It's funny. When I started running this summer, I was happy just to finish each run. If I could just keep running until each walk break, I was thrilled.

When I started, 5k seemed impossibly far away and out of reach.

About halfway through the Learn to Run Clinic, on a heavy humid day, the group went about 3 kilometres. I had pushed myself as far as I could, and I thought I wouldn't increase my distance and endurance in time for my first race. And when I did start to slowly increase my distance, my knees would sometimes get sore towards the end, when I got tired and my running form got sloppy.

But I learned more about how to run properly. I worked on my running form. I experimented with it and improved it - shortening my stride, focusing on my posture and alignment, and thinking about my feet landing softly.

And I worked on increasing my strength and endurance. Each week, the group went slightly further than the week before. I was still a pretty slow runner. And the heat and humidity of the summer didn't help with that. But I did get myself to a point where I could run 5k, and I did it in time for my first race. And not only did I finish that race, but I finished feeling great (if a tiny little bit sore) and with a huge smile.

Then I started the 5k clinic. And maybe it was the confidence of getting this far, or maybe it was the cooler temperatures of fall, but I started enjoying and looking forward to each run, and I got faster. I'm now halfway through the 5k clinic, and for the past couple of weeks, I've been running way faster on my practice runs than I ever did when I first started.

Yesterday, for example, I ran about 4 and a half kilometres in about 27 minutes. This works out to about 6 minutes per kilometre. Of course, many people run faster than that, but for me this is huge. This is way faster than I thought I'd be running at the moment.

I feel fantastic after each run. Sometimes if I'm tired, my knee or hip might get sore towards the end of a run, but at least I know why. And lately, I've fixed my running form to the point where I run pain-free. I feel amazing and strong and I sound like a broken record when I say it, but I really do feel great.

Of course, I'm mindful of the stresses that running places on the body. I always make sure that I have at least one full rest day between running sessions. I make sure to stretch properly after each run, and I always grab something with protein after running. If I do feel pain during a run, I'll slow down or start walking, and will give myself an extra day or two before I go for another run. I've found something that I love to do, and my fitness level has improved hugely over the past four months. I'll do everything I can to be smart about my running and to avoid injury.

When I started this running blog, I chose the tagline "From Couch Potato to Marathoner". I figured that would be good motivation for me, and something to strive for. But it felt kind of presuming of me. I could barely run for 2 or 3 minutes at a time when I started this blog. But something has changed between then and now. I'm nowhere close to being able to run a marathon yet, but it now seems entirely possible.

I feel like I can plan ahead to next summer and next fall. Instead of this being some kind of pipe dream, I can now see myself getting there - I can see myself becoming a marathoner.

I plan on training for a 10k over the winter. I'm leery of ice but I won't let that stop me (I'll likely run much more slowly, though).

I'll train for a half-marathon in the spring, and then if all goes well, I plan to train for a marathon after that.

Hopefully, by this time next year I'll be running my first-ever marathon.

And that's a pretty cool thing.