In case you missed out last week… the top three most popular posts were:
*Don’t Have to Think About That + My Resistance Band Workout!
*Monday Matters + Running Workout of the Week + A Before and AFTER Photo
*Do NOT give up on those goals (cause I’m not) + I haven’t seen 7’s in a while.
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I found Brooke sleeping in her sleeping bag Sunday morning cuddled up with Beretta. I was thinking she has just been sleeping in her sleeping bag a lot lately because she loves it. Nope, she told me yesterday she does it so she doesn’t have to make her bed every day. I get it.
Multitasking at it’s finest so they could be on time for church—> Blow-drying Brooke’s hair while she ate breakfast. The kids have both picked up on my habit (that Andrew thinks is so weird) of mixing different cereals together.
I had a little bit of a cold yesterday so I did a lot of resting, put on sanitizer every three seconds and forgot to wash my makeup off from the night before.
Skye napped a bunch and then…
laughed at all of my favorite punchlines during an episode of Friends. We already have the same humor.
She thinks Monica is the funniest.
After church it was warm enough for the kids to play in the backyard for a while (best January in the history of Utah)!
Balance.
And the best part of our night were the games we played before bed.
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I also have a few random things to discuss today of course:
*I listened to this podcast (thanks Chelsea for the recommendation) the other day on my run and it was great. The interview was with Doug Kurtis. His energy and love for running is so contagious! He is the World Record holder for completing the most amount of sub 2:20 marathons (76!!). He has done 205 marathons total and 200 of those were sub 3:00 hours!
One of the things he talked about during the podcast that I loved was seeing the hard spots during the race like how turbulence feels on an airplane. When talking about turbulence on the airplane—> “All of the sudden you get that sinking feeling and then it goes away. The same with bad patches, you’ll have that maybe a mile or two miles where you kind of feel bad but if you visualize it as a bad patch that you’ll get through, most of the time you do. No, my race isn’t over cause I’m not feeling good… I’ll just find a way to recover.” I am the person on the airplane that is freaking out over turbulence while Andrew and Knox love it because it makes them feel like they are on a rollercoaster. I need to see these rough patches during a race (or on the plane ha) as just something to ride through and that it will pass, I’ll recover and return back to smooth sailing. Seeing the hard parts where I’m really hurting as just a little bad spot rather than THIS IS GOING TO LAST FOR THE NEXT HOUR is going to make a big difference on race day.
*DID YOU SEE THAT CHIP AND JOANNA ARE HOLDING A MARATHON!? Andrew and I want to go do it so badly (the half-marathon)! Let’s all meet!
*I just added this song to my running playlist—> “ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER!!”
*I need this shirt (minus the caffeine part.. but I’m sure at some point that will join my life again;). The other day Brooke told me when talking about a game she really wants, ‘Mom, all you have to do is get it on Prime and it will be here in two days so it’s not a big deal.’
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As you know, I am a huge fan of the fast finish long run. I think that it does SO much for our fitness. It really teaches us mentally and physically how to hold a pace even when we are tired and wanting to quit. I love that it helps build our confidence for race day when we look back on our fast finish workouts and see that over and over again we were able to STAY STRONG at the end. It helps us learn how to rock a negative split race and finish strong (even if our legs are tired) rather than going out too fast and dying at the end.
Not only do I think that fast finish long runs are great… but I think the shorter distance fast finish runs are AWESOME for our training too! I put an hour for this workout (which is what I did the most of in the past) but you could do this for 40 minutes, 30 minutes… whatever works for your training. Do the first half moderately paced and then speed up to your half-marathon-marathon pace for the second half of the run. My coach usually had me do the first 30 minutes @ 7:30 average pace and the second 30 minutes @ 6:30 pace (my old half-marathon pace). Let me know if you try it (I’m sure many of you have already done similar workouts;) and what you think!
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Do you ever mix your cereals together?
Are you traveling for any races this year? Where to?
Favorite character (yes, you have to choose ONE) on Friends (and if you don’t like Friends, your favorite character on one of your favorite shows)?
-Ross.
Tell me about the food balance you had this weekend (aka a treat and also something healthy)!
65 comments
NorthAnon
Travelling to Vegas for the April race! After two years of extreme temperatures and humidity for spring races I wanted a change. So I booked a weekend away for Mr. Northanon and myself (Surprise, Honey!).
Last year I ran the Paris 20km, which was just so amazing. There was a sign 1 km from the finish line saying, “La santé avant la performance” (rough translation, I think, is “your health is more important than your finish time”) that sort of was a lightbulb moment for me.
I’ll try that fast finish run this week, thank you so much.
Krista
Yes! It translates to “health before performance” – which seems like a very french saying and I think it is a great reminder.
Natalie
Skye just keeps getting cuter!! It’s SO hard to pick a favorite Friends character! If I had to, I would have to say Phoebe—she’s just so quirky!
I absolutely mix cereals together! It makes things more fun!! In college, I had a lot of Cinnamon Toast Crunch mixed with Honey Nut Cheerios, and that combo has stuck with me in my adult years. :)
Linda @ the Fitty
My favourite is probably JOEY! He’s so stupid it’s cute. :D I’m most like Monica–type A personality.
Alyssa
Favorite Friends character is definitely Monica because I identify with her so much haha I also love Phoebe and Chandler in the second half of the seasons.
I started mixing cereals at work because we have a whole cabinet filled with different ones and I’m a big fan!
Jenny | Running On Life
So fun that Skye started laughing. I love that stage. The only traveling I’ve done for a race was with the cross country team in high school. We used to run in the footlocker race in California. It was a ton of fun but I never did very good on the race because they had some killer hills at Mt Sac. And I want very good at hills back then. I’d do better now though!
Erica
I cannot tell you the last non mixed cereal bowl I had. Hope has also adopted this. :)
Rachel
Salad with every veggie under the sun and crushed Doritos as the crotons.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I need to try doritos for croutons asap. You are brilliant. Enjoy your day Erica!
Jen W
Your timing is uncanny about the cereal. I normally DO NOT mix cereals together. However, my husband forgot to buy me my cereal at the grocery store, so on Saturday I ended up with a combo of Kashi Berry/Lucky Charms (NO charms though–darned kids ate all of them!)/Fruity Pebbles on Saturday. NOT The healthiest combo, but it actually tasted pretty darned good.
Traveling for races–well, I just did Key West 2 weeks ago. FABULOUS! Then, I’m doing Coastal DE in April and St. Michaels MD in May. I’m still thinking about and choosing my fall marathon. There are pros and cons to doing a small local one (still a BQ course) or a bigger one where I’d travel. Decisions, decisions.
Balance. Well, we made a Valentine’s Funfetti cake with Funfetti icing on Saturday. Yummmmm.
Something I’ve been thinking about with my training, and you have probably already written about this tons, but I really NEED to focus on taking the easy runs easy. Why do I feel like once I’m above a 9:00 minute pace that I’m “slow” or “unworthy of likes” on Strava. Isn’t that the stupidest thinking ever? Yet, I and a lot of others think that way and fall into that trap. If I want to build up to a marathon, stay healthy, and run a marathon next fall, I NEED to keep those easy days easy. If you ever need a topic to write about, I don’t think you can emphasize that enough in enough different ways for your readers!!!!! :)
The Hungry Runner Girl
JEN!!! I need some Vday funfetti cake asap:) That sounds delicious. I LOVE what you said about easy runs… do you mind if I quote you for a post coming up? I hope you are having a beautiful day!
Jen W
You can 100% quote me, any time, Janae!!!! :)
AmandaM
Monica is my favorite!
I do mix cereals but I put one on the bottom and then one on the top and don’t really eat them in the same bite (until the bottom when some of the top pieces have fallen down) . I usually put a less sugar-y cereal or plain, unsweetened oatmeal on the bottom and a sugar-y/fun cereal on top so that with the milk, the sweetness travels down and makes the bottom layer sweet by the end. :)
Erinn
I love that Walk the Moon song!! Just as catchy as “Shut Up and Dance” ;)
I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten cereal…it never keeps me full for very long so I don’t typically buy it.
Rachel is my favorite for sure! She always had the best hairstyles. Phoebe would be a close second though.
Food balance: apples and peanut butter followed by way too many sweet tart hearts!
Lisa @ Lisa 3D
I also hate turbulence (SO MUCH!), and I’m getting on an airplane this coming weekend! Luckily my husband doesn’t mind it at all and is always the rock when we go on trips.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I hope that you don’t have any turbulence this weekend on your flight! I hope you are going somewhere fun!
Lisa @ Lisa 3D
Thank you so much! We’re going to Disney World :)
Chelsea @ Just Me Chelsea B
Do you ever mix your cereals together?
I haven’t signed up for any races that are long distances just yet but it’s definitely on my to-do list! I’d love to do the Seaside Half Marathon in Santa Rosa Beach Florida one day! The race is all along the a trail next to the beach and it just might be my favorite thing ever! But, now I feel like I need to add that Waco Tx one to my list too!! How fun!!!
