Love does.

My favorite song right now is Brandon Heath's latest Love Does



He wrote the song to honor a friend, author Bob Goff. Goff is the founder and CEO of Restore International, a non-profit addressing the injustices committed against children around the world. Read more about why Brandon Heath wrote the song over at KLove.

I love this song for its simple, yet powerful lyrics:

This one goes out to the world changer
Shining your light in the face of danger.
Oh, tell us what you know.  

You're a saint, you're a son, you're a promise keeper.
Bottom of the well still digging down deeper.
Oh, how far you gonna go?" 

Chasing down hope.
Moving on dreams.
Taking that path.
Maybe it'll lead you home.
Maybe it won't.

For those of us who fight every day, in our own way, to make a difference in this world. This song is for you. This song gives hope and confirmation that small efforts create powerful change. This path you've taken, the things you try in hopes that one day you will truly make a difference, may look like they aren't leading you anywhere. Maybe it will. Maybe it won't, but love knows every step. Love knows every good thought. Even if no one else ever sees. Even when you feel like your small contribution doesn't matter. Know that it does. Because, Love does.

Nobody knows why your heart is broken
Nobody cries while your prayers are going up
But, Love does 

Nobody walks on the road you're paving
Nobody sees all the souls you're saving
Oh, but Love does
Love does.

Keep going. Every drop you make is counted and multiplied. It may not be visible to you now, but eventually you will see how every good thing makes a difference. Maybe you won't, but that is why we have faith. That is why we believe. Because, Love does.

You are a renegade
You're an outlaw of Love's crusade
And they don't know who you are
They don't know
They don't know
But, Love does
I'm telling you, Love does

In whatever you do, in whatever you are going through know this:

Somebody knows
Somebody cries
Somebody feels
Love does. 

Somebody walks
Somebody sees
Somebody knows
Love does.

-Run

No mas

I stopped drinking coffee.  *Insert dramatic pause for shock and awe ...

Are you done? No? Ok. I'll wait.

I have been an avid coffee drinker since my second year of grad school, but for a long time I have wanted to give up drinking it. The main reason was because I hated feeling like a slave to it. I mean I could barely function before I had my morning cup of coffee. A morning cup (by cup, I mean at least 16 oz) soon turned into a late morning cup, then an afternoon cup. No mas!

I know this is hard to hear from a gold card-carrying member of he Green Cup Mafia. In fact, when I attempted to stop drinking coffee in the past, I got no support from family and friends. Everyone was like: "You?!" "You won't be able to do it." "blah blah, negative comment, blah blah blah." Let this be a lesson in "be careful who you share your dreams with." So this time around, I didn't tell anyone. I just went for it on my own. Amazing what you can do with determination and positivity.

The other reasons I stopped drinking coffee were:

• I put an inordinate amount of sugar and cream in my coffee. I was that person who had coffee with their sugar. So not drinking coffee was also a way to reduce my sugar intake.
• Green tea has antioxidants and other nutrients. Coffee does not. Coffee is not bad for you, necessarily (well, not unless you were adding the cream and sugar I was adding). See other benefits of green tea:

• Ultimately, I was consuming wayyyy too much caffeine. I think it contributed to my sleep issues. I've slept amazingly this week. Perhaps the significant reduction in caffeine contributed to that.

Now I will still retain my membership in the Green Cup Mafia, but my cup will now contain green tea. I have plenty o' mugs to choose from.

Starbucks peach green tea, unsweetened, is my new fav. I haven't had coffee in about three weeks and I don't want it anymore.

Give us free!

-Run

Running pains

I'm feeling a pain in my foot and I don't know what happened. I felt fine during my 7 mile run yesterday, but started feeling a little bit of soreness on the inside of my left ankle a few hours later. I just dismissed it and went to bed. I felt it a little more this morning and again dismissed it. I packed my gym bag for a run later and went to work as usual. As the day went on, I started to feel a little bit more pain and by the end of the work day, I decided that its best not to run today. I came home and iced it and watched some videos on Runner's World to try to figure out what's wrong.

Its not quite achilles tendinitis




or plantar fasciitis



It kind of feels somewhere in between the two. I feel pain on the inside of my ankle and sometimes in the heel too.

I feel pain around the tendon and fascia, but not actually on them. I have no idea what is going on, but I'm going to ice it, take an anti-inflammatory and rest a day or two.

I'll definitely be in soft shoe at work the rest of this week and maybe next.  I'm praying this doesn't keep me from running too long.

Anybody know what this is? or felt this kind of pain from running? Help!

