Aug 13th, 5K speed test.

I wanted to know if I really gun for it, my approximate speed for a 5K run. I ran for the first time at night. The sun was down, and I relied on the street lamps to guide my path. I can tell you running in the dark has its own unique nuances. All the senses are firing, and your mind finds a friend in adrenaline. The terrain was mighty uneven (more or less downhill for the first half and uphill for the last half), resulting in shin tightness, or fibularis longis exhaustion, but thats a good thing I suppose, as that muscle is rarely active.

I finished the run in 23min 45sec. approximately 4 minutes longer than my goal of 20 min. To be a cross country varsity athlete, you probably need approximately 17min. The world record for men? 12 minutes. Double my speed!

I doubt however, that I will run this path again, the downhill portion was too unnatural for my liking, and may have skewed the time for the worse.

The interesting thing about running in the dark, other than not always knowing what you are stepping on until you get tactile feedback is all the energy and adrenaline that was rushing around the circulation stimulated my "self-narration mode". Here is an excerpt of how it sounded like:

- Seeking a ground in which to plant,
- My leg falls, bracing the hit.
- The breath heavies as darkness rises
- But looking up, the sky a deep blue, yet far and fuzzy,
- a panopy of sprinkling stars.
- The shield falls, the legs begin, failing to avoid the counter of concrete,
- pushing back, squeezing in.
- The final leg, one final burst, drop the shields, drop the sword,
- Its fist to fist, towards the end, I see it, no stopping now.

Craziness!!