Day 4,431—a Little More and a Little Hotter—

 

Start time: 9:35 a.m.

Weather: High 70s, wind 6.0 mi/h, Humidity 77%

I have completed 40 miles this week, which isn’t bad for the week after competing in a 100-mile race. I try to always be understanding of my distances after a race like this, but at the same time, doing at least 8-10 miles on the weekend after a race feels like a must to get back in the swing of things. I am not recovered yet, but I am getting there, and my ability to notice the new pain I had been dealing with had dampened since the start of the week, when it felt sharp and fresh.

     I went into Webster today doing almost the opposite of the run I did yesterday. Today I went into Webster, first checking out the Art Fair that was this weekend. Memories of an art fair many years ago, when I first started becoming friends with Craig, came flooding back. Craig was in my first fiction writing class at Webster, and we ran into each other at a signing at Vintage Vinyl. He was living close to the university at the time, and I remember a dog went missing, so we all went out to look for it. I remember thinking that the arts fair had been going on so close to me for such a long time, and yet I had never gone there before. The only festivals like this my family and I ever went to was the Green Tree Festival, which we would go to in the fall.

     Not many people were out  this morning. I saw plenty of people over in the grass at Eden’s seminary, but not many people were outside for the festival. I went by Roger’s produce and took a picture. I saw a lot of people out getting their produce, and I was hypnotized by the flowers' scents. It wasn’t long until I made it to Kirkwood and decided not to go into the Quick Trip there. I was determined to run all the way to the Quick Trip by my house and get a Slurpee there. The only downside was not knowing if the fountain drink area would be finished yet. Last week, they shut it down for remodeling, and I had no idea how long the process would take.

     I was miserable as I approached the Quick Trip next to my house. I had barely made it to 13 miles when I was walking through the front door, only to see that the fountain drink section was still shut down! I could just give up and go home, but I wanted a Slurpee, and 7/11 was only a quarter of a mile down the road. I knew I was going to be miserable adding the distance, but I went ahead anyway, running as much as I could all the way to the 7/11 and greedily getting an extra-large Slurpee. I couldn’t decide on a flavor, so I mixed three together. I started to get in line when I overheard a woman in front of me vehemently saying something to the long-haired cashier who was sporting a mustache and curly hair.

      “The automatic off switch didn’t go off when I was pumping gas, and a tank and a half more gas went everywhere! I need you to write something on the receipt saying that this happened. I am just worried my car has been ruined because the tank was overfilled!”

    The guy seemed willing to write on the receipt an acknowledgment that this happened. The guy in front of me tried to tell her that overfilling wouldn’t hurt her car, but she was worked up and needed someone to put the tragedy that occurred in writing and acknowledge it. If I were younger, I would have told her while suppressing a smile that she had nothing to worry about, but I stayed out of it, and I was surprised that the cashier didn’t charge me for my Slurpee. He just waved me through, smiling as if we were all in on an inside joke that was truly hysterical. As I drank in the sweetness of the Slurpee, my eyes were stinging from my sweat. It reminded me of being ten, going to the 7/11 off Rockhill after Judo Practice with the salt from my sweat stinging my eyes as I walked into the gas station while still wearing my Judo Gi. I have long since identified these moments as some of my happiest. 

The write-up will finish in the next couple of days! I am done with almost half of the write-up and have started working on the video! It looks like it should be a good one! I cannot wait to share it with everyone.