Five!

Andy has been slowly rubbing off on me in various ways ever since I met him. The first was with country music. The most recent . . . running. Running has always been something that I have declared to be on my list of hated things. In times past, I have had to run, but I have never enjoyed it. I'm slow, I don't like to be sweaty, I get bored, and the list goes on. I use running as an exercise tool, but really don't get too much out of it. I do it because I have too. My max has been a couple of miles, although this past week I surprised myself with how far I could run - 4.25 miles! I admit, I had no plans to run that far but was just trying to keep up with a friend and somehow it just happened. It actually got me a little excited thinking that with just a little more effort I could run 5 miles - that just sounds like such an accomplishment. So, yesterday I tried . . . and failed. (To my credit, there were some physical issues that were holding me back.) Today, I was feeling much better and decided to try again. (I'm still not exactly clear on why I've decided to torture myself like this.) Well, I did it! 5 miles - on the treadmill, no less! Talk about boring! (Although I did have Rachael Ray and TLC to keep me company.) I'm still slow (it took me just under an hour), but I did it! I don't know if this little obsession for distance will last, or if I will be content to settle for an occasional five mile run. I do know that I did enjoy pushing myself and the feeling of accomplishment that I got when I was finished. Although I'm pretty sure that I'll never get to the point where I love it as much as Andy, at least now I can relate a little because I'm pretty sure that completing 5 miles classifies me as a runner!

(Photography credit goes to Emma Lee!) :)