Fireflies Make Me Smile

I love running at night in July.  I love lightening bugs.  There's nothing quite as tranquil as running along at night amongst their flickering...so long as you do it safely.  Let's face it, a women running alone at night isn't always the best idea; and anyone running at night is taking a gamble with their safety if the area has traffic and doing so alone is a different gamble if there's no traffic and/or an obscure area.  SO....my night runs are usually limited to my hometown (a small island where everyone knows everyone) or the military base where I work.  Both have minimal traffic to be concerned with and with a little extra attention to your surroundings can be safe.  So...when I was about to head home from the island one recent Sunday even and I REALLY wanted to pull four miles, but it was still insanely hot outside I decided to throw my running clothes in the car, drive the four hours, and stop at base to pull my run around 10PM before heading home.  After my drive I arrived on base to an inquisitive gate guard wondering if I'd lost my mind to be coming to work so late.  I explained I was just looking to run, was wished well, and headed across base.  After parking and changing I clipped my flashing pink strobe on the back of my sports bra, slapped my pink reflective braceletts on my wrists, started my Garmin, and hit the road that runs along the river front.  The peace of running through the woods was offset by the flickering fireflies and I couldn't help but smile...until I was startled by sudden movement fairly close to me.  I refocused and saw a half dozen deer who were equally startled and kept about my business.  The air was still thick from the heat of the day (it had been a scorcher) and I could tell I was truly out of shape but was determined to keep a good pace for my four miles.  Crossing the bridge over the creek at low tide just before the two mile turn around point was horrendous...the heat radiating off of the dry marsh nearly sucked the breath out of me, but I got a nice break with a bit of a breeze as soon as I hit the other side. Sadly, the turn around point was less than a tenth of a mile away so I knew I had to endure that again soon.  The return crossing didn't seem as bad as I pushed the pace a little to hurry it along, but that push made the next half mile drag.  I started focusing on short reference points to get me through mentally...four miles may not be much, but in the heat, at 10PM after a 4 hour drive it was getting the best of me quickly.  Once I hit the 3 mile point I found myself struggling to come up with the next reference point until I saw the edge of the woods...and smiled at the thought of the lightening bugs to come.  Sadly, once I made it to the woods the lightening bugs were gone for the evening.  Slightly disappointed I felt my pace slow unconsciously with the let down and not willing to sacrifice my time in the last 1/4 of a mile I forced myself to pick it back up.  I then settled my disappointment with the realization that my little pink flashing strobe would have to be lightening bug for the remainder of the run.  Yes folks, it's the simple things...I like pink and fireflies make me smile.  :) 

My four miler on the books I felt pretty good about the pace but know I have to get back to regular training if I want to improve my results.  I'm still looking to break 2 hours in a half, but a goal without action is simply a dream and I know at this point that's what I'm doing...dreaming.  I'm going to have to get serious about my training to make it a goal.  And I will eventually, but for the rest of 2012, I think I'm just going to enjoy the races and check off the states. 

Since my last post I've decided to add the VA Beach Rock N Roll half.  I love the RNR series, VA Beach is close to home, and the medal this year is a really cool wave...I'm sold.  I'd already planned to do the Denver RNR and St. Louis RNR, but I've recently expanded those trips.  As I stared at my pink highlighted map of the US, I realized the majority of my remaining states are central US and while I've made quite a bit of progress rapidly in my quest for 50 things are about to slow down given that all of the driving states are just about done.  So, I started looking at the possibility of pulling back to backs to maximize the travel budget.  So folks...I am currently all set to fly into Denver on Friday (9/21) and hit the expo, do dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and crash for the night; wake up and run the Denver RNR on Saturday (9/22), grab a quick shower, then drive 8 hours to Kansas where the next morning (9/23) I'll "Run for the Rocks", before flying home from Kansas that night.  It will be the first time I run 13.1 on consecutive days.  So far, the closest I've run 13.1 together has been with 6 days rest.  But it won't be the last!  On Friday, Oct. 19th I'll be flying into Indianapolis, hitting the HRC, and running the Indianapolis Half Marathon on Saturday (10/20).  Then after showering I'll drive 4 hours to St. Louis, hit the expo, hit the HRC, and crash to rest up for the St. Louis RNR on Sunday (10/21).  I also intend to run Council Bluffs, Iowa on 10/28 as I'll be 5 hours away the day before for a family wedding.  Those six races will likely wrap up 2012 for me, but we'll see...in the meantime....I'd better join the fireflies if I intend on being ready for the upcoming challenges!