Tanzania Tuesday #21 : Mimi mbio leo! (I ran today!)

A few words, in English and Swahili, about running...

Today's post was going to be about basic greetings in Swahili... but on this momentous day... well... I decided to change topics.

And by "momentous day", of course I mean ... it's the day I decided to start running again!

Since hurting my hip -- too many lunges? Too many squats? Over enthusiastic participation in boot camp??? -- I haven't been able to run. I DNSed one half marathon that I had targeted as a chance to run a new PR. I decided against chasing new states at 4 other races. (Can you IMAGINE???) And I haven't run a step. Not even to catch a bus.

Sure, I've gotten around. There have been stairway walks, Welsh wanders, and Yorkshire rambles (more on those later). But other than the exercises and stretches assigned by my beloved physical therapist, Emily, there's not a lot of movement going on. But thanks to the PT hours ... and, probably, the cortisone shot in my left hip ... I've been feeling a little better. Weaker, sure, but in less pain. And I have been feeling antsy.

Today's weather here in Seattle was glorious -- 68 degrees, bright blue sky, sunny. And I had been inside all morning ... and, well, awake since half past three ... so I decided that today was the day.

I'm a huge fan of the National Health Service's Couch to 5K podcasts -- "Laura" plays upbeat music, offers tips on running and recovery, and tells you when to warm up, run, walk, and cool down (though she says "warm down" which always makes me giggle). Given that I have been hurt and semi-sedentary, they seemed like a good place to restart my running.

Today I ran the first run of the series ... 5 minute warm-up; then 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of recovery, eight times; and then 5 minutes of "warm down". A grand total of 8 minutes of running ... but 8 minutes more than I have run in more than 3 months. And over the course of the 33 minutes, I slowly traveled 2.36 miles. Better than nothing.

Some relevant vocabulary:

Mimi mbio leo. = I ran today.
mbio = ran
kuendesha or mbio = run or running
kilomita = kilometers
maili = miles
kitanda = couch
Mimi mbio zaidi ya maili mbili leo! = I ran more than two miles today!
kitanda kwa 5K = couch to 5K (ha!)

P.S.: If you'd rather learn "election-related" terms in Swahili, the awesome and clever folks at SwahiliPod101 put one together. Learn how to talk politics in Swahili at SwahiliPod.com. Remember, Kila kura ni muhimu! (Every vote counts!)