Iron Sharpens Iron

I’m a runner an avid runner, I’d like to say. I run with a group of guys a few times a month when I can but more times than not I’m going it alone. So when I run with my running club I never know really how good/bad my pace is or who I can keep up with. A few weeks ago I ran with a few guys from my running group, Black Men Run. I paced with a couple of the guys that are a little slower than me and watched as the one of the other guys pulled off in the distance. Now this guy is a fairly muscular guy, dense muscles and heavy bone structure, as he pulled off, I said to myself surely I can hang with him for the next 4 miles, no sweat; gave my pacers a pound and I set off to catch up with him. As I pulled up with him and I said…”maybe I can speed this up, he ain’t going as fast as I thought”; take my shirt off, readjust my headphones and strike out. As I pickup speed and leave him (so I thought) I can hear the familiar  thump thump thump of a pair of heavy dense feet cracking the pavement…I’ve heard it before. Looking to my left, it’s him, dense muscles and all. He caught up with me now. Once I realize I’m at my max speed for this distance I notice we are pacing each other and now it’s a challenge  I can’t submit to. So for the next 3 mikes we are running at a 730ish pace. Mentally all sorts of things are going in and out of my mind and Im sure his too. He’s blowing and grunting… my knees and legs are doing the same. We pass people left and right even the little 8 yo boy who blew past us earlier.  Finally closing in on the finish line he edges me a little but looks back and gestures me to speed up and finish strong. ..I do. Finish line, fist pound and for me a subtle urge to vomit  but the race gods were good to me and  I managed to keep it down. Fast forward to the next race, I look for him and ask the other guys where he was. They said they hadn’t seen him but told me he said I really pushed him! I responded with a smile and said “No he pushed me”! I realized  while he was pushing me i was pushing him, Iron sharpen iron that day.