I like to run in the morning.  I also like fall.  So the fascinating paradox is that I always find it so hard to get up to run in the morning come fall.

I am not sure whether it is because it is getting cooler out – at this time of year it is hard to dress because the weather hangs out in that zone where you can’t decide shorts vs. capris and short sleeves vs. long sleeves, and you spend some mornings freezing and other mornings melting because you just can’t get it right.  Maybe it’s the fact that it is darker – but I do adjust to that eventually.  Maybe it is just the transitional nature of the season.

Whatever the reason, if you like to run in the morning but have more trouble getting moving in the fall, I’ll share with you what I do to make sure I get up, and I would love to hear your suggestions as well!

I lay out my clothes the night before, and have a few choices.  That way I don’t say “oh well it’s much too cold for shorts, but I can’t turn the light on in the bedroom to find my pants and risk waking my husband! Might as well go back to bed.”

I try not to think.  As dumb as it sounds, when I wake up in the night and calculate how much time is left until it’s time to get up, I spend a few moments debating whether I should even get up, or just reset the alarm.  To avoid that thought even entering my mind, I just try not to think at all, or at least limit the thought to “ungh. Not time yet.”

Recently, I have taken to putting a small lamp in another room on a timer, set to come on just before the alarm.  That way I feel like it isn’t so early and dark and miserable.  This helps for getting up on non-run mornings too!

Most importantly, I remind myself that I never regret running.  I had the debate just this morning – the bed was so warm, I felt so sleepy and comfortable, I didn’t particularly feel like running.  Then I said this:  “do you ever regret skipping a run?  Yes.  (By “you,” of course I meant me.  Please don’t lock me up.) Do you ever regret going for a run?  No.”  With all the other stuff that goes on in a day, who really needs to add regret to the equation?  End of debate.

You know what else I love about fall?  It is a great time of year for food.  Superfoods like fresh, crunchy apples (I love you, apples!), squash and pumpkins, not to mention underground favourites such as sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and beets.

Really, I could go on about the foods of fall forever, but instead I will refer you to a recipe to enjoy for yourself.  I really like this recipe for Winter Vegetable Hash from allrecipes.com.  It has a variety of colours, including red bell peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, acorn squash, shiitake mushrooms and kale.

If you’ve noticed a trend with the recipes I tend to talk about, it’s that they’re all easy, and this one is no exception (this is because I don’t really like to cook!).  It is mostly just chopping and stirring, no fancy tricks.  It is quick enough to whip up on a weeknight, yet delicious enough to serve at Thanksgiving.

If you’re concerned about the fat content, you probably don’t need all that butter, but man, it sure makes it taste good!

You might have gotten the impression that I love fall.

There is something I don’t like about fall though.  While fall isn’t the only season guilty of this, it has the unfortunate job of making it all that more apparent.  I am talking, of course, about the decreasing daylight. It is now dark long into my morning runs.

With decreased daylight, there are different potential hazards.  One of the biggest hazards that we really have the power to avoid is, of course, traffic.  For better or for worse, I change my running habits in the fall to keep myself safe:

• It is no longer safe for me to run at the side of country roads; I am relegated instead to trying to find interesting routes in town, sticking to sidewalks as much as possible.

• I make myself visible.  Wearing reflective gear is a really good start.  If it is still too warm for your jacket with reflective strips, you can buy reflective vests, bands and strips anywhere that sells safety supplies.  These can attach with adhesive, Velcro, magnets, or even just snap around wrists or ankles.  Remember, however, that reflective gear relies on outside light sources to be visible.

• Another option to consider is gear that has a built-in light source.  This could be anything from bicycle blinkers to headlamps.  Headlamp bonus: not only can others see you, you can see what’s in your path, from potholes to puddles, to people and animals.

I am not endorsing any particular brand, however, if you visit the Fuel Belt website, you can get an idea of the types of options I am talking about.

As a runner who also happens to be a driver, I want to add that I am always very grateful to people who take measures to be visible.  To the people I have heard say they will look stupid, first I disagree, but secondly, “stupid” beats out “road pizza” any day!

So please, do your best to be seen.

I love fall.  I mean, I really love it.  It is one of my favourite times to run.  I think I say this about every season, but it isn’t just a season; it’s a whole mood, an atmosphere.

It really involves all of the senses:

The crisp air feels so good – it’s a nice change to actually feel cool skin, even when you’re warm on the inside.  It’s so refreshing!

The leaves provide those satisfying shuffle and crunch sounds.  I love to scuff my feet through piles of leaves, even if it means picking them out of my shoes and laces later.

Then there’s that wet-leafy smell.  You know the one – it is probably leaves rotting, but somehow it smells so nice when you just take a giant lungful.

The colours of the trees are beautiful.  When the sun hits them just right, they’re so vibrant.  The word “breathtaking” comes to mind.

If, like me, you can run past a bakery on your route, there’s the fresh bread and pumpkin pie.  I know that is really sense of smell again, but I can practically taste it!

I even love coming in after a fall run.  A steaming hot shower, a nice cup of coffee and a warm, toasted bagel are just all so wonderful.

Yes, I love running in the fall.  After stimulating all of those senses so satisfyingly, I can’t help but feel great about the world!

Hey, remember Sidney?

I just wanted to share that I bumped into him on Sunday!  We were all standing together in the starting corrals, and I was just looking around me, when a man just sort of shuffled into an empty space just behind me and to my right.  I recognized him instantly.

“Sidney?” I said, just to be sure (yes, I had spelled his name wrong all this time).

“Yeah,” he said, kind of looking at me.  I said “oh my goodness!  I remember you from last year!  Do you remember me?   We met at the pasta dinner, then we ran into each other during the race right around the time we both melted down!”  He thought for a moment.

“Yes!  Yes, I remember!  When that volunteer told us we needed to hustle to make it back before the roads opened!”

Yes, he really remembered.  He told me he had done a marathon the weekend previous.  I laughed as I told him I remembered he had done that last year as well.

We got separated pretty quickly, but I saw him twice more:  once when he passed me early in the race, and once where the course doubled back on itself.

It was just one of those things.  My meeting him was the inspiration for one of the very first posts I wrote for this blog, and I would think of him from time to time, but I never expected to see him again after last year. He was up from somewhere in the States. Yet, there we both were, in a start line crowd of nearly 10,000 people, and we just sort of bumped into each other.

Funny how that happens!

Every race teaches us something.  Most races teach me many things.

Yesterday, I learned what it is like to drop out of a marathon.

I am still processing everything that happened, and working out the lessons that can be gained.  So far:

• I learned that you can make a very smart decision for very good reasons and still regret the outcome.  You can then consider every other outcome that was possible on that day, and realize they’d all have been met with regret.

• I learned that I can put on a brave face and celebrate the successes of others.

• I learned that non-runners “get it” a lot more than I ever gave credit for. In fact, some of them get it better than some runners.

• I learned that the runners who have been through it came out stronger because of it – even if they don’t notice that side effect for themselves.  They are then quick to step up and say, “hey, I did that that.  I know it kinda sucks, but know you’ll be okay.”

I know that it is only really a big deal to me, and that soon, it won’t even matter.  I know that one day someone will drop out of a race, and I will be able to say, hey, you’re not alone, I’ve done that too.

Besides, if every race were a PB, it would be kind of predictable and boring, wouldn’t it?  As Tom Krause once said, “There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.”