Sound advice

Pre-workout breakfast: Cinnamon Chex with skim milk and a banana
Workout: Ran 5.5 miles; average pace, 8:36. Twenty minutes yoga to stretch.

"When all else fails, just go out there and be bad ass."

My cousin posted those words on Facebook, and they were just the words I needed to see as I sipped my coffee and got ready for my run.

I've been in a 24-hour tail spin of self-loathing. I haven't been eating the way I like. My legs haven't been moving like they used to. My mind hasn't been in it. It was as if I met my goals at the W.O.O.F. and waved goodbye to everything else. And the scale ... well, it showed the downhill slide of the week.

But when everything else has failed, all I had to do was go out there and be bad ass.

I gave my iPod, which hasn't joined me on a run in four months, a mediocre charge. I changed my route from 4 miles to at least 5, preferably 6. I put my mind into it, leashed up Denali and walked out the door. We were going to do this.

The Garmin, well, was not.

As Denali was doing what he needed to do, the Garmin showed a low battery. FAIL. I let him finish, went back inside and gave that a charge - hoping it would be enough to get me through.

Fifteen minutes later, iPod blaring Eminem's "Not Afraid," we were out. I just went. I didn't work to go particularly fast as my main goal was to not feel like I have been the past couple runs. Distance > Pace. We looped around the campus and caught up with an ROTC group out as well. They helped give me a pep in my step. We went to the park where the main goal was to get to a certain spot before the Garmin crapped out. Another pep in the step. Got to the stretch home and ready to be done. Pep in the step.

5.5 miles and we were done. It would have been nice to do 6. Seven would have been bad ass. Just like my cousin said. So maybe I'm just 75 percent bad ass but I'm already starting to feel better about myself. And, hopefully, that will translate to some better choices this week.

How do you rebound from over indulgence?