The Run Where I Almost Had a Heart Attack

I went for a run tonight. When I run at night, I always go to the same park because it’s well lit, always populated, and at least half of the loop is parallel to a road that has continuous traffic. Here’s what it looks like during the day.

Hubs was napping when I left the house, so I texted him where I was going because I’ve seen 127 Hours and I like having both my arms. Once I got to the park, I realized I forgot my Garmin and my RoadID. I remembered my iPod but it was completely dead and I didn’t carry my phone with me because I forgot my SPIbelt.  I decided to run anyway since I already drove there and I know one loop around the lake is 1.25 miles. So I decided to run 5 miles and pretend they were all 7 minute miles because my Garmin wasn’t there to tell me differently.

I was feeling pretty good and around mile 2.5, I came upon a group of maybe 5 or 6 people. They were talking loudly but I didn’t think anything of it because Orlando is filled with loud-mouthed groups of friends and family that you want to punch. So I keep running. I hear one guy repeat something over and over but I can’t quite make it out until I’m a few feet away. Then as I’m running by, I look over at the guy talking and he was holding another guy at gunpoint.

I lost my breath. And then I just kept running. Fast. My car was .25 miles in the wrong direction and I didn’t want to run back by them. So I had to run a full mile around the lake to get to my car from the other direction. I have a new strategy if you ever want to PR in a race, because that last mile may have broken some records.

Once I got around the lake, there were six police cars there already and the guy holding the gun was sitting on the curb in handcuffs. A lot of people were gathering around to see what was going on but I had seen enough. I went home.

2.5 good miles and 1 stressful, scary-ass mile done.  (Average pace: 7:00)

Note: Pace may be accurate for last mile.

Gotta love Orlando

Workout:  5.5 miles / 49 min

This was a great run even though it was a little shorter than I would have liked it to be. Average pace 8:58, um…yeah, I’ll take that! Now if I could only maintain that for another 8 miles I’ll be set.



Apparently I’m not so good at negative splits.

I’m not sure if any of you out there run at night, but let me tell you, Orlando is a magical wonderland of sights and sounds at night. With that in mind, I’d like to give you some highlights of my run tonight:

• # of honks/cat-calls from passing cars:  3
• # of helicopters with searchlights overhead:  1
• # of times I was in that searchlight:  1
• # of men standing in the median of a busy 4 lane road but not crossing even when there’s a clearance:  1
• # of men asking, “Can I run with you, baby?”:  1
• # of random men that start running next to me:  0  (This happens way more than you would ever believe.)

P.S. My husband is currently behind this door wrapping my gifts!

Running at Night

I do a lot of night running. I wish I could get up in the morning and run before work but 9 times out of 10 10 times out of 10, it doesn’t happen.

I watch too many movies so of course everytime I run at night, I’m positive that it will be the time I’m kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a car. Needless to say, I have a couple safety rules that I always follow:

• No music.
• Be hyper aware. (I can zone out when I run, so I make sure I’m always scanning the area.)
• Wear my RoadID.
• Bring my cell phone.
• Bring my pepper spray.
• Bring my flashlight.

The pepper spray and flashlight are always in my hands, and I’m not a fan of carrying things when I run, so I was super excited when I found Knuckle Lights.

I found an ad for Knuckle Lights in my swag for the Myrtle Beach Mini-Marathon back in October. It included a $10 off coupon code.
This bad boy has been on backorder for two months. Because of my patience, they sent me a sweet little Knuckle Lights water cannister and a personal thank you note along with the product.

Before I go on, just know that I have absolutely no affiliation with this company. I just think they have amazing customer service. When I got the $10 off coupon, I was on vacation. The coupon expired before I got home so my friend Michelle suggested I write the company and ask if they would extend the coupon. So I did. I got an email back from the president of the company the same day with a new online coupon code. Sweet.

The company also kept in contact with me to assure me that my order would be fulfilled and I was welcome to get a refund and order again at another time, or just wait until the shipment came in.

Knuckle Lights are $39.99 and come in a pack of two. They come in a few colors: pink, yellow, black, blue, and silver.

I got pink cuz I’m all sorts of girly like that.

They fasten to your hand by a little buckle that you can tighten/loosen.

And the on/off button can be reached by your thumb.


They run on 2 AAA batteries (not included…boo.)

I’m super psyched to try these out. I’ve been using this little flashlight my mom gave me for the longest time and it is ready to be put down like a rabid dog.

Oh, and here’s a picture I just took of myself. I couldn’t let the Knuckle Lights get all the attention.

I didn't wash my hair today. Or my body.