Making Running Spirits Bright -- Literally

I am a full-on holiday season fan. I lean hard into baking far more cookies than necessary, soaking up all the best cheesy Netflix holiday films (no shame in the number of times I have watched A Christmas Prince series, or my current binge of an Italian rom-com Odio Il Natale), and, of course, the most important part: coming back to my beloved hometown just outside Pittsburgh for time with family and old friends, quality times that are all the more sweet after two years of pandemic-induced separation.

But even when you are a Christmas superfan, like me, all that family time and celebration prep can bring out the Grinch now and then. I discovered a long time ago that keeping to some sort of a run plan -- even if it's just short jaunts -- means my spirits stay much brighter (without having to overdo it on the mulled wine). Pre-kiddo days, fitting in a run in the midst of all this holiday prep, was super easy -- just slip out for a half hour whenever waiting for a tray of cookies to cool or such. Like everythign else post-kiddo, though, it gets a bit harder. Tiny Overlord's schedule is already off with all the grandma-spoiling, and things like gift wrapping can obviously only be completed when Tiny Overlord is snoozing away, so my usual sneak-it-in-at-nap won't work. Mr. Every-Body-Run is not with us on this side of the holiday either, as he needed to take care of abuelo, so my hands are even more full.

Enter the sunrise run.

Love me a good sunrise -- almost makes me forget the below-freezing temps!

I have always been a morning person anyway, so getting out before 7 a.m. never really bothered me. Two days into our 10-day Pittsburgh stay, I discovered that Tiny Overlord was staying asleep until nearly 8, if not later, given all the "one more story" she has been sneaking out of her very indulgent grandma. So, I figured that so long as rigged up a Facetime-to-myself between my iPad and iPhone (so I would know if she did happen to wake up), I could slip in two quick mile long loops before anyone stirred.

Genius, no?

Until I stepped outside at 6:45 to realize it was dark.

Like, dark dark.

Yup. That's 7 a.m. -- pretty snow, but pretty dark.

My parents, however, live in the "hills" above a small town -- a small set of houses with some woods. And no sidewalk -- so certainly, no streetlights.

So, even those quick loops round the cul-de-sac suddenly seemed like a recipe for danger. Unused to pedestrians (like, much to our detriment, so much of the US) drivers here have come way too close to me even in fully sunny midday runs.

And, of course, I did not come prepped with any illuminated safety gear.

What I DID have, however, was a strand of battery-operated mini Christmas lights, which I bought to make my outfit for running the San Silvestre Vallecana on New Year's Eve after we join Mr. EBR and abuelo in Madrid.

So I wrapped them around me.

I headed out into the dark, and saw that they gave a pretty dang powerful glow (thanks Target's holiday aisle!)

And I got in a sweet two miler, feeling safe (and amusing the one Amazon driver who passed me) and loving my crisp-winter-air-me-time.

That's now been my merry-and-bright routine since we've been here. I feel jolly when I'm running, and jollier still when I can come back to family time with my little runner's buzz.

Here's hoping your holiday season also is merry and bright, and that you find your own me-time running buzz. Stay safe and stay bright!