What is your optimum? Two running tips! Family night!!!

Well, we stuck to our original craft plan of making these… they may have also resembled cats but let’s just pretend they look exactly like bunnies.

One of the other mom’s at the Easter party brought these super cute cupcakes in case you need an Easter treat to make this weekend.

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Brooke’s finished cupcake.  She is just like me and understands that the frosting is where the money is at… the rest of it is good and all but the frosting wins.

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Okay, let’s go back and start at the beginning of the day.  I got out for a six mile run and a few miles into the run…

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My brother was out for his run in Key West along the water.  I was sure wishing that I was running there but my Utah views were pretty beautiful too.  I also don’t know how I would handle Florida humidity…  I would probably pass out.  All of you that run through humidity deserve all of the bonus points in the world.   I thought it was fun we were running at the exact same time though.

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Just petting Beretta as he was singing ‘you are my sunshine’ to her.

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After my run we did some errands and running around before going to the Easter party.  Knox was excited to be matching me with a baseball t-shirt.  We then hit up the party.  After the party I worked and before we knew it, it was dinnertime.

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I didn’t take a picture of dinner last night (it was a boring meal) but I’ll show you Wednesday night’s dinner.  One of my absolute favorites… spaghetti with marinara and ground turkey.   I could eat pasta every day and never get sick of it.  I should try a pasta streak.  I usually do a popsicle streak each summer but maybe I’ll add pasta to that too.

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A picture to attempt to show you something I love about our marriage. We are both left handed which makes eating next to each other work very well.

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Okay, two more pictures from Wednesday because my head is all over the place.  Knox brought me a flower and it melted my heart.

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And this is Brooke’s current favorite face to make when I bring out the camera.

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Okay, back to Thursday… the kid’s had another soccer game!  I wish you could all come and watch them play.  It’s hilarious.

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We are keeping up with our Thursday night tradition of ‘Family Night’ and the kid’s decorated Easter cupcakes and decorated eggs.  We also talked about why we celebrate Easter and sang some songs and hung out.

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The kids and I love hard-boiled eggs.  Andrew despises them.  He can’t even stand the smell.

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Well, this is sure exciting!  Kathrine Switzer is going to be running Boston (she is now 70)!!  What an amazing woman.

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What do you think about these temperatures.   Do you feel like these are similar to your favorite race temperatures?  For me personally I think around 45 degrees is my optimum racing temperature for the half-marathon and marathon.  Interesting to see what temperatures the elites run best!

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It looks like the weather for Boston on Monday is 50-60s and I’ve read that they are expecting a tailwind of 15-25 mph!  Excited to see some awesome things happen on Monday!!

Boston has been known to have some crazy weather over the years but so glad that this year looks great!

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I’m glad I wasn’t there in 1909, 1976, 2004 or 2012:)

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****Something random I am working on running wise right now… thinking about my posture throughout the day and not just during the run.  Our posture during the day is going to make an impact on our posture during the run!  At my running coach training our instructor had us stand and place our hands about an inch above our heads.  She then told us to raise up (without going on our toes) for our head to meet our hand… it’s amazing how whenever I do this I feel my core open up and engage.

****I don’t know how to say this in a proper way ha but another tip she gave us… pretend that you have a $100 bill between your two flute cheeks and throughout your run you don’t want to let that $100 bill drop.  It will help you to keep your glutes activated/doing their job and not being lazy during the run!

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What is your dream temperature for a race?  

Have a food that you absolutely can’t stand that pretty much everyone else seems to like?

Last time you ran by water?  Where?

And for my own wondering for future posts… do you want me to do clothing posts… like my favorite things lately or no?  Just wondering if I should get working on one!

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57 comments

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I ran Boston last year and it was 70 at the start. I was not at all heat-acclimated. My boyfriend, friends and some teammates are running and I’m going up to cheery for them. So happy to hear about the tailwind. Happy weekend!

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SEVENTY at the start… OUCH. I can’t even imagine! Enjoy your weekend and cheering on your people! Thanks Dynise!

