LOTS of Friday Favorites + Catch Up + You Are Amazing!

Let’s catch-up for a few minutes and talk about the last two days.

*Quiz—>  Is it harder to get a 4 month old or 5 year olds to smile and look at the camera for a picture?

Answer: 5 year olds.

*My Wednesday run was a nice and easy 30 minutes = 3.48 miles.  I was pretty tired after my Tuesday workout but it felt good to get out and move.  This little one had a rough night after getting her shots on Tuesday but still snuck in some smiles.

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*Andrew and I both hit up the treadmill on Thursday!  It was my first time in almost two months (I think..) being on the treadmill and I did 6 easy miles @ 8:29 average pace.  The wind was outrageous and I had no desire to even attempt to run in it.  Here’s to hoping that it isn’t too snowy here this morning (snow on our forecast) so I can get my long run done outside… if not, here’s to being really bored for 2 hours straight.    Andrew did a speed workout and rocked it—>  1.5 w/u, 3 x 1 mile (7:20 average) w/3 minute walking breaks after each mile repeat, 1.5 c/d.

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*Balance.  If you haven’t made these no-bake peanut butter cookies, you need to right now.  They are ridiculously good and Andrew agrees with me that they are way better than chocolate no-bakes.

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*I did it.  After a bunch of you told me that A Quiet Place was more suspenseful than scary, I decided to go.  Skye was with my mom and Brooke and Knox hung out with my sister.  We took my niece and nephew to go see it.  I closed my eyes for a few of the intense parts but the movie was really good.  I cried, I was stressed and I’ll never watch it again ha but I am really glad I went with them because we had a good time eating milk duds and being afraid to talk after the movie ended.

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*I looked a lot like this during the movie:

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*Not the prettiest meal but it was a delicious breakfast burrito for lunch.  I love when you have to eat some of the fillings with a fork before you can make it a burrito because there is so much goodness.  Eggs, spinach, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, bacon and salsa.

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*Indoor play place for the kids.

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*Spaghetti with ground turkey for the night before a lot of miles…

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*Time for 15 MILES!

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I’ve got a few Friday Favorites to share today!

*We got a new rug—>  HERE.  Now to find a couch and coffee table that we want to go with it.  Barleshambone had this rug, I saw it and loved it so much I copied her.  It brightens up our upstairs a lot and adds some color.

*Now for two Costco favorites.  Have you had these tortillas? They taste SO fresh and delicious.

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*If you are a pancake lover like me, please try this syrup asap.

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*Don’t worry, I have your appetite.  Every day.  Breastfeeding + training = I don’t stop eating.

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*Amanda let me know all about Tailwind and I can’t wait to try it.  It just arrived so I’ll let you know what I think after a few tries.  I want to see how my body handles getting the calories/hydration/electrolytes that I need all in one place during a run.

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*Look what I got (thanks Tara for the recommendation)—>  The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition!  I’m getting serious about this nutrition stuff.  I’ll share the things I’m learning along the way.

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*Christina said the other day in a comment, “I feel like running is the art and nutrition is the science to being a marathoner.”  Yes and yes and right now I’m enjoying figuring out the science of it all!

*I’ve had the Nathan Hipster belt for a long time and I’ve absolutely loved it but then I lost it and have searched the entire house and it is nowhere.  Maybe I took it off in the middle of my run somewhere and threw it into the field?  I seriously don’t know how I lose things.  Well, instead I got The Zipster and have worn it a few times and LOVE IT.  The zipper makes it that much better.  It fits my huge phone nicely and has plenty of room for all of my gels (two zippered pockets and storage everywhere that the zippers aren’t).   I got a size Medium.

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*Guess Who—>  I have so many good memories of playing this with my siblings so I got it for the kids and they love it.

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*My friend sent me this hilarious clip all about the real reason we all love buying a million pairs of leggings—>  Pants, pajamas and a napkin;)

*This is our kid’s favorite book.  They want to read it a few times a day.  They love it because it is kind of interactive.

