Running back is never easy

Running back is never easy

That Tuesday, December 15 run should have been the last run in the year.  It was a city run and it was the usual run through the Mary Leakey route and back to Uthiru.  It did not have anything unusual, apart from the blazing sun that contributed to the 2hours of misery on that route.  But was the sun any surprise?  No!  It has been a hot December and I do not recall any rain falling since the clock hit Dec. 1 on that Monday midnight.  

It is now just a matter of living with the heat.  It is likely to get worse as we head to January and impossible in February, before the long rains bring a relief in March.  That means that we better get used to the heat… and probably that is why Dec. 15 should have been the last run, until the heat dies down…. in March!

It was however not to be.  I found myself cutting my holiday short when I moved through the motions of dressing up onto the run gear and just leaving.  However, this was no longer a run in the city in the sun, this was a run in the home of champions… with the sun!  The 5km circuit that I have now established become the ‘new normal’ on this Monday, exactly one week since I had vowed to ‘retire’.

The route is established, hence I am now able to just set off on that circuit and just run it through, without much ado.  Much had remained unchanged on that route, apart from the drying vegetation and dried-up streams that would otherwise be forcing its waters from the soggy soil on the river sides onto the winding Sosiani river.  Their impression on the ground remained evident even as I ran through that part of the route.  Sosiani itself was not its old self.  It seemed a bit thin.  

The available water had retreated to the middle of the river course, leaving a larger than usual river bank on either sides, with stones and occasional tree stumps evident even from my running path some one-hundred metres away.  It was surely dry and drying.  I was surprised that there was hardly a rain in Eldy.  I had now stayed for five days and had not seen (or heard, if at night) any rain.  It was hardly last month when many of my runs would be rained through or cancelled due to mid-day rains.  This was a big change!

The Monday run went well by all definitions, bearing in mind the heat that prevailed over the lunch hour time slot.  I did not know that a run in the overhead sun could be that tiring!  It turned out to be!  I had initially thought that the tiredness was due to my coming back from retirement, but it seemed not.  The tiredness was a direct result of the heat.  I know this because I was having a headache by the time I had done the 2hr 15min run through five circuits.  

A headache after a run is a sure sign of dehydration.  But do not take my word for it.  I would find myself taking a litre of water, laced in Coke, rather Coke laced with water immediately after the run.  It was not long before I was taking another litre of juice in two large gulps, ‘just like that’.

It is now seven hours after the run and my thirst level remains fairly unquenched and the headache fairly unchanged.  This surely must have been the hottest run taken since retirement, though it is likely not to be the last one this year.  This is because a marathoner needs a ‘big tiredness’ in readiness for Christmas and another big one in readiness for New Year.  A big tiredness is also possible after a run.  Will there be any retirement at this rate?  Is there even need to retire, if we are kind-a-living one day at a time in these days of Corona?

Corona is so much in the air, and we even have a new ‘fast spreading strain’ that has ‘mutated’ from the original one that we know of.  This new one is believed to have originated in the UK just this week.  Getting Corona, whether the usual or the new one, would usually mean a compulsory 14-day quarantine – from all activities, including runs, that is for the majority of cases that do not end up in hospital ICU.  

Technically, these fourteen days should be the ‘holed up’ type, where you are locked in the house without a chance to get out of the house (if you follow the expectations of quarantine).  That means that we just need to keep running while waiting for that forced 2-week break when it comes.  A runner is in a better position when the runner has accumulated enough mileage, sorry, kilometage, before facing such a forced break.  That means only a two-week downtime since the last run.  The last run+2-weeks should remain your calculation on the duration of being ‘holed up’ when it happens.  The nearer the last run, the better for you.

So, what is the parting shot?  Corona numbers* are now 77,487,024 infections globally with 1,704,893 deaths and 54,379,440 recovering, while Kenyan numbers are 94,614, 1,644 and 76,060 respectively.  The numbers are bad.  However, we already have two vaccines approved in the US (read, approved for worldwide use) that are already getting into people’s arms in the US, UK and Canada (and Australia and soon rest of Europe-27).  These two being Pfeizer-BionTech and Moderna – the first with its neg-70 storage quagmire, and the latter with normal fridge temperature storage.  The third candidate, Astra-Zeneca is not far from approval in the US (read as before).  

