Running in the morning

Between work, school, two teenagers and all the other stuff that fills in the cracks between that, I run when the opportunity presents itself. But, given a perfect world, I'd run in the morning. For me, there's nothing quite like it. When I run in the afternoon or evening, it's different. The thoughts tumbling through my head seem to match the pace of the traffic blowing past me and I find my mind wandering. But, mornings are different. In the morning, the streets are all but empty. There's no one out there but me and an occasional fellow runner. The world is still quiet and sleeping and it feels like I've gotten a jump on it, like I caught the day off guard. In the morning my thoughts are focused, free of a noisy world instruding and muddling things up. In the morning, there's just me and the sound of my shoes slapping the pavement. Running has always been a solitary experience for me and in the morning I feel like I have it all to myself. There's only me and the road. And maybe an iPod.