Hi, my name is Ben and I have an addiction

And it's not my leftover hydrocodone.

Tonight, a love was born afresh. I, Ben Silver, fucking love night runs.

I've always been somewhat nocturnal, and that habit spilled into my running during and right after high school. It began heading into my junior year running nearly every day with Breck and Andy. We frequently hung out and barbecued in the evening, not heading out for our run until nightfall. The summer before senior year was different only because I trained with York High School in the mornings.

With no job following my senior year of high school, I would typically wake up in the mid- to late-afternoon. If I was doubling that day, I'd get in a short run. If not, I'd play some computer games, head out with friends, etc. Dinnertime often saw my first meal of the day. I would run after dark nearly every night, sometimes as late as 2 AM. Often, I'd cook some spaghetti or rice following my run. My family was always baffled and humored by the remnants of my midnight dinner found the next morning. After my food, I'd usually hit the computer for a few hours before making it to bed as the sun began to rise.

Night runs were always peaceful. The air was calm and cool, it was quiet. The only real disadvantage was the abundance of road running. But I was young, healthy, and resilient, so I mostly ignored the daily pounding on my legs.

In college, I rarely ran nights, though I never stopped enjoying the tranquility of night runs. In the weeks prior to my surgery, I spent some nights jogging around Tufts. But those were mere jogs, not the training runs of years past.

Then there was tonight.

Tonight, after massaging my tender calves into action (with a somewhat worrisome pain in my left shin), I headed out the door just before midnight. The temperature was dropping through the 60s, and the air was just a bit moist. My legs felt fairly good starting the run, and I was soon in a decent rhythm. Since returning, I have often found it impossible to fall into a groove on my runs, so any run where it happens isn't going to be that bad.

I ran the first mile in 7:34 and felt like I was beginning to drop the pace. I was surprised when I crossed the next mile in 7:28 as I thought I had been moving faster. I worried that I was going to have trouble over the next 4 miles, so I tried to relax. And that's exactly what I needed. I hit the next two miles in 14:12. By this time I was feeling great and really starting to roll. I also was in familiar territory and could feel my way back home. I began moving a bit faster. By the last mile, I was rolling pretty good. I only started to feel a bit drained in the last three quarters of a mile or so. Closed the last two miles in 13:12 for a total of 42:27 for 6 miles.

I felt well in control the entire run and was never really pushing beyond what was comfortable. While I certainly didn't run fast, I did run faster than I have since last September, and that's a great feeling. I also gave myself confidence that I can nail my tempo run next week.

Tomorrow could be pretty nasty as I need to help my brother move during the day. I should try to run just before dark and maybe hit the trails. Then Monday I start morning runs. As much as I love night runs, they just can't happen very often if I'm to live a normal schedule. Maybe I'll go to bed after work every day at 5 PM and wake up to run at 1 AM. Or not.