I have longed to return to a post with different colored fonts for each paragraph like I used to in the beginning, so here we are.
Nine miles to start the day!
I came across this post from Michelle, and it hit me hard… I thought the world was going to end when I got my first A- (probably partly due to having older siblings who were the valedictorians, haha). I started marathon training after graduating college and needed my Garmin to validate me;).
It was just a typical day for the little two and me.
I crave these smoothies every day now. Not necessarily the flavor (although I added some fresh pineapple to mine yesterday, which was so good), but the shot of nutrients… my body relies on it these days.
Andrew has been working like crazy lately (leaving before the kids wake up and getting home after they go to bed), so they were thrilled to see him in the middle of the day when he got home early from a shift.
Brooke has reached the age where she flies to California on her own now. We can walk her to the gate and pick her up from the gate, and then one of the flight attendants is in charge of her on the flight. We have been very impressed with the process so far, but after 10+ years of flying her back and forth, I miss those flights together (but my wallet doesn’t miss buying six tickets each time she goes to California).
One week felt like one month.
Knox was hiding in the back, waiting to surprise Brooke that he was home too.
I made my mom’s taco soup before we left so that we could have dinner the second we walked into the room. After 13+ years of blogging, I still don’t know how to take pretty food pictures, but this recipe tastes so good.
It’s never too early to start with the Valentine’s Day treats.
As I went through my blog, trying to figure out when I started using different colored fonts for each paragraph, I came across my first giveaway. I remember going to Target and spending an hour walking through the aisles, trying to put together the perfect little runner’s package for a giveaway:). Pre-social media days were so fun when it was just blogging. Everything was so simple!
——————————————————————————————————————
What about you with school… did grades stress you out?
Who read back in the multi-colored font days?
Have you made any goals or resolutions for 2024?
Any other smoothie addicts? What do you put in yours?
39 comments
Molly S
Remember when the internet was trying to decipher Britney Spears’ instagram in the days of her emoji captions? I feel like that could be applied to your font color choices. “Now she is using pink font, this must mean…”
What does Brooke do while on the plane solo? Is she given snack money? If not, she should (you’re welcome Brooke!).
And did Knox “surprise” Brooke or jump out and scare her? Because that’s the scene I imagine going down. hehehe
The Hungry Runner Girl
I was right there with them trying to figure out what was going on with Britney, haha, and now maybe I might have to throw some secrets into my blog! There was a time when I didn’t wear my wedding ring one day, and people found my divorce papers online (long before I was ready to talk about it) and started messaging me. I’m okay not having that type of thing happen again haha. Brooke will thank you, but usually, we do grab her some snacks before. She always have her favorite movies downloaded (Cool Runnings this time) to watch on the flight, and luckily, they are pretty short. You guessed it, scare is the accurate word. Happy Thursday, Molly!
Erica
Ahhhhhhhh, the multi-colored days!!
That was like going back in time for a moment. :)
Have a great day Janae.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Erica. We go way back. How about a summer reunion in Park City??
emily l
Lol I would always stress about grades. Funny thing was, my parents weren’t hard on me if I didn’t get an A. I was just very “schooly” and was so hard on myself, so I think they couldn’t bear fussing at me the few times I came back with lower grades. My main goal in 2024 is to be consistent with my workout routine during my last trimester and after giving birth to my first later this spring. I know my fitness is and will be different for a while, so I just want to find ways to enjoy moving my body, even if it feels like “less than” what I doing before. It’s harder than I thought sometimes because I tend to compare what I do now to what I could do. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you handle changes in your endurance/abilities in pregnancy and postpartum? Yes, smoothie addict here. In addition to lots of greens and blueberries, I ALWAYS add peanut butter and lately have been adding Greek yogurt- maybe baby is craving calcium? :) Happy Thursday, Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
You and I would have been great friends. Enjoy moving my body… that is the best goal to make. I LOVE it and support this. That is a great question. I would always reset my watch, so I was able to set new milestones (i.e., fastest mile etc.) and celebrate those. I felt like I was pretty good at patting myself on the back just because I could see the major differences that came with a new baby. I remembered that it was a lot easier getting out before kids, and so the fact I was doing anything after being woken up 4 times a night felt like a win no matter what the pace. You are in a completely new chapter of life with so many changes. However, you move, your body is brand new, and like comparing apples to oranges if you compare it to before you brought life to the world. I am cheering for you and any day you need a pep talk, I’m your woman. I’m serious.
Kim N
Ahh!! The old Janae is back! Ha! I totally forgot those were the giveaways back in the day. So much better than the other influencers out there nowadays. I appreciate that you didn’t get pulled into the whole influencing gig 24/7.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh, thanks, Kim. I’m just not sure I was invited in on that;). Blogging just feels best for me and I’m grateful for the connections I’ve made with you guys here. Hope your day is a great one!
Courtney
Hi Janae! Man I feel like I’ve been missing you not reading/ commenting consistently!!! Grades stressed me out immensely. I was pretty dead-set on an Ivy League and before I got in, I felt so much pressure to be top top top! That changed a bit when I was actually at Penn and a little fish in a big pond ;-)
Multi-colored-font-day reader fo sho!
