Four Miles and a New Friend

I know that all of you have been anxiously awaiting an update on Saturday's 4-miler. Well, the wait is over.

MK and I arrived at the lake around 7:15 and had a great run. The weather was great, the lake was kind of busy, and MK and I had a lot of gossip to catch up on...so there were numerous distractions to take my mind off of the monotony that can be running. We even made a new friend! Granted, we don't know her name and will never see her again, but friends we are, nonetheless.

Here's the scoop. About a mile into the run, I spied a woman in the distance who appeared to be of approximately the same skill and experience as myself (i.e., little to none). She was outfitted in pink cotton gym shorts and a t-shirt likely purchased on vacation to Orlando or New Orleans. I believe there was also a sweatband involved. I say all of this not to make fun of her, but to say that I am familiar with the outfit...because, change the color and the destination, and that is exactly what I wore when I first started running.

Much to my dismay, the distance between our future friend (who was ahead of us) and the MK/Tim dynamic duo was growing. I have never claimed to be a fast runner, but I thought I could at least spot the weakest gazelle. However, soon thereafter, pink-shorts gave up on the running and started to walk it out. Long story short we caught up with her and struck up a conversation, wherein we learned Pinky was returning to running after a break and was having a bit of a time getting her grove back. We talked for a few minutes as the three of us ran together about running programs for beginners and what a difference the Luke's Locker program made in our lives. It still gets me excited to tell people about the program and to assure them that if I can do it...ANYONE can do it.

For most people this would have been a passing exchange, soon forgotten. But for me, it's these type of conversations that I know I will be thinking about at mile 21, when it feels like I am about to collapse. I'm not out to prove anything to anyone but myself, and neither is Pinky, but still, I feel like we're in it together.

Timmy

Days Left 181