Flying because we can

We changed things up a bit and ran 10 miles on Saturday instead of our usual Sunday. That is always challenging for me because I drive back from Savannah on Friday and most times do not get good sleep. But I wanted to do it and so we did. It was cold. Not Colorado, upstate New York, mountains of North Carolina cold, but cold for I live miles from the ocean and average temperature of 57 degrees cold. It hovered around the low 30s. In my mind that is cold.

Rafael Fabricio

It seemed that it had been a long time since we ran that route, our normal route. Last week we ran on Folly Beach and it was cold then as well. The week before we tested out the midnight run route. And I do not remember running long the weeks before that. It had been awhile.

We chatted for a while and then we got quiet. We could hear and see each other's breaths as we rounded the sidewalk to the battery and met the howling wind. Okay, not really howling but whipping. My nose began to run. At some point someone said something and we chatted again. Then more silence. I think none of us wanted to be the first one to whine. We don't like whiners. We don't like ourselves when we do it so we generally don't except when it is ridculously something (hot, cold, tired, achy). We whined last week.

We kept in step. One of mentioned that there was so much traffic out at 4am. Some drivers were not kind enough to share the road. They had to see us. My jacket was one big reflective banner and Wendy wore a lighted vest. They had to see us. But my father told me that he who has the biggest bumper wins. We were no match for cars. So we angrily yielded the road.

It seems to stay dark for a very long time. We did not even see our cars before we reached the corner. That is a bit disheartening. Seeing our cars means we are done which is why I have meltdowns when I have to run past mine.

Our watches beeped within seconds of each other signalling that we were done. And just like that 10 miles were in the history books. We hugged each other and vowed to meet again next week. Why? Because we can.