The Sunday Run

I was watching ESPN and saw a compelling story on NaVorro Bowman and his biological Father whom he never met. The concept of making peace with your father was a huge part of the story and the discussion after the story. I got that chance with my Dad and I'm glad I did. Maybe I'll share that story.

Because of my upbringing in a fatherless home I committed to not be that Dad with our son. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. Not because I want to flee but because it's the longest term commitment (other than marriage which is equally hard) I've made. More than staying with it though I want to stay relevant in his life for as long as possible. Today was one of those moments that I will hold close for years.

I wanted to run knowing the flu had wrecked my energy. Marco needed to run because his coach told him to and he missed the run with the boys yesterday. So we committed to run together. We've had good runs together and we've had down right miserable runs together. My energy level was leaving me a bit nervous and then I made the decision to run the trails rather than his preferred route down the coast. We took off easy and got into a nice pace. We passed countless runners coming the opposite direction who I knew which eased the "tension". We talked the entire way. We talked about the movie The Lone Survivor, we talked about running, we talked about girls. We did not talk about the things that stress us, school, homework, house work and respecting your mother.

The run went by fast. On the way back he moved to the front and upped the pace. The conversation was labored but continued. The pace felt free. He dropped me on the hills and I ground out the gap on the flats. We were simply floating on the trail together. It was beautiful to run behind him and try to follow his flow. He makes running look so easy.

We finished and had steam rolling off our skin. We both had a smile on our face.

It's a good life....