The Give Away at the End of This Post: Starring Lovable, Non-Furry, Old Lacy

Army- Ben Folds

At Least I'm Not Like All Those Other Old Guys- Five Iron Frenzy

Take On Me- Aha

Clocks- Coldplay

In the summer of 2006, I began my running journey. I did so right in front of my house. The mission: Run the 1/2 mile down the street and run back without stopping. It took me nearly a month the accomplish said mission.

And if you've followed my story at all, you probably know the rest of the crazy story. There is one element that rarely comes up, but it's been constant from my first measly mile to my run just this morning.

The beat I pump into my ears. The list above is the group of songs I ran to while I trained for my first mile. (And yes, some days it took all 4 songs to cover a mile!)

So, maybe I'm not a "purist." Maybe I'm a Generation 2.0 kid. Maybe I'm missing something by allowing the tunes to drown out the sound of the run. But, once I started masking my panting, I was able to ignore it and keep placing one foot in front of the other. Some days the music actually improves my run. Some days the music gets me home. Some days, the music makes me a runner.

I think most of us who run can agree when that perfect song and that perfect beat beckons us into "the zone," we feel as though we could run forever. When that happens to me, I could care less about the naysayers.

While the tunes can be an incredible running companion, on the same note, there's nothing more frustrating than an annoying pair of earbuds popping out, painful earphones digging in, crappy sound blaring too high, or dorky phones weighing you down while you're trying to get in the zone.

I have ridiculously small ears. The buds that come with ipods won't even sort of fit in my ears. So since 2006 I have purchased countless types of buds, phones, or adapters attempting to deliver my playlists to my ears.

I used a pair that wrapped around the back of my head and hung over my ears. They were heavy, they rattled while I ran, and they hurt because of an ear piercing.

*August 2006. My 1st 4 Miler, ever*

*October, 2007. Wichita Marathon*

I tried phones that were off a band, with clips to hang over the ears. Unless I had a winter hat on, they fell off all the time.

*November, 2007, Wichita Turkey Trot 10 Miler*

I bought expensive clip behind the ear phones. Alas, made for normal ears, they wouldn't fit.

Kenton bought me adapters for my ear buds. They boasted that the 3 size options would surely find a match for me. They fit, and worked well, if I didn't move while they were in.

I gave up and went to an over the head band with buds. They worked...ish. The sound was awful and it was incredibly painful once a winter hat was required

*September, 2008. Just About Kids 5K*

*October, 2008. Rosstoberfest 5K*

Finally I found another pair of clip behind the ear buds. If I relied on my ear piercing to hold one in place, I could make it through my runs with at least one phone in.

*September, 2009. Wichita Half Marathon*

(Humbling photo. Yikes!)

I resolved that I wasn't going to get anything better and dealt with it. Then one fateful day, blogging celebrity, Frayed Laces, was having a giveaway. This company claimed to make affordable custom earbuds. She had tried them and was claiming they worked. I was lucky enough to win a pair.

I won a pair of Yurbuds, In order to receive my custom buds, I didn't have to get a mold made of my freakish ears. All I had to do was send then a picture of my ear with a quarter next to it.

They sent me a little blue bag with a set of ear buds. Covering the buds were soft blue covers. I put them in and went for a run. Honestly I thought I should have packed a standby pair because I was skeptical they'd stay in.

But you know what?! They stayed in! I felt like I was finally in the ear buds club. I could run freely without annoying ear phones. I wasn't constantly adjusting. I was just running free. The buds are "acoustically brilliant" according to the website. I noticed immediately that I didn't have the ipod cranked and I wasn't hearing all the loud traffic noise.

They are comfortable and they do exactly what they say.

Since I've been using them I've only had two issues to contend with. One is that it's important to make sure the covers are adjusted per the instructions. If the covers aren't placed on properly, they won't stay in your ear.

The only other issue that I've dealt with is a new one just this season. When it's hot and I sweat, the buds can slip. Rarely do they ever fall out. But I have had to adjust them a bit more on these hot summer runs. Normally it just takes a few adjustments and they're back in place to stay.

*June 2010. Storm the Dam Trail 1/2 Marathon*

I've been wearing them ever since. They've run many training runs with me. I didn't listen to music during The Boston Marathon, but I took them along, just in case I wanted to because I knew they wouldn't let me down.

I wore them on a bike ride this week too. I was impressed once more. I was cruising into a strong Kansas head wind and they never fell out. I was most pleased.

So, why am I rubbing it in that I have these awesome Yurbuds and you don't? Because I want you to get a pair!!

My friends at Yurbuds gifted me two custom earbud sets to give away to you.

You see, my computer geek husband shows me the analytics from my blog and it says lots of you are reading, but few of you are saying anything to me. I want to interact more with my fellow interweb friends. So, if I can entice you with a little treat, I'll shamelessly try to buy your friendship this week.

HOW CAN YOU WIN YOUR VERY OWN CUSTOM YURBUDS? I MEAN, BE LACY'S FRIEND?

Glad you asked.

One pair is going out to the friend who leaves the best story of earbud annoyance/pain/frustration. Leave your horror story as a comment. As a qualified annoyed earbud/phone connoisseur I will pick the best story.

Another pair is going out to my best friend. I'm throwing names into a random hopper for the second pair. Your name can be thrown into the hopper more than once, more than twice... maybe more than three times.

Every time I see your name I'm throwing you in.

-Comment

-Becoming a follower

-Linking to my blog

-Sending a friend who tells me you sent them

-Adding me as a blog you follow

-Tweet about this/blog (Hi, I'm @lacyjhansen)

.

.

.

(other friendly ideas, probably won't help you win earbuds, but you'll win my heart)

-Giving me high fives

-Making my family dinner

-Doing my laundry

-Buying me Diet Dr. Pepper

-Creating our secret handshake

-Telling me I'm pretty

Truly, I just want to interact with readers. I've been logging our life since 2006. I accidentally became a runner since then. I've had an incredible journey since my first playlist and I'd love to share my adventure with others.

I look forward to meeting some of you and reconnecting with others of you. I'll announce the winners next Saturday!!