Just Between You and Me

Okay, so the first thing we've got to establish is that it's not an addiction. Really. It isn't. Stop looking at me that way.

Look, I can stop any time I want. I just choose to keep running.

Remember: I only started a year and a half ago. That Staten Island Half was my first half marathon. Heck, it was my first road race ever. And, yeah, I ran my eighth in February, and have lined up my ninth and tenth, but hey, I had some time on my hands. It's nothing special.

The ninth one? Oh, it's in a couple of weeks. I'm flying out to Columbus, Ohio, for the weekend. That's a perfectly natural thing to do: to fly somewhere so I can run another half. Lots of people do it. And I'm only paying a few hundred dollars to do that, all told. And... and... I'll get to visit Columbus, which is a really cool place, I think.

You're looking at me that way again.

Did I mention they'll have t-shirts? Totally makes it worth it.

Okay, okay I'll admit that not everybody thinks that running 13.1 miles (21.1 km) is a normal thing to do, but it's really fun. You get to see lots of neighborhoods, and you get this great sense of accomplishment, and... and... you get t-shirts. Really cool ones.

So I'm glad we've had this little chat. 'cause I know you've been worried about me, and you don't have to. Because I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go running for a bit.