Just in time

I had a long training run today (7.55m) and fully intended to be up at 8 to do it - hours of snooze button later and I was finally on the road by 10:40. Oh well, I guess along with losing some weight before the half marathon in August, I also need to start gaining some sleep at an earlier hour (tell me something I haven't known since I was 16). The run itself was awesome - I love the southern extension of the lake path; up until this point I had only taken it to 35th to get off to go home. This time I went down to 47th street, running through shady stands of trees, by nice little park houses and a ton of drinking fountains, and coming to a brief rest under a nice shade tree just before turning back, which awarded me a spectacular view of the lake shore and skyline from a distance. The southern part of the trail at that time of day wasn't particularly crowded, and only a couple of times was I held up by congestion on the path. At certain spots I was even able to run on gravel and grass that was flat, which my feet and knees, no doubt, appreciated.

On the return I had a stroke of luck, though at the time it was a bit of an annoyance, when Dan called me (and made me stop to dig my phone out) to tell me the cable guy was unexpectedly swinging by and that he'd be there in about 15 minutes. I hung up, buckled down and doubled my pace to get home through the stretch that I had intended to be my cool down. Not 5 minutes after I arrived, the skies opened up and it started to pour. Even now as I write this, the sky is dark as dusk still, the rain is coming down in sheets, and the lightning is everywhere. I am glad that I managed to escape it all - thanks Dan and the cable guy though, true to form, he's now about a half hour late and counting.