Our "Home" City, 2005-2009

This is a shout out to my homies in Richmond -- John Rolfe 10K Training Team, John Rolfe Patrick Henry Half Marathon Training Team, Posse running group -- many of whom are running either the Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, or 8K next weekend. Good luck -- you all are so ready for this. (Don't worry -- that's the end of my attempts at urban language.)

From May 2008 until July 2009, we lived in Richmond, VA. While we would have preferred to have been overseas, Richmond was a good place to live and a great place to run. This video gives an overview of some of the reasons for that (we didn't do all that's rapped about in the video) -- and it's a fun look at the city.



Run well, y'all,
Bob

It's No Wonder...

It's no wonder that weight has become such a problem in the US among most age groups -- 34% of US adults over age 20. (See state-by-state trends here.) Browse through this selection of tempting desserts offered at American restaurants. Who would think that one could consume such huge quantities of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium in a single serving of anything!

Slideshow: 15 Worst Desserts | Eat This, Not That

(Note: This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an endorsement of Men's Health magazine.)

Note that the better recommendations in the slideshow are not particularly healthy, but they are less bad than the worst offenders.

Those of us who run or engage in other types of strenuous exercise must be very careful to avoid the fallacious thinking that because I run, I can eat whatever I want. If I'm maintaining my weight with my normal amount of eating and current level of running miles, it would take an additional half marathon -- actually 13.28 miles to counter the calories contained in Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake with Caramel Fudge Sauce (1660 calories -- more than 3 Big Macs -- and the saturated fat equivalent of 57 strips of bacon).

A huge part of who you are physically (pun intended) is what you eat.

Off to run 5 miles or so.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Kenyans in America and an American in Kenya

I've swapped places with Kenyan runners, Robert Cheruiyot and James Kwambai. Well, OK, that's a bit of hyperbole but they were in the US for the NYC Marathon and I've returned to Kenya, though certainly not to run a marathon.

The following is an interesting article on the final week of preparation by Cheruiyot and Kwambai for the NYC Marathon:

How the Kenyans Take On New York

It's interesting from a runner's perspective but also because of some of the cultural tidbits like this:

Later, at a buffet breakfast at the hotel...both drank hot tea with milk, and Kwambai poured in packet after packet of sugar, as if building a sand castle in his cup.

Chai -- hot tea, usually cooked in half mile and half water and with lots of sugar, is the national drink of Kenya. Every Kenyan I know, except those who are battling diabetes, puts tons and tons of sugar in their chai. Yet, most Kenyans don't like desserts because they are too sweet. Go figure. Those kinds of anomalies always make me wonder what kind of quirks we Americans have in our culture -- I'm absolutely sure there are many.

Enjoy the article.

I'm back in Kenya after a couple of weeks in Richmond for meetings. I enjoyed the boost of going from high altitude to sea level but now am back at 5700' above sea level and having to readjust. It's tough for an old guy! :) Did 5.2 miles this morning in 46:51. Not too bad especially considering that I woke up at 1:30 after only 3 hours of sleep -- thanks to jetlag.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running Styles

For the last 2+ years, before we moved back overseas, I ran regularly with a great group of runners in the far West End of Richmond, VA (Short Pump) -- we called ourselves The Posse. Our twice-a-week group runs -- early Wednesday morning and longer runs on Saturday -- provided some needed variety to my running.

An interesting outcome of all those miles together was that I got to where I could recognize people by the way they ran, even in the dark.

I came back to the US last week for a meeting. On my first Saturday back (24-Oct), I didn't get up in time to run with the group but still ran fairly early. Sure enough, even though I couldn't see their faces (we were on opposite sides of a 4-lane street and my glasses were sweat-covered), I recognized several folks I know just by the way they ran. I wondered at the time if my running style was distinctive enough to identify me -- Naw, probably not -- I just run "normal".

This past Saturday, I did make the group run and really enjoyed catching up with family news on this group of friends. After I finished running, I was stretching and one of the ladies finished her run. We were chatting a bit and she mentioned that the previous Saturday, while she was running with some folks, she did a double-take when she saw me. Then the clincher: I recognized you by the way you ran -- you have a unique running style.

Well, there you have it. Now, I wonder, when Mary Beth said I have a unique running style, is that good-unique or strange-unique? I was so surprised by her comment that I didn't think to ask until later. I'm thinking, old-guy shuffle or you look like you're dying out there, about to keel over style of running. So, Mary Beth, if you're reading this, which is it? (Or, maybe I don't want to know! GRIN)

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Can Climbing Steps Be Fun?

This is certainly a good attempt to make climbing steps more fun and, thus, more appealing than using an escalator. Maybe this should be part of President Obama's health care initiative -- preventive care by enticing people to choose heart healthy alternatives.



Run well, y'all,
Bob

Longest Run in a While

On a misty, cloudy Halloween morning, I got to run with some of my Richmond running group. NICE! Turned out to be about 3 smaller groups -- one group running a quick 13 miles getting ready for a half marathon, another group running a slower 12 prepping for a marathon, and then a couple of us at my pace.

