Running with my gnomies

So completely off cuff, a group of friends and I decided to run the warrior dash - a fun filled 5k obstacle course out in the boonies of Oregon. And if we were going to do it - why not get dressed up for the occassion?! We all wore our best Sunday garden gnome outfits for the event - and boy were we a sight!

There's no way you can compete on this course for speed - the obstacles and lines to get to them slowed you down far past any personal best. And little did we know just how difficult this course would be with bellies stuffed with towels, beards that soaked up mud and pointy hats!

I'll let the photos do the talking...

jitters!

Okay - the Portland Marathon is just about a MONTH AWAY and I haven't really been running more than 2-3x per week 3-4 miles each run. How am I possibly going to run 26.2?!?! Suffice to say, I am starting to wonder if I will be able to pull this one off.

This last weekend I was in NYC for a friends wedding. NYC is simply beautiful in the fall. Reminds me of Vermont (minus the skyscrapers, traffic and grid system). I stayed with a friend who lives literally 1 block away from Central Park and the urge to get out and run the loop was too great to resist. It was gorgeous. The leaves were turning, the air crisp but warm, the road blocked off to traffic and hundreds of people jogging and biking throughout the park. You almost forget your in NYC. I was surprised to find out that the loop was a bit more than 7 miles... it felt more like a solid 5. Even so - the marathon date is looming ahead of me and I am starting to freak out.