My favorite character on Friends is probably Rachel! I love them ALL but she is probably my favorite! Such a great show that literally never gets old!
We had a huge dish of Beef & Broccoli from our local Chinese place that was amazingly good, and then we balanced it out with a pretty giant salad the next day for lunch! Oh but then we may or may not have followed that up with a good Halo Top ice cream afterwards! HA! :) Balance, balance, balance! I can’t get enough of sweet & salty!
Have a happy Monday Janae!!
Loribeth
The farthest I am traveling for a race is 2 hours (Nashville).
I don’t mix my cereals…….I am picky when I eat them, ha!
I am most like Monica for sure, but Phoebe is probably my favorite. I LOVE the episode where she is trying to turn off the smoke alarm!
And I had really good Tex-Mex burritos with all the veggies, and then some reese cups!
Kate
I have a 4 miler (weird distance) planned for Vermont in May. I am still looking for a couple more races in states that I have not been to yet. I signed my husband up for Vermont and he’s not a runner, so this should be interesting.
My favorite character is definitely Monica. Her OCD traits seem oddly familiar to me. HaHa.
The Hungry Runner Girl
HAHA yes… I relate with Monica a little bi t too much too. Oh that race sounds like so much fun and I love that your husband is doing it too… I hope he is excited for it too;) Have a beautiful day Kate!
Hollie
To be honest, I had very little Balance this weekend. I visited my parents and treated myself…a lot LOL. Although I have no regrets about it. I always feel the best finishing anything fast. For instance, in 2016 and 2017 I ran Shamrock 13.1 in the exact same time. 2016, I completely honked the last mile and barely finished. 2017, I finished with a negative split and felt awesome. I always think about that when thinking about fast finishes. Lol
The Hungry Runner Girl
YOU ROCKED YOUR RACE this last weekend… seriously, I am so excited for you!
jessica basso
*I have actually never thought of mixing cereals. may just have to try that.
*I am traveling to Chicago in October to run the marathon —-eeeekkkkkkkkkkk!!!. also, not as exciting but still exciting and not very far from where i live now i will be traveling to New Orleans 2 seperate times in March to run the Rock n Roll half and then again at the end of the month to run the Best D*** half.
*Favorite character on Friends — Phoebe!!!! without a doubt. Ross would be my second. I wore my Friends t-shirt on my run last night. hahahha
Hope you have a wonderful week!!!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Try mixing cereals and report back to me asap! I am SO excited for you to run Chicago (that race is definitely on my bucket list)! It sounds like your racing calendar is going to be a blast this year! I need a Friends t-shirt haha! Thanks Jessica!
Allison
Oh my gosh, what Brooke said about Amazon Prime is hysterical! Kids sure do catch on quick…. But I agree with her – Prime is the absolute best.
I have had the conversation so many times with Chris about who our favorite characters on Friends are, and I feel like mine varies all the time. Right now I would have to go with Ross though, simply because we just watched the episode where he freaks out and drinks all the margaritas and makes fajitas, and not much makes me laugh harder than that one.
Joy
Mixing cereals is the best! For some reason cereal tastes so much better when two or more or mixed together.
Monica is my favorite friends character!
Balance from this weekend: Lots of healthy foods because I have a bad cold, but also chocolate because, well, I love it and life is too short not to have it. :)
Amy
Monica is definitely my favorite, I may have more than a few of her personality traits. And I travelling across the country to race the San Diego Beach and Bay with friends!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh that runcation sounds absolutely perfect Amy! Hahaha I totally have some of Monica’s traits too… I think you and I would be friends. Have a great Monday!
Sarah
I signed up for the Silo District Half Marathon!! I’ve always wanted to visit Austin and Waco (to visit Magnolia) and an inaugural race seemed like a great excuse:) I also got into SeaWheeze, Lululemon’s half marathon so this Californian is traveling to Texas and Canada this year for races!
I’m finishing a round of Whole30 so no treats for me this weekend, but looking forward to a cupcake once I’m finished:) My vice is sugar so Whole30 is a good reset when my eating gets out of control (pretty sure I ate my weight in Christmas cookies in December!)
Happy Monday!
Emily
I had to laugh when I noticed that someone (you?) had cut their brownie out of the center of the brownie pan. My husband laughed at me last night for doing the exact same thing! Center brownies are the best….
The Hungry Runner Girl
HAHA you caught me… they really are and I couldn’t wait until after dinner! I hope you get a middle brownie again soon;) Have a wonderful day Emily!