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I love your accomplishments… reading them are a huge highlight of my week, thank you for sharing!  If you want to be featured then send your accomplishment to [email protected]

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Sara!!!  “I’ve been reading your blog for maybe 4-5 years now, ever since I ran my first 5k- a ‘color run’ where I hardcore fell in love with the endorphins and the race vibe of accomplishment, and comradery!!  Fast forward to 2018 when I finally pulled the trigger and signed up for a half marathon.  I’ve accomplished that distance on my own about 7 or 8 times, but never in a race setting.  I just never felt ready.  But, I decided to go for it!  I fought the flu 3 weeks before the race, and a new not-so-fun IT band issues 3 weeks before the race as well so I laid off my running and did plenty of stretching, still mentally convincing myself that I had already put in the work so I should still be able to finish.  My only goal was exactly that, to finish.  Inside though, my true goal was to finish by running the entire race, only walking through water stations for a quick drink.  And I did exactly that!! I was so happy!! Here it is, only 2 days later, and I’m looking for another half about 2-3 months away (going to work on my IT band) with the goal being to improve my time!!”

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Emily!!!  “I’m a new mama who used to run pretty much every day pre-baby, but priorities shifted and now I’m happy if I squeeze in 1-2 runs a week.  I live in Charleston and obviously have to do the Cooper River Bridge Run (a 10K) when it rolls around, so I still signed up this year even though I wasn’t feeling like I could PR.  It was the hardest race I’ve ever done and the last two miles truly tested me, but I made it and ended up coming in at 48:47, which was only 4 minutes off my time from a couple years ago.  I have SO MUCH respect for running mamas and have even more admiration for women athletes than I did before!!”

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Karen!!!  “My name is Karen Rogers and I am from Normandy, Tennessee.  I am a mom of two, a wife, I work a full-time job and I am a faithful member of my loving church.  I am 41 and have been running since being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes 9 years ago.  I was the kid in middle school who couldn’t run a mile in under 10 minute causing the whole team to have to run again.  I believe that the challenge of running as an adult is what keeps me wanting more, wanting to do better, wanting to prove to myself that I CAN do it.  I try to race only against myself and beat my own times.  I always wish my old coach and teammates could see me run now.  On April 7th, I ran the 2018 Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, Tennessee for the third time.  There were approximately 1,270 participants and it was a cold 35 degrees with 18 mph north wind.  Lynchburg is a very quiet, beautiful and full of hills.  This course has a hill that has its own name and own Facebook page… Whiskey Hill.  The Hill is about a mile long, starting out gradually then takes a sharp turn to the left and goes straight up.  Registration for this race fills up within 1-2 hours.  This training season was my best so far.  I logged 231 miles total from January 1 to April 7th.  I ran anywhere from 9 to 24 miles a week while working full time and remodeling our house.  My personal goal for the half marathon was to beat my previous time of 2:22.  I was thrilled when I crossed the finish line and my time was 2:16:33.  I couldn’t be happier with the results from training.  But what makes things even better are the lessons I learn while training. One Saturday, a few weeks ago, I was supposed to run 11 miles and stopped at 5.  I just couldn’t go any further and was so disappointed!  I was deterred to get my long run in for the week, so I got up at 5am on Sunday morning to run before church.  I put on my reflective vest and turned my flashlight on.  There is one area of the road that gets really dark.  I got scared and started praying out loud, “God, you know I’m scared, right?  Will you continue to protect me and give me peace?”  That’s when God reminded me that He is always with me, and that’s why He allows me to go through dark times (trials) in my life.  Those trials make me look to Him.  As I went on down the road, I passed by a little country store that was already open.  I kept thinking how thirsty I was.  I knew I could complete my run if I could just get a drink.  I have never even thought about doing this before, but I went in the store to ask for a drink and I would come back before church to pay.  There was a tall man standing at the counter talking to the lady that owned the store.  he pardoned himself for being in the way, I explained what I was needing and the sweet man offered to pay for my drink.  As he talked, I knew I recognized his voice.  It was a dear friend of my dads who I haven’t seen in years!  My dad died suddenly in 2004 and this man had aged and had fought cancer.  It was so nice getting to reconnect with him.  I ran back to the house feeling like I had a little part of my dad with me.  I saved that Gatorade bottle and ran with it during the half marathon.  If I had gotten my way that Saturday and ran my 11 miles, I would have never seen my dad’s friend on Sunday morning.  God always has a better plan!  Saturday as the race was getting started, I turned on my radio app and the song that was playing was the song that my sister sang at my dad’s funeral.  “I know My Redeemer Lives” It’s not just coincident.  I was once again reminded that My Redeemer is with me at all times.  I may not be the fastest runner, but I was probably one of the happiest there that day.”

