Fall Running

The weather has turned in the valley. The rains have arrived and the air has a noticeable bite to it. My favorite running season is quickly coming to a close as the leaves turn from bright to drab and the color disappears from the sky. Winter is now just around the corner. With that comes the need for some changes in my running routine. The first of which is the summer miles put on my shoes have caused the need for the two beautiful pair displayed above. Unfortunately ASCIS has made the brilliant move to completely redesign the most successful shoe in their history. The new show doesn't work for me at all so I've started using every spare penny I can find towards purchasing up the old stock of the ones I love. At a minimum, they will get me through to the spring release when hopefully they will realize their dismal failure and return to their roots!

The next issue is the darkness that greets me before I even leave work. Luckily, my running partner has prepared herself for this issue:

Those people over at Ruffwear in Bend must truly have dogs that do everything with them because when I went looking for a night time running vest for her they had exactly what I was wanting in my mind. Amazing!

Finally, the real reason I run...Welcome back my tasty and beautiful friend:

All hail the Red Cup. It's what got Melinda and I though 12 chilly, windy and somewhat wet miles last night. It's also the reason our last mile was the fastest. The closer you get to a Starbucks, the quicker your speed. I hope there's one at every mile marker in Vegas in two short weeks.

On a "D'oh" note about fall running,Sean took Annie on a trail run this morning. Had we thought ahead better this could have been avoided:

Next time we will take her straight to the dog wash after the trail run and bypass her favorite chair. For once the extra money we spent on the stain resistant coating paid off. After it dried, the mud cleaned right off. Poor chair!

Thanksgiving is coming up this week and this year after one more day of 12 hour hell tomorrow otherwise known as parent teacher conferences, I have the rest of the week off. I'm so excited! It's been an insane few weeks and I'm really looking forward to a quiet week at home with my daughter!