On Tuesday I woke up absolutely exhausted (probably from lying awake in a pool of my own sweat half the night) and in no mood to run the 3.5 miles my training schedule perfunctorily suggested. I headed into the day knowing that I'd have to run at night, and that it would be so much worse. I'd be more tired after a long day at work, it would be hotter at the end of the day than in the morning, etc.
After we both got home from work, D asked if I'd like to lift weights with him. I informed him, with much sighing and overdramatization, that I had to run but could do it in the workout room on the treadmill. We headed downstairs and buzzed ourselves in, only to discover that Eastern European B.O. guy was already down there "lifting weights." As I have been working out in this weight room for almost a year, I'm pretty familiar with the regulars. Eastern European B.O. guy is not a regular, he's a new addition. He's, you guessed it, an extremely stout and sturdily built Eastern European man with absolutely overwhelming body odor. He likes to sit on the weight machines and sweat (there's no air conditioner in the weight room and it's a rather confined space) and occasionally half-heartedly paw at some of the machinery. I get that he's trying, and more power to him, but for the love of God someone should introduce him to deodorant.
So once D realized that Eastern European B.O. guy was monopolizing the weights with his bulk and body odor, he suggested we run outside together. I love running with D because he always breaks up the monotony and makes me laugh, whether it's by doing a goofy dance or galloping alongside me at an awkward angle so that he can share my silly running pop music. It was surprisingly cool and windy out, and the temperature was downright bearable. We were trotting along next to each other, in tandem but not talking, when it started to sprinkle. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I smiled, raised my fist, and said "Onward!" Then it started to sprinkle harder and soon it was flat-out raining. D handed me his shirt to wrap my iPod in and we continued towards the dock. There was almost no one else out on the path and the rain actually made things quite lovely. There we were, running along, looking out over the water at the wavy blue skyline in the distance and letting the rain pour over us and wash our sweat away.
"I could get used to this," I thought. This running thing, this city, this man. This is something I could get used to.
