Running two marathons in the name of MA+RA+TH+ON

Running two marathons in the name of MA+RA+TH+ON

Yesterday was a Sunday.  Sunday the twenty-third of May.  I know that date so well because I went to bed smiling, slept well, had sweet dreams and woke up today Monday still smiling.  This elation is unique.  It hardly happens.  And when it does, I usually know about it, and yesterday was one of such few days.  I knew that I was on top of the planet.

My marathon relay team of four had just conquered the world.  By random selection of team members by our NMMT organizer, we had somehow bonded, blended and beat the other teams in the NMMT formations.  It was something worth celebrating.  A conquest is a conquest, a victory is a victory.  Enjoy it.

The MA+RA+TH+ON event is a relay marathon formed by teams of four runners, each contributing 10.5km to sum-up the distance of the 42km full marathon.  The run is done by the individuals, at their own time, on their own routes, provided they do so within the 2-day weekend window.  For 2021, this run had to be done by the relay team members from zero hours Saturday, May 22 to midnight Sunday, May 23.

The problem with holding a run in two days is that each person runs on their own day and there is no stopping the early braggers from running their mouths after running their feet.  It is like facing one exam and being allowed to do it on different days, with those doing it first shouting about how they have passed!  Subjecting those who are yet to do that exam to so much pressure!

I had decided to contribute my 10.5km by running on a Saturday.  I did not want to risk it for Sunday and face all that pressure of running on the last day of the event.  I was already on maximum discouragement from seeing performance of others, even as I started the run at three.  By this time the early starters had already done their runs and posted their times.  They added injury to our legs by posting photos of their celebrations with nyama choma and chips, taken after their runs.  The run times already posted were just amazing.  Under 5s was all we could see on the WhatsApp postings.

I was doing this run for the team.  One of the few times in a marathoner’s life that you actually worry about someone else – three other people in this case.  A marathoner usually runs alone, for self-gratification and self-glory.  This NN-Maurten Running Team event was the only one that I know of, that had global following for organizing a marathon relay.  Our own marathoner Kipchoge was one of the promoters that was prominently shown on the NN-M frontpage of their website.  You cannot go wrong in a run with Kipchoge, can you?

I had already mapped my route during that mock run of Tuesday.  It was now just a matter of repeating the feat, without gadget failure, hopefully.  Talking about gadget failure brings me back to where I left off during that mock run (details here).  On that Tuesday the Strava app had failed and shutdown, not allowing me to know how much time, distance and average pace I had done for the mock.  I had seen a glimpse, but I would not have the opportunity to digest the details due to that app failure.

I was going to give Strava a second try despite that Tuesday letdown.  It was while starting the app in readiness for the Saturday real run that things happened.  The app started by showing a message that it was ‘recovering data’.  And… and sure enough, four days later, and Strava recovered the details of that Tuesday run, including time and map!  What a way to start a real run!?  

I however would be relying on it to do the right thing immediately by recording and saving the run on this Saturday.  Any stoppage and then recovering the run four-days later would not help, when I only had a two-day window to run and post the results with NN-M.  I did not even have much time to appreciate the stats of that mock run that turned out to be 13.12km at a 4.43km pace.  It was already time for the run.

I was readying myself for the real thing.  The mock did not count.  This Saturday’s run was all that mattered.  I was ready to give the team my very best contribution.  Same route, probably same effort, and maybe same or better average.  It is the average pace that would be posted online.  Additionally, the relay team’s performance would be based on the average of all their individual average speeds.  Did I not tell you that you cannot go wrong with Kipchoge?  When you have to do an average of the average?  What other way can one ever hope to have to be fair to all the teammates in this relay, other than this average of average?

The weather was just as good as it was on Tuesday, on this Saturday as I did the real run.  It was a bit sunny, despite the forecast having been cloudy.  I was already too deep in the run to even worry about the weather.  This was it!  I had to make it count.  Of course, I could have the opportunity to re-run the next day, in case something went wrong this Saturday, but I was not wishing for any repeat.  This was the run – the only run that would go to NN-M webpage.

The route had already been mapped on Tuesday.  I was just going on remote control, following the same paces, feeling the same runner fatigue and facing the same uphill and downhills.  From Uthiru to Ndumbo was a warmup phase.  I eventually started my Strava app just as I passed by Ndumbo market for the short downhill on Kanyariri road, before I would be encountering the long uphill that would generally take me all the way to Wangige road tarmac junction.  I was ready for this 5km uphill stretch.  It was the only one that I had to survive.  I would be OK after that, since it would then be smooth all the way down after that U-turn on Wangige tarmac.

I kept running without noticing much on the run route.  I finally got to the end of the loop.  It was the best U-turn that I ever did.  I was elated that I was now going back on a generally downhill all the way to the finish line for the NN-M event that was to hive off 10.5km from the longer route.  I was so relaxed on the way down Kanyariri road and would soon get to the junction to University farm where I was to turn left at this junction that we famously call ‘the tank’, due to… you guessed it, the tank that is prominently installed on the elevated metallic structure at this junction as you head to the Uni farm.

From my mock of Tuesday, I knew that the 10.5k point would be somewhere before reaching Mary Leakey school.  I powered the dimmed screen of the phone when I was at Kabete High School and glanced at the Strava app.  It was now showing 9.98km.  Perfect timing.  I now had just five-hundred metres to finish my marathon relay contribution.  I kept going towards the river that is at the lower turn of the road, where I once again looked at the information on the phone.  

It was now 10.45km.  Mary Leakey was just ahead to my right after a gentle uphill.  I had the liberty of stopping the timer in about fifty footsteps, which would be exactly on the 10.5km mark.  I instead decided to prolong the finish to just next to Mary Leakey School turnoff point.  I kept running even as I stopped Strava and saved the run.  It accepted to save without a problem as I kept running.

