LOVE/hate...Right Before Your Eyes

I'm not sure if it's the scorching August heat or the new LOVE/hate campaign from New Balance, but more and more I am noticing the inner struggle all runner's face with each workout. No matter if you are an Olympiad or a new mom (again) trying to lose her baby weight...we all face it. Here's a story for you:

After my 3 mile run last Saturday, in the 90 degree heat, I struck up a conversation with another runner who was finishing his workout at the same time. He was drenched in sweat, taking out his ear buds after a hot run in the hot sun. I was drenched too, listening to my new Jay-Z and Keith Urban downloads from Napster. After getting back to our cars, we both chatted about the heat and other "runner" things. He downed a huge bottle of water, I chugged my fruit punch Gatorade and we just talked; runner to runner. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hot enough for ya?"
By this time I had a red mustache from the sugary sweet red Gatorade.
Runner: "Waited too long...got too hot...(he took a gulp of water)"
Me: "Before 10AM... forget about it. So, how many miles did you run?"
Runner: "4.75...(chugged water) you?"
Me: "3.1...I did that down hill loop twice, messed up my ankle"
Runner: "Oh yah, that first downhill trips you up, did you loose footing?"
Me: "On the bridge."
Runner: "The bridge (sigh) yah, gotta watch it on there, it's so shady, you can't see all the rocks."
Me: "Yep...that's gonna hurt tomorrow."
Runner: "Little ice, good as new."

It seems like a pointless conversation to the naked eye, but to runners, this is real camaraderie. I would never walk up to some stranger and talk about my ankle pains and I bet no one else would think to give me some advice on how to fix it...but runners do this all the time.

This is what the LOVE/hate campaign is all about and it's mind blowing when you see it happen before your eyes. We're both sweaty, hurting, and probably burnt to a crisp, that is the hate...but the sun is shining, we just ran our hearts out, we have cold drinks in our hands and we have our iPODS. We're happy. That is LOVE. True LOVE. It's a trip to see it all play out like a script after each mile.

Any "runner" stories out there? I know every runner, no matter their mile time, can relate to this story...tell us about it, and maybe we'll post it on our blog.

--Cassie