4/19/2015
Most of my days on the journey have ended in exhaustion and relief. On the days without a deadline my body ran at leisurely paces and on the days where I had to press, somehow I found my speed. On day 225 the warm morning had me believing it would be a light day. I took off running sometime after lunch. Despite the many hills that I had taken on the prior days my legs felt strong. Crystal and I headed to the only destination available to us. It was a truck stop in Ruther Glen which was twenty-seven miles away.
The trees had thinner trunks than in the last few states I had run through. The brown waters looked as if they had lots of mud in them. It was harder for me to spot fish while running. Although, I did have the pleasure of seeing many frogs jumping around. When I reached the halfway point for the day, light rain began to sprinkle on my head and arms. The drops cooled my heated body. After each mile it seemed like mother nature turned the dial on the rain machine one setting higher. When I had two miles to go, the water came down by the bucket. My body felt great though and I was running like a cheetah. I felt as if I were dodging raindrops until there was just one mile to go. At that point a magic line was drawn where no rain would fall. When I crossed that line the sun kissed my face and I eased off the speed.
The sweet butter of grilled cheese sandwiches gave the bread a light crispy texture. It went well with the protein packed baked beans. With a tummy full of warm food we relaxed for the night. It was a busy truck stop but the noise never reached our ears.
The next day I was in for a treat. The roads had dried and I took to the little country roads. I passed more antique places and ran over more hills. What I didn’t anticipate was meeting a new friend who was just beginning his journey. Crystal passed a guy as I was nearing Fredricksburg. She told me he had a sign on a cart called The World Walk and she thought I should stop to talk to him.
Tom didn’t look 6’2 from my side of the street. He was plugged in when I ran over to his side of the street and waved him down. I found myself asking him all the questions people ask me. It turned out that he was on day sixteen of a five year journey. He had planned to walk on every continent. I wasn’t as insane as people had previously believed. Really what were the chances of me crossing paths with another adventurer? We spoke for a bit but I knew I needed to get to Crystal before she started worrying.
When I reached Crystal, I told her that I wanted to buy dinner for Tom. I remembered how, in the past, even the smallest gestures were enough fuel to keep my feet moving. If I could give someone that same gift I would do it. We had exchanged numbers so I called him and told him our support vehicle would go back to where he was and we would bring him a pizza. It was fun to pass on a few of the things we had learned along the way. The knowledge wasn’t conventional but at least it would be of use to another person. We parted ways when the darkness arrived. It looked like the next day would be another late start. The conversations I had, and the new friends I had made on this trip, were like priceless gems in a bag. I was lucky to have found another one.
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