The MA+RA+TH+ON run had been done.  I however still have my usual run to do.  I was now going through the small Kabete shopping centre in readiness to join the Lower Kabete road for a run of about five minutes, before I get to Kapenguria road and turn right.  If Uthiru was nearer, then I would have reduced pace and probably walked home and started the celebrations for a run well done.  However, Uthiru was still over five kilometres away.  I just had to make the rest of the run still count, after all, my other timer in the name of Runkeeper was still active and timing.  This had not been stopped and it also expected me to record a good time on the longer 24km route that I was now doing.

Oh, that hill from the river, past Wangari Maathai institute to Ndumbo!  That almost 2km hill is a bad feature on that road!  I still had to face it despite the marathon relay conquest.  I could not wait for it to be finished, and finished it did after it had kept me sweating on it for over seven minutes!  Reaching Ndumbo was a relief, since Uthiru was now just on the other side of Waiyaki way right ahead.  I was however not doing any shortcuts and still had to prolong the run all the way to N-junction and Kabete Poly, before heading to the finish line.  

With the run done, I had to reflect on how the day had gone.  The 10.5km marathon relay, which was actually 10.8km had been a sweet run.  Strava had given me 49min 35s on that route, hence an average pace of 4:36/km was going to be posted on my team’s page on NN-M event webpage.  I had done my bit and I was happy with my input.  The full run over the 24km had been done in just under 2hours, with Runkeeper giving me a 4.48/km as the average pace.  Both runs went quite well.  Two marathons on the same day was unprecedented but nonetheless enjoyable.

While the Strava app automatically uploaded the results to my relay team page on the NN-M website, I did not post any ‘brag’ data on the social media circles.  I wanted all the team members to first do their runs by Sunday midnight before we could compare notes.  Two members of the team managed to run on Saturday, posting 4.36 and 5.16.  Our average was already 4.56/km by midnight of day 1.  We now just hoped that the other two would bring the run home for us.  I had monitored the social pages and the other teams were really struggling, after all, you cannot control the pace of your relay team members.  They just run their runs and you accept their results.

Then it came Sunday night and for sure all runs were now done in Kenya – at least the day time type.  With runs done, it was now time to confirm how the average paces were for all the various relay teams within our NMMT running group.  We also had to finally unveil our own performance for our ‘Team C’.  

It was Beryl of the now inactive B-and-B team who broke the news.

“Have you seen our performance?,” she sent a message on Signal, matter of fact, no greetings, no nothing.

“Hi there yourself,” I started, “I am waiting for one more team member to post his results”

“Coaches you can’t be serious!  All results are in.  We did it!”

I was taken aback.  I was for sure still waiting for Henry to post his results, after Charles, our other team member domiciled in TZ, had just posted his results.

“Let me check,” I responded on the Signal app and switched to the NN-M website and straight to the team page, which was permanently open on one tab of the browser.  I did not even refresh.  There it was – 

Your team: NMMT_TEAM_C_2021

Time: 5.07min/km average pace, 3.34.35 total time

Ranking: 813 worldwide overall, 396 in the category

Runners: (list of four)

With over 7,000 runners from 170 countries, we had surely outdone ourselves and made Kenya (and TZ) proud, considering that these were randomly assigned team members, each with their own paces.  3,900 teams participated in the event and the athletes covered 520,000km as per stats published on the same NN-M website.

Now you know why I went to bed on Sunday night with a smile that could not leave my face even when the new day started.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 24, 2021

Better be ready – of MA+RA+TH+ON preparation and gadgets that failed

Better be ready – of MA+RA+TH+ON preparation and gadgets that failed

There was nothing to celebrate during yesterday, Tuesday’s run, with corona infections having hit a new high of 164,994,625 and 3,421,329 deaths globally, and Kenyan numbers being 166,006 and 3,021 respectively.  I did not even feel like having this evening run in the first place.  What with the world and the country all gloomy with this COVID19 monster that was not being tamed anything soon?.  

Positive developments were nonetheless taking place.  Vaccines were starting to trickle through the world, though even our own second shot was now in doubt.  This was caused by the withholding of vaccine exports by India, the main manufacturer of vaccines that go to WHO’s COVAX (COVID19 Vaccines Global Access) scheme.  

India was having a surge in infections at their local level and were now prioritizing supplies to themselves first.  That second shot of the Covishield vaccine from Astra Zeneca was now being delayed from 8-weeks to 12-weeks since the first shot.  The certainty of even getting it in 12-weeks’ time was also in doubt.  With all these uncertainties, it was not a Tuesday that you would want to get out there and do your run…. but evening came and it was run time.

I was still feeling the pains of the last run of Sunday, hardly two days before, even as I setup to change into the run gear.  Nonetheless, a major international marathon relay in the name of MA+RA+TH+ON, was coming up.  This is a four-member team relay where each person contributes 10.5km to the team, to ultimately tally the total of 42km marathon distance.  I was already in a team and the event was beckoning.  The dates had already been cast in stone, being the weekend of May 22-23.  It was now a matter of making it count.

I would be using this Tuesday run as the last run before the weekend relay, while I also wanted to take advantage of the run to formulate a 10.5km route for the relay.  The challenge with our run routes from Uthiru is that none of them provides a flat terrain.  You are likely to encounter a hilly terrain anytime you run for over 1km in any direction from Uthiru.  Some hills are however worse, and you would want to avoid them when mapping an international competitive run on a 10.5km distance.  I was doing my mental calcs, but each span of 10.5km still ended up with over 3km of uphill somewhere along the route.

