First, my physical background: I'm 23, 5'10", 120 pounds. I'm naturally a lightweight, but not really in good shape. Growing up, I was several years behind everyone else in terms of general physical development, giving me an overall I-suck-at-sports attitude. Combine that with allergies and being the first generation for which the Internet became a good alternative to going outside, and you can imagine how, despite having a decent running body, I've spent a lot of time sitting on the couch.

I joined the cross country team in 9th grade. I wasn't good at it. I pulled a hamstring near the beginning of the season, undoubtedly because I tried too hard to keep up with others. I ran with the attitude that running through pain is how you improve, and if you aren't on the edge of throwing up after a race then you didn't push yourself hard enough. Toward the end of the year I was seeing more improvement in my 5k times, but that didn't do much to change the fact that I just hated the labor of running. I didn't come back next year.

In my first year of college, I put forth a little effort to do some running, but it didn't amount to much. I ran around campus a few times with a friend, used the treadmill at the campus rec center, and just got bored with it. Plus, it still hurt. It doesn't take long before I end up with shinsplits, stomach cramps, and upper back pain. So in five years as an undergrad, I didn't do much running.

My sister Jill has always been the athletic one. For about a year now, she has been training for her first marathon. I'm told that this was partly inspired by Christopher McDougall's popular book Born To Run. Her boyfriend does some running with her, wearing Vibrams. Jill lends me this book. I'll get around to reading it eventually.

As I'm moving onto a life of full-time work and part-time grad school, I start running occasionally with Ashley. It's mostly just something to do to hang out with her - I'm not planning on becoming a runner. I've tried that before, and it didn't work out. Ashley wears Vibrams too. So, what the hell, I buy a pair. I'm curious to try running in them, but primarily I just like the look and feel. The office dress code is pretty relaxed, so I start wearing them to work.

I finally get through the Stephen King novel I've been working on, and Born to Run is next in the queue. I read this book in two days, and I'm convinced that I want to start running for serious. I'm a skeptical person, and I can tell that McDougall is a good writer - which also labels him in my mind as a good bullshit artist. Like The Tipping Point or Atlas Shrugged, I'm categorizing this book as interesting but not necessarily truthful. Regardless, it has put me in the mood to run, which is a good thing, so I figure I'll run with it, if you'll pardon the expression.

I came at it with a different attitude this time, and I figured out what would help this attitude stick with me.

• Enjoy it. If you don't, there's no point in doing this. Just run. That's the only goal.
• Specifically, what you're not doing is training. Training is hard, training is boring, training sucks. Training means getting through today so that you can do better tomorrow. It takes willpower. It isn't fun.
• Don't run at an easy pace, or a hard pace, or a comfortable pace. Find a fun pace. Ignore the time. You get too easily caught up in numbers, and you forget that you're running.
• Run alone (not always). It's easy to get drawn into someone else's training mentality. Running with an overthinker who is always focused on timing her runs is harmful to me.
• Focus instead on covering ground, because getting somewhere from somewhere else is satisfying. Avoid running in circles, and never set foot on a treadmill.
• If you need to set a goal, do it by running away from home, so you have no option but to run back. This feels good to complete because it is a real objective, not an abstract number that you need to convince yourself is worth hitting.
• Don't ever run in shoes. Feeling the ground adds a lot to the fun, and most of my running pains have gone away since I switched to Vibrams.

It's only been a few weeks so far - But it actually feels right this time. I'm in Atlanta, which isn't optimal, but my home and work are both a mile away from Piedmont Park, which has about 2 miles of perimeter. So lately I've been going there, running around the park, and returning, giving me a decent 4+ mile run without too many traffic lights.