He awoke the next morning with an erection as hard as he could ever remember. He didn't sleep well with thoughts of Jenny, the naughty looks she had in her green eyes, her sexy body and the sound of her moans all running through his head.
It was 6:30am, around the time he usually woke up and he stepped into the bathroom to relieve his bladder. He washed his hands and emerged and changed into his running clothes. He'd go for a quick and easy 3-mile run to keep his motor running for the marathon in just two days now. His phone pinged and it was a message from Jenny. "Probably not gonna be able to talk today. It's gonna be one of those days."
He sighed to himself. He didn't have a lot to do today and had hoped for some chatting with Jenny to pass the time, and now he didn't know how he was going to get through the day without jerking off several times. He'd have to burn off some of that sexual energy on his run.
He had scouted nearby places to run and settled on a quick trip along the lakeshore to really experience Chicago. The run was uneventful. Just a nice little shakeout as part of his taper. You don't want to go into a marathon running full bore; he'd been gradually easing off his distance and intensity for a few weeks now to help his body recover from the punishment of the most grueling part of his training. Feeling fresh and raring to go, he felt an ease as he jogged to loosen up his muscles and joints.
He thought back over his whole relationship with Jenny. The time they spent at that retreat 10 years ago, going for morning runs together. He thought of the time when they hung out as friends and briefly worked together on a project for their companies, and then the long gap in meaningful conversation as she got married, had a couple of kids, and moved overseas for a while.
Things heated up last year as they got a little flirty, which grew to being a lot flirty. Both of them married, taking some chances with dirty texts to each other. Although she was always worried that her husband was suspicious, and even reported that they would need to cool things off for a while because he had been checking her phone and computer, they always found their way back to indulging in their baser desires and giving in to the undeniable connection that they had always had.
And then, after she had returned to Chicago without her husband, she decided to cool things off even more. She cut off communication entirely, saying that she needed time to figure things out there; settling into a new life with a new job, as a single mother to two young kids.
Those months were agonizing. His heart was broken and he was finding it harder and harder to relate to his wife. He knew that he didn't love her. He doubted he had ever loved her and now knew that it had been a mistake to marry her. The time without talking to Jenny really helped him understand his own marital dynamic and why it would have to end sooner rather than later.
But it didn't hurt any less. He really felt that even a friendship with Jenny was better than the silence. And the friendship was always a bedrock of their relationship, even when he had pushed his feelings towards her way down because of her boyfriend who became her fiance, who became her husband and father of her children.
The months ticked away and, when he sent her a gift for her birthday, they resumed some chilly contact. He never knew where he stood with her. Finally, they had spoken on the phone a couple of months before and had a long conversation where they put some of the cards on the table. Some, but not all. He wondered if he would ever tell her how deeply he felt for her and how much she had hurt him with her silence. He didn't want to scare her away and he didn't want to be that honest with himself. He knew that she was the love of his life and he didn't know what he'd do if the slim hope of them being together in the future was taken away from him.
A honking horn broke him out of his reverie. He looked around and saw there was almost a collision in the nearby street. He glanced down at his watch and saw that he had run about one and a half miles and he turned around to run back to his hotel. He was more aware of his surroundings this time as he breathed in the brisk October air.
He returned to his room, grabbed a granola bar he had brought for his post-run snack and hopped in the shower before heading down to a diner across the street for breakfast. He decided on a fruit-heavy breakfast that also included a couple of poached eggs for protein.
He looked over Jenny's message again and decided not to reply. He knew that it likely wouldn't get a response so he didn't bother to put any energy into crafting a response. Things were hot and cold with Jenny and if she said that she wasn't going to able to talk, she really wasn't going to be able to talk.
He decided that it was time to do the one thing he had to do that day and headed over the race expo to pick up his race bib. This was one of the most exciting times in a race weekend. He could feel the energy radiating off the other runners and he got to check out some cool gear. He would stock up on some energy gels for the marathon and check out the latest advancements in shoes at all of the vendors. There were usually speakers including Olympic distance runners, ultra-marathoners and previous winners of this race. They were talking about all kinds of topics ranging from conceptual things like their inspirations for running or how they overcame illness to win Olympic medals to mundane but highly necessary things like what to eat and when to use the restroom before (and during) a race.
He went to the race check-in and signed and submitted his waiver and picked up his bib which included the electronic timing device that would enable people to track his progress in the race as well as keep his official time. The race kit also included a shirt, some samples of various things that the sponsors were selling: vitamin-infused water, electrolyte gummies, a sample of an extra-strength laundry detergent that was supposed to get the smells out better, and other such sundry items.
The conference center was full of bustle despite the fact that they were strictly controlling the number of people allowed in. The energy was quickly draining him and he wanted to get back to the hotel to rest. He needed to marshal his energy in the days before the race.