we trained together for a year

to be ready

for a long

3-day event

for charity

and

we thought

it would

also

 make us healthier

in the process.

***

except that

we weren’t

the most natural

or best

walkers/runners

but we pushed on

and for

many, many days

we walked

through town

or

in the countryside

or

on the road

or

inside the mall

with

the hardcore seniors

during blizzards

or

anywhere we could find

an open space.

***

then one day

upon arriving at a park

for another training day

we saw a race beginning

and

on a whim

we decided

to start late

and  join in

at the back

just for practice

and

we somehow

started moving up

in spite of ourselves

slowly but surely

until we were

near

the front of the pack

and suddenly

out of the blue

i got crazily competitive

not my usual mindset

at all

and i yelled out

‘i can take them!’

as i raced past

the front two people.

****

okay,

so

they happened to be

a very elderly man

and

a person with a noticeable limp

and

i

won the race

and

got a gold medal and a massage and a granola bar

and

i felt like

forrest gump

just dropping

into

the middle

of something

and

somehow

winning

by accident

and

it was

that moment of

crazy heart

that

made me unstoppable

and i’m sorry to have run past you –

people who thought you were going to win

and were in the front

and i know

you were old and infirm

but at last

i had found my pace

and my tribe

and

it was

quite a day.

****

—

image credits: flickr.com