MISSING FRIENDS & PARTNERS
The past week the Mrs. and I have been talking alot about some good friends who left us a few months ago. Brian and Leila arrived in Cairo 2 1/2 years ago on the same flight as the Mrs. and I. Unfortunately, they were on the first flight out this June and off to bigger and better things in Japan. Over the two years we were together here, we became friends, family, and constant companions. In addition, Brian became my training partner. Anything of significance we did here, we did with Brian and Leila. We lived a floor apart, we ate together, we holidayed together and we experienced life's trial and tribulations together, and we became closer than friends and indeed, closer than family.
Brian and I began running together and planned to train and complete a marathon together. Last year in 9 months we ran just over 1000 miles together. Some days I would pull him along and be the motivation behind the run and somedays he would pull me along. We rarely skipped a run because there was always the feeling of letting the other person down. We learned lots form each other about running and each benefited from the relationship. Brian ran just for the joy in it and the benefits of it and that is what I was able to gain from him. I was a little more calculated and always concerned about our program and how far we needed to go and when our rest weeks were and I think that is where he benetited from me.
More than what we learned from each other about running we learned about life. Long hours on the road together left us lots of time to talk and some days we did lots of it. We talked about serious life issues, we talked about serious personal issues, we discussed our trials and tribulations, we talked about lighter matters, and some days we talked about nothing, but we were always there for each other and always prepared to listen.
Brian was an unlikely friend for me...he is a city kid, I come from the farm. He is an olny child, I have sisters and brothers. I come from a PE background, he from a journalism background. I was involved heavily in team sports, his involvement was more of an individual sport variety.
But despite our differences we did become friends and the differences allowed us to explore different parts of ourselves.
Although I have a new running partner who is a good friend and a great partner to train, I still very much miss my last partner and hope someday we can be in the same country and run together again.
The past week the Mrs. and I have been talking alot about some good friends who left us a few months ago. Brian and Leila arrived in Cairo 2 1/2 years ago on the same flight as the Mrs. and I. Unfortunately, they were on the first flight out this June and off to bigger and better things in Japan. Over the two years we were together here, we became friends, family, and constant companions. In addition, Brian became my training partner. Anything of significance we did here, we did with Brian and Leila. We lived a floor apart, we ate together, we holidayed together and we experienced life's trial and tribulations together, and we became closer than friends and indeed, closer than family.
Brian and I began running together and planned to train and complete a marathon together. Last year in 9 months we ran just over 1000 miles together. Some days I would pull him along and be the motivation behind the run and somedays he would pull me along. We rarely skipped a run because there was always the feeling of letting the other person down. We learned lots form each other about running and each benefited from the relationship. Brian ran just for the joy in it and the benefits of it and that is what I was able to gain from him. I was a little more calculated and always concerned about our program and how far we needed to go and when our rest weeks were and I think that is where he benetited from me.
More than what we learned from each other about running we learned about life. Long hours on the road together left us lots of time to talk and some days we did lots of it. We talked about serious life issues, we talked about serious personal issues, we discussed our trials and tribulations, we talked about lighter matters, and some days we talked about nothing, but we were always there for each other and always prepared to listen.
Brian was an unlikely friend for me...he is a city kid, I come from the farm. He is an olny child, I have sisters and brothers. I come from a PE background, he from a journalism background. I was involved heavily in team sports, his involvement was more of an individual sport variety.
But despite our differences we did become friends and the differences allowed us to explore different parts of ourselves.
Although I have a new running partner who is a good friend and a great partner to train, I still very much miss my last partner and hope someday we can be in the same country and run together again.
posted by Brawn of the Oasis at 1:04 PM
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