Before she reports to the boardroom for all-day meetings at Athi Water Works Development Agency, where she is the Acting Deputy Director of Bulk Water Operations, Eng. Caroline Owako, as a rule of thumb, must first hold the most important meeting of the day — the meeting with herself. Some might call it exercising or sticking to a fitness routine, but the civil engineer, now in her early forties, calls it showing up for herself. “You can’t outsource self-care. You live in your body. It’s your first home. If it breaks, where will you live?”
She has done this all her life, first as routine out of leading an active childhood and young adulthood, then as a deliberate choice informed by physiological changes happening in her life. “I have always been active. I used to play tennis in my school years, and I ran half marathons at some point in my life as well.” These precursors paved the way for her highly active life in her thirties. But it is the entry into the forties and the onset of the perimenopausal era that really gave her training and fitness regime a purpose and meaning. While her younger self trained with more focus on aerobics, she now focuses on strength training three times a week and aerobics twice a week.
"Perimenopause is here with us. I'm in my early forties, and it's something you can't run away from. You have to prepare for it. If you want to live a healthy, vibrant life full of strength and vitality, you must be disciplined and consistent, especially with your diet and exercise. In this season, strength training is key. It helps you manage hormonal changes, avoid mood swings, and stay grounded. It's all about risk assessment and mitigation. You know it’s coming, so you prepare early instead of sitting and feeling sorry for yourself. At this age, I’ve had to adapt—change my workouts, change how I eat. I focus on white meat, lots of fruits and vegetables, and I stay away from sugar and junk. I also practice intermittent fasting because the body doesn’t need all that food anymore. I want to be strong and versatile, not moody and sluggish. I’ve seen many women go through this without preparation and suffer for it. This is not something to fear, it’s something to manage with knowledge and action.”
On her desk sits a large bottle of water, just a hands' reach from a bubbling water dispenser. They aren’t mere decoration or placeholders; hydration is also central to her diet. And the proof is her clear, youthful skin that makes you think she’s aging backwards. Fitness has kept her as straight as a ramrod. “Most people don’t believe I have children, let alone grown ones (12, 15, and 19-year-olds). Others say I can’t be a day over 30. Some even wonder about my skin care routine, I take it all in knowing where the grind is.”
Eng. Owako avers that these perimenopausal changes can interfere with women’s work. “Sadly, the world does not stop for you because of the changes your body experiences. You are expected to perform the same way as anybody else. Your mood changes and crankiness are not metrics in your KPIs. As women, learning early about this is key in trying to strike a balance between work, family responsibilities and life. I have found my way out or around perimenopause by being focused on my fitness and health.”
Even though she proudly owns its gains and is eternally grateful for the transformation and risk mitigation it represents, fitness is not just about the individual Eng. Owako, it waltzes past her speedily and has had impeccable effects on the person she is as a leader.
"As a leader, you have to lead from the front. Our role is to inspire and motivate, but you can't give what you don't have. You have to fill your cup before you fill others.
When I wake up early and work out, I’m preparing myself not just physically but mentally and emotionally for the day ahead. By the time I get to work, I'm already energised, inspired, and flowing with good energy—and energy is contagious. I've seen colleagues collapse under pressure, literally. We live such busy lives, and if you don’t invest in self-care, the body will eventually give in. Exercise is my way of blowing off steam.
Sometimes you have heavy family issues, work assignments are lagging, and everything feels overbearing. But when you go to work out, it's a safe space. You show up for yourself. It’s physical therapy, emotional therapy, and it keeps me grounded and focused. Without proper rest and fitness, you can’t cope with the pressures of this world. We live in a very volatile and demanding environment, and you need to be balanced to withstand it all."
If rest is the gospel, she is its foremost episcopal bishop. Her lights are out at exactly 9pm on weekdays. This helps her in planning out the rest of her life’s important matters and attending to them. Her days, when they align with her plans, are divided into three equal parts. "I believe there’s a reason God gave us 24 hours in a day. All of us have the same amount of time; it’s how we use it that makes the difference. For me, I divide my day into three equal parts: eight hours for sleep, because without proper rest, you're not energised or restored; eight hours for focused, dedicated work; and the remaining eight hours for other activities like spending time with family, pursuing hobbies, and doing things that nourish the soul. That’s how I maintain balance in my life."
Sitting in a corner office means she travels a lot. Does this derail her? "Travelling can really mess things up, but I always find a way to stay on track. If the hotel has a gym, I hit the gym first thing in the morning. If it doesn’t, I go to the running tracks. The first thing I do when I travel is check for those two things, either a gym or a safe place to run. I was in Cape Town a month ago, every morning, I’d wake up with my colleagues and we’d do five to seven kilometres before starting the day."
And speaking of running, she has reduced it considerably for her other regimens that are focused on age and season. "I love running. I've always loved running. But I’ve slowed down in my forties because of my joints. I still run, though, about 15 kilometres. I don’t do the 21 or 42 like before. I enjoy running with my friends. I’m in a running group, and I really enjoy the outdoors with them." She is also part of a hiking group that has, like Moses of biblical times, led her to the peak of Mount Sinai. “We usually hike at least once a month. The last hike I did was Mount Kenya. It was no mean feat. It wasn’t even about the physical; it was more mental. Hiking is the mind.
I’ve also hiked Mt. Sinai, and my next target is Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hiking is part of my fitness journey, and it’s both for wellness and pleasure."
She lives by a common but quite personal philosophy. "I believe my health is my wealth. Even scripture says it's better to be a poor man who is healthy than a rich man who is sick. You can never enjoy life if you're not healthy, no matter how much money or wealth you have. We live in our own bodies; you don’t live outside of it. If your body is healthy, your life is happy. That’s why I say health is everything—it’s the true wealth.”
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