Early miles

Oh, the morning run. There are many reasons to try it, but one of the most practical is when you have a week with most of the usual lunch and evening windows of free time filled up. The morning, friends, is almost always available.

The alarm clock, of course, is the obvious hurdle. I suggested to myself last night that if (and only if) I woke up before my alarm clock, it might be a nice idea to squeeze in a run. With the spring sunlight streaming in the window, I woke up with just enough time for four or five miles.

Sometimes it really does make more sense to sleep in: to give yourself a break, to get more rest, and so on. But today I remembered how nice it is to start the day with an hour of fresh air, all to yourself.

It was gorgeous, too. The temperature is supposed to surge wildly into the 90s today (I'll never figure out the weather and that's why I love it), and it felt a lot like a certain upcoming season out there this morning. I made the out-of-practice mistake of wearing a long-sleeved shirt over my tank top and ditched the top layer about three blocks into the run.

Honestly, early morning light is one of my favorite things in the world.

Who is that amazingly tall lady? (The only time in my entire life that I will be mistaken for tall.)

And, as many of you know, I love the leaves and am elated that they're back.

With so much morning light, I'm looking forward to fitting in more early miles in these kinder seasons.