Friday, November 7, 2014

Uber Pride

Last night we went out for our anniversary. 10 Years. Can you believe it?!!?!? I cannot. In true Sam fashion he got an Uber black car to pick us up - yes, we are FANCY. I always feel uncomfortable making small talk with the driver.....but never fear. Sam LOVES to chat. So he did. The whole time.

Mindy is hilarious. Sam talks a lot. Perfect pairing

The driver was nice. Polite. Giggly even. Then Sam noticed his 13.1 and 26.2 stickers. Game. On.

Agha, our driver, quickly went from a nice 7 on the energy scale to a 15! 10 point scale, obvi. He was so happy, excited, thrilled to talk marathon. Agha is from India. There he ran his first marathon at the age of 21. He almost died. He did manage to squeak out a 2:32 finish! Very little water available to runners. Temps in the 115's. Pollution. He collapsed. He lost vision. He was so dehydrated. He described the horrors of his 26.2 mile journey in a way that made you want to get out there and do it too. I mean, 115 degrees can't be THAT bad......right? He actually wrote to India after his first US marathon to tell them how bad his experience was in India and great it was in the US.



Agha went on and on about his love for running. He let us know that he is in a running club. The 50 states Marathon Club. Yep. 50. He is currently sitting pretty at 36. That's a lot of t-shirts!



His favorite? Marine Corp. Hands down. He said that he runs it just to see if they mess anything up - but they don't! They never slip up - the organization of a Marine is amazing!



His least favorite? San Fran. Those hills. He said the last 3 miles were up hill. Was he pissed? Nope. He laughed about it.


Next up? Hawaii




Agha went on to talk about how he cannot believe how American he felt running the marathons. He said he feels like he was born in this country - water at every mile, the spectators.......just amazing. When he runs in India he cannot believe the lack of support for runners. "I was born in this country, but they do not treat me that way".

I could not see his smile (he WAS driving) but I could feel it. Ear to ear. His laugh was contagious. He was so proud and happy to talk about his passion. I have run my share of half marathons and 1 full marathon. I don't think I will do another (you never know) but talking with someone who is so passionate about it sure did make me think about it. 

I truly hope that when I talk about the things I do that I inspire people. I hope that people can feel how much I enjoy Crossfit, lifting weights, my family..........my goal is for that to always come across. 

Thank you Agha for sharing your passion!