I started laughing and thought, I really am crazy; This is something a crazy person would do. Why am I getting up at 4 in the morning to start running at 5:30 on less than 5 hours of sleep and then working a full 8 hour shift? Oh yeah, the training plan for a crazy race in 6 weeks. Yikes!
Somehow I ignore the voice in my head that says "It's too cold" "The trail is too wet" "you should go back to bed and get some sleep before work!"
I was there and the trail was waiting.
The really neat thing about running through the dark with a flashlight is your world kinda narrows down to the lit path. I found myself noticing different tracks in the snow and trying to guess what animal they were from. Are those big paw prints from a dog or was there a coyote passing through? I have heard coyotes howl out here so I know there are some around. Are the little hand like paw prints raccoon or possum? And these large bird prints could be the sand hill cranes. I would probably be a terrible tracker as the only prints I really know are rabbit and dear and I didn't see either one.
There are points where it is good to stop and shut off the flashlight and just admire this hushed solitude that surrounds you. I did that on top of a hill and noticed the moon come out from behind a cloud. Then again when I reached the mill pond, and the sunrise was just the faintest blush on the horizon, and a dark glassy lake reflected the blush and shadows of the trees. You can't really capture any of this with a camera.
I wish I could say I had a great time but it really was a hard slog with very cold wet feet that were completely numb by the end. I try to share the moments that I chose to appreciate, not the constant battle with cold and my negative self talk. I would like to add that it's amazing how fast I can pick up my pace for the last 3 miles when my feet are freezing and I am desperate to get back to get them warm before I get frostbite.
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