Who stole the sunrise?

This is the time of year when we seem to be losing daylight the fastest - almost my entire run this morning was in the dark.

However, that wasn't the part that bothered me. Since the half marathon is now less than 2 weeks away, I'm supposed to be gently tapering the training and running no faster than 10 minute miles. In reality, I found I was running at 10.5 minute pace and it felt like hard work.

I'm praying it's because the cold isn't quite gone and that I'm feeling a bit tired from our (lovely but taxing) house guests. It looks like some seriously early nights, healthy eating, and general relaxation will be needed if I stand any chance of doing OK on October 4th.

Photo thanks: Carlos del Arco