Dark = Deception

I ran the same 4.3 miler today as yesterday, but today I ran at night. I left around 8:30 so it was nightfall and while not pitch-black by the end, it was pretty dark.

I can see well in the dark and the path is very smooth so I didn't worry about running into things. In fact, I pushed myself very hard and thought I was making really good time. I took almost exactly one minute more today than yesterday.

I think the darkness gives you a feeling of speed, although I was fairly out of breath the whole way, so it is a bit of a conundrum. One thing could be the shoes: I did the 5-fingers yesterday and today wore conventional shoes. Biomechanically, the barefoot ones should be more efficient, but the conventional ones allow faster down-hill runs since you can take a long stride and land on your heel.