Mind And Body

Things people might think about as they pass the 8K timing station in the local 10K (with runners' numbers)

(3454) Forty five minutes, seventeen seconds, if I speed up a little I'll post a personal best.
(555) Just... keep... going...
(3222) Will Joe have got himself up without me? What has he had for breakfast? I wonder if he saw the danish pastry I left out for him. I should have texted him.
(3333) That garage - they ripped me off. I didn't need a new tyre.
(2121) How did the chorus go? I got you. No. You got me. No. We got each other. No, there were only three words. Dum, dum-dum, dum. I wish I could remember.
(999) It’s not as if it meant anything. Why would he want to see me again?
(8087) I can still see her. She said she would run with me, stuck with me for the first 5K, then started to move away. Didn’t even look back to see if I was keeping up.
(3998) He’s limping, probably shoelaces too tight. Nice bum though.
(777) Funny how the grass at the side of the road is worn away, dusty, can’t imagine why anyone would walk along here.
(4343) Guinness. No. Peroni. Hot today, lager better. Can almost taste it. My saliva tastes of Peroni.
(10232) Kid by the side of the road. Haircut. Looks the same as our Adam did at eight. Miss that.
(171) Birthday card. If I get a birthday card straight after the finish and send it first class he'll get it Tuesday. One day late is excusable. I mean it's better than last year. I wish I'd sent it yesterday. What if there's not the right design? I hate sending crap cards. Birthday card. Birthday card. Birthday card.
(8022) Why that beep? Who chose it?
(2921) Was I any good? Was she impressed or was that just sympathy?
(908) Maybe I could take up life modelling. Karen says it's easy money. Tasteful. I don't mind people looking at me. What if they make me ugly?
(1549) Stretch. You have to stretch at the end. You know you have to stretch. Come on, for once do your stretches.
(5110) He would be so proud of me. He would have been standing here. He'd know this is where I'd need the encouragement. Don't cry. Not in public. Don't cry. Think of something else. It's a beautiful day. Look at how the sun reflects off the clouds. Maybe it'll rain later. I can feel him running with me. Seven hundred and twenty five pounds. It'll make a difference. I have good friends. 'We'll be thinking of you' 'Go for it!' 'I know you can do it!' Sick. I feel so sick. Don't throw up. He looked so calm in the final days. I'm glad I told him I loved him right at the end. Kissed his head. Held him. Told him I loved him.