It's been an inconsistent and disappointing year for me as a runner in a lot of ways. In early January, I set a specific mileage goal that a myriad of ailments and injuries - including a bout w/Covid-19 in late January/early February - that quickly became unattainable. I also set a goal of running long more often. That didn't happen either.
I've still run, of course, just not as much as I had planned. I'm not sure how I would survive if I didn't run to be honest. It's how I see myself and it's such an important part of who I am as a person. I've had pockets of consistent running this year and a some good, memorable runs, for which I'm grateful. Yesterday, in fact, was one of those kind of runs.
Friday night, I suggested to JP that we get up, early, and go for a run on the trails at Shelby Bottoms. He agreed and I went to bed after a long and emotionally taxing week at work with that plan in mind. As happens sometimes, though, I woke up a little after 7 a.m. Saturday morning, tired, and thought, maybe I'll sleep in after all. As I lay in bed, however, I heard JP bumping around upstairs, so I knew he was up, and ready to go.
Sure enough, I got up, put on my running gear, and when I walked into the living room, there he was, waiting, like a running specter, though not an unpleasant or scary one. Just expectant, waiting, motivating me to get up and get moving. We talked quietly, stretched, filled a couple of Yeti cups w/ice water, and off we went to Shelby Bottoms.
When we arrived at the tennis courts at the entrance to Shelby Park - converted before our eyes to pickle balls courts, which is another story entirely - and got out of my truck. It was a beautiful end of summer/beginning of all morning with the temperature in the low '60's, perfect for running. Perfect for running long, actually.
Musically, I put on the Drive-By Truckers, one of my favorite bands now and from way back, and off we went down the wooded trail that leads to the paved trail around the lake in Shelby Park. Almost immediately, JP said "whoa!" I looked up and saw a large, white tailed deer on the trail 25 yards ahead of us, bounding away into the woods. Trail running, right?
As we approached the railroad bridge and the first trailhead at Shelby Bottoms that would take us off the greenway, we encountered the back end of a 5k race to raise money for sickle cell anemia. I would love to see JP race a 5k but that's for another day. It was good to see so many people out early, running and walking, particularly people of color.
We stayed on the grass trail and off the greenway for the vast majority of the run, which is my preference when I run at Shelby Bottoms. I love the change of pace of trail running and I think JP does, too. At Shelby Bottoms, I love the solitude of running on the grass trail, with all the switch backs I've learned over. years of running there, rarely seeing another person on the trail.
I was disappointed to see that Friends of Shelby Park never cleaned up the Cornelia Fort Trail after the tornado a couple of years ago. It is or, I guess, was, a lovely .8 mile trail through the woods connecting two parts of the grass trail. It's where I kicked a root covered with leaves during a run several years ago and broke my left big toe. It's also where I saw an enormous brown owl sitting in a tree, also several years ago. It's long been my favorite part of running in Shelby Bottoms and I hate that the trail is gone.
We saw a few hikers and, maybe, one or two other runners during our run, but that was it. JP and I didn't talk much at all during our run. Instead, we ran together, lost in our own thoughts and, I think, being present in the moment, which is hard to do but really, really important. Being present in the moment.
I feel a closeness to JP when we run together. It's maybe when I feel the closest to him as I think about it now. This is especially true when we run together at Shelby Bottoms because it's a magical place to me and I've run long there countless times over the past 25 years. If anything ever happened to me and my boys wanted to find my spirt, they should run the trails at Shelby Bottoms because that's quite likely where I will be or where my essence will be, anyway.
In the end, JP and I ran seven miles, which counts for a long run for me these days. We ran the trails at a quicker pace than I normally would run them. That generally happens when I run with JP. He inspires me to run faster and work harder, which is kind of an amazing thing.
I drove him home, dropped him off, then went to grab coffee at Bongo Java, of all places. On the very rare occasion I stop in Bongo Java, it's like getting into a time machine and going back in time 11 or 12 years, because JP and I, and later, Joe, spent so much time there in the early days.
Joe asked again, yesterday, when he can run with JP and me. He wants it and is asking about running, just like JP did at first. I took Joe to Team Nashville a couple of weeks ago and had my friends, Terry Coker, fit him for his first pair of running shoes. Soon, very soon, I'll finish a run on my own, then take Joe for a mile run at his pace.
And so it begins again.
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