Well, I'm back

I didn't always like to run. Actually I'm pretty sure that if you asked me five years ago what I thought about it, I would probably say it was borderline inhuman and most likely covered by the Geneva Convention. I'm not sure how it started or why I suddenly decided to do something I hated, but one day I just started running. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could barely run 30 seconds without feeling like I was going to die. I actually had to work up to a walk/run program I found on the internet. I think I did it mostly out of boredom. The gym was down the street and it seemed that most of the people I knew were athletic. I started off slowly and found that I actually really enjoyed it. By the time I ran my first 5k, I was already on two sports teams and regularly improving my mile time. 

Then I got sick. I noticed that I was sleeping all the time, I was always hungry, and I no longer wanted to do anything that involved effort. As time went on, it got worse; I gained 40lbs, was sleeping up to 14 hours per day and had all but lost contact with most of my friends. I thought I had mono so I went to the doctor. He ran a gamut of tests and they all came back perfectly normal. He suggested it might be depression. How could I be depressed? I wasn't sad, just frustrated at my mystery illness. I took a referral to a behavioral health doctor and, after I described my symptoms to her, she described the symptoms associated with atypical depression-sleeping all the time, eating more than usual, and lack of motivation. She explained to me that atypical depression is depression without the helpless, hopeless, and sad feelings. 

Now, with the help of medication, I am slowly getting my life back, which includes getting back into what I really began to love-running. So here goes!