Tapetum Lucidum and Horse Sh!t
So Saturday morning, I woke up before the ass-crack of dawn, 3:30 am, to be exact, and was out at Shawnee Mission Park before 4:30. Technically, I was breaking park curfew, but I drove right past a park ranger and he didn't seem to care, so neither did I.
Saturday morning, it was cool, but humid. It rained off and on Friday night/Saturday morning and when I started my run at 4:45, it was still raining a little. It felt nice. I ran with my headlamp, although with the rain and fog, it really didn't hlelp light the path much.
My first 7+ miles were pretty much the same route I ran on Wednesday. Up and over Shawnne Mission mountain, except instead of turning around at the summit, I ran down the backside before turning around and running back up it. It added both distance and more hill training.
Running the trails at 4:45 am, alone, was amazing. It was like my own private park. Hell, I could have been running naked and no one would know. Maybe I did streak up Shawnee Mission mountain. I won't lie, the thought did cross my mind. But did I???? Only the animals along the trail and I will know the answer to that.
Speaking of animals, they were all over the place. Did you know most animals, especially nocturnal animals, have this feature in their eyes that help them see at night. Scientifically, it is known as tapetum lucidum. It's purpose is to reflect light back to the retina improving night vision. It is this feature that results in the green glow of the eyes in many species of animals including cats, cows, raccoons and deer (and why is "deer" the plural of deer and not "deers"?). It was pretty amazing experience seeing all those eyes reflecting back at me.
So with the headlamp strapped to my head and the trails to myself, I spent most of the time staring off into the woods making "eye contact" with the numerous animals, both small and large, trying to figure out which eyes belonged to which animals.
In fact, I was so busy looking off into the woods that I didn'l notice the large pile of horse shit in the middle of the trail. You know, the pile I stepped smack-dab in the middle of.
It definitely made for an interesting first 7 miles.
I ran the next 7.5 miles with team. As we started up Shawnee Mission mountain, I pointed out with pride, my footprint in the horse manure.
Saturday morning, it was cool, but humid. It rained off and on Friday night/Saturday morning and when I started my run at 4:45, it was still raining a little. It felt nice. I ran with my headlamp, although with the rain and fog, it really didn't hlelp light the path much.
My first 7+ miles were pretty much the same route I ran on Wednesday. Up and over Shawnne Mission mountain, except instead of turning around at the summit, I ran down the backside before turning around and running back up it. It added both distance and more hill training.
Running the trails at 4:45 am, alone, was amazing. It was like my own private park. Hell, I could have been running naked and no one would know. Maybe I did streak up Shawnee Mission mountain. I won't lie, the thought did cross my mind. But did I???? Only the animals along the trail and I will know the answer to that.
Speaking of animals, they were all over the place. Did you know most animals, especially nocturnal animals, have this feature in their eyes that help them see at night. Scientifically, it is known as tapetum lucidum. It's purpose is to reflect light back to the retina improving night vision. It is this feature that results in the green glow of the eyes in many species of animals including cats, cows, raccoons and deer (and why is "deer" the plural of deer and not "deers"?). It was pretty amazing experience seeing all those eyes reflecting back at me.
So with the headlamp strapped to my head and the trails to myself, I spent most of the time staring off into the woods making "eye contact" with the numerous animals, both small and large, trying to figure out which eyes belonged to which animals.
In fact, I was so busy looking off into the woods that I didn'l notice the large pile of horse shit in the middle of the trail. You know, the pile I stepped smack-dab in the middle of.
It definitely made for an interesting first 7 miles.
I ran the next 7.5 miles with team. As we started up Shawnee Mission mountain, I pointed out with pride, my footprint in the horse manure.
posted by Kevin at 4:02 PM
2 Comments:
Wow! 3:30 am? Why so early? Have to eat?
Not so much eat.
It's more the time it takes to get out of bed after the first alarm goes off.
I also have to shower before I run. I really wanted to be on the trails at 4:30 so I could get 8+ out of the way b/f the team started. I was close enough.
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