Mom, are you going on a long run + my favorite salad to make at home + YOUR running accomplishments.

My sister has decided that Brooke’s future bday/Christmas/life gifts will be a large amount of cantaloupe from this point forward.  Brooke goes nuts for this stuff and I’m always amazed how much cantaloupe she can polish off in one sitting. 

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PS Utah people…  Sprouts is my latest obsession.  They by far have the best produce and it is SOOO cheap (crazy good cantaloup for a little less than a dollar each and 3 for $1 avocados that are perfect).  I get a little bit excited about produce.  Don’t act like you don’t too.  

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For dinner I made one of my favorite salads.  Chicken, strawberries, slivered almonds, feta cheese and poppyseed dressing.  I also made a bunch of garlic bread because it was sounding really good (one of the many benefits of being single—>  4 cloves of garlic per piece of garlic bread).  PS whenever I make a salad at home Brooke just eats whatever salad toppings I am eating… haven’t figured out how to get her to try spinach or lettuce yet:)

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While I was making dinner Brooke asked me if I was going to go out and do a long run…  She was just striking up some conversation with me.  

I had Brookie’s little friend for the day and we did all sorts of fun errands like getting the oil changed…  we actually all really enjoy that errand because it means free popcorn and drinks.

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We talked with Megan for a bit and she came out to the car in twinner pants.  I am pretty sure between the two of us, we own every single color of motto leggings possible.

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We ended up sleeping at home last night but my mom stopped by for a bit before we went to bed.

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Brooke changed into her pajamas all by herself and she was pretty stoked about it:

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And then we watched a show before she hit the sack.

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PS I don’t know who’s information this is on my garmin but it couldn’t possibly be mine because my cadence (steps per minute) is usually way lower than this (okay, it is my info but I was amazed that my cadence has picked up over the last few months).

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Also, this made my day!  Lots of awesome running accounts to follow and feel free to follow along mine too—>  check out the list!

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I love your reading your running accomplishments a whole lot so if you want, send them on in to [email protected] (next week they will be featured on Thursday).

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Nette!!!! “I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October and had a double mastectomy in November.  I started radiation shortly after surgery and finished The Jackson Blues Marathon in January during my radiation.  My doctor said that he had never had anyone run a marathon during treatment! It wasn’t my fastest time (4:18) but I felt like it was such a major accomplishment.  Running is something that I refuse to let cancer take away!”

Girl, you are my hero.

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Heather!!!!  “This was my second NYC half but by far my favorite because I ran it with a friend who had never ran a half before.  We ran together and finished together with a solid fist bump at the end! We are both medical students and training together and running this was a huge motivation throughout the year.”

PS Heather, your sweet friend Libby also wrote in and said this about you, “I want to nominate my friend, Heather, who ran the NYC half marathon last weekend! I think your donut tank was good luck:) but really, Heather is my running inspiration- she never makes excuses, always makes time for a run (while completing MED SCHOOL no less!), and her positivity while she trains for races is so inspiring! She won the lottery for the full NYC marathon in November and I can’t wait to go cheer her on and see how well she does!”

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Karen!!!  “Last Saturday (March 19th), I finished my first half marathon after having my first child 6.5 months ago.  I’ve completed many half’s before but this was extra special as my daughter was there at the finish line.  Knowing that she would be there was super motivating and kept me going when I was questioning why I was doing this.  I met my goals of finishing and being sub 2:15 too! I ran this race with a friend who had her baby 5 months ago.  The new momma’s rocked this half!”

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Jessica!!! “This morning was my last double digit run before my half marathon in 2 weeks and my family was in town for Easter.  They were following my progress through the GPS on my phone and when I rounded the last corner they were there to cheer me on! Not only was my run a good one but I had the best cheering squad ever!  Pictured is my mom, step dad and almost 6 year old daughter!”

