A Different Light

I rarely run at night even though I prefer it to morning. It's just that morning is more convenient and almost guarantees I won't slack off and skip it altogether. I have a flexible schedule for my current project and start at 10:30 so I can use the morning for training. However, this morning I had some catch-up work to do so I got up early and worked for a couple hours before heading into the office. The plan was to run after work. When I walked out of the office at 8:00, I was sure I would find an excuse not to go. I got home, changed immediately and walked out the door. I'm so glad I did.

The city looks incredibly different at night. And since today was the 7th anniversary of September 11, the annual Tribute of Light is in the sky over downtown Manhattan. I live almost exactly one mile north of the World Trade Center site and I run on the river path that leads right past it. I'm only 2 miles from the tip of Manhattan and wanted to do 8 so I ran north first and then made my way south. For the entire 5 miles or so I was running south, the Tribute of Light was straight ahead of me. I didn't even notice the miles.

This was a really great run for me. I didn't have any pain, labored breathing or stitches, all of which have plagued at least some of my recent runs. I was able to do the 8 miles comfortably and averaged an 8:30 pace. I'm planning to slow down to a 9:00 pace for my long runs so I'm starting to feel a little better about continuing with my training. I have no doubt it's going to hurt and I won't be as well trained as I could have been, but the race will be fine.

I'm hoping to have time to buy my fall pool membership tomorrow morning so I can get back to swimming on Saturday. I also have a long run planned before I head out to the Hamptons to volunteer for the triathlon. I'll be at the race site on Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. armed with a sharpie and ready for body marking. After that, I'm working at the finish line. At least I can watch the race and I know a few people doing it. It will likely be my last trip to the water this year as well. If only I could swim in it.

Running
Distance - 8 miles
Time - 1:07:51