Dazing in the dark
Really speedy post…
I ran my 10 miles tonight and it was very late, as usual, so I ended up running in the dark again. By the turn-around, the sun was completely gone. Not even a sliver of light on the horizon, and it was just as black in the west as it was in the east. The sky was clear so no reflected light in the clouds from the city. It was harder than before to see where I was going. I could barely make out the road, and if a car was coming, even from half a mile away, his lights totally made it impossible to see anything. Gah!
And forget trying to find a pace when you can’t see the road. I must take pacing cues from my periferal vision because it was like I was running in space. I had no idea how fast I was going at all. And the Forerunner locked up (you suck Forerunner) so I have no idea how long it took me to run. I’m guessing I was about a 10 minute pace.
I brought a better flashlight and my scuba diving strobe. I’m good to 500 feet if I fall in a really deep puddle. And the strobe is enough to blind you looking at it up close. But I wanted to be seen. One guy pulled up to me to say that I “looked like a Christmas tree out here”. Mission accomplished. But please move along Mr. Middle-Aged-Runner-Murdere, please don’t turn around and come back to kill me and do gross things with my corpse.
Lots of spooky stuff again. It wasn’t too bad near the occasional farmhouse, but when the trees overhung long sections of the road it was pretty dark, and all I could see was a dark silloettes (sp?) of the branches against the starry sky. For some reason it was comforting to hear the soft “bweep…bweeep…bweep” of the strobe flashing, and that little warm burst of cover resting against my arm. Silly, but it made me feel better because flashing lights scare monsters.
Idiot was out but took too long to get to the road and I was past him by the time he made it out there. On the return trip he was ready, and it was pitch black. I thought he would be really aggressive in the dark. He was kinda chicken though and took a few steps before charging to the road. He got the daze big time. Once again, stopped him in his tracks. I think he has very sensitive ears. Good.
My shin was a little sore but not so bad tonight. My achilles was feeling pretty good. In fact, all day it felt better than it had in a long time. I’m back to see Karen tomorrow for another session in the house of pain. Maybe it just builds your resistance to pain and so the shin splints and achilles tendonitis doesn’t seem so bad.
I was thinking alot about Susan tonight on the run. She’s having a tough time with her ITB as she heads into her half marathon. I know how an injury can really make training dreadful, and I know how hard it can be when you have to cancel a race. She’s running the race it looks like, and she’s got the mileage so I’m hoping she will be ok. Send some good thoughts her way please.
I did a little cooking tonight. I made up a dish that Rachel had posted on her food blog, An Invitation To The Barbecue. It was chicken with apple juice, and here its served over mashed potatoes. I made a few changes because I don’t read directions well. I made chicken slices instead of cubes. I left out the mushroom because people here are allergic to them. I don’t cook stuff like this alot so I guess on how much onion to use and my wife almost chocked when she saw it. I took some out, but it still was too much. I never use turmeric before so I may have added too much. But it came out great anyway! Yum!! Thanks, Rachel!
And lastly (this was not really a quick post was it?), here’s the picture of the little tree frog stuck to my window. I was shocked at how clear it came out. You can get an idea of his size from the rain drops on the window glass around him. He was maybe an inch long. :)
Oh, even though it is technically Friday (although I could fake the time stamp on this), this is really a Thursday post and not Chocolate Friday.
September 30th, 2005 03:10
I was laughing out loud at your theory on how ART works - that it just buils your pain tolerance…
“and next we’re going to try something i call ‘hitting you on the head with a baseball bat therapy’…”
who really cares how it works anyway? the main thing is that it works. I’m happy for you…
September 30th, 2005 06:04
Thanks, Jon. I am trying not to feel sorry for myself. I know you all have been there…we’ll see how the weekend goes.
Love the froggie picture….
September 30th, 2005 08:34
flashing lights scare monsters.
and as long as you pull the bedcovers up over your ears, the monsters can’t steal them (ears) in the middle of the night.
heh.
September 30th, 2005 08:37
Hey, I have similar trouble running in the country in the fall/winter/spring. It’s so dark I almost trip over the road kill.
One time (when i was at band camp), I was running along and all I heard was the aproaching tinkling of a dogs tags and got really spooked. It was very freaky.
So now, on my commute home from work, I stop in a small town with street lights and do all my night running there.
September 30th, 2005 08:50
Thanks for the photo of the froggy! I was hoping that you post a picture. Glad you are being safe and looking like a Christmas tree when you run at night!
September 30th, 2005 11:00
i’ll have to remember the flashing light theory and scaring monsters. that’ll help when i’m running up in the mountains and i know sasquatch is around…
September 30th, 2005 11:58
maybe you need a red blinky light for your rear just like on a bike! turmeric is a powerful spice use less rather than more…but you found that out.
September 30th, 2005 15:02
haha, glad you didn’t have a caption to the pic of your gourmet delight saying “I only use the freshest ingredients, see below”.
September 30th, 2005 15:56
how cool to try new recipes!!
love the froggie pic
Heather
October 1st, 2005 01:01
You are #1 for my month! Now see if you can figure out what you’re #1 for! When the young Nephew #1 and I are running long during the week at Hines the light goes away on us too, gotta love the blinkies and we get catcalls from passerby also, small world huh? Have not had much luck with lights to see by without blinding myself, the Nephew being much younger doesn’t have the poor eyesight I do so the dark does’nt seem to bother him. I read both your posts (the one about the chocolate) and gotta compliment you on your dedication in bringing us all the latest info and the stuff to stay away from, but it’s chocolate! Thanks! OBTW, Ask your ART person to look at your hip for the leg that you havve heel pain in, don’t ask why, just do it!
October 1st, 2005 13:18
Hey Jon! Glad it turned out well enough… you can play with that recipe as much as you like and put in less onions next time…though I was laughing at the juxtaposition of chicken dish with froggy! Great descriptions of your “haunted” run, too!
October 1st, 2005 23:41
What a hilarious post!! Did you wish the scary serial killer a Merry Christmas?? I just love lazy, curious motorists. Keep up the great posts!