Since you and I last caught up and a running law that isn’t my favorite.

*Join Andrew and I tonight at 6:30 pm on Facebook!  We will be doing a Q & A while we make something delicious for dinner!

One of the many hard laws in life—>  It is ridiculously easy/fast to get out of shape yet it takes a whole lot of work, time and dedication to get back into shape.

This law is one of the many reasons that I attempt to stay in good running shape year round because I know how hard it is to get back into it;)  But… my speed has been nonexistent lately so it is taking a lot of work to get it back.  Luckily, it is a weird kind of work where I love it even though it hurts.  And hallelujah that Josse and I can do this together and we are starting in the same place together (although, her endurance kicks my trash;)

I didn’t bring my handheld water bottle because I was nervous about the paces let alone carrying something so this water fountain was like finding the jackpot.

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The end of the second interval looked like this:

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Josse and I met up and we decided to drag the warm-up out a bit longer than we had planned.. at 4.35 miles I told Josse that we should just do the workout on Thursday (procrastination at it’s finest) instead because we were both tired and I was dealing with a cold.  Josse told me to just try the first set and that I would be really happy afterwards that I did it.  She was right again for the 4,000th time.

2 x 2 miles—> first set averaged a 6:33 pace and the second set averaged a 6:36 pace.  And then by the time we finally got back to our cars we hit 13 miles (right on the dot which was weird because we didn’t plan the distance).  7:30 average pace for the 13 miles.

The first set felt pretty good but that second one, oh my goodness… it was rough.  I just kept telling myself to keep going because I was making a deposit into my running bank account.  And lately it is a bank account that I am really excited for it to at least quadruple in size.

Katie said something on her Instagram that really stuck with me the other day—>  ‘Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes better.’  I LOVE that idea.  Perfect is such an unattainable goal that makes me feel frustrated.  Working hard each week with our training makes us better and that is a goal I like having.

Each speed workout, each tempo mile, all of the long runs, all of the early mornings and sweat… makes us better.

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Let’s discuss some thing that have been going on over at our house since we last caught up!

*Pre-school is back in session and Beretta was moping around that the kiddos were leaving her.  I get it.  This growing up business is just not okay.

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*After work Andrew fell asleep on the bed for a minute and woke up to the kids taking off his socks and tickling his feet…

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and then jumping on top of him.  He is definitely the fun one:)

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*They were quite snuggly too.

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*That night we went on a date and it was so much fun.  Life is crazy with those above kiddos and renovating a house and nights like this one are my absolute favorite.  We started with sushi and yakisoba

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and then went and saw Jason Bourne and we both loved it.

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*I ran into my dad while I was out on my Thursday morning run.  He goes walking in the morning with his really good friend and I love seeing them out.  It also reminded me of the months and months when I lived with him where he would go with me to this big park and walk while I ran.  He didn’t want me to be alone (this was before I really got into running with other girls) and it was at a time I really didn’t want to be alone either.

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*We’ve been eating turkey burgers over here like crazy and yesterday’s lunch included a side of apples and protein pb too!

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*You know how I have told you often about my love for Kneader’s over the years?  Well, it all stems from my lovely Mer (my grandma).  It is her favorite restaurant so Andrew and I picked some up to take over to her house for dinner last night.

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*The kids got in about a 5k worth of running around the house last night.

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*We’ve got a thing for pancakes and peaches in the morning… along with us both being in running clothes.  Just wait for the day when I can find us entirely matching workout outfits from the headbands all the way down to the shoes.

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*I kind of love it when these memories pop up on Facebook… good times Megan and Brooke used to be so tiny!!!

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*Long run time today!!! I sure love mid-week long runs this training cycle!  Josse will be joining and I’m positive it will feel approximately 20 times better than it did last week!

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*Ice cream on the front steps… summer, don’t end.

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Do you agree with the law that it feels like it takes forever to get back in shape but that it can disappear very quickly?

Who has a long run this week… how long?

What has been the best part of your week so far?

