Day 84

Yesterday I put in my longest run of the year- 10.34 miles. We started at 6am and the moon loomed overhead like an enormous tangerine. It was light orange and absolutely beautiful. We still needed lights to see the road where we ran. I can feel the difference of running on concrete/asphault compared to running at the indoor track. My legs hurt more because there's much less give in the road. It also takes more of a toll on the shoes. I started using this pair of shoes when I started the quest for 1000. I have 227.39 miles on this pair now- I'll probably replace them before I hit 500. Maybe 400, if I continue running on concrete in the dark.

I ran with Farmer Andy. We did a 4-mile loop together and then two 3-mile "catch me if you can" loops. Andy had to stop by his house and advised me that he would try to catch me if I just kept running. I turned on my red flashing light so he would be able to see where I was and try to catch me. He was wearing a headlamp so I should have been able to see him coming. Andy's a faster runner than I am so I figured he would overtake me after a couple miles. But I never even saw him. We ran at about a 9:30 pace and when we were done he told me he was about a half a mile behind me the entire time. I think we're both just getting back to running longer distances and we both wanted to play it safe with this run.

I like running with Andy. He knows and thinks about things that surprise me and keep me on my toes. I hope when it gets warmer and lighter in the mornings we can get more people to join us for our Sunday morning runs. Last year there were times when we had between 5-7 runners on Andy's farm at one time. I think fondly about those memories. I grew close to those people. I have learned that I grow close to the people I run with. Some of those people quit running. Some of those people just quit. It's been a bummer, but I have hope that some of them will return. I have hope. No matter what life has to say about all this- marriages can crumble, faith can be tried and tested, and relationships can sour-  we can still have solidarity in running. Running is safe. Running is non-threatening. Running is a context for us to experience community. No matter how fast or slow, how perfect or treacherous the conditions- community still occurs. It's irrepressible, like an onslaught of waves from the ocean. It simply cannot be held back.

My plan is to keep running and see what happens.