Feelings leading up to race day/labor, something I have perfected & a few random things to discuss.

We are in the SINGLE DIGITS (9 days until my due date)!!

Right now I kind of feel like I do whenever I am this close to running a marathon or a big race I’ve trained like crazy for.  There are some nerves, a lot of questions floating around in my head, an insane amount of excitement and some definite fear about the upcoming pain;)  I feel like races bring out a lot of emotions in me leading up to the big day and I never know what I’m going to feel next.  Right now I feel the exact same way I do leading up to a race way as we get closer x 10000.  I never know when I’m going to cry (like I did on the treadmill yesterday) because I feel so excited but then I have a healthy amount of freak out moments too.  Balance, isn’t that the key?  Like I like to think with racing… you’ve done the training, race day is just the celebration of all of the hard work.  Same thing with pregnancy… I’ve done the hard work (aka things like living without sour candy for 9 months because it sounded awful;) so now it is time to just kick back and celebrate.

Also, this is pretty applicable for race day and labor for me… That meal right after a big race is amazing and I can’t wait for my first meal after she is born where food tastes completely normal again.

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I might not do everything right (or even close to everything right) as a parent but I can say I do a pretty dang good job when it comes to the kid’s pancakes.  I can flip a plate size pancake without breaking it, it took me about 4 years to get to this point but it was worth all of the trial and error.

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Just a normal school morning over at our house.

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Andrew and I were planning to go on a run outside yesterday but when my phone told me it was 19 degrees (aka Andrew’s optimal running temperature because he doesn’t register what cold feels like) I asked him if we could run together inside and he said yep!  He was gone for 15 hours on Monday (commute + his shift went over) and still wanted to run the next morning, that is dedication.

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We started on the treadmills and did 4 miles there (he finished about 6 minutes faster than me).  Making sure my belly button doesn’t hit the emergency stop button on my treadmill at home is a lot harder than these treadmills ha.

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And then we did 1.5 miles on the indoor track.  While we did our laps on the track I was thinking about those people that have done marathons on an indoor track (like Allie Kieffer and her 2:44:44 indoor track marathon record) and I can’t even imagine doing that!  It is beyond impressive to me and I think I would get dizzy about 7 miles into the race.

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After we finished our run, I suggested we go for a donut.  Andrew mentioned a green smoothie instead and I’m glad he did because this tasted and felt amazing to drink.  I need to get back on a green smoothie kick again because I felt so much energy after drinking this.

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Fast forward through the boring parts of the day and we were hungry for a late lunch so we went to Brooke (and my) favorite restaurant currently.  Their lunch special deal is awesome which makes it even better.  Also, does anyone else get this excited about edamame being delivered to your table?

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Of course.

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I also had some of my first sushi in a while (all cooked).  I’m quite excited to get back to my normal sushi eating ways SOON.

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Direct quote from Andrew, “You can never have enough bikes.”  I might slightly disagree with this statement.  Slightly.

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My mom met us at the mall for a little bit and Brooke saw Santa.  He gave her a See’s Candy lollipop… back in my day we just got mini gross peppermint candy canes.  I want in on the See’s Candy generation.

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I went to Costco for raspberries and left with 45 servings of a new flavor of hot chocolate (after sampling it)!

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I had cereal and fruit for dinner because that is something that sounds good every night and then we ended the night by going to my older nephew’s basketball game!

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My niece can braid her own hair like this… I need her to teach me!

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Three random things:

Allison sent me a picture of this hot cocoa marshmallow kettle corn and I need to find this today!

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I saw this yesterday and it made me laugh pretty hard.

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I need to make it over to my mom’s house for her Hallmark channel because I haven’t watched one Hallmark Christmas movie yet and that isn’t okay… or maybe I just need to get the channel for the month or something through Sling.

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Have a favorite Hallmark Christmas Movie?  What about your favorite Christmas movie?  We are going to be doing a bunch of movie watching once the baby gets here! 

Do you ever run on an indoor track?  What is the farthest distance you have ever done on an indoor track?

How do you feel in the days leading up to a big race?  Do you feel nervous all week or mainly the day before?  Emotional?  Calm?  Does it just depend on the race or the distance?

What is your current goto breakfast?  Ever make green smoothies?

