Night Runs

Now that autumn is officially upon us, I'm running (Hah! Get it?) out of daylight for my runs. As hard as I tried, I'm just not a morning runner yet. Between the Things' constantly evolving schedules and the need to get ready and out the door for work, there's just not enough time to try to squeeze a run into my mornings. Plus, the Things are definitely at their best in the mornings! They're alert and happy, they want to cuddle and play and laugh, and I don't want to miss those times if I can help it. When they're surly teenagers, I'm sure it will be easier to get out the door in the mornings. Right?

So, that leaves me with the post-baby-bedtime hours for my runs. Totally no big deal in the summer, when it's light FOREVER. I could head out for a 3, 4, 5 miler after 6:30 bedtime and be fine! All of a sudden, though, I'm noticing that it gets hard to see the ground in front of me by the end of my runs. I don't want to run on my trail anymore, in case there are creatures more dangerous than deer and squirrels in the woods. (Hubby thinks there might be coyotes, and I know for a fact that there are skunks.) I've been wearing my bright yellow cap with lights on the brim for the past week or so, but it's getting dark enough that it's just not cutting it. You lose something of the joy and freedom of running when you have to stare directly at the ground in front of you to make sure you don't trip over anything.

Last night, I may have found a solution to my problems. It turns out there's a local fitness center that has an indoor track that's free to the public! Admittedly, it's only 1/8 mile, but it's inside (where I don't have to worry about the weather, marauding skunks, traffic, etc), it's well-lit (no more tripping over my own feet), it's open late (so I can get my runs in on my own time), and everyone always talks about how good tracks are for speed work--maybe I'll get to try that myself! I managed 4 miles last night pretty well. Sure, I was bored, and I may have lost count of my laps more than once, but I had my music to keep me occupied, and my Nike+ app to tell me how far I'd run. In my mind, it beats running on a treadmill, since I can generate my own wind on the track. I'm supposed to do 6 miles tonight--that may be stretching my ability to run in a circle without going crazy, but I'm gonna give it a try!

I have to say: I'm pretty proud of my training efforts so far! I've only missed one run, and that was for the birthday festivities, so I won't feel bad about that! I think I'm doing a good job of pushing myself hard enough, but being smart enough to not hurt myself. It's definitely harder training this time, since I'm feeling pretty worn out already (thanks, babies!), but I'm working through it and getting my miles in. I have absolutely no idea what to expect with my half next month (YIKES!), but I know I'll be able to get through it. I don't know whether to shoot for a new PR, or to set a safer goal, since this will be my first real test since the babies. I'm afraid to admit it, but I've been training at similar speeds to my October, 2012 PR, so I'm wondering if a PR might be in reach. Mostly, I just want to run and have fun, and feel better about the race than I did last time I ran it. I've been doing lots more hill work than last time, so I'm hoping to be a lot stronger on the nasty hill at mile 9 (that sucker almost made me cry before). I want to run strong, run smart, and maybe run fast. Sounds good, right?

For the Things' first birthday, we had some pictures taken by a professional photographer. We got some

We're so cute!

great pictures out of it, including this gem:

The Things were a little...difficult during parts of the shoot, but I think it turned out well. It's still hard to believe that they're so big, but I'm proud and amazed every day that I get to call these beautiful babies mine.