'Twas a beautiful night to run; although it was really odd to start at 9 pm when the rest of the world was winding down.
We have an almost perfect 800m loop right at our front door. It’s like it was destiny when we moved into this house about 8 years ago.
Last night I opted out of the bodyglide, thinking that we’re just running a few intervals and thought I would be safe. Guess I’ll never learn. Yes, my nipples were still burning in the shower again this morning. Note to self: always always always use bodyglide for every run.
It was a bit cooler and a lot less humid for these intervals versus last week’s set, but still plenty hot to sweat abundantly. The street lights turned on just as we started our first 800m and we wore our super bright LED blinking lights so cars could easily see us. Luckily we did, as there were cars not stopping at the stop signs in our neighbourhood and just rounding the corners; surprised when they noticed us there.
There were also plenty of folks walking their dogs at this time of day. Big, burly, powerful pit-bull like dogs too. One couple had 3 big dogs each and we gave them the entire side of the road as we passed them as I don’t think they could have controlled them if the dogs really wanted a snack. Half way through our intervals it got really quiet with nobody else around and all you could hear was the sound of crickets and your own foot falls, along with your own breathing. The moon was a nice crescent shape, as the sky was clear, and shining down on us sweetly. It was really romantic; except for all the running stuff and the sweaty, smelly bodies. But other than that, it was really quiet, calm and peaceful.
We also both felt like the intervals were much easier this time around. We seemed to glide over the road and breathing was steady and very much controlled. Not the usual gasping bearlike sounds. We’re not sure if it was the cooler temps, lower humidity or that our bodies were getting stronger, but it felt (dare I say) almost easy?
We were supposed to run the intervals at race pace minus 15 seconds which we both tried to achieve, but our bodies naturally fell to a pace much quicker than that. Nancy
We decided to cap the number of intervals at 8, as it was just getting far too crazy late to continue to do more. Although, I definitely felt like I could do another 8. We finished and got back into the house at 10:15 pm and the kids began to grill us like teenagers coming home late from a party.
“Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? Look how dark it is outside? What are you still doing out there when everyone else is inside?”
I felt like I was 16 years old again and making up excuses in front of my parents. Too funny!
We stretched, showered and had something to eat and shuffled along to bed to read for a bit at 11 pm. Yes it made for a very late night, especially as I had to wake up early this morning; but at 5:30 am I bounded out of bed all ready to take on the world and feeling a great sense of peace and contentment. Must be the endorphins still swimming around in me head.
I’m awake now, but by 3 pm I’ll be the guy in the cubicle slapping himself to stay awake.
I’m sure glad we didn’t bail on running last night. We would have missed out on a beautiful experience.
Early morning and late night runs are the best runs!
ReplyDeleteI hope your kids weren't too upset and that you won't be grounded for too long...