Light My Fire

In recent weeks, I've been running almost every morning before work, typically at 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. I've definitely decreased the mileage for the duration of the short off-season, but I 've always found that sticking to a routine of running before work, even if I can only fit in a mile or two, makes me feel so much more alert and alive for the remainder of the day.

Since September, the skies have become darker and darker first thing in the morning. These days, I awake to a pitch black sky lit only by the moon, stars, and the occasional street lamp. Since last year, I've been running on mornings like these with a Petzl headlamp, like the one pictured on the left. It helps to light my path and makes me a feel a little safer in the dark. It's funny how, on mornings like today, when Karen and I run together with our headlamps, passerbys comment on the fact that from afar it looked as if a car was coming towards them. Ha ha. I am sure we look pretty hilarious both equpped in headgear like a couple of miners. I swear by Petzl headlamps, though. They are amazing and I would never be able to run in the morning without one.