Running in the dark

So here is some amazing information I have gathered during my extensive research period. When running after 5PM on January afternoon in Utah, bring a flashlight! It gets dark rather quickly. My extensive research involved bumming around the house till 4:50PM, instead of heading out for the trail immediately thinking I could make it before the darkness... not so much. It was the last mile and a half or so when the dusk started dissolving the trail beneath my feet, flattening out all the rocks and sticks, forcing me to run by braille. It didn't get quite as pitch black as on my birthday run last year, but I did have a headlamp then. Surprisingly it didn't get as cold as I thought it would. Usually when the sun hides behind California and starts sinking into the ocean, the temperatures drop significantly, but last night it remained around freezing. Which, now that I wrote it down seems ridiculously cold to run in, but 32F is not really that bad. I might even say I like it. I definitely prefer it to 82F.
I am definitely bringing my headlamp and attaching lights to the dogs for the next winter evening run. Seeing the trail you run on seems rather important. Almost as important as bikers and other trail patrons seeing you and your dogs. Especially bikers. Especially bikers seeing the dogs.