On rare occasion I allow myself a late night run. Tonight was one of those nights, and as I ran through my father's neighborhood, I thought about why I love running in the dark the most.
I am unobserved. I am not distracted. It is quiet. I can hear the pounding of my feet and the sounds of insects. The moon shines on me instead of the hot sun. Only one car passes me the entire time. The rustle in the wooded area beside me reminds me of the feeling of the unknown--the same feeling I experienced as I hiked through the rain forest to a deserted beach in Costa Rica--not knowing what was in the trees around me. I feel alone. It is just my thoughts and me.
p.s. I'm grateful for the comments on my blog. I love reading others' perspectives. I went by Starbucks after work. They weren't super friendly but did give me a free drink. Lesson learned: As I've often declared--drive thrus are bad, and I shouldn't have been going through one. If I'd purchased the drink inside, this would not have happened. And I should find a less expensive alternative to Starbucks.
12 comments:
hmmmm, that's funny because last Sunday I did my long run at night and kept thinking how much I hated it...mainly because I'm majorly paranoid and majorly afraid of the dark. I'm always thinking that some psycho serial killer is lurking around every dark corner, even though we probably live in one of the safest suburbs of the continental US.
plus, when i run at night i can never get to sleep because the endorphins make my HIGH as a kite!
I'm a morning runner myself.
oh but starbucks is so delicious...and you can't take it out on the drink! ha, i have recently become obsessed with starbucks after they opened one up in this small college town but i do try to limit them...especially because of the calories!
Sounds like a wonderful experience. Sometimes I love being alone with my thoughts... and sometimes I want company to keep me from my thoughts :)
Running? *shudders* I'm afraid running is not my thing, but the time alone sounds wonderful :)
I'm glad that you went back, I would have done that too. While I have bad expereinces in drive thrus (as well as going inside), I try to remember that I was once on the other side working the drive thru in college. Unfortunately, it's sometimes hard to recall that memory when you are so frustrated. ;)
I feel too insecure and scared to be in the dark. Just this morning, I was turning all lights in my house while there's still another light on just so it won't be too dark. It's hard for me to be alone - especially in the dark. And having nothing but my thoughts to keep my company. I admire your confidence in yourself and your surroundings.
It was evident that your post yesterday stirred up much within all us! And got us craving to go there too. Glad you went back and were able to have a free beverage. (o:
Ally,
Great blog. I ran across it by way of Walden in your profile.
In answer to the question in your profile about Anna Begins, I've loved the line "These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days she says", ever since I got August and Everything After something like 15 years ago.
Please be careful while running at night! I'm way too much of a scaredy cat!! I hope you have mace or keys or something you can protect yourself with while running!! You must not use your ipod while running? I'm jealous; I am much too dependent on my iPod. . .
Try Coffeemate "Creme Brulee"...it's the next best thing to Starbucks!! They should open a new coffee shop and call it starCENTS and provide an alternative for us!! lol
Well, really, it was the least Starbucks could do!
Happyascanb & Lib: I feel like it's a bit dangerous too, which is why I rarely let myself do it. And no, I don't take Mace or anything. I really feel like if someone took me offguard that my only hope would be running from him; otherwise I'd probably end up with Mace in my eyes.
Ella: Seriously. They didn't apologize or seem to care at all. She was just like "Well I'll just fix you another one."
E.R.: Thanks. I like that line too. Well I think I like all of the lines from that song:)
If you get the tall chai at Starbucks, that is only about $2.70-something. That is the only thing I get there.
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