Unlocking the locked runner… really?

Unlocking the locked runner… really?

Mondays are run days.  I therefore had no choice but to be ready for this run over the lunch hour.  I was quite rested after 2-days of no runs.  I was ready for this run – just another Monday run.  This run also coincided with the staggering numbers of COVID19 infections – 11,630,803 with 538,177 deaths worldwide with the motherland having 8,067 cases with 164 deaths, as per worldometers stats. 

I was also aware that Kenya would be making an announcement on what next, following the expiry of the three-month lockdown from leaving the city and dusk-to-dawn curfew.  We were to know whether we would face a fourth month locked in or we would finally be let free.  I was not holding my breath on this.  If anything, I was expecting an extension of the lockdown and curfew, based on the rising number of infections locally and internationally.

I started the run at 12.55pm.  The weather was good, meaning no sunshine and not cold either.  The cloud cover formed a big umbrella shielding us from the sun even as I started the run.  I was relaxed and well rested as I did this run.  It was a good feeling.  My mind was generally blank.  I was repeating the Friday route, which was now well etched into my memory.  I could even close my eyes and run this half marathon and navigate through the whole circuit.

I was soon at Ndumbo stage, passing by as I heard the various radios from motorbikes, kiosks, parked vehicles, moving vehicles and all…. “Fellow Kenyans….”
I could not hear the rest since I was already past all these collection of radios in a moment and was now running down towards Wangari Maathai institute, then towards the river, ready for the uphill towards KAGRI.

As I passed KAGRI towards the Lower Kabete tarmac, I got to the collection of three or so motorbikes parked at the road junction.  Two people were seated on a bench, just next to the bikes besides the road.  They were playing draughts, with the radios on…. “… this pandemic…” is all I heard as I passed by and turned left ready for the uphill towards the Mary Leakey turnoff.  

It is at this very junction while turning left that some minute insect got into my left nostril – just like that!  Out of nowhere! 
“Atchoooo!”
Nothing doing. 
The nostril remained itchy, but I kept going towards the Mary Leakey turnoff about two minutes away.

At the turnoff, I got those vehicles that have now been turned into market stalls, with all manner of groceries and fruits on display and sale, within and on top of the vehicles.  Their radios were on, with the few people around the vehicles – buyers and sellers – continuing their chat.  I am not even sure if they were listening, but the sound was loud enough… “… gender-based…” I heard as I passed them on that left turn.

I was now going towards Mary Leakey school and soon towards the river on the dry weather road.  It was a bit deserted, save for one bike that passed me by, going same direction.  Its radio was on... “… fellow Kenyans…” the bike was already gone way ahead, and I could not get anymore of the sound.

Soon I was taking the right turn that gets you ready to face the university farm.  It would take about ten minutes to run through this trail to emerge at the Kanyariri tarmac road.  This section of the road would usually not have anyone – and it did not disappoint on this day – there was no one through the almost ten-minute run.  There was no radio sound at all on this footpath… in fact no sound at all.  It was quite quiet!
Many “Atchoooos!” later and that nitwit finally got out of my nostril just in time to enable me breath freely enough in preparation to hit the tarmac at ‘the tank’.

I turned right at the tank, to join the Kanyariri tarmac where I would run for about fifteen minutes, before making a U-turn.  At this ‘the tank’ turnoff, I saw one motorbike parked just besides the road on the newly constructed shed.  The radio was on, “… wakenya wenzangu…”

I was already too gone to hear any more, as I faced this road that is usually generally deserted.  You encounter very few vehicles.  None of the vehicles that pass by had their radios on, hence I did not get much more news on this day when we expected the ‘big’ announcement on what happens next after 3-months of lockdown.

There were no more radio announcements by the time I got to Kanyariri shopping centre.  If anything, I just heard some music coming out of the various radio items that adorned that part of the geography – be it from inside shops, from the passing motorbikes or from the walkers.  Either these people did not give-a-dee about the announcement, or the announcement was over. 

I would not get to know the final decision of announcement while on the run, not with these two-word sounds that I was getting over time.  I was soon doing the U-turn and started my run back on Kanyariri road tarmac, enjoying the downhill all the way to Ndumbo river, then a short uphill to Ndumbo centre, then to Waiyaki way and finally, crossing the Waiyaki at Kabete Poly ready for the home run.

