4 a.m. Run

I opened my eyes this morning at 3:15 a.m. I rolled over, but was wide awake. I pondered a run, but instead tried to go back to sleep, but awakened again at 3:30, 3:45 and 4 a.m. Finally I dragged my exhausted but wide-awake self out of bed, pulled on my running tights, sweatshirt and running shoes. Though still dark outside, Bart was more than willing to jog along (after stopping to poop three times during the first block). Though the moon was still high in the sky and the sun nowhere in sight, the streetlights provided plenty of light, except for about two blocks along a stretch of road the name of which I don't know. I took a right on East, toward the high school. Bart and I startled a man engrossed in his headset walking alongside the road (instead of using the sidewalk) -- I wondered what would have happened had I been a car driving by, but then I guess I'd have been on the other side. It was still dark when Bart and I walked up the driveway toward the house.
In the dark I discovered a good, safe, running loop -- and 3.5 miles is a good cleansing run for me usually. I've experimented with several routes -- my favorite being the nature trail. But there's a big hill between that trail and me, and a 10" run to get there. So it's not good for a short run. I could drive there, but it's too short for a long run. . And I have to turn around, as opposed to making a loop. There's something psychological that happens to my brain when I have to do a U-turn. I hate them. Because of wrong turns, I've made too many of them in real life. Although there's no break from asphalt and concrete on this run, it's a great easy run, a circle without a lot of nasty hills. Hills are great for hard-runs, but sometimes my body just wants to take it easy.
Nonetheless this run was a bit too easy. After getting home I tried to study, but the Internet was down. So I read a few pages in a textbook and finally fell asleep about 5:30 a.m., close to the time when the rest of this household started dragging themselves out of bed. I did feel some better; even though my mind was still cluttered my body felt cleansed and refreshed. And I did something positive during my sleepless state, instead of making it worse by lying in bed stewing. So that was good, too.
That's something else I've learned about running. If your body can handle that type of pounding, even a bad run accomplishes something good and that makes even the worst of days (or nights!) a bit better.