The blur that is my life

So, I know. Ok, I know. I've been a little MIA. I've always referred to October as academic napalm and this year is no exception. Things have been crazy. Fortunately I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is close. Also fortunate, I haven't had to forsake the run. In fact, last week I surpassed a handful of goals: made October my highest mileage month, finally hit a 5-mile "long" run, and cleared 200 miles for the year. But I felt like I plastered that excitement all over dailymile......and, that's about all the running content I've got around here. So instead, a photo dump and glimpse into my life. 

apple pie is the way to my hubby's heart

Ha! Found in the bathroom at a coffee shop near work.

Skyping with 2 of my 3 boys while I'm on the road for work

Chocolate covered pretzels. Only on a college campus.

Stay dry everyone! If you can't run outdoors or get to an indoor track safely, then it's time for some at-home cross-training. Be safe and live to run another day!!

Messages for Runners

This week you get a message I love and a message that clearly need to be put on notice. The first is from this month's Runner's World and really inspired me. The second, complete with its actual grammatical errors, is something I received at work. I can't make sense of either of these "handy tips" we got. Can you??

September Recap

I am feeling like I am finally back into a consistent enough swing of things to resume monthly recaps. My first monthly recap is modest, but ever so happy. Here goes.

Miles ran: 24.6
# workouts: 8
highest mileage week: 10 miles (woot! first double digit week in a loooong time!)
Favorite run: my first post-baby 5k! The second 5k of the month was also great, but nothing beats your first time :)

Current goal: increase mileage in October
Current obsession: kinda into Halloween decorating right now, mostly because my 4-year-old thinks it's the most exciting thing ever, and I can't resist egging him on.
Current need: a new sports bra
Current excitement: on the work front, I got a paper accepted to a journal I've long targeted. That felt good! On the home front, I'm continuing to very slowly lose weight. I'm definitely under my Christmas 2010 weight and still going strong.
Current bane of my existence: lack of sleep.
Current wish list: to wear a dress to work. I miss wearing dresses. Especially my tweed one.
Current indulgence: I recently purchased two winter weather running tops from REI online clearance. One of them in particular is just absurdly nice, especially for the $40 I paid for it. It has a hood, thumb holes, covered zippers, interior mp3 pocket, ventilation, thermal, etc. And I love the color (I got the cobalt). There will be pics once the weather gets cold enough, which won't be a while yet. I'm still in short sleeves.

What's your favorite piece of running gear? New or old, winter or summer? Simple or bells and whistles?

Happy October--my favorite running month of the year. Run strong and smile!!