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the frosting is the best part of cupcakes and cake for sure! I haven’t run by the water since last summer but it’s supposed to be super nice here in ny this weekend that I considered a boardwalk run tomorrow or sunday!

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I prefer racing temps in the 40s or 50s. Also, I can’t stand watermelon, but everyone I know loves it.

Yes! Please do a clothing post! I discovered Roolee and Called to Surf because of you, and they get so much of my money now. Also, where did you get your baseball tee?? I’m always looking for good ones but can never find ones that aren’t gigantic.

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My dream race conditions are starting in the mid 40’s, but in the 50’s by the finish. I am lucky……….I live downtown and get to run by the river on our paved path for pretty much every run! It is marked every mile and half mile, so I can turn around at any point to head home and know exactly how far I have gone! Not hard to fit a 20 miler in on that thing, out and back!
I hate mayonnaise. Hate it.
And yeah, I would love to hear clothing posts…………especially shorts. I don’t mind the length of the shorts, but I have a hard time finding ones that are loose in the leg…………….with runner’s thighs I don’t want fitted shorts on my legs……….but if I buy the correct size for my thigh and tush, then there is waaaayy too much gapping and space at the waist. Any tips on where to find good jean shorts (or other shorts) cut for runners would be great!

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I have the same problem with shorts and have been looking forever for the perfect short. Last week I splurged ($58) and bought the Lululemon Tracker IV shorts – they’re made for “athletic quads” – and they are amazing! I did go up a size because the size I typically wear wore a little snug and couldn’t be happier. Bought another pair this week in a different color. No chafing, comfortable wide waistband, I’m sold!!

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I really like finishing a race in the low 50s.

I am really not a mashed potato fan. I think it’s a texture thing.

Last time I ran by water was on Monday in Monterey, CA. It was gorgeous. We have a river that runs through my city near our bike path and I’m so excited that it actually has water in it so that’ll be my run today!

I always enjoy your favorite things posts :)

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My husband ran the 2004 Boston Msrathon. I was able to see him several times throughout the race, but towards the end, it was evident that people were in bad shape! My husband finished coming in 371st place. Not too shabby! However, he couldn’t remember my phone number to meet, his body had a hard time in recovery!

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Oh that is crazy Samantha! Glad he was okay and he must have been cruising!

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Yes will you please do a clothing post! I love your favorites that you share! Also can you share where you got your baseball T? I have a hard time finding good ones and I love the one you are wearing! Have a great Easter weekend!

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HEY ERIN!! Yes! I will get to work on that asap!! So the one I am wearing in this post was from Gap about 2 years ago but I will search around for a new one! Thanks so much!

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I’ve had friends who had issues with 2014 and 2016 with the heat, even though it wasn’t record setting. And then poor you in 2015 with that weather :) Even seeing 60s for Mondays makes me feel bad for people I know that are running. But 2004 was awful!

It will be fun to see if any of yours and Andrew’s kids end up being left-handed. I am, my dad was, my husband’s grandfather was, but no one else. My daughter was born with torticolis (she was wedged in me all weird) so would have favored her left side without OT, and I didn’t want her to end up being left-handed because of that. And then for a while I thought my son would be left-handed and I was all excited, but he isn’t :( To this day I sometimes have a hard time teaching them things because I don’t know if I do certain things because I am left-handed or not (I do a lot right handed). I did make my husband work on their letters more with them because I do make letter differently.

Off to enjoy a great weekend in Massachusetts – Monday we are getting up really early to watch the re-enactment of the beginning of the Revolutionary War and then coming home and parking ourselves in front of the TV to watch the Marathon (okay, I will be, not sure how much they will be!).

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Love the photos..may have the steal your Easter craft idea- Looks like a super fun family day! Would LOVE for you to do a fashion post!!! I love all of your clothes! I usually only wear leggings as I find jeans and pants uncomfortable. If you could share some of your favourite pants that would be awesome:) and your other favourite items:)) Happy Easter

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Awesome Jade! I will start working on a post about all of that. YES, do the Easter craft. It was a blast and not very hard! Thanks!

