impromptu

Today I told myself I wouldn’t go for a run. But then the sun came out. My homework was arduous. I put on my 2140’s anyway and ran out the door. I headed out on the Burke Gilman toward Fremont, enjoying a leisurely pace and the ample people-watching opportunities. As I was crossing the Fremont bridge, about to make my loop around Lake Union, a mid-30’s man said to me, “I guess I just should have followed you! You know where you are going!” He had passed me earlier, then I had passed him, and he was re-passing me…presumably because he didn’t know where he was going. I directed him down to the path, but we had fallen in stride despite the fact that his pace was quite a bit faster than mine. We started talking about running, and upcoming races, and our favorite routes in Seattle. I mentioned the Mt. Si relay (which is tomorrow!), and he is training for the Eugene half-marathon. I found out that he’s an attorney in Belltown, so I asked him, “How did you figure out that you wanted to be an attorney?” He replied with, “I didn’t.” He explained that he had no clue what he wanted to do with life post-graduation, so he took the LSAT on a whim, since many of his friends were taking it. ‘Phew’, I thought, ‘even if I don’t know what I want to do with my life now, something will work out!’ Toward the end of the conversation, he thanked me for the chat. He said, "I usually get bored about 30 minutes into a run and want to be sipping coffee and reading the paper instead." He turned off around Valley St., and I continued along the Lake Union loop, returning to my original pace.
I smiled broadly as I ate my chocolate GU. People can be so nice! Or maybe, runners can be so nice…? He was just a random guy out for a run, and I was just another random runner to chat with. It was pleasant surprise.

-Camper