My dad used to run cross country in high school. He told my brother and I stories about his past "running career" as we embarked on our own, but it was hard to take him seriously. My dad, beer-bellied and forever old, could not have been a runner, right? Some of his stories were a little hard to believe (like the one about him winning the regional championship, or how they had to run through rivers on the course, or how he claimed to have started the 1960's trend of wearing running shoes casually (my personal fav)). But then again, he did have the shorts.
The shorts. Teeny tiny blue satin running shorts edged in red. He even had a yellowed photograph of himself wearing them--proof enough for me.
I decided to wear them for OFSAA 2002. It was November and freezing. The shorts barely fit me (shit, my dad was skinnier at 16 than I was?) and they reeked of oak cabinet and must. I don't even remember my time or place in that race; I don't remember much beyond the shorts, and that's why I'm so thankful for them.
It's also why I need new shorts. I've been wearing the same running stuff for years. I've been wearing down my Dri-Fits slowly, convincing myself that I didn't deserve / couldn't afford the wardrobe of a real runner. My boring old black shorts symbolize nothing good to me; they sum up the last few years I spent adjusting basal rates, injuring my legs and training intermittently. It's time for me to change...shorts. Not sure if I'll go for blue satin though.
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