8/10

This was a 10k trail run and It. Was. Awesome. I'd never been to the little town it was in, and certainly hadn't ever been on the trail. However, my friend and I grabbed coffees and made the 45 minute trek with the following dialogue: "Hey! Wasn't this area closed yesterday?" "Yes, but that sniper they were looking for out here two days ago got caught." "Yes, I'm sure." "Pretty sure." "Wait, let me Google it real quick." "Okay, were good. Let's go!" "Oh crap. These people look like real runners." "Shit, they're warming up and stuff. They've got gear. Crap! What have we done?!"


Despite our fear of a) looking like idiots and b) possibly getting murdered we soldiered on. It started out foggy and cool, and the trail was gorgeous. And it just kept getting better! This race was full of legit trail runners and I was definitely bush league. We started at the complete back, and one by one passed several people (whispering to each other each time.) We ended up finishing right in the middle, which is completely acceptable to me. I loved this race and it's absolutely on my list of "do again" races.

So fun!

Gorgeous!

Finish line pizza and cookies

Terrible shot, but I'm a creature of habit :)

Not so awesome is that my tweaked knee from the half started to act up again, and after the race got so bad that it hurt to walk at all. I've self-diagnosed it as my IT band from running on the banked roads. I've still got two races to do this year, and I will crawl them if I have to. Last time I just rested it and for the most part felt great, until I tried to run again. This time I'm going to work on active recovery and strengthening. I think I'm done with long (10k+) races for the year, so hopefully I can baby it enough to not take myself out of the running (ha!)

Ouch

Three kids and this one gets the first broken bone. And if my heart wasn't already breaking, they didn't have a sling small enough to fit her tiny arm.

She's such a trooper but you can tell it hurts. That little "ouch" got her cookies for breakfast and rill probably get her a pony.

Lowered expectations

We set out for the obligatory Fall pumpkin/apple trek last weekend. Spoiler alert: we did not pick pumpkins or apples. 

Taken by a guy in the parking lot who insisted on taking our picture for me. 

Feeding goats!

Seriously. This may be the best one I got.

During our "hike"

Syd is unimpressed by apple cider donuts.

Let's go to a farm and eat hot dogs and GMO-ridden potato chips!

Ultimately I bought a bag of apples to redeem the trip. Apparently drought=no apples :(

How to dress for prison

I'm always striving for the right professional "look." As a line staff I dressed pretty casually in khakis, nice t shirts, and flats. As a supervisor though, I've got to step up my game a bit. It's not a "suit every day" place but it's also not a super casual place. 

Working where I do, there are a lot of restrictions. No blue, no plain white shirts, no red, orange, or loose gray shirts. No open-toed shoes (not that I would!) No denim or chambray etc. Basically nothing that might make me look like an inmate (you'd be surprised.)

On top of all that, I try to dress pretty modestly at work. Not frumpy, but modest. I work around rapists and murderers with less-than-appropriate social skills, after all. A lot of "work style" blogs don't work in my situation since I won't wear skirts, skinny pants, v necks etc. However, I have found an unexpected treasure trove of inspiration in LDS style bloggers. The whole premise is stylish, modest dressing! Which leads me to the tip of the day.

One of my go-tos has been the cardigan/cami combo BUT it's nearly impossible to find high cut tanks that don't cost $20 each. Solution? Wear it backwards! So simple but it totally works. Observe...

 Who would've thought! Such a great trick! Now when I wear them regularly I feel super naked.

What are some of your favorite style blogs?

I'm loving The Mom Edit and Good Life For Less for my weekend styles right now

Any work "uniform" tips?

7/10

My second half marathon of the year! I was grossly underprepared but I still beat my previous time by a full minute :) I had complained to C that Tinkerbell was so "theme-y" that it didn't really feel like a half marathon (despite being 13 freaking miles!) This one was the exact opposite. This one felt overwhelmingly legit. I'm not sure which I prefer. I missed the on course entertainment but I did not miss the ridiculous crowds and the wing dodging.

I ran this one with my brother and sister-in-law and it was so fun. We talked and laughed the whole time.

We also ran, in parts, with my friend D from the Tinkerbell. This was her fifth half this year! She's a beast. A really fun, positivity spewing beast.

This was the first run where I had actual pain, forcing me to go slower than I would have liked. I was on pace to finish between 2.30 and 2.45, and getting very excited about it, until my knee flared up. A few miles of the course were on roads that were banked and I'm sure that's what did it. It was right on the line between discomfort and injury so I held back. Also, it hurt like a B to run too long. I have a trail race I'm really excited for in two weeks so I wasn't willing to risk it. I'm so glad I didn't push myself too far. I'm sore today, but I think I'll be back to running in a couple days.
This was also only the second race that C and the kids have gone to as spectators. He ended up finding me at two spots on the course and then at the finish line. I think my favorite favorite part of the day was high-giving my kids at mile 7 and again right before the finish line.

It occurred to me this morning that this goal is actually going to happen! I can't believe it. Seriously. Three more and I'm done!