It is a cold, dreary, windy and very rainy day so I figured it would be a good day to catch Catherine at her home away from home in Norristown, PA. She arrived in the US last Friday after an exhausting week. Having just arrived home in Kenya on Tuesday the 23rd after the Lisbon Half Marathon, she had to turn around on Thursday and head to Philadelphia four days earlier than expected due to the impending British Airways strike. She arrived exhausted on Friday so I didn't want to call her then. I was away for the weekend and knew she would be busy catching up on chiropractor and massage appointments! So as I sat at my desk staring at the pouring rain, I decided to welcome her back. The first time I called, she was speaking to her friend Helen so I waited a few hours to call back. I gave them plenty of time because I know how the two of them can chat away especially without the time difference and being that Helen is in Maryland, they can now talk for free! When I called back she recognized the caller ID and picked up the phone with "Hello Stef".
It was fun catching up and we talked about everything it seemed today! We talked about how quickly our kids are growing up; her daughter, Jane, will turn 13 in a few weeks while my oldest will graduate college just four days after that! Catherine recalled seeing photos of my children on Lisa's refrigerator when she first came to the United States in 1995. That was before she had Jane and my kids were only 4 & 7. We were just two mothers chatting about how time flies and how when we are young we only want to be older, and when we get older, we don't want to get any older! We talked about the rainy weather and how it prevented her from training today. She said she was bored and wished she could go to the mall. She invited me over for mokimo (you may recall seeing the photos from the last time she invited me back in November before Yokohama) and I was seriously thinking of blowing off the rest of the day and taking her to the mall, finding a WiFi spot and working from there. I was even willing to brave the weather and was excited because she promised to show me how to make the mokimo. Then it dawned on me. Sure, I could blow off work. I could go out in the rain. I could even find a WiFi spot and work remotely. But, my bubble burst when I remembered, oh yeah, I woke up with a sore throat and nasty cold and there was no way I was going to put myself anywhere near Catherine and risk her getting a cold! So, here I am back at work and she is still at home not wanting to swim her training today!
It was fun catching up and we talked about everything it seemed today! We talked about how quickly our kids are growing up; her daughter, Jane, will turn 13 in a few weeks while my oldest will graduate college just four days after that! Catherine recalled seeing photos of my children on Lisa's refrigerator when she first came to the United States in 1995. That was before she had Jane and my kids were only 4 & 7. We were just two mothers chatting about how time flies and how when we are young we only want to be older, and when we get older, we don't want to get any older! We talked about the rainy weather and how it prevented her from training today. She said she was bored and wished she could go to the mall. She invited me over for mokimo (you may recall seeing the photos from the last time she invited me back in November before Yokohama) and I was seriously thinking of blowing off the rest of the day and taking her to the mall, finding a WiFi spot and working from there. I was even willing to brave the weather and was excited because she promised to show me how to make the mokimo. Then it dawned on me. Sure, I could blow off work. I could go out in the rain. I could even find a WiFi spot and work remotely. But, my bubble burst when I remembered, oh yeah, I woke up with a sore throat and nasty cold and there was no way I was going to put myself anywhere near Catherine and risk her getting a cold! So, here I am back at work and she is still at home not wanting to swim her training today!
We talked about her race this weekend at the Crescent City Classic 10k in New Orleans and she said it had been 13 years since she has run there. She came to the US to train for the first time in 1995! It sounds like such a long time ago yet seems like just yesterday!
We talked about Boston and I was disappointed to learn that she will return home to Kenya after the marathon but she will be the maid of honor at her friend Jane Murage's wedding on April 24th so must get back. Jane even changed her wedding date in order to allow Catherine to be in the wedding because her original date conflicted with the Boston Marathon! You may recall Jane from the fundraising trailer; she also trains under Lisa Buster. She has been directly influenced and inspired by Catherine so it was very important to her that Catherine be at the wedding.
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