Meteors and Rockets

As I have stated in many previous posts, Katie and I run very early in the morning; waking up most days at 4:30am. I am usually on the road running by 5am (sometimes earlier, depending on my ability to move my bowels in the wee hours of the morning). In most any season, it is still dark out at this time. In the wintertime, such as it is, it is really dark out. And in the small town that I live in, you don't see much in these dark conditions. Occasionally, I pass by another runner, and usually the paper "boys" are out running their routes. But this morning I got to see something pretty rare, a shooting star!

I actually saw 2 shooting stars. The first one was while I was running on Kratz Road. I just caught a glimpse of it, and was initially very confused about what I had seen. I was literally thinking to myself, "What the hell was that?" I thought maybe it was a bat catching a reflection of the streetlight, until I realized there was no light that high in the sky. Little things like shooting stars and miscellaneous critters make my runs very entertaining. The second shooting star was while I was crossing Monticello Road on Chaucer. There was no doubt about this one, and it served as verification for the identity of the earlier sighting.

It was amazing that I was able to see anything at all, not because it was so dark, but because I was running so fast; I was flying. Seriously, I had my best run in probably 6 months. I ran 4.09 miles in 29:17. I could not believe it was happening. I ran a very strong first mile, but did not check my watch. No real reason other than I didn't want to feel defeated if what felt like a strong mile was really a weak one. I kept pushing pretty hard over the second mile, but things were going pretty easily, and I was feeling really good. Finally I looked at my watch, and I had done 2 miles in 14:23. I actually had to do a double take, just to be sure. I started to panic a little bit. I wasn't really sure why I was running so well, but I was having the run of the year! Over the next mile, my legs started to feel the pressure. A little ache in my hip (I blame the Ab Ripper X) and my quads were starting to burn, but I kept pushing. I was hoping for a 22 minute 3 miles, and was completely blown out of the water when I turned over 3 miles at 21:30. I figured the last mile plus was going to be tough, and it was. However, it also seemed to go pretty easily as I got more and more excited about my time. I put the hammer down (as much as a guy like me puts the hammer down) over the last quarter mile, and could not believe my eyes when I crossed my driveway. It was a great run and I am very excited still.

Now, I hope that transfers into some big weight loss, but overall I have kept things pretty even over the last couple weeks of the holidays. In fact, I think I will be weighing in at 195, which is exactly what I weighed on Dec. 23. Not bad if I do say so myself.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a great year as I am.