The Golf Course

We arrived in Harlingen last night at 8:25 pm, and the hotel van driver reassured me my proposed running route was safe. It was warm and humid, but definitely not hot. I quickly changed clothes, and headed out the door. As the sun dropped lower, I ran through some back streets towards a park. It was looking familiar! Off to my left, I saw a huge swimming pool, so I ran by to look inside the fence. The pool was closed, but it was Olympic size and clean. Next time I am in Harlingen, I will bring my swim goggles!
After passing the pool, I found the golf course I had remembered, and began running along the golf cart roads adjacent to the greens. I had no idea where I was going, but there was no one around, so it didn't seem to matter. As it got darker, I was mostly concerned with stepping on a snake, so I kept my eyes peeled for any slithering friends. Instead, I came across several wild hares who apparently came out to race. They smoked me with very little effort. Fortunately for them, I was disciplined and stayed in my target heart rate zone. I was still moving along at a good little clip - good for an old, short, bow-legged guy.
The course was undulating (I mean rolling) so it was real enjoyable. The first half of the loop came out by the pro shop, so I headed out on the other side of the shop into golf course never-never land to add some distance. Somehow, I ended up doing a big 180 degree turn near the starting point of my first loop. Perfect. So I completed another loop. It was a great run: perfectly quiet, except for the noisy bugs, and the darkness made it absolutely peaceful. Just empty space, and that feeling I could have run on and on and on . . . .
After the second loop, I ran back along the empty street towards the park and hotel. I might have run a little longer, but the moon was nowhere to be found, and the golf course was unlit. I could feel some very minor nutritional needs just starting to disrupt my easy effort; it was almost a perfect time to get back to the hotel. I ended up running 44 minutes, with the goal being an hour. At least the heart rate data came back within target - 154 bpm average. I was soaked too, just like had been swimming.
A fairly boring entry - my apologies. It probably took more time to write about the run than to actually complete it!

One more out and back flight to Norfolk, Virginia, then its a few days off to be husband and triathlete!

KonaSpeed!