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.

6 Miles of Babbo Pain

Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors -- Editors

Father Figure -- George Michael

Hey Jealousy -- Gin Blossoms

2,000 Light Years Away -- Green Day

Walking On Broken Glass -- Annie Lennox

Everything's Just Wonderful -- Lily Allen
Shame on You -- Indigo Girls
In The Closet -- Michael Jackson
**Love Will Never Do (Without You) -- Janet Jackson
Smile -- Lily Allen
Better Things (live) -- Dar Williams
As Cool As I Am (live) -- Dar Williams

Die Alone -- Ingrid Michaelson

Hand On My Heart -- Dan Wilson

Against History -- Dan Wilson

Great Escape -- Guster

When you have a gift certificate to Babbo, you go all out. When you order an 8-course pasta tasting meal (pappardelle with peas! beet/ricotta ravioli! pyramids of braised beef! cherry tart with mint ice cream! and on! and on!) that only takes up a little more than half of what you can spend, you fill out the rest of your meal with cocktails (a rhubarb bellini!) and wine.

My tender lil' tummy, which never leaves the house, was all, "dude, that's a lot of alcohol (and not to mention food), missy." She was still VERY VERY angry with me on Wednesday. I thought it would end by the afternoon, but no, come running time everything was all askew inside my body. Body be damned! I was running!

This was a painful 6 miles in every way. But complete. Ugh.

**Janet's best, obvi.

One time I was at the gym and this came on VH1. Looking around the room, I saw everyone's personal TV turn to it, one by one. You can't look away. Hi, Antonio! Hi, Djimon Hounsou!