Friday Favorites, Crowd Pleaser & Building Back UP!

Remember a few years ago when my sister’s doctors told her she wouldn’t ever be able to run again (she injured her back really bad from moving a dining room table)?  Well, on Wednesday she ran 5 miles at an 8:55 average with plenty of hills thrown in there too.  Boom.   In between her doctor saying she would never run again and now there has been a back surgery and a lot of little miracles (and now the doctor’s approval to run again).  It’s pretty amazing to see her get to love the run again.  She said everything but her back hurt in that last mile… the joy of building back up your running endurance;)

Another sunshine run was good for the soul.  The world looks a lot different while running when it is light out!

Stretching buddy

Our Wednesday was full of all things Halloween.  Brooke had her Halloween parade at the school.  I thought it would be fun to run from place to place along her parade route to see her multiple times.  Afterwards she asked me how I kept reappearing… this might be a new parade tradition to see how many times I can see them.

Trunk or treats are now my favorite way to trick-or-treat.  It was so efficient and Brooke loved it!

We also went over to my parents’ house with my sister and her family to trick-or-treat over there.  I loved my niece’s and nephew’s costumes.

My Thursday morning run was done in the rain.   I dressed in shorts and a sweatshirt and about 2 miles into the run it started raining so I was drenched and frozen by the time I got home and showered as quickly as possible.  6 miles @ 8:18 pace.

Knox finished up his day of Kindergarten and we got caught up on life and heard all about his Halloween adventuring.

Skye got a new toy but I’m pretty sure the big kids were more excited about it than she was.

A reader told me to try out these TJ’s pizza crusts so I grabbed them and we will be buying them often.

The pizzas were a crowd pleaser over here.

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I’ve got a few Friday Favorites to share!

*Skye’s Friday Favorite:  The Dishwasher.  That little girl does a fartlek crawl on over to the dishwasher anytime she hears it open in order to try to crawl on the door and take out all of the silverware.

*I bought my favorite green jacket in pink now too ($33)!

*If delicious treats are happiness to you… please go buy the apple cider donuts and salted caramel hot cocoa from TJ’s.  The donuts taste more like a muffin than a donut to me but they are ridiculously good.  The hot cocoa is just a fun change up from the the normal hot chocolate.  Skye and I love to walk up and down the aisles of TJ’s and see what is new… flashback to doing that with Brooke when she was a baby all of the time.

*Greenlight Tight Nightlife.  I’ve always been a huge fan of the Greenlight Tight for running and I love the neon detail and the reflectivity on these.

*Making A Murderer part 2.  I can’t stop watching.

*Just another shoutout to Koala Clip.  There are only two exact things that I take with me on EVERY SINGLE RUN NOW—>  My Garmin and this blue goodness.  I thought with the cooler temps I would just go back to putting my phone in my jacket pocket while I run like I used to during the winters but I tried it one day and it drove me crazy ha… the Koala Clip makes me forget I have my phone with me.  PS you can get 10% off of them here with the code HRG10

*The Hoodie Dress!  SO so soft and cute (love the little runner girl on it) and I’m obsessed with it’s length!  It’s meant to be a dress and I just wear mine with a pair of leggings and never ever want to change again.

*Megan D’s Halloween costume this year.

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I love love love the amazing things that you guys are doing.  Keep sharing—>  [email protected]

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Catie!!!  “I ran my third 5k this year today and I accomplished my goal of running it in 33 minutes or less!!  I finished in 32:48!!!  And I didn’t walk once!!  I have been keeping my running super consistent, running longer without having to walk, and getting faster each week!!”

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Jeannine!!!  “I finally did it- accomplished a decade long goal of completing my first marathon!  My father also ran and completed his 10th marathon! The Marine Corps Marathon in DC is known as ‘the people’s marathon,’ and I can see why.  The scenery, the history and monuments surrounding us was simply beautiful.  The support of the marines and the crowd exceeded my expectations.  Thousands of runners ran to honor the memory of loved ones who served and the blue mile (mile 12) was extremely touching.  I saw it all: someone ran with one leg, someone with one arm, many carried American Flags, dozens of marines ran in full gear, runners pushed disabled children and adults in trikes, a guy ran singing into a microphone while playing the ukulele, I even saw a runner run with her service dog- which was just amazing- I later learned it was their 14th marathon together!  I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I hobbled and stopped to stretch, I didn’t give up no matter how painful.  The marathon.. is a phenomenon.  The distance is humbling.  Looking back I can say that I breezed through my training injury free and with confidence.  I completed all long runs, learned how to fuel properly and felt prepared.  I am humbled to say that race day had other plans for me, and my training did not at all reflect my performance.  I made the rookie mistake of wearing socks I had only trained 5 miles in- the bottoms of my feet burned and I developed blisters in between my toes.  My knees ached after mile 8 (which never happened during training) and my calves burned.  I was surprised to be as uncomfortable as I was.  I ended up finishing about 45 minutes after my anticipated finish time.  However, it was all worth it for the moment the marine placed the medal around my neck.  Earned, never given.  I learned a ton and am planning my redemption!  Here is a picture of my dad and I after he finished.  (Please excuse my 3 jackets + hubs vest… I was shivering!)”

