Orange October

October is my favorite time of year - the month brings pumpkin spice lattes, chilly running weather, fall colors, and post-season baseball! In between trips this month to Boston and Cleveland (where I ran joyfully through forests of yellow, red, and orange!), I've been spending my time watching San Francisco Giants baseball, cheering on the hometown team through their playoff run.

Cleveland fall colors

With the fam at Game 7 of the National League Championship Series

Orange October came to a glorious conclusion last night with the Giants sweeping the Tigers to win their 2nd World Series in 3 years! I've got to say, I picked the right time to be a San Francisco resident - the past 3 Octobers in this city have been pretty epic :)

Celebrating in the streets last night as all of San Francisco goes crazy!

In between all this baseball I've been running - oh yeah, that thing I do. In recent weeks running has been tough - I've found it hard to motivate myself to get through long runs and challenging workouts. After back-to-back-to-back weekends of racing and with a full plate at work, I'm a little burned out and mentally out of gas.

So, it's been really nice to be caught up in the baseball post-season, focusing my attention on balls and strikes rather than mile splits and paces. I've taken a few weeks to just run, grabbing my headphones as I head out the door, listening to Jon Miller narrate the Giants game on the radio while I traverse the trails of Golden Gate Park. 

An #OrangeOctober SF Sunset in honor of the Giants :)

In the midst of enjoying October baseball and fall colors, I have done a little racing - I earned my second Top 20 finish at the USA 10K Road Champs in Boston a few weeks ago (*race recap blog post to come shortly!) and I ran a fun local 5K in Cleveland during my recent visit (finished 1st woman, 2nd overall, new 5k road PR of 16:34).

Top 3 finishers at the Tremont Steeplechase 5k in Cleveland

Now that the baseball season has come to a close, it's time to turn my attention back to the track and get re-energized about running. I'm hoping to borrow some of this World Series enthusiasm and infuse it into my own training and racing. And in the short-term, I'll enjoy the final days of Orange October with some joyful runs.

Running Mantras - Surprise yourself

I'm currently in Boston gearing up for tomorrow's Tufts 10K for Women, which serves as the women's 10K Road Championships and the last race of the 2012 USA Running Circuit. It's SO good to be back in Boston - I'm really excited to be here! After our flight got in last night I went for a shake-out jog around Boston Common, soaking up the city's history and relishing the cool, crisp fall air. The weather for Monday looks to be perfect for a 10K!

Getting to Boston wasn't the easiest - I was up late the night before my flight, frantically packing (you'd think that with how frequently I travel, packing would be less stressful...  but no, some things never change!). Then I was up before the sun to get in a run before the flight. Cursing the early alarm, the dark, the fog, I slowly made my way out the door. But a mile into the run, the sun started to peak through, the fog dissipated, and I was treated to THE most beautiful sunrise I've seen in San Francisco. Running alone through Golden Gate Park, watching the sky light up, I was overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude and joy. With a sunrise like that to start my trip, I know good things are headed my way!

And so I'm coming into tomorrow's race full of appreciation and thanks for the wonderful opportunity before me. I'm reminded how lucky I am - I get to train each day, running miles and miles over scenic trails with the best of friends, flying all over the country to races and testing myself against America's best runners. How great is life?! When pre-race pressure tries to get the best of me, I tell myself that I'm not stressed, I'm blessed! :)

My mantra for tomorrow's race comes from my good friend Brooke Wells. Earlier this week when Brooke asked me how I was feeling about the race, I said I was a little anxious. With the wisdom that can only come from someone who has been in my position before, Brooke advised me to "Surprise yourself." And I can't think of a better way to approach tomorrow's race. The opportunities for success are endless, if I can only allow myself to believe it. So I'm entering tomorrow's 10k excited for the surprises to come!

Tune into Runnerspace for live updates tomorrow - the gun goes off at noon EST/9 am PST!