Partners

I love to run. And my favorite running partner that I've ever had is my dad.

Every time I come home I get to run with him in the mornings and this makes me so happy.

Yesterday we ran on this amazing trail in Gig Harbor.

Today we ran one of my favorite 4-mile loops along the water in the Harbor.

Friday we are going to run one of his favorite 5-mile loops in Pt. Defiance Park. Gorgeous.

Tomorrow, on our day off, we are going to indulge ourselves by going on a breakfast date at THIS out-of-this-world-Clog-your-heart-but-go-out-happy diner. He's been taking me here since I was in elementary school for good Southern Food. But only on occasion of course...

Brining it back,

There are so many things that I love about running with him:

-He is always able to talk while he is running, no matter how far. So he talks to me and tells me interesting things which makes the time go by faster. And he doesn't seem to mind when my weakling lungs don't allow me to talk a whole lot in return. Like today when he shared for about 10 minutes about a passage in Isaiah that has really moved him this week and when he was finished all I could say was:

"Yeah (gasp), I really like Isaiah too (gasp)."

-He is a doctor so he can answer my strange questions like "Why do I always have to pee right when I start to run, even though I just went?" or "Why do I run so much better during phases when I'm not eating lots of ice cream and drinking lots of wine?" or "Why are my legs so much skinnier when I skip running for a month or so, and then when I run all the time they get HUGE!!!?" or "Why is it bad to clench my fists while I'm running?"

-Knowing that I have someone to go with always inspires me to get going when I'm feeling sluggish at 8 AM on my vacation.

-He doesn't care when I complain about my left knee bothering me, the fact that yesterday my nose was full of phlegm and today my throat is full of phlegm, or how bored I am of our normal routes.

-Mostly, I love it because it is time that just the two of us get to spend together. Which is hard to find. My super-athlete brother would be bored if he ran with us, my mom routinely goes walking with her friends, and so Dad and I naturally have this pocket of our lives to share with each other. And I love it.

There isn't anyone else I've run more miles with in my life.

And that just seems fitting.

After all, He is my dad.