It’s a bittersweet time in Northern Michigan. Summer is quickly coming to an end. Kids are back in school, the days are shorter, the wind feels crisper. Don’t ask me how this happened, I swear that mid-April blizzard was just last week.
As we mourn the end of summer, we must also mourn the closing of another race season. In Northern Michigan, there are very few races held after October. Sure, there are a few fun ‘snow’ or ‘holiday’ themed races, but there are not races popping up every weekend the way they do in the summer.
I may be getting ahead of myself, as fall is still a top-notch racing season. Some may argue that fall racing is even better, as temperatures are cooler and more comfortable. Many of you may be anticipating a fall marathon that you’ve spent the summer training to complete. (And kudos to you if you’ve been training this hot, dry summer!) I, of course, do not have a fall marathon on my agenda because, as you may recall, I took the summer off of training and goals (psssst – I’ll have recap on how that felt coming up!)
Now that we have all that mourning out of the way, let’s celebrate. I love fall too much. Judge me, but I even had pumpkin flavored coffee this morning. October is the best month, don’t try to argue. I also love winter. (I know, I’m the worst). I’m looking forward to those crisp leaves crunching underfoot on trails, and I’m pretty damn stoked about the first snowfall of the season (have I caused you to unsubscribe from my blog yet?) There’s nothing better than running in the bitter cold, all wrapped up in [ridiculously expensive] layers and crossing paths with another runner. That calls for more than just the typical ‘runner wave.’ Running in below zero temperatures calls for a mutual fist pump into the air.
So yes, I am mourning the end of summer, but I am also beyond pumped for fall. I have several running color tours planned – the colors better be epic this year. Cheers to a new season of running, everyone!
