Running with the Crocodile

On my way home from Ngong town on Tuesday evening, nearly everyone in my path said hello... this is very unusual. People don't usually greet me unless I greet them. I wasn't much in the mood to chat, so most of these greetings I barely acknowledged... but then a woman asked me if I lived around... I explained that I did. Then I ran into a man who was obviously a runner. He wanted to know if I was married in Kenya (I was carrying shopping bags), I said no, that I worked here. I mentioned that I liked to run too and before I knew it we were making plans to run the next evening. His name he said was Crocodile. Well his nickname. This is the first message I received about my first "training session": "My pace to you would be 1 km at 5 or 6 minutes per km and we will cover only 6 km for today. So, prepare yourself and then call me."

Hehehehehe! I wrote him back and said that was a bit fast for me! We met at my gate and headed out at 5 p.m. We ran through a field that is supposedly government property. We ran on paths for about 45 minutes. When we were almost done, I asked sheepishly what my speed was... about 10 minutes per km - we went almost 4 km, Crocodile said. And then he said, "It's your first day. You did good." We got back close to the main road and Crocodile led me in stretches. All I could think is - This is SO cool. I just hope I can keep up with this guy.

I felt pretty good and all things considered not even very sore. So we made a plan to meet the next morning at 6 a.m. - it doesn't get light until around 6:30 - not sure what I was thinking agreeing to meet at 6. He said today we would walk. Ahhh, walking I thought, I walk with my mom all the time... this will be cake... he had said we would only do 2 km.

At 6 a.m. he was at my gate. I could make out the road and shapes of rocks but seeing them clearly was impossible... we started out toward the hills and then Crocodile said, "Today we walk the climbing circuit." About 5 km into the walk my thighs were burning and I asked sheepishly again... "how long is this circuit?" "Oh about 7 km," Crocodile said. When we got home, he said, "so what time do I pick you this evening"... "oh, no" I said... "I only want to train once a day!!!"

It's mid-afternoon and my legs are killing me... granted I didn't stretch after we walked this morning, but I plan to have a long stretching session at home this evening!

Now let me tell you about Crocodile... he's about my height, but has the build of about a 13 year old. He's SO thin! And he tells me he is not in marathon shape yet that he will be even thinner when he is ready to run. The best thing about Crocodile is that he is 40 years old and still racing! Gives me hope that I can whip this nearly 40-year-old body into shape.

We had a good talk on the downward slope of this mornings walk. Crocodile is married and has 5 children all in primary school. His wife has a small business. He said Kenyan runners come from very poor families and they run not for the love of the sport but to support their families. "Why would a rich person run," he said. "They have everything they could want. Why would they waste their time with all this practice."

At one point Crocodile asked me if I was a Christian. "Yes," I said. "Good," he said. "I'm Catholic," Crocodile said. "I'm Presbyterian," I said. "One God," Crocodile said. "One God," I said. It seems we are truly on the same team now.