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And a little shoutout to my friend Tedi—> She is holding a fundraiser on June 4th to try and raise money to help them pay for their next IVF cycle (they have been struggling to have kids for the last 7 years).  You can follow her infertility (and running) story HERE !!

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What is your favorite go-to salad to make at home? 

Best April Fools’ jokes?  Been fooled today?

Tedi’s post race popsicle made me wonder what weird post-race foods you’ve seen at races?  Or are there any foods that you see people eat after a race that seem weird to you (not that popsicles are weird ((they are my favorite after a race)) but it just made me think about post-race foods)?

Use three words to explain your mood today!

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62 comments

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I love salads with cucumber, tomato, shaved red onion and a little bit of salt and olive oil. So easy and so delicious!

Pretty early yet, so I still haven’t gotten any april fools jokes. I’m on the lookout though!

The best post-race food I’ve had was an oatmeal bar. Oatmeal, tons of toppings and hot coffee and tea. It was amazing! I have dreams about all the toppings they had!

My mood today – Tired but happy!

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I love races with popsicles at the end!! I ran a race once that had hot dogs at the end. To me that seemed a bit odd, but I guess it works for some people.

Three words for my mood today: silly, hopeful, curious.

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But do you guys have the dusty rose colored moto leggings? That’s the pair I bought and love.

It sounds like you are having a great week Janae. My salads have to have meat, cheese and bread otherwise I’m not full at all. I got engaged on April Fools day…so no jokes here. LOL…though with a name fueledbylolz you would think I did.

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I want to get a pair of these but am unsure of sizing! I’m a 6-8 and was going to get a large, but I don’t want them to be baggy and be a size 10-12ish fit. Maybe I should do medium? What sizes do you ladies have compared to your jeans size? Janae a small I’m sure. Thanks!!

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I love all of those running accomplishments so much! Nette, you are amazing! WOW! Such an inspiration!

Cantaloupe are my favorites too! After a long run in the summer when cantaloupes are super ripe I can easily eat a whole cantaloupe in one sitting! They taste like candy! haha

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I love love sprouts SO much! I eat a kale salad every day for lunch and usually pile on every single thing I can find like mini peppers, tomatoes, avocado, tuna or turkey, beets, maybe some nuts and no dressing!

Congrats on being on the instagram accounts to follow and thanks for sharing those inspiring accomplishments!

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I woke up this morning 100% positive it was Saturday. The Universe played an April Fools Day trick on ME!

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My daughter fooled me that she was sick and totally got me! I do like April fools jokes where you wind up relieved though. At home I usually make a salad with spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, some sort of meat, tomatoes, olives and some sort of sauce or dressing, plus avocado if I’m really hungry.

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Go Nette!!!

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Weirdest food: The 10K I am running tomorrow advertised beer (a local brewery is hosting the race) and ham sandwiches at the finish line. I cannot mentally get past the ham sandwich! It seems so odd!

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Oh man! These stories always help me have a little perspective. I’ve been bumming about a pre-Boston overuse injury and Nette’s amazing story in particular really just changed my thinking!!! Love reading these every week.

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This salad is exactly my kind of salad! Looks delicious! Chicken and berries go so well together… I also love baked salmon on my salad. Quick and tasty. Sometimes sliced beef is also good. Marking papers kind of day… looking forward to being done with it ;-)

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My mood: hurrah for Friday!

My go-to salad has smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese on a load of leaves or spinach. Yours always look insanely good. I’m embarking on a healthy April, so I might dig out your salad mega post you did a while back – so thanks in advance :)

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My mood is cranky, (haven’t had my coffee yet) stuffy (it’s humid today) and happy that it is finally Friday! :)

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I guess today’s summary would be: I AM CAPABLE!

I had a solid tempo run this morning that helped to build my confidence a bit, which I really needed! I have a post that will go up later today about the week’s runs.

I hope your tempo tomorrow goes well and that you enjoy your time with Jose!!!