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Coach J!!!!! Keep those running tips coming…..I’m loving it!

In regards to your posture comment, imagine you have a rope coming out of the top of your head. “Pull the rope” and you automatically stand taller. I’m dabbling in Pilates to help my weak core and I can already tell a huge difference!

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TOBY… I love that idea! Totally going to try that tomorrow, thank you! PS I need to see you again. Please.

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Wow you killed easter baking! So jealous. I wish I had a good excuse to dye eggs and bake fun goodies, but that may be weird to do on my own hah. One thing i really HATE is jello. The thought of it makes me gag, yet so many people love it.

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The weather does look like ideal for Boston. I’m so jealous, because I always seem to race in bad weather. I’m excited to see how people race in Boston though, it’s going to be awesome.

Frosting is seriously the best part of the cupcake.

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holy cow Knox singing to Berretta is so so so sweet!! I don’t like beef at all, in any form, which is weird because people really obsess over burgers and I’ve never even really had one, haha!

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I love running in the low 50’s :)

Food: Bananas… yuck!

I always enjoy reading your clothing posts! I also think I remember you talking about wearing supportive shoes when not running and would love (another?) post about that. I need comfortable but cute shoes!

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I would second Blake’s post idea for supportive non running shoes!!! :)

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You got it Blake and Emily!!! Coming your way!!! Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

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I love running in the 40s and 50s! But to be honest my ideal temperature for life is 50s to 70s anyway. I can’t stand being hot or humid, which usually lands me on the treadmill in the summer because summer in Indiana is super humid most of the time /sadface. Or maybe I just need to suck it up and get out for my runs at 5 am before the heat monster rears its head!

I love running by water – but it’s been almost a year since I’ve gotten to do it! One of the prettiest runs I did last year was on vacation on Lake Michigan just after sunrise. So peaceful!

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Lefty power! I’m lefty married to a righty, and I can tell you that you and Andrew are lucky.

On your food question, I’m with Blake on bannanas, but also hate parsley and celery, which most people find totally unoffensive.

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Love to hear from other left handers! NO to BANANAS!?!? I’ll eat extra to make up for that;) I kid. Thanks for sharing Emily and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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50 degrees and partly cloudy NO WIND would be perfect weather for me.
I’m not a big milk chocolate person so seeing someone eat a plain M&Ms or hershey kisses makes me scratch my head.
And I don’t like creamy pasta. Alfredo etc. not for me.
I ran by the water 5 weeks ago at Gateway National Recreation Area here on Staten Island. I actually have been biking at the same spot this week too. There is a marina with boats on one side and then the beach on the other side. It’s one of the perks of living along the East Coast. Beaches and ocean for days!

I don’t have much interest in clothing posts.

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I can’t wait to watch the Boston Marathon on Monday! I live right outside of Boston, so they broadcast it on tv every year. I hope the weather holds out for everyone. The past two weeks have included both snowfall and nearly 90 degree temps. Got to love Boston weather!

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Hi Janae!
The flowers over there are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
I used to really dislike eggs but somehow I now really like them: scrambled, boiled, any way is fine by me.
I was wondering if you have a traditional food for Easter? Here lots of people eat either lamb or codfish (I hope this is how you spell it).
I would really like to see what your favorite things are right now in terms of fashion and clothes.
Have a great Holy Friday (again i’m not sure this is how you call it in the USA. If it isn’t i’m sorry).

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I run past a lake regularly but I also live on an island (which sounds fancy, but isn’t) so I’m near the ocean for some of our training runs.

50 – 55 is perfect for me.

I don’t like buttery/flaky foods; I really don’t like most croissants, pie crust, pastry, etc.

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Yup, Running in Florida is not easy sometimes. But running while freezing can be as tough for me (I’m not used to temperatures below the 50 degrees). My dreamed running temperature is around the 60 and 70 degrees. right now I’m running around the 80 here.

Guava is something pretty common here in Florida. It seems like everyone likes it but me! I’ve hated it since I was a little kid.

