Evening Routine

Work days are tough for running. I have been doing a lot of precepting of new nurses. This makes things take longer at work and this in turn, makes for a long work day. Scout and I have developed an evening routine for most work nights.

I get home and answer a few emails that have come in on my drive home, plug in all my work electronics to charge for the next day on the road, connect to the remote server at work and start exporting the day's work. While all this is happening, I am changing into my running clothes in my office chair in front of my desk (multi tasking). Next, I load Scout into the car for the short drive to the safety complex since he is no fun to run with on a leash and he can't be trusted on the road without one. Finally, we are off and running!

We have been having to run by head lamp again lately. We run the icy snowmobile trails, I wear Yack Trax and Scout wears his cowbell (so I can locate him in the dark). The snowmobile trails are hard and icy right now. They make for fast running, as long as I can keep my feet under me! We've been adding on a little distance each time we go out.

Tonight, I was very happy to see that the elementary school kids have been out in droves in their snow shoes. Hundreds of little penguin feet have made a hard packed trail around the perimeter of the elementary school fields. Each loop is a third of a mile. I know this from my Type A Runner Personality days. I actually measured it out with the phys ed teacher so I could run accurate mile repeats on the grass. What a nerd I used to be! Anyway, that 1/3 mile loop allows me to lengthen my run without venturing from the familiar trails near home after dark.

Some nights I just don't have a run in me. I figure that's OK, my body and mind need a rest now and then. But the nights I do get myself out there on the trail are wonderful. Plus, Scout is a lot less hyper after he's had his running fix.