Ah, autumn. I used to hate this time of year because it meant that the warm weather was over, and I had nothing but 7 months of miserable cold weather to live through. AND I had to go back to school! But then I found running. And the fall turned into a hopeful time of year when running suddenly became easy again (bye-bye, humidity and 90 degree weather), and the excitement of an October or November race propelled me to new PR’s and set my sights on bigger goals.

I WILL get that ribbon.

So now that I’m staring October in the face, I welcome that old familiar swell of joy rise up as I lace up and prep for my next race on 10/19! I’ve officially dropped down to the half marathon, and where I used to feel fear and apprehension over not being able to complete the distance, I now feel excitement and happiness. I’d say that’s a good change! The marathon will be there for me when I’m (healthy and) ready. But for now, bring on 13.1!!

In the past few weeks, work has been going IN-SANE. I’ve also been intensifying my training too, and as a result, I could sleep in til 11am every day if you let me.

…sleeping and eating ALL OF THE THINGS.

To stay healthy and strong, I’ve been adding a lot of different cross-training to my routine, like the elliptical, strength training DVD’s, and swimming, in addition to piling on the miles.

Papa even came to swim with me one night!

With all this new cross training, I’m enjoying the low key crowd at my local YMCA too – once it hits about 7:30, the place all but empties out and it’s just me and a handful of retirees and younger kids who really like Wheel of Fortune. Since I can’t change the channel on the TV in front of the cardio machines, I’ve also been exposed to some exciting new programming that I normally wouldn’t watch on my own. In related news, when did Greys Anatomy become the lamest, most over-acted soap opera EVER? I almost fell off the elliptical from rolling my eyes so hard at the DRAMA (emphasis mine). I guess I just never got into it from the beginning so I don’t get it?

It had to be the eye-rolling. That or my fun new Fabletics crops made me dizzy.

I’ve had lots of fun running adventures too – races and Mermaid Club meetups and oh so many miles around the local park… But those all get their own dedicated posts.

How have things been going by you? Are you getting excited for any big races coming up? Is this race season for you too? Tell me everything!