3: The Magic Number

I am now a three-miler.I've been running for almost four years now and only recently did I discover the joys of the two mile adrenaline rush. I used to quit after two miles, thinking that sharp explosive pain in my side was telling me something.Actually it was. It was telling me: "Hold on, flower, the good part is just around this bend." Every time I run now, once I cross the two mile mark, I feel like I'm flying. Now that I'm doing exactly one third more of it, running is a completely new sport.I did a lot of things wrong on my journey to this point.- running too fast- running too irregularly- refusing to walk out stitch or cramps- not doing yoga afterwardsBut I also learned some really great things while getting to this point.- persevering at something you're naturally bad at is uniquely rewarding- a good play list is one of the best life hacks ever- oxygen is a glorious feel-good drugFor anyone contemplating taking up the sport, I can't recommend it highly enough. You can do it almost anywhere, at any time. You get an intense cardio work out in a very short time. And it doesn't have to hurt nearly as much as I made it hurt. When you feel like you can't go on any more, just walk for a while, then (and this is the critical part) once you've gotten your breath back, run again. Repeat until you've had enough. I have no idea if that's what professional running experts have to say on the subject, but it sure worked for me.Oh, and make sure you have some emergency pick-me-up songs on your iPod. Use these when you feel like calling it quits before you should. Here are mine and they never fail:"Hey Ya" by Outkast"Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" by Gnarls Barkley"Town Called Malice" by The JamSee you at the two-mile mark!