It went like this.
Me: Hey, I know what I want for my birthday.
Mr. Tea (suspiciously. Can you blame him? Last year, I asked for World peace): Oooookay. What do you want.
Me: okyouhavetotellmeifthisisreasonablebecausemyfeelingswon'tbehurtifitsnot. I.Just.Want.to.Know.
Mr. Tea: (Now turning his full attention to me). WHAT IS IT?
Me (DEEP BREATH): IWANTYOUTORUNAHALFMARATHONWITHME.
cringing....waiting....for his response.
Me: But there are some conditions. (I know I'm pushing my luck here, but if the guy is going to bet me $200 for finishing a sub 5 marathon, he has it coming....don't you think?)
FIRST: We don't have to train together. No holding hands, thinking about how romantic it is that we're both runners....bullsh!t. K? This is serious business. I'll train my way. You train you way.
Mr. Tea (Mulling it over, which is good. He hasn't said, "No" yet, right?): What else?
Me: We run the half on race day, together. None of this "Oh, you're so fast" crap. We both know that a.) You're a guy and b.) You're A LOT younger than me. c.) If you put your mind to it, you could be a lot faster than me.
Mr. Tea: hmmmm. I don't have to buy you anything?
Me: Nope.
Mr. Tea: I just have to agree to doing a half marathon?
Me: (Still can't believe I haven't lost him yet): You have to give me an answer on my birthday
OCTOBER 27th
(subtle hint for the audience)
Mr. Tea: When's the race?
Me: I'm thinking we'll do Colfax. It's around May 25th. That gives you 4 months to get your running up before you even have to think about training.
Before I lose my reading audience.....we must now fastforward to this morning.
Mr. Tea and I are at JMan's football game. At halftime, Mr. Tea says, "I have my answer to your birthday request."
It's very chilly out. Mr. Tea starts stripping, right there in the stands.
Mr. Tea: I have something to show you.
At this point, I don't know if I should be horrified or excited, so I waited. He peels off the last layer and shows me the shirt:
2009 Colorado Colfax Half Marathon
"I'm in", he says.
