What's Up Wednesday

I always forget how busy October is until it's October again. And this one is especially busy with my new equine friends! But worth it for sure.
I did get to ride Eddie last Wednesday even though I was all by my lonesome. And let me tell you, the sun sets FAST right about now. I got there straight from work (my poor boys have a late dinner on Wednesdays now) so right about 5:30 ish. Got him tacked up, and threw him on a lunge line for a minute just to make sure he wasn't going to be wild. His mom was away, so he hadn't done anything since Sunday when I rode him last. He was fine as he usually is, and I hopped right on. I swear I trotted around the ring a few times, cantered a bit, and it was already dark out. We got a bit of flat work done anyway, but it wasn't a long ride. My step mom rode Eros that night, so I went home to groom the boys after riding Eddie.
Thursday and Friday both were the usual... go home after work and feed the boys, then to the barn to ride Eros, then back home to groom and hand walk. I was already tired by the weekend, but no rest for the weary! I had a 5K to run Saturday morning! And of course it was raining when I got up. Ugh.
I run this 5K every year, and it's definitely one of my favorites. They used to do costume awards but they seem to have done away with that. I dressed in theme anyway though (it's a Halloween themed race). I'll share my outfit more next week for the Halloween version of Thursday's Threads. But here's a partial shot of me with my sister-in-law who ran the race also:

like that creepy hand reaching up from nowhere? That's my niece Ellie! Haha!

Anyway, back to the race for a minute... So this race is 1 mile out on the road, then 1 mile of trail running, and then another road mile to get back to the finish. If you recall, I haven't been running really at all. So obviously I had no expectations for a good time. But I felt pretty good to be honest! I was able to keep up a slow and steady running pace for the entire first half or so. I did take a little walk break in the woods when the trail was heading up a very steep and narrow hill. Then I was able to run all the way back out to the road. But there was a LOT of uphill back to the finish, and I regretfully had to walk quite a bit on the way back. It was my slowest 5K to date, but that record would fall on Sunday... Lol. I'm not really broken up about it. I haven't trained at all, and the conditions weren't favorable. I've decided to let myself enjoy running and focus less on time since it's really not something I'm especially good at anyway. Life's to short to not have fun!
After running, I stopped home to let the pups out and get changed. Then it was off to Eddie's house! The horses have switched from night turnout to days over there, so he was out in his field when I arrived. He's in the smallest field because he likes to practice his jumping skills occasionally, and it's the only one you can see all of from the house and barn. If he was in one of the bigger fields and jumped out, it might be hours before you knew he was missing! His field meets up with the parking area though, and he came right over and greeted me when I arrived.

Hi Friend!

He's really a sweet guy, and I think he's been missing his mom while she's away. I brought him in and got him tacked up, and again tossed him on the lunge line. Though it was pointless. I couldn't even get him to canter. When I did get on though, he spooked. Haha! Figures. Not a big deal or anything, I just thought it was silly since he'd JUST been on the lunge line refusing to move.

 My legs were a little tired from the race and we were by ourselves again, so we just had a nice flat. He was a little lazy, but I'll take that over wild any day!
After I got Eddie all cooled out and back in his field it was off to see Eros. He was outside when I got there too, but he found his way in before I had to figure out where he was. Thankfully. There are a lot of paddocks there!
I really couldn't decide where I wanted to ride. It was getting pretty windy but it wasn't that cold yet. I finally decided to just stay indoors.

But then the sun came out so I thought maybe I'd go out when I was done just for a walk. We had a nice flat, nothing crazy, since my legs pretty much weren't speaking to me anymore by that point. And then we did enjoy the outside views for a little stroll.

Eventually I found my way home and walked both the boys. In the daylight! What a treat! Rio had some grass too.

After that, I had to run some errands and get some gifts picked up for various things (a new baby, a first b-day, and a thank you.) FINALLY, Saturday was over and I got to snuggle my pugs for a couple hours before bedtime.

Ok, well they snuggled and I rolled some wraps. And by some I mean an hours worth.
And then it was Sunday! I had way too many things planned for Sunday, but then most of them kind of fell by the wayside. I got up and wrapped all of the gifts from Saturday's shopping excursion. And then it was time to head to my second 5K of the weekend.

Ugh, you guys, it was 40 degrees with wind gusts up to 40 mph. This run is held at a local state park which happens to run along the water. So cold. So windy.
This race benefits The Cove which is a support program for children who have lost a parent or sibling. My younger brother lost his mom to cancer when he was 14 and he attended The Cove. It was wonderful for him, so my family is a big sponsor at this race. I try to run it every year, whether or not I'm prepared. This year, my dad came out for the start also so he could thank the organizers. It was nice to have him there! He didn't stay for the finish (can't blame him, I didn't really want to either).
My knee was a little upset with me from the day before, so I figured this race would be around the same time as Saturday's. I bumped into an old friend who was running with her daughter in a stroller, and we decided to start out together. The first half was lovely, we were slow, around an 11 minute mile, but it was steady and we kept plugging along with no walking breaks. Unfortunately, when you hit the turnaround, you got smacked in the face with a steady, and HARD, headwind. At a few points I felt like if I stopped it would blow me over. It was ridiculous! I wound up needing to walk some because it felt like I was just running in place. My friend was struggling with the stroller too, because the wind was pushing it back at her. So we decided not to care about time AT ALL and just plugged away as best we could. There was a lot of walking and a little very slow running. We clocked in at 39 minutes and change. Which is pretty terrible, but honestly, we were just happy to get to that finish!

I had planned to get a quick ride in on Eddie after the race, but with the wind whipping the way it was, I wasn't sure I wanted to ride all alone. So I checked in with his mom, and she was in agreement. Instead I grabbed a nice hot shower. Much needed!
Then it was off to an outdoor first birthday at a different state park. I wasn't thrilled to be out in the cold for two hours, but the sun was shining and it wasn't actually too bad out. First birthdays are always adorable anyway. Plus there were s'mores.
I got home around 4:30 and had just enough time to groom the boys really quickly before I had to meet up with my family for dinner. Is it just me, or are weekends crazy?
Monday was a Monday.  I went to work and walked the boys after that. The boarding barn is doing a haunted hay ride this coming weekend, so we had a meeting about that Monday evening. I really hope it doesn't rain Saturday like they say. I'm supposed to be tied to a tree by a couple of witches.
Tuesday I rode Eros after work, and groomed the boys late night. THEN I had to move my trailer because my neighbor is apparently having trees trimmed today. Who doesn't want to hook up their trailer at 10pm in the rain? Sheesh. I suppose at least he told me rather than letting branches fall on it.
I guess that's what's up this Wednesday. This weekend should be less nutty since I have no races to run. How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun? Lessons, horse shows, road races? Tell me about it in the comments!