What A Difference A Day Makes

I got up this morning ate breakfast and got out for a run before 7:30. It’s a lot easier to run in 55 degree weather than it is in 75 degree weather. Today was just a recovery run from yesterday’s run and Saturday’s run. I ran my 5k route and it was a half hour well spent. The sun was coming up and turned the sky all kinds of purple, pink, and orange, and all of it reflected off the river. It would have been a great postcard. There were even pelicans sitting on the posts from a dock that was torn down about ten years ago. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren’t any smokers on the way out. Normally, there are St. Vincent’s employees, patients, and patient’s families smoking around the bulwark behind the hospital. I guess 7:30 is too early to smoke. I was also surprised that I didn’t pass – or get passed by – any fast runners. I saw a bunch of old couples, a bunch of dog walkers, and some scrubs like me, but no one that’s going to be disappointed if they don’t finish the River Run in less than eighty minutes. When and where do these freaks run? I imagine they run even earlier, but how do they run in the dark? I don’t care if there isn’t a lot of traffic at 5 o’clock in the morning. There are potholes and jagged sidewalks. I ran in the dark once – once (Joe Piscipo). I fell and almost brained myself. I thought about what would happen if I fell while I was running today. It was toward the end of the run, and I wasn’t in any danger. I just wondered if I would have had enough energy left to get my hands down and roll, or would I just resign myself to some reconstructive surgery and eat some crete. My mind was wandering because I didn’t take my iPod with me this morning. I didn’t want a repeat of yesterday’s messed up soundtrack. I may be phasing music out of my running routine. Overall, today did what it was supposed to do. I worked the lactic acid out of my legs, burned some calories, and sold myself, once again, on the benefits of early morning runs. I’m going to the Y tomorrow for an hour on the elliptical, and then nothing on Thursday or Friday. I’m as ready for this thing as I’m going to be.