My Streak this Year, Our Summer Plans & Random Things!

Good morning!

Welp, we are back to this again but luckily it melted by noon.  I am impressed that I haven’t slipped on the ice once this entire winter but this morning almost ended my streak when I slipped a little bit about 5 miles into the 8 miles (@ 8:29 average pace) that I ran.

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Fun fact about the AirPods—>  you can tap them to make them go to the next song!  This way you don’t have to take out your phone to go to the next song… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to do this during a race ha.  You just have to go to settings on your phone and connect to the AirPods bluetooth and it has a little menu there that you can choose what tapping each side will do (pause, next song, previous song) and boom you are ready to go.

As you can tell, my ears were cold.

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It is so nice to have this little personality back home again!

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Of course.   Pancakes and the beginning of a beautiful egg scramble.  We eat a lot of eggs over here, we go through our Costco eggs (24 in a pack) really fast!

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Brooke had the good idea to have Andrew wear one of Skye’s hats while he worked on school.  He is a good sport.

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Brooke and Beretta missed each other.  Brooke can mimic this dog so well.  The best is when she scratches her ear with her foot just like Beretta does.

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I told you about Bookroo a few months ago but we are still loving it.  When Skye was born, one of my best friends bought us a subscription so each month they deliver two books to our house, wrapped, and the kids love them.  All of the books have been awesome (this chicken one was pretty funny) so far.  It’s a great gift idea if you need one for kids!

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Turns out Brooke already has more upper body strength than I do.

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After gymnastics we went to Andrew’s favorite store (besides Costco).

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Our goal this summer—>  To hike and see as much of Utah as possible.  Last summer I was so sick all of the time that I was not interested in hiking/camping/anything involving the sun for longer than an hour so this summer I’m going to make up for that.  Now we just need to find the perfect carrier for Skye because she is going to love being in the mountains with all of us.  I also want to get out to more races this summer—>  there is nothing like using a race to get in some good speed workouts.

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Ever seen a GU this large—>  15 servings!  You could just carry this along with you on your marathon;)

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Andrew made the best dinner for us last night.  It was this slow cooker broccoli beef over rice.  I definitely went back for seconds because it was so good.  He roasted the broccoli instead of putting that in the crockpot but other than that he followed the same recipe.

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And if there is candy in the house, I eat it.

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And three random things to discuss:

*No one was able to finish the Barkley Marathon this year!  This race has 5 loops and the runners have to finish those 5 loops within 60 hours.  If you complete 3 of the 5 loops in 40 hours they call that the ‘fun run.’ The last time that there were no finishers for the full 5 loops was in 2015.  There have only been 15 finishers total since it first started in 1986!  If you love running documentaries, you have to watch on Netflix, ‘The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.’  This course is crazy!  Also, Andrew and I just watched ICARUS (except for the R is backwards) on Netflix.  It is a documentary all about doping and how cyclists and different athletes have used it (and gotten away with it) and the scandals that have gone along with it.  It is crazy (and there are a few choice words on there FYI).

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*Have you guys seen this?  This man will be running Boston BACKWARDS in April.  He is trying to go for the fastest marathon backwards which means he needs to run under a 3:43:39!  I can barely run forwards without tripping so this is beyond impressive to me.  PS he qualified for Boston with a 3:00:14 time… so close to sub three!  I have a friend that ran a 3:00:01—> TWO SECONDS away from sub 3.  Anyways, I’m excited to see how he does in April and it’s awesome that he is doing this for epilepsy fundraising and awareness.

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*Did you know that square watermelons are a thing?  I don’t know how I have gone this long without knowing about these or trying them but I do know that I am so thrilled that we are getting closer to watermelon season.   Eating cold watermelon out of the fridge right after a hot summer run is one of the best running experiences.

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I’ve got another easy run on the schedule today and then tomorrow—>  MILE REPEATS!  Also, I have a Skye update coming your way this afternoon.

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I think good documentaries are probably my favorite things to watch… Have any new, good suggestions for me?  What are some of your favorites?  

What are three things that you are looking forward to the most about summer?

Ever seen somebody in a marathon/race doing something different like running backwards?  

Hiking, camping—> do you enjoy doing those things? 

-I love hiking and I’m more of a 1 night camper but this summer we might go 2 nights a few times;)

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53 comments

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We have a guy in South Africa that runs the Comrades marathon backwards every year. I saw him at the 2016 Comrades start, but I got dizzy watching him while I’m running forwards!! He finished the race in time and it’s 56 miles.

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NO WAY!! That is incredible. 56 miles backwards?! I cannot even imagine. Thanks for sharing Almarie and YOU are amazing for doing Comrades. I want your autograph!

