5 miles

and I think what that means is that you have to push yourself a little further each time. If you want to meet that goal."

I decided not to respond to such a ludicrous statement, pulling the covers over my head and going deeper into run along the University Lakes. It was cool enough for a jacket. Thought the sun was still somewhere behind the clouds to the west, the moon was above a clearing and already starting to show. I spoke softly to my friend next to me, "if we talk too much louder, it will break up the lakes." She looked out over the lakes and we noticed the glass calm; reflecting clouds and the trees that lined her edges. Under the viaduct which used to be my one mile marker when I lived on Ovid, a small group of ducks paddled about, their wake spreading for miles in either direction.
"I haven't showered in three days."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" We laughed at that one good. At a certain point the sky wasn't even over us anymore, it was just reflected from the lakes. Some repetitious John Cale album was playing somewhere on my headphones. It started pulling me out.
"Wait," I said to myself.
Rain was pouring through the roof, covering my bed and my dresser. I need to stop this, I thought. I stood up and started pressing my blankets into the ceiling trying to stop the rain.
"BREEP BREEP," I hit snooze as a distant train began pulling its whistle. (It is coming closer...whispered in my ear), I can't stop thinking about sunlight and oak trees. Trees hanging over Myrtle Street, forming a gauntlet. The same for Ingleside, pushing through these ancient gateways.