Adieu to Summer

Tonight is the last night of summer, and boy, is it going out with a bang!  The skies were beautiful and clear during the day, but tonight we're having a crazy thunderstorm.  My apartment has a good view of the skyline, and I can see the lightning all across the city - very cool!

It's also the autumnal equinox, which brings the orange "harvest moon":

(of course, this is not the moon in Philly - I could see the moon earlier, but it's been replaced by lightning!)

Although the weather was more mid-summer than fall today, I thought I would savor the end of summer.  If everything goes well with my thesis project, I may not be here for another summer - so I enjoyed one of my favorite Philly summer treats, gelato.

This isn't just any gelato, either: it's from Capogiro, and it's a delicious mix of their watermelon, sea salt, and tarragon gelato flavors.  I first tried the watermelon and sea salt together last year, and I've been waiting all summer for a day when they would offer them together.  It's only fitting that the last day of summer would be that day!  The tarragon gelato made a wonderful addition - a little milder, herbal but smooth, and an interesting twist.

It's sad to think that this might be my last time to enjoy this treat - of course, I can have the gelato any time I want, but the watermelon is a seasonal flavor and won't be back until next summer.  I am excited to move on to fall, though - pumpkin spice lattes, here I come!

Race Update

Last weekend, I ran the ING Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon.  I really wanted to PR at the race, and was feeling optimistic leading up to Sunday.  The race was tougher than expected, though, and it took a good bit longer for me to finish than I thought it would!  It just goes to show that every race is different - this time, a combination of eating too close to the race, a long time to the start line, and sore legs made me sluggish and gave me an upset stomach during the race.  I pushed through and stayed roughly on pace (14:02/mi) until mile 10.1, but during the last 3 miles, everything fell apart.  I ended up walking most of the end, and was mildly disappointed at the finish.

Goal time: 3:00:00 (13:45/mi)
Chip time: 3:15:11 (14:55/mi)






After a bit of brooding and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to get over it.  Even if it took me longer than I thought it would, I still finished a second half marathon.  I had fun during most of the race, and I gave it my all.  I can't be too disappointed in myself for completing something that I couldn't have imagined just last year!

Next time, I know that I need to step up the long runs - at least two need to be 10 miles or greater, and I need a few more over 6 as well.  Hopefully I can do it - the Philadelphia Marathon's half marathon is on November 21, and I've got a LOT of travel, lab work, and general life stuff going on before then!

Hope you all had a wonderful end of the summer - break out your sweaters, 'cause fall is coming!