Fall in Full Swing!
Fall is in full swing in Vermont! From the brisk morning workouts through the foliage in tights and long sleeves, to the warm apple cider and apple strudel, I am enjoying fall more than ever. Thanks to my awesome roommate Lauren, who is embracing every fall thing there is, I have covered the majority of "fall things" to do in just about a week. As Lauren and I came back from Burlington last Monday, suddenly the leaves had changed from the summer greens, to the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. On Tuesday I enjoyed the cool weather and the pretty trees on my longest OD run to date, 1.5 hours, through the woods, along a river. On Wednesday, it rained almost the entire day, filling the very dry rivers very quickly. It was a great morning to spend time in the weight room, because your really couldn't do much else. The following day, I did skate speeds for the first time and I must admit, my balance is off. I forgot how much strength and balance is required to skate at maximal speed.
And then Friday came around. I had a pretty mellow run in the morning before the 45 second speed/intervals in the afternoon, which I was really looking forward to. However, they did not go as I hoped. Something in my back gave out and I had a lot of pain double poling. I think I threw out my back, so I have been taking off days ever since. Just as I was on the upswing, another bump in the road showed up...but that is life as an athlete! In preparation for the USST camp in Park City in a week, I am continuing to take off days in hope that rest will be my medicine. I have found that going on walks in one thing I can do, so I have been exploring the area around my house and taking some fall photos.
On the upside, I had time to indulged in some fun fall activities with Lauren and Annie! On Sunday we headed out to go apple picking. Believe it or not, I had never been apple picking, so I was quite excited! After we finished apple picking, we headed over to the other side of Manchester to get pumpkins and cider donuts. Picking out the "perfect" pumpkin was harder than I thought, especially when I thought I had found "the one" and the handle broke off right as I was holding it. Once we came home, we carved our pumpkins and lit up candles. We finished off the day with warm soup and salad.
I didn't quite realize how many apples fit in a 1/2 bushel, so I made lots of apple strudel today! Nothing beats apple strudel with freshly picked apples!HAPPY FALL :D-JKern