Thursday, November 29, 2007

Defeated by (Almost) December

I just couldn't do it anymore. The mornings are too cold, too dark, too harsh. I've decided to start running in the afternoons. I went out yesterday after work for a "test" run. It was great! I could see where I was going! I wasn't blinded by oncoming headlights! It wasn't so bitterly cold!

Thus, after more than a year of morning runs, I am switching to the afternoons, at least until it gets too hot next spring, by which time it will be light in the mornings again. I'm still getting up at my usual time, but not running before work means I will be able to start work at 7:00, which also means I will be done at 3:30, which means I will be home and ready to roll (run?) at 4:00 or shortly thereafter. Running in the afternoon also means I will be able to go for longer runs in the middle of the week. My pre-work run length was kind of limited to what I could do in about 45 minutes, which meant really nothing longer than 5 miles.

Additionally, when I start training for the Marine Corps half marathon in February, I am going to be doing interval and tempo work, for which I would like to use the local high school track, and it's not lighted. I don't relish the thought of running around a track in the dark.

Thus, afternoons it is. And if it's crappy and raining, I can always just go to the gym. I think I'm sufficiently addicted to exercise at this point that I don't have to worry about skipping workouts because I "don't feel like it." I always feel like it these days. Once I had decided, while I was on my way home from work yesterday, to go running when I got home, I could hardly wait. I was so excited to get out there. And it felt so damn good once I did.

2 comments:

Fritz said...

What's wrong with crappy and raining? As long as there's a warm shower waiting at the end, they can be some of the best runs!

I am happier with runs, though, when I'm not operating under a time constraint.

Are you working on base mileage now?

Sun Runner said...

Yeah, until I start training in earnest for the Marine Corps race next year I'm just trying to sustain my fitness level and not lose what I worked so hard for in my Detroit half marathon training. But come to think of it, I've gone running 6 of the last 7 days, and I'm going running again today which will make it 7 of the last 8 days...I thought I was going to "cut back." Oh well, if it feels good, do it, right?