Live close to any of your grandparents?

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49 comments

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YES, I absolutely agree. It’s so easy to get out of shape but then so difficult to get back in it! It’s definitely frustrating.

Your precious family is absolutely adorable! It’s kind of been a rough week, so I’m hoping the best part of my week will be soon. Maybe today something will happen that I will be able to share as the best part!

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I don’t have any living grandparents but my moms mom used to live close but my favorite was my dads mom and she was down in Florida so i didn’t get to see her as often.
I just started my half marathon training so my long run will only be 6 miles this weekend.
Best part of my week last night being reunited with my puppy dog after a 5 day vacation :)

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Brooke is so tiny in that throwback picture! I love looking back on timehop to see my old posts too. The best part of my week will most likely take place this weekend because my birthday is on Sunday!

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I have 12 miles as my long run today since it’s a cutback week in marathon training. It’s so easy to lose fitness, but it’s also hard to maintain peak fitness. I try to keep a good base but let race-specific fitness ebb and flow.

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I know exactly what you mean about that law of running..it’s SO annoying and frustrating!

Best part of my week was being invited to recruit for my company at my alma mater! I don’t get to go up there very much, so being able to spend a week there (on the company dollar) made me so happy. That- and getting a new pair of running shoes for only $60 (thank you, coupons and rewards!)

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I’m like you, I like to stay in relatively good shape year round–I call it half marathon shape–where I could get up and run a half even if it’s nowhere near a PR time. I think mostly because I enjoy long runs on the weekends, so I like to be able to go out and run far and enjoy it! That being said, it’s actually COOLED OFF here in Charleston a little, so I’m going to try to get in a partial outdoor/partial treadmill when it gets too hot run when my husband gets off work Saturday morning–hopefully 8 miles this time. I’ve been lingering at 7 for the past few weeks because my feet have been hurting. And 1 pregnancy mile feels like 3 normal miles haha.

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My grandparents are all 3000 miles away in England. But one set is coming to visit in November so they can support me on marathon day! I’m so excited they’ll be there. Having them to cheer me on will make race day much more fun!

This week is a step back week in my training plan so only a 9 mile long run this week. Getting ready for 14 miles next week. The furthest distance I’ve ever run is the half marathon so that’ll be fun…

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Yes, that law sucks and I am going through it right now. I took a year off of consistent running when we moved to a new city. Now that I am training for my next half, I question why I did that every day. What was I thinking?!?!?! This week school started back for everyone but not for us. We are homeschooling. So a bunch of other homeschool moms and I spent the day at an empty zoo yesterdaywith our kids. It was glorious! We used to live near my grandmother. But when we moved that changed. Thankful my parents purchased some land in my new city and plan to move up in a few years with my gram moving in with them.

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No long runs – I am still recovering from an injury-filled year last year. Nothing serious but enough to reduce my mileage significantly. I added strength training back in (I used to power lift) and my body feels so much better. But the mileage is down down down.

I grew up on my maternal grandparents farm and 10 miles from my paternal grandparents so I saw them a lot. We live a 3-hour drive from my mom (my dad died 3 years ago) and 4 hours from my in-laws. My mom is thinking about moving closer, however.

Best part of the week was my kids heading back to school! They need routine back in their lives. But my dogs are sad :-( My husband works from home and he said that they hung with him all day yesterday.

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Try this brain buster: Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect….and where’s the only place you can practice perfectly? In your mind. Therefore it’s necessary to get the mental game right through self-talk and imagery.

Also go take the kiddies to Pete’s Dragon – assuming they can handle some typical Disney drama/scares. Also, bring tissue….lots of tissue. Really, trust me on that one. (My cold prickly exterior covers a warm, molten, tear filled soul….what can I say?)

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Between traveling for work and a crazy back-to-school schedule, I haven’t been able to run for nearly three weeks! I can’t wait to get back to a routine next week, but I’m also dreading it. That first run is going to hurt!

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Sadly, my closest set of grandparents live 800+ miles away. The other set, over 2,000 (S. Korea).

:(

I do have a long run this week, but I’m struggling with a cold so the 16 miles might turn into 14 — so long as I don’t cough up a lung.

The best part of my week so far was actually my morning gym session today — the gym was pretty quiet. I worked chest, triceps, and legs — and I felt my head clear up about 3 reps in. It was awesome!

I’m hopeful that it’s a sign that I’m at the end of this ICK!

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I totally agree that its much harder to get it back after a time away…..kind of like sugar for me. When I don’t have it for a while I don’t crave it or think about it and then when I do have some thing sugary my body goes Freakin’ Crzy….I need and pretty much HAVE to have more.

I am really trying to reduce and in fact fade away from all processed sugars for that reason. ;-)

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I know what you mean! I hate it when you take time off from exercising and all of sudden it seems to take twice as long to get back to where you were!
My long run is this weekend, 10 miles, my first time so hopefully it goes well!!
I wish I lived closer to my grandparents. My husband and j live about 13 hours away from our families. Sometimes it’s nice and other times it really sucks!

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I think it totally takes longer to get back in shape … My Husband always says you are either getting better or getting worse, getting closer to your goals or farther away. There is no staying the same. Tough love at it’s best ;)

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The best part of my week so far has been catching up with a friend that I haven’t seen in a few years. It always feels good to reconnect with someone.

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Good luck on your run. I still havemy fingers croased you and josse will get that donut ;) I have been craving a kneaders salad. After seeing that picture, it sealed the deal. I will be getting one asap.

That picture of Brooke, you and Meg…it feels like yesterday, but also so long ago. I remember that day so well…and how cute she was in that swim suit. I need to get another for her and make t a tradition.

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It’s so hard to get back after you lose some running fitness. I’m coming off of 4 months of a long recovery from complications from a surgery. All summer my pace was about 2 min/mile slower than it should have been. But…better to run slow and recover than to not run at all. Five miles this morning which is a post surgery long distance for me. I will say, though, I think us runners have a lot of banked fitness for times like this.

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Oh man, I agree. It is crazy how quickly running fitness can be lost (major bummer!) I’m hoping after baby T comes (THREE days away from my due date today!!!) I can get my running fitness back and even grow stronger. I know it will take lots of hard work, patience, endurance, sweat, and I will have to give myself lots of grace. As much as I don’t love having to regain my fitness level, there is something exciting about seeing results that I kind of love.

Favorite part of the week so far? Landon and I celebrated our first year of marriage on Tuesday- complete with Chipotle, Ben-Hur, and a huge strawberry shake.

Have a great long run Janae- you got this girl!

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So excited for you! Congratulations! Yep, give yourself lots of grace with your return to fitness. Have a great day!

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Thank you Janae! :) You have a fantastic day too!

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getting back in shape after getting out of shape is rough. stuff. i’m coming back from an injury and my speed is just not where it was and it’s so frustrating. But I know the more I work at it, the easier it will come. I just don’t love speed work haha.

best part of my week has easily been coming home. I’ve been away for business for the past three days and actually getting to be back in my little environment is so comforting and happy. too bad I’m leaving again in two days :(

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It’s so easy to get out of shape when you take a fitness break. I’m currently on a Crossfit hiatus because I’m 25+ weeks pregnant .. I’m the MOST nervous that I will lose all my strength when it’s time to head back to the box! *fingers crossed this doesn’t happen*

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A few things:

1. I recently came across your blog and it really grabbed my attention. I have to admit I got caught reading through so many of your posts…(at work…whoops :) )the other day and some of them really spoke to me…especially learning how to be “alone” after your divorce. I’m going through a similar experience in my relationship and one of your quotes hit me “it’s okay to sit on the couch on a friday night with chocolate”. Thank you.
2. Anywho, I think it’s great your dad supported you in that time, AND that you live so close that you guys can bump into each other like that.

Good luck on your run today. I have run a few half marathons in the past year and have really slipped off the ledge where I now feel intimidated getting back into the swing of it. You go girl!

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Jess, I am truly so so sorry about what you are going through right now. Loneliness is my least favorite feeling but it will get better and I got to a place where I started loving my alone time… even on the weekends! Thinking about you and let me know if you need anything at all! THANK YOU!

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Definitely hate that law! But then running wouldn’t be so rewarding if we didn’t have to work so hard for it! I’m in the middle of no running while Dr’s figure out what is going on with me… I’m in the jealous stage when I see people working out. The weather is cooling down and it’s becoming my favorite part of the year to run. I’m taking it in strides telling myself it’s time to rest and take a break…
Didn’t really know my grandparents but I was grateful to grow close to my husband’s grandparents. I was thankful my children could get to know their great grandparents enough to remember them before they passed away. A little over an hour is the farthest we travel to visit grandparents. We are blessed that they are not far away. Family is so important!

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I feel your jealousy. I have a muscle tear and my ortho told me to rest and do PT. So while we are getting amazing running weather hear in new england (bye bye humidity!) I’m sitting on the side lines! I hope you get back to it soon!

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I hope your recovery goes well and return to running before you know it!

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Ice cream on the porch sounds amazing!!! My grandparents live across country. Boo! I absolutely agree with and do not like that law!!!

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I grew up a block away from both my grandparents. It was the best thing ever for me. One set of grandparents are gone now but I still live less than a half mile away from the other. I still love it.

I’m in the middle of getting back in shape right now and it is way hard! It’s probably the worst part of running. Once you get back to your special mileage that makes you feel good, it gets easier and better.

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Aw that picture of Brooke, her eyes were so expressive even back then!

No longer have any living grandparents, but I was super lucky to be close to mine growing up. It’s a relationship I still treasure. How awesome that you are so close to Mer!

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I totally agree with the law that it feels like it takes forever to get back in shape but that it can disappear very quickly. I didn’t stick to running much when pregnant and I remember when I started back up I was doing like a 11:00 mile and only 1 mile! I had so much work to do but I loved it because I had a whole new set of goals in front of me. And each goal I met made me so excited and happy – so although I was bummed I wasn’t doing 8:30 miles right off the bat, I loved working on getting back to them!

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Aww, I wish I could bump into my dad when I go run… my parents (+ rest of the family) live in Germanyand none of my grandparents are alive anymore.
Cherish this time as long as you can.

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My biggest struggle is the l-o-n-g road back to getting in shape. Being a horrible procrastinator really doesn’t help the situation either. :-/
We’ve had much better temperatures around my neck of the woods (not in the upper 90s-100s). So we’ve been enjoying family evening walks with our dogs.

All of my grandparents have passed. But growing up my maternal grandmother lived with us. She was awesome and I miss her dearly.

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What cute family snuggle photos!!

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I HATE that law… sometimes if I take 2 days off in a row I feel like a million bucks but if I take 3-4 days off it feels like I’m totally out of shape. I think focusing on building a good foundation of regular mileage helps, but it’s hard to do!

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Janae…you and your family are so adorable!

I should be the poster child for this law of it being harder to get back into shape!

I have a bad habit of not running for months, then throwing myself into a half marathon (or other long distance) training plan. Just recently, I ran five days out of a week, after a few weeks of not running consistently, and my shin splints came back. That put me at running short distances a couple times a week before the pain inhibited my running yet again. UGH. I do this to myself all the time.
The thing is, I love to run and I absolutely LOVE the running culture. I just need to break these bad habits!

Anyone have any sage advice for the yo-yo runner? :D

-Jessica

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I definitely know what you mean by losing fitness so fast and it does take forever to build it back up. But it is always worth it when a run feels good!

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Haha I totally agree about that dang law! So not cool! I love the relationship you have with your parents…I always thought it was so sweet how your dad would drive with you when you were running in the dark! I grew up far away from grandparents and now my husband and I live on the opposite side of the country as our families! it is super hard, and when we have kids I am sure it will be harder!

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Janae,
Thank you so much for the shoutout! Those words helped me check in with my long term goals and focus on being better, not being perfect. I totally agree that building back speed takes a lot of work and effort. I took the month of June off from any tempo or track work, I just wanted to run for fun with no pressure, but July was tough. It took me about 4 weeks of consistent tempo work for me to finally feel like I was making progress again.

How wonderful to have your family so close! I love that your grandma loves Kneaders. My grandma was a big Marie Callender’s fan. We are lucky enough to live close to my mother-in-law and I love that she and my daughter share a special bond.

I have a 25 mile run this Saturday to fit in before 8:30 am. It’s going to be an extra early start and my longest run of the week. Happy running sweet girl!

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I wish I could run into my parents while out on the run! We don’t like that close to either set of grandparents :( Your dad seems so cool!

Last Sunday was a 20-miler and this week’s long run is a cut-back to 13 miles (time trial). Enjoy your long run! I think I would like mid-week long runs, if I could find childcare!!! That’s my biggest battle every time. I adore my kids but I can’t run a 20-miler with a double stroller (personally)!

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I’m not out of shape, but I’m just starting to run in the afternoons with my xc kids, and boy does that heat make me feel like I’m out of shape!

14 miles this weekend :)

Best part of my week so far has been date night with the hubs last night. It’s been way too long!

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Okay, you talking about your dad walking with you while you ran got me all teared up. That is one of the sweetest things I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely precious!

And I agree with that law. When I was pregnant my workouts/runs lessened in intensity (as they should have) and then eventually I was just walking at the end of my pregnancy and building that mileage back up postpartum was pretty hard, but I actually came back from both my pregnancies faster than before I had kids. I think the time off just made me want the faster times more and I felt more motivated, which translated to me becoming stronger. BUT, when I say ‘faster’ that’s all relative because I can’t imagine running your pace. You are seriously like lightening, girl! :)

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Y’all are having so much fun together! I love it!

My first long run in a long time is this Saturday – 10 miles. My intervals went better than expected on Tuesday and I think it’s because I’ve been doing a lot of cycling at a high cadence so that has kept my legs moving.

My grandparents are all gone now, but we lived close to both sets when I was growing up. I have so many great memories of time spent in their homes.

Brooke looks so grown up in her school dress. My mom taught pre-K and she loved that age!

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YEP agree with that law. I took 3 months off, at the end of my pregnancy, not on purpose but I had to. And now I am suffering. Getting back in shape is the worst, I’ll take maintenance any day.

Best part of my week… hmm… well hubs and I are going on a date for the first time in like, a year, so that will be this weekend and hopefully it will be awesome.

Yep, I’m 10 minutes away from my grandparents. One gpa has passed, but his wife is still in the house where I grew up. My other gparents live around the corner from her. It’s so nice to be close to family. Oh, ps, I love that your Dad is such a dad, looking out for you. My dad is like that, too.

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Have a good long run!! I got 18-20 miles on the docket for Saturday! Hope we don’t get another torrential downpour like we had last Saturday!

Best part about my week so far – Getting to catch up with two of my close friends while I was in DC! So good to see them and talk for hours about everything!

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Hey! You said you couldn’t wait for matching workout gear for you and Brooke so I thought I’d share the link to K Deere Haute Yoga Wear. Matching momma and mini stuff right to the headbands!!! I’m not a yoga person, I run and lift weights and I’m telling you their gear is fantastic! I’ve tried almost everything they make and it has held up. I think my first pair of leggings are a few years old and still look brand new.
http://www.k-deer.com
I am in no way affiliated with them I just love how their gear wears especially for running (and running errands).

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I’m dying over these…. we must have. I can’t wait.. time to match Brookie and their stuff is super cute! Thanks so much Tiffany for letting me know!

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ice cream on the porch.. nothing beats it! I remember walked to the local DQ when i was young and eating it on the way back, finishing on our porch. Summer needs to stick around for a bit longer ;)

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