HEAB
Yes, it’s called a cereal salad, and it’s not weird (Andrew!). In college, my friends and I used to have BYOC (bring your own cereal) parties, and they were the best! The host would provide the milk, and we’d all fill our bowls with different combos, my favorite being Honey nut bunches of oats + cinnamon life. Think I need to bring the BYOC party back with my kids and their friends.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I LOVE WHAT YOU CALL IT… I’ll be copying you. Cereal Salad. I also want to have that party, and your combo sounds amazing and I will be trying it soon. I hope you are having a beautiful day!
Chelsea
I’m SO glad you liked the podcast! I saw it and immediately thought of you! It’s on my list of ones to listen to.
I LOVE cereal. I haven’t mixed two together, but I’m totally going to do that! I love, love, love Grape-nuts with Kefir yogurt. It’s SO delicious.
I’m watching Friends right now, too! Chandler is my favorite! But I also love Monica (because I AM Monica…). I really like everyone on the show!
Corrinne W
Oh gosh I am so scared to mix cereals…. I just can’t bring myself to try it. Chandler is definitely my favorite Friends character. His humor is the best! Joey is a close second. We are traveling to Boston so my husband can run the Boston Marathon and I am going to do the Boston 5K since I am no where close to qualifying for the marathon. The Magnolia Marathon would be amazing but its too close to Boston and since its the first year I think I will let them work out the bugs in it and maybe next year see if it works for me. The best treat from this weekend? Well we went to Chicago to see Hamilton (it was amazing) and ate at this small Spanish place called Salero. We ordered the tasting menu and the paella was amazing. I can’t stop thinking about it. The churros were also really good even though I was so full.
Kristine
I definitely mix cereals.
Travelling for some races this year..furthest is
Rossland BC..in the Kootenays. That is about 10 hours driving from us. Pretty excited because it is supposed to be beautiful but also super hilly trails
My favourite character is from the Good Wife..Alicia.
We made fresh juice with apples pineapples oranges and ginger. But I also ate candy and had Tim Hortons breakfast.
Happy Monday!
Peggi
Janae – you should definitely come out to Texas – Waco is about 3 hours from my house. This race sounds so awesome and Chip will be doing his first marathon (first race ever!). It is such a fun place to come and visit – if you have watched the show it is totally worth visiting. The bakery is to DIE for…….I would go just so I could meet you. Not sure about wanting to run a half in May in Texas…lol. Hugs.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I seriously want to so bad… I am LOVING following Chips training! Oh that is so true, I bet it will be so hot. If we come down, we HAVE to meet at the bakery. Enjoy your day Peggi!
Jen in TX
I would love to do the Waco race! It’s not too far from me here in Dallas. Unfortunately, I’ll be in Florida that week. But I’ll expect a full update if you all do it!
Marie
Hi Janae! :) I always mix my cereals and so do my kids. I didn’t think twice about it. Hahaha. Oh my gosh, hands down, Ross is our favorite. Although they’re all great, he has the best situations and quotes! :) BTW, thanks for the book recommendation from Friday. I looked it up and saw that she has other great books as well so I looked up three and it’s all wait-listed, but I’m excited to dive in! :) Have a great one, Janae!
Amy
My middle son has been watching Kid’s Baking Championship on Food Network and has been into baking a lot!! He made a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Bundt Cake. OMG it was amazing. We had that for our desert last night after our healthy brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are dinner:)
Also made my first purchased with my VISA gift card…new running shoes of course, and Sling Shot resistance bands!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh I am so excited you bough some new running shoes and resistance bands… you are all set! That cake sounds like heaven… I hope my kids want to bake for us in the future:) Thanks Amy!
Sam
I mix some cereals, usually out of necessity from running low on one and not having enough left for a full bowl. As a kid, we could only rarely have sugary cereals, so I’d combine them when I could. Cinnamon Toast Crunch and fruity pebbles was the main one.
Phoebe. And, for fun, my favorite guest character is Amy – I almost can’t function from laughing so hard during her episodes.
Emily
I really want to do that half!! I wish I could afford to travel there but at the same time I am not good with huge crowds so I would probably not love it. I am usually more about a small town race with less people. My last half started 1/2 mile from my house— my favorite kind…roll out of bed and show up at the start line 15 minutes later. Although paying to run through my neighborhood was a little “crazy”
The Hungry Runner Girl
HAHA that is a little strange to pay for the same course you run normally;) I LOVE my hometown races too… something about knowing the route so well is the best. I hope you have a great week Emily!
