OY! KRISTEN

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Crunch, says my Sneakers.

There are ghost hunters. There are bargain hunters. There are actual hunters. I do not fit into any of these categories, but I do have my own area of curious interest: I am a seeker of fall foliage (and somewhat of a fiend about it.) I seek it out. I can wake up and smell the crispness of the leaves, thus determining how vibrant the colors might be today. And then I must go and discover whether or not my hypothesis is correct. Wow. I haven't used the word "hypothesis" since I was a sophomore in college. Whoa, haven't used the word "sophomore" since I was that level in high school. It must be a brainy day for me... Anyway! This thirst for foliage; it's both a grand gift and a heavy responsibility. I accept its challenge. Along with...

The Merrell Challenge.

I've had the pleasure of taking on The Merrell "Feel Your Run" Challenge for the past 6 weeks or so. The premise of this challenge is to log 30 runs in 45 days, which is a really good start for me (a non-runner) to actually track my progress and be accountable to something that could potentially reward me with presents (the ultimate motivator!) This challenge has gotten me outside, thus coupling my (semi) love for running and my (absolute) joy for fall foliage. It's the perfect time of year to be out and prancing around in the leaves!

// Who says New England gets to have all the fun? New York is rocking the vibrant autumn colors these days. //

// This guy is about a week away from donning auburn, gold and cinnamon shades of bliss. //

The Trail.

I've been running a 2.3 mile loop around the Reservoir at Central Park. It's the perfect distance for me and I have seen a lot of improvement in my endurance and actual time. I've never been into timing myself as a runner (I always rewarded myself just for getting out there!), but since I've been running a lot it's definitely been fun to see my own progress. This past week I started mixing up my trail by running across the Upper West Side to Riverside Park and running along the Hudson. I also took a new route north in Central Park and looped around the North Meadow, which proved to be ridiculously scenic. Anything to keep it interesting and fresh (and leafy!)

My Running Stats:

(via Mapmyrun)

Current Standing: 1595th (whoa. um what.)

Percentage: Top 4%, woohoo! (I have a feeling a LOT of people signed up for this and just haven't done it. How could I possibly be so high up? Not being self-deprecating; just knowing thyself.)

Average Mile/Minute: 9:30 min/mile

# of Runs Completed: 26

# of Days Left: 4

I'm almost to the (not-so-literal) finish line, folks. Wish me luck!