Early morning run

I was a little amazed to wake up at 6:30 this morning feeling fine and dandy. Either the melatonin worked last night, or I haven't actually adjusted my time zones at all. No matter: it was time for my run.

Yesterday I actually ran a mile further than the training plan suggested, which was a bit silly, but it meant I did get as far as the Mercer Park trail on the way out of Bellevue. After several miles by the side of the road, it was a welcome relief to find myself running alongside fields of blueberries instead. Today I took a slightly different route, running over the ridge facing the hotel and down towards the trail, cutting out some of the less enjoyable urban pavement I'd run yesterday.

It's odd to be running in cool temperatures for a change. Yesterday evening was quite warm, but at 7 am on a Sunday, although the sun was bright there was a little bit of a chill in the air. Well, a chill for somebody habituated to Singapore's humid embrace: apparently there's a heatwave on right now.

It's also odd to have hills to run up and down again, but the temperature is amazing. I got back and my shirt wasn't soaked, my shorts didn't look like I'd comprehensively wet myself, and after I had a shower, I didn't start sweating again as though I'd never stopped exercising. I could get used to that. Maybe this means Osaka won't be so hard in November.

I went further than yesterday (today called for a six mile effort) and explored a bit more of the trails by the blueberry farm. Its a mix of hardpacked soil, boardwalks and soft, springy loam - a great respite from all the miles of hard, unyielding concrete I've been running in Singapore. Early in the morning there's hardly a person out on the trails; I met a couple walking through the trees, and two women running as I got to the end of the trail, and that was all.

I was a little worried that I'd taken a wrong turn - or rather that the trail was going to loop back and I'd end up miles from where I started - but happily it spat me out half a mile or so from the hotel, with a fast downhill stretch to get me home. Still baffled that I wasn't soaking wet, and with a spring in my step, I showered and went for breakfast. I think this is going to be a pretty good day.