I don’t have my specific goals yet, but I know my theme for 2024. 2023 felt like a lot of “just surviving.” I’d like 2024 to be a lot more about thriving.
Still rocking the smoothies :) pineapple, mango, and banana seem to be my go-tos, along with collagen to help my post-partum hair loss/ nail changes. I’ve started doing the lemon a la your sis. However, I prefer half a lemon, the full one was a bit too strong for me. And I’m with you- SO MUCH ICE! Have a beautiful day, Janae! xx
The Hungry Runner Girl
Courtney, we have been friends for SO long, I am very grateful for you! So grateful we don’t have to stress about grades anymore. I’m trying to help my kids feel less pressure with it all too. I love your theme for this year. I am so impressed with your 2023 but so happy you made it through and now you can thrive. I really need to start adding collagen and yay for the lemon. Thanks friend, you too!
Malvika
I daily check your blog the first thing when I turn on my PC .still i am so curious why you choose to blog , isn’t blog outdated . And how can you do it daily? What drives you ? Which is more popular your blog or insta? Sorry to bomb you with so many questions. I find it so nice way of documenting your day to day activities. Want to know your answer.
(BTW there is an amazing artist James Gurney who blogs daily in gurneyjourney. You both amaze me)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Malvika! Thank you so much for reading, that means a lot! I love questions so I am here for them all:). Blogging is actually still pretty popular. I love that it is a platform that isn’t going anywhere… ie the social media channels come and go with popularity but websites stay consistent. I personally prefer blogging to creating content for IG etc too. It is my job now so that is definitely a drive but I truly love the connections I’ve built and sharing my thoughts here. I’ll have to check out his blog. Keep in touch and I hope you have the most beautiful day.
KARLA
Been here since the multi-colored font days! What a lovely blast from the past. And, look at those headphones! How times have changed. Back in the days when you used to hold your Garmin towards the sky. =)
One of my main 2024 goals is to reduce my spending to virtually nothing. I will stop mindlessly spending money.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Karla, we have been friends for so long! Hahah those headphones would get so tangled up, yet I still loved them so much. OH MY GOODNESS, thank you for that reminder. My sis and I thought we were so clever. I LOVE that goal, Karla. Help me!
Rachel
I’ve been here for a wee while now! Definitely since the multicoloured paragraph days – one of the first posts I can remember from you was a marathon (New York maybe?) that you ran with Skinny Runner? So you are basically an old friend for me now, haha.
The Hungry Runner Girl
AN OLD FRIEND… ABSOLUTELY! You are so right, that is the race I ran with SR. Such a great memory:). Have a beautiful evening!
Colleen
Hi Janae! I love the colors. Quick question about shoes for you… I think you mentioned you love the shoes you wore today for downhill marathons correct? I plan to run St George this year and can’t decide if I want to try the Adizero or the New Nike Alphafly that came out today. But, the Adizero are much more affordable/on sale and you seem to love for downhill! Thank you for your thoughts!
The Hungry Runner Girl
HEY Colleen. I am thrilled that you are running St. George this year! That is a great question, I am hearing amazing things about the Alphafly 3 but I was not a fan of the 2s (I feel like I’m wearing flippers with them ha) but so many of my friends love them. I’m a huge fan of the Adizero for up and downhill so if I were you, I would try those! I hope you love them and please keep me updated with all of your training!
Colleen
YOU were a HUGE source of motivation to choose St George. I have done a number of marathons and the past few have been Majors, but my goal is to BQ and I want to do it a bit more organically/when ready/while having fun/in a cool place. If St George is the place – great! if not, I hear its still going to be a great experience. Thanks for your thoughts on the shoes! I will try them!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Okay. This made my night. I have a really good feeling about St. George being the place for you. I cannot wait to hear about your training and how the race goes. Have the best night!
Madeline
I am a total smoothie addict – I have one every day for breakfast! My go-to for the past year or so has been: frozen banana, frozen chunks of red apple, a couple BIG handfuls of spinach, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a dash of cinnamon, and enough unsweetened vanilla almond milk to get everything moving. Occasionally I’ll add a few raw almonds to give it more staying power. It’s a winner!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Frozen chunks of red apple, I am absolutely going to try that with the cinnamon too… your smoothie sounds so good. Thanks for sharing, I’m coming over for breakfast tomorrow;). Have a beautiful day, Madeline!
AmandaM
Yes! I remember fondly. And 3 posts per day. It got me through my working hours. Thank you. 😊. I am still following along and appreciate your blog so much.
I have been traveling for the entire month of December and I cannot wait to get back to my winter place (san diego) tomorrow! That is when smoothies will begin again.Woohoo!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I completely forgot I used to write three posts a day… I cannot even imagine doing that now haha. I am so grateful for my friendship with you! Ummm where have you been all December? Your move to San Diego and taking that jump was so inspiring. Enjoy those smoothies again and I hope you have a great day, Amanda!
Leigh
I remember the multi-coloured days. I used to think it would add so much time to your writing having to change font colour so frequently!!
Yay for all the kids being home!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hahaha I probably save an hour a day doing the same colored font now;). I’ve enjoyed connecting with you over the years and I hope your day is a great one. Thank you!