I run by the water all the time. The parks where I go to run are surrounded by lakes. The place where I live is also surrounded by lakes. However, I do try to keep a reasonable distance from the water because of the alligators. They say is safe, but this is Florida and you never know.

And YES!! for clothing posts.

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Those cupcakes look delicious. It’s hard to go wrong with anything that has Mini Eggs on it!

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Perfect temperature 45-50 degrees, light breeze, partly sunny… Love it.
I can’t stand chicken wings. I find everything about them to be unfortunate haha but my husband everyone I know loves them.
Last run by the water (as far as an ocean or sea) was Fort Lauderdale, Florida in December. The day I left I did 7 miles in a snow storm (25F, windy) and the same time the next day I was on the beach and it was 80 degrees. I miss it :(

I’ve noticed many of your past clothing recommendations are to amazing pieces from Roolee…. But I’m 5′ tall and I can’t figure out how long the inseams are on some of their pants.

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HEY FIONA!!! I can email them and get their inseams for you if you want…. would that help? Email back to this comment if it does and I can get that taken care of for you!

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I have been wondering if you still like old navy active wear for working out or if they are the kind of clothes that are great at first and then suck later.
I HATE spaghetti.
My perfect running temperature is “my family is all asleep and the wind isn’t so bad that it will knock me over”.

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Hey Elizabeth! To answer your question… YES! Still love ON Activewear. This last fall/winter I only got their winter line so I haven’t been using that any more because of the warmer temperatures but everything lasted perfectly through the winter. I’ve been using most of my summer stuff from last year now and still using and loving the ON long-sleeve tops etc. HAHAH I love your running temperature:)

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Not much of a frosting fan unless it is cream cheese frosting. And I am making carrot cake for Easter this year so I will get my fill! I can’t think of another popular food that I absolutely wouldn’t eat (other than red meat which I don’t eat).

How cool that both of you are left handed! I am a righty but a friend of mine was left handed and as a kid, they always had to put her at certain spots at the dinner table. This was totally new to me as no one in my family was left handed. Any other lefty’s in your family?

Yay to clothing posts! Maybe you have done a post like this before, but I would love to know about your favourite running clothes/gear. In particular, what do you splurge on (ie. worth the $$$) and what do you spend less on?

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Okay, that is a great idea! Thank you so much Laura! Expect that post soon:) Enjoy your carrot cake this weekend!
I am the only lefty in my family… so random! Thanks Laura!

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Can’t stand Oreo’s………period. ;-)

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I only like them in shakes… I’m with you on plain oreo’s for sure!

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Great comments on posture! I will definitely have to think about those – I really like the 1 inch above your head! I super appreciate how you tell us what your emphasis for different runs are whether it is your form or posture or breathing, it has helped me think about some of those things during my runs too! :) One thing that you’ve mentioned a few times since I’ve started reading your blog is running on tired legs and how that will help us come race day – yesterday I was running mile repeats and kept telling myself I was learning to hit pace on tired legs and that really helped me with my last few miles.
Dream temperature for a race is between 50-55 F.
For a future post idea – things to help with hot runs like how to carry water, favorite things to wear, good sunglasses, etc. since SUMMER is coming!!! :)
Hoppy Easter ;) (I loved the craft you picked for the kids btw)

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Oh I am so so so happy Emily that a post was able to help you during your mile repeats. Way to go on hitting the paces with legs that were telling you they were tired! AWESOME POST IDEA!!! I will definitely get working on that. Thanks Emily and have a fabulous weekend!

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The craft you made is so cute! I think that my favorite temperate to run in is similar to what you posted…maybe between like 60-65 degrees. My boyfriend is more like you though and likes it to be more in the 40s.

I hate hard boiled eggs, too. In fact I hated all eggs until my boyfriend slowly got me to like scrambled eggs and omelets by adding a ton of my favorite veggies and cheese to them. But I really can’t stand cilantro. I know it’s like hit or miss with people on liking it, but it disgusts me (and is probably the main reason why I don’t like Chipotle).

