Sometimes being passed can spur you on to a pretty nifty run (Photo: Alex di Suvero/The New York Times)
I started out on a morning run last week with a goal that wouldn’t exactly be considered lofty. Namely, don’t push myself. This wasn’t because I’d been working hard and needed reining in; I simply wasn’t in the mood to do much but plod.
That lasted about a block. I had been lost in my usual zone when suddenly –whoosh! A man dashed by my left side, totally startling me. I was momentarily caught off guard, and then was overtaken by a rush of competition.
An aside: I run alone, so the only person with whom I’m competitive is myself. But seeing this fellow made me pick up my pace and decide to see how long I could keep it up. Well, I almost caught up with him, but then he made a U-turn at the end of the block — no doubt because he didn’t want me to overtake him. And yes, I’m kidding.
Anyway, I had a really, really good run. Not only was my pace brisker than usual, but I felt more energized when I’d finished — all because a stranger I’d never recognize in the light of day (if at all) unknowingly gave me a much-needed push.