That means that Corona is heading for a defeat – new mutant or not.  With the vaccine being a bit far from Kenya, a 14-day rest shall remain our immediate treatment for Corona going forward, in the unfortunate event that it hits us even after we face-mask, hand-wash, sanitize and social-distance.  Before then…. keep running since you never know when you shall be forced to take that ‘treatment’.

*source - worldometers website on 21-Dec-2020

WWB, the Coach, Eldy, Kenya, 21-Dec-2020

15km of pure pain – when you are stuck on the run… with no end in sight

15km of pure pain – when you are stuck on the run… with no end in sight

I just had to stop.  The pain was simply unbearable.  I have experienced such a pain before, but not this early in the run.  I had just hit the 8km mark at Mary Leakey school junction.  I was on a half-marathon lunch hour run.  I was now starting the second third of my run, which would take me to the turning point past Kanyariri market.  I would then make a U-turn and run the length of Kanyariri road all the way to Ndumbo and back to Uthiru for the last third of the run.

But here I was – stopping after an otherwise well-paced run.  Here I was – limping.  The pain on the right thigh was just unbearable.  I could hardly walk.  It was excruciating with every step, even though I was now just walking and kicking that leg as I limped along.

It was however too late to turn back and face another 8k already covered.  I could, but I really dreaded the 2km uphill from ‘the river’ past Wangari Maathai institute all the way to Ndumbo.  That hill on Kapenguria road would spell my doom with such a painful right leg.  I would instead easily keep going to the tank, to reach the Kanyariri road junction and turn left back to Ndumbo and Uthiru.  This would be a shorter route to the finish line, than turning back.  

After kicking that leg while limp-walking over a distance of ten or so footsteps, I did regain some relief on that leg, but my run was now done.  I could hardly accelerate.  In my view, I was running at the slowest pace done this year.  I would hardly do a 6min per kilometre at this pace – and that would even be a great achievement if it materialized.  

Resumption of the run reinstated the pain in its full pinch.  I could hardly fold the knee of that leg.  How was I going to make this run through?  I was still too far from the finish line, whichever route I did take.  I just had to endure a painful run for the rest of the run.  What a day!  What a Tuesday!

It is only by sheer willpower, and the fear of being stuck far from my finish line, that kept me running through my pain.  I would be better off collapsing within my home territory, not within the fields of the university farm or along the Kanyariri tarmac.  I just had to make it home.

I therefore kept running, albeit slowly, just to get myself moving and eventually finish this run.  This run was painful I tell you.  I was surprised that I still managed to turn to the right when I got to ‘the tank’ junction that joins Kanyariri tarmac.  Am I crazy or what!

I would have and should have just turned left and gone back to Ndumbo and back to the finish line but no!  I had to prolong the pain by turning right and extending my run past Kanyariri market, some three kilometres ahead, then had to run back same distance and eventually all the way to Ndumbo market and eventually to the finish line.

It was a painful run all through.  The muscle pull did not relent.  If anything, it got worse.  I grimaced and reduced speed to the bare minimum most of the way.  I was more of crawling than running.  Running any uphill stretch was the most painful!

Pain makes you oblivious of many going-ons around you.  The mind tells you to just be done with it.  I do not even recall seeing the Uthiru flyover now half demolished and the demolition now ongoing on the Ndumbo side of the bridge.  I was too concerned with survival despite the rumbling caused by the heavy machinery on top of the bridge as it knocked down on the concrete structure of the bridge.  It was working hard to get that bridge finally destroyed.

The pain would finally come to an end when I stopped my timer after 2hr 8min and 17sec.  I was so relieved that it was done with, even as I limped to the washroom and wash off the mid-day sweat.  It has been my left foot that has been a culprit of being painful with every run.  Today was different.  It was the right leg that did me in.  I hardly felt a pain on the left foot.

Lesson learnt – be glad when facing challenges ‘in advance’, since you have another day to make amends.  I shudder to think of what would have been if this day was one of those ‘real’ marathon days!  I would have probably recorded my ‘personal worst time’ (PW).  I am therefore glad that I did face this pain when there was no competition… in advance so to speak.

