Be My (Running) Person

It's early winter, I think December, 2015. I'm driving down one of our no-shoulder back roads, the kind that only those desperate to get out and run will run on. It's a road that I've run down many times in the almost 6 years of living here. I live in a small rural community with mostly back roads void of sidewalks. The main road that runs through here carries an array of tractor trailers to and from our "Industrial Park / Corporate Park" areas yet has zero sidewalks even there.  

I'm driving down this road and I see a woman up ahead ticking off the steps. I was desperate to stop and say hi. I was just starting to pick my miles up again from marathon training and recovering from an injury.  I couldn't help but day dream about how nice it would be to have a running partner for some of the cold dark runs that our Northeast winters require we endure.  It was so hard not to bring the car to a screeching halt next to her but what if she carries pepper spray?? I didn't want her to think I was some insane person so I kept dreaming, longing to say hi as I watched her in the rearview mirror. 

Over the next few months I saw her a few times but was never brave enough to stop and take the risk that she'll assume I'm stopping to accost her.  

Then that day happened. I was coming up my hill. I live on a great hill to run on (it can kill your legs!) and there I see her! I stopped to check my mail, took my sweet time getting out of the car, casually walked up to the mailbox and spent way too much time looking over the two pieces of mail I got. Finally she was close enough I could say "Hi!" My car declares I'm a runner with all the magnets I have on the back (you betcha I'm one of THOSE runners!!). We spent a few minutes chatting, found out we live exactly one mile from each other and exchanged numbers. 

I'm one of those obsessive people so I made sure I didn't smother her with running text immediately.  But we started to get to know each other, talk about running and our lives but didn't go for a run together.  Then I was getting ready to run one night and she came down the same road and it gave us a chance to run together. I enjoyed chatting and running with her. 

One day I posted on Facebook looking for others to run a relay race with me. I had a friend from my Sub30 Running Club respond and say she wanted to come up and run it with me. Then I got a text from her that she was interested.  I was so excited she joined us. That was the beginning of what has become a beautiful friendship! 

We've had many runs together since then. Some great, some really sucky. I love to run hills but she makes it a daily part of her running. She helps make me a better runner by making me run the hills, meeting me on days when I'd stay home without her, and motivating (and sometimes downright nagging) me to get off my rear and run! We don't always run together but I enjoy the runs we do have. I look forward to many more this year. 

~

Here are some pics from our last run. Dick's Sporting Goods is building this monstrosity near us. It used to be such a pretty view of a big field of wild flowers. Not anymore.....

It was a warm but extremely windy day

More Pix...

Cold, dark run - 2016

relay marathon 2016

relay marathon 2016

relay marathon 2016

relay marathon 2016

local 10k ~ 2017

Indulging after a Saturday morning run ~ 2017

Thanks for being my running person!!!