I had to accept the reality that I would have to run through some hills, and hence be forced into a reduced pace with would reduce my average speed, the very metric that really counted for the event.  I still wanted to scout the best of the existing bad options of run routes.  I then needed to take the five-day break after knowing my route, to then take a rest to enable me be at my peak strength come the weekend.  This Tuesday run was therefore a compulsory run, both to know a final route for the weekend and also to do a final run before the weekend.

I started the run at four, and carried with me one gadget with two timing apps – the Runkeeper that had now become the default since the collapse of Endomondo, and a second Strava app, being the official app for use during the weekend relay event.  I wanted to test Strava app in advance and confirm that it worked well and would be up to the task come the weekend.  You can imagine the frustration of trying an app that fails during an international event, where a team of another three rely on your contribution to relay and shall make the marathon successful.  It can be a disaster.

My plan was to start off on Runkeeper and have it time and map the whole run, from start to finish.  It always worked well and has hardly let me down (apart from the occasional incorrect starting point, which can easily be fixed by a simple editing of the saved map).  Then, I would start the Strava at some point on the route, for timing through the 10.5km section, then stop it after that section was recorded.  While Runkeeper is a faithful servant, Strava on the other hand is unforgiving in terms of mapping.  Unless you have the professional subscription version, you are stuck with a wrong map that cannot be edited.

I did not expect much in terms of differences on this run compared to my Sunday run.  I was still tired but my day’s run was mainly concerned about the 10.5km section that I had mapped in my mind.  Unfortunately, that 10.5km section meant that I had to still do the long run, and carve out a section of that long run.  I had to carefully figure out a section that was not as bad of the rest of the route, in terms of few hilly terrains.

I eventually started the Strava at Ndumbo, after having ran from Uthiru, crossing Waiyaki way and then running the length of the tarmac to Ndumbo market.  Instead of going down Kapenguria road as I would usually do, I decided to turn left onto Kanyariri road and kind of do a reverse of the usual run.  I usually avoid this reverse loop due to the Wangari Maathai hill that a runner has to face on their way back, when they are tired, as they climb it towards Ndumbo.  I would have to just face my avoidance on this Tuesday.

I started my Strava as I went down the hill after Ndumbo market.  I already knew that this downhill would soon come to an end, and I would then face the uphill section that first gets you to the ‘the tank’, then the mild uphill that goes as far as Kanyariri road shall take me.  Being psychologically prepared helped me out as I faced the hills.  The weather was a bit sunny, but not hot.  The road was fairly deserted, with the occasional one vehicle every kilometre or so.

I kept running and the pace felt comfortable enough.  Nothing out of the ordinary, just another evening run.  My plan was to try and avoid the sudden hill near ACK Kanyariri church as you head to the market.  Instead, I planned to turn right, and use this alternative road that eventually gets to Wangige road.  The last time I used this road must have been during the Divas International Marathon of early 2019.  I could hardly remember its ‘hilliness’, but I thought that it was a bit easier that the usual straight Kanyariri road to the Gitaru market.

My Strava was still on, so was Runkeeper, though I usually do not check on the gadgets when I run.  I use the gadgets to time my run.  I do not run to ‘please’ the gadgets.  I know of a colleague who worships his gadgets and control his every run.  He can even come to a stop if the gadgets say so.  Not me.  I already knew that they were working on the background of the phone that I carried with me, and I did not bother look at them at all.  The time to look at them would come, especially for the Strava timer that was on a mission for a specific distance.

My plan was to turn to the right at that junction, then go for about 5minutes, to any turning point, then start the run back.  And that is what I did.  I turned right and started running on that road.  It was also fairly deserted.  I was not looking at the gadgets, and my five-minute run was to be based on instinct.  I kept running, waiting for instinct to raise the alarm on the five minutes point.  I got to some shopping centre and felt shame-on-myself to just doing a U-turn in the crowds, and so I kept going and passed the crowd.  I just kept going waiting for an opportune time to do the U, but it never came.

Behold!  It came as a surprise when I started making out the new Wangige road flying over just ahead, about two-hundred metres from where I was!  This was not the plan.  I had not intended to hit this point.  I should have turned back before reaching this point.  It was not too late!  I just had to be ‘polite’ to go all the way to near the highway and do a U-turn at that point.  Why I had failed to get my initially intended U-turn point earlier on the run remains a mystery.  Sometimes instinct can go to sleep, just believe me.

This alternative right-turn road turned out not to be as mild as I thought.  It was still hilly, though the hilly sections were shorter.  The U-turn at the highway was quite a relief, since I now knew that I was on my way back home.  My timers were assumedly still working, and I did not make a check at them anyway.  I started running back on the hills and downhills until I rejoined Kanyariri road at the new centre at the crossroad, where we now have nyama choma fumes that knocks out even the most resilient of runners.  I quickly passed by the smoky roadside and started my way down Kanyariri road.

The relative downhill was smooth and I enjoyed this part of the run.  I would eventually get to ‘the tank’, where I had to turn left and join the route through the university farm.  It was also relatively downwards all the way.  My mental route calculation had convinced me that I would hit the 10.5km around the Kabete Children’s home on Kapenguria road once I turn right from Lower Kabete road.  I would by then be through with the uni farm and passed Mary Leakey school to emerge at Lower Kabete road.  However, with that extra distance that I had gone after missing my initially intended U-turn, I believed that the 10.5km mark should have been somewhere on the Lower Kabete road section, give or take.

I was therefore checking my Strava as I joined Lower Kabete road, expecting to see something like ten-point-something kilometres, when I saw an 11.5km.

“No way!,” I said loudly, reducing my pace in the process, as the evening business traffic saw lots of vehicles zoom on both directions of Lower Kabete road.  

