So. Much. Fun.

8 miles - AT NIGHT nat greene/palmetto

One of the things I adore about Greensboro/Winston Salem (The Triad), is the people. For some weird reason, me, who could never seem to establish more than one solid friend at a time, who has lost touch with nearly everyone from past cities, jobs, and schools, has somehow managed to have a social life in Greensboro.

Last night was my first invite to a dinner+night run. It was the same group of people from Salem Lakes and last weekend's 15.5 at the reservoir. I provided the side dishes and the salad, our gracious host served blackfin tuna he himself caught at Hattaras (while being taunted by sharks, no less), and everyone else brought either wine, beer, chips/dip, bread, or in the case of one amazing person, cupcakes.

There was a lot of food, people.

But before the eating could commence, there was the running. The house where the dinner took place backed RIGHT OUT onto the trail system, one of the main selling points of the house. Off we went, headlamps and flashlights blazing, into the woods. The guys took off for a longer run, while the ladies still had a decent pace for a "shorter" 8 miler.

So what's the big brew haha about running in the woods at night? First off, it's gorgeous. It's a view of the trails and the lake that's so different (duh, it's night time). Still, it's more than that. It's as if you're going to a store after hours, getting to see everything "off the clock." The lake still reflects light, but it's sort of a milky color, and there are no birds, but lots of wrestling sounds coming from everywhere. Second, distances go by faster, since you can literally only see the next three feet ahead of you. Third, come on, you're RUNNING IN THE WOODS AT NIGHT. How cool is that?

I also realized how incredibly lucky I am to have landed, quite randomly, in a group of people who both condone and encourage this type of activity. Or activity in general. Dinner party? Sure, pretty everyday. Dinner party with a huge group run beforehand? Not so much. Even better, because we all share this love of activity, we are all pretty compatible, nice people in every other respect as well. Open to newcomers (like myself), welcoming, encouraging, warm, humorous, intelligent, and just plain fun as hell.

Which is really what I was thinking as we were all sitting at the table, epic-ly eating, talking, and laughing. I guess I have to keep running now, just to show appreciation for where it's led me.