Sometimes I really do wonder if living alone in a small village has already started to tip me over the edge of reason. It seems that I have agreed to be part of the VSO Rwanda relay team for the International Peace Marathon in Kigali. I have just under a month to train as it takes place on Sunday the 22nd of May. I will have to run 10.54km. I haven’t gone running for nearly a year. My Ipod has been in peace. Whats more, when I was running in Bristol most of the time no one gave me a second glance. Well other than that time where I was followed by a crazy lycra clad Italian man. When I started to walk because I just couldn’t keep going he started shouting ‘oi you lazy, you must always run door to door, always!’ I tried running again in the hope I might actually be fast enough to get rid of him but it was to no avail. So I ran like a snail. The slowest anyone could possibly run. And that got rid of him.
Well in Nzige I can’t even walk anywhere without attracting a crowd. So goodness knows what they will think when the muzungu starts to run. My only hope of running in relative peace is the ‘stadium’. The ‘stadium’ which I can’t even remember which dirt track its down, has one dusty running track around the edge. Now I know the TTC students use it which will probably mean I get a crowd of onlookers but eventually they might get bored....although the lack of much entertainment in the TTC (no phones, radios etc are allowed) might mean that they never tire of watching the muzungu turn red...well on Wednesday I’m determined to give it a go. Nothing ventured nothing gained. All I know is that doing Tracy Shaw’s Salsasize video behind closed curtains is probably not going to be sufficient. So running it will have to be. All in the name of peace ;-)
You have a week longer than I have - the Bristol 10k is on Sun 15th May. I have been out of training because I have been ill for the last month and have only just started easy training again.
ReplyDeleteAll you have to do is to think of last year's Bristol 10k which you ran well without much training. Just think of all the weird people you passed - as I recall you beat Darth Vader.
Enjoy the dirt track in the stadium - you never know, perhaps some of the kids will run along with you and may go on to become a real runner. With training, Rwandans should be able to match the Kenyans and Ethiopians who are the world's best long distance runners. Don't forget also that you are at altitude - around 5,000 feet (1500m) and so there is about 25% less oxygen. So remember to take it easy - although you are aclimatised to the altitude, you haven't been training at the altitude. UK athletes go to altitudes like yours to train so they are faster at sea level.
According to Google Earth, if you walk back from the college (going north) after about 300 metres another track crosses diagaonally; after this, in about another 100 metres there is a track to the left that goes to the stadium.