What a difference a year makes.

     I ran about three miles today. I didn't run that fast. Last year I would have felt like the biggest slacker in the world for only running 3 miles. But this year running three miles is good. I am really proud of myself for running those three miles. 

It just seems crazy for me to think about last year. Running was a huge part of my life then. My mood was dictated by my running. My day was dictated by my running.

Now I run when I want to and don't run when I don't want to. When I run I don't worry about the pace. I don't start my watch. When I get tired I take a break. Sometimes I walk a little bit. Running 3 miles is fine now and seems like a reasonable amount to run. 

I still do run quite a bit. I mean I don't make a lot of money and can't afford to buy new clothes if I can no longer fit into them. It just is different. Running now is not even close to how running was before. Sometimes I miss how it was before. I miss pushing myself as hard as possible. I miss the feeling after a really hard run.

But sometimes when I am tired and want to stay in and read a book in my bed or when its raining I don't miss it so much. And sometimes when I am running and am doing it because it's something I love and not because someone is standing near by with a stop watch making me, I really like the type of running I do now.

This picture was last year at regionals. If I raced the person in this picture today my butt would get seriously kicked.