Scaredy Cat

So Wednesday night's swim was fun! Freddie, the guy that indirectly planted the IM idea in my head, showed up and we got a few words in at the start. I missed him leaving though, I was looking forward to chatting more. After 2500m swim I hit the sauna to warm up and met a guy that does competitive trail running races. I enjoy trail running, I didn't say I was good at it - I said I enjoyed it! I was interested in hearing more about the trail races, he was from the states and had a fair amount of experience. He had a thick southern(?) accent. Very american-ish.
Anyhow, he was telling me of the 5-peaks trail racing series that run here in Ontario. The conversation carried over to the changeroom, WHICH IS ACCEPTABLE. Fran thought it was 'odd' that I was chatting among naked men but the rules state it is perfectly acceptable under the correct conditions. Initiating a conversation with a naked stranger is nothing short of 'suspicious' and I'm pretty sure the unwritten man-rules say this is unacceptable. However, if the conversation began while clothed and was carried throughout the transition to nekkidness then it is 'ok'! I think Fran just wanted to fantasize about nekkid men talking tri. She's such a perv.
Thursday night was a our first ever night run, and on trails too! I wore my headlamp the whole time to get a feel for it on my head. I hardly noticed it was there, I was worried it would bounce around on my head and get annoying. Once it became hard to see, I turned on the lamp to find it didn't do very much. It had to be super dark before it made a difference really. I was a bit afraid of the dark. I jumped a few times when a man-eating squirrel made sudden movent right beside me in the leaves. I hate being 'scared' it's one of my pet peeves that I make a point of avoiding. I hate scary movies with a passion. So the headlamp worked better when it got super dark, but the focused beam bounced around alot and made it hard to focus on the trail features immediately in front of me. I think next week will be the ultimate test when the clocks turn back and it is pitch dark throughout the entire run. We may need to stick to flat groomed railtrail with the headlamp rather than rolling hills in the valley that risk twisting an ankle. Then again, maybe we'll find a worthy route on the streets around our house. I doubt it though, it's just not the same.