What a day!

If you're in Southeast Texas and didn't spend yesterday outside DOING SOMETHING, then I don't know what is wrong with you!

It's like the OMG!SNOW!! of a week ago didn't even happen, and that makes me very happy.

I went to the hike and bike trail for the first time in a about a month to run. I like going out there for my long runs -- trust me, running around my neighborhood 20 times gets monotonous after a while -- and because of family things on the weekends, I hadn't been able to get out there for a while.

The run was great. I had been suffering a lack of self-confidence because the last long run I did -- a 8-miler last weekend -- was not great. I had to push myself to do it and my time was horrible and it didn't feel right. But I guess I was just off for whatever reason, because yesterday's run was practically effortless. I had some new tunes -- courtesy of Rusty buying The Best of the Foo Fighters -- and I felt like I literally floated through the run.

My time was not great, though. If I run The Gusher (in just a month) at the pace I ran yesterday, I'll finish in 2.5 hours. That's OK, but I really wanted to get closer to 2 hours flat.

I'm not sure if I should get worked up because I'm not there, or just be thrilled with the running.

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I got a Kindle for a combination Christmas/graduation present two Christmases ago.

I wasn't sure that I'd love an electronic reader. I'm one of those freaks who likes to smell freshly printed books, and who likes to really WALLOW in a new book. When I'm done with a paperback book, you know it's been read like mad. I dog-ear pages, write in them, and crease the spines...

It's practically obscene.

But a friend of mine had one and she, a fellow extreme reader, had no problems adapting, so I took the plunge and haven't regretted it since.

Since I decided to start incorporating weight training into my routine, I was Googling various weight-training routines and somehow that led to my downloading The Complete Book of Running for Women, by Claire Kowalchik, a former managing editor at Runners' World magazine.

I started reading this last night and OMG. If you aren't a runner, but you want to be -- BUY THIS BOOK. BUY THIS BOOK YESTERDAY.

The first chapter is amazing. Here's the first sentence:

"Why take up running? Because it is the simplest, fastest, most accessible way to fitness and good health known to women. ... A mere 20 minutes three or four times a week is enough to make you fit, although most of us find that 20 minutes isn't enough to satisfy our desire to run."

Amen, sister.

She then goes on to list all the benefits of running. Here are some:

• Running is the quickest and most efficient means of weight loss. I can attest to that, having weighed in at 161 pounds on Sept. 25, 2010. My weight as of this morning? 119.8.
• Running reduces your risk of cardiac disease, the number-one killer of women.
• Running reduces your risk of stroke, the second-leading killer of women.
• Running lowers your risk of breast cancer.
• Running enhances your immune system.
• Running may reduce the symptoms of PMS. Again, preaching to the choir. I'd go into more detail, but that's another post for another day.
• Running prevents muscle and bone loss that occur with age.
• Running is GOOD FOR YOUR JOINTS. One doctor is quoted as saying, "Running doesn't cause arthritis; injury does."

After reading that list, WHY AREN'T YOU OUT THERE RUNNING YOUR ASS OFF RIGHT NOW???

That's just the first chapter -- I haven't even gotten to the parts about good nutrition and all that. After reading that last night, I wanted to go out and run an extra five miles! I immediately thought about my plan to run 3 or 4 miles today and felt sheepish and embarrassed!

I know I sound like a cult member -- that's how powerful running is.

I know I sound obsessed -- and I totally and completely am.