Evening Runs

My body just doesn't seem to agree with running at the end of the day. I know theoretically I should be able to run at anytime with equal misery, but 9 times out of 10, evening and night time runs go awry long before they're over.

I will admit that a handful of my best runs have happened right after work or class, but those experiences have been few and far between. Usually when this happens I feel an immense sense of accomplishment that I fueled my body just right before running - the perfect balance between not enough and too much in my tummy. And what's there has to count; no junk allowed. I can do all kinds of other exercise at the end of the day, even an hour or so after eating, but somehow running plays out a little differently for me. Well, it almost always ends the same way: with some sort of horrendous gurgling in my gut.

Even today, when I couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning to run, I resolved to run in the evening (because let's face it, this time of year the only other option is insanity). I was careful about what I ate all day, and even had a pretty light dinner. I probably should have had more water throughout the day, but that was my biggest fault. A little less than a mile into my run came a fierce combination of heartburn and the burps. WTF stomach?! I took myself a little further, just past a mile, and then determined it was no longer worth the risk - there was too far left to go and too much that could go wrong. There would be walking. There would also be a little more running not walking, but it would be mostly walking.

So, about half of tonight's run turned into speed-walking. If I was going to walk, I was at least going to get a workout. I'm not out here to pick up shirtless jocks (but if you're in need of one, I suggest Memorial Park). There was also extra motivation in the form of mosquitoes. I don't have to be faster than the mosquito, just faster than the next tasty guy/gal. I'd like to think another benefit is working muscles differently, but I'll have a much better idea of that in the morning.

I'm tempted to schedule in evening runs once or twice a week just to force myself to clean up my diet. Maybe it will even make me like the morning runs more. But I also know the "best" time to work out is when you'll actually do it.

And now to end with a visual representation of what my night time runs feel like:

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You MUST do it.