At 7:30 tonight, I realized that I still need to squeeze a six-miler in. So I gathered my gear, popped a few Shot Bloks, and headed out. As I was strapping on Mustang Sally (my iPod), I found that the battery was dead. Which was ok. The last few weeks I have been debating whether or not I actually like running with music, but I would always do my solo run with Mustang Sally. I think it was out of habit. I was a little afraid to try a run without it, but tonight I had no choice.
So I headed out.
By mile 2 I realized that it was going to be really dark by the time I wrapped up the run. Summer is almost unofficially over. It doesn't stay light until 9:30 anymore. But I continued on. "Just keep running," I told myself. And it was a good thing I didn't have Mustang Sally. I like to be able to hear all the sounds around me when I run in the dark.
I thought that because it was a Saturday night, the paths would be pretty bare. Luckily, there were a lot of people out enjoying the beautiful night. It wasn't until mile 5 that the crowd was gone and I was in the dark. Alone. Just me and the people hiding in the bushes, waiting to jump out and ambush me.
Which, in turn, helped me speed up (fear is a great motivator!) and run farther (I would normally walk the last .76 as a cooldown).
In the end, it was a great run. But I'm going to be smarter next time. I will run earlier. Or I will run with a partner.
And I didn't miss Mustang Sally at all. I think I am officially a non-music runner. Kinda makes me feel hardcore. I really liked thinking instead of zoning out. It gives me time to sort out the crap going on in my life. It's like free therapy!
Anyway. Splits:
Mile 1: 10:27
Mile 2: 10:47
Mile 3: 10:51
Mile 4: 10:25
Mile 5: 10:06
Mile 6: 9:51
Mile 6.76: 7:06 (9:23 pace)
Negative Splits, baby!! Can you guess when it started to get dark?!?
So I headed out.
By mile 2 I realized that it was going to be really dark by the time I wrapped up the run. Summer is almost unofficially over. It doesn't stay light until 9:30 anymore. But I continued on. "Just keep running," I told myself. And it was a good thing I didn't have Mustang Sally. I like to be able to hear all the sounds around me when I run in the dark.
I thought that because it was a Saturday night, the paths would be pretty bare. Luckily, there were a lot of people out enjoying the beautiful night. It wasn't until mile 5 that the crowd was gone and I was in the dark. Alone. Just me and the people hiding in the bushes, waiting to jump out and ambush me.
Which, in turn, helped me speed up (fear is a great motivator!) and run farther (I would normally walk the last .76 as a cooldown).
In the end, it was a great run. But I'm going to be smarter next time. I will run earlier. Or I will run with a partner.
And I didn't miss Mustang Sally at all. I think I am officially a non-music runner. Kinda makes me feel hardcore. I really liked thinking instead of zoning out. It gives me time to sort out the crap going on in my life. It's like free therapy!
Anyway. Splits:
Mile 1: 10:27
Mile 2: 10:47
Mile 3: 10:51
Mile 4: 10:25
Mile 5: 10:06
Mile 6: 9:51
Mile 6.76: 7:06 (9:23 pace)
Negative Splits, baby!! Can you guess when it started to get dark?!?
Labels: Running
2 Comments:
Wow girly, you are getting speedy. Running at night is oddly liberating. Don't dwell on the risks and it becomes even more enjoyable.
it does make you run faster trying to get home before it gets too dark!
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