Images from the weekend



Sunset over the River Nile

 I participated in my second Source of the Nile Marathon this weekend (don't be fooled by the name-it is a half marathon). Even though I was fitter this time round, I think it was harder as I knew what to expect after last year's race...it is a long and lonely run.

There were 6 of us in our wee group of friends doing the half marathon and one friend doing the 10km. Very few people go out to cheer the runners on (and most just laugh at the female mzungus running), so our support team, Andy the Great (the newly renamed!) and Gabe, were so amazing - driving to different spots on route and handing out bananas and energy drinks (well Gabe just smiled and waved, but that was a boost in itself!). The energy boosters were so important as you only get offered glucose powder (white, chalky dry mouth...no thanks!) on this run.

Although it is a quiet race - maybe 70 or so runners (??) doing the half- I had a few different buddies along the way to keep me company as the kilometers passed. Including a grandmother from Spain who has run the Lewa and Nairobi marathon (and many others) and some guys from the hash. But I can't say it was fun. It was hot, tough and long. The reward was beating my record (by 4 minutes....but it still counts!) and the post run bubbles!

My running buddy Tim was busy interviewing runners and taking photos along the route (whilst running!) - when it is ready I will send the link!

To help my NYC training I am looking for a half marathon in July in Scotland and one in September/October in Kenya. Anyone know of any?

Images from the weekend

I was up at 6.30 am to make the pasta salad and pack the ice-box. Then an early run before the fun of a mini road-trip to celebrate Stacy's birthday. Heaven!

Not a bad view! We arrived just in time for beer o'clock and lunch before the very serious (!) scrabble play
-off!

Other highlights; reading every word in the imported Telegraph newspaper, sundowners by the Nile, dancing under the stars, playing with Kelly's very cute puppies, nutella and pancakes for breakfast, quiet time in the sun and singing in the car.

On the down side, I was so sore from yoga that I hardly moved and walked around like an old woman! So no fishing, like my last visit , but lots of fun with friends. Light and love.

Snapshots from the weekend

A weekend in Jinja - a bit of fishing, reading, relaxing and indulging. We spotted a shoebill on the way to the heavenly Haven...lucky us!

We arrived just in time for beer-o'clock!

Fun and games is hard work...so...



A pretty spot to catch some sun

 

Sundowners whilst fishing



Moving to the dining room for breakfast seemed like
hard work...so we stayed at our cabin



Bujagali falls

Having a wonder round sleepy Jinja town

So hard to leave the weekend behind!

 Hope everyone is having a loving day, especially my brother, who is 30 today! Happy Birthday Stuart!!

Jogging in Jinja

Race day arrived. My first half-marathon, after weeks of training ...maybe as many as five(!)..I could finally put into action what I had trained for, read about and chatted about.

After all my nervous energy in the weeks before-hand, I was surprisingly settled; I possibly secretly hoped that the torrential downpours would cancel the run! Nevertheless, getting ready in the dark and rain in a tent for the half marathon didn't put us of. The rain eventually died down and the weather was kind to us.

We knew that the Source of the Nile Marathon would not be in the same league as some of the 'big races'; Boston, Chicago, New York, Paris...but there were lots of things in common with our race, I'm sure!

A starting line - We had one of these..and we even had a compere at the microphone... after all the runners sang the Ugandan National Anthem he went on to give us some relaxation tips and techniques.. "Breathe in..aannndd breathe out, Breathe in...and breathe out" -most useful advice!!

Timing chips and bibs - Yes, we had these too. We still do not know if they worked and there was a mix up with some numbers so my friend is know Iqbal!

Marshals - Again, we had a few of these,strategically placed on the long straight roads, funnily enough none were at the roundabouts!! I hope they did end-up catching the runner that jumped on the boda!

Spectators- Lots in Jinja town cheering on the elite 10km athletes, but for the lonely long distance runners they were few and far between! I did my best at encouraging them to clap and cheer for us but most of the locals looked at the two white females in bewilderment. Some did cheer, mostly in the form of, " Muzungus, you are too slow!" and other similar words of encouragement!

Medals- Sadly none of these-but I will remember my first half-marathon nonetheless.

Scenic route - We did have a great route (for the most part) and my buddy and I could forget the pain in our knees for a few seconds at a time when we admired the views of the Nile.

We chatted and ran the whole way, negative thoughts were not shared and quickly pushed out of our mind, but oh how the knees ached at the end! We were very pleased with our 2 hour 28minute finish time and even more pleased when we opened the champagne at the end!

My thoughts as I crossed the finish line..."a full marathon...not very likely!!!"

My RW magazine arrived in the mail today and I am now hunting around for my next half! But, for now my training is over, I now have to find other things to write about on my blog.
This week I am off on a long weekend camping, in search of adventures in Africa. Let's hope there are many!