For as long as I can remember I have had this awful fear of the dark.
Most children grow out of this silly fear, but not me.
It has gotten better over the years. I no longer sleep with a nightlight
(which I’m pretty sure I still did all through high school…embarrassing, ugh.)
I still do not like to be alone in the dark, it is what it is…
So, it makes sense that I do not run in the dark.
My marathon training schedule tells me that I must go
10 miles for my long run this week.
Which is just fine and dandy except for the fact that I am so busy this weekend
that it is impossible for me to squeeze it in.
I came to terms with the fact that I would just have to do it Friday morning before work.
Which means I would have to head out at 5:00am and it doesn’t start to get light until about 5:45am.
45 minutes running in the dark! Eeek!
I pushed the fear of being abducted out of my mind
and went for it!
It actually wasn’t too bad and I actually learned a few things along the way!
Here is what I learned.
- Our town needs more street lights! If it were up to me, the sidewalks would be lit up like a Christmas tree.
- I am more paranoid in the dark than I had originally thought. I almost assaulted an innocent bush with my pepper spray thinking it was a potential attacker LOL. I’m still laughing about that! Though, I am happy to say that I did not accidentally spray myself in the face like I had originally feared…
- 90% humidity is no joke even if the sun is not out! At the end of my run I resembled something close to a wet dog. Not a good look…
- The side walk becomes the enemy! I once thought we were friends, but after stumbling over its rough terrain in the dark this morning, I realized it was trying to do me in!
- I normally welcome a light spray from random sprinklers to cool me off, but when you don’t see them coming it can be quite startling. I may have looked like I was punched in the face by an invisible fist to people driving by…
- I didn’t know that my town had such a plethora of active wildlife so early in the morning. Things like bunnies darting out of nowhere at my feet, bats swooping down from the sky at me and GIANT man eating raccoons who obviously were not afraid of me. It was like running trough a damn video game with the goal “don’t get eaten!” One good thing though was that the geese in the park who normally harass me, were nowhere to be found! I must have thrown them off by not going out at my usual time. Take that geese!
- I had no idea, but there are tons of active people in my town! While it was still dark out I saw numerous hospital workers riding their bikes to work. And once the sun came out, giant groups of speed walking women seemed to appear out of nowhere! They were speed walking about as fast as I was running LOL! (shame L) Then all the other runners appeared! I even put my hand up to a passing lady and she responded with a high-five! Woop woop!
- Watching the sunrise was my favorite part. Not just because it meant that I made it though the dark alive (which I’m not going to lie, was definitely part of it), but because it was so beautiful. It is so peaceful watching nature wake up. I would have taken a picture, but I was afraid if I stopped running, my legs wouldn't start up again haha.
What things have you learned from your runs?
What time of day is your favorite time to head out for a run?