get back to the stadium – just of the sake of killing the last two kilometers. I could not hide the urge to look at the time as I did the turn on 20km mark – 1hr 31min. That meant running the last very tired kilometer in 4mins flat! – Difficult and impossible!
I just wanted to finally get to the stadium and have this run done with. I liked the new finishing route, which is just a few hundred meters from Uhuru highway turn back. Previously, you had to run back to almost the 20km mark, before turning back to the stadium at Kenol petrol station. The new finish was sweater – turn to the stadium just next to the Post Office. I hit this last stretch with all I had, finally crossing the timing mat at the ‘Finish’ apron in a time of 1.36.55. So did I run for ‘a reason’? If the reason was a 1.35?
Numbers
Let me probably examine the culprit in this run, by analyzing the km splits in the course, as per my new timing gadget:
Distance = 21.56km (My gadget says the distance was longer, no wonder!)
Average speed = 13.4km/h (I needed a 13.26km/h, to get my 1.35 run, which I exceeded!)
Max speed = 18.5km/h (Must be at the start or the Parklands section)
Calories average = 1039 kcal/hr
Calories max = 1498 kcal/hr
Calories = 1679 (no wonder I was that tired after the run!)
Time in zone = 00:24’21” (I still do not understand this metric)
Splits per km:
km01 = 04.26, km02 = 04.11, km03 = 04.14, km04 = 04.21, km05 = 04.21, km06 = 04.23
km07 = 04.21, km08 = 04.31, km09 = 04.29, km10 = 04.52, km11 = 04.04, km12 = 04.28
km13 = 04.37, km14 = 04.36, km15 = 04.29, km16 = 04.29, km17 = 04.36, km18 = 04.44
km19 = 05.02, km20 = 04.31, km21 = 04.26, km22 = 02.37
From the data, the outlier is the 05.02 at 19th lap. This is the section from Uhuru park to Upper Hill, past the British High commission and back to the stadium – ‘The hill’. The preparatory phase on the 18th lap as I headed to ‘the hill’ also messed up my time slightly with a 04.44. Finally, I still doubt the distance. The gadget never lies, but that is a story for another day.
Dare
As we celebrated our ‘reasons for running’ with some snaps at the bus, we were already strategizing for 2016.
“The reason why I did 10km,” Zelpha said, “Was because veterans like you are doing 21… and surely we cannot be running the same race!”
I thought about this for a moment. The full bus, of about twenty had heard that lamentation. For lack of a better consolation, I had to say something….
“OK, next year I shall move to 42k”
“Count me in on the 21km run then,” she responded in triumph.
It is now four hours since I finished the run. I am not as tired as Ndakaini. In fact, I did not even take as much water after the run as I did in Ndakaini (three bottles of three hundred mils, compares to eight). However, the issue on my mind at the moment is…
Would I dare? Would I get ‘a reason’ for 42 come 2016?
WWB, Nairobi Kenya, Oct. 25, 2015