Talking of competition, do I see one such ‘compe’ when it comes to COVID19 vaccines?  The leading three vaccine initiatives – AstraZeneca, BioNTech/Pfeizer and Moderna are outdoing each other to see who among them shall launch a real ‘shot’ soon.  And the winner is…. 

The UK has officially started vaccinations of its citizens based on the Pfeizer/BioNTech vaccine starting today, Tuesday.  They shall target the over 80-year olds and the front-line health care workers.  This vaccine however requires a second shot in 21-days and ultra-cold storage of neg-70.  The same P/B vaccine is about to be rolled out for the citizens in the US by next week.  Though these three leading contenders are not the only COVID19 vaccines ready to roll.  Russia is already vaccinating its citizens with Sputnik V and China has Sinopharm in many arms at the moment.

So, before you shout out loud, over the chances that the vaccine shall permeate to the other parts of the world such as our motherland, have a look at this… The corona virus has now infected 68,126,444* people globally with 1,554,355 fatalities and 47,184,488 recoveries.  The UK numbers are 1.7M with 61,434 deaths, while the US numbers are 15.3M with 291,016 deaths.  Deaths per 1M population for the two countries are 903 and 877 respectively.  

Based on these numbers, maybe the UK and the US should be entitled to being in the rush for the vaccines.  Compare that with our motherland, where the infections are 88,579 with 1,531 deaths.  Our fatalities per 1M population is 28.  Nonetheless, loss of life remains loss of life and no numbers should be any good.  We too need this vaccine.  Surely, in the spirit of ‘compe’, one of the other top three, or any of the over sixty, should be looking our way.  Maybe our runs shall be back to normal, without masks and restrictions once we get our own dose of vaccines.  Maybe this wishful thinking shall be sooner than we wish to think.

*all data from worldometers website on Dec. 8, 2020 (4.00pm)

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, Dec. 8, 2020

The tale of two runs… and three vaccines

The tale of two runs… and three vaccines

If my Tuesday run was bad, then yesterday’s Friday run was worse!  If my state of fitness was a ‘6’ on Tuesday, then it was a ‘4.9’ on Friday.  I would normally skip a run when I am less than 5 on the marathoner’s Richter scale, sorry ‘Run-chter’ scale, but I still went out for a run on Friday, since 4.9 is approximately 5 anyway.

The Tuesday run started well, and it was mostly smooth all the way, as I did the usual Uthiru-Ndumbo-Kapenguria road-Mary Leakey-Kanyariri road to the turning point just before Gitaru market and back straight on Kapenguria road.  I was a bit tired, but I attributed this to re-acclimatization after my sabbatical on the highlands.  

I started and managed this run fairly well until I got to the 12k mark at the crossroad where Kanyariri ACK church is located.  I still had a 1km run to the turning point.  All of a sudden, I got a painful pinch on my right thigh.  I almost came to a standstill due to that pinch.  I could hardly fold my leg on the knee joint.  I reduced speed slightly and almost limp-ran for a few moments.

Reality struck!  I had just experienced a muscle pull and yet I was still very far from the finish line – as far as 10km away!  Anyway, what had to be done, had to be done and so I kept going, albeit slowly upto the turning point further on, then started my run back.  The right thigh remained painful and very uncomfortable with each bend on the knee, but I had no choice but to run back to the finish line.

I mostly ‘rolled’ down Kapenguria road using gravity, since my efforts to make the run were not helping much.  The more I tried to run, the more the leg become painful.  I ‘somehow’ rolled my way back to the finish line and was surprised that I managed the run the full half in just under two hours – 1.59.05 to be exact.  Phew!  The run was done and dusted.  

It did not take long before the muscle pull on the right leg would soon subside.  I would however continue to nurse my aching left foot that has been a bother for some time.  Good news was that I was not feeling much pain on the left foot during the run – the pain only came after the run and persisted for two or three days.  That was now my life and I was living with it.

When Friday came, I was set for yet another run.  It was not because I was ready, but because it was a run day.  Karl would leave me at the locker room as he started his run.  I was a bit down for I-do-not-know-what-reason.  I just did not feel like taking this run.  Nonetheless, it was a run day, I changed to my gear and was ready to go, setting out at 12.35pm.

