the journey begins... (summer 2007 recap)

First, a little background...
I used to be a runner, eons ago. I ran cross country in high school (small school) and college (Div. III). After that, well, life happened. Full-time work. Marriage. Kids. Etc. Although I didn't fully realize it at the time, with other distractions (er, focuses) and without other people to run with, and without races coming up every weekend, my motivation to run waned, and my fitness level dropped. Every several months I would try to pick things up, do more mileage and start doing some speedwork. And, every time, I would do too much, too fast, too soon, and get injured. And take time off, losing more fitness. Eventually, by the summer of 2007, I was essentially a non-runner. My energy level had dropped, my waist was expanding, and running around in the yard with my young kids got me winded. My pants were getting too tight too tight in the waist. Looking in the mirror, I was clearly growing a paunch, and if things progressed much further, would become a candidate for a "bro"!
I decided it was high time to draw a line in the Florida sand. I would take up running once more and get back in shape, this time armed with my experience in how not to get in shape. I would go slowly, gradually, laying a foundation one mile at a time, minimizing risk of injury. And I would have goals, and I would have fun.