With the end of darkness, I rose from my bed to tackle a 14 mile run. Coach has been giving me a range of 12-14 miles during these past few weeks. I had yet to hit 14 miles, and was sure that the ante would be increased soon. Next week, or the week after, it was inevitable.
I ate my oatmeal and decided to forego my morning cup of coffee to be out on the road sooner than later. From my front door, I would run towards an entrance to the local bike trail. I figured that it was more time-efficient this way.
But running down the same streets that you drive day in and day out can be b-o-r-i-n-g. Besides being a ho-hum sort of run, I now had to stop for stop lights, be more alert for cars, cracks in the sidewalk, and all that sort of stuff.
The sidewalk is known to be a harder surface than the paved road, but the slant of the road and the oncoming traffic kept me on the harder, safer surface. It had rained most of the night, but was not raining for the majority of the time. There were fewer cars out as I ran down the street, stepping off one curb and hopping up another. It was nice in the early miles.