Welcome to Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers. Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about. Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post. Today’s word is captivate….. I’d love to have you link up, and if you do, please remember to follow my six simple rules.
Captivate – To influence and dominate by some special charm,
art, or trait and with an irresistible appeal
~ Merriam-Webster
We all know someone who captivates – someone who keeps others hanging on every word, entertaining through words woven together artfully until the final sentence. Having a friend who captivates can be very beneficial, especially during a long run.
I never appreciated such a person until my first long run with my friend and mentor, Miles. We met for weekly track workouts leading up to my first marathon, but it wasn’t until our first 20-mile race together that Miles really had a chance to shine. Up until that 20-mile race, all of my long runs had been alone. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was bored during my long runs, but my time on the trail didn’t seem to go by nearly as quickly until I started covering those miles with Miles.
Anyone who has run with Miles knows that he can talk. During our many long runs and races together, Miles kept my friends and me entertained. While my friends and I were struggling during our final miles, Miles kept talking without missing a beat. His stories were long, detailed, sometimes corny, and always entertaining.
Struggling, we hung on every word and while captivated by Miles’ charm and story telling ability, the miles click by, and before we knew it, our long run was finished. Please be forewarned though, if Miles starts to tell you the story about his wife’s cat jumping into the freezer, run fast, faster than you’ve ever run before; because even though you’ll be entertained for at least two miles, you’ll groan at the corny ending.
Thanks for the many entertaining miles, Miles!
Who or what captivates you?
Grab My Button!
Next Wednesday’s Word: Heritage
Nature often captivates me!
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy recently posted…Inspire people by captivating them
Agreed! I love staring out my kitchen window at the blue heron in the creek or baby foxes playing in our back yard.
Miles sounds pretty awesome!! My kids always continue to captivate me with their storytelling abilities!
Lauren recently posted…Why I Love Watching the Mile Race
Awesome! Kids say the best things, and they can definitely captivate for hours on end.
What a great tribute! I find it ironic (?) that he’s a runner named Miles 😉 How perfect is that?!
Kimberly Hatting recently posted…Captivated by the Hills
When my youngest son was little, he asked me if Miles’ parents had named him that because they thought he’d be a runner when he grew up. 🙂
Storytelling is such an art! I have a friend who’s really good at it! Miles sounds like a great running partner!
Coco recently posted…Captivated By Dynamic Sculptures
He is the best! You would be so entertained running with him.
Haha, Miles! I’m thinking I need to get a running partner. These long solo miles are starting to get to me.
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Running Captivated
I know you like running alone, but you should definitely give a running partner a try for a couple of your long runs just to see if you enjoy it. You never know it until you try it!
cute story! My BRF talks nonstop when we do our long runs- I so miss her if I have to run by myself- what a difference it makes!
Mary Beth Jackson recently posted…Can you captivate me? Earn my race $$$?
How terrific that you have a great running friend, too. Miles and I don’t get to run together very often these days, but when we do the miles fly by!
Debbie,
Thank you for honoring me in your Blog about “Captivate”. I’m still telling stories and any time I locate an unsuspecting candidate who hasn’t heard my “Cat” story I wait for an uphill and unleash the story which like you said can take up to a mike to tell. I remember you slapped me when I got to the end of the story when we were in one of our noon weekday runs through the Reston woods. I’m glad you didn’t have a weapon. People have told me that if I could run on my lips instead of my legs, maybe I could finally win a race.
HaHaHa – run on your lips! I do seem to remember handing you a first place age group trophy when I was the race director of the Tortoise and the Hare 8K, so there’s that! 😀
A long run is very good time to have a friend that likes to talk!! I confess i have run near people talking just to ease drop to take my mind off how I was feeling LOL
Karen recently posted…Wrapping Up July
Oh, I think that’s totally acceptable and expected eavesdropping! 😀 I’ve had people chime in on my conversations with friends all of the time during races!
Deb:
I am amazed how Miles can run, smile and talk for miles on end. I’m trying to run and breathe just to get through the distance, and Miles looks like he’s just having a casual conversation in my living room.
He and Jeannie are outstanding people and I”m happy to know them. BTW, I haven’t heard the cat story, so please…..nobody tell the ending.
Thanks for sharing
Yes, Miles and Jeani are pretty special, aren’t they? I promise not to spoil the ending of the cat story; and after you hear it, we can groan together!
You are so right, Deb. My wife Ann and I have known and appreciated Miles and Jeannie for years. And since we are not runners we discovered their captivating warmth and charm without even getting all sweaty. Now how cool is that!
You are running in a good crowd.
That sounds like a win/win, Dan! Hopefully Jeani has served her brownies with vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce to you at least once during your visits! 😀