Traffic in Addis Ababa

This video was supposedly taken at the Ring Road in Addis Ababa. Throughout all the years I've been in East Africa, I've heard that the craziest traffic is, in order of craziest to crazy but less so:

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Kampala, Uganda
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Based on this video, they're all about the same!

Post by Mark Kester.

Run well ... especially if you have to cross traffic like this!
 Bob Allen Kampala, Uganda

Good Saturday Run

It's been a long time since I last posted -- since I first got to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Running in West Africa -- Burkina Faso and Ghana -- was a welcome change from running in Nairobi. Even though Ouaga is the capital city of Burkina Faso, it's not nearly as large as Nairobi and there is not nearly as much traffic. So, the air was cleaner. I did have to watch out for hundreds of motor scooters and bicycles (thousands as work traffic picks up later in the morning). It turned out that the safest place to run was in the middle of the road rather than on the side.

Much of my running in both Ouaga and Ghana was on dirt roads. My shoes got filthy!! After we got home, I left my running shoes outside, next to our door, as usual. The dear lady who works for us here commented that I must have run somewhere besides Nairobi. Curious, I asked her why. "That's not dirt from here," she said. She was right, but how did she know?

This morning's run was a good one. It wasn't long -- none of my runs these days are long -- but it was a good 3.9 miles. The first part felt especially good. Maybe I'll get my endurance back some day. The weather was great -- I left before sunrise in the pre-dawn light -- the temperature was 59° and the humidity was a comfortable 59%. I almost decided not to run because I didn't get enough sleep last night. But, I'm really glad I went.

I hope your weekend run(s) is as satisfying.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Everyday Life in Kenya

A good friend, Bert Yates, has posted, on Facebook, pictures of some common, colourful scenes in Kenya. Not sure if you can access them unless you're either a FB friend of Bert or myself.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Everyday Traffic in Nairobi

Great blog post from a Daily Nation (Nairobi) writer. This kind of traffic is not an occasional thing but an everyday occurrence. It starts about about 6:30 AM and continues until 9:00 PM or later. The only day it's not like this is Sunday. Now showing on Nairobi roads

Because of the crazy traffic, I have to run at 6:00 AM or put my life at the mercy of some of these people.

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

Running on a Lavender Carpet

Jacaranda trees are not native to Kenya -- they originated in South America -- but this time of year they bloom all over Nairobi and their blooming signals the start of the short rainy season. They have been planted all over Nairobi and are beautiful. One of the unique things about the Jacarandas is that they flowers fall while still lavender-blue and gives the impression of a lavender carpet on roads and walkways. So, the last few days, my runs have been on lavender carpets. Cool!

I'm still getting used to the altitude and hills of Nairobi -- it's getting better. It was raining pretty hard this morning so I didn't run. Yesterday, though, I ran 5.2 miles at a pace of about 8:44 mpm.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Racing Trucks

I was up early this morning. Something woke me up at 4:00 -- I mean ain't-no-way-I'm-going-back-to-sleep awake. I stayed in bed for another half hour just to see and then got up, made a cup of chai, and read some e-mail. Figured I'd be too tired to run, but around 6:00 I wanted to hit the road.

Headed out my normal route for Nairobi (have I ever said how much I like running different routes each day?). There's one road where I run about half the length and turn around -- right at the top of a short but very nasty hill (it drops from 5767' to 5729' in 0.085 miles). This morning, though, I thought, Why not? Nothing better to do. If it kills me, I'll just run shorter. Down I went. What in the world was I thinking? I have to come back up this monster! Since there's little worse than turning around in the middle of a hill and running back up, I kept going.

After turning around and heading back (flat section), I misjudged the height of a small tree limb and it caught me right in the head. Owww! Is it bleeding? Wiped my forehead with my fingers and, Yes, it's bleeding. Rats! I'm a mile or so from home so nothing to do but keep going. I kept checking -- not bleeding badly and after a half mile, it quit. Sorry, I digress.

Anyway, I had to run back up that nasty hill. Just before I got to the bottom of the hill, a truck passed me -- a bit smaller than a dump truck but definitely bigger than a 1-ton pickup. Well, it hit the hill and I heard the driver downshift. He ended up practically crawling up the hill while I caught up to him and passed him. That was a good feeling. Seems like running all the hills in Short Pump (far westend, Richmond, VA) has done some good after all! Score a point for runners!