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Annemarie!!!  “I ran the Chicago marathon on 10/7:)  It was my 7th marathon and 3rd major!  Such an amazing city, and the race was SO much fun.  I felt so lucky to be there… especially since there were SO many setbacks leading up to this race.  Back in July, an injury prevented me from being able to really put in some serious training and put a big dent in my goals.  I wanted to PR this race so badly, and at that point I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but I pushed on anyway.  Then the weekend before the race I got sick with a stomach virus and could barely eat anything.  I felt awful for several days, and just when my appetite started to return (the day before we flew out) I developed an excruciatingly painful infection in my tooth.  I ended up flying out on Friday with some meds and lots of prayers.  Thankfully, I felt so much better by Sat and perfectly normal by race day! It was a rainy 60 degree day and it felt amazing.  I thanked God every single mile of this race for allowing me to be there and I enjoyed every single second.  I finished with a time of 3:40:06 and honestly could not have asked for a better race considering everything leading up to it!  My hubby and I spent the next 2 days touring the city, eating ALL the food, and having some QT:)  It was absolutely one of my most memorable races!”

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Loren!!!  “I did my first half marathon 2 weeks ago.  I gave birth to my 5th baby a few months ago, and she did not live.  When I was giving birth to her, knowing I wouldn’t get to take her home, I knew I had to find something to help me stay busy and deal with this.  I promised myself I would finally do a half marathon and focus on doing something else I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve wanted to do a half marathon for as long as I’ve been reading your blog (8 years!).  It was a trail run with a 1200ft elevation gain and I knew I wasn’t quite prepared for it, and almost didn’t do it!  I did all my training on a treadmill and only ran outside a handful of times.  But I called my dad and he encouraged me to just go for it and just finish.  It was a little miserable;) but I’m just so glad I did it!  Next time, I’ll definitely pick something flat!”

Loren, I can’t even imagine what you’ve gone through but your strength is helping all of us so thank you so much for sharing.

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Brooke!!!  “Hi!  My name is Brooke!  I ran my first ever race October 27th.  It was a spartan race sprint in Atlanta, Georgia!  MY group and I finished in 3:27!  It was 4.2 miles and 22 obstacles.  I was really unprepared because I found out 2 months before that I was going to run it so I needed help with the obstacles but the guys in my group helped a lot!  I almost fell of a cliff so that was fun.  We also had to walk .25 in a river.  During the race I was like “I am NEVER doing this again!”  And I am already looking at others to go to!  I’m planning on doing 2/3 more sprints and then a super!  I’m giving my body about a week and a half of rest (I dropped a bucket of rocks on my knee and fell) but then I’ll start training for another one in April!  I was super nervous going into the race and during, but it was fun and I made some friends and all in all it was a great experience!”

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Hillary wrote this about Virginia:  “My BEST friend Virginia just finished her second marathon – Marine Corps marathon with a new PR!  She’s so smart, beautiful and diligent.  I’m beyond proud of her and can’t wait to chase her across the country as she conquers tough things.  We even took your slogan as inspiration for a sign.  Please show her some love because she deserves the most love!”

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Katherine!!! “I had my first child last December (7th).  I used to love starting my day with a run but after having my little one I did not get out very often and struggled with postpartum anxiety.  My husband encouraged me to start running again.  I started really slow and wasn’t able to get out often, but even running twice a week was a game changer for my mental health.  A few months ago I signed up for a 28k trail race in my town (the Sage Burner)… and I completed it last Saturday!  I was so inspired by your training and dedication to achieving your sub 3 hour marathon less than 10 months postpartum.  You reminded me how important it is to stay positive and not let fear of failure step on your dreams.”

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What are your weekend plans?!?

Ever run a race with obstacles in it? 

Parents reading… what was the last crowd pleaser meal that you made for your kids?

Andrew is wondering—>  When is it too early to decorate for Christmas?