FMM: Fall Favorites

Busy but mundane weekend.  Had a good race at the 5k -- actually got an age group award, which was exciting, but like I said, it was a slow field, so it wasn't really an impressive feat.  I went out too fast and had to slow down, but it was a good run.  Nearly a minute off a PR though.  Oh well, that wasn't the goal. 

I did some work on uploading and captioning my Hood to Coast pictures to share with my teammates. 

I wore my dirndl and went to Oktoberfest, but it was a little blah this year.  I had a smaller crowd of friends there than usual, and I wasn't drinking much so I could run the following morning. 

My long run was only 15 miles but it didn't go very well.  I struggled on the second half and slowed down a lot, I'm a little worried that I'm getting sick.  I was very wheezy and felt like I had no lung capacity.  I went to yoga and thought about going to an urgent care place afterward, but the line was too long and I'm not feeling quite miserable enough. 

I'm reminding myself that I'd rather be sick now than in a few weeks when we're in China.  Actually, in about 2.5 weeks!  Wow!  Getting very excited, although I don't feel even a little bit prepared yet.  I need to study a lot more! 

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Fall Favorites

1. What is your favorite thing about this time of year? Cooler temps bring festivals.  It's funny because I grew up in the north, and there were tons of summer festivals, which I loved, but in Dallas it's so blasted hot in the summer that all the festivals are in the fall.  Within the last two weeks the has been an Oktoberfest festival, a balloon festival and a grape/wine festival.  This coming weekend we're doing a double -- Friday night to the Greek festival, Saturday to the Texas State Fair!  I also like the cooler temps for running, and officially being into marathon season, having friends racing every weekend, spending Sunday afternoons looking at race results and pictures on facebook and congratulating friends. 

2. What do you hope to do again before Summer is officially over?  Well, summer is officially over as of a couple days ago (Sept. 21 I think), so I guess this one is moot. 

3. When did you last go on a hay ride?  I think it was Christmas 2010.  It was a sleigh ride through the snow, but there were hay bales that we sat on.  Not sure about the last fall hay ride -- they usually bother my allergies a lot, and it's not exactly something you find around Dallas.  We live pretty much downtown. 

4. What is your favorite pumpkin dish?  Hmm... my favorite is probably pumpkin bread, but I like pumpkin in lots of things.  I can make a very good pumpkin soup, but carving out the pumpkin is so much work, and it's just not very good if you use the canned stuff.  I also like adding pumpkin to my yogurt sometimes.  There's also a dessert that friends made for us last year that I want to try making myself this year. 

5. Do you decorate your home for fall?  Not beyond our Thanksgiving centerpiece.  I have a lot of decorations, but somehow I'm just not into it.  No one around here seems to decorate. 

6. Do you have any hobbies that are seasonally specific? If so, what are they?  Not really.  I like doing puzzles when I want to be inside -- here that can mean in the middle of summer or the middle of winter.  I guess running races is kind of seasonal.  I mean, there are races of varying distances every weekend all year round here, but in the fall, there are definitely more marathons and more of the best races. 

7. Apple cider or hot chocolate?  I guess I'd choose hot chocolate, but either one is very good. 

8. Are you a fan of football? If so, who is your team?  No.

9. Share a fond Fall memory.  For the this ast few years, I've always gone trick-or-treating with my godson.  I'm kind of bummed that we'll miss it this year.  We come back from China on Oct. 29 and then fly home for a wedding on Oct. 31.  That is going to be a very crazy 2 days! 

10. It’s not Fall until…  I have to wear long sleeves for a morning run.  That probably won't happen until November! 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday!