Tinker, Tailor, Runner, Chai
Friday in Iten
It’s Friday, so the plan was of course, “pole pole” (pollay polly) easy but with a tinkering of the pace with a little bit of progressive running thrown in. It was another beautiful morning with a dusty pink hue to the sky and a full moon, that seemed to be coated in the red dust that hangs in the air in Iten.
We started slow and Tony ran alongside, choosing another easy run for his second day. After a kilometre, Emanuel subtly picked up the pace. I realised I was feeling better than the last few days, running a little faster than comfortable. We settled into a silent, steady pace.
I had no idea what the plan was but just kept with Emmanuel. It turned out it was just 5K slightly faster, then 5K easy — overall easy and comfortable. On Monday we’ll do the second half faster. Are the hills getting easier? I think so, but I still feel like a pensioner as I clamber up the stony trails and speedy Kenyans glide past.
Breakfast of pancakes, bananas, endless teas, fruit and a boiled egg is a delight. I love breakfast, and like to spend time pouring tea, eating pancakes, chatting — I’m in the right place. There’s also fresh mango juice, watermelon and pineapple — and endless cups of sweet Kenyan Chai Tea. Tony packed a small ‘cafetiere’ and Kenyan coffee (from Tesco), so I have my caffeine fix at breakfast too.
Swiss Side, where we’re staying, is buzzing now with the Swiss group, a mixture of abilities from super-fast to recreational, in amongst the olympian marathoners and world-class orienteers from the Czech Republic and Italy
After breakfast, I settled into my outdoor office space and cracked on with work and was happy to get back into my digital nomade routine, Tony went to town in search of the local barber, the one who cuts Mzungo’s hair. When he returned, freshly sheared, it was time for a coffee break and when I arrived at the Iten Club, having had a few days off from my work routine, my lovely friends asked, ‘Where have you been'?
Refreshed with coffee we headed back and I got on with some more work, happy to have a productive afternoon, including a Zoom meeting with my former employees at Flo Health to discuss possible ways we can share content and education around women’s health with young women at local schools.
When work was finished, we met Camila from Sweden and Mama Go Go (Grace) at the garage where we hopped on the local taxi motorbikes and weaved through the traffic into town, past overflowing markets and shops I hadn’t seen before.
Camilla, Markus and the three children are heading to Nairobi tomorrow and then they return to Sweden after another two-month stay with Mamma Go Go. The non-stop couple were busy all day, packing and delivering 300 books to the school where their children go and where they have helped fundraise for a whole new block, but Camilla still made time to show me the tailors and go for a soda at the viewpoint.
My visit to the tailors is to get an outfit made for my son’s wedding, which happens when I return from Kenya. It was closed but Camilla got details of where I can get material in Eldoret – I will return!
Can’t wait to see the outfit !