A little help from friends

So, I joined a running club.  For those of you new to running, there are groups of individuals who meet regularly to run and figure out ways to run faster, harder and more efficiently.  Incredible, I know!  Why put yourself through that kind of torture?  For me, this is purely about survival, avoiding certain embarrassment and probable near collapse at my upcoming 10K race in May.   I have 30 days or so to come up with a plan.  I figured joining a group would force me to train.  Nothing else has worked thus far.  And my competitive spirit will push me through - kicking and screaming!  

The first meeting occurred last week.  And we finished off the evening with a timed one mile trial.  I finished at 12:00 running at 80% effort.  Yay!  So, my goals for the next few weeks are as follows:


1. Run 6 miles before my next race
2. Train 4 times a week
3. Strength training at least 2x/week
4. Run between 11:00 - 11:30 mile for my race.  


The last one may be a stretch as I have to concentrate on increasing my mileage.  I would really like to run a 10:00 min/mile.  So, goal #4 gets me closer to this milestone.  A girl's gotta dream, right?  But this is really asking a lot of my body in a 4 week period.  I'll write more soon on my training, nutrition and other fun things!

OOTD 4/26/12 - Purple haze

So, I received positive reviews at work on this outfit.  I am getting tired of wearing black these days!  It seems very heavy when going into spring.  But, these pants are my workhorse bottoms for my wardrobe and I have other slacks and skirts that I substitute in as needed.  So, I need to transition to my other colors (taupe, tan, beige, gray).  But what I am really craving is some color (green, citron, navy).  I do realize navy is a neutral.  But, I need some variety.  So, I am going to issue a challenge.  Let's try to use a color as a neutral and build an outfit around it.  I'll try it once a week for say a month.  And then go from there.  Hmmm ....This should be interesting.  Wish me luck.  Ciao!

A little run

Happy Days!  I have a little secret.  I signed up for a 10 K with a friend for the 3rd week in May.  My tester 5K occurred 3 weeks go.  I did not do as well as I would have liked.  My official time was 39:09 and my pace averaged 12:36 per mile.  My goal was to run between 11:00 and 12:00 pace.  I ran below 12:00 mile until after the 2nd mile.  Woohoo!  And my body said that's it!  We are done.  I was completely done at about 2.5 miles which is the furthest that I have run this season.  So, for the 10k I now that I will have to run 6.2 miles prior to the race.  And I will have to do a couple of practice runs at tempo.  Now to motivate!  I will be using a modified Hal Higdon training plan.  

OOTD 4/19/12

Orange is my new power color.  I picked up a few tops on sale at the Limited.  Just a little something to spruce up the spring/summer wardrobe.   I did not think that I would like the ruffles down the middle when I first view this blouse on the website.  But the top received such good reviews and the price was great.  So, I took a chance.  And I am very glad that I did!  I love this top.  I also snagged one on pale pink.  Bonus!

OOTD 4/15/12

OOTD 4/15/12 by meanreds99

This is what I wore on Sunday to meet a girlfriend for brunch.  Yummy!  This was following by shopping and catching up.  Awesome Sunday and great weather.  This outfit was inspired by a polyvore plate by @modestly-styled.  I am very happy to find a use for this cardigan.  This color is surprisingly difficult to match with clothes in my closet. 

Orange explosion

So much orange. One would thing that this my favorite color.  It is actually my favorite accent color.  But I am open to your suggestions for other colors to mix with these dresses.  What colors have you used with this color palette?


My go to colors would be cream, white and beige for the spring and summer. I like navy blue, black and brown for the fall and winter.  These neutrals go well and are pretty safe.  For some visual interest, I think yellow, green, and turquoise (maybe?).  Do you have any fun combinations that involve orange?

Saturday 3/31/12

I am trying my hand at pattern mixing.  I figure stripes and checks are probably safe.  Straight  lines regardless of the directions can't to be bad.  And I recently heard Tim Gunn give the heads up on mixing a check shirt with a pinstripe suit.  I love Tim Gunn.  But I think that this color combination was successful.  The one thing to know about pattern mixing, it that the patterns should have at least one color in common.  In this case, white/cream is my unifying color.  Enjoy!