Warning: THIS POST IS CUT AND PASTED FROM MY ACTUAL JOURNAL, if you choose to read this blog you will be in the head of a REFLECTIVE runner, read at your own risk.
Sept. 29th, 2012.
"I've had lots of running buddies over the years: in elementary school it was my dad. He pushed me to run my first 5k (36mins), after college it was Stephanie and Leigh training for triathlons together. Then there was my summer while in grad school in Juneau, there was 71 year old self proclaimed "old geezer" Glenn who used to run in the 60s in jeans and flannel shirts. Glenn calls me Emalie and has always reminded my a lot of my own Grandfather. One day, as he was jumping of the summit of a mnt. to slide down the snow on his rear, he told me if I wanted to run with the geezers I had to be half mountain goat (and I guess I am cuz I kept on running with those old geezers for 6 beautiful weeks). Also in Juneau I ran with my first celebratity runner, Geoff Roes record holder of the biggest 100 mile mnt. race in the world and acknowledged as the ultramarathoner of the year, this guy was all over the running magazines.
However over time 3 specific people, due to the shear miles we've run together stand out. The 1st was in college, Jennings Berry. Jennings was wild and fun and had a similar running style to my own, we didn't run to win, we ran because we loved it. He and I trained for our first marathons together. The first one because it had been a dream of my to complete one, the second because he didn't like that I had taken him down! Jennings and I didn't really know what we were doing, or how to train so I printed off an intermediate runner training schedule from runner's world on-line. I followed it by the books, terrified of the marathon, Jennings frolicked, running in and out my training regimes.
Then there was Emily. Our friendship, like Jennings, was founded on running. In fact my first words to her were "are you a runner?" And runner she was, she had run for Gonzaga 4 years in college, and on our first run together we ran a 2500 ft. in elevation mnt. I always felt strong running the trails with Emily, the rhythm of our running always seemed in sink as we laughed about whatever strange occurance had happened that day. People knew us around town as the Emilys and always asked us who was faster. Honestly neither of us I think really knew, oldly as much as we ran, we only ever raced together twice, each of us taking 1 victory. Emily and I lived and ran together 3 years and when we weren't running we talking about it and planning our next trail combination. We wore the same shoes in the same size and had the same running heart.
Lately my running buddy has been Aaron. I don't know if he really ran before me, but I am so thankful he runs now. He runs and trains very different than both Jennings and Em, he loves speed work and mnt sprinting. He likes to run fast and far. He loves to talk and he chats and tells stories throughout each run as I try to keep up beside him. I always feel like I am slowing him down when we run, but he never seems to get frustrated. He just says "I'm going to sprint ahead for awhile" and proceeds to run circles around me. The competitive spirit in me used to HATE this behavior, thankful I've since gotten over it. This summer we had the opportunity to run across the country together. We ran in: Oregon, Michigan, Wisconson, Indiana, Virgina, NC, and SC and Aaron always used the runs as an opportunity to explore."
2 comments:
This made me smile... But I hope it doesn't say anything about our friendship in that I am SO not a runner! Perhaps because my first running experience was in your dust when we were six as your dad walked beside me while I threw up :) And yet, it is a fond memory!
WAHOOOO....I made the list! Hopefully some day soon we'll be able to run together again...until then, don't run too fast with Aaron, because I'll never be able to keep up with you again.
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