On July 26th I will start my adventure to Kenya. Specifically I will travel to Iten, a small village located in the Rift Valley, considered the mecca and cradle of athletics worldwide. A trip that will last just over a month, in which I will try to soak up all the African and Kenyan athletic culture, absorb all the energy of the sunsets of the Rift Valley and seek motivation to face the next athletics season with maximum aspirations.
On July 26, 19 long hours of flights, transfers and customs crossings in different countries await me. First I will fly from Madrid to Casablanca, where I will have a stopover before flying to Kenya. In Casablanca, another plane, this time of longer duration and distance, will take me to the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. There, I will spend a few hours waiting for the last plane, or light aircraft, I am not sure, which will take me to the city of Eldoret, very close to the final destination, Iten. Once through customs at Eldoret airport, the idea is to take a "matatu", that is,a van that acts as a bus, to Iten, "home of champions".
Iten is considered the cradle of athletics worldwide, since a high percentage of elite athletes live there, and those who are not good enough to make a professional living from athletics, have a level infinitely superior to any champion of any country in Europe. Athletes like Wilson Kipsang, Eliud Kipchoge, Lorence Kiplagat, Abel Kirui? reside and train in this area of Kenya, so it will be a challenge to train and learn from them.
The village is located in the Rift Valley at 2500m altitude, so the training will be very demanding, but at the same time beneficial for my body.
When training in hypoxia, or with an oxygen deficit in the environment, your body creates more red blood cells in the blood to carry the 02, so the hematocrit increases.
A long period of training between 2400 and 2600m of altitude, will mean an improvement of the base endurance, an improvement of the recovery capacity and a greater tolerance to fatigue.
However, it is necessary to go little by little with the workouts so that they are not counterproductive. The first week will be very quiet, as a kind of acclimatization to the environment and surroundings, since the training sessions, due to the altitude itself, will be hard.
I will stay at the High Altitude Training Centre, located in the town of Iten. It is aresort with all the comforts of a high performance center, which normally hosts European athletics teams that travel to this region of Kenya for training. The center has a swimming pool, gym, spa, dining room...and, most importantly, a tartan track, the only tartan track in the area. However, for series days, I am obliged to go to "Kamariny Stadium" an ash track located a few hundred meters from the resort, a mecca of world athletics.
In Kamariny Stadium hundreds of athletes gather daily to do their series, and I will tell you when I return, but I'm sure it will be a brutal experience to do series in a group of 50-60 Africans rolling easy and me being one of the few "muzungus" (white man) throwing up to the guts of the effort!
The nature of the training in Kenya will depend on the end of this season. If I manage to qualify for the Spanish 5000m libre championship to be held on June 22-23, my stay in Kenya will be more recreational, with travel, very light training, regenerative, swimming pool, trekking ... that is, a mini pre-season.
If, on the other hand, I do not qualify for this championship, I will also do a pre-season but more oriented to athletics, running and enjoying the red African soil.
In addition to the specific training during my stay, I also plan to travel and visit places, always on day trips. I plan to visit Lake Nakuru and Bogoria, Kessup and Torok waterfalls, Rimoi National Park and some trekking that I have to arrange in the area...
Personally I have been thinking about a trip of these characteristics for a long time, and finally it seems that it is going to become a reality. Right now I am already with the issue of vaccinations, insurance, visas... but the trip must be enjoyed in its entirety, and I'm already enjoying it. I know for sure that Iten and Africa will give me the strength, energy and motivation to achieve all my goals. I will be telling you how the trip preparations are going and some project I have to distribute school supplies in the area in the next post.
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