Chapter 3

And so it came to pass that over the next several weeks, I was able to keep my promise to Leanna that I was regularly working out. After all, I now had a workout partner who was counting on me, even if it was late at night. As I promised, Lisa did start going faster and lasting longer on the treadmill. When she was able to do a 19-minute mile, I brought her a list of upcoming 5K events. A 19-minute mile is just about the minimum requirement for most 5Ks, which have a one-hour time limit.

As she looked at the list, she sighed in frustration. “God, there are a lot. How do I decide which one to do?”

“Well, different people have different criteria. When I’m looking for a race, I go on a website like active.com or something similar. First I start with where the race is. I mean, I don’t want to drive to Charlotte just to do a 5K unless it’s one where ... I don’t know ... Chuck Norris and The Rock stand at the finish line to high-five you and put your finisher medal on you or something. Although people do travel to do races. I traveled to Las Vegas to do my half marathon because it was a fun and unique experience to run on the Strip.”

(Author note: the 5K ending with a high-five from Chuck Norris is a real thing: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a25992522/chuck-norris-5k/)

“Yeah, no, I don’t want to do that.”

“Okay, so next is, obviously, when it’s scheduled. You don’t want to sign up for one that starts at 2:00 in the afternoon in the middle of August.”

“Don’t most of them happen in the morning?”

“Yeah, more or less, but the point is more that it’s hot and humid in August and you might not want to run in weather like that. Also you may not want to get up at 4:00 in the morning for a 5:30 AM start.”

She shrugged. “Makes sense.”

“The last major deciding factor for me is, most of these races, your entry fee goes for a good cause. Children’s programs, community services, whatever. Not only decide if the entry fee is an amount you can live with, but also if you want to support the cause. Say you find out that it’s going to support a nonprofit organization that has ... I don’t know ... Rush Limbaugh on the board of directors or something.”

We perused the list and she selected a 5K slated for late June, giving her plenty of time for training.

She also began taking her workout off the treadmill. She wanted to tighten up her stomach, but found crunches a little too challenging. So, one evening, I tried showing her how I do them: I lie on my back and pull my knees to my chest while tightening my abs.

She tried to do it but wasn’t sure she was getting it right, and asked for my input. Unconsciously, I put my hand on her stomach to feel if she was properly tightening the muscles. Immediately, and probably unconsciously, I felt her body stiffen, causing me to jerk my hand away as if burned.

“I – uh – I – I – I’m sorry,” I stammered.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No ... no, you’re fine. I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”

We had talked some about this. Her body image had been in the toilet for some time, and still was even as she began to see improvements to it. Some days, she had told me, she was sure that no man would ever find her attractive. Certainly, she worried no man would want to touch her intimately. Sexually, yes. Intimately, no. There is a tremendous difference between sex and intimacy. She had plenty of experience with one. Concurrent with her decision to get in shape, she decided that she was tired of settling for sex and wanted to focus on seeking intimacy.

On the other hand, here I was just reaching out to, literally, be a help to her. Reaching all the way across from the friend zone, even.