One of the things I struggle most with in the winter is the lack of day light hours for running. I'm in the office at 7 a.m. and leave at 4:30 p.m. It's dark in the morning when I wake up and by the time I get home from work.

That leaves me two basic options, running in the dark or running on the treadmill.

Since I hate the treadmill, I try to avoid it at all costs.

I don't mind running in the dark, in fact, I have a whole post coming up on overcoming my fear of running in the dark, but sometimes I just really miss the sunshine.

Not only does my lack of exposure to sunshine make it hard to run, it also gives me a case of the winter blues.

To combat that, my coworker and I have been experimenting with lunch-time runs. Our new office has a nicely paved rail trail a block from the building. We both bring running clothes to the office, change in the bathrooms and then go out for an easy 30- to 40-minute run.

Running over lunch has some great advantages:

• I get to see the sun.
• It gets me out of the office and away from my desk, clearing my head.
• I feel refreshed and more alert to tackle my afternoon to-do list when I get back.
• Running with my coworker is just plain fun.

The one big drawback -- lack of showers -- isn't a huge issue in the winter since it's cold and we don't really sweat much on such a short run. We can clean up just fine by slicking on some deodorant and splashing some water on our faces. Sure, I have to wear my hair in a ponytail the rest of the afternoon, but I rock my ponytail a lot anyway.

If it's something you can fit in your schedule I highly encourage you to give the lunch time run a try. It's nice to get the blood flowing and get away from your desk.

Have you ever tried running on your lunch break? Does your office provide showers to make it easy for you to freshen up after a mid-day workout?

Coming back to running after time off is hard. Your endurance is sapped, your speed is lacking and your runs can just be plain frustrating.

A coworker asked me to share my tips for getting back into running after some time off. She used to run, but now affectionately refers to herself as a "frustrated, ancient runner."

The longest I've been away from running was the three months I was in physical therapy for my knee and IT band problems. Coming back after that was hard.

It was discouraging to think I had to start from scratch, and that just a few months ago, I could run five miles easily. After my time off, I could barely run two without stopping.

After battling frustrating run after frustrating run, eventually I was able to build my endurance back to where it had been and my speed quickly followed.

Whether you've taken a few months off because of an injury or whether you've taken a few years off because life got in the way, you can jump back into running fairly easily. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Don't worry about speed, just lace up your shoes and go. You might feel like you're slower than ever before, but just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You have to start somewhere. Letting the fear of being slow prevent you from even trying isn't getting you anywhere closer to your goal.

2. Set mini-distance goals. Start with the goal of running a mile. Go slow, take walk breaks if you need. Once you can handle a mile, start building on top of that. Work up to 1.5, and then two and then three. Don't rush to get to those mileage goals or else you could end up with an injury, just take them one at a time using them to motivate you to keep working hard.

3. Don't compare your new running self to your former running self. Sure, three years ago maybe you could whip out 7-minute miles without a problem, and now you struggle to maintain 10-minute miles. If you keep saying things like "Back then I could..." you will only end up frustrated and more likely to give up running again. Give yourself a fresh slate and try not to look back. Celebrate your new achievements instead.

4. Register for a race a few months down the road. This was a huge motivating factor for me when I came out of physical therapy. Some coworkers convinced me to sign up for a five-miler with them. At the time that distance seemed impossible, but I kept chipping away at it and had a great race. Pick a race three or four months down the road. That will give you enough time to get comfortable with running again, but will be a tight enough deadline that you will be motivated to start running and not push it off. There are tons of 5Ks and 10Ks in the spring that you could set your sights on.

Your runs might be challenging in the beginning, but at the end, you will feel great and will have so much extra energy that you'll want to keep coming back to running.

What are your best tips for runners trying to get back into the game?

For the past several years, I've struggled with extremely tight IT bands that lead to really painful runner's knee.

The first time I ever had problems with my IT Band was about two and a half years ago. I was training for the Baltimore 10 Miler and experienced such sharp pain in my left knee during runs and in that days that followed, that I decided to visit an orthopedic doctor who recommended physical therapy. I ended up on forced rest from running for three months and three times per week physical therapy to work on muscle imbalance and loosening my IT bands.

It was in that round of physical therapy that I learned how to tape my knee to help counteract the effects of a tight IT band.

I spent the new six months rebuilding my running base, focusing on shorter distances, and taping my knee on every run. I made a come back to distance running at the National Half Marathon in D.C. and for the next year or so had no knee or IT Band problems whatsoever. I was able to stop taping my knee and could run with no problem.

I thought I was past IT Band problems, but last winter I had a minor flare up. After one too many treadmill runs, I started experiencing minor pain in my right hip and knee.

This time I decided to invest in a foam roller to help help my IT band loose. A combination of foam rolling and running outside with better form cleared up the problem. I was able to train and race all spring, summer and fall with no problem.

That brings us to the marathon, where I started to experience the knee pain in my right knee. After the race, I rested, foam rolled, cross-trained and did just about everything necessary to help get my IT band back to fighting form. It was going well. I could still feel stiffness in my knee, but nothing some stretching and foam rolling wouldn't cure. I thought I was in the clear.

But last week I had such a painful four mile run that I had to stop and limp my way back home. I'm sure all the people out and about thought something was really wrong with me. I earned a lot of sympathetic looks. That was Wednesday and I haven't run once since then. Instead I've spent my time foam rolling, massaging my IT band, and slathering on Icy Hot.

I'm going to test things out today on a short three miler with my coworker at lunch. I'm extremely nervous, not only for this run, but for my ability to train for the New Orleans Half Marathon. The race is only six weeks away and if I can't run four miles, how am I going to run 13.1?

If today's run goes well, I will continue to train for this half marathon carefully. If it doesn't go well, I'll do a test run later this week with my knee taped to see if that provides any relief.

If you know of something beyond massage, foam rolling and stretching that might help with my IT Bands, I'm all ears.