Marissa @ Run Riss Run
Oh my gosh! My kids are the same! They will even sleep on top of their blankets so that they don’t have to make their beds. Crazies! Skye’s smiles are the best! I hope your cold goes away super quick!
I am doing the St. George marathon in October! So, that’ll be about a 6 hour drive :)
Phoebe is definitely my favorite character on Friends :)
The hubs made homemade kettle corn (so good!) and we have sweet potatoes and smoked chicken last night (my all time favorite meal!)
Mary
I mix cereals! And my kids do too. Actually more than me. I will mix 2 kinds, but they mix together all the ones that are opened which is sometimes 4 at a time.
I wish target was closer. It’s an hour away or I would be there a lot. But yes to this mom runs on caffeine (coffee particularly) and amazon prime.
Shay WLBM
Tell Brooke she should sleep in her sleeping bag on her bed. She gets the comfort of the bed, the fun of the sleeping bag, and her bed stays made! :-)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Brilliant. Brooke will be so thankful:)
Maria
I met Doug Kurtis in the Detroit airport and had no idea who he was. We were just sitting next to each other and started talking. Later when I looked him up I was shocked at who I had just met without even knowing it. I called my brother, also a marathon runner, and told him about the encounter. He was a really nice down to earth guy.
The Hungry Runner Girl
NO WAY… that is so so cool! I love it! I want to meet him:) I hope your Monday has been a great one so far Maria!
Kathy
Last night: Roasted cauliflower and Not Derby Pie Bars. I only make them once a year out of a sense of balance.
Rachelle
Love a fast finish training run or race. I always try to save up for a strong sprint to the finish!
I’ve been addicted to salad kits lately. I can eat an entire one by myself over 2 meals (Sometimes 1 meal). Balanced by the desserts I had to make for a bake sale today. I couldn’t resist the white cupcakes with homemade toasted coconut buttercream frosting. I had to eat 2 last night!
Kendra
WHO did that to those brownies??? :-)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Is there something wrong with having a brownie from the center before dinner;) hahah I hope you are having a beautiful day Kendra!
Allison
LOVE that Tshirt!
I’m most like Monica but I think my favourite might be Chandler. Now I want to go and watch all the episodes again on Netflix!
No plans to travel for a race right now – my next marathon is local – but I’m hoping for a short racecation later in the year. Fingers crossed!
Kelly
Totally 100% a cereal mixer. My favorite is mixing a small (granola type) with a big (cheerios, chex, mini wheats). Or, a combo like honey bunches of oats with a chex or cheerio. I take my cereal very seriously…… hehe.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I love your cereal mixing theories. You know what you are doing! I will have to try it! Enjoy the rest of your day Kelly!
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
My grandpa liked to mix cereals together too. I’ve never heard of anyone else who does that.
Jessica
I love mixing cereals together! I started doing that while at university haha.
I love that quote comparing a few bad miles to airplane turbulence. I’m running a half marathon this Sunday in Texas and I’m nervous about it because I’m undertrained and it’s on a trail. I’ll remind myself of that quote if any bad patches come up during the half-marathon. And, at the end of the day, I totally just signed up for fun and the views (it starts in a cave!), so I shouldn’t have be putting any pressure on myself anyways!
Hope you have a great week!
Gina
Just signed up for the Silos District Half today; it’s a racecation with my BRF’s. We’d love to meet you at the race (or bakery) if you end up going!
Teresa
I love your fast finish advice. I too feel good when I finish faster than I start out. Lately my runsstart out at a moderate pace and I end up the last 1/2 to 2/3’s at a fastee pace thanks to my favorite running partner, my dog Ginger. She is 10 1/2 years old and slowing down, but still lives to get her runs in. So she is my pace control at the beginning of my runs making it possible to finish strong. Thanks Gingerdoodle.
I have to agree with Andrew, I’m not a cereal mixer. I just want to taste on flavor and texture at a time.
I am much happier to run close to home than travel. I guess I’ll never get the 50 states goal. Ha.
Have a good week, enjoy your weather.
Megan d
I do not mix cereals. I am not a sociopath.
If she thinks Monica is the best, i worry for her future. Chandler is the best, by far. Could he BE any more funny?!
I bet I know who ate that middle brownie piece. Hint: it rhymes with Pamdrew Zaron.
Molly @ a la Molly
I ALWAYS mix my cereals together. My husband also thinks its weird, but I think its boring to just have one kind when you could have two!
Taylor
I have been watching a lot of Friends episodes lately too. When I can’t find something I want to watch, I always revert back to Friends. I love Monica and Joey the best. :)