Speak Friend And Enter

Stodgy Legs Elf was overjoyed. She had a new friend and partner who was going to train with her and run the Portland Marathon in October! Not only was he a good friend and training partner, but the man who called himself Bucket Belly Elf was her lover and life partner as well. Now she and her husband were training together once a week.

"It makes me feel like I'm not alone", thought Stodgy Legs Elf. Bucket Belly Elf was in much better shape when he ran, but Stodgy Legs could hold her own at speed-walking. They decided to do a walk-run pattern rather than just run. "That way we will not hurt our old knees, hips, and backs" decided Stodgy and Bucket.

On Saturday Stodgy and Bucket did their first training together. They started easy and slow and did a 10k outside on the mountain trail. There were many elves and dwarves and centaurs and other creatures on foot and on two-wheeled contraptions zooming back and forth in the mountains. It was a warm and sunny day with no frozen lace in the air. Stodgy and Bucket were happy to be training together, but very sore when it was over.
Artwork: http://www.epilogue.net

Sad Elf Wakes Up

Stodgy Legs Elf had been in a very dark and sad place for three weeks. She had tried to run, but being sick and running do not pair well. Now Stodgy Legs was finally feeling almost like herself again. She still had many heavy gargoyles of stress clinging to her limbs, but at least most of the buzzy-glucks had left her head, and all of the gooey-mooks had left her tummy.

"I feel like I have wakened from a dream", thought Stodgy Legs Elf. "I will rise up and become an elf who is trying to run again."

Stodgy was ready to return to the Forest of Training and confront Orc.

Feeling Blue

Ever since three dozen buzzy-glucks had crawled into her ears and nose and given her the green dragon illness, Stodgy Legs Elf had been feeling a little blue as well as green. She had missed almost an entire week of visiting the Forest of Training, and this past week she had only allowed Orc to chase her for five minutes at a time with a walking rest in between. "Will I ever get rid of these pesky buzzy-glucks?" wondered Stodgy Legs.

Looking down at her stodgy legs and stodgy arms and stodgy belly, Stodgy Legs Elf felt very, very blue. Many weeks had gone by, yet not a single measure of flesh had been lifted from any of her stodgy parts. "How can I run and run and avoid eating sweet figs and still have so many measures of flesh?" she complained.

There was no doubt about it. Stodgy needed a change in color.