I had to run some errands immediately after the lunch-hour run, hence did not have any time to check on what the verdict of the powers were, on whether we would be having a fourth month confined in the city or not.  It would soon be evening, and the local news was quite clear on what had happened – lockdown is off, curfew is still on, with effect from July 7.  I did not have a reaction.  I did not know how to react.  After over 90-days of restricted movement, I was not sure of what this new status would mean.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, July 6, 2020

Waiting six months for nothing

Waiting six months for nothing

Today is a Wednesday.  CV infections are 7,403,022 with 416,568 deaths as per worldometers.  WHO is more conservative with 7,145,539 and 408,025.  There has been debate about the source and authenticity of these numbers, but let us not dwell on that for now… Infections are in the millions and fatalities are in the almost half million.  

It rained most night and most morning.  It was still drizzling while I made my way to the starting line for the lunch hour run.  I was having second thoughts about even taking this run.  I was being forced to this run since those 1,000 miles in 2020 were now beckoning.  If anything, a new quest for 1,500 miles was in the offing.

I looked up at the clouds and the waters hit my projected face.  The drizzle was still real and the time was exactly noon.  I was just about to be happy that I was not going to run, when the drizzle stopped before my very eyes and the weather become still.  It was cold.  The horizons of Ngong hills and city centre was engulfed in white haze.  It looked like it was raining over there, some ten or so kilometres off to the horizon.  At that rate, if true, then it would just be a matter of time before the rains started pounding this part of the city once more.

There was no time to second guess my decision.  I was soon out of the block and started off my three gadgets.  Yes, three – two cells and the newbie wrist strap bracelet that had just arrived last week.  This is a gadget that I had waited for since January.  I made the first order online in late January.  By then CV was not a threat at all.  Starting with first data of 41 infections and 1 death on Jan. 11, the world had just moved to 854 cases and 24 deaths as at January 24 – mostly all in China.  The rest of the world was safe, with no worries.  International travel by air or otherwise was still going on as usual.

I had ordered the gadget through an online agent, but by the time they firmed up the order in February, the shippers at China were already facing a lockdown.  Shipment of exports from China was starting to be delayed.  I was asked to wait for 2-months!  Which was quite something.  It would normally take three weeks max to get something from there.  I waited and finally in March, just after the Kili marathon, I did get my item… or rather an empty package.

It took me two weeks to get my refund after returning the empty packet, even as we started the month of April.  By then Kenya was already on curfew and lockdown.  The world had recorded 827,404 cases of CV with 40,712 deaths as at April 1.  Kenya had recorded 59 cases with 1 fatality by that date.  International shipping was a pain, now that air transport had ground to a halt in most countries including Kenya.  

The exception remained cargo, but the cargo was now moving around quite slowly on the now clear airspaces.  A re-order of a similar item in early April resulted into an ‘out of stock’ notification after two weeks of waiting.  A third order of the gadget in mid-April resulted into almost two months of waiting.  I was given an approximate receiving date of June 1 – imagine, April 15 to June 1!  Even a ship could have traversed the waters from China to Mombasa in less than that period!!  But I waited.  There was nothing to do but wait.

Last week the gadget finally arrived – after waiting since January!  And… and it did disappoint!  I had expected that I would put an end to running with the two cells, which I do due to their route mapping ability and the maps can subsequently be exported and shared.  This feature is was the features page of the gadget had promised, “… has GPS to track and map the run...”

The bracelet has GPS alright, but there is no way of keeping it on.  You switch it on and when you move to the next button, you find that it has gone back off.  There is no way of starting your run on the GPS screen.  Means that when you just press a button to get you off GPS screen and onto the ‘start’ button for the run, the GPS is off already!  And the distance that the gadget gives, without GPS is always 50% more that the true distance.

Take the Sunday run for example.  That date of the international MA-RA-TH-ON.  The day when four athletes had to form a relay team and each contribute a 10.5km run that should then add all up to equal a full marathon, within the hours of June 6 midnight to June 7 midnight.  I was already tired from the Friday run, and hence did not have the strength for a run on June 6.  I decided to go for it on Sunday June 7.  I would only be doing the 10.5km contribution to my relay team, and be done.

I had mapped the run on Google maps and knew exactly how many loops I had to do at the Vet-loop and be back to the finish line after conquering exactly 10.5km.  I left to start the run with the usual two cells, one running Endomondo, the other Runkeeper.  I had already tried to see if Strava can be of use on one of the cells, but it persisted on the ‘No GPS’ screen for too long that I had to give up on it and use the alternative apps.  

Despite this, the MA-RA-TH-ON event was being tallied on Strava, and they had already cautioned that ‘… all runs on Strava shall automatically be recorded as part of the event’.  I had thought that was quite stringent, and discriminatory, in the world where run apps come in all manner of names and can usually export a map that is then available for consumption by any other app.  

