Running in the Dark

It's rough rolling out of bed at 4 am, an hour and half earlier than I usually get up.  The excitement of a trail run in the dark and helping to set up for Running Lab's Trail Fest is calling to me.  I signed up to double check the trail markings and signs in the predawn hours at 5 am before the race.  Yeah, I know, a little crazy, but wait it gets crazier, I planned to run the 10k race after doing the trail check.
My partner on the trail check was  fellow Running Lab ambassador Julie who I had not had the pleasure of getting to know yet. As it turned out we found we had a lot in common as we put in our miles in the dark. 

When you run through the dark on a trail...it's really dark.  No streetlights, no traffic, no houselights,  your world narrows to your perspective of the trail in your headlamp.  It's like nothing else on earth is there.  Maybe that's why night runs have some of the best conversation. Julie and I chatted about kids, careers, and self discoveries in our 40s.   It made the miles and the hours fly by while we added green ribbons to mark the course or hazards, moved branches and sticks from the path that might be trip hazards.  And checked that nobody removed any of the trail markers and signs.
My headlamp died about halfway through the course and it wasn't quite light out yet, Julie used the light from her phone to continue lighting the path but we slowed down to watch our steps more carefully in the predawn light.  At one point my hair was caught in a wild rose branch that was hanging over the trail.  It pulled me up short and was pretty comical.  It took a bit to free my hair from it's thorny clutches. We made sure to push the branch further into the brush and away from the path so no one else would be captured mid-step. 
We finished checking over the 10k just 5 min before the race began, I barely had time to get my bib, then stopping for the bathroom made me late for the start.

Too bad I didn't read the sign!
It was OK, I took my time on the second loop and ran sweeper to check on any stragglers...there weren't any.  I pretty much had the trail to myself, which in the morning sun was a different place than it had been for the last couple hours. 

Verdant green, and sun dappled paths with rising heat and humidity. 

I was good with taking my time and just enjoying the day.  I was not very successful in convincing my legs that we had just started out...there was definitely some charlie horsing and legs that could tell they had already been on the trail for 2.5 hours.  I pushed through, that's what I was there for. Helping with Trailfest and building up my miles again.  The encouragement from friends at aid stations and the high energy of the event were a tremendous help...thanks to all who helped out. You could see the Trail run spirit in full form out there today.

I was so happy to see the 5 mile mark and know I had almost made it through the second loop. Reaching the finish line I knew I wasn't up for doing the 5k as well, But I was happy and good with my miles.

Somehow I accidentally didn't save the first 6.5 miles, oh well 35,000 steps before 11 am and nearly 13 miles is a great start to the day!  

Every day and every run makes me a little stronger, and grateful for my time in the woods, the dark times and the light times!