I said in my last post that I was eyeing the Autumn Breeze 5-K in Tallulah Falls as a possible race, and I actually did some pretty good training early this month – intervals, hill repeats, short sprints. But my training has not gone as well as it did when I was a year (or a decade) younger than I am now. And with totals of four, six, and seven miles per week this month, I realize that I am not race ready. Life has been busy, the pollen count has still been high, and I am simply not in good enough condition to run a race.
In the meantime, there is plenty of opportunity for hiking from our new home in Highlands, where a climb to the summit of Sunset Rocks is only 30-minutes or so from our front door. And since we are in the backyard of the Highlands Biological Station, we have done a lot of hiking there, as well. Today we went on a “bird hike” up Whiteside Mountain with HBS staff, but saw not a single bird because of thick fog all the way to the summit. But it was a good hike – I love to hike in the fog and mist.
Tomorrow morning. I am planning to run some sprints. The air quality has finally improved, with pollen counts dropping from red (high), to orange (medium-high) to yellow (medium) to light green (low-medium). The pollen has especially bothered me this year, to the extent that when I run at a pace faster than an easy job with walking breaks, I can’t seem to breathe very deeply.
And the temperatures are finally dropping as we reach the end of September. Morning temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-40s this weekend, and I hope that will mean better training. Fall weather in Highlands! It will be welcome indeed.