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My mood for Friday: Relieved … Finally!, Excited that my brother and sis-in-law and niece (who is a giant Great Dane are coming into town), peaceful .. Because my boss in on vacation today :)

Weirdest race day food I’ve seen – Not that this is necessarily weird but at the Chicago Women’s Mag Mile Half Marathon last year, they were handing out frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. It was absolutely perfect because it got SO hot out that day but I had never come across that before!

Happy weekend!!

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Oooooh, that salad looks SO good! I usually opt for anything containing beetroot :) .

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Ahhh I love the running accomplishments!

The weirdest post race food was a large spaghetti meal at the end of a race. It’s not even that weird I guess haha but the half ended at like 9am and I didn’t even have any because it didn’t sound so good after running so long in the humidity!

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The weirdest food I’ve seen after a race was lentil soup after the Newport, RI half marathon last October. It actually tasted awesome after the cold weather!

I wanted to let you know that I loved the article you posted this week about positive attitude and running. It helped me get through a speedy workout I had planned on Wednesday. Thanks! :)

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Totally off topic..but did you know that the best day to go to Sprouts is Wednesday? Double ad Wednesday–so you get the sale items from current week PLUS previous week!

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WAIT WHAT?!?! I did not know this… I guess I’ll be seeing you there every Wednesday!!!

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Thanks Janae!

I don’t have a go to salad, but I did find that I really enjoy BBQ sauce mixed with ranch (weird I know) tastes really good on a salad.

That Popsicle was the BEST post race food! :) Cause it was already hot out! :)

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I love reading these running accomplishments. Congrats to all!

My go-to salad recipe is spinach, strawberries (lots of them), quinoa, sliced almonds and goat cheese or feta. Oh and usually some shredded chicken too.

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Best April fools: I swapped the J and F keys on my bosses keyboard one year. I didn’t think it would matter since I thought he probably types without looking at his keys. WELL, he looks at his keys and could not log onto his computer because I swapped the keys! He called our solution center reporting that his password was not working before I was able to tell him what I had done. He was not very happy but the rest of the group and myself were cracking up. Good thing we have been friends for 10+ years!

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I actually hate April fools day because too many times I get news on April fools day that should be a joke but it’s not! Lol have a good weekend

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So growing up I thought that the snacks at the car places weren’t free. Then I got married and my husband tole me they were free and now I think of all that free popcorn and hot chocolate that I passed up. Sometimes I wonder if they would be mad if I just made a stop by for some so I can catch up on what I missed.

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I love making salads at home, but they’re never quite as good as getting them from a salad bar or at a restaurant. When I do make them at home, I opt for zucchini, carrots, cucumber, beets, black olives, chicken or chickpeas, and feta with balsamic viniger as the dressing. It always wins especially in the hotter months.

And I love april fools day, but I haven’t pulled any pranks yet! I have to brainstorm and read through some of the good ones here muhaha.

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I love breakfast salads for lunch: spinach, arugula, and/or kale, roasted potatoes (sweet or red), bell peppers, and eggs. Or I opt for quinoa salads with a tahini dressing.
My last half marathon had M&Ms as one of the post race foods and it was amazing because after a race is the one time I crave candy like that. I’ve been to races with chili at the end…no thank you. Bland and easy to eat is best!

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Sprouts is the BOMB! Me & my friends shop there for produce. I am always amazed at what I can buy for $20.00. This week in Dallas they have Pineapple for $1. I have 3 on my counter!

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The best salad I make at home is lettuce, tomato, hard boiled egg, turkey, cucumber, and poppyseed dressing. It’s so easy and delicious!

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I haven’t played an April fools joke yet, but planning on scaring Chris a little bit. He definitely thinks I live too free and loose and that why things end up lost, ruined, forgotten, etc.

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I’m living the motto pants! Would you say they run true to size?

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They run a tiny bit small. I wear a medium! They are so so comfy! You have to get them!

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Was just curious if you’ve done anything specific to increase your cadence? I’ve been trying to do this for a few months now (mine is consistently in the low 170s) and I’m coming up short normally. I downloaded a metronome app that I use if I’m running by myself, which helps a little, but when I run with friends I fall back into my old slower cadence. Just wondering if you had any advice. Thanks!

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You know I haven’t really done anything different… Although, after taking a few off from running (because of turf toe) when I started up again I paid close attention to my form. I didn’t want to overcompensate because of the toe problem and cause a different injury because of that! Does that make sense? A metronome has helped me in the past. I think form workouts where you are specifically focusing on each different part of your form (i.e. cadence for .5 miles, arm swing for .5 miles, posture for .5 miles and then combine all of them together for .5 miles and repeat) can make a HUGE difference in our form. 1-2 times a week use your easy runs to really zone in on each aspect. Let me know if you have any other questions!

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Thanks for the reply! I’ll give it a shot on my next run. Have a great weekend!

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Nette your time is still faster than mine! You are amazing.

My go-to salad is a mix of lettuce, arugula, cucumber, tomato, beets, mushrooms, broccoli slaw, avocado, pepitas and a bit of gorgonzola with a lemon balsamic vinegar and oil dressing. Smoked sea salt and a grind of fresh pepper to finish it off.

tired, happy, hungry today.

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Love all the running accomplishments.

I did the Newport Marathon several years ago (right on the Oregon coast) and they offer oyster shots at mile 23! I couldn’t even look at them as I was running by – no thank you! There were plenty of takers though. :)

Here’s hoping that my husband doesn’t get me back after I got him really good for April Fools last year. I’ll be on my guard ALL day!

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Salad: spinach, chicken, mushrooms, shredded carrot, blueberries, cashews and Greek OPA ??

My mood: absolutely bodily exhausted <~ today is going to be a rest day is imagine

I love the running accomplishments at the end! They make me so happy :)

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I like avocado, hard boiled egg, sliced almonds, chickpeas, green peppers, raisins, and carrots on top of greens with honey mustard dressing! Yum!
No April Fool’s jokes yet, let’s hope it stays that way!

Post race I like fresh peaches, soda or juice, and sweets. When I see pizza or “real” food I never want it. At my half marathon in June every year they have fresh local peaches, and at my marathon last year there was homemade banana pudding. I thought that was odd, but that is all I wanted after the race and it was SO GOOD.

3 words: Penguin nesting rocks.

(breeding season starts today, let the drama begin!)

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I am having one of those weeks where my salad should be chocolate eggs with shaved coconut and chocolate covered strawberries. Its been a rough run week too – 4 weeks out from race day and I am feeling kinda defeated??

Tired / Defeated / Negative (obviously!!)

April Fools – put mini post its on the bottom side of my co-workers optical mouses

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That salad looks super delicious! My salad last night was pretty similar except we had walnuts instead of almonds and I am fully in love with Bolthouse Avocado Cilantro dressing and I want to eat it on absolutely everything! My daughter got up and put salt on the boys’ toothbrushes, but thankfully she didn’t get me! Oy! I need to come up with something good for her… After my marathon they had a sundae bar and beer garden. I was so exhausted that I didn’t want either. 3 words to describe my mood today. Blessed, Friday, Family!

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I love sprouts! I think their produce tastes better than the produce at our other grocery store. :) Thanks for sharing the accomplishments, it’s really inspiring to read about other people’s journey.

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I could drop a small fortune on the ROOLEE website! There is so much cute stuff!

How exciting to be picked as one of the best running accounts! The praise couldn’t be more well deserved! You are an amazing blogger, runner, and human being! Congratulations!

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Go-to salad is mixed greens, cole slaw or broccoli slaw bagged mix, thawed green peas, thawed frozen shelled edamame, any leftover steamed or grilled veggies lurking in the fridge and either any leftover steak or chicken or some other random protein. Dressing is usually Bolthouse Ranch or a balsamic vinegarette.

