I can’t believe we’re halfway through my favorite month—October.
Silly Snapchat filtered Sally eating a freshly picked apple.
I love the Fall here in the North East. The weather has finally come down to a temperature I can get behind. Plus, I get to wear hoodies again. And the main reason October is my favorite month is because my birthday falls on the 25th. I also love Fall traditions like apple and pumpkin picking. And that’s just what I got to do this past weekend.
Mr. SOTSS, the girls, the dogs and I all drove out to the North Fork of Long Island to visit with Mr. SOTSS’ dad and his wife and do some Octobery stuff. We tackled apple picking, pumpkin picking AND a corn maze by day and had an Octoberfest inspired dinner by night (I didn’t take a single picture of our German food #fail).
The corn maze was uber muddy because it had rained all morning
The girls carved their pumpkins when we got home.
Here are a few other notable tidbits since my previous post:
I’m so giddy that October will be here next week! My birthday is in October. I LOVE this time of year. The leaves are starting to change colors and Saturday I went apple picking. It was actually in the 80s which is a little too warm for this time of year but I know the cool crisp nights are just days away.
Let me back track to Friday though. I went for my first post-Ragnar run! 4.3 miles sporting my finisher’s t-shirt. Nice and easy and how lovely to not have to shove myself into a van afterward =)
As a runner, I find very few truly enjoyable ways to cross-train. Sometimes it’s the elliptical but mostly I just walk when I’m not running. I hate the gym, I’m not a bike person, don’t like to swim or do yoga. But yesterday, I found the best cross training workout..APPLE PICKING!!!
full body workout: apple picking
My niece and I spent about an hour and a half from beginning to end. We started with the walk from the parking lot all the way to the orchards. I’m guessing it was a good 1/2 mile warmup. We got our buckets and headed through the orchards to find the Granny Smith trees. Probably another 1/2 mile.
Then came the fun part. We climbed up and down through a dozen or so trees. I felt my core engage as I lifted myself up onto the branches and my arms were working hard to keep me steady.
We made a quick pit stop to the pumpkin patch for a few pumpkins and after settling our bill we walked back to the car with a combined total of almost 35 pounds of apples and pumpkins!!!! I carried both buckets for some of the time and then my niece and I split the task for the remaining time.
I suppose I’m on to something. A new cross-fit trend? There was a bonus WOD (workout of the day) too…
We went to Six Flags Great Adventure to ride some roller coasters AND get spooked during Fright Fest. Walking the length of the park, screaming and laughing….OH YEA! Another great workout indeed!
Next to the runner’s high, I have to say, riding roller coasters are the next best high to have. It was a great day! And I got us season passes for 2014. I’m ditching my gym membership!
And now it’s Monday and nothing seems to be working, not my brain, not my computer, not my phone….
Question: Do you enjoy rollercoasters? What’s your favorite? I really loved El Toro.
This is my favorite month. I’ll tell you about some of the great things planned.
Local races: I’m running 2 very special events this month that I’ve been doing for many years now.
Rock ‘N’ Roll New York 10k (in Brooklyn, NY)
I’ve been running the Rock ‘n’ Roll New York 10K since the inaugural event in 2011 where I PR’ed with a 59:55. It was a bit unorganized the first year but last year they figured their sh#t out and it was much more organized—I on the other hand was not as organized. I forgot one key pre-race checklist item–to check my shoelaces. I stopped twice to tie my shoes and finished with a 1:01:55, exactly 2 minutes slower. I don’t think I would have beat my PR but I def could have shaved a minute had those laces been tied. I’m super excited to run it again this year on Saturday 10/12! I know the course really well and I might just try to set a new PR. But there’s only one caveat…
Staten Island Half Marathon (Staten Island, NY)
…The second special event is actually the day after the RnR 10k this year on Sunday 10/13. It’s the Staten Island Half Marathon in my home town. And it has also become my last (and longest) training run for my fall marathons (NYC in 2011, Philly in 2012 and this year NYC again!). I log 7 miles before the start to end up with a good solid 20 miler for the day. So if I choose to push hard the day before to try for a PR, I might not have enough energy to get through 20 miles. HMMMM. I’m going to continue to mull over my plan for this. While the S.I. half has never been my fastest, it’s one of my favorites. It was my first ever half marathon back in 2007 where I finished in 2:36 and since then my times have ranged between 2:24 and 2:54. I get to drive to the start without hassle because I live so close to the start. I pick my bib and shirt up the morning of, and I’ve even been able to “christen” the porta johns because I’m there so early. AHHHH! Nothing like being the FIRST person to use a porta john.
And a big bonus is that I get to run these events with some of my Center of the Nation running peeps!
Autumn: This time of year here in the North East is so awesome. After suffering through 80 and 90 degree sticky, humid days, it’s a pleasure to finally have cooler and crisper temps in the 60s and 70s. The leaves on the trees turn all sorts of amazing colors and I love to crunch them as I run. Plus, Autumn is apple picking season! I LOVE to go apple picking and then I bake 2 apple crisps and eat them both myself in a weekend. (true story!). And I enjoy decorating my front porch with a cute li’l orange pumpkin (and a doodle).
My birthday: And this year on October 25th I’ll be turning 40! Woah! Crazy right? I don’t look act a day older than 12. =) Last year I got to celebrate twice and had 2 cakes. The one on the right was homemade by my amazing friend Butter
Halloween:While I don’t really dress up in costume anymore, I get a kick out of making Duncan suffer through some rather embarrasing looks.
Sherrif on the left and referee on the right
So there you have it. October is going to be a great month!
Question: What’s your favorite month? What’s your favorite season?
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