Planes, Trains, and Running Shoes

Feeling... Relaxed. I'm enjoying a nice, warm cup of pumpkin-spiced coffee, reading blogs, and catching up on the news. I haven't had a morning like this in months.

Reading... I started "The High Mountains of Portugal" by Yann Martel last week and I just can't get into it. The book is divided into three sections, each being over 100 pages long. There are no chapter breaks, no line breaks...It's tough to read. I may have to put it down and start my book club reads for the month, "Year of Yes" and "The Pearl that Broke its Shell."

Thinking about... Marathon training. I'm not running the Richmond Marathon anymore. Instead, I'm running the Philadelphia Marathon the following weekend. Long story short, something came up. I have really mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I'm excited to return to the place where I ran my first marathon, though I'm not thrilled about the fact that it will likely be 20+ degrees colder than Richmond will be and that I've always thought I would go back to Philly and blow my first marathon time away, but I know that isn't going to happen. I've taken taper a bit too seriously, taking 2 days off after my 22-miler this weekend, and now I'm struggling to hit the mileage I need to this week with exceptionally tired. Yesterday, I had 8 miles plan, and I could only manage 3.

Watching... so much fall TV. I've only watched the first episodes of "Timeless" and "This is Us" but I loved both. I'm also hooked on "Good Girls Revolt" on Amazon Prime. If you're looking for a good Madmen-inspired feminist, newsroom show, I highly recommend it!

Working on... my goals for November. I feel like I have a lot of them. I need to get my multiple inboxes down to zero. Miraculously, my work inbox is in good shape, but my personal inboxes feel a little bit like my life right now!

Planning... 2017 race plans, holiday adventures, 30 before 30 things, and my cookbook challenge!

Needing... a massage. I think I want to go for a massage and acupuncture session before the marathon. I've had a lot of tightness in my right hip flexor. It was fine on my last run, but it's a lingering annoyance that I don't want creeping in at Mile 24!

Wanting... to take the month of November and start focusing more on me. I want to spend more time reading, more time with friends, more time blogging, and generally doing the things I love. It's been a weird year.

Excited... that I voted early! As a rule, I don't talk about politics on my blog, but I can't emphasize enough how important this election is. Regardless of whom you support, there is a strong likelihood that this election will be contested and the only way to combat that is to ensure that enough people show up to the polls! Aside from the candidates, I also got to vote YES to the referendum to make DC the 51st state, and that is really exciting. While I don't love that they want to call us "New Columbia," I just want us to have Congressional representation.