Week 6 was my big week, training wise. Time to see how far I had come in my Kenyan sojourn. I had a big tempo run scheduled – a half marathon tempo run, at altitude. It wasn’t going to be easy. A TV crew from Singapore had also flown in to film a documentary of my training in Kenya, making the big week even bigger. But it also inspired me to bring out my best.

Day 1

AM: 1.6 miles warmup, , 10 miles brisk with Bulgarian friend Milica (64:30),  1.7 miles cooldown

PM: 4 miles recovery (40min in the forest) + core

Day 2

AM: 3 miles warmup, 600m x 4 (300m jog recovery), 200m x 8 (200m jog recovery), 3 miles cooldown

PM: 6 miles recovery

*These kilometer repeats, done at 7800ft altitude and on a dirt track that runs a little long, makes each kilometer feel about 5-7 seconds harder than it would feel at sea level. Easily one of the best workouts I’ve ever done.

PM: 6 miles recovery

Day 3

AM: 11 miles easy + 4 x strides

PM: 5.15 miles recovery + core

Day 4

AM: 3 miles warmup, half marathon (13.1 miles tempo), 3 miles cooldown

Half Marathon Splits: 5:45, 5:38, 5:46, 5:40, 5:31, 5:24, 5:25, 5:31, 5:27, 5:34, 5:33, 5:32, 5:33, 32sec (0.1 miles). Total time 72:52

PM: -

Day 5

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: 5 miles recovery + core

Day 6

21.6 miles long run (2hr 30min)

Day 7

REST

Week total: 105.5 miles

I was incredibly happy with my half marathon tempo – relaxed and able to talk in full sentences all the way. At over 7500ft altitude. The Kenyan spirit had began to rub off on me – the belief that anything is possible with time and hard work. And it started to show in my training. I woke up every day hungry for another day of work, another day to push my body to my ultimate goal of being the best runner I can be.

With just 2 weeks left to go to the World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, Wales, I was happy with where my fitness was at, and was looking at giving it a good go in the Welsh capital. After training in Kenya, I wasn’t just happy to be at World Half, I wanted to go there and beat as many people as possible, however fast they might be.

When you train on the same track as Asbel Kiprop, when you run the same dirt roads as Thomas Longosiwa, when you eat at the same restaurant as Eliud Kipchoge, you start to believe.

-Rui