Although it's a nice reprieve when the summer heatwave breaks, it's always a bit daunting when the days get shorter and shorter. We notice it on our morning walks. We're up at 5am, and in the summer, the sun is already starting to come up when we make our way around Lake Merritt. But now, it's still dark by the time we've made the lap. And it's only going to get darker still. I run early in the mornings too. I try to get started on my weekly "long run" on Sundays by 6; the "donut run" on Fridays starts at 7 — it's dark for both of these. I will say that it's easier to walk and run in the dark mornings knowing that the sun is coming up than it is to walk and run in the dark afternoons and evenings knowing that it's only going to get darker still. But as I said: it's October, and it's only going to get darker still.

I love autumn, don't get me wrong. I'm excited to see the shift in the fruits and vegetables in our CSA: apples, pears, winter squash. There were still tomatoes last week, so summer isn't gone entirely. There was a dragon fruit too — I hadn't ever really thought much about its origins (the pitaya is a cactus indigenous to the Americas), and I turned the fruit into a brilliantly pink syrup for Kin's cocktails.

I did a lot of cooking and baking this past week. A lot of cooking and baking and running. I ran my fastest 10K — under an hour. Granted, I've only run that distance half a dozen times or so. I ran with the RBO, the youth group I volunteer with. I ran with the donut group. I ran by myself. I ran speed intervals. I'm preparing for several races in the coming weeks before beginning preparations for my half marathon training.

The running is sublimation, sure sure. And I have on my Task List "find a therapist" and "find a job." I have developed some speed and some strength, to be sure. Now I just have to transfer that from the road to the rest of my reality, I guess.