In fact, this is what consoled me even as I abandoned Strava.  I knew that I could easily import the run data from Endo or RK onto Strava.  I had already done this data exchange for the three runs of June.  I therefore knew for sure that Stava was capable of ingesting run data from any other app.  I was not worried any bit about recording my fast 10.5km onto Strava… and… onto the international relay aka MA-RA-TH-ON.

The third gadget on this Sunday run was ‘the gadget’, the very wrist strap bracelet that does not seem to keep GPS on.  I had already set GPS on, and pressed the other button to get me to the run start screen.  I could see the GPS icon flashing on the starting screen, which I later read on the manual meant that GPS had not yet ‘locked’.  A polite way of saying, ‘no GPS’.  

No GPS meant, the run could not be tracked using satellite, hence it is not possible to map, or distance the run.  But I still gave it the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe the GPS signal would be acquired within the run duration, after all, the mid-day weather was quite bright with a good level of sun due to absence of any cloud cover.  The day had all the ingredients of GPS signal availability.  But do not just take my word for it, the two other run gadgets had full (green level) GPS signal strength.

I finished my MA-RA-TH-ON just after one-thirty.  I stopped my three gadgets.  The apps were in full agreement – 10.54km in 47m44s – a 4m32s per km.  That run took a toll on me!  I am not sprinting any more such runs in a while.  I immediately uploaded the run data to Strava online and it graciously accepted.  I then looked at the ‘challenges’ page on Strava, and the message was still, 

‘You have registered for one challenge MA-RA-TH-ON and 0 challenges completed’

“What?,” I shouted to the screen while at the empty office.  

Sweat was still dripping from my forehead and arms and now soaking the desktop.

I refreshed the webpage.  The message remained at 0 done.

I logged out and logged back to Strava.  The message remained 0 events done.  

At the same time, the same app indicated the 10.54km done, under my list of events, but it did not seem to get this event into the list of challenges done.

I was still all sweaty and wondering whether I actually needed to time my run with Strava only for the run to count into the relay challenge.  I would really have let my team down if I failed to bring forth my 10.5km to the table.  But, I had not failed to bring the distance to the table.  I had done it.  I had witnesses.  I was sweating profusely for crying out loud, if that was not witness enough!  

Endomondo was my witness!  

Runkeeper was my witness!  

Even Strava was my witness!!  

All these apps were showing a BIG congratulatory message for the fastest run in 2020 – but the challenge was still indicating a 0 done!  How unfair?

I really contemplated taking another 10.5km run – if that is what it would take to get the distance registered as part of my contribution to the relay team.  However, after some denial phase, I came to the acceptance that my fate was sealed.  I had done my run, it is only that fate had conspired against me, to deny me an opportunity to contribute the distance to the kitty of the international relay.  

I had now made up my mind – I was not repeating the run.  If the distance and time would not count, so be it.  If I had already stopped doing things for CV aka TT, what about the relay?  There was no real prize anyway, just bragging rights over a fast average pace.  I could skip that and not lose any sleep.  I was in fact even happy that my ‘miserable’ speed would not be up for debate on Whatsapp, as it would not count in the discussions of who was who.

It was now just past two, when I had to make full disclosure on the marathoners Whatsapp group.

“Sorry team members.  I did the run using Runkeeper and imported the data to Strava.  Unfortunately, Strava has failed to recognize this run as part of the challenge.  I tried but it is too late to do anything about it.  Once more, sincere apologies to the relay team.”

A few chat exchanges later and….

“It is taking time for Strava to update the data.  Just wait.  I had to wait myself,” a fellow runner in the group would provide the insight.

At three my data was uploaded to the challenge.  By three I had also confirmed that the bracelet gadget had recorded a distance of 16km in 47min45sec.  Why I waited for six months to get nothing still puzzles me.

I shake my head as I head for the showers…. That shaking of head is today, Wednesday, after the lunch hour run that had been rained in advance.  The very run that took me through the muddy Vet-loop and equally muddy trail from Mary Leakey school through the University farm, all the way to the tarmac as I joined Kanyariri tarmac.  The run was difficult.  Running on mud is difficult.  The very run that tested the three gadgets once more, with the bracelet recording a ‘fake’ 36.8km in 2hr 3min 34sec.  The other two recorded the expected 24 point something km in the exact same time.

Why I waited for six months to get nothing still puzzles me.  I shake my head as I head for the showers….

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, June 10, 2020