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“First-time marathoner?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Jules winced. “You’re going to have so much fun on those long runs.”
“Hey, we’re only at six miles, we’ve got a ways to go.”
“Well, glad it’s you and not me,” she said, fitting the headphones back over her ears. “I can’t handle anything over ten.”
Luke could understand. Not everyone liked running. But personally, once he’d settled into a long run, he’d always found it relaxing. And he’d much rather get lost in the sound of his stride than be stuck in a room on a spin bike. To each their own, he supposed. Though he hoped he could get Lydia to fall in love with running. He was usually good at getting people excited about fitness—both kids at the youth center and new adult clients. It would make this process that much easier if Lydia found some kind of enjoyment in the act, whether that be competitive, as she slowly built her miles, or meditative. He printed out a couple of her workout plans for the next week and hurried out to meet her for their run, pleased to find that she was already stretching.
“What’s this?” she asked when he handed her the papers.
“Your individualized workouts for the days you’re solo training.”
“Burpees?” Lydia almost choked on the word as she scanned the paper.
“Yeah, you know, big jump, down to the ground for a push-up, then right back up on your feet and repeat.”
“I know what it is,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Remember when you promised to be nice? To ease me into the training?”
“They’re actually a great exercise for runners. They work multiple muscle groups at once and they’re very similar to the short bursts of speed that we’d see in an intense interval workout on a track.”
“Yeah, no thanks,” Lydia said, walking away to put the workout plans in her locker. “I’m not cut out for rigorous jumping.”
Luke waited for her by the door, and they headed outside to finish stretching. “Burpees are good for your muscles and your lungs, and they build aerobic capacity and endurance all at once.”
“I’m invoking my trainee powers to pass on this one particular exercise,” Lydia said, finishing up her leg swings and knee hugs.
“You don’t get to pass.”
“I do,” she said as she started to run away from him. “It’s in the trainee handbook.”
“There is no trainee handbook.”
“Clearly you’ve just never read it. I know my rights.”
Luke lengthened his stride to catch up with her as they took a right and turned down 7th Avenue. “You sound like a lawyer. Sure you didn’t take a wrong turn at the career fair?”
“That’s what happens when your sister and her fiancé both went to law school,” Lydia said.
“Must be hard to win an argument in that house.”
“You have no idea.”
Luke smiled. “Look, if I let you pass on this then it’s just downhill from here.”
“I like downhill,” Lydia said.
“No, you don’t. You’ll start passing on everything that feels a little challenging. If I let you do that, you’ll only be cheating yourself. And then what kind of trainer would I be?”
“The kind whose clients actually like him?” Lydia proposed. “Come on, this can be my freebie for good behavior. I’ve barely complained today.”
“We’ve only been running for thirty seconds!”
“You’re already making me run six miles today, which is a nauseating thought. Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing. Isn’t this enough torture?”
Luke shook his head. “You’re doing the burpees.”
