The beginning of October is my favorite time of year. September is still pretty hot in Atlanta, but October always reminds me of a line from an Indigo Girls song: “Summer’s beginning to give up her fight.” I’ve always loved that line. It’s still pretty warm in the middle of the day, but the cooler air is slowly taking over. Ask me again in the Spring and I might say the first weeks of May are the best, but for right now, October wins.
This weekend was cooler than the first of October should be, but beautiful without a cloud in the sky. Temperatures were hovering in the mid to upper 60s. That meant one thing: perfect running weather, which was good because I had eleven miles on my schedule. I’d planned to start running at 9, but was enjoying a leisurely breakfast (pb toast and coffee) and decided to take my time. There was no hurry to beat the heat. I took an extra hour to just relax and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Like last week, I drove to Joan’s apartment in Midtown so we could run part of my eleven miles together. Unlike last week, I remembered to take my car key off my keyring and not lock it in the car. We ran up Peachtree Street into Buckhead and back for a total of 4 miles.
Breaking up the run works well for me mentally. Instead of thinking that I had to run 11, I was thinking that I had to run four and then seven and four and seven are easy, right? I left Joan at her apartment and headed towards the Highlands to complete my run. I used to live around there and miss it dearly, so it was nice to return to my old stomping grounds. I wanted to enjoy the run and not worry about pace the entire time. I cannot wear my Garmin without trying to make myself run a certain speed so I left it at home. I ran slowly and walked up some hills and, although it seemed to take forever, physically, it didn’t feel that difficult. Come to find out, I actually did 11.6 miles. The only thing that was bad about this run is that my ass hurt. This is probably TMI but does anyone else get butt cheek chafe? No? Umm, me neither.
After I got home, showered and shoveled hummus into my mouth, I took an energetic Murphy on a walk. Now the couch is calling to me, but I don’t want to waste the few remaining hours of the weekend asleep. Or maybe I do.
“shoveled hummus into my mouth” love yoouu
Yessss….. October is a great month. The sky is that perfect blue-gray cloudy, the leaves are changing, the breeze is cool and dry and I’m in sweats! Not too cold, not too hot.
sounds like a great day! I love early October too (partially cuz it’s my birthday hehe!) and love crystal clear skies for good runs! It was yucky here today, but am hoping it clears a few days this week for good runs! good for you!
It was definitely a coooool weekend! I was shivering when my run started on Saturday! Glad you were able to get in a great run today.
Hummus is best with a spoon
This is truly the best time of the year to be running! I ran 11 miles this weekend too and the weather definitely makes quite a difference, doesn’t it?? Nice work friend!
You too!
It’s the best thing in the world when you don’t have to beat the heat to get your workouts in. I love knowing that I can run at 7 or 2 because either way, it will be cool enough : )
Ah, the Indigo Girls. I’ve always loved singing along to their music.
Congrats on the run
Sometimes you just need to shovel hummus into your mouth. When you start double dipping pita chips or veggies, you might have a slight hummus addiction.
Sounds like a GREAT run. And this weekend really was so perfect for runs.
The Carolinas had great running weather this weekend too. It was beautiful! Good for you tackling those hills – they can be killer!
It was amazing out this weekend! I loved every second of it!
Shoveling hummus and napping post run? Winning.
“Shoveled hummus into my mouth.” Love it!
Early October is my favorite time of year, cold at night and in the mornings, but perfect during the day!
We finally have that kind of weather up north. It’s been terrible for nearly 2 weeks and we finally got that gorgeous October weather I love so much