Day 4,081—Starting World War III—

 

No one is saying it yet, but since the prospect and now the decision to attack Iran, the obviousness of what might happen next is omnipresent. I decided to start this run around 11 p.m. last night, so my watch is counting it as yesterday, but most of the run happened early this morning. Initially, I thought I would do close to 4 hours, or even stay up all night, but without a set goal, I found myself ready to stop after my first loop back to my house.

         It was exciting at first to take in the calm night air, but quickly it became annoying as cars whizzed by with some drivers yelling mock encouragement at me. I don’t need an audience. I think in my head, as I wish people would respect the quietness of the night. I saw a baby deer not too far from my house. It was sheltering next to a huge branch that was on the ground. I couldn’t see the tree that it fell from, but I tried to get closer to take a picture, and then it ran off.

         I felt I needed to walk more, and I remembered how difficult it can be to keep up a decent pace when you start your run after 10 p.m. I gave in to the occasional walking and tried only to make small steps as I proceeded. I brought water and was drinking liberally, not wanting to deal with dehydration. The sun might not be out, but the heat was still brutal.

         I had been listening to a book but found myself having to re-listen to sections, and eventually, I switched to music and found myself able to keep a better pace. I ran into two trains. One that was already roaring past the crossing when I got there, so loud it must have been going over 60 mph. I waited and watched it go by while thinking I could go around it, but at this current pace, it would be gone within a minute. The next train I heard before I saw and had time to step out and take a picture of its bright light coming slowly towards me. I easily walked past it before it came by. It was quiet and was going closer to 20 mph. I thought about how rare it was for me to see a train during my usual run, but tonight I saw two.

         I dreamed about what I was going to do when I got back to my house. Would I make a snow cone? Eat food, or just change clothes and keep going. I hadn’t decided to stop yet, but at the same time, I hadn’t ruled it out. Once home, I ate food, made a snow cone, and drank liberal amounts of water. I found myself shivering uncontrollably and had to warm up in the shower.           

         I lay down but was woken by my screaming children running through the house and in and out of my bedroom. My youngest wanted to lay down with me and said, “I sleep with dada,” and then giggled. My five-year-old got in bed too, following his lead. I gave them both a hug before they ran off and let me sleep.