The last time I ran by water was last summer in Virginia Beach. I was there on vacation with my family and training for a half marathon and every single day it was 85 degrees by 9am….it was miserable. But it sure conditioned me!

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My six year old daughter is the same way with eggs, can’t stand the smell. Will color them and then she’s done with them. Her adversion started very young. My husband and I eat hard boiled eggs for breakfast almost day and most days she can’t sit at the breakfast table with us, she gags. We used to think she was being high drama about it, but it’s just her thing. She can’t help it. My dad offered her a ‘large’ (for a four year old at the time) sum of money once to eat one. Seriously couldn’t get one bite down!

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Yes, do a post on your clothing!! Favorite temps for long races would be 40s and 50s.

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Great!! I will get working on one! Thanks Mary!

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I didn’t think I had any unusual food I didn’t like and then I realized that I reacted to your frosting eating. As it turns out, I’m not a big frosting person. I tend to eat around the frosting when I have cake or just push it off when I have cupcakes.

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Send your frosting here and we will send you are un-frosted baked goods;) Have a great Friday Melanie!

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I love cooler temps – 50ish for a race sounds heavenly.

I’ve been running by the water for the past 2 weeks. We are in Hawaii again and I have a view of the ocean as I type this. Of course I’m paying for the view while running in heat and humidity.

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Can’t wait to watch Kathrine Switzer run Boston and all the other runners for that matter. My ideal temperature for races is about 55 degress. When it gets warmer and the snow melts, I like to run on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail with views of Cook Inlet. And the one food (not sure it is really a food item ha ha) I can’t stand to eat or smell is garlic!
Happy Easter!

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Very cute Easter crafts!!

I ran by the water this morning! Lakefront run in Chicago … 19 miles before 8am! And the temp was perfect too! I love starting in the low 40s and ending in the high 40s/low 50s! It was dry and cloudy which was perfect for along run.

Things I HATE that people love:
-Green juice (even though it’s not really a food)
-Sushi

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I like your favorites posts!

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Adorable that you guys are both lefty’s. In the old days people with left handed children would train them to use their right hand by putting a crayon or spoon in their right hand because back then the world was designed for righty’s with all products. My grandma told me this and I thought it was super interesting. She also said lefty’s turned right’s have ridiculously horrible handwriting because it’s just not natural for them.

I would definitely join you in a pasta streak. And I am so excited that Kathrine Switzer is running!!

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I love how Knox always has such red cheeks!!!!
Just today I was thinking how I’d enter more races if peak season wasn’t in late spring through summer. I do not do heat well. At.All!!!!

(I don’t love bacon)

I live near a “river” but in America we’d call it a stream. I run and ride by it all the time. It’s a great navigational tool, too.

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How funny! My husband and I are both left-handed. We just had our first 4 months ago, and it’s interesting to see how she prefers her left side over her right. It will be interesting to see if she ends up a lefty.

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Keep me updated with what happens with your little one… I’m thinking she will be a lefty too!

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Dream temps for races are definitely anywhere in the 50’s! I think because I’m used to it being at least mid-70’s if not already into the 80’s by the time I get out in the morning I like it a little warmer.

I hate a lot of things that other people normally like….hard boiled eggs (I can only do scrambled or omlette) and I don’t want ketchup anywhere near me!

I run by water probably 75% of the time since I live in a beach town on the southern gulf coast of FL. It’s for it to not feel normal and I have to remind myself how lucky I am to have such views while running! My absolute favorite relay ever is coming up in the FL Keys in one month! Eeeek! I can’t wait to run along the water from Key Largo to Key West with my friends.

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I ran a half marathon last year in March that started in the 40’s but ended in the 60’s. It was AMAZING!!!

Tuna…..I can’t make myself do it.

I ran by the water today! We live right by the Arkansas River and there’s a long running trail along a large portion of it. Its my favorite place to run. There really is something about running by the water that is so relaxing.

I love your cute outfits! I always love when you share where you get things! Would love a post! :)

Happy Fri-YAY!

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