Born to Run: Training for a Half Marathon in the Peace Corps

My first run in my training cycle!

I love to run. For me, it is a means of meditation, prayer and self-care. I am pretty sure one of my very first posts from while I was still in the USA was about running! I ran my first half-marathon while finishing my masters (really poor timing- I do not recommend that), but I caught the "bug" per say. The ability to finish a race that is 13.1miles (21.5 km) reminds me of how strong I am and it reminds me that my body does not equal my self-worth. I am not the type of person to be a size 4; I never have been. Running makes me feel loved, spiritually connected and confident.

My goal was to run this race last year, but my health got in the way of training (more about this below). This year, I have been determined; although nearly derailed by health issues again. It is fun for me to see how far I can go on my small island.

Running: I am very lucky that I live on the main island of Fiji. Many volunteers do not have regular roads, but only dirt or gravel roads; some do not have roads at all if they live on the outer islands! Still, most of the roads are not the best quality and it can be tricky to run long distances. Not only do I have only 1 of 2 options (left or right) turning out of my village, but I have to consider the traffic and quality of the road. For me, this means every long run, I go to the left of my village because the other side is very curvy and can make it difficult for drivers to see runners on the sudden curves of the road.

The biggest thing is being flexible. I do not always get to run, nor is it possible; like when I went to visit a fellow PCV on one of the outer islands... she had no roads! Sometimes, I use 2 back to back exercise videos; but again, I am lucky because I am on the mainland. From my understanding, those PCVs on outer islands must find ways to work out that do not include electricity. While I cannot imagine running 10 miles just through laps at my school, people have done it. As a PCV, you must get creative if you are determined! Wherever you live, as a female, be prepared to bring your sulu (sarong) and tie it to a tree it on the side of the road once you get out of your village. And yes, my sulu has been stolen before (I'm rolling my eyes here because I found it later that night with one of my youth).

Cross Training: I am very blessed to live by the ocean, but I am lately too busy to go for a swim and there is the safety issue of going by myself. If I take the children, then I end up playing and not getting the best workout... It is not very good to swim alone because you can get caught in a riptide and nobody would ever know! Some sites have approval to use bikes; I do not because I live on the main highway and Fiji drivers are not known for their concern for pedestrians. I use a lot of work out videos, go for long walks, yoga and do body weight exercises. Some of the PCVs get really creative filling soda bottles with wet sand and using them for weights.

Fueling: Thankfully PC gives us a neverending supply of gatorade! It is not my favorite and when they run out you get stuck with the oral-rehydration salts (yuck), but it works. Again, if you are not near enough to a town or do not have a refridgerator, this can get tricky with finding foods that you can eat. After Cyclone Winston, the bananas all disappeared for 9-12 months! Now, I typically use whole wheat bread and jam sandwhiches, but there are a variety of fruits or local foods you could use. I really want to try sugar cane sometime!

Clothing: Be prepared to do a LOT of laundry by hand. Although honestly, after 2 years in Fiji wearing my same workout clothes does not bother me. I just hang them on the line to let the sweat dry after I use them. Dryfit is super important! Bring bodyglide if you plan to long run, but they do sell vaseline here for pretty cheap. My recommendation is to bring your own sturdy running shoes. Someone recommended trail shoes, honestly that wouldn't go amiss. I would not plan to buy shoes here because quality is hit or miss and $100 is 1/5 of your budget. Personally, I have not seen cheap running shoes for less than $150 in Suva.

You can find training clothing here for pretty cheap at the second hand shops, but if you are picky this is something you may want to bring extra of. All the girls typically wear leggings under our sulus (sarongs) and traditional wear. You can never have too much dry fit clothing or leggings. Again, you can buy clothes here, but you'll need professional outfits, too. I do not see locals wearing dryfit shirts to professional events as professional clothing; although you can get some things to work as dual purpose. Do not plan to work out in tshirts and shorts- you will get soaked!

Distance: This is a funny phenomenon I have noticed since I started training. Because of road conditions and curvy, single lanes, busses go a lot slower than they would in the states. It takes forever to get anywhere! What I feel like is really far, is actually only 1 or 2 miles! It is the downside to living on an island. I would imagine this would get worse if you were living on an outer island. It is pretty cool to take pictures of how far I've run and the villagers enjoy hearing about my runs now.

This is about 5 miles out from my village!

Health: Fiji is very humid and that means that everything grows really well, including bacteria and viruses. This seems to vary from volunteer to volunteer, but the majority of us seem to be sick constantly in some way or another. Last year, I was too sick too often to continue training. Training long distance already has a negative impact on your immune system because you are pushing your body to the limit... Being in a foreign country with germs you are not used to makes it much worse. I am thankful I planned to start early enough because I lost a month due to bronchitis, a few weeks due to trips and another couple weeks due to stomach bugs. At anytime you can accidentally ingest unfiltered water, eat under-cooked food, be sneezed on by children, given kisses from children or eat improperly prepared food; it is part of being a volunteer. It takes a lot of dedication and discipline.

Empowerment: By choosing to train long distances, I become a role model for positive, healthy behaviors for both my students and my village. It is fun to see students that are surprised to see me on my long runs. "Madam, did you run all this way?!" A lot of times the youth or children will join me on my shorter training runs. If I can show young girls to love their bodies and know how strong they are, then it is all worth it! Until I started this journey, some of my students and villagers thought it was physically impossible for a woman to run this far.

When you are supposed to go for a 4 mile run, but they want to join you... I am totally alright with shortening my runs so other people can join because strong girls become even stronger women.

Overall, it is not impossible, but it is much more difficult than training in the USA. I run the same path every time (although this is great for mental endurance) and when you're busy, it is not an option to skip working out. Weather, health concerns, and safety issues (example, I always have $2 in my sandwich bag in case I get hurt and cannot walk home) can make running longer distances difficult, but not impossible. I constantly have to stop and talk to people when I am running because Fijian hospitality is amazing; Bula all the time! If I can train for a half-marathon, while I am in the Peace Corps, then I know that I can do this anywhere. I am strong enough. The miles are in the bank.

I'll update this post with my final time and pictures in 2 weeks when I run the Suva Island Chill Half-Marathon!

Look out for the next post on Take Back The Night(r)!