I have been trying to increase my running distance and decided to run The Moonshine Run 5K course twice around.

(Please note that The Moonshine Run™ is a registered trademark of MMRC—any use of the term The Moonshine Run™ without the explicit consent of MMRC could result in being cursed for being as anal retentive as the author of this post. Just kidding, we haven’t actually trademarked it yet, so if you hurry you can beat us to it.)

Anyway, I started at my house and ran down to the “official” start line at the Madison town clock. When the club ran the course in November, we began there, so it was ingrained in my mind that I had to begin my run at that exact spot. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the route, it’s a loop course that goes right past my house.

I mentioned that this route—a loop, no less—goes right by my front door, didn’t I? Well, it was only after I passed my house for the second time that it occurred to me I could have just started at my house, turned at the Dollar General, and followed the course from there. I mean, it’s a loop! I could have effectively run 6.4 miles instead of the 7-ish that I wound up doing by first running downtown and then back up to my house. Of course, I wouldn’t have begun at the “official” starting line, and therefore it probably wouldn’t have counted as doing the “official” course.

I can be a little anal at times, which makes me a successful accountant and a so-so runner.