I ended up running just over 6 miles -- my longest so far at this altitude. It wasn't fast and I was tired at the end, but it was good. Very slight bruise on my forehead and a red dot of dried blood. Just another runner's trophy to go with my missing and black toenails.

Maymont X-Terra Half Marathon started just a few minutes ago. Here's a shout out to all my running partners in Richmond who are running the race -- Go get 'em, PHHM Training Team!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Urban Trail Running

No, I haven't found any real trails in Nairobi, but while I was running this morning, it struck me how much running on Nairobi streets is like trail running. I get a lot of trail-like training here dodging potholes, uneven surfaces, loose rocks (not always gravel or stone-sized), jumping ditches. It's probably pretty good for the muscles that control stability in my ankles, knees, and hips. One stretch of road is so bad that I can run it faster than cars can be sensibly driven on it.

I'm slowly getting acclimated to the altitude and the hills.

This morning: 5.2 miles at a pace of 8:46 mpm.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running in Nairobi 2009

Running here is going to be very different than running in Richmond, VA. I was really spoiled by how easy that was. Several differences:

• Altitude is certainly one: going from 150' to 5700' above sea level is a huge difference. I'll reap the benefits later and this will actually become a Nairobi advantage but starting out is tough.

• Road conditions: Short Pump/Richmond has nice wide, smooth roads; Nairobi -- well, let's just say they leave something to be desired. They're not runner-friendly -- narrow, mostly in very poor condition for either running or driving, little or no verge, very dusty (even when tarmaced). Friday, one one stretch of road, I was running faster than drivers were able to navigate their cars over, around, through the potholes.

• Running time: Because the road surfaces are so irregular, I don't think I'll be able to run in the dark. That means waiting to head out until almost 6AM -- it's light at 6AM almost year-round. My normal Richmond starting time was 5:15-5:30AM. Factoring in cool-down, showering, breakfast, etc., an 8AM meeting is much more likely to interfere with running here.

• Runner-aware drivers: Richmond is a runner-friendly city. In 4 1/2 years of running there, I think I was run off the road only a couple of times. Here, because of the amount of traffic and the generally poor driving, drivers are not watching out for me. In a country that produces the greatest long-distance runners in the world, you would think that would generate some respect for runners. NOT! by drivers. When you're fighting the traffic in a 4+ million person city where good infrastructure is either non-existent or deteriorating, you're not paying attention to runners.

• Route variety: in Richmond I had a couple of hundred different routes mapped out. Some were only minor variations of others but I almost never ran the anywhere near the same route twice in a week. Here, I'm limited -- there are lots of dead end roads and I'm somewhat hemmed in by a major thoroughfare. So, without driving somewhere else to run (which I hate to do except infrequently), I suspect my routes will be much more repetitive.

• Climate: While I enjoyed the change in seasons in the US, I didn't enjoy running whenever the temperature was above 70° and the humidity was 90%+ -- that was most mornings between mid-May and mid-September. Here, early morning temperatures will rarely be above 62° and the humidity is closer to 50-60%. I'll miss the crispness of running in sub-freezing temperatures but overall the climate will be more conducive to running.

Friday, my first run here since getting back, the temperature was something like 55°. I was able to do just under 4 miles at a pace of approximately 8:30 mpm (if you want the exact figures, see my Running Log on the right (scroll down a bit). It's good to be home!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Wright Socks: Running II -- Second and Third Runs

I was really disappointed after my first run in the Wright Socks, Running II. However, after washing them a couple of times, I think they're going to be a regular part of my sock rotation. They're still a bit large and I don't know if they'll work for a long run, but they are comfortable.

Friday morning, I got in my first run since moving back to Nairobi, Kenya. Jet lag has really hit me hard and I haven't felt like running any of the other days (we arrived Tuesday night). But Friday, I wore the Running II socks for a 4-miler. Frankly, my feet felt as good on that run as on any in a long time and I think the Wright Socks were a part of that. Of course, it's also possible that I was distracted by the fact that breathing at 5700' above sea level was a little tough!

I would still buy the socks in a size L rather than XL, but I would now recommend the Wright Socks: Running II as a good choice.

Run well, y'all,
Bob