I still don’t like running. But I’ve kept up with the habit for nearly two years now for exercise. Since focusing on year-round cardio, my abilities on a bike have skyrocketed in the past two summers.

Lately, however, I’ve surprised myself.

Last year I pushed myself to my first 5K run. This was a massive achievement for me as my morning runs typically max out at around three. So this summer, I aimed to do a few more of those.

A couple of weeks ago I was running my 5K loop when, a la Gump, for no particular reason I just kept on going.

When I checked my stats after that little detour, I had run 8.9K — nearly doubling my previous record.

Not only did it seem far easier than I would have expected, but I was high for the next two hours. And while I’ve heard about this “runner’s high” I guess I’ve just never made it far enough to experience it.

I ran another 8.6K two days later. And it was even easier than the last.

So what does this mean? Probably nothing. I still don’t like the physical act of running, and while cresting that 10K mark is tempting, committing an entire hour to something I don’t enjoy is a hurdle I’ll need to overcome.

And then there’s the cold…