A trip to the lake...

I am not sleeping well right now. The pain in my shoulder keeps waking me up. I was awake three or four times during the night. The last time I woke up, I put an ice pack on it and fell asleep only to be awakened by my alarm clock about an hour later.

It was a cool 46 degrees when I stumbled out the door at 5:00. I decided to run out and around the lake, so I headed east. I ran over to Terrace and then down Maple out to Highway 61. It was about that time that I finally felt alive. I ran out to the middle of the highway and ran all the way down to Highway 54 in the new center turn lane. It's amazing how little traffic there is at 5:00.

Turning east on 54, I ran out of town, then turned south on the little state highway that runs south to Lake Road. I met a couple of cars on that stretch of asphalt. Rather than make them figure out what I was, I ran over to the opposite side of the road.

When I got to Lake Road, I turned west and ran along the narrow way. I heard something crashing its way through the woods once. I hoped it wasn't a rabid Sasquatch and kept running, clapping my gloved hands as loudly as I could to scare the beast away.

I reached the lake about 40 minutes into my run and decided I had enough time to do a lap around it. It was nice to run through the shadows cast by the moonlight with not another person around. I was surprised that in several places gravel had been spread over the pavement. The run through the RV area was almost all sandy. Sand is nice for soft footfalls.

I left the lake and headed back toward town. Rather than turn back toward 54 when I got back to the state highway, I ran straight west on Lake Road to Country Club Road. I encountered a few cars along the way. One was the paper delivery van and they pulled over onto my shoulder right in front of me. I thought I was going to hit them, but they sped away without looking back.

Running down Country Club Road was a pleasant relief after climbing up the slow, shallow grade to it. I ran straight on up to 54 and then ran along the well-worn foot path next to the highway. I crossed over to the north side at Dollar General and then snaked my way back to the house. Glancing at my Garmin, I saw I need just under a quarter mile to get nine miles, so I ran across the street and through the Haskins school property on their sidewalks before doubling back on Manor to finish out my morning.

Compared to yesterday, this run did not feel all that great. I didn't have the same flow. Still, it wasn't a bad run and I didn't have any major emergencies. I just hope the ache in my shoulder is gone by November 9 when I start my 100-miler. It would be a mental burden to deal with it for 24 hours. (garmin data)