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Have any favorite things to share with me?  I’d love to hear!

What are your weekend plans?

How do you carry your fuel during a run?

Have a long run or race this weekend?

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59 comments

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LOVE my Nathan belt and swear by it for carrying my fuel/holding my phone/keys/etc. I don’t have the zipper one (just the regular flip belt) but once I lose mine, I’ll be sure to get the zipper! Have heard so many good things.

Weekend plans: Celebrating!!! I knocked my long run out of the week yesterday morning (15 miles!) AND I had my final exam for teacher training last night! Four hours of a written exam + teaching exam and I am SO happy that’s all over. Oh … And I quit my job last week! Don’t start my new gig till May 14th so celebrating so many things all weekend long!!

Happy happy happy Friday!!

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Enjoy all of the celebrating Arthi! You deserve it. Huge congrats on your final exam… you are incredible.

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I love the diversity and inspiration I get from reading the running accomplishments on Fridays! From the new mom who ran her first race post-baby to the disease/cancer survivors to everyone else in between…I admittedly teared up reading Karen’s story above. It goes to show we all have battles, we all struggle, we all doubt ourselves at times…but something much bigger than us keeps pushing us along those miles, whether it be a spiritual power or an all-encompassing faith in our goals and dreams, we keep moving.
Janae, I tell everyone I know about your blog because you bring us together as women (and men) and as a running community. Thank you for all you do!

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Kelly, thank you so much for your comment… it means a lot to me. This world is filled with amazing people. We are so lucky to get to know each other over the internet too. Thank you and I hope your weekend is beautiful!

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I’m going to see A Quiet Place today! MY husband has the day off so daytime date while the kiddos are at school! It better not be too scary…. :) As for the rest of the weekend, life stuff and Sunday morning I am running for the first time with my 5k training group where I am their running mentor/pacer/motivator!

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Let me know what you think of the movie! It’s just really intense. Sounds like a great weekend, ENJOY!

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Skye’s face is so expressive – love it!
My Friday favorites are on my blog today as well! I’m loving hard boiled eggs right now for a snack :)
I’m hoping to spend all the time outside this weekend! Long easy recovery run tomorrow morning (I had a race last weekend), and a palett crafting workshop with my mother-in-law on Sunday – can’t wait!
I have a flip belt to carry everything in :) Right now I’m loving jelly beans!
Have a great weekend!

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OH I am loving those for snacks too. Enjoy your time outside this weekend and the beautiful weather. Thanks Erinn and enjoy your long recovery run tomorrow.

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Enjoy that 15 miler!!!!!! I have 90 minutes at easy/moderate pace tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to a long run with no speed portions in it. ha ha

I have yoga tonight and my long run tomorrow. Then we’re heading to a huge shopping mall. It’s going to finally be sunny and 80 degrees, but we promised my oldest daughter we’d take her shopping this weekend, so off we’ll go. Hopefully we’ll get in some good outside time, too. I’ll soak it up during my run!

Happy Happy Friday!!!!!! :)

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Gotta love those long runs without any speed… have fun Jen! Sounds like an awesome weekend. Thanks Jen!

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I can’t remember if I told you about when I tried to make those peanut butter no-bakes a few years ago and completely ruined a pot doing so. The entire bottom of it was blackened, and I ended up having to throw it away. I’m not very skilled in the kitchen—ha! But there are some I buy from Sprouts that are really good!!

I’m excited for this weekend because I really want more sleep. I have a flag football game tomorrow, and it’s supposed to be really nice out, so it’ll be a beach day for sure! Hope you have a great weekend, and go ROCK THAT 15-MILER today, Janae!!

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OH NO about your pot… I am so sorry haha! Get as much sleep as possible and enjoy the beach. Sounds perfect. Thanks girl!

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My current favourite thing is your white chicken enchilada recipe!!! I made it this week and we DEVOURED almost the entire thing. I ate the tiny bit of leftovers last night and I can’t wait to make the recipe again. We made them without any additions for our 5 year old, and added pickled jalapenos and banana peppers for my husband and I. So crazy delicious. I think my husband ate six before he even came up for air ;)

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That makes me so so happy! So delicious:) Good call on the jalepenos and banana peppers! Have a beautiful weekend Jill.

