AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You were right about a lot of things the day we fought. But mostly that I was giving up on myself. So I’ve decided to run.
Wait, what?
I don’t know if I’m ready... I think I am. I finished the training.
Luke shook his head. If he’d known that she wanted to... If he’d had any inkling that she still planned to run...he would have been there with her. He would have finished this, regardless of how he felt. Luke scrubbed a hand through his hair, letting out a desperate little laugh. Why was he even shocked? Lydia had been surprising him since the moment they met.
I don’t know if any of this makes things okay between us, but I just wanted you to know that I’m grateful for everything you taught me. And I hope you get to have your gym one day and that it’s everything you could imagine. Maybe these sketches will help with your business plan.
There were pages of designs. The gym floor. His office. The break room. The changerooms. He brushed his thumb over the circular reception desk in the middle of the floor plan mock-up. She’d done all this for him?
His chest tightened, the emotion threatening to burst between his ribs.
She’d remembered everything he’d said that day in the warehouse and she’d brought his dream to life.
He had to talk to her. To see her. But, God, she was at the race—the race that had already started—and on the day she needed him most, he was here. He grabbed his backpack, stuffed the folder inside and raced from the room.
“Now where are you going?” Dara said as he ran past.
“To meet Lydia at the finish line,” he called over his shoulder. “Cancel the rest of my day!”
Lydia
“Okay, good news,” Ashley said into the phone. “Mile two is going to be almost entirely downhill.”
Lydia snorted, turning from her view of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, munching on her prerace granola bar. It had been an early morning. She’d taken a ferry and then a bus to Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island to check into her starting village for the marathon. She was scheduled to start at 10:25 a.m. with the fourth wave of runners, and though she’d been so nervous this morning she could hardly stand still, Ashley had talked her out of her jitters. Now she was mostly excited. “So, what you’re really saying is my first mile is all uphill?”
Ashley laughed. Lydia smoothed her hand along the race number pinned to the front of her long-sleeve shirt. It was a cool, overcast day, and they’d lucked out with mild temperatures for race day, especially considering it was the beginning of November.
“Remember, don’t start too fast. You’re going to push it uphill that first mile and then come off this first bridge revved up, so make sure you settle back into your pace.”
Lydia snorted. “Any other last-minute google tips?”
“I’ve got a whole list here. Remember pacing and fueling, especially around the hills. Kirsten and I are gonna be in the crowd somewhere in Brooklyn.”
A flash of disappointment washed through her, and Lydia was almost ashamed. Of course, she was thrilled that Ashley and Kirsten had come out to support her in all of this, but a small part of her still couldn’t kick the thought that Luke was supposed to be here. He was supposed to help her get across the finish line today. That’s what they’d agreed to when this started. But heck, she’d blown everything up so badly she couldn’t blame him. She just hoped he knew how sorry she was.
“Hey,” Ashley said. “You’ve got this. We’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah,” she said, getting nervous again. “See you.” They hung up, and Lydia took a deep breath, reminding herself that she deserved this. She’d worked hard for this moment, now she was going to see it through and enjoy it—as much as anyone could enjoy running twenty-six miles.
She tucked her phone into the zippered pocket of her leggings, then waited for the announcement to line up. It was about a twenty-minute wait as her corral filled, and Lydia found herself jammed in amongst a bunch of other runners, bumping elbows and exchanging smiles. The energy was infectious, and she stepped from foot to foot to get some of the jitters out. She’d already decided she wasn’t going to track her run on her phone. There would be plenty of markers on the route to count down the miles. Attempting to figure out her mile time versus how far she still had to go would only stress her out and ruin her pacing.
The blast of an air horn initiated their start, and the entire crowd moved as one. Lydia felt like she’d been sucked into a school of fish as the group moved up the bridge. She focused on her breathing and her pacing as they climbed uphill. She didn’t try to dart or weave around slower runners, remembering something Luke had told her in training. Honestly, she was too busy taking in the view from the middle of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to be bothered with trying to get ahead: the tall, spiked buildings of the New York City skyline, the harbor and the Statue of Liberty. Lydia felt the sudden dip as the route turned downhill, and she naturally picked up her pace.
Coming off the bridge, Lydia was hit with her first wave of crowd support and she couldn’t help but smile at the cheering and signage as the race route took her through Brooklyn. Lydia found her pace, careful not to overexert herself coming off the downhill like Ashley had warned. She didn’t know what the next mile had in store for her, but she was never going to get there unless she put one foot in front of the other. Lydia thought about the conversations she’d had with Angela, about the job that had been tentatively offered at Coleman & Associates, one that she was eager to accept once Angela and Erik had a chance to talk. She never would have gotten to this point unless she’d picked up the phone and made that call. Every success, every win, started with something small. Something as simple as taking the next step.
Around mile twelve, while running up Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, she heard her name being screamed. It pulled her out of her head, and she automatically slowed, looking around until she spotted Kirsten and Ashley jumping up and down on the sidewalk with a neon-pink sign.
Lydia laughed, hurrying over to them. She threw herself into their arms for a sweaty hug.
“Gross,” Ashley complained, laughing as she shoved a banana into Lydia’s hand.
“Thanks,” Lydia gasped, taking two bites before handing it back to her. She didn’t want to end up with a cramp, plus she planned to stop at the next fluid station.
“You’re doing so well!” Kirsten cheered, snapping a selfie of the group.
Lydia’s phone started buzzing. She dug it out of her pocket. Erik’s name flashed across the screen. “I’ve gotta go,” she said.
