It’s the time of year where almost all of my runs are completed on the treadmill or in the dark hours of the morning/evening. I already talked about running on the treadmill, but running outside will always be my first love.

I have ran outside in the dark often but in the past I always ran with my husband or a group. Now that we have two little kiddos running together or with a group isn’t often an option.

Now that I am venturing out on my own I have really started to consider my safety while running in the dark. Here are a few of my favorites:

• One of my pieces of gear that makes me feel the most secure is my Run Angel. A Run Angel is a wearable safety alarm that is quite loud. If you set off the alarm then through your phone it will send an alert and your location to your angels (people you set up to get the alert). Wearing the Run Angel makes me feel much safer while out in the early morning hours on my own.
• This might be a given but I always run with my phone on me. I like the idea that I can stay in touch if needed. Also it’s great for run selfies and podcasts.

• Visibility is really important so I like to wear running gear with reflective tape and a reflective vest for extra visibility, I got this one for a really good deal and it doesn’t bother me at all while running.
• A good headlamp is also key. I really love my Petzl it has worked for me for years.
• I use an app called Glympse, it sends my location real time from my phone. I send my location to my husband when I leave for a run. This is great piece of mind for him knowing he can check in on me and be sure I am still moving in the direction I should be. This just gives me extra assurance if something were to happen someone would know about it.
• My favorite one that I currently don’t follow but hope to in the future. Run with a dog! Research shoes that you are much less likely to be attacked if you have a dog with you. I would love to get a breed of dog that can run with me, unfortunately the French Bulldog just isn’t down for morning runs.

It’s not fun thinking about what could happen but taking these precautions helps me enjoy running outside even when it’s dark.

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Happy Friday Everyone!!!

The last couple of days have been packed full of fun with these kiddos. Wednesday morning started early with a quick treadmill warm up then full body strength.

Then we packed up and went to our local library for story time. Cannon loves going and always helps me push Emerald’s stroller.

After lunch and naps we walked down to a park for some fun before Cory got home. It was colder than I was ready for but still worth it.

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Thursday morning was kicked off by 3 miles in the dark followed by stretching and good morning baby snuggles.

We were lucky enough to have a friend over for a playdate this morning. Cannon and his little friend are so cute together. They made a fort behind his chair and she “read” Good Night Moon to him.

Then Emmy had her nine month well check. A friend offered to watch Cannon so he didn’t have to tag along, he had a blast jumping in their indoor bounce house! I was excited to hear that everything looks good and Emmy is hitting all of her milestones nicely. The only shock is that she is so dang tall, still in the 91st percentile.

We grabbed Cannon and ran home for lunch.

I’m not sure if I should be ashamed that I had a frozen meal for lunch but this one from EVOL was so good and it’s nice to have something easy after juggling kids all morning. After naps Cannon seemed a bit frazzled so we decided it would be best to settle in for a movie as a storm rolled in. One of the best things in the world is to snuggle with Cannon, even if I have to bribe him with a movie. Boss Baby for him, snuggles for me, win-win.

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Do you run alone in the dark? Do you have any tips for staying safe?

Do you eat frozen meals, anyone old enough to remember calling them TV dinners? Haha!