Tuesday 12/22

With the Whitewater Center still closed, I was once again stuck doing Renaissance Park. Showed up early to get in some extra miles and enjoy some slightly warmer temps, only to realize that my headlamp seemed a bit dim. Maybe it was just the fading light around me, and once it was fully dark my light would seem normal? Nope! Apparently my 4-setting light is stuck on "low". Just put in new batteries, so I'm guessing it's the bulb, finally fading after a few years of service. Normally, I wouldn't really have minded. I'm usually able to run in low-light conditions, but the rain the previous Friday was still apparent, as the trails were quite muddy. Okay, maybe the USNWC had a reason to be closed. Decided to run down the gravel road, and then back up it, for a little hill work, and then through the far parking lot, before heading back on the trails. Only .8 miles, but the light was so dim I gave up, made my way to the actual road and just ran back on it. Thus, I found myself standing in the parking lot by my car, 34:11 and 3.24 miles after I started. I had averaged a 10:32 mile in that time.
Went inside the offices to warm up a little, and came out to find Tasty in the parking lot. We talked, I told her that I wasn't going on the trails with no light in the mud, so she was on her own. However, a newbie showed up, and since he lives north of town, he was set on running, no matter the trail conditions, temperature or company. And so Tasty decided to run too. They headed onto the trails, and I debated what to do. Since I hadn't heard back about my dinner plans, I decided to run some more in the parking lot. 30 minutes later, I had done another 3.1 miles, apparently at a 9:44 pace. not exactly speedy, but hey, I managed to get 6.34 miles and 63 minutes out of a night when I could have stopped instantly due to the dead light. Felt decent, just cold, and Tasty and I met a new, fast runner who likes trails, so maybe we'll introduce him to the dark side of running