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52 comments

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Oooh I love your Madewell beanie! Super cute!
There was a raised indoor track in LA that we ran on a few times in HS. It was terrifying. It like, bounces. I can’t explain it.
Have a great day Janae!

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Oh thanks Mollie! It was bouncy!?! Okay, that sounds interesting… I want to try it ha:) I hope you have a great day too!

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I was literally just thinking about a marathon on an indoor track just last night (at the track!). I, too, really like my treadmill and wondered if a track-athon would be similar because of being repetitive…

Your beanie is adorable – as are you! Keep smiling – I am so excited for your new addition to arrive!!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

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Thank you so much Liz!! I hope you are having a great day:) PS Maybe we should all do a track-athon together one day… that would make it really fun:)

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See’s candy is the best! I has some for the first time during a trip to San Francisco and I absolutely loved the Molasses Chips. I may have gotten yelled at for eating almost the whole box on my own. My husband maybe got 1/4 of the box… opps! I went back to CA for work about a month later and brought back a box which I proceeded to eat most of again. (This time I am sticking to the whole, well I guess the baby thought it was a good idea. I found out I was pregnant right after I got back from my work trip)

My go to breakfast on the weekends is avocado toast with fired eggs on top. YUM! But during the week it is usually a protein shake and a piece of toast with almond butter. I don’t leave myself enough time in the morning to sit down to eat during the week so anything I can take to work to eat or eat on the way is ideal!

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I love that you got to try out See’s candy, seriously they are the best (and maybe my baby is wanting it today too;)! I love that you found out you were pregnant right after the work trip and all of the deliciousness:) Okay, your weekend bfast sounds delicious to me… can I come over for that> Enjoy your day Kelly!

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That green smoothie looks really good! I haven’t had a smoothie in FOREVER. My breakfast lately has been fruit, Nature Valley Granola Crunch, and Wheat Thins. I might need a smoothie soon, though!

I typically try not to think about a race leading up to it, otherwise I’ll get really nervous/anxious. In the past, I always used to put WAY too much pressure on myself, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little better about that as I’ve gotten older. I haven’t raced in so long, so I’m not sure how I’ll feel leading up to my comeback race—I’m sure I’ll be a slightly nervous wreck!

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I miss the Hallmark channel too! That and Lifetime Movie Network for the cheesy Christmas movies. We gave up cable about 2 years ago and I rarely miss it except for the random days when I want to watch a made for TV movie or a cooking show.
My usual breakfast is Greek yogurt and a hard boiled egg, but I am back on a cereal kick now. I think my body must be in need of milk!

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I’ve never run on an indoor track but I am open to it, I’ve just never seen one in person! I have run on the track on a cruise ship a couple times and that’s fun although sometimes can make you seasick when you are running in one direction but your eyes see the boat clearing moving in the opposite direction. I almost always stumble a few times during the first mile while my brain adjusts to what’s going on haha!

When I run on the treadmill on a cruise ship and the ship is moving in the opposite direction that I am running I constantly run into the stop button I think because my brain is like you need to run FORWARD since it “sees” the boat moving in the other direction. IDK if that makes sense but it does to me haha!

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I am obsessed with watching The Holiday at Christmas! It’s just such a cute movie! I also love The Grinch, Elf and the old Jack Frost too! (Oh, I should probably mention I’m 28 years old too! Haha!! :) They just don’t make movies as good as the super old ones that were just the best!

I don’t ever run on an indoor track but I used to in college! They were super nice but I totally agree, I’d get dizzy after too long! And bored…

YES–All of those feelings for sure pop up for me before racae day! I’ve never had a baby but that’s crazy how similar they are for sure! You’re going to do amazing!!

My go-to breakfast lately has been Panera bagels! Mmmm they’re so good!! I’ve actually not had a green smoothie in FOREVER! I need to add those back in ASAP! Yours looked so good!!

PS that Angie’s popcorn sounds SOOO good! I just tried the dark chocolate drizzled sea salt & kettle corn flavor and basically ate the entire bag in one sitting. It was highly dangerous, but amazingly delicious! :)

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I LOVE The Holiday! I need to watch that asap! Good to know about the popcorn, I’m going to go today to get some! I wish so bad that we had a Panera… enjoy one for me;) Have a great day!

