On Saturday morning it was raining so I decided to postpone my long run until Sunday. The rain was really just a drizzle and I wouldn’t have melted outside. I had other things I needed to get done on Saturday so that was the deciding factor in not running. My big plans were to help my son pack up his stuff for college and shop, hopefully for the last time, for any last minute items. I guess my focus just wasn’t on running on Saturday.
Now the thing about running on Sunday was that I needed to leave the house at 9:00 a.m. for an all day outing. Since I would be running for at least 2 hours, I left the house after 4:00 a.m. It was dark as usual and the street lights still weren’t working on a good part of my path. This was really annoying for me. It isn’t so bad if you are only running 3 miles back and forth on a short path but when you are running for 9 miles, this can get really boring. It is just a step above being on a treadmill. Since I need variety, I found that running around the parking lot at a bank would vary the routine.
After running for awhile, I needed a bathroom break. I saw a McDonalds down the road so I thought I would go there but then saw that it didn’t open up until 6:00 a.m. I decided to go back home to use the bathroom. Once back on the running path, it started to get lighter outside so I could venture into another area to run. Again, I need to go to the bathroom but this time I went to McDonalds to use their facilities. Since I was running longer on Sunday, I ate some food before I went running. The problem was that I didn’t have much time between eating and running so that is why I had to go twice to the bathroom. On race day, I eat about 2 ½ hours before the race so I only have to stop once during the race. Running just accelerates your metabolism.
As daylight approached, people seemed to come out of the woodwork to run or walk on the path and street. I realized that I like running in the dark and being the only fool out there. When I saw other people, it felt they were invading my private space. Since it was cooler weather, I had a really good run. It was the best long run I have ever had. I so could have run a Half Marathon that day.
Besides getting my long run in, I also signed up for 2 other races and ordered 2 running books over the weekend. I think this running thing is really in my blood now.
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