Simple Pleasures: Night Running

I'm trying to get back on the running wagon. I fell off around mid-May and I have the waistline, thighs, and general malaise to prove it.  Running is my favorite exercise because it provides the maximum efficiency - the biggest results in the least amount of time.  It helps me sleep better.  It lets me not feel [as] guilty about that delicious piece of gooey butter cake I ate for breakfast...and again for dessert after dinner.  It gives me the aches and pains that let me know my body is getting stronger and faster.  It enables me to clear my mind, to just count my steps, to pray, to listen.

With three kids, a full-time job, and a household to run there's simply not a lot of time for exercise.  The no-brainer solution would be to do it before the kids wake up and before the husband goes to work.  That sounds reasonable...except that he goes to work before the roosters crow.  I'm talking before 5am.  I'm pretty sure that hour is unfit for human activity of most kinds, but especially exercising.  That leaves my lunch hour, which is too short and too sweaty, or after the kids (and generally the husband) are asleep.  I choose the latter.  It's still sweaty, but it's one of the only times I don't feel pulled in a million different directions.  It's just me and the pavement.  It's my shadow under the safe security of our suburban streetlights. 

Plus, there's no one around at that hour to hear how badly I'm huffing and puffing. 

(...until I pulled out the camera to take this picture.  My neighbor just so happened to be outside while I was rolling around in the muddy gutter.  I can only imagine what she must be thinking.  Perhaps I should clue her into my blog?)

I realize that my safe, street-lit security is a blessing in and of itself and I don't mean to take it for granted. But boy, am I going to soak it up while I have the chance.

This - running at night - is my simple pleasure.

Join us as we celebrate our simple pleasures every Thursday...