Evening Run

I dislike running in complete darkness. I don't mind starting or finishing in it, I actually like dawn and dusk. But to know that I will see no sun on any part of my run gets me down. I think I would make for a bad Alaskan or at least the type that lives above the Arctic Circle. So I have not been too motivated for my morning runs as the sun hasn't been coming up until almost 7:00 am. So last night I began the nightly circuit. I got in to the office early then bolted at 4:00 to get home for a 5:15 run. Good plan, in the end I got out at 5:30, not bad.

Nuts and Bolts:

3 mile run

Mile 1: 11:10
Mile 2: 11:35
Mile 3: 11:45

I think I was hungry when I started the run and my energy was not what I would have liked. I got in a decent groove but I felt a bit off. It was nice to run in the sun again. But there were a couple of problems.

There were 2 dogs off their leashes running around with no owners in sight. They were in the woods calling the dogs on occasion. The dogs were chasing deer in the park. This created a real situation. Excited dogs can be problematic especially with no owners around. I was tensed up as I ran by the scene trying to remember by dog defense training I received a number of years ago when training for my black belt. Snarling dogs make me a bit uneasy. When I passed by I slowed a couple of times to warn folks walking in the opposite direction of the situation. So this may be why I didn't get my run in order.

Problem 2 was more of an environmental problem. I kept running into swarms of gnats. It would only be for a couple of seconds and then I would be past it. But I think I swallowed about 20. I can think of better (and I mean more enjoyable) ways to get my protein. Disgusting. This will go under problems with being a runner, swallowing bugs.