It would surely be too soon to hit such a distance, in my view, but maybe my body clock was already improperly tuned on this day anyway!  I was however still convinced that Strava must have failed me for some reason.  I was nonetheless not waiting to find out what was going on.  I still had a run to finish, and that finish was still over 7km away.

I kept running and finally stopped the Strava timer at the river, past Kabete Children’s home.  That was the place I thought the 10.5km should have ended, based on initial calculations, disregarding that extra run past the initially intended U-turn.  I momentarily saw a distance of about 12.5km with an average pace of 4min 45sec per km.  I put Strava on stop mode and continued the uphill run on Kanyariri road, to eventually pass Wangari Maathai institute and then get back to Ndumbo.

From there I could see the end in sight, just on the other side of Waiyaki way.  And for sure the run would come to an end soon.  I was relatively well energized even after the run.  The Runkeeper kept a record of 24.5km, but the average pace is what I was not expecting – 4.59min per km.  That was the first under five that I was recording on this or any other route in over three months.  This run that I had done with a laissez-faire attitude is the one that actually turned out to be a record-breaking run.  I now really wished that the MA+RA+TH+ON was happening on this Tuesday!

I learnt the lesson that in running there was probably no ideal day.  You shall break records on the least expected of days.  Preparation remains key, but you never know for sure when you shall shatter your own ceiling.  Keep running with an open mind, knowing that anything was possible.  Talking of anything being possible, that Strava app would later in the day give me the dreaded ‘app has stopped working’ error with the only option being to close the app.  That closure of the app took with it my MA+RA+TH+ON mock time and distance.  I would never know for sure what Strava had in store for me.  Now I was happy that the MA+RA+TH+ON was not happening on this Tuesday!

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 19, 2021

Running into a con-game in Nairoberry… again

Running into a con-game in Nairoberry… again

I have heard of being conned.  I have read con stories.  I have even seen con schemes and I have been conned myself anyway.  I therefore believe that I am experienced and mature enough to detect a con trick and smell it even while a mile away.  It is probably for that reason that it has taken long since I was conned in this Nairoberry of ours.  That would mean that I have matured and probably cannot be conned until….

Until yesterday.  Yes, yesterday Friday, I was in the city centre early in the morning to run some errands.  I alighted at Latema road around nine and finalized my mission on Ronald Ngala street just before nine-thirty.  I was now planning to finalize a final errand at the stockbrokers on Lonrho house on Standard street, just near Stanley hotel, then intended to run back to Uthiru for an eleven o’clock meeting.

I had decided to use the washrooms next to the National Archives before crossing Moi Avenue to head towards Kimathi street then Standard street.  I would momentarily observe that the washroom block seemed to be closed and even disused.  I suspected that it was no longer in operation.  By that time, I was probably just ten metres to the facility.  I would then have just moved ahead towards Tom Mboya statue and onto Moi Avenue.  But with this washroom seemingly closed, I would have to turnback to Tom Mboya street and head back to Latema and use that facility.

I was just starting to turnback when I experienced a sharp grip on my left hand.  It was still broad daylight and that part of town was busy with both vehicular and people traffic.  There was nothing to worry about, nor was there any semblance of commotion or danger.  I was therefore taken aback…

“Tunauza Safaricom 4G bure!  Chukua yako hapa!,” the lady who had grabbed me declared, when I gained composure.

“Sawa,” I said, as I tried to release her grip.

I would then observe that there was some form of a vehicle parked just near our standing position.  Several people, adorning some branded white Tees were milling around, talking almost randomly to different people in the melee.  The branded group were about fifteen, in my estimation.  I was momentarily relieved.  Just another sale promotion going on.  My good!

That hand had not yet released my left, before a second lady joined us.

“Tutaku uzia Safaricom 4G line bure!  Tuna-celebrate fifteen years, bure kabisa!,” the second lady said.

I was still digesting.

“Nina laini ya Safaricom tayari,” I responded, after finally getting my hand out of the grip.

“Lakini, sisi tunauza 4G bure kabisa, chukua yako.  Migrate kutoka 3G,” the first lady stated, while the second one observed.

“Laini yangu ni 4G already,” I responded.

This is when I should have bolted, but I allowed myself to be sank deep into the scheme.

“Hiyo si hoja, wacha tukupe zawadi ya fifteen years na Safaricom,” the first lady said.

I did not even have time to digest what she had said, before she grabbed my hand once more and said, “Chagua lucky number from these,” she pointed to a small sheet of paper, about A5 size, which had some small white circular sticky papers.  Each of them has a number.  Probably from number 1 towards number 50.  Some of the white papers had been removed, leaving gaps on the paper.

“Chagua lucky number.  Chagua any.  Ni bure kabisa!”

What is going on here?  It started ringing a bell.  A faint one at first.  I let that mental bell die down for a moment and was back to the present moment on this Friday morning, just about ten in the morning.

“Twenty-four,” I pointed and said.

The lady let go of my hand to have both hands free to unveil what my number 24 would reveal.  Her colleague was still standing next to us, observing.

“Wow!  Una bahati kama nini!,” the first lady screamed in excitement.

I was in a state of shock by just the way she shouted.

“Umeshinda simu!  Imagine ya bure!  iPhone!  Kweli una bahati!  Thank Safaricom fifteen years promotion!”

Hey!  Wait the hech a minute!  What is going on here.  Is hitting it lucky this simple?

I did not even have time to digest before the second lady seemed to have abra-cadabrad by disappearing and reappearing with a box that seemed to have a phone in it and another one, a bit larger beneath it.

“Unabahati kweli!  In fact, umeshinda simu na tunakuongeza iPad,” the second lady declared while extending the two packages in my direction.

I hesitated.  I did not want to touch these free gifts.

“Hatuwezi kukudanganya!  Hi ni Safaricom fifteen years anniversary promotion.  Umeshinda hizi ma gifts free kabisa.  We mean f…fff…r..rr…r…eeeee!”

