I was up a bit late last night so I decided to sleep in today. I really needed it and as I left work, I was looking forward to running as I used to—after work— as opposed to my new schedule of running in the mornings.

It was great to see some of the evening people just as in the mornings now, I see the same faces and have started to recognize them as ‘the morning runners.’ Tonight, the ‘after work/night runners’ were out and I felt the warmth of the comradery even though we didn’t speak a word to each other but just exchanged glances or maybe a wave or nod of acknowledgment.

The leg felt the best it’s ever felt, but still not 100%. Despite being tired, my body felt more fluid than it’s ever felt before. Running in the evening in the summer can do that; the sun and the humidity has the whole day to warm up the city and the heat rising from the pavement tends to make the body more fluid as does the warmth in the air. For those of you who have never practiced yoga, or never practiced with heat, it’s the same principle. A warm body moves with less resistance than a cold one.

I joined a gym this weekend and on Sunday did my own variation on cross training; 45 minutes on the elliptical and 45 minutes of yoga. Next time, I’ll try the pool.

Tomorrow, to the gym. Wednesday, back to the new morning routine..but with warmth in my heart for my night runs.