Night Running

I am a creature of habit, especially during the school year. I set my alarm to the same time, follow the same routine, eat the same foods for breakfast and lunch and most dinners, exercise at the same time everyday, and go to bed at about the same time. During the summer I am not quite so anal, but during the school year it is a bit ridiculous.

Since I'm back in Iowa for a few days, I decided I wanted to mix some things up. I am running an 8k (5 mile) race on Saturday so I knew Friday would be a very light day. Today I got up and had lots of errands and other things to do, including going to the spa, and didn't get my run in. Therefore, I decided I would go running tonight, after my nail polish had fully dried. I wouldn't want to ruin a perfectly good pedicure!

I drove to my normal parking spot where I run and started out at about 9:45. I run a 5-mile out and back route along a nice street that is fairly busy. It is interesting how much I noticed at night compared to when I have run this route during the day. I learned many things...

The Good:

1. The temperature was cool - 73 degrees and, of course, the sun had already set so it was not warm at all. Perfect running weather.
2. Hearing the bugs/insects. I am not an animal person at all, but I did enjoy hearing all the noises. I usually run with my iPod, but decided not to tonight.
3. Not obsessing over my times. Since I have gotten my Garmin Forerunner, I feel like I am constantly looking at it to see how fast I am going. At night, I have to turn on the back light, which I didn't really feel like doing. So I just ran. I heard my Garmin beep every mile, which was all I needed. I didn't post a blistering fast time or anything, but it was a nice run.
4. Relaxation. My run tonight was so relaxing. I feel in such a good mood.

The Bad:

1. My stomach. I ate more food today than usual and could feel it all in my stomach during the run. Now I realize even more why races are always held in the morning. My stomach couldn't take it!
2. Darkness. I didn't really think about lighting being an issue before I ran, but it was. Some parts of the route were well lit, but about 2 miles was not. I did not want to trip on any sidewalks so it felt like I was picking up my feet incredibly high. It was also kinda hard to slow down for every dip in the sidewalk where the sidewalk meets the street - which there are many of on this route.
3. Cars. I kept feeling like I had to look around every time I crossed a street to make sure no cars were going to be in my running line, which made for multiple pauses.

I hope to be able to run again at night soon. Do you like night running?