I still hesitated.  I did not still want to touch these items.  She noticed my reluctance.  She literally put them on my hand.  If I was to release my hold at this moment, then the items would fall on the street concrete.  The numb hand was forced to hold them.  The desire to let them fall overwhelming.

There is no way this is happening, I kept telling myself.  Was there some just-for-laughs-moment awaiting my experience?  Was I to be the person giving audiences the gigs on their televisions due to this episode?  Something was just not right.  Instinct can never lie to you.  It was telling me that something was not right.  Something was amiss.  I could not just put a finger on it, but it was there somewhere, on this part of town, near the Kenya National Archives.

“Usijali kitu,” the first lady resumed, noting my apprehension.  

The second lady by that time had done her magic once again, disappearing and reappearing like a flash, this time with something like a book of sorts.

“Sasa tuna kuregister tu, halafu simu na ipad ni zako, bure kabisa!  Haki unabahati!  Wengine huwa hawana bahati kama wewe!,” the second lady reassured.  

The two packages were still on my hand, just a wind push away from their falling to the ground.  Reluctance was so manifest on that right hand that the packages would soon be hitting the ground.

The first lady came into the equation immediately, “Sasa lete ID tuku rejiste, halafu ukashereke Safaricom fifteen years na gifts zako!  Bure kabisa!  Kweli unabahati leo!”

I had not moved.  I was not moving.  I had not said anything for about two minutes now.  I was digesting everything, and they intake was coming in fast and furious.

“Una ID, si ndiyo?,” lady two asked.

Then that mental bell rang again.  I had suppressed it and it now came back ringing.  Soon the mental light bulb was also on.  This was happening to me again.  I was not dreaming.  I was doing this a second time in about two years.  I was back to Westlands two years ago, where this selfsame thing happened just as it was happening now.  The preamble was slightly different, but the promise of a free gift was the end of the game, followed by this very same registration process that I was about to encounter.

“Oh, the hech!,” I almost shouted, becoming back to my senses!

“I am being conned!”

I had to get out of the situation and get out fast!

“Hebu shika hii,” I asked the first lady, while lady two was still holding the book, “Wacha ni angalie kama nina ID.”

She did not want to repossess that package of two boxes, and for good reason.  They only had leverage on me provided I was still hooked and attached to the freebies.  Handing the items back should never be an option.  It was now happening.  Messing their script to the core.

She finally, with the reluctance of a tired marathoner, took hold of the two boxes.  I proceeded to take two steps back and started to pretend to ransack my laptop bag.

“Nilibeba ID kweli?,” I self-asked, loudly, as they observed me ransack.

“Hebu nipe time ni angalie vizuri.  I am not sure kama nina ID,” I assured them, as I took another one step back and pretended to be busy ransacking through my bag.

I kept taking one step back, then another, then another, and was soon gone!  Gone back to Tom Mboya street and onto Latema road.  I was out of there never to be seen again!  I would soon thereafter run my errands at Lonrho and be back to Uthiru past eleven.  Missing my eleven o’clock appointment and of course, missing out on the free gifts by Safaricom at fifteen.

Now, before you call me names and accuse me of not appreciating the philanthropy of Saf@15, let me tell you how this would have unfolded, if you do not know already….

Never trust anybody, physically or on phone, who speaks so fast and gives you no time to think.  Phone cons work that way, and street cons work the same.  Even mind-gamers, like these promotion people know this fast talk trick and they exploit it their full advantage.  This is based on the experience of two years ago, at Westlands, just outside the Mall, where we now have the Naivas supermarket.  

I was having the very same two packages, one gift that I had won, plus the extra one that I had been added in appreciation of my ‘lucky day’.  I had my ID with me and I therefore proceeded to the registration desk.  The people, even on this occasion, two years ago, were as jovial as always.  Smiling, singing, loud music and hi-fiving each other and potential winners.  They were adorning the brand of another major telco in Kenya.  They ware all genuine.  They were operating on a public street.  There was no danger of being robbed or anything bad.  In fact, there is usually no danger or threat to your personal safety at all.  It is just mind games that go on after that.  You need a strong mind and you need to be a fast thinker.

On this occasion, at Westlands, I had handed over my ID and they proceeded to start filling in my details on some register.  Just names, ID number, then they asked for the phone number, which they wrote on that register, and when I was just a breath away from my freebies…..

“Sasa, manze, unaona,” the person registering, “Hi phone ni free.  Free kabisa!  Hata ishike usikie,” he reminded me, pointing at the boxed phone on the registration.  The very phone that I had won for free.

“Lakini, manze, hii iPad ni thao tano tu!  Imagine!  Regular price huwa fifteen kay, lakini leo ni thao tano tu!  Haki bahati yako ni nzuri leo!”

“Mmmhhh, now I can see the catch,” I self-talked as I nodded, on that Sato, at Westlands.

“Sina chapaa saa hizi,” I responded.  I am one of those people who cannot buy when I am not ready, even if the world comes to an end.

  

I should have then been given my free phone, right?  Wrong!

“Lazima una ka kitu hata kwa MPESA.  Tunakubali hata ka deposit kadogo, halafu hiyo ingine unaleta tu baadaye,” the gentleman at that time, two years ago, had assured me.

“Sina hata MPESA kwa sasa,” I responded.  I was still sure that I would get the free phone and forego the additional top-up gift.

“Sasa tutafanyaje?,” he seemed to ask aloud, wondering along with me.  He must have got a new solution to the situation, since he added, “Maybe lazima una pesa kwa ATM.  Weka tu deposit, halafu tuna reserve hi kitu.  Hebu icheki, ni kitu ya nguvu.  Kitu safi!  Usiache hii offer.  After hako ka deposit, utamaliza kulipa siku yoyote.  Ka-deposit kama thao moja tu.  Lazima una ka thao kwa ATM.”

