5.5 Down the Boardwalk

*Never Let You Go -- Third Eye Blind
Not Big -- Lily Allen
Ruby -- Kaiser Chiefs
Disturbance At The Heron House -- R.E.M.
Black Star -- Radiohead
Beer  -- Reel Big Fish
Please Don't Stop the Music -- Rihanna
Do You Really Want Me -- Salt n Pepa
Kryptonite -- 3 Doors Down
Not The Doctor -- Alanis Morissette
Know Your Enemy -- Green Day
Glamorous -- Fergie
Take Me Home Tonight -- Eddie Money
**Laughing Out Loud -- The Wallflowers
*Right Here -- SWV
Walk Away -- Kelly Clarkson
Behind These Hazel Eyes -- Kelly Clarkson

Again, with the heat! I had another stop n' start run on Sunday, but this time I'm not too down on myself because I was directly under the sun (at 11:30 a.m.) the whole time. Running down the boardwalk through Coney Island and all of its summer madness was a nice change. And this time,  I didn't trip on a loose board in front of the sunbathing crowds and skin my knees (they all told me to sue the city).

You know, for all of my bitching, I'm just never satisfied. When I run through city streets, with their twists and turns and stoplights and inclines and declines, I always wish I could just run straight, flat, and uninterrupted. But whenever I get that opportunity (the boardwalk is 2.5 miles long), I just get bored. Out-and-backs are dull.

*These were nice lil' beachy songs.

**This album brings me back to high school so fast and so hard that it makes me uncomfortable.

Knees Good, Humidity Bad

*Friday Night -- Lily Allen
I Want You Back -- Jackson 5
I'm Shipping Up To Boston -- Dropkick Murphys
Lights And Music -- Cut Copy
Somebody to Shove -- Soul Asylum
Glamorous (Feat. Ludacris) -- Fergie
Trouble -- Pink
The Middle -- Jimmy Eat World
Stronger -- Kanye West
Heartless -- Kanye West
Dirrty -- Christina Aguilera
Annie Waits -- Ben Folds
Think -- Aretha Franklin
No Excuses -- Alice in Chains
Transistor -- 311
Feeling Good -- Muse
Pussy Control -- Prince

The good news is my knees were at about 95% yesterday.

But ugh, something is amiss with my running. Lately, my motivation has been even weaker than usual, I'm bored 5 minutes into a run... and yesterday I had to stop several times during my 6 mile run. I. Hate. Stopping. The zen, the flow, the rhythm, all done once I stop, and I know the rest of a run will be jerky and painful.

So somewhere around 4th Avenue and Sackett I got really discouraged -- I had a lot of trouble keeping it chugging in Boston, too. But then I realized that, oh yeah, the humidity has been out of control. Oh yeah, we haven't really had summer weather yet, and those rainy skies and cool breezes, although gifts from the running gods, were a fluke.

I'm blaming stifling humidity, chugging a lot more water from now on, and trying again on Saturday.

*My 2-years late obsession with Lily Allen is going great, thanks. Why is someone so young allowed to be so saucy and fabulous? No fair.

5 Early Morning Miles and a NEW #1

Open Up Your Eyes -- Tonic
Shame on You -- Indigo Girls
Home Sweet Home -- Carrie Underwood
Don't Drink the Water -- Dave Matthews Band
Glamorous -- Fergie
Father Figure -- George Michael
What You Wish For -- Guster
Poker Face -- Lady Gaga
*Always be My Baby -- Mariah Carey
**See You Again -- Miley Cyrus
Just Like a Pill -- Pink
Old Enough -- The Raconteurs

This morning's lesson: I need to stop being so crazy-psycho regimented when it comes to my running.

My goal is to run a minimum of 20 miles per week. I only like to go on three runs per week, if possible, for two reasons: 1, My legs tend to get beaten up so I'd like to minimize the number of days I pound them into the pavement and 2, If I I work out longer and harder, I can work out fewer days. That leaves free nights for baking and watching Barefoot Contessa.What could be better than that?

So my mindset always tends to be that if I can't go big (6 miles or more), then I shouldn't bother, because then I'll have to make up for it later in the week, and blah blah blah, STOP THINKING AND GO.

I set my alarm early this morning to run a 6-8 miler. At 6:15 I snoozed. At 6:25 I re-set my alarm for 7:30. And then at 7:30 I woke up annoyed at myself.

But then, I thought....you know, you could throw on some clothes and run for 45 minutes and still make it to work (kind of) on time...Do it. Do it. Go. Do it. It's so absolutely better than nothing, you idiot. Do it, moron. Go.

And I did! And I feel fab. And I ran an extra 5 minutes, anyway.

I'm aware this reads very silly, but runners are crazy beasts and we tend to get caught up in the rhythms of our heads and our thoughts. Here's to more shorter runs and happier mornings.

*Oh Mariah. I've missed you! Welcome back to my runs.

**WHOOP! New #1! Pop perfection.