Notes
I left home under a partly cloudy sky which sometimes revealed a sliver of a moon when I looked overhead. I ran through a high school parking lot, past the YMCA and through the larger school lot. Not yet adjusted to the effort, my breathing was heavy as I ran down a street where a running friend had previously lived. I still offer a prayer for friends when I run by their home or previous home. I saw some pretty Christmas lights near there. Soon I went by a local hardware/masonry store and over the steep bridge to cross railroad tracks. In a few blocks I ran through an industrial park and past a daycare center. A friend lives near there and I continued to her street and for another mile through the development. By this point my effort level had gotten comfortable enough that I was no longer wondering if I should cut the run short.
I turned and retraced my last mile, then turned out onto a country road along some fields, a stream and the local waste water treatment plant. I tried to spot deer eyes in the field but my headlamp only lighted up fencing recently installed to reduce snow drifts. I caught the scent of the sewer plant before I passed the driveway and kept going into an area sometimes named in crime reports. Two human shapes were silhouetted as they crossed the road in the next block. I wondered if I would be able to run to safety if needed. Ha, I used to imagine myself fighting my way out of trouble! As I came nearer I saw the guys were dressed in dark clothes, and I heard them chatting like friends out for a walk. I waved and said good morning. I couldn't tell if they noticed me; they must have ignored me with my light, reflective vest and the sound of my foot strikes and breathing.
Then I was on the in-town rails to trails path for just a few blocks to where I planned to turn toward home. A car was approaching on a cross street and I prepared to wait. But the driver decided to wait for me to cross so my hoped for pause didn't happen. There were a half dozen slightly uphill blocks ahead and I passed people who seemed to be leaving for or returning from work. Then I made a turn at an elementary school. I checked the distance on my watch and realized I'd need to make an around the block addition to my trip home in order to reach my usual weekday distance. As I approached home I saw the truck and trailer of the dog wash guy, waiting for an appointment at the neighbors. The light was on in our bathroom window meaning Rose was up to start her day. My run ended, it seemed as dark as when I started an hour earlier.