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That first picture of you and Skye is SO ADORABLE!! Love her precious Alfalfa hair :)

I’m a huge fan of hiking and try to go often, but I’m really not much of a camper. If it’s part of an adventure, and I have to, I will, but I would much rather be in a warm, cozy environment with a soft bed and no mosquitoes and ticks.

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I have a goal to do more hiking/camping this year. I’m not sure Trevon has the same goal but we have a camper and we need to use it! I’m really looking forward to using it this year.

Also, I’m looking forward to running again. Like regular running and not just every so often when I feel good enough.

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I don’t watch very many documentaries, but have you watched Ugly Delicious on Netflix yet?! It’s really good!
3 things: sunshine, warm weather, and more outside time
I can’t imagine running backwards like that. We used to do backwards running drills in track and I HATED it. I am so clumsy, I do not need the added difficulty of running backwards. No thanks!

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Hiking is seriously the best! For what it’s worth, the Kelty has a great carrier. We used it with both of our kids and have been so happy with it. The ergonomics allow for serious comfort for both the girls and for us even on really long hikes (we found ours on Craigslist practically brand new for a fraction of the cost).

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THANK YOU MADELINE!! Courtney said that she loved Kelty too.. we are going to have to keep an eye out on Craigslist! THANK YOU! Have a beautiful day.

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I’m not a runner but the Barkley Marathon documentary was so interesting. I don’t know how anyone completes it! And I’ve got Icarus on my watchlist.

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Let me know what you think of Icarius! It’s crazy!! Have an awesome day Samantha.

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Wow, that’s amazing about the marathon runner! I trip just walking without any obstructions, so I can’t even imagine! Three things I’m looking forward to this summer: having the kids off from school (!!!!), swimming at the pools (because it’s HOT down here), and my husband’s two weeks vacation! I am kind of “meh” about camping and hiking but our kids really want to do it and they make everything better, so we will definitely be doing that some time! Have a great day, Janae!

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We are finishing up Wild Wild Country. It’s about a cult in the 80’s, it’s pretty good.
I am looking forward to this summer; swim lessons with the baby, gardening, and our two vacations at the lake.
We love hiking, can’t wait to take Adelynne to our favorite spot!

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Oh that sounds really interesting! Thank you for the recommendation! I am excited for your summer… that sounds perfect! Also, I love the name Adelynne! Enjoy your day!

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Lately I have been jogging backwards for the last half mile or less of my run as I heard it helps with shin pain, but a whole MARATHON?? That’s crazy!

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Really?! Have you noticed that it is helping with your shin pain? That is really interesting!

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I have never seen square watermelons but now I definitely need to try them!

Also, have you seen this? https://www.saucony.com/en/saucony-x-dunkin-kinvara-9/32172W.html?dwvar_32172W_color=S10418-18#start=1

Saucony’s Boston shoe is doughnuts + running :)

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I have not seen those shoes until your comment… oh my goodness. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

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I highly recommend a Kelty pack for Skye. We had one for our son that he fit in till around 3 when his legs got too long. He is 5’4″ at 12 . He hiked 100 of miles on our backs. I am a camper and hiker. I am blessed to live in Oregon where there is an abundance of choices for both.

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THANK YOU for the recommendations! We will start looking into the Kelty. That sounds perfect for us and I love how much you hiked when your son was so young. That’s what we want to do and maybe one day we will get to come up and hike around Oregon. Have a beautiful day Courtney!

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I watched Icarus a few months ago. While I knew that there was a lot of doping happening in a lot of sports, I was surprised at how widespread and “normal” it is.

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That is exactly what we thought, we couldn’t believe how normal it was. It kind of makes me question watching endurance sports a lot more than before. Crazy. I hope you are having a great day Fiona!

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At about mile 16 during the Disney marathon last year I saw a guy juggling while running, was pretty awesome!

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JUGGLING… that is awesome! I can’t even juggle while standing still ha. That is really cool:) I hope you are having a fabulous day Ann Marie!

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That hair though…I love it! Your kids are so cute.
I love the Barkley documentary. I haven’t watched the new one yet. I put Icarus on my watch list. Thanks for that.
Can’t think of anything weird in any races. Everything is weird down here so nothing surprises us. Lol. Running backwards that far is definitely a challenge. That’s impressive.
I live in Homestead, FL (South of Miami, 20 miles from The Keys) so it’s pretty much summer year round here. Although beach/boating/diving weather is better in the summer so I’m looking forward to that. The winter winds can make the water a bit choppy. I just love summer.
We were at Zion in October and had a great time hiking there. Didn’t get to camp. Stayed at the Holiday Inn outside the park in Springdale. We love to camp though. We are thinking about heading back out there in October for a longer duration and hitting Bryce and some other smaller parks. My daughter lives in Colorado, and she takes two week trips and travels to different NP’s and dry camps by herself. She loves to hike too. That’s great that you’re getting your kids out there young. We were camping with the kids when they were infants too. They loved it. Have fun hiking this summer.

