I’ve always been a runner, and in the past I’ve been known to run some long distances. But lately, I’ve gone through a bit of a dry spell — I haven’t run more than 13.1 miles since last October. Burn out, you ask? Lack of motivation, perhaps?

Maybe a little bit of each, but it really has more to do with a lack of training time. So for the past three months, I’ve been getting up before the sun to put in my miles before the real day begins.

So now this weekend I’ll be hitting the pavement in the Los Angeles Half-Marathon (this year on a brand-new course). I don’t expect to break any personal records, but it’s a trial run for what I hope will be a vigorous 2012 race season.