Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 115: This morning in addition to running for marathon training, Gwen actually felt like she was running towards something.
This morning in addition to running for marathon training, Gwen actually felt like she was running towards something. Gwen also noticed that the park was beginning to feel more familiar. She didn’t know if it was because of the morning running sessions or because of her slow meander through the park yesterday as she and Michael walked, but she liked the feeling that it was becoming a known place on her mental map.
‘Probably a combination of both,’ she concluded as they entered their final stretch. This morning they pushed harder and even had anyone wanted to have a friendly conversation it would have been impossible. They were now running at a pace that prohibited conversation. It actually made her feel a little bit better as it was closer to what she knew.
Some of the others looked as though they hadn’t quite been ready to push that far. No one complained as they started to slow down as they entered their cool down lap. ‘But some don’t have breath for that either.’ She noticed that many were working on regaining their breath.
By the time their cool down lap wound down to a walk everyone was back to breathing normally. “Remind me not to complain about having the breath to speak while running again,” someone said. It was one of the men and she didn’t see who said it. The voice was kind of breathy and still panting a little so she wasn’t able to identify the voice as easily.
There were a few chuckles all around and Gwen nodded her head in solidarity. The morning run being over, they made it back to their starting point and again slit off into smaller group and pairs. She and Alan headed back towards the apartment building.
“Think we’ll get rain today,” he asked. He looked up at the sky and Gwen did likewise. The sky looked like it’s early morning gray.
“Don’t know,” Gwen said. “Is it supposed to?”
“The weathermen are calling for it later today and into tomorrow,” Alan said.
“Oh,” Gwen said. She realized that the app that she checked for the weather was still set to Westport. She would need to adjust it to keep track of it here. “I may need to find an umbrella before class,” she said, half to herself.
“You are starting summer classes?” He said.
“I am,” Gwen said. “Today is the first one.”
Alan nodded. Gwen didn’t feel the need to point out that it was a baking class and Alan didn’t ask for details. She didn’t think he really wanted that much detail in general.
“An umbrella might be a good idea,” he said. “If it is raining in the morning, we might call the morning run off, depending on the sort of rain.” He shrugged. “Or maybe any sort actually, I don’t think our group is that hard core with the running. We are mostly those who thought it would be fun to run and nice to support a cause in a marathon. Some of the others are a bit more into it.”
Gwen thought about those in her group and nodded. “It did seem that no one in the group thinks they are joining the Olympic team,” she said. Alan snorted.
“No,” he agreed. “That group meets in the morning and after work and they are determined to place in the front of the marathon rather than just running it. And most of them seem to be in the marketing division.” He frowned as though just realizing it and wondering about the objectives of the marketing department.
Ten til Midnight 