Are you fast?
Not really, but that's by elite standards. Am I faster than others? Probably a few, hence the whole "in the middle" thing. I work on improving my own finish times but I don't generally consider myself in the category of fast. In my mind I sometimes imagine I'm fast, especially if Eminem is in my ear with some "Lose Yourself".
What's your favorite distance?
The half-marathon is my favorite so far. It's long enough to make you feel like you've been challenged but doesn't require near the training that a full marathon does. I don't run too many of the shorter races like 5ks or 10ks by themselves. If I do those, it's usually as a challenge or combo or with a friend, or a fun run type (Color Run, etc.). Since I'm not fast (see above), I'm just getting warmed up by the time the 5k is over.
When did you start running?
That's kind of a long story. The short answer is fall of 2013. I started training for my first half marathon, Gasparilla, which I ran in February 2014. I dabbled in running a few times in my life before that but it never stuck. Now it's like a fungus.
How much time to do spend on running?
Meh, depends. If there's a race I'm excited about or I want to try for a better finish time, I will look ahead and plan out my training runs, maybe up the mileage a bit. Unless I'm in marathon training, I probably run about 20 miles per week starting in the fall and through the spring. I know there's lots of things I can/should do to be a faster, more efficient runner, but running isn't the only thing on my epic social calendar. Yeah, 'cause epic social stuff includes youth soccer games, a million trips to the orthodontist, work, and monthly trips to the wine store. Where you can talk to people. And stuff.
Do you follow a training plan?
Not exactly. I haven't had any formal training or coaching, but I am pretty good about paying attention to my body. I try to spread out mileage during full marathon training carefully so that I'm increasing slowly. If something is overly sore or I feel a strange twinge during any run then I'll take a break. There's lots of stuff out there to read about training, and plans that everyone under the sun is willing to sell you. I piece it together the best I can and so far it's worked for me.