-Run

Tuesday List: My Netflix Queue

Netflix is the best $7.99 I spend each month. I watch it so much that I seriously contemplated getting rid of my cable (but decided that as long as I live in this god-awful city, I should probably keep it). Here are the shows I love:

Orange is the New Black

I finished this show in about a week. I actually miss those girls. I cannot wait until season 2. Check out this NPR interview with creator/writer/producer Jenji Kohan, titled "Piper was my Trojan Horse."

Their Facebook page is pretty awesome too.











House of Cards

Another Netflix original series produced by Kevin Spacey. This show is about the dirty politics that happen in on Capitol Hill. I finished it in 3 weeks. The writing is incredible in this series and the cast delivers it effortlessly. I felt like I was back in DC. Note to self: find that hole in the wall rib shack during my next visit. The main character, played by Kevin Spacey, is from South Carolina and went to the Citadel (or The Sentinel as they portray it in the show).




Mad Men

I finished all five seasons in roughly a month. I am making myself finish another show before I purchase season 6, which is not yet available on Netflix. Oh, Don Draper, you are a great man, but a terrible husband.





How I Met Your Mother

I watched a few episodes of this show in the nail salon, of all places. The nail tech loved the show and literally stopped doing my nails to laugh at Barney's antics. He recommended that I watch it from the beginning, so I did. I really like Lilly, Marshall, Ted and even Barney. I've finished 2 of 7 seasons so far.








Breaking Bad

This show gets so much hype on twitter that I had to add it to my queue.  I didn't love it right away like the other shows on this list, but it is growing on me. I am half way through season 2 and I am interested to know whats going to happen with the science teacher and his screwball protege.






And I am watching these shows again, from the beginning ...

Law & Order

I have been a fan of Law & Order for years, but I really only started watching it in the early 2000s. This show started in 1990. The first (and best) spin-off, Law & Order: SVU actually started on my birthday 8 years later. Its interesting to see how graphics have changed in the last 20-something years as well as get a glimpse into what was going on culturally, at the time. Like in episode 3 where a man is helping men with AIDS kill themselves before they wither away and before their families find out that they are gay. In 1990, we had no idea about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and we didn't have a full grasp on the spread of the disease. My how far we've come.

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

CSI: Miami
I miss this show, but I understand why it didn't last. The writing was obvious and over-the-top. And why can't Horatio Caine ever square his shoulders toward the person he is talking to? He's always standing to the side and looking slightly over one shoulder with sun glasses in hand.

"There's a shoot out in the ER."

Numb3rs

I love the relationships among the two brothers and their dad in this show. And I can totally geek out on the data.










What's in your Neflix queue? What shows do you love right now?

-Run

Pillow Talk

This evening, I did this yoga workout from Runner's World called Pillow Talk: Gentle yoga to restore weary muscles. It is a series of gentle yoga poses using a stack of pillows or soft blankets. After running 21 miles this weekend (14 on Saturday, 7 Sunday), my body really needed a gentle stretch. Especially, after a rather painful bout of foam rolling yesterday.

Oh how glorious was this workout. I stacked four pillows on the floor of my bedroom and held each pose for at least five breaths. I feel so relaxed and calm. During the stretches, I came up with an amazing idea (that I'm not willing to share yet). I even grabbed the domain to keep it safe from someone else snatching it up. Its amazing what a calm, clear mind can accomplish.

I am going to make it a daily routine to do these gentle exercises before bed. It may even help me sleep better or help me devise a plan to save the world (from what, I am not quite sure).

Check it out for yourself here.

Namaste

-Run

It is time

Running shoes and tattoos

I read an article on Runner's World, by way of Pinterest, titled: 41 Awesome Running-Inspired Tattoos. I'm not much of a tattoo person (except for that unfortunate moment when I wanted to get a Mariah Carey rainbow butterfly tattoo. Thank God I didn't make that mistake), but I like to look at tattoos and find out what inspired the person to get that particular ink. I was even more interested in these running-inspired tattoos (though all of them are not overtly about running). Some are very detailed ...

inspiring ...  

cute ...

... while others are down right weird.

I mean, what does Steve Buscemi have to do with running? But who am I to judge what inspires another runner. We are all a little bit crazy to do what we do. To pound the pavement day after day, running to reach a goal only we can fully appreciate.

Only two tattoos into the slide show and I saw this one:

It stopped me in my tracks. I really like it and I am considering getting it. I never wanted a tattoo until I saw this one. However, my dilemma (as a tattoo virgin) is this: Where do I put it?

• Ankle?
• Achilles? (that sounds ridiculously painful)
• My friend has one on her foot that I really love (Hey Spicy!)
• The girl in the picture has it on her shoulder
• Inside of my wrist?
• Thigh?
• Calf?
• _________?

I need help from my runner friends and non-runners alike. What do you think about this tattoo and where should I put it? My birthday is coming up next month and this would be a great way to celebrate it.


-Run