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I am SO happy that you were able to come visit Zion… it is AMAZING!! We are thinking of taking the kids there in the next few weeks. COME BACK to Bryce, it is amazing. That is so cool that your daughter does that. Thank you, I think it is so good for kids to be out there moving and seeing nature! Have a beautiful day and I’m excited for your summer… I want to come visit where you live!

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I can’t wait to get out on the lake this summer! I’m also looking forward to early morning runs where I’m not freezing my butt off…
I love to go hiking! A friend and I really make a day out of it..I took my husband a few months ago and he had trouble keeping up ;)

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I do like hiking, provided that there’s already a pre-made Trail. And it’s not on a rainy day! I’ve had terrible experience with that and an anxiety attack in the past.

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I really enjoyed Finding Traction featuring Ultra runner Nikki kimball. Whether you are into CrossFit or not, Fittest on earth (also on Netflix)is also pretty amazing. These athletes are in a class of their own!

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I CAN’T WAIT!! Thanks for the recommendations Mel and I hope you are having a great morning!

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I was going to link the new Saucony donut shoes — thought they would be perfect for you, although I know you are a Brooks girl — but someone beat me to it! I am tempted to get them…going to Boston although already ordered the Brooks and Adidas Boston shoes — this race is going to bankrupt me! 20 days and counting!!!

Gary Robbins (from the Barkley) lives in my city (North Vancouver) and I have been following his journey for a long time…so upset he didn’t finish the race this year! You need to watch ‘Where Dreams Go to Die’ — documentary about his Barkley journey.

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THOSE SHOES ARE BEAUTIFUL!! I can’t wait for your to run Boston, I better hear all about it please! That is so great that Gary Robbins lives in your city. I will totally watch that documentary, THANK YOU! Have a great day Wendy.

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i’ve watched several of the cycling documentaries on Netflix, but don’t remember what they were called. there was a list, and we put them up and went thru them. there was one guy from the late 90s and the lance armstrong story (that ends in doping). there are so many good ones out there. we’ve been watching the nature ones on Netflix learning about animals/habitats and behavior pattern changes with the seasons and such.

summer -> i’m a beach and water sports person so i’ll be looking forward to that! also lots of camping and hiking. and other than active stuff? mostly ice cream and ice treats. there’s this store here in Brooklyn that makes the tastiest icy treats.

yes! i have seen someone do a marathon while juggling. it is soooo strange to watch!

Hiking, camping -> yes we are total fans of hiking and camping. we will be going to the Adirondacks for Memorial Day weekend and the Whites in NH for sometime in the summer. we have been meaning to do a hike out of Denver called Maroon Bells and visit friends there, but it still hasn’t happened, and probably won’t happen this year. one day!

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I agree, I’m also very excited for all of the ice cream and I want to visit that store in Brooklyn. It sounds like you already have some really fun trips/things planned for this summer. I hope you are having a great morning!

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i just looked it up. it’s called snowdays http://www.snowdaysnyc.com – when i was walking home last week with the LO from school she said, “mama!!! that STORE! we have to go” i said “soon baby girl, soon” lol we will be so happy to visit there when summer arrives. it looks like they have NYC locations in several spots!

the documentary i was thinking of is called Pantani (about Marco Pantani). i also liked Bikes Vs Cars which was on Netlfix for a bit.

and have a great morning too!

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Summer: 1. SUMMER RUNNING-my favorite!!!!!!! 2. Being off from teaching and just being on “Jen time” 3. A trip we have planned to our favorite place–Key West :) It will be our first time taking our daughters there—I hope that they love it as much as we do!!! It HAS to be in their blood :)

I don’t love camping. I just don’t know why. I don’t like the way camp fires smell. lol And I hate that wet gross feeling of waking up in a sleeping bag on the ground. I do like hiking though and being out in nature, no phone, just quiet and beauty.

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I am so excited for your trip to the Key West and some time off! I’m sure your girls will love it so much. One of the many reasons I wanted to be a teacher was for the summer ha. Have a beautiful day Jen!

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Love our Deuter Kid Comfort Air pack. Our kid has ridden over 300 miles in it. We found it at an REI Garage Sale (used gear) in near perfect condition. Look for them used because they’re the kind of thing people think “omg I’m going to use this so much” and then don’t.

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OVER 300 miles… that is amazing! Thanks for the tips, that will save us big time $$$! Have a wonderful day Jennifer and we are totally going to look for this brand!

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we had the deuter kid comfort III – got it from REI – and it was such a good kid carrier for hikes! we used from 6 months old til 2 years old – we ended up selling around when she was 2 years old and too heavy for it. but when we had it we used it a lot and it retained its resale value too which was nice to recoup some of those funds. from when she was 2 years to 4 years old, i used a woven wrap to hike with her and when she got tired, she’d pass out in that on my back. it was more comfortable at her weight – and around 4, she was able to hike all day with us with no naps (hooray). good luck finding a good kid carrier. i hear the osprey ones are really quite good too.

