I Am Just A Poor Boy And My Story's Seldom Told

I spent my lunch break standing in a Halloween store debating between two boxer costumes: the Everlast and the Rocky. The Rocky came with a short white robe, small gloves, and these shorts.
Except the shorts looked much cheaper, and "Rocky" replaced "Balboa." The other set, however, had larger gloves and longer shorts, and I worried they would drag me down in the Saturday race. I picked the latter set because I could be any boxer. In the first set, I would have to be Rocky, and I don't want to do a Stallone impression.

I did not wear it during my run last night. This was my first 5k run in the new shoes, and my mind would be on distracted enough by them, I thought. Nope. My feet were fine, and the thicker soles are a big temptation to bounce more in my run. It certainly helps when running downhill, which I now do at near full stride.

Your Sister and I decided to walk together after my runs, and we left the house near the same time last night. I took a different route to replace the last half mile I'd lose by meeting her at the school, where she was ran stadium steps and jogged the track. On the second half of my run, I saw a kid running in the direction of the school. Now this was just as the big downhill starts, and I figured he was either running Saturday's 5k route or heading to the school for the rescheduled JV game. He was delayed by a red light, and it still took him a half mile. But he was zooming at a pace I couldn't match. I watched him pull away ahead of me and was convinced he was a regular runner testing the 5k route. I again accepted my age and relative lack of training and picked up my stride a bit to think of other matters.

I could see him when he passed the road that makes up the majority of the 5k route and realized he was both headed to the school and slowing down. By the time I reached the school, I saw him shuffling forward at a dead walk with his hands on his head. He was beat, and I was still going, feeling solid in the third mile. Before I could pass him, he heard me and turned to watch me pass by, and I knew the dark night would hide my smile. Your Sister was right there to watch us both. She just finished her new workout, and we walked home to make pizza.

I modeled the costume after I added one of my boxing t-shirts. We gave each other rabbit punches with the gloves. I used to be a big boxing fan before the sport degraded into one-punch bums. Tyson affected a whole generation who thought a haymaker was all they needed to be rich. What they forget is that, early one, he was a very smart fighter who just happened to be a devastating puncher. His defense was perfect.

Picture of the Day
My 5k race costume. Very fit guy not included. I won't run in the robe, but the gloves and shorts shouldn't be a problem during the race. They're light. I still need to buy tube socks though.