I woke up early this morning to run before the heat of the day, which is supposed to end up in the upper 90s. It didn't feel horrible when I started but I think it grew more humid as the run went on. I ran 7 miles, with walks every half-mile for the last two. Not my worst run, and not my best.
As I was coming back around the lake at Bonnie Wenk Park, I saw a guy in front of me walking. I passed him and then slowed to walk for a minute. He passed me, and then when I started up again I passed him. The trail took me to the right and he took the shortcut across the grass, where I passed him once more. The same thing happened with the next shortcut, and as I passed him for the fourth time I said, "Didn't I just pass your twin brother?" He laughed and said yes, and we exchanged a few more lines before he started running again. We ran together for about five minutes and I discovered he's been an inconsistent runner and is using an app to help him stay focused. He wants to run a half in the fall but doesn't have one picked out yet. He asked me some questions about my training and I tried to encourage him to keep it up. When we parted he asked my name and I found out his is Raj. That's one of the great parts about running that I don't experience that often - connecting, even briefly, with other people doing the same thing and working through some of the same experiences.
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