And out of nowhere, a pain on my stomach hit me with the very first step that I took as I started the run.

“For crying out loud!,” I cried out loud, even as I started my slow jog.

How was I going to run for about two hours with such discomfort?  The pain just persisted – not too much, but not reducing either.  I was likely to abort this run since I hardly face such stumbling blocks this early in the run.

I however convinced myself to just take it easy and run to the 5k mark at Wangari Maathai on Kapenguria road, then turn back if the pain continued.  I was a bit slower than usual as I started off the run.  I kept going knowing that I had the option to turn back at the 5k, or even sooner.  That pain was reducing my focus and concentration.  I somehow kept going on the same route as Tuesday and would at some point get to Wangari Maathai institute.  I was now on the downhill and gravity was jut pulling my run towards the river… .and so I kept going past the 5k.  I would meet Karl on his way back as I did this roll.  I suspect that he must have run to the river or the tarmac junction.

I decided to make it to that Lower Kabete tarmac junction, then turn back, since the stomach pain was still a bother.  I made it to that junction just as another runner came towards me from the junction.  We lifted our hands in silence as we said our unvoiced “Hi”.  I was soon at the junction and also at a decision point.  I would now either turn back or turn left and face the four-minute run along Lower Kabete road then make the Mary Leakey left turn.

Despite the stomach pain, I found myself turning left and was now destined to take the long road through the University farm all the way to the tank on Kanyariri road.  It was now too late to turn back as I had already started the uphill.  My pains subsided when I took the left turn towards Mary Leakey school.  I was now having a more comfortable run.  The sun remained hot, while my run remained steady.  The stomach pain started relenting, but it was ‘just there’.

I finally reached the tank as I emerged on Kanyariri tarmac.  I had now done half the half-marathon route.  After doing a half of the 21, I would surely be able to do the whole.  Unfortunately, doing the whole run meant turning right and running the Kanyariri road for about three kilometres to get to the turning point, then running back straight on Kanyariri road to Ndumbo.  Well, that is what I had to do, and that is what I did, albeit at a reduced pace as my tummy continued paining… but in the background.

Reaching that 13k turning point was music!  I was elated.  I would now just be rolling back again all the way towards Ndumbo, where I would only face one last hill and the run would be done.  And so, I rolled back and would soon face that last hill to Ndumbo.  After Ndumbo, the run was just done since the short run along Waiyaki way and crossing the road at Kabete Poly was not anything to worry about.

I was surprised that I finished this run – and still in good time of exactly 2.00.51.  Two runs, with different Run-chter scales, but done in almost similar fashion.  

But wait a minute!  Could the face mask that I adorned have been a contributing factor to my deteriorating run times?  I have noted that the first two kilometres, when I am forced to be on the mask due to ‘masks on within the compound’ rule, I really struggle and even run out of breath.  I hardly manage a kilometre in 5-minutes, which I easily achieve after I pull down the mask on the open roads out there.

That would mean that this corona thing is affecting my runs.  The masks have become necessary evils, and I advocate for their use at all time… when not running.  They are real life savers.  So as the COVID-19 confirmed infections worldwide* stand at 57,996,866 with 1,379,441 deaths and 40,186,673 recoveries, with Kenya’s numbers being 75,193, 1,349 and 50,984 respectively, it is worth reminding ourselves that masks still work.  

Nonetheless, humanity is getting tired of corona and masking altogether.  I have started observing lots of laxity in mask usage as I navigate through my run routes.  That is where the three vaccines came into play – AstraZeneca, BioNTech/Pfeizer and Moderna.  These are three independent research initiatives, each with a vaccine that is showing over 90% efficacy.  

If two is better than one, then surely three is much better.  One, two or all of these are coming to use by end of year.  One, two or three of these shall be an interim or permanent solution for corona.  But that is not all.  These three are just the few in the leading group.  There are many more initiatives in the works – with WHO** listing 48 candidate vaccines in clinical trials (including the leading three) and another 164 in pre-clinical phase.  It is now just a matter of time before corona is defeated… and life gets back to normal. 

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

** https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 21, 2020