Monday 26 January 2009

Night Runner

Trying to balance family life and training is something I find to be a constant problem. On Saturday this week I was busy in the morning getting my hair cut and doing some essential shopping. In the afternoon I went with my family to a Pantomime in the next door village. It is a slightly odd time of year for a Panto but it was very good fun. It was a small production by the village amateur dramatic association and we knew several of the performers which made it even better.

By the time we got home from the panto it was dusk and I hadn't done any training. So I tied a flashing red light to the back of my jacket and went for a run in the dark. During the week I do my long run in the evening in the middle of London. But that is rather different to the lanes of Somerset. My normal weekend run route, which I decided to follow, is a little bit over 11k, of which about 50m has street lights. Through the course of the run it gradually became darker and darker, reaching full darkness about half way through the run.

It was great fun. I met a few cars but for most of the time I was running in dark, deserted country lanes.For safety I was carrying the front light from my bike to make sure I was seen by any cars coming the other way but for most of the time it was switched off so I could enjoy the night. In a previous life I used to spend a lot of time out in the countryside at night and I forgot how much I enjoy it. It was just a pity I didn't have time to go slowly and quietly to appreciate it fully.

No comments: