Running in the rain

Last night I arrived in Holland for some business meetings. This time I went with two colleagues from Spill Group Asia, Demi (marketing director) and Han Bing (GM of Zlong Games). We had a quick dinner upon arrival in Hilversum (dim sum in a Chinese restaurant), and after that I wanted to do some work. However, I was suddenly so tired that I decided to get some sleep and get up early. That was probably a good idea, because when I watched the 10 PM news in bed instead, I fell asleep during the newscast already.

So I got up at 4 AM to scan through all the mails from Monday, and managed to finish this by 5:30 AM. Then I put on my running gear, and went for a run. Outside it was still pitch dark and it was completely silent. Although it was raining and quite cold (around 7 degrees) I found it very beautiful. First I ran around the Hilversum city center (I always want to know exactly where I am) and then decided to run to Lage Vuursche. But halfway there it was so dark in the woods that I decided to go back to the main road and run to Baarn instead. It was still very quiet and I ran on the bike lane next to the road. That was covered by leaves, and together with the rain it was a very nice environment to run.

Close to Baarn the rain stopped, and within 10 minutes the sky had cleared completely. I saw the stars in the black sky, something you cannot see in Shanghai (you are lucky to see the moon!). On the way back I passed by castle De Hooge Vuursche. With the start-filled sky above it and the dark woods behind it was an amazing sight.

The running went excellent, probably also because I did not run outside for a few weeks, and it felt great. I got back to Hilversum in just over 1 hour and 30 minutes. I could feel all muscles in my legs (I am not used to run on asphalt anymore), but felt very fit. A great start of the day. I am going to have breakfast now with my colleagueas, and then I am ready for my real working day!