So yesterday, I had an enjoyable day planned to hang out with my best friend. She works second/third shift and only has Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. We don't get to see each other very often. And she's moving to Oklahoma very soon, which means I will see her even less.
So since I happened to have yesterday (Wednesday) off, we made plans to spend the whole day hanging out. And we did. It was a very relaxing day filled with lunch, and shopping, and movies, and just general girl time. Lots of laughing, dancing in cars and making horrible Robin Thicke jokes.
But she didn't leave my house until 10:15pm last night.
And I still hadn't run.
There's a runstreak at stake here, so run I must. Oh, the things I do for that runstreak...
No moon. The stars were out, but not nearly bright enough to illuminate anything.
We have a couple flood lights near our house, but NOTHING at all out on the roads. I live in the country and I like it, but for night running, the lack of streetlamps can be a hindrance.
NO BIG DEAL. I've got night time running gear!
Throw on my shoes, shorts, and tee and I start pulling out my night time running gear. Haven't used it in awhile, so I have to dig a little. But there it is. My headlamp, my reflective, light-up running vest, and my reflective snap bracelets. I'm totally pumped and ready to go.
Except, once I've got myself all decked out like a tree at Christmas, I go to turn everything on...
NOTHING.
Everything is dead. I haven't used this stuff in so long, all the batteries have died. Eff.
Eh, it's not that bad... I figure I know the road pretty well. There's hardly any traffic. The floodlights at my house should provide enough light to keep me from tripping and the stars can provide the rest. And my reflective gear will help make me more visible to cars if any happen to show up. So I head out. Gotta get that one mile in to keep the streak alive!
Jogging down my driveway, it's fine. Visibility is still good. I turn out on to the road. Still, doing pretty good. UNTIL...
OH GOD! WHAT'S THAT!
There's this voluminous shape at the side of the road. Raccoon? Skunk? Is it a bear?!?! (I'm irrational at this point.) Calm down, Brinksy. It's just a freaking bush. It's not going to eat you.
My heart rate starts to drop back down to normal... I've made it MAYBE another five yards past the horrifying shrubbery and I hear a rustle.
I swear to you, I have never sprinted back to my driveway so fast in my entire life.
I make it back to the light and safety of my driveway, never so thankful as at the precise moment to have recently replace the lightbulbs in my flood light. Stop to check my watch. Hey, maybe I got in a decent run? Nope. 0.21 miles. DANG IT.
So this is how we get back to the title of this post. I stood there at the end of my driveway for a few minutes, contemplating my options: terror out on the roads or crazy neighbor girl who runs laps up and down her driveway.
And this is the story of how I ended up running laps, up and down my driveway and around my house at almost 11:00 at night. Seriously, I think I saw my neighbors looking out their window and shaking their heads. "What is that crazy girl up to now?!"
But it's okay, guys.
Because the runstreak is still alive.
And so am I.
And that's what really counts.
Moral of the story: Always check your nighttime running gear in advance of your run and make sure the batteries still work. I'll know for next time...
And in case you wondered what my "route" looked like for last night's run, the answer is "stupid."