Tonight I had a damn good run. One of those rare runs when I had absolutely NOTHING to complain about.

Because of my own bad habits, my morning runs have generally been miserable. I don't get to sleep until 1 a.m. and when I wake up at 6:30 a.m. I'm cranky and just not enjoying my morning runs.

Tonight I felt peppy and perky. The air temperature was 57 degrees, no wind. My legs felt light.  I smiled when I ran. I ran alone. There were very few cars and people on the road. I could have run all night.

There was a spring in my step tonight. Maybe because Spring began 4 days ago. Or perhaps because my body seems to finally be adjusting to the Daylight Saving Time 1 hour "spring forward" 10 days ago.

I enjoyed the smells in the air. I could smell jasmine all around. It was great. I thoroughly appreciated the absence of wood burning fireplace smoke that clog my lungs and make me cough and wheeze during winter nighttime runs. Heck, not a single lighted cigarette was apparent tonight. That made me happy.

Why were there no cars on the roads tonight? I was alone and loving it. No speeding race cars on the roads. No worries. It was a peaceful, easy feeling tonight (to quote one of my favorite Eagles songs).  Perhaps American Idol kept people in their houses this wonderful Wednesday night.

Tonight was a night when my running felt so effortless that I pondered what should be my next big race to train for. It has been 3 1/2 months since my last race, the Santa Barbara Marathon. I had intended to run the Great Race of Agoura half marathon this coming Saturday but family plans prevent that.

Yes, I will be looking for my next race now. My body feels good, rested and ready for the challenge of gearing up again for competition. I've been doing an easy 30 miles per week, so its not like I've been sitting around eating bon bons or something.

It is nights like this that keep me motivated, after 17 years of running, to train.

It is nights like this that I'm reminded that running is not only great exercise, but enjoyable. I've been in kind of a running "rut" for 3 months. But...I'll be back. Soon.