Without going into too much detail, let me tell you that last week sucked for me personally. I was seriously under the weather and experiencing a very low ebb. I didn’t get to train at all and at some points was pretty convinced that I wouldn’t be able to even walk the Earth Day 5k on Saturday, let alone run it. But, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine and buoyed by the tremendous support of my friends, family and co-workers, I pulled a major Ali rally and run/walked the heck out of that baby.

After an inspiring send-off by my fellow-editors, who wore “All the Way Ali” t-shirts that they surreptitiously had printed to show their support; the coaching from my sister-in-law Beth, who ran/walked with me the whole way and pushed me to finish under 45 minutes; the fear of ridicule from my brother, Adam; and the sweet gesture from my girl Michelle deRouen, associate publisher of Seattle Bride, who stuck around after finishing her much faster race to run the last 100 yards by my side (jeez, I’m getting a little choked up here), I am proud to say that I consider my journey from couch to 5k a success. Phew. That was a close one.

And while I still can’t fit into my skinny jeans, I got what I wanted out of this experience: self-respect. It’s something you can’t buy, always looks good on you no matter what your size or shape, and in addition a runner’s high, is my new addiction.

Thanks for following my foibles and adventures these past weeks! It’s been a pleasure to share them with you and I hope to see you on the trail.

Run on.