Goodbye Summer; HELLO Fall!

It's hard to believe it's late August already. I don't think I'll get many arguments if I summarize summer as a hot sticky mess; that will be sorely missed come mid January. But before I get to the frozen waste months let me rewind a bit. I managed to skip over one of the most important seasons. That stretch between extremes where not only does the season change in nature but in our lives as well.

For those with kids the planning starts as early as the last week of July and as late as the second week of August. For me it's the last week of August. That's when I come to terms with my favorite season nearing it's end. I know that in the next few weeks the days are going to get noticeably shorter. In the morning I'll want to turn on the heat and by afternoon I'll want to switch on the A/C. Another week will pass and I'll need a jacket to go outside. It will look 75 degrees out but in reality it will be 50 with a cold stiff wind. Then the rain will show up. Cold brutal rain.

Okay, it's really not so bad. There is actually a lot of good to fall. It's a short little season between Labor Day and Halloween where everything feels new and fresh again. You get to bust out your fall attire and put away your over worn summer outfits. You go from nothing to wear to an entire new wardrobe almost overnight. With fall comes a change in dinner menu options. Fire up the oven for meatloaf and lasagna or load up the crock pot for some chili. For the sports fan it's the start of football season and the World Series for everyone else it's the season premieres of TV drama's. It's Homecoming and bonfires, it's Halloween parties and hay rides. For me it's running season. I'll load up the fall schedule of races and see how the summer training paid off.

I'm excited. I worked hard this summer. Got some great training in. I've enjoyed the heat and humidity as much as I could. I hate to see summer go, but I welcome fall in. I feel renewed and recharged. With my fall goals and todo list I'm going to enjoy the next 2 months as much as I can. Then continue training in winter for my first marathon in January.

Fall's the perfect time to take up running. Go check out the (couch to 5K(3.1 miles)) c25k plan and put it on your fall todo list! http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Run on!

-Bob