As I put on my sneakers this morning, preparing to take another run, I took a long, hard look at those well-worn shoes. My blue and white nylon Sauconys with the small hole in the right toe and the frayed thread around the edges are like old friends. We’ve been through so much together.

I also put on my official Brooklyn Half-Marathon t-shirt that I got with the New York Road Runners Club registration bag. My race number is already in the special cabinet in the living room where we put small, special things.

The looming question now is what next. Do I train for the New York marathon or just keep on keeping on with light training three or four times a week. There are shorter races and other half-marathons to do. A friend mentioned a half-marathon in Central Park for women over 40 and there’s always the Faster Five course at Jack Rabbit.

I told a stranger with a Caribbean accent I befriended on the course as we turned into the final stretch: "Now that you’ve done this you can do anything in your life."  She smiled and ran ahead to the finish. I never saw her again.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB