Brooke’s birthday= we went everywhere PLUS my first speed workout in a while (you should try this one).

Somehow things have changed just a bit…

Since our first ever selfie together:)  Yesterday we celebrated Brooke’s 4th birthday by doing all of her favorite things.  I let her choose the day and it turns out, she loves a lot of the same things that I love;)

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She first started out the day with a cinnamon roll with sprinkles.

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And then she wanted to get her nails painted… I have no idea where she would get her obsession with getting her nails done.  No idea.

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We hit up the Disney store for her to pick out a Beauty and the Beast toy.

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Followed by some lunch and splitting a cupcake at The Sweet Tooth Fairy (THEY GIVE YOU A FREE CUPCAKE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY… go, if you are in the area).

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Next up, Brooke requested a day at the ‘fancy’ (what Brooke refers to it as) pool.

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After that we came home and everyone FaceTimed her.

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And then she ate her requested dinner of cantaloupe and Dorry shaped noodle mac and cheese.  A lot of orange going on.

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Andrew whipped up zoodles and Szechuan Chicken for us (turns out being married to someone that loves to cook is pretty amazing).

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Andrew’s parent’s came over and we sang happy birthday to Brooke.  This cake was supposed to look quite different but I forgot to spray the pans and the cakes were not coming out of there.

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After dinner we went up north to watch Andrew’s indoor soccer game and it turns out we must have partied a little too hard all day long.

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Yep, a little too hard but it was the perfect day together and I am excited for all of the birthdays we have together up ahead.

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We went for a drive last night and Andrew pulled out some of his yoga moves that he learned from our yoga session in Canada on the mountain:)

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And his beard is gone.

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I did get to sneak in a run yesterday too… I think all of the Olympic Marathon watching had me craving to get back into speed work again.  My endurance is building up nicely for the marathon but I haven’t been doing speed at all so I’m starting out small and I’ll just keep building up from there!  I tried out the Brooks Hyperion for the run and they were awesome! I’ll keep doing speed in them before I do a full review!

Also, for speed I like to do the w/u and c/d (usually they are longer than yesterday) in my normal shoes and then the speed portion in my lighter shoes cause I want to save them for the fast stuff.

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I took one of my old workouts from my coach and modified it a bit!  Try one or the other and modify them for where you are at!  It worked me and I had that speed work high afterwards.

The original workout:

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What I did (I kept the same paces:)

1 mile w/u

4 sets of

400m at easy run pace

400m at tempo run pace

400m at speed workout pace

400m at recovery jog pace

1 mile c/d

6 miles total and it flew by… if I’m on the treadmill, speed/intervals are my

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Loved this article: –During Rule 40 Blackout, Emma Coburn Showcases New Balance on Olympic Stage

And the running song that I’m in love with right now:

‘Baby, we were born to run.’

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AND IT’S YOUR LAST DAY TO ORDER your BE HAPPY GO RUNNING SHIRTS!!

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Have a go-to speed workout that you love to do?  Any simple ones to share?  The more the merrier!

What shoes do you prefer to use when doing speed?

Parent’s reading—> how old are your kiddos?  

Are you the cook in your household or does somebody else do it more often?

-Andrew loves to do it and so I just help him out and I do the dishes:)

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46 comments

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Speed workout Brooks PureFlow’s and my husband is the cook, I am the dish washer. It’s a match made in Heaven! :)

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It sounds like Brooke had one of the best birthdays ever. I’m really happy for her! This reminds me that I need (and want) to get my nails done soon.

I used to do speed work in my saucony A and other runs in the saucony triumph…now I’m just using the Hoka Clifton for running.

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That looks like a fun birthday!! And I am definitely going to have to try that speed workout! Thanks for sharing! I’m a fan of ladder workouts: 400, 800, 1200, 1200, 800, 400 is probably my favorite.

Right now it’s just me in my household, so I’m the main cook. Good thing I learned how this year! :)

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Ahh I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to start getting manicures! Brooke is absolutely the cutest (and birthday mac n cheese? Girl after my own heart!)! Isn’t it fun being a mom to a girl? I always thought I’d have boys, but a girl has been the BIGGEST blessing. :)
I’m going nuts watching the olympics–speed workouts are my favorite and I can’t do anything too fast right now being pregnant. But I’m totally bookmarking this workout for January!

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I generally cook because I’m home more often, but my hubby is definitely the better cook. I generally spoil him and wash the dished either way though :P
My kiddos are 18 months, almost 3 (14 days!), and 6….I know parents always say this but I can’t understand how they grew up so fast!

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I usually do speedwork in my Pure Connects and other runs in my Kinvaras, but lately my hamstring has been feeling tight in my Connects. I do most of the cooking because I enjoy it, although I do love it when my husband cooks!

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what an awesome birthday!! sounds perfect to me haha! also, the olympics have inspired me like crazy and I actually did speed workout this morning too. 2 mile warm-up, 800m repeats, one mile cooldown. it felt amazing. sure, I’m no olympian, but it felt good to feel like I was flying and get that visual of being on the track competing in my mind haha.

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Looks like you and Brooke had a wonderful day together!!!

I LOVE treadmill workouts! I am currently 24 weeks pregnant but I have been incorporating small pick ups to help my treadmill running go by quicker. I forgot just how much I miss throwing a little tiny bit of speed back into my routine. I look forward to starting up again after baby comes, but for now it makes treadmill running go by so much quicker!

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I like interval/pyramid style speed workouts on a treadmill and wear the same pair of Glycerin 13s no matter the run. Our daughter is 8 1/2 and her first day of third grade was yesterday. Insofar as cooking, I do the weeknight day to day cooking and hubs usually handles the Friday night and Saturday night meals.

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Right after we got married, my husband let a beard grow out too for a few months. He joked that “he had let himself go”. So I joked that I would probably be getting fat. The beard was shaved the next day I think. ;)

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Such a fun birthday! My little girl is 8 months old and it’s hard to believe in a few short months she will have been here a whole year.

My husband and I used to cook together but now that things are so busy he usually handles the entrée and I take over dessert. Or we each cook one part of our meal (one person does main course and one does sides, etc.). It works nicely and he is an amazing cook!

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My 3 kiddos are 19, 17(on Saturday) and 13….Whoa, feeling a little old compared to your young-ins. ;-)

Andrew and you always look so “complete” when selfied *new word?* together.

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Happy birthday Brooke! Sounds like she had a great day. I’m pretty sure if the Disney store had existed when I was a kid I would have wanted something from there too.

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I’m using speed workouts for the first time with Hansons beginner plan and they are hard! Today I’m trying 2x3mile repeats as a strength workout, fingers crossed!

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My hubby and I have a deal where if I cook, he does dishes. Then he goes and thinks that making a PBJ is equivalent to him making dinner… -_- Yes. Because that’s the same thing.

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What an awesome birthday for a very special little girl!

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My go-to speed workout is 1 mile w/u + 200 m jog + 200m speed run X 10 + 1 mile c/d. So far I’ve been doing it every Wednesday and it brings me so much more endurance and speed on my long runs during weekends.

Oh and I’m the one who cooks at my house but that’s fine cause I love it and everybody else likes what I cook:)

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Sounds like a lovely birthday! I’m impressed Brooke can sit still during getting her nails done. I seem to mess mine up every single time !

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Awww Brooke’s birthday looks like a blast to me! I can’t believe how old she is!! Lol and clearly how long I’ve been reading & blogging…

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Love the idea of the cinnamon roll with sprinkles for breakfast! I have a 21 month old – I can’t believe he will be 2 in November! He’s seriously the coolest kid, I love him to pieces!

I am the cook in the family. I absolutely love to cook and go grocery shopping!

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What a fun day! My kiddos are 8 and 5. I’m generally the cook in the house. The husband occasionally does our Green Chef meals. Which is a nice treat!

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I am totally the cook in my family/house. My hubby has definitely progressed from the man I married — in that he used to not be able to even boil water, but could now totally assemble a complete dinner from a recipe! (As long as it’s not too crazy hard).

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Looks like Brooke had an amazing birthday!! :) Brooks question for you….how do you like the Hyperions? I’ve been considering them as the pure flow 5’s are terrible (please make the 6’s more like the older flows, Brooks) I also love the launch so I’m hoping the Hyperions would be a good addition for speed.

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We have three children in our house and they all have August birthdays (= three third trimesters in Texas!). They turned/will turn 5, 1, and 3 on 8/5, 8/13, and 8/24.

I’ve always done my speed in the treadmill vs the track and love new workouts. Can’t wait to try this one!

And I’m the cook in our house … I became a SAHM four years ago and that was the last time my husband cooked dinner all on his own for us. He will grill whatever I give him and it’s awesome. :)

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Happy Birthday Brookie! What a great day she had. :) I just think you are the sweetest momma. Yay birthdays!

I have been wanting to try out those Brooks, although I normally go for Newtons. I saw them in the running shop and eyed them for quite a bit. I might go back to try them on.

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Newtons are the best!!! I love that they keep their shoes fitting consistently the same. It saves me so much time and frustration each time I need a new pair of shoe. I was a Pure Connect, Pure Flow girl. Their changes completely frustrated me going from one shoe I absolutely loved (best fit ever) to shoes that blistered, rubbed, and hurt my feet.

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Omg my son is going to be 13 in October. I still look at him and think he’s 3 but then I realize that was 10 years ago and he’s now taller than me lol. Adidas energy boosts are my favorite!!

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Brooke had the best birthday ever!!! She is such a cutie! I love the FaceTime with family and her putting up four fingers. When my daughter was younger, Beauty and the Beast was her favorite. Just the other day she told me she has to get the Beauty and the Beast DVD when it comes out (she still has the VCR tape and won’t get rid of it because it is her favorite).

I love Newtons! The Fate and the Distance Elite are my two favorites. I am trying Hoka Vanquish 2 (I have a narrow foot) for outdoor running since we run on such hard surfaces.

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What a fun birthday! Happy birthday yesterday Brooke! Now today she must rest. haha!

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Happy birthday, Brooke! What a fun day! My little guy is 7 months old. :)

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My little guy is 6 and starting first grade in a few weeks! They grow up so fast! I did a speed workout pretty similar to yours last week and this week it’s 8x800m (My marathon is at the end of September!). I cook 90% of the time but my husband is the king of the BBQ on the week-end! That’s a nice break!

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AHHH First grade!!!! That is so exciting:) Oh good luck on your 800s… you’ve got this and I’m excited for your marathon next month! Oh bbq… is there anything better (delicious and less dishes haha)!

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Oh no! I didn’t say Happy birthday to Brooker yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!!
Looks like the ideal special birthday to me! I wanna do the same for mine this year ;)
Isn’t crazy we’ve all got to join in on watching Brooke grow up? Thanks for sharing your life with us :)

Man, my ex was always the one to cook as well. I just suck at cooking, really. Whenever he was busy I would just make us ravioli with tomato sauce (aka heat up 2 packages from the store and serve). I should work on it.

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Sounds like Brooke had a pretty solid 4th birthday! I’d be equally as tired if my day consisted of all those activities!

And I do the cooking but my love does the dishes! He’s an OCD cleaner so it works out perfectly :) :)

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being in a military uniform everyday means I can’t paint my nails any color but I do cheat and get the clear gels so they at least feel/look good.

I love cooking, which is probably good since it’s just me, myself & I.

How in the world does Andrew make his zoodles so they’re not soggy? I have yet to master this–while they’re delicious still soggy and watery I’d like it to be…. more like a noodle :p

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I follow a training plan through Training Peaks and my speed work varies from week to week. I think my favorite is what I call a ladder – 400/800/1600/800/400 with rests in between. And I use the word “favorite” loosely ;)

I’m the cook in our household and I love it. Love trying new recipes.

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Her birthday looks so fun!!!!!!
I love my one 2.5 altras for speed work and I am definitely the cook over here!

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We’re the opposite! I cook and he does the dishes.
Usually for speed work I wear Saucony Fasttwitches, but I ran a PB in the half this past weekend (woo hooooo!) so taking it slow this week :)

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I am so glad that Brooke had such a good birthday! She is so cute! I am definitely the main cook in my house, but when my husband does cook it tastes super good. :)

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Love the speed workout, looks like fun!

Happy birthday to Brooke. What a fun day!

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Happy Birthday Brooke! And thanks for the speed work out, I could use some good ideas. 400s are tough but I love the idea of doing them on the treadmill too because I have a hard time going slow when I am on one for a while. I actually wear my normal Asics when I do speed. There was a time I wore spikes/flats, but now I don’t even buy them. Do you find they help during races or speed work significantly so that they are worth the extra cost?

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I did this speed workout this morning! I was planning on doing 8x400m but decided this would make time go by more quickly and it did – love the feeling after pushing through a hard workout!

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THANK YOU for sharing this blog today on recovery!! I am breaking 100 miles in August and I was just saying to my husband, ok maybe crying to him, that I was so nervous I was not going to meet my goal because my recovery in between runs was taking too long!
I LOVE my compression socks. I use to think they were just cool to wear but I agree, they really do help. I will be wearing them MUCH more for the rest of August and beating my goal of 100 miles this month!!!!!

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Happy birthday to your little one! What an exciting day she had. I can see that you’re an awesome mom. :)

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Wow looks like an awesome birthday for Brooke!!

The dinner looks amazing. can Andrew share his Zoodles and Szechuan Chicken recipe??? YUM!

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What a fun birthday for Brooke!! She is so lucky to have you as a mama!

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