Megan
My Dad has said that I liked variety in my grades. If there was an assignment that I thought was unnecessary I wouldn’t do it. I would tell my teachers that I couldn’t see the point of that assignment and would take a B in the class. I did go to university, I did get a masters degree, I do not understand why I was/am this way. I have learned to jump through hoops but I will never be the person that does an assignment to do an assignment, this had to have been frustrating for my teachers. I may have passed this trait onto one of my children and entirely back her when she discusses her school work. The older I get the more I am aware that there is more than one way to approach life. All of my friends are thriving adults and we all did it differently. No one has to do school the same as anyone else. My children approach school differently and that is ok. After saying all of that, I love when my garmin gives me kudos!!!
I love a smoothie a day, I use beets, mango, pineapple, green apple, spinach, celery, ground flax seed (not daily), banana, chia seeds. It doesn’t taste horrible, it doesn’t taste like ice cream.
I love your blog and read it daily. I use it for advice on new running apparel, shoes, inspiration, recipes, etc…
The Hungry Runner Girl
You have always been confident in knowing what was best for yourself and not wasting time on things that wouldn’t get you to where you needed to go. I absolutely love this. Thank you for sharing this perspective because I find myself saying similar things to my kids (THE STRESS THEY PUT ON 6th GRADERS AT OUR SCHOOL SHOULD BE ILLEGAL). I really needed your perspective on this topic. Thank you! I hope your garmin gives you some kudos soon and your smoothie sounds so good and healthy. Yum. Thank you, that means a lot and I am grateful for your friendship. I hope you have a beautiful day, Megan!
Alyssa W
Umm, I love that you approached grades/school that way!! It truly seems so much healthier to me (as a school overachiever). I wouldn’t mind my daughters being that way when they are older! And I love your dad’s perspective on it haha, variety is a good thing ;)
Alyssa W
The multi colored font made me laugh haha, you are so cute. I can’t remember if I read that long ago or not, I think I may have come on the verge of it stopping?? Or I’ve just seen enough of your older posts to know. Either way.
Exciting about Brooke flying on her own!
Yes I was a grade maniac! I definitely cried when I got my first B haha, I was the overachiever who finished top 10 in her class (decently small school, maybe 150 in my grade). Looking back I’m just like ugh, I stressed so much for something that really doesn’t matter ha. Would not recommend! ;)
I’m more of a summer smoothie lover. But love that you’re doing that.
2024 goals…continue running and just really getting time for myself this year! (15 month old twins here)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you Alyssa! Sounds like we were very similar and the stress was just too much. HOW are you doing it?! 15 month old twins, what an amazing experience and I love your goal… that time for ourselves keeps us sane and helps us to be better moms. Have the best night (and praying you get amazing sleep:).
mary
Hi Janae! I’ve been reading from the beginning and LOVE that you still blog consistently – I feel like part of your friend group and some of your sweet replies to my comments back in the day helped me though some tough times.
Not related but I’m wondering if you can help me with a question. I’m running the “Super Marathon” in Washington state in June with my friend who moved out there. It’s a fast downhill course which I’m a bit worried about (from Southern Ontario, Canada where it is FLAT) but I’m worried about show choice. The course is compact gravel/dirt and I’m torn between super shoes or trail shoes with a carbon plate (like the Hoka Tecton). I’ve looked at pics from previous years and there’s a mix so I was wondering if you knew anyone who’s done a race like that (or that one!) or if any of your readers have? Shoe recommendations and any other hot tips would be awesome please!!
Have a wonderful day!!
Jessie Gipe
Hey! I typically race 100 milers and have done some gravel dirt courses.. I have done both. I have used Nike Alphafly and Saucony endorphin edge. Both were good.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Wow… Jessie, you are incredible! Thanks for the help!
Mary
Thanks for your reply Jessie! How do you decide?
The Hungry Runner Girl
Mary! I am SO thrilled for you. We are absolutely friends, now move to Utah and come running with me daily. Okay, that race sounds incredible. I loved Jessie’s comment and was wondering if you want me to ask in a post next week on what to wear to? Please keep me updated with all of your training, sounds amazing.
Mary
I’d move in a second if I had any chance of keeping up with you 😀.
Jessie was sweet for commenting and I’d love to see if any of your readers had additional advice like how they choose between the two in those kinds races. Or better yet if anyone has actually done ithat race and had any advice!
Mina
My Garmin has replaced my Type A stressing about grades…..is it weird that my 2024 goal is to NOT run a marathon lol? I really want to get back to the half and see what I can do there. I’m 53 and kind of crushing it in my age group, would love to do some master’s competing. but the fear of injury really creeps up once you hit 50, at least for me, and I want to try to be smart. Well, as smart as a Type A runner can be lol. I’d love to get into the smoothie game. Trying to figure out how to incorporate it in. Might help me get out the door faster if it’s breakfast in the go on the way to work? Need to think about it :-)
chiaraandcoaustralia
“Thank you for sharing this blast from the past! It’s wonderful to see how your journey has unfolded over the years. Your openness and authenticity continue to inspire us all. Keep shining bright!