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I have a half marathon coming up in a few weeks so I need to get a long run in this weekend! The only problem — the weather :( It is supposed to be rainy, snowy, cold all weekend long.

How bad does the weather have to be for you to head to the treadmill? I don’t love doing long runs on the treadmill but I am a wimp when it comes to bad weather. So I will probably be heading to the gym.

Have a great Friday!

x Elise – http://www.thirtythoughtstoday.com

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Elise, I am the same way with weather/treadmill. Sometimes I’ll do half on the road and then finish on the treadmill. I’m lucky enough to have one in my home – hope that idea maybe helps you!

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Awesome thank you!! Have a great weekend!

x Elise

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YOU ARE NOT A WIMP FOR RUNNING ON A TREADMILL! Running is supposed to be fun for us so if running in a certain temperature isn’t fun for you… hit the treadmill! I actually think the treadmill is harder than outside running ha. If it is crazy windy or icy/snowy/dark… you will always find me inside. Yes, Liz… I love that tip! I was planning on doing that today but the ice kept me inside. Have a great weekend girls!

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Thanks Janae! Have a great weekend!

x Elise

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I worked at kiddie kandids for a few years and I’d have to agree with you that taking pictures of older kids is way harder. Either it’s a fake smile or no smile.

I’m going to be here praying this snow melts quickly and doesn’t come back until winter

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Oh I remember Kiddie Kandids! At the University Mall? Have a great day girl!

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Yep! It was my dream job and it was a lot of fun for a few years. But then I realized that I liked photography as a hobby more than a job haha. Have fun in Cali!

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Hi, Janae,

Great post, as always. I will be making those peanut butter cookies this weekend! I like Tailwind a lot, but need to work out the water to powder ratio a bit better.

Long run plans are 14-ish miles – hoping my legs will cooperate because my heart is heavy.

Have a great weekend, everyone–

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Liz, I am so incredibly sorry that your heart is heavy. I’m always here if you need to email with someone. Thinking about you and I hope your 14 miles go really well. [email protected]

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I totally creeped on the comments on your post the other day and bought some Tailwind too! I am really excited to try it – Gu doesn’t always gel with me (ha ha ha) so I’m hoping a liquid form will be easier to take in. I wish I had known about this sooner but I’ll be sure to try it on my long run this weekend!
Funny story I just have to share – I ended up not getting to do my speed/track workout until last night – it was a wonderful sunny, 72 degrees out here so I headed to the HS track. At first there were no other people there…then slowly I noticed more people trickling in. Then there was a huge crowd and I was like ummm…? Turns out there was a mini, Kid-friendly version of a 5k that’s happening this weekend at the track last night, and there were just way too many people there for me to want to finish on the track. I saw so many people I knew and I didn’t think they needed to witness me forcing out 100s, 200s, and 400s! So I instead finished my run in the giant parking lots at the school…that have uphills. So my workout ended up being a combo of speed AND hills! Thought you would appreciate that! A little extra work probably won’t hurt me!

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Oh let me know what you think about Tailwind too! Good luck on your long run this weekend, you are going to have an amazing run:) HAHA oh that is funny (PS speed and hills in 72 degrees… that is hard core). I’m glad you were still able to get in the workout and I totally would have left the track too. Enjoy your day Rhiannon!

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LOVED this post!

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Thank you Bridgette! I hope you have an awesome weekend!

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Today I plan to sleep in a little haha! I love sleep.

I also have 2 30kms on the plan this weekend. We will see how that goes.

For road runs I tend to stuff gels into pockets. But for long trail runs i use a salomon hydration vest which also has a lof of storage space.

Hope you have a great long run and weekend!

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ENJOY the extra sleep… it feels so good. You are going to rock your double 30kms… you are amazing Kristine. That vest sounds awesome, I’ll have to get it if I get into doing more trails. Thanks!

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I wanted to share this recipe for sweet potato quesadillas. I make them a lot for my son who loves them, especially since he is not a fan of cheese. https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/11/sweet-potato-quesadillas.html

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Oh my goodness… I need those right now. I can use our tortillas that I’m loving with them too. Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to try these. I hope you have a great day Lisa.

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My sister and I played Guess Who non-stop as kids. When we got a little older, we changed our questions to be a bit more subjective like, “Does your person look like he/she owns a dog?” Needless to say, I think the game ages well!

