Another long run day – powered by Clif Shot Energy Gel – Vanilla flavored (YUM!  tastes like vanilla pudding!). Forgot to stock up on coconut water so had to go to the Gatorade standard.

Not a bad run – but quite hot. As hubby and I both do long runs on Saturday mornings, we trade off who gets the earlier (cooler) time. This morning I offered to take second shift as I wasn’t quite awake first thing.

The heat wasn’t all that bad – but I was dripping in sweat. I felt bad for all the people driving by (or walking, running, biking, etc) who have caught a glimpse of my belly fat as I’ve picked up the bottom of my shirt to wipe my face. Perhaps it’s time to visit the old “head sweatband” look a la Olivia Newton-John….or better yet I might try to find a good moisture wicking headband.

So what did people think as they saw me wiping the sweat? What were they thinking when they saw me during a walking interval rather than running? Did they think I was incredibly slow when I was actually running?

As someone new to running, I am rather self-concious about everything about my running….which, yes, is silly. Sure there are some really athletic people who run by me in the morning.  (Although truth be told – they all got their runs in my earlier in the morning!) But they are probably in their zone – and don’t care about me panting my way around. Just cause they might say “hi” as we pass, they probably aren’t criticizing my pace or my brand of shoes.

The farther I ran, the more I thought about these moments that flash by in which we see someone for just the briefest of time. Sometime we meet people when they are running hard and looking strong.  Sometimes we meet people in their lives when they are just struggling to make it the next little bit, sweating and panting.  And sometimes, even, we see glimpses of people in moments that they might rather we not see.

Yet that all doesn’t matter. It’s the people who run alongside us, the people who see us at all those moments as well as the ones in between – those are the people who care about us – and how we’re doing. Someone passing us when we’re at a low point in our lives may stick around to see us at a better moment. But it really doesn’t matter if they don’t. Cause we cross paths with so many people in our lives that we’re always seeing people at all those different moments.

Okay – so maybe this post sounded better in my head….but I wanted to reassure myself that even if I’m not flying by people in the neighborhood – it doesn’t matter whether they see me sweating or walking or actually running…..I need to focus on me and my run….and on getting back home to my family – who run with me in all those moments.