Never Say Never

In High School I was not a runner. Friends have reminded me of conversations I had discussing the ridiculousness of running and how you would never catch me doing such a stupid sport.
I did join the cross-country team to get extra credit. Our coaches would have us do a 1k warm-up jog to a park near the school where we'd re-gather and stretch while they discussed the day's training plan.
I didn't run to the park; I staggered, hating it every step of the way. In the park, I would collapse on the ground in the starfish position and gasp for air like a dying fish, letting the coaches' talk wash over me like I was in a Charlie Brown tv show. Well after the talk was over and everyone else was off doing whatever the coach had told us to do, I would make up some excuse why I couldn't run that day, and slowly drag my beaten carcass back to school so I could grab my bag and go home.
About 6 years after that, I started running. Surprisingly, I kept running, and kept pushing myself to run more.
But unlike many of my other running friends, I resisted the urge to turn running into triathlons. Even after running for 5 years, the lure of triathlons never appealed to me.
"Ha!" I would tell my runner-turned-triathlete friend, "You'll never catch me doing a triathlon...unless it's for a relay, and then I'll only do the running part. I'm not a triathlete. I'm a runner."
My sister, however, does do triathlons. And she has succeeded where all others before her have failed: she's convinced me to sign up for a triathlon. Okay, a triathlon sprint. For those who know nothing about tri's, that equates to a 750m swim, 20k bike ride, and 5k run. All that effort, and I'm only running 5k? Oh, boy.
But on the brightside, we've made a deal. I'll let her drag me around my first triathlon course, and in return I'll be dragging her along for her first half marathon.
So I guess "never" doesn't mean "never" for me. Give me a good 5-6 years and I could very well come around to the idea. I've recently told an Ironman friend of mine (you know who you are!), "No, it doesn't appeal to me. Sure I'd like to do a marathon one day, but I'll never do an Ironman."
Ask me again in 5 years. You never know.
But for now, goodbye, off-season. Let the training begin!