Day Three

Normally our long run is on Saturday, but the weather is milder today and it is actually cooler. I decide I should probably take advantage of this. Keep in mind that cooler is still damn hot but I take what I can get. I am worried that I may not be able to run the entire 50 minutes I believe it should take me to run about 4 miles. I am still determined to do it, but I want to make sure I pay attention to the signals my body is sending me and if I start to overheat, I need to back down, walk or stop. I have my water bottle with grape Propel to help me through.

Godfrey is my escort again. I enjoy running with him because I can wear my IPod and he doesn’t talk to me. I feel rude, but at the same time grateful. I am motivated by my music and the fact that I am training in Africa because I am trying to raise money for and awareness of Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Running through town is painful. I have to keep telling myself to ignore them. They have no idea why I am doing this and I don’t think they would understand anyway. It still bothers me that I am ridiculed as being the fat white girl trying to run and not running very fast. Again, I am not trying to win the marathon; I want to finish.

We had taken this particular route earlier in the day when we went to visit the Wajinja stone - a stone that is known for its spiritual powers. Many Uganda make a pilgrimage to this stone for rituals. It is quite a cool stone and a serene environment. I would love to just hang out there by myself with a picnic basket full of wine and cheese thinking about the world and my place in it.

I had forgotten that there was a mammoth hill on this route. Either that, or I didn’t expect to reach it. Sure enough. It is at the end of my 26 minutes out, but I still have about 2 minutes to get up the beast. It is a struggle. I am sweating and panting - quite tired. I drink my water and try to control my breathing.

Then we can turn around. Going downhill is much, much better. Until a giant truck full of people drives by. They stop and yell to me and to Godfrey. I don’t know what they are saying, but it doesn’t sound nice. In fact, I am scared just a bit. The truck must have 20 people in it and I am alone with a man I could probably take if I had to. I didn’t feel safe.

Turns out they were essentially saying “run faster fat white person.” I asked Godfrey when we returned. He said that they had never seen a white person as big as me trying to run. I asked if my big he meant tall and he said no. It is getting a bit more than frustrating. I have to remind myself yet again why I am doing this and then remember that this is a completely different culture and that this is acceptable here no matter how insulting and demoralizing it would be in the U.S.

I also have to remind myself that I have another week of running in Africa and then I can return to my streets in my hometown where people aren’t going to harass me and I won’t have to run on such extreme conditions.

The truck rumbles past us after I tell Godfrey that I don’t like the truck and that it makes me nervous. He must have told them to move on because they did. Or they had their fill of mocking me.

Back in town, I am starting to feel angry and good, if that makes sense. I am almost at the end of the run. I am still doing fine. I want to pass out and die, but that’s how I usually feel, so I take that as a good sign since I didn’t want to do it sooner. The trust is in town with the same people, it seems, and they turn around. I want to scream something at them, but don’t.

I want to save my energy because I do not want Godfrey to mock me in town as he did the other day. I find a good, upbeat song on my IPod and pick up my pace. It damn near kills me, but I am determined to get through town going at a reasonable pace that should shut everyone up. And I like the challenge.

Of course, once I get out of town, I have to slow to a crawl for the last stretch. And then I am finished. I have run about 4 miles in the heat of Africa and I still feel pretty damn good. I am quite proud of myself. Go me! Perhaps I can do this after all.