Walk In The Park

My running might be paying The Menzingers doggy daycare bills since I developed a dependency to their music. This is quite common, to associate an album with running, growing dependent on it. When I read Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, he discusses how much running plays a part of his life, and over the course of decades he has been listening to the same CDs while he runs.
It's not like it's impossible to run without the music, the run just feels more difficult. My phone could run out of battery, or like what happened the other day, my Apple Music decides to pull some crazy shit and log me off and I don't have the password to get back on.
Our Apple Music has now been upgraded to a family plan, which allows us to listen to music at the same time. Before we'd play a game of stealing the other person's stream. I'd be running, listening to music, and then it would stop and a box would pop up on the screen of my phone that read "Another device is playing Apple Music," so I'd say, "Oh, no you don't!" and then hit play, making his music stop and him getting the message. After us doing this to each other a couple times, someone concedes.
We're running a half marathon in Tahoe next month, and I'm adamant training isn't necessary since I'm fit and I grew up in the mountains, so altitude can't-touch-this. My husband took the more conventional approach, and trains. He goes on ten mile runs to prepare, and I'm visualizing myself with rocket pack of energy on my back after drinking a Venti Starbucks.

I adopted my training approach from my sister, Lacey, whose run a couple full-length marathons and never trained. In fact, she wouldn't even call herself a runner. Meeting my sister explains this, she embodies coiled energy; feeling best when working three jobs, taking online classes, feeding an unhealthy shopping addiction, and making feasts for dinners, stress free of the the coinciding mountain of dishes.
When she was finishing up school, she'd go on daily five hour power walks in 115 degree swelting dessert heat. After reading David Sedaris' New Yorker article on his Fit Bit, I learned he's as bananas as her, with endless energy, always trying to outdo himself. My sister never said marathons are easy. Apparently, during the last one, she sobbed throughout the last couple miles after picking a fight with my little sister, Becky. Her biggest complaint, is the days following the run, hobbling around with sore muscles and blistered feet.

Lacey is visiting in a couple weeks. When I talk to her on the phone she is usually watching a new miniseries she'll complete within 24 hours, folding laundry, working on crafting projects for Christmas and singing to her baby. We used to spend our free time shopping, but now we can't waste money, besides, trying to go shopping with small kids is not fun.

Before our kids, we'd go to Reno, buy gigantic Diet Pepsis, and roam the mall. She could easily stay at the mall from open till close. Strange things happen though, when your in the mall for too long. Firstly, the notion of functionality goes out the window, and suspenders from Hot Topic seem like a great accessory.
Once we were shopping at Macys after high school prom season ended, and we tried on prom dresses for the hell of it. We decided to buy them, and then we went home and wore them while we drank beer. I was 27 years old and she was 28.
Becky couldn't keep up with Lacey's pace, and always needed to leave, exhausted. My little sister confessed to me she thinks Lacey absorbs energy around her because she always needs to take a nap after spending time with her. When Lacey gets to town, she can't absorb any of Becky's energy because she is running on fumes; her two month old and two year old don't let her sleep at all. I guess that means she'll just suck all the extra energy out of me. I have something to train for now, and I'll start stockpiling eight-hours-of-sleep nights.

I don't need to worry about the race. I'll need the Venti Starbucks to keep up with my sister. The race will be a walk in the park, or the mall, besides I've got my music to get me through.