I started out slowly, quickly dropping toward the back of the back. When we got to the water stop a mere mile into the run, there were other people behind, but I kept going and many of them turned around at that point, so I was quickly at the end of our line of runners, I mean the very last person.
That’s ok. It’s meditation for me. Good exercise too, of course, but most of the time I’m entirely inside myself, so it’s not about the people ahead or the people behind. I’m fine finishing a workout dead-last. Which I did. Well, not quite. People continued to string in for a very long time, but these were runners returning from 20 and 22 mile runs, so… you know. Once upon a time, that was me. Not any more.
I sat for a moment in the shade under the Hackberry trees, stretching my back muscles and letting the mercifully cool breeze blow across my sweaty face. I took off my shoes and joined the others walking in a circle doing our foot strength drills (toes pointing in, toes pointing out, feet rolled in, feet rolled out, walk on your heels, walk on your toes).
“There’s some grapes,” someone said as I was just about done.
I walked around to the front, to that shady spot, and there was indeed a plate of grapes — frozen red grapes that were so cold the humidity was condensing on them as ice.
I took three and put them into my mouth one at a time, biting and chewing on each, relishing the coolness and the sweetness.
I have never experienced anything so wonderful in my entire life.