I seriously doubted my ability to do 12 miles -- I haven't run more than 6.5 miles since July. But I did end up doing 8.8 miles at an average pace of 8:32 mpm. It felt really good -- temperature was about 59° and it was misty, so the weather conditions were pretty pleasant.

I ate a banana about an hour before we ran and then a Gu (Chocolate Outrage -- my favourite) about 10 minutes before. I carried my 22 oz bottle with Gatorade and ate another Gu at about 6 miles. The fuel and hydration seemed to be just perfect. There was no point in the run when I felt like I needed to quit and it's possible that I could have done the full 12. A good start to a Saturday.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Where Did That Come From? :)

I didn't sleep really well last night and knew that I had a full day of meetings ahead, so I felt like I really needed to run to get my adrenaline going. But, I wanted to cut back my miles a bit. My plan was to do about 4 miles but to push the pace a bit just to see. I've been running at high altitude (5500') for the past 6 weeks and have been back at sea level this week.

So, off I went at 5:15 AM. I hadn't mapped the route first so could only guess at the 4 miles. I really didn't feel like I was running particularly fast (for me -- yeah, I know I'm not an elite runner -- GRIN), so when I finished at 39:34.74 minutes, I figured I had ended up doing about 4.5 miles. Well, I mapped it and it was just under 5.1 miles -- a pace of 7:47. I haven't run that fast since mid-June when I ran 5.7 miles at 7:56. I'm pumped!

Tomorrow, I'm running with my old running group (well, old as in the group I used to run with -- all but one or two of them are 20+ year younger than I am). They're all prepping for a marathon and doing 12 miles. We'll see what happens -- it's been a long time since I tried that distance.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Observations at JKI Airport (Nairobi)

I'm looking forward to getting in a couple of runs in Richmond with my old running group, the Posse. Having been at high altitude (1 mile+) for the last 6 weeks, sea level should be fun.

I started my trip last night and thought somebody might be interested in my observations.

Though I'm certainly not new to Kenya or Nairobi, since we have come back after a 4.5 year stint in the US I've made a conscious effort to pay attention to things. Having worked with new employees, trying to help them get ready to move overseas, we are much more aware of the things that new folks see and experience. So, here are some of them from last night.

Last night, it took only 45 minutes to get from Hampton House to the Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport -- traffic through Nairobi wasn't too bad at 7 pm. That trip can take 20 minutes at 4AM and 2-4 hours at 4:30PM. Consequently, I was there almost 30 minutes earlier than necessary. The good thing about that was the ability to check-in and get through immigrations in a relaxed, rather than frantic and push-shove manner.

First thing was to go through the first of 5 security checks -- yes, 5. So, as I handed my boarding pass to the guard at the door into the terminal, he noticed that I was traveling to the US. He asked me to greet Obama. :) Well, OK ... President Obama, if you become my friend on FB or you happen to see my blog (in which I'm sure you can find some sage advice on international relations or life or ... whatever) and see this note, Pokea salamu za huyo askari!

I don't meaning to be giving you TMI or WTMI, but when you're checked in for a flight 3 hours before takeoff, there are certain necessities that must be taken care of, so off I went. First thing ... who in the world designed these stalls?! It is impossible to get inside and close the door -- or open the door from the inside to come out -- without straddling the porcelain fixture. IMPOSSIBLE!

Graffiti artists, budding poets, and generally strange individuals seem to get some kind of kick out of writing on stall doors. A small selection of the available reading material:

• God is a life
• IMB Going (As best I could tell, it really said that. Why? How do I answer that?)
• Chris was hia (This one you have to read outloud with an African accent, which mean the "i" in "hia" is a long-e and the "a" is pronounced "ah".)

Earlier, I mentioned 5 security checks. I am flying BA, so it's true:

• X-ray bags and go through metal detector to enter the departure terminal
• Immediately have at least one bag searched by security personnel
• X-ray carry-ons and go through metal detector at the gate
• Immediately go through another identical security X-ray of carry-ons (they wanted me to take off my belt for this one) and go through another metal detector between the entry to the gate area and the actual waiting area
• Immediately have carry-ons hand searched by security personnel

Now that I've arrived at Heathrow (London), I had to go through yet another security check between the arrival and departure areas and I expect I'll have to go through yet another at the gate itself. Then, after immigrations and customs in Chicago, there'll be another. After all that, I'm probably not a security threat to myself -- I will have been checked 7-8 times!

Oh, the joys of international travel!

Run -- and travel -- well, y'all,
Bob

Extreme Motivation

While not a recommended reaction, it's certainly understandable why University of Anchorage cross-country runner, Auston Ellis, ran a bit faster than normal a couple of weeks ago. UAA runner races a grizzly and gets lucky | Northwest News - The News Tribune (Seattle-Tacoma News)

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My run this morning was a bit more prosaic. It was rainy, cool, and messy-muddy but I slogged through 5.5 miles at a pace of 8:40 mpm. I think messy-muddy is going to define most of my runs for the next few months as we're supposed to be having El Nino rains. The last time that happened in Kenya (1997-98), we had 72" of rain from October to March and 116" of rain in the year, October to October.

Run well, y'all,
Bob