Grab Your Flashlight!

As the days get shorter and night approaches earlier, most runners have to make the choice: morning or evening?  Either way most working runners are still running in the dark.  Tonight I took my first after-dark evening run.  I have to say, it was a very different experience from running in the daylight.
The first thing I noticed was that it took a lot more effort.  I was surprised to see that while I thought I was working really hard and running really fast, I was actually running over a minute below my usual pace.  I think this had a lot to do with the added mental strain that comes along with paying extra attention to each step to make sure I didn’t trip, staying extra alert to my surroundings to make sure no one was following me in a creepy, windowless van, covered in airbrushed images of wizards and warlocks and making sure oncoming vehicles could see me so as to not become road kill.

Since I knew that running after dark poses a considerable risk compared to a daylight run, I took some added  precautions.  I made sure to tell someone exactly where I would be running and what time I planned to be home.  I also brought my license, insurance card and pepper spray with me.  To make myself more visible to vehicles, I attached a flashing LED light on my back and I carried a small flashlight with me.  I also wore a brightly colored, reflective jacket.

While running after dark is not my favorite type of run, it definitely beats the treadmill.

Picture courtesy of www.filmsnoir.net