In the Dark

It was one of those days where I needed to crash, but I also needed to run.

At 5 pm it was already dark, but I figured I had to run, mapped out a 3 mile and a 5 mile route along main roads, suited up and headed out the door. It was a good run tonight, comfortable in spite of the temps hovering around 40* and not too weird for the most part. Running at night's not as friendly as during the day. People don't greet you or nod in acknowledgement - they pull the darkness around them and scurry on past.

I was coming to the end of 3 miles and feeling pretty good. I was breathing well, the body was feeling great and I decided to add the two mile loop on when I missed a curb cut and went down on my knee.

The brand new running tights I was wearing for the first time - history. Even in the dark I could tell I did a pretty good job scraping my knee. I stood up and ended my workout on the iPod and took a few steps. Everything felt pretty good, so I guess I'm pretty lucky.

Just before I fell, I was noticing things like how weird it was to be sweating while watching my breath make little puff clouds in the cooling air of the night. I was thinking about how empty the streets were for a Saturday night, guessing most people are still either sleeping off the turkey and pumpkin pie or out of town. No dogs out being walked, no couple strolling around the block.

It was actually kind of lonely.

I don't think I'll be running at night again anytime soon. If I do, it will be on the treadmill in a gym - especially since the holiday offers are coming in the mail. Maybe having a backup plan for days like today would be better than taking my chances on dark streets, uncertain surfaces and curb cuts hiding in the night.