Well, I planned to post on St. Paddy’s Day to tell you all how lucky I felt even though I’m not Irish but then I got requests from 3 clients for graphic design work. Ironically that’s part of why I feel so lucky. Freelance life can be scary and I’m still unsure how long I can make this last but for now I’ve got a few more months of bills covered thanks to these new assignments.odoodlesIn other non-running news, Duncan and I both got haircuts and blowouts…

blowout-twins

I had a meeting in the city Wednesday morning with curls and got my haircut later that afternoon.

Curls to start the day...

Curls to start the day…

And then after 15 minutes walking outside just before a thunderstorm the pin straight became loose waves.

a little humidity is all it takes

a little humidity is all it takes

I also took Duncan to the vet. He’s got a lump on his chest that I was concerned about.

Chillin' out in the waiting area at the vet

Chillin’ out in the waiting area at the vet

The groomer mentioned to me that it felt like it got bigger so I decided to have the vet tell me what it was. 90 percent chance it’s a benign fatty tumor called a lipoma. We’ll check it again in May when he goes for some routine shots. Vet said he would biopsy it if it got larger. Needless to say after the good news I bought him a toy for waiting almost an hour in the waiting room at the vet’s.
duncan-zebra

So after my lucky 11:11 paced run last Tuesday, I ran again on Thursday and boy was I happy when my 10:40 pace felt relatively easy.
zippy-miles

And today I got in my long run which was the first double digit run I’ve completed since running the NYC Marathon last November!

Enjoying the last of the blowout.

Enjoying the last of the blowout.

This just might be the last of winter running gear days for me

Speaking of “lasts” this just might be the last of winter running gear days for me

Yay! Double digits!

Yay! Double digits!

It was in the 30s but the Daffodils have already sprung up. We might get snow tomorrow. Hopefully they will survive

It was in the 30s but the Daffodils have already sprung up. We might get snow tomorrow. Hopefully they will survive

The first 5 miles were fine but the second 5 were really hard. I had an attitude adjustment though and didn’t beat myself up over it. Frankly this SHOULD feel hard. It’s been 5 months since I ran double digits. I’ve lost a lot of long-distance fitness through the winter and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was busy skiing, snow tubing, snow shoeing, sledding, hiking and running shorter distances this winter. But now I’m ready for my Spring races, I’m ready to build up my mileage.

Well I better sign off. I’m headed out to see Mr. SOTSS and his family. His daughter is performing with her choral group in a concert. Have a great weekend and enjoy these adorable photos of Duncan before you go…

stretch

stretch

stole my pillow

stole my pillow

not amused

not amused

When he looks at me like this i melt

When he looks at me like this i melt

Fresh from the groomer

Fresh from the groomer

Are you excited for Spring? Have any Spring races on your calendar? Doing anything fun this weekend?

I celebrated the final training run with some shopping yesterday. I hardly ever buy anything other than running gear lately but yesterday I picked up a couple of pretty tops and a pair of cropped jeans at Macy’s.

I got this very summery Free People top:

Free People shirt

Free People shirt beautiful model not included (photo from Macy’s website)

But I bought a purple cami to wear underneath instead of the one in the pic above. It’s a great style for my shape (apple!) No bargain here though 🙁

I also got this sheer, floral, long sleeve Lucky top.

Lucky floral shirt

Lucky floral shirt…god i love her hair! (photo from Macy’s website

Again, no bargain…but I LOVED how it tied in the front. Sometimes tunic style tops overwhelm my short 5′ 3″ body and I don’t like dressy button down tops that have to be tucked in because they get wrinkly and fussy. So this will be great. I’m going to wear this today so I’ll post a photo to my instagram later.

And to round out the bottom, I got these Tommy Hilfiger cropped jeans:

tommy capris

tommy capris- (photo from Macy’s website)

Then I went to the grocery store to get my pre-race fuel stash:

Super Pretzels

Super Pretzels and some fresh flowers just for kicks

I picked up these pretty carnations too. Don’t they look so pretty on my table?

carnations

fuscia and celery green carnations.

Then I got suckered into the half price Easter candy at the register.

half price easter candy

half price Easter candy balanced out with organic spinach!

But I evened out the sugar with my “family size” container of organic spinach!

Tonight when I get home from work I’m taking this boy for a little shopping spree too!

Duncan and Sally

Curl overload!

Well we’re just going to the pet store for poop bags and dog food but I’m sure he’ll score a treat at the register.

Hope everyone made it throught the week ok.

Question: What are you doing this weekend? Anyone have a race?
Last chance to suggest inspiring songs or quotes/mantras to me….