My Weekend Miles

Over the weekend, I got in a couple good nine mile runs. The first one was on Friday... late Friday. I wasn't originally planning on running on Friday at all, but when I got off of work at 11pm, it was just too nice of a night not to go. Plus, if I got it done that night, I could sleep in a little bit on Saturday morning and not worry about it. Because I was still dogsitting on the westside, I was a little leary of running at night. Not because I was fearful of some nefarious nut prowling around, but because I hadn't done a lot of night running on the westside and I didn't know how well lit my route would be. No, the only nefarious nuts that I worry about are the ones that fall from the trees which might cause me to roll my ankles because I'm not able to see the path in front me. They, along with the occasional unforseen cracks, potholes, branches and stones can be real ankle breakers and knee bucklers. Despite my worries, I am very happy to report that the westside streets are very well lit. The only dark patch in the route was the East/West Bike Path down by Camp Randall. That section of bike path is about a 2.5 mile stretch that heads up to Midvale Boulevard and it is completely in the dark, except for the occasional street lamp where the path intersects a street, whatever stars might be in the sky, and the sparse houselights that seep through the copse of trees that line the path itself. Other than that, you are pretty much blind as a bat and you have to rely on whatever sensory radar you might have. I have to tell you though, it is pretty exhilirating running through a long stretch like that in the dark while you're soley relying on your instinct and intuition. It really helps to quicken your pace. And while I was speeding through the "black forrest," I wasn't concerned in the least bit about rolling my ankles over some foreign object. I had run that path enough in the daytime to know that the section is pretty much kept immaculate from any debris that might harm an unsuspecting runner... especially the "doofuses" who run at night. Once I broke free of the "black shroud" that was the bike path, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the remaining two miles of the run. It really turned out to be a nice quality run where I averaged 7:27 per mile.

This morning's run had a little different feel to it even though I ran the exact same route. It was much warmer than Friday night's run (although tolerable) and I could actually see... imagine that. While my legs did not have the same pep and vigor as I did a couple nights earlier, I still felt pretty good and finished the run with a respectable 7:40 pace average. The interesting part of the run was that section of the bike path that I could barely see late Friday night. Like I said, I had run that section many times, but after breezing through it in complete darkness, I really took notice of just what I missed 34 hours prior. I really noticed how thick with trees that section was and why it was so hard for any type of light to flourish and manifest in its surroundings at night. I also took note of how clean and tidy the bike path actually was. My instinct the other night proved right... I really didn't have to worry about rolling my ankles on anything... there were no debris or cracks to be fearful of. It was as clean as a washed dinner plate... however, I wouldn't want to eat off it;)

Friday night's workout: 9.2 miles > 1:08:41 > 7:27 pace

Sunday's workout: 9.1 miles > 1:09:55 > 7:40 pace

Miles this week: 43.6