Have a little faith.

 It poured on sunday - we're talking buckets and buckets of water that never seemed to ease. So I did the unthinkable and took the morning off from running club (insert gasp here). Instead I took in some extra, much needed sleep, I don't think my pillow ever felt so good. I was so beat that I didn't even think twice about going back to bed - however waking up feeling refreshed made it possible to regret and feel guilty about missing my run. At least if I would have stayed groggy I would have been too out of my mind to register and ultimately care. Mistake duly noted. To make matters worse, on my way to a friends house I noticed two women running in the same storm that I opted to run away from. If I could have kicked my own butt while driving, I would have. I admired their dedication and simultaneously wondered where the hell was mine?

 Today was just one of those days. I did what I had to do around the house, paid bills, sent out applications but when it came time to go for my run - I got as far as putting on my socks. So there I sat, Pj's and running socks. Motivation was clearly not one of my wardrobe options today. So I waited and waited for that urge to wash over me - you know the one that screams, "must run now" and doesn't shut up until you listen, but it never came. And I never went. Hours passed as if they were simply bleeding together. I hate these kinds of days, so with the help of my woman I decided to do something about it. Two words : worth it.

We went out for coffee (not my favorite place mind you, they have some whacked out hours and I feel like they are closed more than they are open. sigh) And after catching a beautiful and much needed coffee high, the "must run urge" kicked in loud and clear. Thank you thank you thank you. I ran into the rite aid next door on a mission for head phones. When I say that I have tried every.single.kind. out there, I'm not kidding, in fact, my wallet wishes I was. Some fall out of of your ears, while others cut into your ears. Some seem to be great only to soon after stop working in one or both ear buds. Regardless of the exact issue they are all the same; useless.  So when I picked these 6 dollar ones off the self I instantly felt foolish for spending more money on yet another questionable product. I can't even tell you how worth it they are! (Honestly, I've tried some pretty costly ones, but they don't even compare. 6 bucks, you can't go wrong) They hug around your ears nicely and don't move at all no matter what. Thanks to these headphones, Lady gaga was my running buddy for the entire 7 miles. I haven't run to music in so long I forgot just how nice it is. Even though I mostly enjoy being alone in my head, it's nice to get a break. Plus I don't find many cd's to be as pumping as Born This Way.

I had a beautiful, flawless run. The air was crisp and fall like, allowing me to be able to wear my favorite long sleeve lulu lemon shirt. (they gave me that and a tank top free as a promo opportunity. I love their stuff, hate the prices - even though I do find it to be worth it, plus now that I don't live in the NYC area anymore, the closest one is in Canada. Boo.) It was just starting to get dark out leaving me to feel like I was tucked safely away in my own little world; the way the world was blurring as I ran past it almost felt dream like. I felt powerful and peaceful; I felt as if I could have ran forever. And I just may have if only my nervous woman wasn't waiting at home for me to return in one piece. I don't usually run by myself without the sun lighting my way, but today I just needed to. I'm thankful that despite her discomfort, she understood. It's hard to force yourself to get up and do things when you're feeling so low, but running really is my sanity and I'm so glad that I pushed myself to try. 7 miles isn't too shabby for someone who spent the morning searching for something, anything that resembled motivation.

<------- I owe part of the awesome run to my awesome running gear. I am a firm believer that sometimes great apparel can be some of the fuel behind a great run; theses are some of my favorites. My semi new Nikes have a lot of miles on them already because I use them for everything - every day walking, biking, and the occasional run. They have yet to fail me so I have been favoring them over the other... three. Nike headbands for me are a must (mostly because I like to joke about wearing Nike from head to toe. Literally.) The only flaw is that they don't have a slip grip, leaving me no choice but to bobby pin them in. A fear of mine is that one will fall out during a race and I will be face to face with the decision to leave it behind or to lose time picking it up. On race days, I use triple the bobby pins. A simple precautionary measure.  My Nike señor is really helping me pump out the miles. I have been toying with the idea of naming the woman that keeps track of my miles - I have yet to come up with something witty and fitting. My training log (a free gift from Runner's World magazine) has become my own personal bible. I love being able to see my progress and areas I need to work on all in one place.  I guess my lulu lemon shirt, iPod, headphones and arm band don't need too much of an explanation. Even though the arm band's plastic is cracked, and has been for some time, I can't bring myself to replace it. Its been good to me all this time. I will more than likely wait until it crawls off me and puts itself in the garbage.

 It was nice to come home to my wonderful woman already making dinner; protein, protein and more protein. She's the best. My 10k is this saturday making this "race prep week". That means a lot of (cautious) work and a lot of mindful food choices. Anything new or iffy introduced into my diet has the ability to ruin this run - my body is out of control with its issues, but if I want a good run, I have no choice but to respect that. This race means too much to me to willingly blow it.