Counting the Miles

My education has taken me far and wide and taught me everything I know. In three weeks, I will begin my farthest adventure yet. 

From my first day of kindergarten, my daily trip to Ledyard Center School was 4.3 miles, and that’s where I began a life of reading, writing, and four square on the playground.

Ledyard High School was only an extra 1.1 miles further down the road, but it taught me the good, bad and ugly of sports coaching and that a torn ACL plus AP Biology can lead to a career.

When I was 18, I packed the Howie minivan for the 306.9 miles from Gales Ferry, Connecticut to College Park, Maryland. I found out what kinesiology was, why anyone would fear a turtle, and how hard it is to get people to Step it Up and take the stairs.

My first international adventure was 2,982.7 miles from Gales Ferry to Limerick, Ireland where I learned the meaning of “craic”, “slainte”, and that football, basketball, and baseball are not the only sports (gaelic football and hurling are real sports).

After graduation, I went 708.4 miles from Gales Ferry to Columbia, South Carolina where I spent five years running, jumping, dancing and getting Piled Higher and Deeper. I fell in love with muscadine wine, added  “y’all” to my vocabulary, stomped Copperhead Road, and discovered the joy (or insanity) of running 50 kilometers through the forest and getting lost during a 200 mile relay.

None of that compares to the miles to come.

Perth is 11,647.8 miles (18.745.4 kilometers) from Gales Ferry, Connecticut or 11,449.2 miles (18,425.7 kilometers) from Columbia, South Carolina. I can’t wait to find out what I will learn "Down Under".

(I’ve had a little practice converting miles to kilometers, but I better get practicing. A 5k is 3.1 miles, 10k is 6.2, and 50k is about 31 miles. Think I’ve got it covered?)