Becoming a Night Owl

Now I’m not sure when I said this, but I do know in the past that I have made the statement that I have it easier than some people with my training schedule. Last summer it was different with the boys being in more camps giving me more time to get my trainining in during the day. That may have been true when I said it, but it does not seem to be the case anymore. I have turned into a night owl with my running.

It is good

and

It is bad.

The good part is that the evenings are cooler (not really, but at least the sun is not beating on my back). Last night’s run according to my weather app said it felt like 76 with 83% humidity. I was a hot sweaty mess by the end with sweat literally dripping from me. Isn’t that a pretty vision. I don’t understand people who don’t sweat when they run. I know them. I’m related to some, but I just don’t get it.

It looks like I ran in a sprinkler, but I did not!

The other good part is that I can go about my day normally without worrying about when to get my run in.

The bad part is when everyone else in my family is home relaxing, I am running out the door. I’ve been doing it often and it does cut into a little bit of the family time. I love my family time.

Then there is the whole safety issue. As you know from my previous post on this, I am not afraid to light up the night when I go out. I want to be seen. That being said, there are still so many stupid drivers out there at night who may even drive a little faster because they are not expecting anyone to be out on the roads running. Shhhh, don’t tell my mother but last night I had to jump on the grass as a kid (yup, I’m that old) was taking a corner way too fast and was turning too wide. This is why when running at night, I do tend to run closer to the side of the grass by turns. People seem to take them way too fast and it is easier to get out of their way.

So tip for the day –

Do NOT run in the middle of the road near corners on quiet streets because these tend to be the ones you need to worry about most.

Then there is the whole it’s dark thing. I don’t mind it, but some streets just need more lighting in my opinion.

I’m still learning which streets to avoid at night and this one became one last night. Not enough street lighting to make me happy.

Now I am not trying to discourage anyone from running at night, because you do what you’ve got to do. I do like it as it can also be a very peaceful time to run. Less distraction than during the day and causing you to focus more on your run.

Although truth be told I was slightly distracted last night as my MRTT is having a running scavenger hunt. So I did have to stop along the way for some fun because anything you do life should be fun!

Here is what I found.