I knew I was a runner when....

This week in the Runners' Lounge, they are having a Free Stuff Giveaway. They have had a bunch of these, and I usually don't participate. But this week's theme looks pretty cool, and I really want some free running socks. So here goes.

I knew I was a runner when....

• Well, it might have been when I spent a couple of hundred dollars (between race fee, hotel, meals, and gas) to run 26 miles in the sun with a bunch of strangers. But I think it was probably before that.
  
• It might have been when I first started thinking seriously about running a marathon, like it was something that I could do.
  
• It might have been when I started blogging about running and reading about running and talking about running and basically spending more time thinking about running than I actually spent running.
  
• Maybe it was when they tore up the indoor track and I had to go six weeks without running, and I hated it!
  
• Maybe it was when I got my first running related injury.
  
• Maybe it was when I got my first race shirt.
  
• Maybe it was the first time I ran in the rain because I had planned to run, and hey, I was going to sweat anyway.
  
• I really think it was when I began to realize that I'm grumpier when I don't run than when I do.