Good morning, sunshine!

Last summer, after we returned from our amazing vacation to The Bahamas, it was so damned hot here that I started getting up early to run.

I usually got up at 4 a.m. during the week to run, and around 5:30-ish on Saturdays. I did that from June 2011 through March 2012.

And then, I don't know what happened. Even though I was still going to bed at my usual 8:30-9 p.m., when 4 a.m. rolled around, I just couldn't get up. I couldn't.

I turned 40 that month. Maybe that was it. My husband was starting to work crazy hours, and it was me, all me, at home with the kids, so maybe that was it.

Whatever it was, I still needed to run. So I adjusted. I ran when I felt like it. Weekdays, I ran after I got home from work. Weekends, I ran whenever I had a chance.

And that worked until recently. It's hell hot here again, and even though I was running consistently, my times/calories burned were suffering mightily. I went from running a half-marathon in less than two hours in early March, to taking an hour and a half to run 8 miles.

That was unacceptable.

I got up at 5 this morning and ran. Just six miles, but at a pace of a little over 9 minutes per mile (which is much, much, much better than what I had been managing, trust me).

I felt amazing afterward. Still do, almost five hours later.

So for now, it's back to cooler temps, chirping birds and sunrises.