Valentine's Day is on the horizon and it's time to start planning out those presents. Here I lay out my favorite running/yoga gifts! Ladies, please feel free to buy these for yourself. (My boyfriend has no idea why I even shop for yoga leggings online anymore.... yes, yes, I'm sure I don't need leggings, but when I trudge down Rugby Road on a Thursday after a week of academia, sometimes I need to buy myself a present.) You deserve to be your own valentine.

Gentlemen, these are some things that you should buy that lady-friend who loves to workout, but note that you should use these as a supplement, not a replacement for those traditional gifts. In other words, buy her all the peanut butter you want, but give a ROMANTIC gift too! We ladies want romance! I'm in the middle of rereading Wuthering Heights, hence my enthusiasm here. My sister used to (still does?) worry about my reading too many Victorian novels.

Anyways, I present a wide assortment of fabulous #runnergirl gifts:

1. The Best Hair-ties in the universe. I have long hair and normal hair-ties just do not cut it. They don't hold my hair right or keep it in place, or I have to double them up to get them to do their job. However, these "hair toggles" are cute, come in a variety pack of many colors, work well on your wrist when not in your hair, and hold your hair in place during a marathon. I wear them for all my races and they even hold my French-braid bun. They are also British and stylin'. Need I say more?

$8.00 for a 5-pack at www.sweatybetty.com.

2. Nuts-n-more Toffee Crunch Peanut Butter. Runners love yoga, but they also love peanut butter. These nut butters come in exotic flavors like coconut and toffee. For bonus points, prestir your peanut butter before giving as a gift. (I feel like I'm writing a bunch of horrible inadvertent sexual innuendos here...it wouldn't be the first time.) Every time I buy this PB, I spend a good 10 minutes in the kitchen trying to keep all the oil in the jar while stirring this to a regular consistency, but it is totally worth it because, seriously, TOFFEE crunch peanut butter with whey protein? Who needs Nutella? Other peanut butter flavors include Chocolate Peanut, Pumpkin Spice (Phillip, can you buy this for me?), Sesame Cranberry. Almond butter flavors include Chocolate Almond and Cinnamon Raisin. Get the toffee one though. I highly dislike real toffee, being more of a chocolate lover myself, but this is insanely good. As of this writing, it has the most reviews of all flavors and everyone agrees it's amazing. It also works great as a mugcake topping!

Image from www.nuts-n-more.com. $10 on www.nuts-n-more.com or at other vitamin shops.

3. "Do Yoga Run Faster" knit pom beanie! Everyone loves a pom-pom hat and I made sure this one will cover up your ears. Hot pink. Stay warm, yet look very cool. Fluffy awesome pom. "Do Yoga Run Faster" wraparound text. I have worn mine every day since I got it!

$25 at http://www.runnersloveyoga.com/shop/do-yoga-run-faster-pom-beanie

4. 2XU Compression socks. In the same category as hats that don't cover ears are compression socks that are too loose. These come in a spectrum of colors, and are sized by calf circumference (not shoe size) so you're sure to get the right ones.

$49.95-$59.95 at http://www.2xu.com/womens/compression/socks.html

5. Floral Runners Love Yoga running singlet. This would go nicely with some real flowers, just saying! 4-way stretch, Italian cloud fabric, last not-that-shameless self promotion of this post. Really though, this singlet is so pretty.

$40 at http://www.runnersloveyoga.com/shop/do-yoga-run-faster-black-floral-singlet

6. Alo Yoga Goddess Leggings. I love yoga leggings. If I could just never wear pants and get away with leggings all the time, by golly, I would do that. These are great because they basically have built-in legwarmers. Let me tell you: the 80s were onto something with the legwarmers! Legwarmers work. After a yoga practice, I can do splits a lot more easily if I am wearing these leggings versus other ones, because my calves are a lot more warmed up. I have run-tested these in 75+ min. LRs, and they stay put. A variety of colors from which to choose too!