Perfect Strangers

Now that I am starting my runs an hour later in the morning, I no longer catch the trash truck emptying park trash cans and I sort of miss it. I remember the first morning I ran by the park, it was pitch-black and from the other side of the block, I see huge truck headlights drive through the parking lot and right into the park, right up on the grass. The headlights stopped for a short time, 30 seconds at most, I heard some men talking briefly, and then the truck took off...towards the sidewalk I was running on. The truck bumped back on to the street and it took off in the other direction.

Needless to say, I was confused and a might concerned. That morning's run went by quick as all sorts of visions, conspiracy theories and strange explanations went through my mind When I saw them again the next morning, the conspiracy theories grew until I caught a better look at the truck and realized it was a county sanitation truck. I felt a little goofy but I got a good laugh out of it and every time I happened to time my morning run right and caught them in the park, I couldn't help but smile.

I used to see the same runners every morning, particularly an older gentleman in a white singlet and white hat. We would nod good morning as we passed one another - him finishing his
run, me just starting mine. There were the two women out walking, chatting away as they huffed and puffed up and down the hills. I miss the cyclist who would shade his bike lamp with his hand when we he saw me coming, making the rest of the cyclists seem rude for not making the same consideration.

As I began my run this morning, 3 min. run/1 min. walk x 9 intervals, I thought about this cast of regulars that had become a part of my routine. I'm curious, are they still going about their routines now that it is getting colder? Are they making progress - getting faster, going longer, losing weight? Have they noticed my absense from the trails in the past two months? Do they wonder what happened to me?

As I passed runners, dog-walkers and cyclists this morning, I speculated about which ones would become a regular part of my new running routine. Which of these strangers will I come to
depend on seeing each morning?

Today's Daily Dozen:
3.37 mile run
Core Workout @ lunch hour