I live outside of New Orleans and 95% of the races have jambalaya (it’s a great mix of carbs and protein, actually!) served post-race. And unlimited beer. But the best thing I’ve seen at a post-race was either watermelon slices or snowballs on a stick. Heaven.

Love all of the runner accomplishments- this is such a great and inspiring feature! Congrats to all!

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I like making spinach salads with cucumbers, carrots, and then any kind of nut! My favorite post-race food was pumpkin pie after our Turkey Trot. So good.

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My mom loves shopping at Sprouts. She has a ton of food allergies and they have so many things there that she can eat.

I wish I was more creative so I could take advantage of today but the one prank I tried to pull on my boss failed and then he ended up pulling a prank on me later haha. Oh well, maybe next year!

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I’ve never pulled an April Fools joke before…but this morning I poured water on my side of the bed then woke my husband up freaking out over my water breaking haha. I felt so clever!

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My neighbor’s mom is a sweet little old lady, but on April Fool’s, she is a DEVIL! Before the days of debit cards her husband was taking out clients to a fancy lunch. She replaced all the cash in his wallet with monopoly money!

I love a bagel after a race, and oranges. Not weird but delicious!

Productive. Happy. Mischievous.

PS– I LOVE the running accomplishments segment of your blog. I don’t read every day but I always go back to see the Friday posts because it really does inspire me in my own running journey. One day I’ll have an accomplishment to send in to inspire others.

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i resigned from two jobs on april fools day. after about 10 or 15 minutes, my boss came in and was like “this is an april fools’ joke, right?” it didn’t even dawn on me what day it was. there was nobody on the office and i finally got up the nerve to do it.

i need to get back on the salad band wagon. i was eating taking it three days a week for lunch. all i need is some romaine, chicken, salmon, and a little cheese and i’m good to go. i hate dressing!

Nette, you are such an inspiration! I hope you’re doing well and feeling great! Kick cancer’s ass!!!!

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I’m like Brooke- once I start with the cantaloupe, I cannot stop. It’s addictive in the best possible way.

Love all of the running accomplishments! So many inspiring people :) :)

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Went on my first run in a while the other day! I had to because of all the pain I’ve been dealing with but now I think taking a long break is actually going to help me going into my tri-training this summer. I think I mentally blocked myself off from going any faster than I had been running so now after a break I’ve realized how much I was holding myself back. I’m really excited to see how this all goes!

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I’m new to your blog! love it!
I love making a very simple red leaf lettuce salad with balsamic vinegar and EVOO!
Best April fools joke I played was on my hubby years ago telling him our bank account was -$1,000! He was not impressed. ha!

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Welcome Renee!!! Oh that salad sounds delicious! HAHAH that is an awesome joke… way to go girl!

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Salads…. YUM! I like to throw everything I have into them – and it totally grosses out my boyfriend. I’ll add in fruit, veggies, and then cheese or a meat if i have it, no shame.

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I’ve noticed that the treadmill totally helps with my cadence on the roads. Especially if I consistently run at 2% incline. Then when I go to the roads it feels easier.

Ah! 3/$1 avocados?? They are $2/avocado in Boston area.

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I love Brooke’s room :). I have to ask did you do anything to work on your cadence? I feel like I have tried to make my cadence faster and whenever I try it turns out slower :)! I am usually about 169-170 according to my Garmin

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I love making homemade Winger’s salads. I just get their dressing and make a salad with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, yogurt ranch, and then add a bit of their dressing for a kick. It is the best!

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Aldi has cheap avocados, too – a must for my favorite salads. Go Nette – for running a marathon during cancer treatment!

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Love that little voice :) I always love your Brooke videos!
Current Mood: Sick and tired!
Fav Salad: mixed greens, broccoli slaw mix, walnuts, blueberries, egg, chicken, avocado, balsamic dressing!

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I can eat so much melon and pineapple in one sitting. Love salads with lots of toppings!

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Nette, this brings tears to my eyes. You are amazing!!! And such an inspiration to us all!

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