I am not sure how it happened, but I happened upon the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k here in San Diego next weekend.  I put a link on my face.book and asked if anyone would be interested in doing it with me.  I guess it just means a lot to me to support the cause because a really good friend of mine lost her mother to breast cancer a couple of years ago, one of my favorite teachers/neighbors as well, and then an old friend from middle school just finished her last round of chemo.  It kind of rocked my world because to think that someone my age was battling with breast cancer was a lot. So its important to me because they are all apart of my heart and I want them to know that I'm holding their hands whether they want or need it.  I was toying with this idea...toying and then I went to dinner with my coworker Ri Ri where we sat really close to another couple.  When I sat down one of the men mentioned that there was a woman who was sitting there before that moved.  He later mentioned that he thinks she moved because he didn't want to sit next to a gay couple. May I just say, I love conversations with strangers...Ri Ri and I were talking about track and field and high school when again the couple joined us and mentioned that one of them, Pat, was a HS track coach and college half marathon trainer.  Talk about kismet.  The chatty one, I'll name him Ros, told me that twenty years ago Pat was diagnosed with full blown AIDS (may I also say that this was my first time meeting someone in my adult life with AIDS--I wasn't the least bit phased by it, in fact he inspired so much during our chat I wanted to hug him afterwards...totally not the reaction most would have I'm guessing?) but he runs everyday.  When Ri Ri went to the bathroom, I turned to Pat and asked him for some advice because I was thinking of running the Komen 5K, he told me to run it if I wanted to and felt like it, but if not to take my time and listen to the stories.  It was then that I got really excited.  Stories...my favorite thing.  Then Pat continued on, "If you like to swim...don't run, SWIM! Don't make yourself do anything you don't want to do, but do something.  Do the thing that you love to do.  I run every single day," Ros interjects, "he does, and his doctors are amazed because none of their other patients are as healthy as Pat is. I just know its because of the running!" Pat continues, "I've run marathons and been discouraged but then you remember the thing that's connecting you with everybody there is that you are all running a marathon. You're going through it together. Then you can get through it."  Sold.