Now I knew exactly what was going on, here at Westlands, with loud music and all.  There was nothing for free.  I was being compelled to buy the iPad.  That phone was even not going to be free, even if I bought the iPad.  And… and that iPad was not even five thousand.  I was being forced into a contract.  I would be forced to pay a deposit.  I would lock in my deposit, then struggle to clear the balance however long it took…. At my own risk, with probably no hope of refund.

I was thankful that I was a marathoner, capable of thinking on my feet and… capable of bolting at a short notice, and so did I bolt….

“Sawa, wacha niende kwa ATM, halafu nirudi,” I told the person registering.

“Wacha tubaki na ID, after all, unarudi to saa hii, ndio tu reserve hi samsido.  Hebu icheki.  Ni kitu ya nguvu!,” he responded.

WWB, think, quick!

“But naeza kwende kwa bank counter in case ATM akatae, wacha nitembee tu na ID.  Naenda tu hii bank near Jacaranda hotel.  Narudi saa hizi tu!”

I could see his reluctance while handing back my ID.

Do I need to tell you that I was gone for sure, never to be seen again?  With no free phone?

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 8, 2021

Birthday runs are not sustainable… just believe me when I say

Birthday runs are not sustainable… just believe me when I say

I have never had a busy Thursday such as what I had yesterday.  I had a meeting that was to have ended at one, but for my intervention to cut it short at 12.30pm.  I was then to send a surprise birthday present to the upcoming runner, WWB junior, who was turning a half-marathon.  My plans were to dash to Ruiru to deliver the package, then be back to the start line by four.  However, the timings did not seem to work as planned.

I was at Ruiru just about three, delivered my present in a hurry, and started my travel back.  Travel on Thika road towards city centre was quite smooth and I was starting to be confident that I would make it back to Uthiru by four.  My confidence would however soon wane when I got to the globe cinema roundabout, where the matatu came to a standstill on top of the flyover.  The road was jampacked.  I could see the fire station just ahead, besides which I would be getting my next matatu, but here I was, stuck in a long queue of vehicles in three lanes on top of the giant roundabout.

“I shall not make it for this run,” I told myself.

The jam would soon ease allowing us to disembark at Latema road, and I would momentarily get my next matatu at about three-thirty.  Maybe I would make it to Uthiru in time for the run after all.  I was once more relaxed as we left the city and headed to Waiyaki way.  Then it happened again.  We were soon in another big traffic jam that ran from Westlands all the way to ABC centre.  Though it eased after ABC, it was already heading to four-thirty.

“I shall not make it for this birthday run,” I told myself once again.

The matatu moved quite fast after Kangemi and I found myself alighting at Uthiru just about four-forty.  The earliest that I could start the run was now probably five or thereabout, and I already had a bad experience last Monday when I had a five o’clock run.  Would I dare a late evening run for a second time in a week?  Would that not be one dare too much!

I did dare the run anyway, starting off at five just as it started to drizzle.  It was just like Monday repeating itself, since on that day I had been rained on, though that rain started off about fifteen minutes into the run.  Today it was drizzling ab initio, from the first second.  I was already set for the run and nothing was stopping this run.  Did I even have a choice?  Today was the birthday day, and a birthday date is always fixed on a particular date, isn’t it?

The drizzle was however gone by the time I was crossing Waiyaki way to start my run towards Ndumboini, hardly fifteen minutes into the run.  It turned out that there was no rain at all for the rest of the run.  It was even a relief that the University farm earth road was even dry, the very road that got me stuck on Monday.

I was on the same route on this Thursday, similar to the run of Monday.  I was running from Uthiru to Lower Kabete road, then diverting to the University farm past Mary Leakey school, then finally joining Kapenguria road at the tank all the way to the U-turn some 3km ahead, then back.  The run was smooth and fairly enjoyable.  Maybe it was just enjoyable because I had no choice on this, and the more I enjoyed it the better I would survive it.

Just as it was no Monday, I would finish the run when it was already dark, just past seven.  I was to commemorate a twenty-one for the young upcoming runner and I did that half-marathon for this occasion, even managing to add an extra three ks for her benefit.

However, the lesson today is about these so-called ‘birthday runs’.  These runs are completely unsustainable.  I was on full struggle yesterday doing that half-marathon, simply because I was helping someone commemorate her twenty-first birthday.  Any run over 10km is already a struggle as it is.  By the time you get to the ‘Teenage runs’, you already need proper planning.  Additionally, these are not your typical everyday run.  Past teenage and you really need to think twice about whether you really want to commemorate a birthday with a run after all.  

Imagine how worse birthday runs get once you try being good to someone past-teenage years?  How about when they hit half-marathon and beyond!  That is not even all, birthday runs go to full-marathons and beyond.  I have already mentioned that any run after 10km is quite something.  A half-marathon is not your everyday run.  A full marathon is a run in just a different territory.  

Doing halfs and fulls and anything in between and even beyond, for purposes of helping people celebrate their birthday, is good motivation… but not is sustainable.  The body can only take so much, and you only have one body.  There is no second chance to replenish the body once you get it overworked.  My marathoners group even sums all birthday years and asks members to run that total number of kilometres, singly or within the month!

Nonetheless, I have good news for all those who commemorate birthdays by doing such ‘birthday runs’.  Do you recall that age is nothing but a number?  Why not run any distance that you want when you are commemorating someone’s birthday?  Just do your comfortable distance and then tell the person, “According to me, you are only ten years old, and I did a 10km run for you.”

Problem solved.

