I had a guest appearance today by my friend, Chris de Beer! Chris, essentially said to himself, I only have 3 jobs, a wife, two children and way too many hobbies, so I think I’ll drive to the other end of the state at 3:00 am, run a marathon (26.2 miles) with my friend, Kenny, then drive all the way back home and work a full day on Monday. At least, I think that’s how it probably went. Because, that’s what he did!
We really did have a great day today. We talked. We laughed. We made inane observations. In essence, we solved a lot of the world’s problems while we passed the time eating protein bars, drinking water, dodging cars and running from yappy dogs. Unfortunately, I can’t tell anyone any of these great ideas because most of them are stupid, they make no sense and definitely wouldn’t work.
Chris and I picked up on the Highway where I left yesterday afternoon, and had about 3 miles until we turned left onto Fire Department Road. We dodged traffic and navigated a few turns until we made it to the Clayton city limits. After 4 weeks of very rural parts of Eastern North Carolina, downtown Clayton was a virtual bustling metropolis! They had a coffee shop and everything!
We navigated the streets and found the Neuse River Greenway Trail. This greenway runs along the Neuse River (hopefully, you already figured that part out) for about 32 miles from point to point. The website says 27.5 miles, but I remember distinctly seeing mile markers up to 32. So, I’m going to stick with 32 miles for now. It makes me sound tougher.
We followed the asphalt greenway in and around, up and over, and saw some gorgeous rust red foot bridges over the river and its creek tributaries. We had a few selfie moments before Dean spoiled the fun and said we had to keep going. After 26.2 miles, we had enough fun for the day and headed back to camp where Chuck made a goulash/ratatouille/rice bowl/salad concoction (that Emeril wishes he had invented) that I dumped into one bowl and had two helpings before hugging Chris goodbye and crawling off to ice my feet.
Every misstep isn’t the end. It’s just another beginning. Do it again. Keep moving forward.
Kenny
