It's Fall in NY!

Happy Hump Day!  So it's Wednesday and I've been having a really lovely week hanging out in my old stomping grounds as a "visitor" in Upstate New York.  It's a fun time of year as it is the first weekend of fall.  This past weekend I visited some local farms with my friends and I've been eating apples up the wazoo this week.  Plus, I finally got to pull my boots out, which is an exciting thing for me.  Who else wore boots for the first time this week, because I know I am not the only one, right??

Fall means the days are shorter and it gets lighter later, so that means that for my morning runs it is headlamp weather!  On Monday morning I did 5 miles with my running crew that I am going to miss so much when I am full time in Atlanta and it was a creaky pace, but a good run with friends.  It was also my first wearing my headlamp this season.  As a fall present to you, I present this lovely photo.

Monday morning was the first time I wore a headlamp this week but not my last.  For my run this morning, which I did out in the boonies where I am staying with friends, I put on pretty much every item of reflective gear I have and my headlamp.  I did it as a test run because this weekend I am going to be needing it all as I am running in the Adirondacks Ragnar Relay!

For those of you who don't know, a Ragnar Relay is a 200 mile run that last for 2-days and 1-night with teams of 12 people running nonstop. Ours starts in Saratoga Springs and finishes in Lake Placid, New York and runs through the Adirondack Mountains.  I am pretty nervous and excited about the whole experience as it seems like it is a really fun, bonding, incredible, challenging experience.

I am running 3 legs throughout the relay, totally 20.1 miles, which is pretty perfect, because I am using this relay as a trade off for my 20-mile run that I am supposed to do in marathon training!  Since this weekend is my 20-miler run, it means that I am at the top of my training plan.  This is the peak of my marathon training, so it is an exciting weekend for me as it is something I've always wanted to do, and also the kick off to my favorite part of marathon training - the taper!

I can't believe that I am already this far into training for marathon #2.  It seems like just yesterday I was sketching this training plan all out and hanging it on my desk at work.

Since I trained for the Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon last year, I have motivated and encouraged myself by having a huge training plan hanging at my cubicle at work.  It is a conversation starter when people stop by to chat and a continual daily motivator for me to look and see what I have to do, and what I have accomplished.

In fact, this week, as I cleaned out my desk to prepare to move down to Atlanta, and I un-earthed the training plans that I put together for both the Paris Marathon and the Nashville Half Marathon.

It's crazy that when I made that training plan it was the hardest thing in the world for me, and such a huge accomplishment to finish that mileage and that plan.  I still am incredibly proud of that, and of everything else that I have accomplished since then.  It's insane to me how much this has been a part of my life and is just normal at this point.  I am so proud of myself.

I love the connections I have made from running.  The friends I have made from running.  And everything I have learned from running.   This weekend is going to be a fun adventure and I am excited to continue that with this weekend's run.  For those of you who have never heard of a Ragnar Relay, I will conclude with this video.  I am estimated to be running at 12:00 p.m. Friday, 11:00 p.m. Friday night, and 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  Should be an experience!!