Running in the Desert

The one and only package that has been seriously delayed was a package my mom sent with my tennis shoes.  It took this package 5 months to arrive in Aroab and thank goodness it finally did! 

Originally I thought I might be in a very conservative place and wouldn’t be allowed to wear anything that came above the knee… boy was I wrong!  Anyways, for that reason I decided to bring hiking boots instead of tennis shoes and that I would just work out in my room doing yoga.  My mind was quickly changed when I arrived at training to find that the majority of my fellow PCVs ran and that there is an annual marathon in Swakopmund.  Many people expressed their interest in participating in the marathon, so I figured, why not do it also.

 

So after my shoes finally arrived, 6 months before the marathon, I started running.  It was very difficult for me to get into a consistent routine.  I blamed my lack of motivation a lot on the winter weather.  It was a factor since I am now a complete wuss for cold weather (it starts to get cold end of April – in my opinion).  The winter months are freezing and a concrete house with tile floors and no heat does not encourage one to get out from under their covers in the morning.  Not being able to run after work was also annoying.  With the time change, I could only run for 30 minutes max before it would be too dark.  Excuses aside I was able to train and ended up really enjoying running.

I stuck to the same road because I didn’t want to run in the village where people could see me.  I was a complete newbie and couldn’t run 5 minutes without walking!  Plus there are only four routes if you don’t run in the village.  To get me started my friend, Sachi, who was a runner in college, wrote out a training plan for me.  She started me with a mix of running and walking until I could run without needing to walk.  I couldn’t run fast (and still can’t), but I found that I could run distances.  Another reason I stick to the same route, even today, is because I can measure my distance.  When my dad visited we took the rental car out and made markers with stones 3Km, 5Km, and 10Km out from the village.

Running in a desert environment can be boring for some, but I have grown to love it.  It’s peaceful and you get a beautiful sample of Namibia’s vast landscape.  I stay on the main road to avoid snakes and don’t have to worry about baboons or elephants chasing me.  While training for the marathon, Saturday’s were my long run days and I loved them.  One particular Saturday I heard something that sounded like the sea.  When I found that it was coming from the wind rustling the small leaves in the trees by the bridge 1Km outside of the village I decided to lay down on the side of the road and listen for a bit.  On occasion a bakkie heading to or from a farm will pass me, but thankfully that day there were no bakkies.  They probably would have thought I was crazy, but I wouldn’t have cared because I miss the sound of the sea so much.  That was also when I saw my first owl.  It was either an African Barred Owlet or a Pearl-spotted Owlet and I was very surprised to see it out in the late morning.  Since then I have seen owls more often, but not at all during these summer months.  They show up sometimes in the trees at the school.  The kids always find them and point them out.  While I love the landscape and owls my most favorite thing to see when I run (and my most favorite thing about living here) is watching the sun rise or set.  Before the sun comes into view over the horizon or just after it goes below it there is a line of pink that separates the night sky with the day sky.  I am fascinated by it.  I’ll leave you with a photo that somewhat captures the beauty of it, but of course doesn’t do it justice.

In addition to the beautiful sky you can see our water tower and primary school.