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I am looking forward to the beach, vacation, and grilling in the back yard this summer.

We are watching my cousin’s dog while she goes on vacation and she is also a chocolate lab. Molly is 9 and still crazy. :)

I like hiking, I can’t picture myself tent camping. I hear everything so I think I’d have a hard time sleeping.

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We have one summer plan so far – a week on Kauai! Les is doing the Pedal to the Meadow cycling race series (no drugs for him!) – 3 races in 2 days. Then we plan to do a bunch of fun stuff – hiking and kayaking the Napali Coast.

My family use to go camping every summer, usually a long weekend. But our version is a little different – we camped at San Simeon on the central California coast (right by Hurst Castle.) Waking up in a tent to the sound of the ocean is awesome. It’s usually cool in the mornings, and I love my memories of sitting around the camp fire, drinking hot chocolate with my parents, siblings and their spouses, and my nieces and nephew.

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I don’t always follow Twitter, but when I do, it’s Barkley Marathon weekend….then I’m glued to it. And yes, I may have shed a tear or zillion watching Gary Robbins get tapped out.

My family took camping vacations when I was growing up, then if we were “good” the whole time my parents rewarded my brother and I with a few days at Kah Nee Tah (a warm pool resort in Central Oregon). Honestly I think they used us as the excuse and would have taken us anyway because they loved it as well!!! So I love camping but it’s a lot of effort and my love affair is slowly waning as I get older. But hiking-yes!! especially if it’s hiking to a cabine! haha.

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We have the Osprey Poco Plus and love it, if that helps!

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My husband and I are running a 1/2 marathon in one month and we really haven’t trained much…..I know this has nothing to do with your questions for this post but…..any training advice? :-/ I have ran one before and multiple other races, I just wanna prepare myself as best possible with as much last minute training! wish me luck!

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Here in BC we have been following the Barkley marathons closely – Gary Robbins is a local elite trail runner, race director and coach. I saw that documentary – so good…they had a live screening last fall here. Another documentary is called LA Ultra – The High – a documentary about the hardest ultra marathon at elevation – through the Himalayas – one year I think one person finished. People have to contend with altitude sickness etc. We watched that last night and quite enjoyed it.

We love to hike and camp. In the summer we try to go most weekends, that is one thing I am definitely looking forward to about summer. That and warmer temperatures. And road trips! We usually try to plan a road trip each summer and fall.

I have heard of people doing different things in marathons, juggling etc, but I haven’t personally seen people doing anything too crazy – maybe dressing up in costume. Maybe I was just too distracted to notice, haha.

Have a great day!

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I have plenty of miles planned for this summer so I’m looking forward to ice pops, watermelon, and trying out frozen pickle juice pops! I absolutely love getting outside and going on a hike. I think it’s awesome that you’re going to take Skye with you too.

I haven’t SEEN someone do a race backwards or anything like that but I think that’s pretty crazy!

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Thanks for the tip on the Air Pods! I bought mine a few weeks ago. I was actually on the fence until I saw your original post about them. I wanted to see someone who had truly tried themout, especially while running. I love them! I just read above about the “tap” thing and I yelled out “No Way!” and my teenager daughter ran out to see why. It’s the little things:)

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“Minimalism: a Documentary about the Important Things” on Netflix is SO good! hahah the other day I saw a guy running and juggling like five balls on the side of the road, I don’t know if that or running backward would be more difficult in a marathon

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Three things this summer
Being off from work! I am a teacher
Beach,beach and more beach
Swimming

Skye is so adorable as is Brooke and Knox.

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Didn’t you have Jaybirds for a while? You can skip songs on those, too!

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I’m looking forward to a solo trip with my Husband while the girls are at camp. We are heading to Pismo beach Ca. to see my parents.
Amazing fruit and crosstrining swims.
Not in a race but there is a lady in my neighborhood that runs while bouncing a small rubber ball. One day I will join her and ask how she got started.

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I love Running the Sahara. What a story!

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You know hiking is my favorite, but I think hiking might be different for me this year. I think Felicity will be too big for her pack so now our hikes are going to have to be a lot shorter. Oh well. I will go with you anytime.

26.2 mile backwards makes my hamstrings hurt just thinking about it. That is so crazy.

I haven’t watched a documentary in years. I should. Heaven forbid I educate myself on things instead of re watching The Office, P&R, New Girl, etc.

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I have watched the The Barkley Marathons documentary multiple times and love it. I always tell myself how awesome it would be do something like that but then again they all look like they are in so much pain so probably not! ha. I am interested in watching that guy run backwards though, more power to him, I’d end up hurting myself somehow.

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