running friends

mileage today: 10

on the iPod: "stronger" -- kanye west

The marathon is exactly three weeks from today. I don't know how I expected to feel at this point, but I can say that things have never been better in terms of running. I wake up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about the marathon. I think about it while driving. Eating. At my desk. In the shower. Sitting in church. It has my full and absolute focus.

Running solo this morning impressed upon me just exactly how much I enjoy my running mates, Kim Murie and Sarah Pugh. Even though I understand running as a very singular, introspective sport, I do my best when surrounded by other passionate, even crazed, runners. You've got to be completely dedicated to go 26 miles, if not a little bit crazed. My running friends are both amazingly cool people and i'm the luckiest guy on the planet to call them friends.

I met Mrs. Murie my second year of teaching after she came back from a year-long sabbatical, she had been traveling around the country with her husband in an RV. Yep, that's right, they both walked away from their jobs for an entire year and hit the road. How cool is that? Way cool.

Mrs. Murie taught at BHS as well, and the entire year that she was gone I heard her name from colleagues that would always say two things: A) she's a really cool person, and B) that the two of us would get along. They were right. On both counts.

So Mrs. Murie gets back and we carpool together each morning. I quickly figure out that she's going to be an instant new, and great, friend. Mrs. Murie has run about a million marathons and she was training for the Memphis marathon when we met. She told great stories about her runs and training experiences that I loved to hear. It never once crossed my mind that i'd have those same stories to tell or write about.

I had been running for about 10 years at this point, but never long distances. Our school sponsored a 5K in January and gave it the appropriate moniker "Freezin For A Reason", because proceeds went to support the school district. Mrs. Murie suggested we might run it together and I agreed. The morning of the race came around and holy sh*t was it cold! The temp was in the low thirties with tiny flakes falling. I remember that run like it was yesterday. Mrs. Murie's pace left me winded and begging for mercy after the first half-mile. She schooled me.

This is what I love about Mrs. Murie: she's a cute little hippie girl, she's grounded in spirituality and faith, she always says "yes", she doesn't use curse words, she likes the Indigo Girls as much as I do, she wears Chacos, she will usually suggest we stop at Kennedy Coffee Company, her energy seems to be boundless. And she is one of the best educators i've ever known.

I met Mrs. Pugh about three years ago when I first started teaching. I was the new dude down the hall and she was the really smart, high-end, seasoned AP Euro teacher. She scared the hell out of me immediately. Always dressed well and wearing high heels, Mrs. Pugh was that teacher who all the students hoped to have. We slowly got to know each other during that first semester, but our friendship didn't really develop until my second and third year at BHS.

Fast forward to last year when, out of the blue, Mrs. Pugh tells me she's running the Tulsa half-marathon. WTH? What the heck? I have no idea that Mrs. Pugh even runs. The Tulsa half goes really well and she tells me she wants to run the Little Rock Half Marathon in March 2010. And then she asks me if I want to do it with her. I think about it for approximately 11 seconds and say yes. Of course.

The rest is history. Well, there's a bit more to it than that. We ran the LR half and loved it. Signed up at the last minute for the Bentonville half the next weekend. I loved it, she kinda got sick. Did the Hogeye half about a month later and she completely whipped me, finishing at least two minutes ahead. But suffice it to say that one of the best friendships i've ever known has grown out of running with Mrs. Pugh. And i'd never be training for the Chicago Marathon if it weren't for her.

This is what I love about Mrs Pugh: she's a total hot mess, she's drives a disgustingly huge SUV, she watches Glee, she's deeply passionate about the content she teaches, she dresses really well, she talked me into buying expensive jeans, she eats Chick-Fil-A. And she is also one of the best educators I've ever known. Hands down.

If I ever find myself teaching students at the level of Mrs. Murie and Mrs. Pugh, i'll be pleased.

The three of us have been a super awesome running pack for almost all of 2010. We've spent countless early mornings pounding the pavement with training runs. We've toed the line and waited for the gun to go off, adrenaline pumping and nerves flying. We've registered late and finished quick. We've given up and we've kept going. We've laughed and we've cursed.

As I write and think back about where we've been and look forward to where we're going, I do so with a huge grin on my face. Running brought the three of us together, but harmony and accord have pushed us to new distances. I can't wait to cross the finish line with these two amazing people. And hopefully I'll keep lacing up, with my friends doing the same.