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Favorite Christmas movie is probably the Grinch… both the original and the live action one.
I used to run on the indoor track at the rec center in college, but the track at my local Y is awful. Our Y is under construction though so we should have a nicer one soon. The current one takes something like 15 laps for 1 mile, and it’s super angled. Not at all fun to run on!
Shorter races I have no real nerves at all – I think it’s easier to not be nervous for a 5k or 10k when you know you can run further than that thanks to your half marathon races and training. But every single time before my half races, I have felt pretty serious nerves the morning of. Luckily my parents have been there for all of them, so usually I just get a lot of hugs and encouragement from them and I power through. I think mom hugs are magical cures for most things though… :)
Current obsession breakfast – the pretzel bagels from Trader Joes. Those plus some fruit (also currently obsessed with pomegranates) is my go-to for the past couple of weeks.

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Hey, can you ask your mom where she got that jacket she’s wearing in that photo? Love it!

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Hi Lisa,
I got that coat at Costco a couple years ago. I hope you can find a similar one because it is very warm. Thanks for reading!
HRG Mom

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Single digits! Woohoo! She will be here before you know it…even if it feels like forever right now. I remember always feeling so torn. I wanted the baby out, but I also know that babies are easier when they are still in there.

Costco samples are the best right now! I’m going today sometime so they better have some hot chocolate waiting for me ;)

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I have a ridiculous love for Hallmark movies… My top favs– Christmas Detour. A Dream of Christmas. Christmas under wraps. Finding Santa. Let it Snow. and The sweetest Christmas! That should keep you busy :)

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THANK YOU KATIE for your recommendations! I CAN’T WAIT!!!! I hope you are having a beautiful day!

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Your salmon salad looks so good! I am all in on salads any time of day (I didn’t used to be a salad person but am fully on board now)! Also you’ve got mad pancake flipping skills!!

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I’m so excited that baby is almost here! AHH! It’s so neat that she’ll be a Christmas baby!!!

I love Love Actually — it’s my favorite holiday movie and I call it a Christmas movie in December, but then a “chick flick” every other month!

Right now my go to breakfast is eggs — and I’ve made these wonton egg cups: wonton wrappers tucked into a muffin tin and then toasted slightly in an oven before being filled with goodies! Today’s combo is egg + turkey sausage crumbles + a tiny bit of cheese. SOO GOOD!

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I love your pictures so much. I could literally scroll through and comment on each one; as I do mentally when I read it. :) You eat so well during pregnancy! The first trimester I was so sick, I couldn’t eat much. Then in the second trimester, I found out I had gestational diabetes and was put on a strict diet, and then in the third, I had major heartburn. The one thing I craved so much was spaghetti because anything tomato based hurt so bad. Does Andrew really have more than one bike and use it all? You know the one thing that sucks about Costco? When you see an item through Instagram or blogs but they don’t have it at your Costco. ;) We used to watch Hallmark so much growing up. We don’t had cable since we’ve been married (13 years), so I haven’t watched. We do use Netflix. Have a wonderful day, Janae!

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I need to send you any of the Costco items that you want! That is not okay that you don’t have one. Oh I am just now starting to eat better ha… I lived off of cream of chicken casseroles and cinnamon rolls for a while;) Oh that would have been so hard to be on that strict diet and then heartburn… you are a champ! He just sold one of his bikes so he has one now but he would definitely love to have like ten of them ha! Thank you so much Marie!

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Yay for single digits!!! My birthday is the 16th so it feels like we’re also counting down to that (maybe she will be born 1 day late and we will share a bday ;)!

I hope you have a great day!

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I am totally holding a countdown for your birthday too… I’ll eat some candy to celebrate your birthday!!! Thanks Katrina and I hope you are having a great month (between Christmas and your bday this must be the best month for you)!

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That hot chocolate looks yummy!!

Now that it is cold, my go to breakfast is oatmeal with banana and almond butter, sometimes I’ll throw some vanilla Greek yogurt in there for extra protein :)

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My favorite Christmas movie is The Family Stone, funny but it always make me cry.
I like the idea of an indoor track. Now I’m not sure after reading some of these replies. It would def need to be a quarter mile/400m. I think a shorter one would drive me crazy.
I am always nervous/excited before a race. I get so stressed about getting to the race and parking. Once I’m there and I find my friends, I’m fine. I love that feeling of possibility…what can I do today??
During the week I eat fruit, yogurt, chocolate milk for breakfast. On weekends, it’s some kind of carb with PB.
LOVE green smoothies!! There is a place near my work that has AMAZING smoothies. I make them at home too.