Alternatively, good old cake for a birthday still works – whether you are giving or partaking.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 7, 2021

Rain and dark – the two enemies of the runner

Rain and dark – the two enemies of the runner

I have been resisting the urge to share my experience about the Monday run.  I deliberately avoiding this write-up on that Monday and did the same avoidance yesterday.  The urge on the fingers is just too great today that I have no choice but to talk about it.  I was ashamed to tell this story due to the bad choices that I made on that Monday, but you cannot hide from the truth, so here goes…

I was attending one of those online meetings when things go wrong for no apparent reason.  My computer decided to disable the microphone for reasons best known to itself, yet it had worked so well in a previous meeting earlier the same day.  I therefore could hear and see, but could not be heard (and seen, since the camera on the laptop is inactive when the laptop is folded and fixed on the docking station).  I was at least able to assure the participants that I was still with them by virtue of typing comments now and then on the chat box.  I would eventually excuse myself at five, while the meeting was still on, and start my preparations for the run.

It has already rained earlier in the day, with more showers manifesting around the lunch hour break.  I knew that the ground would definitely be muddy at some point in the run, but maybe it could as well have dried up, since it was now over three hours since the last showers.  My main concern on this day even as I started the run was the time.  I would be starting the run just past five and I expected to do a two-hour run.  That would mean finishing the run past seven.  That would be late by running standards.  Runners are not encouraged to run in the dark… for safety reasons and also for reasons of culture (think night + runner).

I leveraged on the likelihood of the darkness not being manifest until past seven as a an assurance that I would run in the dark.  Afterall, the earth’s revolution was still just around the equinox, and the daylight hours should therefore be longer.  I therefore started the run just about five-ten and was on the usual run route that would take me from Uthiru to Ndumboini, then down Kapenguria road to some part of Lower Kabete road, then I would divert onto the road towards Mary Leakey school, then University Farm and finally would emerge at ‘the tarmac’ on Kanyariri road.  I would then run about 3km to my turning point past Kanyariri shopping centre, and then start my way back straight on that tarmac to Ndumbo, and back to Uthiru.

This is a run-route that has accommodated my usual once-a-week runs.  It springs no new surprises.  It gives you the strain of the hill, from about the 5km mark at ‘the river’ and keeps the hill-pains burning until the U-turn point at the 15km mark.  The turnback is a relief, since it provides you with a downhill terrain all the way to the river before Ndumbo, where we face a final 1km uphill before you are generally done with the run of the day with those last 2kms.

I did not expect any surprises on the road, but I was proven wrong.  I had just passed Ndumbo market, hardly 30-minutes since I started the run, when the first drops of rain hit me.  I kept going with the hope that these were just intermittent drops from the earlier rain.  This wish was however not granted.  I had just started on the downhill from Ndumbo towards Wangari Maathai institute when the heavy rain started from nowhere.  I encountered a few passersby trying to run the uphill, with little success, while cursing the rain.

“Sasa huyu mbua natoka wapi yawa!,” I overhead as a group of three or so gents tried to run uphill, while I enjoyed the comfort of going downhill.  They looked like manual labourers going back home after a day’s job.

The rain did not relent.  I had second thoughts of whether to just do a U-turn and go back to Ndumbo, then either shelter at Ndumbo or run back and abort the run, but that did not happen.  What happened was that I kept going, even as a sheet of rainfall engulfed my whole body, blinding me even as I passed by Wangari’s institute.  The waters were cold and chilly.  I shivered as I kept going towards the river.  I was now completely at a point of no return.  I would not be encountering any form of shelter now, until I get to KAGRI and Kabete Children’s Home, some one kilometre ahead.  The last shelter was now equally about a kilometre back.

It was still raining heavily by the time I got to the river.  I saw a few people take shelter under the trees besides the main tarmac.  They seemed to look at me with some pity.  I did not care.  I was already having my own troubles with the soaked clothes and wet feet, after the running shoes had been completely flooded with the rain waters.  I was in a dilemma at to whether I would continue running in the rain or would have to give up at some point.  I now cursed that decision of keeping on with the run, when I had the option of turning back.  The only reason why I kept running was because I was already in the shower, “maji ukiyavulia nguo, ni sharti uyaoge”. 

I was starting my run on the uphill after the river when the rain started to relent and then stop, just like that.  I would soon meet a group of about five runners coming from part of KAGRI farmland, definitely having been taking shelter from the rain.  By this time, the rain was almost over.  The drizzles were few and far between.  I once again applauded my decision to continue with the run, since the rain would have soon been gone anyway.  I reached Lower Kabete road as the only wet and muddy soul on the road.  I did not give a damn at the stares that I got, in a manner of asking where I was coming from with all that mud.

The run went well until I diverted towards the left, from Lower Kabete road, to start onto the road that would lead me past Mary Leakey school, then towards the University farm.  This is a dry weather road and the earlier rains had made it a bit wet and slippery.  I kept going though at a reduced pace to try to counter the effects of the potentially slippery road.

It would get worse when I diverted to my right to start the over 1km run through the Uni farm.  I once again regretted taking this run.  I should have obeyed that first instinct when the rain started, and I should have turned back and gone home.  Now I was surely in the thick of things.  And I do mean ‘thick’!  A thick layer of mud soon engulfed my running shoes, and I could hardly run, leave alone walk.  Each foot felt like it was lifting a 5kg load due to that thick layer of mud.  I have never struggled with a run in my life!  Removing the mud was an exercise in futility, since the shoes would momentarily be muddy and heavy once more after only a few steps.  I tried my best to keep running despite the pain of the heavy legs.  It was painful I tell you!

