The 7:40 Hardcore Running Woman

My morning commute is 20 miles long, and I try to leave home between 7:25 and 7:30. I know I'm going to be on time if I pass the Wal-mart at 7:36. Another time cue is The 7:40 Hardcore Running Woman. I wish I had a photo of her, but she runs along a 55 mph highway, against traffic on the gravel just inches from the road, and I feel like I'd be in danger of hitting her. Rain or shine, that woman is running north on Highway 130 (well, except when it's -25 or something; I assume she runs on a treadmill those days). Her face is contorted into that miserable-looking runner's expression, and her hands are a little lower than breast level, semi-floppy (since Jeff asked for clarification, it's the hands that are semi-floppy). The 7:40 Hardcore Running Woman is Asian, of indeterminate age, and in phenomenal shape, but it took me a while before I decided whether she was male or female. Her face and haircut are androgynous, and since she probably has .05% body fat and no breasts or hips, that's confusing too. Honestly, as awful as it sounds, she reminds me of the Vietnam napalm girl more than anything else.

Last fall I saw her running in a sports bra and shorts, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and call her a woman. And as I've seen her pretty much every day for the last eight months, I've started to wonder about her life. It's obviously highly regimented, and she has the kind of self-discipline that I can only dream about. Is she married? Does she have a job? How far does she run? I've mapped her distance at no less than two miles, and this is in the middle of nowhere. Where does her run originate? WHY DOES SHE RUN?

Maybe tomorrow I'll wave at her.

[Above: Champaign County road image by Dan O'Brien from his beautiful http://gct13.com blog.]