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I can’t believe you’re that close! (And still running, amazing!)
My favorite Christmas movies are Elf, A Christmas Story, and The Santa Claus (gotta love old school Tim Allen!).
I ran on the winter track team in high school and we would have indoor meets … I ran the 1 mile and 2 mile (16 laps around the track) and it was so hard to keep track of which lap I was on!
My go to breakfast is always a cereal bar and yogurt!

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That is the best hot chocolate! I always buy a small one at the grocery store and we go through it super quick and end up getting a big one at Costco and have it all winter with zero regrets. It’s what dreams are made of ;)

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There is an amazing state of the art indoor track not too far from where I live and I am dying to run on it. That said, I am not a huge fan of running in circles repeatedly but it would be awesome for speed training.

My go-to breakfast is oatmeal. I have at least 30 different ways to top it so it doesn’t get boring. I love green smoothies but tend to make them more green than fruit. My go to is spinach or kale, apple (or pear), cucumber, vanilla whey powder, mint, and lemon. It’s refreshing and if I’m tired it boosts my energy better than caffeine.

Sometimes I’m nervous and I generally have a hard time sleeping the night before. (I think that’s more anxiousness about getting up on time than worrying about the actual race).

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Your green smoothie sounds SO good (and so healthy)! Let me know when you try that indoor track by you, that sounds awesome! I hope you are having a beautiful day Nina!

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Oh wow, the countdown is really on now! I’ll be stalking ya all the time to see some baby news :)
I did make green smoothies for a while, but they really didn’t fill me up. I’d be hungry an hour later, no matter how many different things I put in them.

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If you have Netflix there are a bunch of cheesy romantic Christmas movies. Not quite Hallmark movies, but pretty close.

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So good to hear Fiona… I’ll be looking those up tonight when I get in bed (at 7 pm haha)! I hope your day is a great one and thanks for the tip, I can’t wait!

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I never liked those candy canes, either! Chocolate is definitely a better treat.

Current breakfast, either oatmeal or banana nut cheerios with a lot of cold milk

I never answered yesterday but the race I signed up for is the Detroit Marathon – it is an international marathon as it crosses over into Canada before making its way back into Michigan. I did the half about 8 years ago and loved it!

I need to make a Target run for some of that popcorn, love anything holiday related. Have a great day!

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I used to run on an indoor track a lot. The gym at the school where I went to grad school had a pretty small cardio room with only 3 treadmills so they were pretty strict about the treadmills so I would start there and finish on the indoor track. Many, many, many miles on that track.
I love green smoothies! When we lived in California I was addicted to Nektar’s Toxin Flush (actually a juice, not a smoothie but it was green and so good). Where did you get your green smoothie? It looks amazing!

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Hey Ali!!!! Oh I bet you got in all of the miles on that indoor track… that is awesome! The smoothie was from Green Me Smoothies…. seriously you have to try one. They are SO good (you don’t even taste the kale:)! I hope you have a great Wednesday!

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I love smoothies, but I can’t make them in the winter or I can’t warm up until I take a shower. I love oatmeal or egg cups (current favorite is to roast kale and butternut squash in cajun seasoning, then put it on the bottom of a muffin tin, crack an egg on top and then bacon and cook for 20min in the oven) Soooo good.

I am legit impressed with your niece’s braiding skills. That is talent.

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I need to do your egg cups thing. That sounds really good to me and super easy… CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!

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We watched the 1955 film “We’re No Angels” with Humphrey Bogart for the first time last year – it was really cute! Not at all what you expect of a film with Bogart in it.

I have never run on an indoor track. I also haven’t done a lot of races so I am always nervous the day before and morning of.

I had scrambled eggs/veggies this morning. Hadn’t had it in a while and I forgot how much I love it! We have green smoothies a lot, but I don’t like to drink them when it’s cold out. They happen every morning when we’re in Hawaii.