Endurance conquered the day, and I would eventually emerge at ‘the tank’, to join the Kanyariri tarmac ready for the 3km run.  It was a relief to hit the tarmac.  I ran on the sides of the road to dip my shoes in the water puddles and through the grasses to clean them up.  The shoes were relatively free of mud hardly five minutes after hitting the tarmac.  The rest of the run turned out to be smooth, albeit the gentle hill.  It was just tarmac all through.

It came to me as a surprise when I did the U-turn after Kanyariri shopping centre only to notice that it was getting dark.  It was just too early for any darkness to befall.  If it was getting dark when I still had about an hour of run, then I would be running in total darkness for more than half of the remaining run!  I had not planned for this.  I had believed in the equinox.  It now seemed to have failed me.  Or could it have been the dark clouds in the heavens?  I did not know what to make of it, but I was nonetheless still worried about this sudden darkening of the evening.

I was right to be worried, since it was quite dark hardly thirty-minutes into my return run.  I got to Ndumbo river when it was already dark.  I faced that last hill in near total darkness.  I reached Ndumbo market when it was dark, with the traders having already lit their lanterns to supplement the streetlights.  I got to Waiyaki way when it was dark.  I could hardly see the run path as I crossed the highway.  The road next to Kabete Poly was at least lit, giving me some relief from the dark.

I finally finished the run after a time of 2.09.47, when it was quite dark.  I learnt my lessons on that Monday, two days ago – if you want to run, make your decision, stick to your decision and just run.  No two runs will ever be the same and you need to be ready for anything when you are on the road.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 5, 2021

COVID is out, or did I not get the message?

COVID is out, or did I not get the message?

It was inevitable that Kenya would have to unlock the locked down zone of Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Machakos and Nakuru, and open it up to the rest of the country.  This zone had been on an 8pm to 4am curfew.  This locked us out of the rest of Kenya, who were still having a more favourable time, including shorter curfew times and continued use of their congregational places.  

I knew that this lockdown would have to ease somehow, since the Ministry of Education had already insisted that schools would have to reopen on May 10.  There was no way that students would get to school unless the lockdown was eased, otherwise, how would the travel cross country, when they cannot cross the country?  I however had not imagined that the easing of restrictions would be occurring today.

But was this easing even possible?  Should we even be easing restrictions including the lockdown?  I even believe that the lockdown should instead even be extended to the rest of the country and restrictions made even more stringent!  I believe this because things have gone worse in the world, as far as COVID is concerned.  

Sample this – on that March 26 date of the lockdown, the global infections were 126,256,838 with 2,770,139 deaths.  Kenya numbers were 126,170 and 2,092 respectively.  Though the positivity rate from samples collected in Kenya had gone down from a high of over 30% to the current rate of about 15%, that had not been the case elsewhere in the world.

The current total infections* of COVID19 globally stand at 152,550,779, with 3,200,571 deaths, while Kenyan numbers are 160,053 and 2,744 respectively.  I was not seeing how easing of restrictions was going to be possible based on these figures.  But that is not even it.  A situation had just arisen in India, where confirmed infections were numbering** almost 0.4M daily, while the death toll was about 3,500 daily in the last two days!  Imagine!  3,500 human beings dying each and every day!  

I had seen on AJZ news channel of the untold devastation in India.  The country that is famed for being the leader in vaccine production, and amongst the top COVID19 vaccine producers was buckling under the weight of the same COVID.  Almost half of those dying of COVID19 in the world were dying in India.  This was the worst situation that corona would bring to humanity.  Can it or will is even get worse here or somewhere in the globe?  How worse can it get?  How will that ‘worse’ look like!!

* https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

** https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/india/

How was life going to be better at all, when the situation was getting worse with each and every passing day anyway?  I had pondering over this since the morning.

“Mwanzako akinyolewa, tia kichwa chako maji+,” is the saying that came to mind even as I started my activities for this Saturday, May 1, 2021, with those bad corona numbers in mind.  (+When your colleagues is about to be shaved, be ready for being shaved next)

It was yet another May 1 date, but there was no Labour Day for a second year in a row, at least not the pomp and festivities that come with it.  The congregation of workers at commemoration venues was not going to be possible again this year, especially in our disease-infected zone, where congregations had already been banned anyway.  

I did not make much of the day, until I watched the evening news of the day.  And a surprise was awaiting!  The country had eased the restrictions!  The lockdown was been lifted and free movement within the country would now be possible, starting tomorrow May 2.  Our curfew hours would be revised to be at par with the rest of the country, being from ten at night to four in the morning.  

The revision meant that eateries that were previously on a take-away basis only would now allow sit-ins.  Bars that had been shut completely, would now open albeit to seven in the evening; talking of which, who even drinks while it is still daylight!  Religious gathering that had been prohibited in the zone would be allowed to restart at one-third sitting capacity.  Schools were directed on open on the scheduled date.  This was happening… and it was happening now!

I still do not know what to make of this new development.  I am now more fearful of corona than ever before, especially having seen how it ‘came from nowhere’ and wiped out India in just one week!  I am now more conscious of how bad corona can be, after watching those doctored videos that showed people falling down and dying in the middle of the streets in India, due to lack to hospital beds or lack of oxygen at both hospitals or homes.  I have given corona new respect after watching it devastate India as it did in just one week.  That is why I am not sure whether we should be easing restrictions or making them tighter!  I appreciate that we have to put food on the table, but who will be eating?

I am however comforted that the head of state assured of a swift return to restrictions if ‘anything unexpected’ came up.  I am also aware that vaccines for second doses and first shot for the additional numbers in the next group of Kenyans is on the way.  These shots should be landing anytime in June.  It is only time that will tell whether I am overly fearful or overly fearing.  For now, let me hit those 10,000 walking steps per day in the name of the marathoners May challenge – a challenge that I would have preferred to skip and hibernate, but what is on is on.  

Happy Labour day!

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 1, 2021