With the ensuing silence, I realized I was supposed to provide some justification for heading out yet again. I thought of the weather and the surpassing sunset as reasonable answers, but to indoor people, those niceties were non-factors. I love my aunt, and I wasn't about to bore her in an attempt to explain my fathomless motivation for logging 20 miles that day. Granted, running is often a solitary pursuit, though the best runs are shared with a friend or two. But when training at any level of intensity, most of the miles are, of necessity, logged alone.
Training can be an end in itself.
One excellent runner I know was reluctant to race, because it got in the way of his training. That's not me. I live to race. That's why I train. Since becoming a master's runner, I've raced in California, Florida, Michigan, and many points between.