A half mile past my farm home in Battle Plain Township, a magnificent cottonwood tree used to grow tall and proud against the prairie skyline.
For more than a decade before its demise, the tree marked the turnaround point for horseback rides, walks, and most recently, my attempts at jogging.
Today there’s nothing left of the tree, no stump or hole, just my memory that there used to be that cottonwood some 2,640 feet down a minimum maintenance road.
This spring that distance became the starting point for an idea to run the 5K race DC Wonder Woman Run Series in St. Paul at the end of June. The name alone made running seem like a fun group event.
The chance to purchase nearly new athletic wear at a bargain price helped make the idea fashionable as well as comfortable. However, another social media shopper beat me to the advertised athletic wear.
Or so I thought.
Weeks later, the seller contacted me to say the tank tops, running pants, shorts and sweat shirts were still available.
I took it as a sign that the 5K run was something I was meant to complete. It was June, and I had several months to develop the stamina for a 3.1-mile run in a single outing. As motivation I put an orange sticky note in my weekly planner as a reminder.
I happily donned my new jogging apparel (including a near-new pair of Brooks) and set out to reach the “tree” distance in one outing and grow to the 5K-distance in a matter of weeks.
Or so I thought.
Who knew running could be so exhausting after a few hundred feet?
Lucy, our 1-year-old Lab cross puppy, always accompanied me on daily training jobs with her ever-present rubber Frisbee clutched in her mouth.
Turns out Lucy can be a very good and very forgiving personal trainer.
As my optimism for jogging faded and I would slow to a walk, Lucy would happily jog past me, stop and drop the Frisbee.
I would catch up to her, throw the Frisbee in the opposite direction and resume jogging. In a matter of seconds Lucy would retrieve the Frisbee, run past me, and stop to wait for me to catch up.
As this relay progressed and my endurance increased, at times I would easily jog right past her and the Frisbee.
Then COVID-19 intervened and canceled the in-person 5K and the enthusiasm I had expected to develop for jogging after weeks of trying but never did.
I did find that I am much more suited to wearing the comfy athletic wear on the couch with occasional walks to the tree and back. Lucy happily comes along and leaves the Frisbee at home.