After my first hike on Kiima Kiu in preparation for the #MtKenyaChallenge2017 I realized I was a mess. Let me take you back a bit, I don’t know if I mentioned this, but the real motivation behind hiking was, because, iwastiredoffatshaming, “you have grown so big”, “you should be having a family at this size” gosh is this you Kel?” “Naona maisha inakupeleka poa”… Something had to give and it had to be the fat. What I needed now was to do something I had never done before to shed weight like I had never shed before. It had become apparent what I used to do before was not taking me anywhere especially since I did not want to divorce some simple pleasures of my life like my daily dose of chapatti… So I join the weight watchers club with my main activity being hiking at least once a month.
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
On top of nearing 90 kilos here I was not able to maneuver a small hill without panting like a donkey. I had got fed up of the mandatory wardrobe changes every four months. As we were coming back to Nairobi Yvonne mentioned Karura, I had heard about it but never had it occurred to me I should try it, so this time I jumped in on the idea. It was quite some distance from where I live but they say nothing easy comes easy right? Saturday and Sunday mornings would find me there either cycling or running my ass the longest track I could find. The bicycles provided me with the flexibility to change my route and take as many detours as opposed to running, you feel like you will drop dead when you thought you had finished your circuit only to realize you are on the Limuru gate and you need to get out of Kiambu road one, that is a cool 8km.
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
The magic started happening and I would take to my instagram page to brag about it. I am proud to say from nearing nineties at the beginning of the year, I managed to hit the seventies in three months and still get my chapos, I know I know had I dumped gluten I would have lost even more, but for now, I will have my cake and eat it. Each weekend the circuit felt easier and easier, I would push so hard that my knees would start squirming. In my mind this was only a sign I was getting ready for #MtKenyaChallenge2017 but only time would tell. At that point and time I needed to start working on a better method of running and landing to avoid more injury…
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
Mackel9's Blog 