Wednesday, November 5, 2008

6 miles in the Dark

Man, you get out to run at 4:30pm, and next thing you know, BAM.. darkness! Getting dark at 5:00pm sucks!

I did a 6 mile run, and saw Shoreturtle pass by, driving off to some adventure. It's amazing how many people you recognize when you are out running on the streets.

The legs, a bit sore at the start, quickly woke up, and I felt really good throughout the run.

I had one scary moment, when running, these damn people coming out of their developments, they just don't stop at the stop signs. They go right thru them, rolling right up to the main road, into the cross walk, not paying any attention to myself, just wanting to make the right turn quickly to beat traffic. Well, I gave this guy an earful. I pointed out to him where the stop sign was, and explained to him that is where he is to stop. This type of situation happens all to frequently for my liking. People just need to slow down, and take a second. I know, since I have had kids, when I leave our neighborhood, I drive a little slower, and take the extra precaution, because kids don't look where they are going. Worst are the kids, walking or biking, either text messaging, or listening to their Ipod. They don't look or pay attention to their surroundings.

OK, off my soapbox, the only other situation I had, that could have ended badly was when I hit a rut in the grass, where I was running and rolled my right ankle a bit. When I did it, I thought the worse, but I was OK, and continued on. I had no swelling when I check it out. It was fine this morning, so I dodged another bullet.

Today is my last Wednesday run, in the training plan. Hopefully I can get the 8 miles in before the rain.



6 miles 50:04


Mile / Time
1 8:34 min
2 8:36 min
3 8:37 min
4 8:25 min
5 7:57 min
6 7:52 min

12 comments:

Marcy said...

I agree! I've had similar situations as well *sigh*

Sweetness on the run!

Progman2000 said...

I have the opposite problem with the darkness since I go out around 5-5:30am. I start fully suited up with fluorescent vest and headlamp only to have it light when I am done. I kind of liked starting and finishing in the dark. We like what we've grown used to.

Regarding the ankle roll, now that you are tapering, for some reason this stuff will happen to you all the time. I had a similar roll jumping for a frisbee from my son before the NJM. I don't know if it's our hypersensitivity after putting in the miles or some sort of weird taper gremlin at work.

BeachRunner said...

I hear you on the idiot drivers. You have to be so careful and alert at all times. Another nice run.

Vava said...

I also agree on the traffic front, and am more conscious now that I have kids of idiots not obeying stop signs or driving too fast on residential streets. Everytime I see a "no ball hockey playing" sign I just cringe since that is just pandering to the cars and not the kids! I mean, what's more important anyway???

Cars are today's dinosaurs to our kids - by far the most dangerous thing that they routinely come in contact with. Nice run, hope the ankle is ok, and stay safe!

Unknown said...

Nice run. I see the pace kept getting faster.

I'm with on the whole idiot drivers thing. They get worse in the winter. It seems everyone forgets how to drive in the snow.

ncrunner12 said...

I hate those guys, I've hit several cars with my hand to let them know they should have stopped or not had pulled out in front of me. The way I see it, I pay taxes therefore I own the roads.

Nice job on the run.

joyRuN said...

I always assume that these a$$holes don't know I'm there, because usually, they don't. I love the surprised look they give me - like "OH, are there other people on this road?".

Nice run!

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

I also hear you on the drivers. I run early in the morning, so I rarely encounter it myself, but I have enough times to know how dangerous it is.

That said, I must come clean and admit that just last week, I myself did one of those rolling-stop-on-a-red thingies, and saw, when I finally looked right, that I'd totally cut this runner off. I tried my best to mime "I'm sorry, I'm totally at fault here, I'm an @$$hole and when I get home I promise to kick my own @$$ so hard that my son will feel it, etc."

Not sure how successful I was in communicating that. As it turned out, I just kicked my son's @$$ and thus cut out the middle man.

He was all like, "Daddy, what did I do?" Pfft! Like he doesn't know.

This is the kind of confession I should be making on my own blog because fewer people read it and therefore ... less hate for me to hafta deal with. But if I don't get Teh Hate, I'll never mend my bad-driver ways. So go ahead: Bring it.

Take care of the ankle, brother.

SuperDave said...

One of the things that I appreciate now as a runner is the safety of other runners. It drives me crazy when drivers don't pay attention to bikes or pedestrians.
The darkness sinking in does suck!

ShoreTurtle said...

I like running along the road I that saw you on, but it does have a lot of side streets.

Yes, when you saw me I was off on an amazing adventure--to the post office and the grocery store. An exciting life, I do lead.

You definitely stand out in that yellow jacket.

Darrell said...

They postponed the time change for a little while, but it was inevitable.

Keep getting out there, darkness or no. The big day is getting close.

Laurel said...

Wow, I'm glad you're ok!

We almost got hit in the same situation at the end of our 20 mile run last weekend. And by that time we were so tired, we reacted pretty slowly. It could have been bad.

Love your new header, btw.