As I ran out the Main Drag at Ahmanson Ranch I was trying to decide where — and how far — to run.

Saturday I was planning to do a hilly 25K race and didn’t want to overdo it. But it was one of those unique late afternoons after the change from Daylight Savings Time — the running was excellent and the opportunity for a good photograph promising.

So where to run? Yesterday I’d run down the Main Drag and up the “Beast” to Lasky Mesa. The moon had been rising and I’d been intrigued by a composition involving a hay shed, alpenglow and the moon. Hmmm, if the high clouds did not get too thick, the moon would be rising a little later, and there might be another photo opportunity up on Lasky Mesa.

On the other hand, the high clouds had a look that reminded me of an exceptional sunset here a few years before. That could also be interesting IF the sunset happened, and IF I was in a place where I could get a good shot. But being in the right place at the right time was going to involve a run that was a little longer than I’d planned.

I took a chance and did the longer run. On the way back, the moon had risen over the hills to east, and within the veil of striated high clouds it looked spectacular. There was still no color from the sunset and it was getting dark. Oh well, maybe I should have just done the loop on Lasky Mesa.

Then as I started to run down a short hill, I glanced back and saw a slight tinge of pink developing on the fringe of some of the clouds. I turned around and headed back to the west. The lighting was changing fast, but it didn’t take long to find a decent spot and get the photograph I’d visualized.

Related post: Waiting for the Sun

Sunday the time changed from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. For those of us that do our weekday runs after work the change has at least one major implication — by the clock, the sun sets an hour earlier.

If you’ve run for a number of years, one way or another you’ve probably come to terms with this one hour difference. I complain about the change from Daylight Savings Time, but it gives me the opportunity to run more frequently near sunset.

Other than sometimes having to push the pace to get back before it’s COMPLETELY dark, and gates are closed and locked, it’s a great time to run. There’s nothing quite like running after sunset, through a darkening canyon as twilight fades, watching the moon rise, and listening to coyotes yip and yowl “on yonder hill.”

Today, sunset in Los Angeles was at 4:55 pm PST. Sunset will occur a little earlier each day until around November 29, when it sets at 4:44 pm. In Los Angeles, sunset remains at about 4:44 pm until December 11, when it starts to become slightly later each day. By January 1 sunset will be back to where it was today, and by February 1 it will be setting around 5:24 pm.

Some related posts: Short Days, Long Shadows; Racing the Sun, Catching the Moon; Moon and the Green Road; Ahmanson Ranch Moonrise