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miscellany monday


happy monday everyone! i've been struggling over the past few weeks to find inspiration to update this blog.  i thought my writer's block was just because I've been busy with work, working out/running and my personal life... but i just might be a little burned out.  hopefully this funk will pass soon and i’ll get back to blogging on a regular basis.  i’ve added my random ramblings to carissa’s miscellany monday party!  check out carissa’s blog here and join in on the fun. 

{one} running. this past saturday, i ran in the largest 15k race for the third year in a row – the gate river run.   i didn’t have time to write a full recap about the race, but i wanted to write quickly about some of the race highlights.  the race started promptly at 8:30am, but there were 4 waves to start in order to avoid the congestion all of the runners.  this year there were a total of 15, 569 total finishers, 7409 male finishers and 8160 female finishers.  the weather was picture perfect for a morning race, despite the cool weather when i first woke up.   i wore a long-sleeve shirt over my race shirt, but i removed it before i got to mile three.  the course took us on a scenic route throughout the city where there were tons of fans along the way.  one of my favorite part of this race is getting a ice pop around mile 6 or 7 courtesy of a local family.  there were people handing out mimosas, beer, donut holes and sausages and oranges.  if you didn’t eat breakfast before the race, you could have eaten it there.  this race is infamously known for runners tackling the green monster.  the green monster is also known as the hart bridge.  the last mile of the race took us over the bridge and back to the stadium.  i was pretty happy with my time this year.  my official chip time was 1:30:04.

{two} lululemon. lately, i’ve been going to yoga at my local lululemon store.  did you know that they offered free yoga classes?  i recently discovered this little perk and i thought i would share it with you.  do you have a lululemon in your town?  if you’re not sure, check out the store finder here to find a store in your area and the calendar of events.

Fresh Picks to Follow – Lace Love


I’m happy that we will be springing ahead into spring in a couple of days.  I’m sure that it can’t come soon enough for my friends in cold weather states.  My favorite part of the time change is that we get a little more daylight hours than before.  Anyways, my Fresh Picks to Follow for this week is all about one big trend that you should expect to see a lot of this spring, which is lace.  This delicate fabric always seems to make a way back on the fashion scene each season and I love it.  For this week’s Fresh Picks to Follow, here are my top 10 ways to spend those lacy days of spring.  Do you have any favorite lace pieces?  Let me know in the comments.

1. Ann Taylor - Floral Lace Pencil Skirt…$98.00
2. Topshop - Eyelash Lace Shell Top…$32.00
3. Milly - Elbow Sleeve Dress…$424.00
4. Anthropologie - Accordance Lace Romper…$168.00
5. Zara - Lace Dress…$35.90
6. J.Crew - Neon Lace Pumps…$298.00
7. Anthropologie - Hazel Peplum Dress…$168.00
8. Diane Von Furstenberg - Zarita Lace Dress…$325.00
9. Banana Republic - Geo Lace Top…$55.00
10. Sabine - Lace Tee…$69.00

Today, I’m linking up with AV’s Friday's Fancies over on Long Distance Loving.  If you like what you see here, check AV’s blog for more lovely lacy ideas.  

Race Recap: Breast Cancer Half Marathon


Two weeks ago, I completed a half marathon race during the 26.2 with Donna – The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in Jacksonville, FL.   I’ve mentioned previously that the mission of the 26.2 with Donna is “to passionately produce world class events to raise funds for ground breaking breast cancer research and empower women living with breast cancer.”  Donna Deegan, a Jacksonville, Florida native and a former news anchor on First Coast News, created the 26.2 with Donna – The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in 2006.  Donna herself is a three-time breast cancer survivor, who was first diagnosed in 1999 at the age of 38 and again in 2002 and 2007.  She created The Donna Foundation in an effort to raise research dollars and to bring awareness to women who battle breast cancer and to provide help to cancer patients who have difficulty meeting their financial needs.  If you are looking for a race with a positive message and you like to run for a cause, then this is the race for you.  I’m pretty sure that you’ll have as much fun as I did.  Anyways, here a quick recap of my race experience.

The Expo:

Saturday afternoon I headed to the Prime Osborne Convention Center for the 26.2 with Donna Expo and Packet Pickup. I always look forward to any race expo because of all of the various vendors that show up.  I spent about 2 hours at the expo bouncing from booth to booth checking everything out. I bought some deep discounted running t-shirts, a pair of compression sleeves for my legs and some Jelly Belly sports beans for extra energy along the course.  On my way out of the expo, I stumbled upon a booth called Fellow Flowers.  There were 2 warm and friendly ladies selling really cute logo t-shirts in various colors and bright cloth-like flowers that you can wear in your hair.  The booth was buzzing with so many women, so I had to check it out.  I almost left the expo at that time because I got a call from my BF, but I’m glad that I didn’t.  I needed up getting myself a t-shirt and something for my mom who’s birthday is coming up.  If you have chance, check out their website for some running inspiration and shopping.  So, the best part of me stumbling on this booth was that finally I got to meet Donna Deegan in person.  She just happened to be stopping by the booth to meet the two ladies at the booth.  I have to say that meeting Donna was the highlight of the race weekend.  She was super sweet and took a bunch of photos with other admirers and running enthusiasts.


