A few months ago, I had a strange feeling. I am already 33, in the 34th year of my life. What have I accomplished so far? Let's see, when I was 20, what did I want to have accomplished by 35?

- To have a PhD in math and to be a math professor at a university. Check.
- To have a wife and at least two kids. Check.
- To be a rock star. Well, I do learn to play the guitar... and even though sometimes I don't practice for weeks, I can play a few chords, and I did play "Away in a Manger" at Christmas for my kids. I guess I'll be just satisfied with this for now.
- To learn to speak English. You'll be the judge. (BTW, a student told me today that he transferred to my class, because the other professor, who teaches this course has an accent. I guess that's a compliment.)
- To have run a marathon. Oops!

So I realized I had less than two years. I better start training.

And so I did in December. I run about 10 miles a week now, and I'll have a 5K race On Feb. 7. And most importantly, I fell in love with running (again).

I used to run quite a lot when I was younger, mostly before 16. Then I picked it up every now and then, but never seriously, just to run a mile or two for fun. I really liked trail running, but then I got into a mountain biking scene while still in Atlanta, and that can be even more fun, because you have the same aerobic exercise as in running, but you see more. I always said, your true self only comes out when you race uphill after a hundred kilometers on the bike.

Then we moved to the middle South Carolina for a job, and the closest mountain ranges are almost 3 hours of driving from here. Riding on technical trails (roots, rocks by a river and such) is not fun for me. I gave away my (cheap) MTB in Atlanta and I bought a road bike here, but I use it for transportation only. What's the point of riding on pavement?

Running is different than mountain biking, and it is just the thing I need now. Mountain biking is much about the scenery and the adventure of being in the woods and still being able to get around quickly. Running is more about the sport, the suffering and pain, the accomplishment. I run pretty much the same route every day, so there is not much to view (although the riverbank where I run is beautiful). But getting into my shoes and gear on the evenings, tracking my time, increasing my mileage are exactly the things I like to do when I don't do math.