Marathon!

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya had trained faithfully, just like she promised (and despite her period starting a few months after that promise. Really? She didn't need that!). The weights had been added by about the second month of training and she was really, really proud of her stamina!

And the marathon they'd chosen as their first was coming up this weekend, with fund raising as done by Elcy...and yeah. "Don't tell me you have to cancel!" she said into the phone, pulling one foot up to stretch out her thighs. "Don't! I can't go and do this alone!"

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay! I'll be behind you a bit but I'll be there!" Probably even visible when he looked over his shoulder sometimes! "I don't know Braig's plans either but you know he fusses, and Elcy made up the pack for him so he'd have something to do!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah." Dilan said, "He's a dork."

[mitochondriaaya]

"We're all dorks!" Aya agreed cheerfully. "He's just not running and so at loose ends!" They knew their Braig?

"He'll manage! Or surprise us with something weird!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Or both!" Dilan agreed cheerfully, watching the people in front of them. So many running people!

[mitochondriaaya]

"Or both!" she agreed. And yes, running people. And people pushing themselves too hard too fast, obviously flagging and shifting to the edges of the herd...the groups would start to truly separate out soon!

[sliceitwithwind]

And when it did, Dilan started drifting more to the front. He just couldn't help it, the need to chase warring with the need to be first that came with being a teenage boy...

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya had stopped talking as the need to breath properly emerged, but she gave him a cheerful wave when he headed off. She was competitive, yes, but she was also realistic! No way in hell was she taking a lead position and holding it! She hadn't needed to drop to a walk yet by the time they passed the quarter marker! That was something!

And watching Dilan jockeying up ahead was also fun! Did her erstwhile jogging partner realize he was edging up on people like their own shadows? It was hilarious!

[sliceitwithwind]

He had no clue. He loved it, though! Running like this, it really did something for him and made him feel good. Just like lifting weights, or finally cracking a really tough concept.

[mitochondriaaya]

It was good to see him being comfortable in his body again. It was really good in fact. His marathon idea was a winner! Oh, she'd probably curse him in the morning after al the running but, for now, it was good!

And thirsty work. She did slow enough to grab a water bottle at the next stand!

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan was grabbing a bottle at every other stand, sweat pouring off his body, but he was rapidly approaching the very front row.

[mitochondriaaya]

Yeah, Aya ended up dropping back to about the solid middle until she caught her second wind at the half point and inched back up toward the front middle! She didn't have legs that went on forever but she knew how to stretch a stride!

They'd both really need showers when they went home though.

Maybe ocean, then shower.

[sliceitwithwind]

Ocean than shower, totally. Dilan hit his stride fairly early and just settled into it, coasting into the finish very near the front, within the first thirty people or so across the line. Then he started walking in circles while Braig poured a bucket of water over his head.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya pounded in at eighty-sixth, which was kind of amazing in her book! She was tired and shaking by that point but hey, she did it! The boys only had to wait about an hour longer? That fifty+ person difference took a while to trickle through!

Walking cool down? Yes, though her feet wanted to go in every direction but straight then. Ugh. "TOMORROW I SLEEP IN!" Just so the world knew!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sounds good." Braig said, dumping another bucket of water (warmish water, not cold) over her head to help her slough off some of the worst sweat. Dilan was wrapped in a towel and grinning.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Gyah!" Dousing! She held still for it though and shook her hair afterward to make water droplets fly. "Of course, you approve of sleeping in!" Aya laughed, soaked. "What did you get Dilan? What place? C'mon, you beat the weird guy right?" The weird guy in skin tight everythiny!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, I made twenty-seven." Dilan said cheerfully, "He came in at thirty-two. I think next time I could take first, if I really tried."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I bet you could too!" Aya agreed cheerfully, fanning her shirt in a vain attempt to dry the bandaging beneath. "You always run well! My legs feel like jelly!" But she did good for a kid so all was well with the world!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, but Aya," Braig said, "how many thirteen year olds run a marathon at all? Don't count yourself down! That was really awesome."

"Yeah!" Dilan agreed.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Jellllllllly legs!" That was why thirteen year olds didn't run them! "And I wasn't! I finished and people are going to donate because we both finished! That's good! If I wanna get a higher place though maybe I should train when we're in the territories." Nothing like heat and katzu thinking it was a fun game to spur her on?

"What do you think Dilan? Should we do another?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I wanna." Dilan said, and then Elcy whopped him, "I want to." he corrected himself, "Training in the Territories would be awesome!"

A whole horde of Katzu chasing them to keep them moving? Oh, yeah.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya giggled when Dilan got whopped then leaned against Braig. Support Braig was the best Braig? "Okay, then we look at one early next fall?" A week or two after they got back? She'd be fourteen by then!

Heck, if this marathon had been a few weeks later she'd have been fourteen for this one! Oh, wait, she'd just volunteered to do intense running training in Africa. She was going to die. '...I have a big mouth." Facepalm time!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sounds good to me!" Dilan said. Braig patted her shoulder and handed her a towel, "Yeah, you do. It's okay, it makes you fit in with the rest of us."

[mitochondriaaya]

"You can remind me it was all my idea if I end up in a coma or something because I was an idiot trying to keep up with katzu in Africa." Aya chuckled and draped the towel over her head to sop up some of the water in her hair. She was going to do it anyway, naturally, but hey!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Will do." Dilan promised, "We'll have someone carry a lot of extra water for you." It was the only way she'd survive.

[mitochondriaaya]

"And I'll drink like a fish dipped in sunblock!" Aya promised. "And I can get one of those neat little camel packs that are water packs? It'd be just as good as the leg weights!"