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After work, I went for a run over at Firestone Metropark. I was half-thinking of running down Main St. into downtown Akron, about 4 miles, but I decided to leave that for another day since it was really humid out and the Metropark scenery would be much better.

I didn't have a set distance I wanted to do and definitely did not plan on pushing it. However, right when I crossed Main St and got into the park, this guy, probably in his lower 40s, was turning the corner about to head up the big hills at Firestone. I said hi to him and then realized he wasn't walking up the huge hill. So I decided to hang with him and have him push me along. He told me he had some arthritis in his feet, but he was moving pretty good. I ran and talked with him for a loop around the park (about 2 miles) and then split off to do the hills again.

Halfway through the second loop, I caught up to a younger runner who looked like he was in high school. I was feeling good and passed him, but heard his footsteps following behind. We ran for half a loop and pushed each other along. He was a senior at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary training for his final cross country season. He had big goals this year of dropping his PR by a couple minutes and getting into the 17s.

We finally split off and I headed back home. I was sweating like a pig and exhausted, but it felt great! It's amazing how much faster you can run when running with someone else.