500! Or, how did I turn into a runner?

Today I'm celebrating a total of 500 miles run (about 64,200 calories burned) this year.
Which perplexes me. Last I checked, I was a biker. I guess I should check more often.

But the combined need to do something, need to exercise our dog, and need to have sanity-time led me to try running last summer... starting with run a block, walk a block and finishing with that stupid idea of running a marathon.

Unlike biking, which takes three times as long to get a good workout in, and which involves things like power meters and gears and lots of gear, running is simple. Do it and you get better at it. Do it some more and lose weight like mad. Keep doing it and it becomes enjoyable. Without trying, you get faster, skinnier, happier, more focused. Oh, and it's great exercise for the dog, too.

I'm not saying I'm done biking- far from it. Biking is still really what I want to be doing, and will always be my preferred passtime/workout/transportation/way of getting a fiancé, but I just don't have the time or access to the right routes to make it stick as a workout. And I just don't see myself stopping this running thing. It's done so much good for me (and Molly).

This morning's "victory lap" was far from it. I was a little over-enthusiastic about the drinking-margaritas-on-the-porch-with-b14 thing last night, and the jump from last week's 12 to this week's 21 miles is sort of kicking my butt. I mean, my longest mileage week was 40, I can handle 21 no problem, it's just a rather fast increase (which most runners would warn against). My tired legs were no fun, and around 3 miles those margaritas came back for a not-so-refreshing-this-time buzz. I'm taking tomorrow off.