Never too many bikes or too many pairs of running shoes ;)

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Love, love green smoothies, breakfast lately has been avocado toast or banana/PB /honey toast and my husband is exactly like Andrew in his need for new bikes. He never questions my need for new running shoes, so I can’t complain ;)

And your niece has braiding superpowers! She looks beautiful!

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HAHAH I need to look at it like that too (Andrew never cares about my running shoes… too bad they aren’t the same price;)! Oh your breakfast sounds PERFECT. I need to get back into avocado toast. Thanks so much Michelle and I hope you have a great day!

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Girl, I get bored after ONE lap on an indoor track. I can do over an hour on an elliptical, but when it comes to actually running, I need to be outside and getting a change of scenery!

I eat all my food for the day in the evening (intermittent fasting) but I still eat a lot of cereal! Have you tried Nature Valley’s Baked Oat Bites? They’re my current obsession. With milk they taste like soft cinnamon rolls.

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I haven’t tried those… they sound AMAZING and perfect for me (soft cinnamon rolls?!? YES PLEASE)! Hahaha yeah… the indoor track (or treadmill) is NOT the place for you;) I hope you are having a great day Grant!

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My favourite Christmas movie is Love Actually. I have seen a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies (much to my partner’s horror:p. He keeps making fun of me for watching such sappy movies). They are kind of a blur so I can’t remember my favourite Hallmark one.

I have run on an indoor track – once. I didn’t like it much. (I made it one lap around the track…)

Depends on the race – sometimes I’m a basket case, other times, I am calm because there is nothing left to do except to show up to the start line and race. Sometimes I get really quiet (which is not like me at all!)

Breakfast – sometimes a smoothie and sometimes just coffee – I’m not great about eating breakfast…

Have a great day!

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I went through this hallmark-movie binge for the last few weeks. My favorite was Christmas Land! But my favorite actual/higher quality christmas movies are Elf and It’s A Wonderful Life
I did indoor track in high school; I ran the 1 mile event, so I had to run a few miles in practice each day. I don’t think I could handle the boring now, though!
When I have a big race coming up, I just feel like I need to prepare; I pack my snacks, pick my outfit, figure out transportation, ect.
Have a great day!

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I have tried both of those kettle corn flavors and they are good…they are like dessert! Our family of four polished them off a little too quickly:)

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I was able to download the Hallmark app on my Roku and get some of the movies by using my parents cable log in! I felt the same- I have not seen enough Hallmark movies yet this year!! There are a few good ones on Netflix too!

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Single digits!!!! I’m so excited for you :) I can see your point about labour and races :) I havent actually done too many big races. I was butterflies in the stomach nervous for days before my first half, a lot more chilled before my second. Before labour I was just grumpy as my baby was really overdue ? My go to breakfast is cereal – boring I know! I love breakfast for lunch though, and then I’m a big fan of mushrooms and eggs on toast :) We’ve just started showing our son the muppets Christmas carol – he’s loving it!

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Yes!! Smoothie, smoothie, smoothie. Energy, energy, energy. Calm, calm, calm!!!

Good choice post-workout.

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I trained for one of my Boston marathons almost entirely on the indoor track at my gym because it was the most frigid, snowy and icy winter. We are talking 3+ hour long runs on a loop that’s a 16th of a mile. Talk about boredom! The worst was the day my iPod died and I had only the squeaking of sneakers and the bouncing of the basketballs from the court below to entertain me.

What is it about having cereal and fruit for dinner?!?!? I love a savory, veggie-loaded breakfast and then breakfast for dinner.

And Brooke’s edamame face!!! A girl after my own heart!!! I could eat it anytime and all the time!

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As soon as i read the headline, it completely changed my perspective on things. Seeing labor day as a race changes everything in my mind. It makes me excited for it. Of course I can’t wait to meet my girl but I still dread the process. Shifting this perspective makes me much calmer. Thank you!!!

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So fun fact that has taken over all my time while decorating my home for Christmas…. they upload every single hallmark Christmas movie to YouTube and only some have commercials! If you are desperate for a good happy cry that isn’t pregnancy related… it’s a good way to go to get those Hallmark cravings in!

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Make your run to fine the popcorn ? you last run before the baby arrives. You won’t regret it. ITS DELICIOUS. and you definitely need to watch the Hallmark channel movies, there are some new ones that are really good.

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