To Race or Not to Race?

This summer I got myself hyped to do my first triathlon. To my surprise, I ended up doing two sprint distances. In August, I did the Tri the Worx sprint and then in September I did my first open water swim at the White Lake - Dash for Divas triathlon. August was challenging for it's distance and September was challenging because of the open water swim.

Here we are in October, and now I am wondering where to go with my training next? I worked hard at each other the three sports and I enjoyed the workouts because each day was different. Now triathlon season is coming to an end and I am looking for my next challenge.

I loathe running on the treadmill for long periods of time so my running workouts have not been great as of lately. There are two running races on my horizon that I am currently "working" towards, Old Reliable 10k and the Turkey Trot 8k. I know for sure that I will be doing the Trukey Trot (I have challenged everyone I know to join me), but will I be ready in time to do the 10k at the beginning of November?

Pushing through boring workouts is the hardest thing for me, and not having anyone to motivate me makes it even worse. So here are the epiphanies I have had recently: Running without music (for whatever reason) makes the time go by faster for me, I used to think I could never run without it. If you have to be on a treadmill speed intervals and hills are your best friend. And finally, there is no way I will work out from home, so if I am running I run from work or at the gym, this way I don't even have the option to sit down (even for just one second!) and relax.

My current goal is to get my butt ready for some running races, at least one before it is super cold outside! What is goals are you shooting for this fall/winter?