Running 26 miles = not good for ones body :)

I ran the MTN Kampala Marathon on 22 November 2009. It is actually an Olympic qualifying race in East Africa which basically means that there were some really awesome athletes there. There were 10s of thousands of people; it was a mad house.

First, I arrived late to the race which is quite ironic because I am not the one this is supposed to be working on “African Time”. From living in South Africa and Uganda, I have become accustomed to what people call “African Time” which is a lot more lax than any other time system I know of. Nearly everything starts late and people use terms such as Now (which can be anything between 30 minutes and 2 hours), Just Now (which is basically whenever I feel like it), and Now Now (which means in the next like 15 minutes) to tell you when they will arrive for a meeting or something. Also, if someone here says they will come at 2 pm then you can expect them to get there about 3/3:30 but don’t be surprised if they don’t show up until 5 pm. So, me, the one who gets frustrated with African Time at times was actually working on African Time the one time things start EARLY! I was shocked. So I get to the race and realize that my race has already started, so I run to the starting line (as if running 26 miles was not enough, I added a few yards onto it). So, I had to play catch up.

Near the beginning, a big group of very fit men and women wizzed past me, and I realized that I had started so late, that the half marathoners (which were supposed to start 15 minutes after the marathon started) were passing me.

I ran really well for about the first 20 miles and then I realized “I am running but could speed walk just as fast”, so I did (seriously, it was like my legs were made of concrete and I was barely moving them one in front of the other). I admit, from about the 20 mile mark, I walked, sped walked, and ran on and off, but I did run the last half mile into the finish line cause I of course could not be seen walking to the finish line.

So, in short, I need to train harder next time (if there is a next time). And it really took quite a toll on my body. About 1 hour after finishing the race I was eating everything in sight and my body ached for the next 3 days and I still have bruises on my toes :)