7 mi. I knew I’d made plans for meeting Lani S. for her first bridge run, so having everything laid out and ready ahead of time was important the night before. I set the alarm, but no response from the radio at 4:15 or whenever it was supposed to fire off. I snapped out of bed at 4:49am on some internal body clock alert, sent a quick text to Lani and zipped out the door. Damn, late to the bridge? This NEVER happens!
I arrived and caught Paul for his second parking lot lap. I told him the gal he recommended speaking with me about ultra running was coming, he said he had met up with her again Saturday at Tri Running Sports. Once he peeled off to hit the bathroom, I ran another warmup lap with Lilia, recanting Kristy’s neat party only a day before. Adrienne, Kylan, Lanae and Sharon showed up and began their bridge laps. I waited in the parking lot, checked my phone to see it was 5:23, and figured maybe something had come up, Lani may not be coming today. I went out to the street, watched a few cars pass thinking they may be her, and began to run. Near the end of Lap 1, here comes Lani bounding up the bridge at a good pace. We ran 5 of these together, talking all about ultra races, local people, training we saw ahead for TNF Atlanta, etc. Lani says she feels she has known me for awhile, I am comfortable hearing this and agreeing. I believe we have more in common than the surface will show. I’m not shy in these waters, I share all and listen to all, learning with each foot strike up and down the bridge. This is good! We ran two slow shuffle speed cool down laps and I wisely brought a nice protein drink to have on the way home. It was humid and still outside today. I snapped a picture of the well-lit bridge and the moon full above it. Good run and conversation, I’m ready for a Tuesday at the office.
drun4fun 