Mid afternoon
I’m lying on the bed, I’ve overheated. I forgot to pack my sunscreen and so I’m also quite burnt. I’m psyching myself up for my second run, which at the moment feels impossible.
Today I met Emmanuel at 630am and he took me on another course for a progressive 10K. I started feeling pretty good. But just like on Saturday’s long run, about half way through I felt the heavy feeling, like I’ve been hit with a Gladiator style cotton bud. Again I was willing to reach the end from 7.5K onwards.
I’m setting goals for my running for the next seven weeks. I’m aware that I don’t breathe in through the nose and have made a mental note to practise this on my easy runs. I still need to work on balancing on my right leg and doing of course strength and core work.
I made sure I had a weekend, and yesterday I ran 5K very easy then chatted over coffees with fellow Brits. Danielle, a runner for the army told her story, including about a 4 month stint here in Iten, where she lived with a local woman. She had no running water, and was eating by the open fire every night. She told me how meal times were events, they took their time to cook and chat. She also got a sepsis type illness and had two weeks solid in hospital. After lunch I met Rob, my Brit friend, for his final coffee before he travels back. We went to the wonderful Kerio View, which overlooks the Rift Valley. I read my book, I felt rested and had a lovely Sunday.
Once I’d run and had breakfast, today was like any other Monday. I cracked on with work and listened to the Chris Evans show on Virgin Radio while I worked. But I had a nagging feeling that one, I need a bit of a break from the desk, and two, I need to see where I am. So I decided to pop into town.
An assault on the senses
Busy and bustling with motorbikes, school children, cows, sheep and people meandering. My mission to buy matches, SIM card, suncream, a kettle if I could find it, and maybe even a bedside light. I got the matches — that was it!
After a ‘hello’ and a wave I popped into the nail bar near me to find out what they do there. She showed me a small pot of gel paints, another tub of ‘cutex’ nail polish. The only other items on sale were hair extensions. Veronica offered me a seat on a white plastic chair. She asked me what I was doing here and said she could take me to the valleys (I haven’t got malaria tablets!) to see the real Kenya and see how people live if I wanted something to write about. We’ll go in the morning before it gets too hot she said, and she needed to take my number. After messing about with our phones and not being able to transfer numbers, she grabbed a pencil from where she lives, at the back of the shop. I followed her through to her house and garden, a small dark space and collection of buildings made from corrugated iron. Then, she found a clean page in her Maths squared notebook with lots of scribbles, sums and other notes, and I jotted down my number, offering Fi as an alternative to Fiona.
I continued on into town leaving my black, parkrun long-sleeved 100 top on to keep covered and protected from the sunburn, but of course this meant I was gradually heating up as temperatures soared.
I’m now using my factor 50 face cream on my red raw shoulders as I didn’t have the 3,700 shillings handy to buy from the pharmacy earlier – at £23 that’s expensive for here, along with tomato ketchup which apparently costs a tenner .
Iten V Brighton
Shopping in Iten is a very different experience to shopping in Brighton. Lots of the shops are little huts and have bars behind the server. And it’s not always clear what they sell. I entered the shop to buy my matches and at first I couldn’t work out where the ‘hello’ had come from as the shop keeper was hidden behind toilet rolls and sweets. But he had matches which I need to light my little insect repelling candle at night.
I continued into the town on the search for my SIM card, every shop that had the big sign saying Safaricom and M-Pesa on it, didn’t sell the Sim. The purpose of this is to get a local number via Safaricom so that I can use the digital payment system, M Pesa. As someone who’s not used cash at all at home, I’m keen to get going on M Pesa.
I popped into the bank, and wish I’d taken a picture. It felt formal in a 1980s kind of way and there a number of different sections for different customer needs, stocks and shares, opening an account etc… I will return.
I finally found the M Pesa / Safaricom shop, where the girl behind the bars was having a late afternoon snooze. She explained that I needed my passport, so I resigned to returning tomorrow.
In front of me, behind me and to the side of me there seemed to be a labyrinth of shops, lots of dress makers, salons and shops selling hardware and some selling mystery goods – again I’ll have to return to really take it all in.
I returned exhausted, very hot and totally dehydrated and so asked Emmanuel if we could push the run forward to 520 (minutes away) when I hoped it would be cooler. It was and the run was surprisingly okay once I’d got a bottle of water and started running in the cooler forest. I got my first sighting of monkeys and my first taste of what real training is all about,
Now my mosquito candles are lit, and I’ve run nearly 18k, I feel happy and satisfied with my rice, carrots, soup combo for tonight’s diner. I’m settling in a little bit more each day. The internet might be down tonight, and occasionally the water goes off, but right now Iten is a good place to be.