In the wee small hours of the morning....

It's 5:14am- the alarm goes off and I'm literally shocked out of bed. My legs swing themselves over the edge and I sit up, teetering for a moment as I try to grasp my bearings. I lean over switch on the bedside lamp and recoil in horror as the light exorcises the sleep demon from my eyes.
"maybe this wasn't such a good idea". It's the same thought I had yesterday morning. But was it only yesterday? It seems to me at this moment that yesterday morning was more like a month ago.
I stumble to the bathroom and am acosted by the icy livingroom air. (Turning off the heat at night to conserve energy has obviously failed miserably as a clever idea.) I trip backwards into my bedroom and slam the door shut. "Quick, quick, make it quick" I think and begin throwing on layers of clothing. Polished off with thick socks and a scarf I stretch my legs, grab my iPod and make another attempt.
The early morning air burns my cheeks and at the first deep breath I gasp as the frozen stillness solidifies my insides with it's dry but glacial touch.
I take off down the street towards the bike path and realize that I've already learned many interesting things thanks to my newest self-inflicted torture.

1. I've lived in Oregon my whole life yet somehow the short-ass Summer alway succeeds in making me forget how fucking cold it can get here.

2. Despite aformentioned cold, it is NOT necessary for one to wear many layers when running unless one enjoys the added challenge of stripping down to one's tank top and then trying to figure out how to carry a scarf, sweatshirt, long-sleeved UofO jersy, gloves, t-shirt and jog at the same time.

3.If one has a well endowed chest-al region it is not an altogether ineffective solution to double up on the support of said region.

4. Nothing will cure your craving for a cigarette like wheezing your way up and down the bike path. Nature's way of kicking you in the balls for having started in the first place.

5.It's still dark at 5:30am. And at 6am and 6:30. This being a facinating observance since I've only ever been up at this hour while drunk during the summer months and without the confusing element of pre-dawn sleep.

6. Humans are not camels. The human belly is not designed to be loaded with water before a run. Such actions result, apparently, in stomach pain, side aches and yes it is humanly possible to vomit nothing but water.

7. My roommate doesn't sleep at night.

8. There are alot of hobos on the bike path at 5:30am.

I feel that I owe a debt of graditude to my new morning ritual. A healthier body (possibility of self-induced heart attacks aside) and a broader knowledge of the world around me. I think of all the facinating things I've already learned from my little jaunts.... and I still rather be sleeping in.