I can't believe the fall training season is starting already. After a summer of logging mediocre tempo run-race times, and taking a quasi-break with very low mileage (especially the month of July), I'm ready to gear up again. I'm also ready for cooler weather, but I've got a few months before that happens yet. And I'm really, really ready to redeem myself from the horribly disappointing spring training season.

Here's what I've got on my calendar:

9/11 Heroes Run (9/12)

I haven't registered for this one yet, but I think I'll run it. It will still be hot in Charleston at that point, but maybe not as oppressive as it's been. My only goal for this one is to run it faster than I ran my tempo run-races this summer. So, somewhere below 23:55. We'll see.

Isle of Palms Connector Run 10K (10/3)

I ran the 5K for this last year as my post-pregnancy comeback race and logged my slowest 5K time ever. This year, I'm really hoping for a PR (sub-49 minutes) at this race. Again, we'll see. Summer training and the string of awful runs I've had has really shaken my confidence. This one is also a checkpoint for my goal half marathon a few weeks later.

Myrtle Beach Coastal 5K (10/17) and Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon (10/18)

The Myrtle Beach Mini is my goal race for fall. I'm hoping for a pretty big PR and at the very least, to run much, much better than I ran this past spring. Again, waiting until the weather breaks to really set any specific time goals here. I decided to run the Coastal 5K the day before the Mini because I figured I'd be running anyway, so why not get a (second) surfboard medal for it? I'll keep this one easy and have no time goals at all. It's just a shake-out run.

Charleston Turkey Day Run 5K (11/26)

Of course this one is on my schedule! It's on of my favorite races of the year! It's the biggest 5K in South Carolina and it's the best way to kick off Thanksgiving Day. Last year, we made it a family affair with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who were here visiting us. My brother-in-law ran it as his first 5k (he's done Spartan races before, but this was his first road race). And my sister-in-law and D ran together with the strollers with my niece and little B.

Other races that might end up on my calendar:

Oktoberfest 5K trail race (9/26)
Charleston Reindeer Run (12/5)
Kiawah Island Half Marathon (12/12)

A few others may sneak in, but I don't want to get race fatigue. As much as I love racing, it's better for my mental state if I focus on quality training and only run races strategically at certain times during training as checkpoints. Racing at less than race pace like I did this summer just gives me an official record for a training run, which is fine, but not what I want to be doing all the time.

And looking ahead to winter 2016...

Walt Disney Half Marathon (1/9)

We're going to Disney World! I'm running this race with a friend, and since the Charleston Half (my winter goal half) is the following weekend, I plan to just take it easy and enjoy the show. I'm still trying to figure out my costume.

Charleston Half Marathon (1/17)

This will be my 4th year in a row running my hometown race. I'm out for a major PR. I know the course, and it's fast and flat. Let's just hope the lead car doesn't take a wrong turn this year.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to pull the trigger on my second marathon. I'm looking at early March as the timeframe and training would start a week or so after the Myrtle Beach Mini. I need to get myself in a more confident mental state before I do that, though. I'm also toying with the idea of training for my first sprint tri, in which case I would forgo the marathon. Decisions, decisions.

In general, I'm hopeful that after last fall's pregnancy recovery training followed by the spring disaster that fall 2015 is my season of really racing the times I know I'm capable of. But first, training.