12 October 2007

Running blind, Rolling ankles


I left the office as soon as I could after my last patient, picked up Bonnie and Cork, and headed for the trails. Before I left I happened to see that the sun was setting at 6:14 pm today. 6:14!? Man, that can't be right! It was.

Out on the Ice Age Trail (which will, by the way, be hosting the Glacial Trail 50 this weekend), I ran a 3.5 mile route, then turned around and headed back. That first 3.5 miles took me 32 minutes and I loved every second of it. When I turned around, it was 6:17, and very dark in the woods. Occasionally the trail leaves the woods and enters a pasture, and at those points I could actually see some of the rocks and roots reaching out for my feet. I'm glad I had the dogs along because when we were in the woods, with all kinds of leaves on the ground, it was actually pretty tough to see where the hell I was going! My fearless leaders helped me out.

As it got dark--and I mean dark as in stars providing light--I kept entering some pine replantation areas, which are dark in the daytime but pitch black at night. It was at this point that I rolled my ankle...twice. A couple loud four letter words, and on I went. My ankle is pretty tender as I type this, but I'm still smiling--it was just so good to run!

I'm adding a head lamp to my Christmas List. It was a lot of fun to be out there, and I might look into doing it a bit more, especially when all the leaves are off the trees and there's a big, bright full moon up above. Just remind me to tape my lame left ankle.

5 comments:

Tri+Umph said...

Ouch. I cringed a little when I read the title; get that headlamp!

Jess said...

Yes, a headlamp sounds like a good investment.

Nancy said...

Sounds fun. Especially with the dogs. Hope you get the lamp for Christmas.

Marcy said...

Dude, that is SCARY stuff. But I am a wimp and am afraid of the boogeyman :P A good number of years ago I went hiking up a small mountain with an exbf and we started late, and on the way down it got dark ffaaassttt and we had no lights LOL. Creepy creepy, never again. Yeah, headlamp is a good thing ;-)

Nancy said...

What's your email??

Nancy
nonrunner@gmail.com