morning run

Went for a longer run this morning. The advantage of running at 6 am is that there are very few people out, and it's cooler. The disadvantage is that I most of those I did run into seemed to have been up all night and were just coming back from their hours of partying. I didn't pass any other runners for the first hour, and admit I was somewhat nervous running through the still-shadowy Coronation Park. There were a few staggery-types who had obviously spent the night in the park, but they left me alone.

For safety reasons, I decided not to listen to my Rio for the first hour of my run; several women's runner resources have mentioned that 99% of female runners who have been attacked have been wearing headphones, which obviously make them easier to surprise.

It was the first time I had tried running without music. To my surprise, I enjoyed my run just as much, perhaps even more. I could hear the sound of the seagulls, a trawler's motor out on the lake, the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement, my breathing. I had figured that without the incentive of the music I'd get tired faster, but I was wrong. In fact, I was out for about two hours this morning.

I ran most of the first hour, did a run/walk during the second, and this time made it out to a park past Ontario Place, where the Martin Goodman trail splits into several paths, with one going briefly over a hill. I opted for the hill as my last big push, then turned around and headed home. Stopped for a short break near Ontario Place to watch the lake and eat a Lemon Zest Luna bar for breakfast (I'm hooked on Luna bars these days). Didn't share any with the interested-looking seagulls.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!