Versus how it's going:
One of the first/last things my (now) husband and I did as friends was the 2018 Butterfly Run. The race was at best, awkward. He said he just wanted to be friends, and I was trying to honor that, but he kept showing up at all the things I wanted to do. I wanted to run this race, but then he said he wanted to try a 5K, so he signed up. I wasn't against him coming, but I was trying to create distance between us, because I liked him as more than a friend, but was trying to honor his wishes. Add to this race the awkwardness of my Oklahoma best friend being in town and wanting to meet this guy who wasn't my boyfriend.
The 2018 race started out hot. He kept up with me for about a mile, and then I sped up to drop him. I could tell he was struggling, and well, I wanted to run my race. Even though I took off, he still managed to place in his age group. I guess it was a small race.
A lot of my photos from that race had my husband in them, but I didn't post them. We had a long chat about that. I told him that I didn't want people making assumptions (which they were already doing), and I was not going to feed the fire. I told him that I valued his friendship, and was trying to honor that privately rather than publicly.
That race and conversation led to a weekend hike and a conversation about where we wanted our relationship to go. As of November 10, 2018, we were dating. Christmas Eve 2018, I told him I loved him. We got engaged March 10, 2019 and married June 10. The rest is history.
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I always try to do something a little extra special for our dating anniversary. My husband took up running during 75 Soft, and though he was not quite up to 5K in distance, I thought he was close. We both like sunsets, so when I found a sunset run the weekend of our date-i-versary, I asked my husband if he was interested. Given that it was the same weekend as the Scottsdale Canal Convergence, I thought we could run, grab dinner, and then go to the outdoor art show.
Since the race was small, bib pickup was the day of the race. That wasn't great, as we had to walk from the parking garage to the park, and then back to put away our shirts. While it was not a long walk, I wondered how it would affect me, as I had done a 12 mile training run with speed work in the morning. I seemed okay.
I used the outhouse at about 5 PM. At about 5:15 pm, we both ate a fruit strip. I was not planning to race, but I also wanted to fuel well since I had already run so much. The raspberry lemonade was tart, but I got it down.
We had decided ahead of time to go out at an 11:00/mile pace. While there were not a lot of people, we had to dodge a few, and then settled in. We only had to cross one main road, and they had that blocked off, so it was an easy course along the canal path overall. My husband's PR distance was 1.5 miles from an event we did in September. My goal was to help him PR that. We did, getting to 2.1 miles before he cramped. (This has been an ongoing issue that we have not quite figured out.) We walked, breathed, and stretched for 0.1 mile and then kept at it. I was cheering him on, and he said he wanted to quit about 3 miles, but on sheer determination, he finished, in 35:02.1. He was pretty proud that his bib number was 54, and he finished in 54th place. (Somehow my time was 35:01.2, even though I am pretty sure we came over the line together.) We knew we hadn't placed, so we grabbed some water, took a tunnel medal picture and headed for dinner.
As usual after a race, we did burgers. Shake Shack this time! We carried the meal over to Canal Convergence and I inhaled it. My husband was surprised when I finished before him, as that is not usually the case. I guess I was hungry?
We walked around and saw a few exhibits, and then lined up to watch the showtime fire show, which is the highlight of the night. We squeezed in a photo booth visit and then headed home.
Overall, it was a great experience. Running is for health, but also for community. It is to do hard things, but also to have fun. It is to chase PRs, but also to chase love, of each other, and of the sport. The night run was an example of this, and I hope for the chance to run more with my husband soon!
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