I have arrived.

Via a bruised toenail.

I'm still running. Although not with as much energy or power as I would like. I've come to terms with it. Accepting that this is how it is now. I actually started writing a post about my life in 1999 complete with photos and I was going to tie it into running. You know, the whole youth/energy/confidence thing. Maybe I'll finish it someday. I guess I wasn't sure if people would actually get it or even want to read it.

I have been running about three times a week. Some weeks, I get in four runs. Other weeks, only two. Two weeks ago, I felt that I needed to pump it up. Basically, I have been trying to get in some mileage with a little bit of speedwork thrown in. I want to have a solid foundation before I begin real training. Although I have never been one to follow any training programs but my own. My average run two weeks ago was hovering around three miles.

And then one night, I was able to run like it was 1999. I have some tricks that make it a bit easier for me to run on the treadmill. Easy in terms of not watching the clock or the little ticker moving around the track on the treadmill console. I knew that I had run about 3.75 miles and I still had energy so I kept running. And running.

I ran five miles.

That was a huge breakthrough for me.

After my first few years of running way back when, I started losing toenails. The process would usually begin with blood blisters under the nail. I eventually reached a point where I always had a bruised toenail, a new nail growing back in or a combination of both. The second toe on my right foot usually falls victim. (I have tried wearing running shoes a half a size bigger and different types of running shoes. Hasn't worked. At this point, I chalk it up to genetics.)

So where is this post going? Yes, it has been five years but I am now sporting a bruised toenail.