Kenya

Kenya

Today was day three of the running club and I am still alive (but not completely well). All this running has made the bottoms of my feet hurt; I think that is the “pad” of your foot. Or is that the “ball” everyone’s always talking about? If I walk barefoot in my house it’s really noticeable. I’m not sure if it’s the rocky terrain or just the amount of running… my running shoes are really nice, though. In fact, it’s only when put my shiny leather shoes back on when I notice the tenderness. I’ve had those shoes for almost two years now so maybe I need to upgrade.

I’ve been running with a group of guys who run too fast, but today I ran with a guy who was a bit too slow. I noticed that the pace is everything! I was able to run longer without getting tired when I was with this guy. The hills are still big, and at this rate I’m wondering if running/walking eight kilometers up and down a mountain is helping me to run in the Nairobi marathon in October. Speaking of that, I told my buddies I would do ten kilometers and they laughed at me. HAHAHAHA. I will do ten kilometers and if they don’t like that then TOUGH LUCK!

Kenya, Music

You can always see what I’ve been listening to on Last.fm (my music player logs everything there), but sometimes I am surprised how the numbers add up. Most of it shouldn’t be a shock (metal), but there’s actually a lot of rap/hip-hop from the US as well as East Africa. We always hear matatus blaring mixtapes from local DJs, and one thing they usually say is that they are Keepin’ it strictly Kenyan! So in honor of what is now becoming a tradition, I am posting a few more of my favorite songs for you!

Redsan — Yule Pale

Actually, Redsan is Ugandan, but he calls Kenya home these days. Yule pale is “That person over there”… probably a chick at a party. Just enjoy the beats!

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Kenya

I haven’t died yet! Today was the first day of the running club at work. I feel great, but the run was really hard. I had figured I’d show up where everyone assembles before the run and then pick the weakest ones… but my colleagues swang by and picked me up just before lunch, took me to the changing room, and then off we went! “It’s not far” took us through a rural villagy area near my work, and into a terraced corn farm (big hills, up and down), then around oh my god and down and up up up up up oh my god. After a while I told my partners to leave me and I had to walk up this hill.

I walked for a few minutes and then started to run, then got tired. Several times! My buddies said that was probably around eight kilometers, of which probably three was up a mountain — not to mention the altitude of running in Nairobi/Uthiru. That’s why Kenyan runners dominate when they go to international marathons! They’re trying to convince me to run in the Nairobi marathon in a few months. I told them I’d do ten kilometers and they were unimpressed, pushing me to do the twenty one. I guess the marathon is all flat, so by then I won’t even feel it.

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