Autumn had arrived. Some of the trees have already dropped their leaves and the cool wind of Fall is in the air. I personally love Autumn. The excitement around the kids sports at school, the crisp cool air outside, the smell of burning leaves, apple and pumpkin farms, and the change in spirit as we near the holiday season all give me a renewed focus on life and a little extra spark each day.
The nights of course start earlier with the sun dipping low on the horizon earlier in the evening and then there is the Flu season upon us which has seemed to draw an amazing amount of news time.
It seems by listening to the news (which, I really need to do much less of) that many of us want to be ill and hear the stories of how many people could be affected, how many hospital beds that will take up and even potentially how many that could effect by each state in the U.S. I hope this doesn't happen just like everyone else, but I think I also have a different approach than many. I am very thankful that we have people working on the solution to all the illness and planning for the worst case scenario, but I also wish that we would hear about more proactive lifestyle changes that we can make to become as resistant as possible to disease and keep our bodies healthy. Evidently that doesn't make the ratings like hearing the negative side. Exercise and eating healthy play such an important role in keeping our immune system in top shape. Yet, we may only hear a a brief healthy update on the topic. I hope there is more to come. Less shock value and more real information would be ideal.
So back to Fall and my training. I have fallen behind slightly last week failing to get in my 3rd run for the week of 6 miles. Today I have 10 miles planned and am looking a how I will incorporate it best into my schedule. The weather today should be perfect for running, cool with temps in the upper 50's should make it one of the best days for a slow long run. Now to think of where to head today. I was thinking about heading out to Spring Brook prairie in Naperville and running around the 5 mile loop twice. Then there is that long and familiar Gilman Trail with all the splendor of Fall and the wooden bridges, the golf course, Blackberry Farm and a great running trail. Maybe a trip to Batavia to head up the Fox River Trail, a path less traveled by me except for a short distance that was part of two races I ran this past year. Then, there is the local portion here of the Fox River Trail near Oswego that I know like the back of my hand and have run countless times only to notice something new each time. This is one of the greatest things about running, you can do it anywhere. Tackle the toughest terrain or the most familiar path. The hardest decision for a seasoned runner is probably which running shoes to wear that day and what trail to run on. The health benefits are extraordinary and the new running techniques becoming more and more popular like Chi-Running are making running become more acceptable to the main stream. People are realizing that running is natural and is not hard on the joints of the body if done properly.
A great book on running for life and without injury is a book by Danny Dryer called Chi-Running. Although there are many now that focus on a mid-foot strike and not the well known heal strike, I regard this book as one of the key resources in my training. It is a pretty easy read and has basic "focuses" to think about as you run to perfect your form.
Wrapping up the blog today I think the next topic I will talk about will be my Nike+ experience and why I still enjoy the Nike+ system. If you are on Nike+, my screen name is mouserunner (shocking right?). Add me as a friend or let me know your screen name and I would be happy to add you to one of my challenges. Better yet, we can create one for your running goals and lets keep each other motivated through the Winter season.
Take care everyone and enjoy the crisp cool Autumn air. Soon the snow and ice will be here and this terrific rejuvenating weather will be lost to the cool biting air of Winter. Let's run!
Tread lightly,
Mouserunner
www.getfitwithmouserunner.com
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