Went running with the club last night and felt fully recovered. I hadn’t gone out with them for past month and on that occasion most of the run was in the light. Yesterday it was completely dark before we started the warm up exercises. As usual I took the road running option rather than the track. We did a mile time trial followed by 3 further miles with 3 minute recoveries. I like running in the dark. It does call for many leaps of faith because some sections are not illuminated and you can’t see where you are placing your feet. I don’t worry about this because I’m on pavement or road not a rough or rutted terrain so I do not have a sense of greater risk of injuring myself. It’s exciting running in the dark. It feels transgressive, a violation of normal boundaries.
I’ll probably do parkrun at Cambridge next Saturday and then do the Bonfire Burn 10K on Sunday. Two of my running pals are in the 10K. Both of them are faster than me. I really should find new but much slower buddies so I am regarded as top dog and shown appropriate deference. Last year the weather on the Bonfire Burn day was so dreadful, it went straight to the top of the Worst Weather (Globally) on Race Day (Ever) chart. Low temperature, driving rain, strong wind and a delayed start are not a helpful combination for a top athlete like myself. The conditions were conducive to expiring rather than achieving a personal best. I felt very chilled and only managed to warm up nearly two thirds into the distance. I didn’t enjoy it.