When I came home and moved into my parent's apartment as a homeless, jobless, broke twenty-nine year old I kept running.
5:05 a.m. every day since.
The day after a race is no different. Soon I’ll need to turn this morning-after recovery routine into long-run training distances to help prepare me for the Deca but today it will be a light jog. I stretch on the floor of my apartment as I eat a homemade energy bar with almond butter, dates, hemp seeds, oats, almonds, and egg whites. I slip on my bio tracking watch and lace my sneakers.
Today is an easy six miles. Pre-dawn light filters across the city streets. As I come up from the tunnel under Lake Shore Drive to join the running path, I can envision how the sun will glisten across the water by the time I’m looping back to finish this run.
I start my run heading north and catch sight of blonde hair swishing left to right with each stride the incredibly fit girl takes.
What are the chances it’s the girl from the race?
Laney Matteson has been on my mind since she crashed into my life. Quite literally.
Before I drove home from Madison last night, I looked up her race results.
Classification: F30-34
She’s at least nine years younger than me.
Division Rank: 7
A top ten division finish after the chaotic start she had, impressive.
Gender Rank: 18
Not bad.
Overall Rank: 83
Again, a top 100 finish is worth celebrating.
Designation: Finisher
Her age gave me a moment’s pause.
There’s no denying how attractive I found her when I first laid eyes on her.
But now knowing she’s probably a decade younger than me?
It feels inappropriate for me to be attracted to her.
But the moral dilemma I struggled with in my waking moments, didn’t stop me from dreaming about her last night.
It would definitely be inappropriate for me to pursue her.
So why are you chasing after a woman you hope is her now?
Just look, don’t touch.
The notion is a special kind of pain all its own.
But pain is my friend. If I’m feeling pain, I’m working hard.
And Laney was working hard.
Her total time was good for 70.3 miles, a half TitaniumPerson distance. Her first transition took her ten minutes. T2 was fourteen. Way too long if she wants to be competitive in this sport.
My guess is Laney needs discipline, if her chaotic crash into the bikes before her race started is any indication.
