As I went to bed late, I didn’t have any clue how am I supposed to wake up the next day to run early. I did set the alarm to 6 am and thought if I had a strong will to run I would wake up.
5:59 am I woke up without the alarm, didn’t feel strong but the will that woke me up without the alarm needed nourishment.
I planned a route two nights before, taking Al-Azhar Street to Salah Salem and back passing by Magra Al Eioun. My friend warned me that it would not be a beautiful run as it seems, as there will be a lot of garbage beside Magra Al Eioun.
I went to the streets without making up my mind about which route should I take on coming back. All I had in mind was to run for a long distance in celebration of my 40th birthday. I listened to Rocky the motion picture soundtrack as I passed through downtown, had a pit stop to drink water, and continued to Al-Azhar Street.
I took a random left and asked for Al Moez Street, the guy told me right around the corner. Next right I was running between the old mosques and houses watching young couples whispering and old men and women wandering with their eyes listening to the sounds of history. In the middle of the street, I stopped and asked a refreshment shop for a mix of orange and banana juice because of its potassium. Later I walked for a couple of minutes so as not to provoke stray dogs then continued my run back home.
It was a quiet celebration for me and a challenge, after all, one year ago I was running with a friend four k and was tired. So this year was different, doing 14.6 k on your birthday as a routine was a real achievement for me. Thank you, God, I cannot ask for more.