Thursday thanks

The highlight of my week was a long-distance call.

Through a series of job-changes, new addresses, and unlisted telephone numbers, I fell out of touch with a couple of very dear friends. (We'll call them M & P.) The last time M called me, he and P were still living in Alaska, but were about to move to a new home. That was more than three years ago.

I miss M & P every time I run, hike, or have champagne. During the years when we all lived in Southern California, we covered hundreds of miles of trails together, and celebrated each trek with copious amounts of wine. We trained for, and hiked, Mount Whitney together. (That adventure didn't turn out as planned, but that's another story for another time...)

Resting at the top of Mt. San Jacinto, 2003.
(From left: P, me, M... lady to far right? Who knows. It was crowded up there!)

M helped me craft my first triathlon and half-marathon training plans. He taught me how to walk the fine line between pushing my limits and overtraining. M was a world class runner in his college days (think Olympic trials) and ran 60 miles on his 60th birthday, just because he could. He also has an endearing sense of humor. What better mentor could a new runner have?

So when I finally found current contact information for M & P, I thought my luck might be too good to be true. (Let's just say that M & P have names that show up more than once in a phone book.) I sent an email, hoping it was going to the right place...

And I received a reply less than an hour later.

We set up time to talk. After more than three years, two new home states, two new jobs, and a wedding (mine), our catch-up conversation was as natural as if we had just finished a hike last week.

And it turns out their new home isn't so very far from my new home.

We'll be trekking and running together again soon.