In the Long Run

Tonight was the running club at school. I am one of the staff involved and tonight I foolishly accepted the challenge of running with the 5K students. After all I have run lots of 5K runs over the past two years and was regularly running up to 10K by myself in the UK. Big mistake!

Back Running

This morning I went for my first run in Africa; my first run in over three months. To be honest a pulled calf muscle back in June was a main reason for the lack of running back in the UK – but since I’ve been here I think I have been daunted by the challenge.

The Altitude

As I have mentioned here before the town of Mwanza is higher than any place in England and Wales – just above that of Mount Snowdon. It’s not immensely high but in the early days you could feel it when you walked. I think I have got used to it (at walking pace at least).

The Terrain

It’s not particularly flat here – running involves the inevitable uphill part and unlike my runs in the UK these are prolonged (several minutes of uphill). I will get used to it – but the thought of a prolonged uphill run at the start was a little off-putting. A work colleague (Head of PE) takes the students here up an even steeper ascent – although we both went running this morning, this particular element will need to wait for another occasion.
Furthermore the roads aren’t particularly flat here – there are a lot of ruts in the road. This make running more tiring as you dodge potholes and avoid rocks in the road.

 

Part of the Route

The Heat

Not surprisingly it’s hot here. The sun is baking and this saps your strength. Even the walk to school can leave you feeling sweaty. So the idea of running in the heat left me a little ‘cold’ :-).  The only way to contemplate running was to get up at the crack of dawn before the sun was really able to exert it’s furnace on the world. So it was up at 6:15am on a Saturday to meet up with a colleague and head out of the compound and uphill.

As usual I probably started out too fast but eventually got into a rhythm – the uphill bit wasn’t to bad – though at the end of it I was glad to turn onto a more level path. The only issue was that this meant leaving tarmac and heading over rough ground (the road). This road lead to the school around which we did a loop, before heading back along my familiar route to and from work.

All in all I felt OK given the length of time since my last run – but I know I can do a lot better.

I hope to run more often but it might only be possible at weekends.

The other barrier to running here is the daylight.

Daylight

Sun rise here is about 6:30am all year. Sunset is about 6:30pm all year. This makes it tricky to fit tuns in during the working week as work is from 7:55am to 4:15pm (including meetings and clubs).  Given the heat of the afternoon, at least to begin with I am not going to find it easy to run after work and will have no time to run before work. Maybe this will change.

Today was a start and hopefully I will continue – I’d love to join with the school running around Kilimanjaro next year – they do 5K, 10K and a half marathon. The views of Kilimanjaro can be spectacular apparently – so it’s definitely something to aim for.

Friday Night Dip

It’s become a bit of a routine. After work on a Friday to go for a dip in the pool. It’s been a great way to end a week. Given that I haven’t yet found the energy or the time to go for a run this might be my best bet for a bit of exercise, although I have just signed up for the after school doubles badminton group on a Tuesday too :-).

Tonight I went with the intention of swimming 20 x 25m lengths and ended up doing 40 (therefore 1km). I can’t say my time was fast – and I took breaks every 10 lengths – it took approx an hour but it was some exercise. For a short while I shared the pool with a young cormorant – somewhat lost I imagine. Other than that it was unusually quiet – I imagine the earlier thunderstorm / downpour put people off – but the weather was sunny and clear.

It was a great way to end the week – though it’s amazing to think we’re at the end of week 3 of term already and have been here 4 weeks tomorrow already

Lake Run

T Minus 69

I woke up early. So did something I haven’t done for a while (in the morning at least!) and went on a run. I really should do this more often. Caldecotte Lake is a very pleasant lake to run around. The adrenaline buzz is great. Note to self to do this more often.

Photos below we’re not taken this morning but on previous walks.

Running for their Lives

T Minus 75

A break from routine as Anita and daughter ran in the 5K race for Life this morning. This women only event takes place in the UK each year and both highlights and raises money for Cancer Research UK.

Grand Union

T minus 110

The Grand Union Canal flows through the heart of Milton Keynes. It’s a lovely waterway especially in the Spring and a real haven for wildlife.

Passing 5K

T minus 135

About a year ago I took up running as a way of losing weight, keeping fit and improving stamina ahead of a trip last summer that was to include trekking in Vietnam and in Cambodia.

It is unfortunate that all the house preparations in recent weeks have prevented me from doing this.  When up to speed (forgive the pun) I usually run between 3 and 8 miles – though I have been known to run 10-12 on rare occasions. My aim and intentions over the Easter break is to get back into running – though a heavy cold at the moment is hampering this goal. I would also like to get back into the 5K Park Run locally – though I realise running in Tanzania might be more of a challenge (I’m no Mo Farah!) and I might need to find some other form of exercise.

 

On the subject of  5K, in all the pleasure I had in sharing my Liebster Award yesterday, and all the Deck Painting. I completely forgot to mention that our blog has now surpassed 5000 views and  is attracting over 100 views per day on most days. As you can see a number of bloggers are visiting from Asia, as well as those from Europe, North America, Australasia and Africa.

Thanks to all those of you visiting my site it’s much appreciated.

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