This morning was unintentionally awesome. I decided to go on one of my increasingly rare "runs" (i.e. glorified walks) to a park I had passed by about a week before. Turns out there's a trail that runs behind it and keeps going and going out into the countryside where it forks out into several other trails. No roads, barely any houses, horses and donkeys, no people. Back home I would have to drive an hour for trails like this, here, it's a ten-minute walk away. How have I lived here for two months without finding this??
On my way back I was running behind this middle-aged man, and as I was passing him he said something to me. I took out my earbud, "what was that?"
I thought he asked me if we could run together until the end of the trail, which seemed a little strange, but I said why not, we were almost there anyways. Then he sped up, so I sped up to keep up with him, then he sped up again, so I sped up, etc., until we were full-on sprinting. Looking back on it I think he was asking me to race. (And I realize how creepy this sounds, but trust me, it was fine).
"Ah, ca fait du bien"
Turns out he had been a serious runner in his youth and he ran those trails all the time, usually at a leisurely pace but every once in a while he liked to push it. He explained more or less how the trails are laid out, gave me the name of some local running club, and then we parted ways. Thanks, kind stranger.
I really wish I had brought my camera, it was really gorgeous.
I've been feeling sort of crummy this last week, and this was just what I needed, a hit of endorphins and a forest.
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