I was going on 10 straight hours of staring at my computer screen and tapping away on my keyboard, still dressed in the same outfit I woke up in {not my proudest moment, ok?}. My brain had just about enough emails, non-stop conference calls and thinking for one day. When my eyes finally darted to the the clock on the bottom corner of my screen, I realized it was 8 p.m. All of my best intentions to run early in the morning … and then during lunch time … and then right at 5 p.m. had come and gone. The sun had set, the sky was dark and it was time for dinner.

I didn’t feel like doing it, but I needed it: a purifying run to make the day complete.

It has been no secret that I’ve been going through a rough running patch lately. It’s as if an alien from another running world has taken over my body. Either that or sucked every fast twitch muscle out of my legs and replaced my heart with one that has a completely different V02 max. During the past three months, I’ve slowed considerably, logged fewer miles and have had a less than stellar attitude about my favorite passion than I typically care to admit.

But that hasn’t prevented me from continuing to try.

Since I haven’t had much luck running during the morning, afternoon, or early evening, there was only one logical thing to do: go for a nighttime run.

So at nearly 8:30 p.m., I laced up my shoes, donned one of my trusty visors and set out for a short run. It would have been easier to make an excuse {it has been a long day, I’m too tired, I’m hungry, I don’t really need to run}, but instead, I decided to get it done. When have you ever regretted finishing a workout? Maybe it was the fact that I never get to run in the dark because it was always too dangerous to do so when I lived in Atlanta. Or maybe I just had a lot of pent up stress that I was ready to let out. Either way, from the moment I started running, my attitude was different. I was more like myself, the runner I know.

It was still hot, with 76 percent humidity and a feels like temp of 94 degrees F, but in this moment, the heat was not going to stop me. I felt challenged but strong. My mind was clear and determined. Something inside of me was rebelling against running. There was a raspy little voice that was whispering from deep inside me: Screw you running. You can’t keep making me feel like I’m failing. I own you, you don’t own me. I control you, I run YOU. And today, I’m going to win.

It was only 3 miles, but they were the fastest miles I’ve seen on my Garmin outside in quite some time. 8:21, 7:55, 8:06. I realize I have run half marathons and marathons faster than those three miles, but tonight, it felt like pure victory. It was a step in the right direction. And no matter how small, it was still progress. It was a breakthrough run after so many consecutive bad and oppressive runs reminding me I am still strong.

And just like that, tomorrow it will begin again.

What is your favorite time of day to run? When was your last breakthrough moment running when everything just felt right?