I hate math

No, this is not a guest post from one of my kids.  Miss M actually LOVES math and was crying while home from school sick yesterday because her teacher did not send her any.  Big C is in a bit of a love-hate thing with it.  When he sees the point and we can make up short plays about why NOT knowing these things will ruin your life he loves it.  And he even remembers it.  Little C loves anything that the other two can do that he can't.  Highly motivated, that one.

No.  I hate math today for my own selfish reason.  Specifically, I hate rounding.  Well, one rule of rounding in particular.  Let me explain.

If you have the number 5.1499008 (which happens to be the metric equivalent of 3.2 miles) it rounds to 5.1 even if bumping out to the hundredths place would make it 5.15 which would itself round to 5.2...see!

But why do I hate this so much?  Well, over there in my blogroll there is a fun thing called run with e.  e is Emi.  I call her my Swedish blog friend.  She is clever and funny.  She is also a runner and she presents other runners with little challenges as motivation.  Emi is very altruistic this way.  We all need a little motivation now and again and she motivates people all over the world.

I no longer consider myself a runner.  Running ruined my life.  Well, ok, not my life...that was someone else...but it did mess up my skeletal structure something fierce.  But I started to run again because of Emi.  My only goals have been 1. to get halfway through the distance before someone else wins, and 2. to not quit.  But then something funny happened.  I had a long run last week.  True, it hobbled me for the weekend, but it also made me feel competitive.  What? You didn't know this about me?  Really.  It is mild.  Or it was, until I saw that I was actually placed quite well and, depending on time zones and such, I am still in the running.  (Horrible pun--unintentional.  Awful cliche--entirely my fault.)

Back to the math.  Getting over 25k is a psychological booster.  Coming up just shy of it is a bit of a bummer.  I mean 24.9k.  Ouch.  No chance I cut myself short either as I run on a treadmill for the cushion and ice avoidance and it counts for me.  Bending the rules of rounding would come in awfully handy right now.  

Instead I am off to run 0.1k just to make a point and feel better about myself at the same time.  I'll time it and let you know how long it takes!