And then, last night, I got to bed late. I tossed and turned for about two hours…realizing about 30 minutes in that my restlessness was likely due to the large about of Diet Coke I consumed at the Super Bowl party I went to. I haven’t really been drinking it lately (not for any particular reason, I’ve just kind of stopped), and so the 4+ glasses I had of it did a number. The last time I remember looking at the clock it was about 2:30 am. And then, at 5:30 my body decided to wake up. I managed to get another hour or so of sleep, but four hours the night before I was going to start running was not really ideal.

At work today I was dragging a little. Add to that my brilliant idea to wear my new shoes. While lovely and very comfortable, the heels were doing my knee any favors. Of course, being the oh-so-smart-and-practical woman that I am, I totally didn’t change my shoes even though I have four or five other pairs under my desk. 

So, come quitting time, the last thing I wanted to do was run. By the time I walked in my door, I was exhausted. My head hurt. My knee ached. I was beat. But then that little voice that I love so much started talking to me; whispering about how good I would feel once I was done, helping me recall just how not fun running a half marathon untrained can be (I never want to make that mistake again), reminding me that the weather outside was actually more amenable than it had been in weeks. And for some reason, the realization that I wouldn’t have to put on three layers to survive my run did it. Oh, that and the decision that if I went running I would let myself get a slice of pizza for dinner. I popped an Advil cold, changed my clothes, put my keys and some money in my little pocket and I was off. 

Since I’ve already done a 6-miler, I decided that jumping right in where I’m supposed to be would be no big deal because I only had to run 4.5 tonight. I went up to 110th, back down to 65th and up again; 90 blocks in all. My shuffle gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. It was a perfect run, given the circumstance…right up until the last 1/4 mile when suddenly my shuffle stopped cooperating and my foot decided to land in a huge puddle. But even that worked out as it motivated me to run the last 1/4 mile hard so I could get home and out of my gross NYC puddle sodden shoe. (I love this city, but I have never lived in a dirtier place.)

And the songs of the night…the ones that came on at exactly the right time:

• Stripped – Natasha Bedingfield
• Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine
• Break Your Heart (feat. Ludacris) – Taio Cruz
• You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates (I know, weird, but seriously…it was awesome. Every time I hear this song I picture the scene in (500) Days of Summer and I smile. I mean, how could you not?)