my four loves

In the past few months since I've been doing the 40+ hours per week office job, I have made sure to utilize my Saturdays to the best of my ability.  Almost every week I have a schedule written in my planner to make sure I can get it all in- running, riding, going to dinner with a friend, horse shows, bike rides, temple trips, hiking, shopping, etc.

This past Saturday was one my favorites.

Made a friend on my 8 mile run.  I usually park a couple miles from the W&OD trail, hop on the trail for a few miles and turn around and come back.  Shortly after I joined the trail, a girl came the other way in Vibrams. We did the "sweet shoes" comment to each other, and she turned around and asked if she could join me.  We had a grand time talking about running, cycling, triathlons, families, the church, and all sorts of things. 

Then I went to a dressage clinic with Lorna Donahue at the barn. 

Learned a ton and Beau was able to come watch as well.

Beau and I went to Middleburg, one my favorite places in the world.  It is hunt country and horse person heaven.  It seems like every little shop has something horse related in their name, decor, products, or logo. At the grocery store, the ratio of people in barn clothes to normal is about 1:1. The locals are all snobby and I love it.

After picking a few things up at the Tack Exchange, Beau and I went to lunch at the Upper Crust bakery, which was documented by the Daily Dollar!

Then we went on a bike ride through Middleburg and Philomont. Beau's new smartphone showed our elevation profile like this:

yikes.

"How come I'm always the one in pictures?" "Because you're prettier than me."

To finish out the day, we changed clothes and went to a friend's wedding reception. 

There are few things I see at weddings that I feel are actually worth the time and money that went into them. Here is one exception: after going through the receiving line, we were escorted to a little bench and the photographer took our picture.  At the end, we were handed the framed photo to keep. Genius!

Best Saturday so far. Running, horses, cycling, and Beau.