Happy Halloween

This weekend marks our 1 year wedding anniversary so we (read: I) decided that we needed to get away and relax for a few days. We packed up the car with a few warm outfits on Friday and headed north into the foliage covered hills of Orange County, NY. The colors were amazing the entire weekend, it was orange/red/yellow overload! We had some really delicious food (there is such a thing outside of NYC! Who knew?!) and enjoyed what was probably one of the last gorgeous fall weekends outside. A trip to West Point for a tour led us unexpectedly to the bleachers of the home game vs VMI where we cheered hard for Army! Sunday brought us to Storm King Art Center which was honestly one of the coolest places I've visited in a long time. I loved it there. We spent a few hours hiking around the grounds, but not before I snuck in an 8mile run.

A few minutes searching online for a run near Sugarloaf, NY led me to discover the Orange County Heritage trail, an 11 mile pathway between Monroe and Goshen. I snuck out of our cozy B&B early this morning and went on the hunt for some cheap gloves to help me fight off the morning chill. Shop Rite in Chester, NY was a winner and I hit the trail shortly after armed with my gloves, 2008 long sleeve NYC marathon technical tee and shorts and a pocketful of gummy bears. The plan: 8 easy, flat miles with a few marathon pace miles thrown in to keep the legs fresh. My legs were practically BEGGING for a run on Saturday night so the run felt great. Even though it was early I had some company on the trail, I saw a few cyclists in lots of layers, a handful of runners and even more walkers (with and without dogs). I saw 3 very large deer including one that nearly gave me a heart attack as he stood silently on the side of the trail, just feet from me. The leaves were so beautiful that the miles flew by. I got in 8 miles in 1:08 and felt fantastic.

Breakdown:

8:49

8:58 (deer sighting!)

8:19

8:13

8:04 (woah)

8:13

8:34

9:32 (a lil walking and gummy bear snacking)

The run was a good mental boost as the taperworm begins its gnawing at my confidence. Here are a few blackberry shots from the run and one from the real camera of the Chester Rail Depot where I parked.

My finishing spot

The historical Chester Rail Depot

Along the way

The leaves were breathtaking