Still Code Orange

My soul waits for the lord,
More than watchmen wait for the morning,
More than watchmen wait for the morning.

This, from the 130th Psalm, stuck in my head from this morning’s scripture readings. The imagery fits nicely with that feeling of leaving the house in the early morning darkness and running toward a dawn that is not yet there.

The sunrise emerged this morning as an orangish glow on a cloudless horizon, with the center city buildings outlined in black. In winter the absence of clouds generally accompanies a drop in the mercury. This bore true today as temps felt like the 20's, cold enough that brain-freeze enveloped my forehead and left me longing for a hat. The highlight of the run was a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting on a lamppost on MLK Dr. that let me get within about twenty yards before flying off.

Sweetbriar loop this morning took me 66:18. Energy level was high but I held back in deference to my Achilles soreness. Looping by E’s (lights were out this morning) and having to stop thrice along the way (w/o stopping the watch) all added to the time. The overhydration that led to these stops is my response to the Achilles soreness from the last two days. It may have worked; the heels felt much better this morning, so much so that I plan to stick to my plan to do 11 tomorrow and go long on Sunday.

I'm still, however, keeping the alert level at code Orange. This means I will still do my miles, but will continue to forego speed.