Sunrise Run

6:00 am. Zero degrees. The sky was dark, with a thin line of electric blue along the horizon, one star bright ahead, the half moon shining brightly behind. Sufficiently bundled up with multiple layers, a hood and thick hat and gloves, I felt insulated against the cold. It helped that there was no wind. Still, my eyes watered for the first few miles, and a thin layer of frost built up around the edge of my hood. In the thin beam of my headlamp, my world was reduced to the band of snow in front of me, a mix of snowmobile tracks, footsteps and deer prints. The world was quiet, with no sound other than the crunch of the snow underfoot. Slowly along the horizon, the colors shifted to a deep pinky orange. I ran out to Lover's Lane and turned around. On the return trip, I was able to turn off my headlamp, enjoying the soft light of early morning. Got in a frosty 5 miles as the moon set and the sun rose. A pretty good way to start the day.