After I left the expo, I met up with some friends for lunch and then I went home to rest up for the next day.  I gathered all of my running gear and laid everything out for easy access and a quick change in the morning.  I had a quick pasta dinner and decided that I needed go to bed pretty early since I had to wake up at 4:30am.


The Race:

When the alarm when off at 4:30am on Sunday morning I hit the snooze button a few times.  No matter how early I go to bed, getting up at 4:30am is never easy.  Once I finally woke up, I toasted two waffles added some peanut butter on them and got dressed pretty quickly.  I was determined to be on the road by 5:30am.  I walked out the door with my waffles in hand along with a cup full of Naked Green Machine smoothie drink (my favorite).  When I got on the road, I was pretty excited because there appeared to be no traffic.   I thought to myself, I love it when things work out the way I planned out in my head.  My reflection was short lived by the time I got to Jacksonville Beach.  As soon as I got off of Butler Blvd and turned onto A1A, I saw the traffic that everyone warned me about at the expo.  Apparently everyone got the same memo to leave early because I sat in traffic for the next hour.  Luckily, I left early enough that I didn’t think I was going to be late since the race was scheduled to start at 7:30am, but I was still a little nervous. 

While I sat in traffic, two of my friends called to let me know they were just getting to the traffic. At that point, I figured that they were going to be late for the race.  After fighting my way to merge from 2 lanes into 1, I was finally able to park.  I still had about an hour to spare until I made a quick visit to the long lines of porta potties.  My friends called again to give me an update of their location, but they were still pretty far away and still sitting in heavy traffic.  I made my way to the corrals and lined up while constantly keeping an eye out for my friends.  At 7:15am, I started to stretch and warm up for the race and chatted with some ladies from South Carolina.  Finally after a long wait, the race officials made an announcement that they were pushing the start time to 7:45am to allow for the people sitting in traffic to get parked and settled at the start line.   My friends eventually made it to the start line around 7:45am and snuck into the corral with me.  A few minutes later, the race officials made another quick announcement that the race was going to start promptly at 8:00am.  Thankfully, the race started exactly at 8:00am and we were finally off and running!

Unfortunately, I signed up for the race late, so I started in the third corral. Which was a little further back than I would have liked to start. With that being said, I had to fight my way through a large crowd for the first couple of miles.  We immediately started running through neighborhoods of fantastic and supportive Jacksonville Beach locals.  There were so many local folks that stood out in the cold to hand out bottles of water and Gatorade, various foods or simply to cheer us on with signs, banners and well wishes. I definitely felt their energy.  Unfortunately, after running about 3 miles, a friend of mine decided that she needed to stop to go to the bathroom at the one and only porta potty in sight.  Normally, I don’t stop running unless it’s an emergency or I’m in pain, but I made an exception (I’m still trying to figure out why I did during this race, but oh well). Our little detour set me back about 7-8 minutes because the line for this one porta potty was pretty long.  After our little detour, we ran another 2 miles until my friend mentioned that she needed to walk and I let her walk by herself.  I was already on a mission to make up some lost time, so I kept on running.

 

When I made it to the beach around mile 7, I ate some of my sports beans and one GU energy gel that someone handed me along to way.  I really tried to pick up my speed to make up some time, but my body was slowing down.  By the time I made it to the bridge towards the finish line, I was pretty much spent and in a little pain.  I used all of my energy to run the last 3 miles of the race over a couple of bridges.  All I thought about was getting to the top of the bridge because the finish line is pretty close.  I just focused my mind on the finish line and focused on finishing.  I was pretty happy when I finished, but a little annoyed with myself with my time.  This race just gives me room to improve on my next half marathon and really beat my time for this race next year.

My Stats:

There were 4,250 total race finishers for the half marathon and 3,100 female finishers.   My official chip time was 2:17:17 (which isn’t great, but I’ll take it given my circumstances).  Have any of you competed in a 5k or a half marathon lately?  Do you have a race that’s coming up that you are excited about? Let me know in the comments?

Moody Style: Office Casual


I haven’t had a chance to post too many outfits lately because I’ve been living in either suits for work while I traveling, workout clothes for my runs, and my pajamas while I’ve been working from home.  Yesterday, I finally made it back to the office, after a two-week hiatus and I was actually happy to be there.  In my previous job, I often wished I could work from home or not even go to work at all.  Back then - calling in sick came in very handy.  I’m happy to say that since I started my job last July, I’ve been very pleased. I genuinely love the people that I work with and my job duties are currently in line with my current career goals.  I’m just overall pretty happy, despite the fact that I don’t get to post here on a regular basis.  Are any of you having love fest with your job like I am? Let me know in the comments.

Shirt: Banana Republic Sweater (old); Scarf: Anthropologie Blurred Pigments Loop; Earrings: Anthropologie Gallatin Earrings; Bracelet: J.Crew Crystal Mosaic Bangle; Pants: Anthropologie AG Stevie Ankle Cord; Watch: Coach Boyfriend Bracelet Watch; Shoes: Gianni Bini (old)



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