Writer on the Run III

I met my old friend from work that I used to run regularly with, we lived in the same neighborhood and he agreed to be my training partner.  This man has competed in and finished more races than anyone else I know...probably more than every other runner I know combined. 

We met at the traffic circle between our houses so we could run for the first time together since before I had my daughter.  We're starting off with a quick five kilometers just so he could assess where I was in my training...trust me he was not about to be blown away.  I forgot how much he liked to talk while running, meanwhile I can barely breath or even catch a breath.  I was starting to feel a touch worried.  I had hoped to do the marathon in four and a half hours...well until I learned that he had never finished one that fast. I know he started his running later in life so the three hour or four hour marathons were likely not in his future but here I was doing the same thing so I think I may need to reach out and touch reality.

We arrived back at the traffic circle almost thirty minutes later doing my best to keep composed and not throw up in the bushes.  We decided to meet three times a week to train together and slowly the anxiety of not feeling prepared dissipated.  I walked down the street and around the corner...where I layed on a neighbors lawn for a few minutes waiting for my legs to stop shaking...the treadmill is nothing like running on concrete...