The place was empty. Most of the runners had long since finished their runs. Only a few people were hanging around.
It had been a wonderful day for a run. The route was a long gradual climb on the way out, which of course meant a long gradual descent on the way back. It’s always nice to have the hard part behind you on a long run and even nicer to have a cool breeze in your face.
I had done six miles which is substantially less than what the real runners were running that day, but it was enough for me, and I was pooped. So I grabbed a mat, found a place on the floor (in truth there was plenty of space to be had) and began to stretch.
Across the room, the Fair and Industrious Trudy was talking to a woman from her running group. Trudy has the misfortune to be the wife of slow-man-running, so she was lingering waiting for me, killing time by chatting with Elizabeth.
After a while, Elizabeth got up to leave. She gathered her stuff and began to walk out. And as she left, she turned looked in my direction. She held a hand up in the air.
“Go team us!” Elizabeth said.
I smiled and waved and said, “Yeah!”