I am in the final stretch of my training, now, and am beginning my taper. I’m still having to keep my running dialed down more than I’d like, in an effort to keep my left shin feeling good. However, I am hoping to follow my training plan as scheduled this week.

Monday- Rest day after running back to back 10 milers over the weekend.

Tuesday- 7 miles with 5 at marathon pace with Sven. I was planning to run at the local trail but then I had to work late and the sun was going to set, so the treadmill it was. I felt really good, breathing stayed easy the whole time and it wasn’t taxing on my legs. The only time my shin hurt was when I had to stop partway through my run for a bathroom break. It hurt when I started back, but quickly went away. Strange how my leg hurts if I stop running and then start again. Good motivation to just run the entire marathon and not take any breaks, right? 🙂

Something happened to me that has never happened before while running. I ate two Shot Bloks part way through my run, and I choked on the second one. As I was coughing, part of it went up into my nose! If I had been running on a trail I would have stopped in my tracks while I sorted that out, but for whatever reason I kept going since I was on the treadmill. It was quite an uncomfortable feeling and I hope it never happens to you.

Wednesday- Found myself back at the pool for another swim. This time I ended up doing 3,000 yards. It feels good to be back in the water, but I definitely do not have the upper body strength I used to have. In case you’re interested, here’s what I did:

 

My swim bag is enjoying my recent pool outings. It had been under the bed in the guest room for the past 3 years.

Thursday- Rest. Turns out I really wore myself out with Wednesday’s swim. I was more than happy to take a rest day and hand out candy to the children who were begging for food on my door step (and by that I mean Halloween).

Friday- Rest. Wanted to give my leg another rest day so that I could get in a solid 14 miler on Saturday.

Saturday- Met up with Kim at the Huckleberry Trail. I ran 5 miles with her and then tacked on another 9 for a total of 14 miles. My shin felt pretty good. It only hurt when I first started running, but then went away. However, the rest of my body was feeling very tired and it did make for a tough run. That kind of worried me a bit, as I wondered whether a 14 mile run should feel tough two weeks before the marathon (keep in mind I didn’t get to do my peak week last week, so it’s not like I’m coming off of a high mileage week). But I know that some runs are tough, and I’m proud that I have the endurance to be able to push through 14 miles on a tough day. Not too long ago 14 miles was the furthest I had ever run.

Sunday- Pilates and p90x ab workout. I also watched the NYC Marathon, which should count as well.

I really enjoyed the national TV coverage of the race. Buzunesh Deba, a Bronx resident from Ethiopia, ran out in front from the get go for the women. With 10 miles to go, Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya started closing the gap, finally passing Deba in Central Park in the final miles. Jeptoo made her move and never looked back, breaking the tape in 2:25:07, simultaneously winning the NYC Marathon and the World Marathon Majors series title. But Deba never let up and finished a strong second in 2:25:56.

On the men’s side, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya solidly won the race in 2:08:24. He stayed with a pack of about 10 runners for the first 18 or so miles, before breaking away from the pack. From there he put the hammer down and finished 52 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia. With his second place finish, Kebede secured the Marathon Majors series title. Both he and Jeptoo earned a $500,000 bonus by doing so.

Watching the NYC Marathon really got me excited for my own race in two weeks. I cannot wait to experience running 26.2 miles for myself. Of course I’m nervous and downright terrified. But I’m also excited. Bring it on!

Total Miles: 21

This week’s schedule:
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: Rest

First off, Halloween went off without a hitch. We probably had close to 25 kids come by. There were a lot of cute costumes and a few that actually scared me. I would turn around to check if there was anyone at the door and there’d be some form of scary mask standing there. When I told some of the kids their costumes were scary they seemed to take it as a compliment. Huh.

My jack-o-lanterns

My little sister’s jack-o-lantern. She carved a minion from Despicable Me.

This morning I met up with Kim for a long run on the Huckleberry Trail. We ran 5 miles together and then I ran another 9 for a total of 14 miles. My left shin hurt when we first started running, but then it felt fine the rest of the time. However, the rest of me was really tired and I had a bit of a tough run.

I saved all of the “innards” (I don’t know what else to call the stuff from inside the pumpkin) from when I carved my pumpkins on Sunday to give to the chickens as a treat. They got some of their treat on Monday.

There were a lot of victory dances with beaks full of pumpkin, and a lot of pumpkin being slung around. Added bonus? Pumpkin seeds are a natural dewormer for chickens!

This evening I plan to proudly display my jack-o-lanterns on our porch, while handing out candy to any children who happen to come to our door and beg for food.

I do not plan to dress up. But yesterday I did purchase a festive Halloween bowl that says “Trick or Treat” and has a picture of a spider on it, which I plan to use to distribute the candy to the aforementioned beggars (aka kids in costume). Hank and Scout will be hanging out in the basement so that they don’t frighten the kids.

Terrifying, aren’t they?

What are your Halloween plans?

Fall is my favorite season for many reasons: football, pumpkins, cool and crisp air, apples, Thanksgiving, and road races to name a few. Another reason fall is my favorite is the changing leaves. I love the way the mountains look during all four seasons. I will probably always be a mountains girl. But I love them most during the fall, when they become multi-colored.

Over the past two weeks, we hit the peak of the leaves changing. I was able to get a bunch of pictures during the past week to capture some of it. The picture is never as good as the view is in person, though. It’s a good thing I got these pictures when I did, because most of the leaves have blown off of the trees now with the wind we have been having lately.

From the Draper Mountain overlook:

From the East River Mountain overlook:

From the New River State Park Trail:

Not an overlook, but still really pretty

From the Big Walker Mountain overlook:

The colorful ridgeline would have shown up a lot better if it hadn’t been so cloudy.

Which overlook spot from above was your favorite?
Mine is Big Walker Mountain.

Do you see a lot of trees changing color during the fall?

What is your favorite season?

On Friday I picked up my pumpkins for Halloween. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to go to the local pumpkin patch this year, so these ones just came from the grocery store.

Pretty good looking pumpkins, if I do say so myself. On Sunday afternoon I got down to carving them to turn them into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween! I decided to carve them in our living room while watching the Redskins play the Broncos (Go Skins!!). Football and pumpkin carving is a good combination for a Sunday afternoon in October.

The finished products:

I have mad pumpkin carving skills. Except not really, but I do alright. I always end up doing relatively the same thing each year with my pumpkins- a Virginia Tech one and a simple/traditional one. It works for me. I am excited for Halloween. I haven’t dressed up for it since college, but I love having all the kids come by and handing out candy.

Candy ready and waiting by the front door

I can probably relate this next picture to Halloween and claim we were dressing Scout up in a costume on Sunday.

But really, she just looks hilarious in a t-shirt. Especially when she sits on the couch (which is covered with a sheet in an effort to save it from dog slobber). She makes it even funnier because she walks around all mopey when she has a t-shirt on. Don’t worry, we didn’t “torture” her for long.

Do you carve pumpkins for Halloween? If so, do you do relatively the same pattern each year or do you mix it up?

Do you dress up for Halloween? Do you get many trick or treaters?

If you have pets, do you dress them up for Halloween?