Fall

The first day of fall is about one week from now. September is one of my favorite months. Despite being a season better known for harvesting and signaling the end of long days, I think of newness. This probably has to do with the school year; with it's fall beginnings.

Perhaps my favorite thing to do this time of year is train really hard. One of my favorite memories from College was showing up at school one week early, and running twice a day with the cross-country team - getting our feet wet with dew in the mornings, crunching on leaves in the afternoon, running fast on dusty trails. The campus was deserted, except for a few other atheletes, and there were no classes or homework to worry about. It was an idyllic time, like a week of running camp - except your free time was your own.

So why the affection for training hard? After building fitness all summer alone, it was always great to come back and turn yourself inside out with teammates. Those days have past, but still the feeling lingers. When the winds begin to change and the air gets crisp - there is nothing like ripping some intervals, going really fast, and having it feel effortless, natural. To me, the fall is the crescendo of the season's training. All the slogging in the winter, the long miles of spring, the heat and humidity of summer, all of it comes to this. The perfect time to ride really hard.