enJOY it

He was my best guy friend in high school. And today I have three stories to tell you about Steve.

1) Our junior year, Steve was on the basketball team that made it all the way to, well, I've forgotten how far they made it, but really far in the state championships. To get that far, we had an almost perfect season. Every gameday, I would give Steve a scrap of paper that said something like "good luck. love, elise" on it and he'd wear it in his shoe for the whole game. Once, I forgot to get the paper to him and our team lost. Word spread and soon even the coach was confirming with Steve that he had that piece of paper.

2) I graduated high school and went to college. Steve graduated high school and went to college. I graduated college and went on a European vacation with some girlfriends. Steve did the same. SUPER RANDOMLY, in Amsterdam I heard someone call my name. I turned around and it was Steve! In Amsterdam! Eating french fries with mayonnaise on them! How crazy!

3) We both got back from Europe and went on with our lives. SUPER RANDOMLY, I went to a bar in DC and heard someone call my name. I turned around and sure enough, it was Steve! In DC! Living and working and doing cool stuff. I think we spent most of that catch up talking about how we always meet up in strange places.

So those are my background stories. Now you know that both Steve and I are superstitious and like to appear out of nowhere. But the point of them is to tell you about Steve's plan to run the Timberman 70.3, a half-ironman, in August. If you're curious : that's a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride and finished off with a 13.1 mile run.

To me, it sounds a lot like lighting myself on fire and then running a half-marathon. But Steve is braver than me, so to him, it sounds like fun.

Steve is raising money and awareness for Leukemia and Lymphoma research while training for this adventure. You can read more about Steve and his plan here (and then keep reading because rumor has it he's going to share running and racing tips). And if you are so inclined, I would love it if you'd donate to his cause. (For donation instructions, please read the right sidebar of his blog. His full name is Steve Claremon.)

Right now, I am feeling so inspired. Running has messed up my brain a little bit (or maybe it just straightened it out) and suddenly everything seems shiny and awesome. Steve, though, is one of those people that has always been unbelievably inspiring and already was bright and shiny. I don't even need a runner's high to confirm that.

Thanks for letting me share a bit about him and this great plan here.