Lovin some Runnin

If you know me even just a little bit you know that I have this undying love for Michael Franti. If he is in town, or even in the state, I will go and see him just for the energy he builds in the crowd. Even if you are not one to dance it is impossible not to when there is a little Franti playing on the radio or in person. What I love even more is what Michael Franti stands for...

So Saturday morning I woke up at my usual time 6:30 a.m., took Dukie out for a short stroll and then headed up to Worthington High School for my first Marathoner in Training (MIT) workout. I was sitting on the bleachers taking in the scene before we started running and found the same type of energy building as I always feel at a Franti concert. You see if you talk with people at a Michael Franti concert you will sometimes hear faithful fans asking other concert goers how many times they have seen Michael Franti in concert, if the answer is none the faithful fan will follow that up with any combination of the following lines:

Oh man, you are a Franti virgin, he is amazing live!!!
You are going to love him!!!
Get ready to dance your butt off!
This will be the best concert you will ever see (until next time of course)!

As the mass of people were gathering at the MIT training yesterday I noticed that all of the veterans were chatting it up with their running friends, the new folks were hanging out trying to figure out the flow of the morning, the coaches were having a quick meeting on the field, people were signing in and dropping their keys off. I was looking around trying to figure out where I might fit in and that is when I realized I already did fit in. The energy was contagious; it was like being at a Michael Franti concert. People were excited to get their first run with this group under their belt, I found in that moment my love for running!!! It was the best feeling and because every memory/moment can be matched with a song, I thought I would share the one that took over while sitting in those bleachers yesterday:

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