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HAHA we will have to try your subjective questions… that is awesome! Have a beautiful day Emily:)

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Love my Nathan Hipster belt. Got it a year or two ago from one of your blog recommendations. Just wanted to say thanks again! ?

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OH I am so glad you love it! Nathan makes the best belts in my opinion:) Have a beautiful weekend April!

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Janae – Looking forward to your Tailwind update :)

Karen Rogers – What an amazing story! Isn’t it great how God uses running to teach/remind us of things? I’ve had similar moments on my runs too. I had to comment and say how much I loved reading that your sister sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives at your dad’s funeral. It’s the perfect message…we sang it on Easter (I’m actually my church’s organist, so I had to resist the urge to crank the volume all the way and blast everyone’s eardrums), and it’s most definitely one of my favorite hymns.

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Thanks again for the recommendation. Her story is absolutely beautiful. It is also my favorite hymn too. Thanks Amanda and have an amazing weekend!

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Thank you, Amanda! I wish I could hear you play that song :)

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I saw A Quiet Place on Tuesday, it was definitely more tense than horror. And get this, I went on a date to see it. First one in a year! May not see the guy again but it was good practice!

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You went on a date?! Oh that is crazy ha… I was jumping and covering my eyes the whole time ha. Glad you got some good practice in Samantha and I hope your weekend is amazing!

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One of my favorites today is adding spinach to my protein shakes. Help me get in those veggies!
Our weekend plans are hanging out with my sister and niece who are in town!!

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YES AND YES… I love adding spinach into shakes and eggs too. Sounds like an awesome weekend, ENJOY!

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I love your new rug!

It’s going to be just me and my middle son on Saturday so he has our day planned out. We’re playing cards, watching The Greatest Showman at least twice, and getting Acai bowls. Sounds like a pretty fabulous day!

I had a belt with loops on the outside for gel, but the inside that keeps it water resistant is wearing out, so I just got a belt that has two HUGE zipper pockets (Spibelt) and so far it’s been pretty awesome!

I’m planning on running 10-12 this weekend. I have a friend tapering for London, so we’ll probably meet him for a portion of his run.

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Thank you Marissa! I love that your son has planned your day out… sounds like the perfect day:) I am so glad you are loving your new belt and GOOD luck this weekend. You are going to rock that 10-12 miler. Oh London is on my bucket list… tell him good luck for me!

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omg Skye is so dang cute. love your Skye posts.
super funny btw! love that.

nice work on the workouts for you and Andrew!

i have browsed thru that book at the library, and i checked it out – but this was last year and i was like uh my brain cannot take this all in so i returned it. i wonder if need to take it out again and buckle down and read it.

weekend plans: cousin’s wedding, maybe a movie outing, running, playdate with LO’s bff which will probably involve the playground and the pool.

i carry fuel during a run in a small snack ziplock (same that i use for LO’s school snacks), and in a pocket.

no long run or race this weekend, completed my long run yesterday at 5 am. but hope to get out there running.

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Sounds like you are going to have a really great weekend! Way to go on your long run yesterday… you are amazing!

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oooh ! i wanted to tell you thanks to your past post about running with friends, i finally ran with a friend IRL for that long run yesterday morning. last week she commented on my strava run, oh you run early in the morning on weekdays in the park? did we pass each other? and i said YES! and she said let’s run together :D so we made it happen. it was enjoyable catching up (i hadn’t seen her in a year) and it was really fun to run with her and she said it was encouraging for her to run with me. we are going to do it again next week.

i am also really excited about today and tomorrow’s running b/c it is going up to 70 F. so excited for the spring weather – it goes back down tho to 40-50F after – so have to take advantage of it…!!!

also i just reserved that book on hold at the library and will take another look at it.

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Oh this makes me so happy! Running with people is the best… it makes the miles fly by. Keep enjoying your runs with her. WARM WEATHER—> FINALLY!

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That photo of Skyes scared face made me LOL! So sweet and funny.
I always lose my belts. Like always. I need to try that Nathan one.

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Hahah yes! She is a sweetie. Let me know what you think of it Christina and have an amazing weekend!

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Hi! I say this out of concern but it sounds like the little one had a bad reaction to the shots. When a baby cries uncontrollably after vaccines for a long period it is usually a sign of brain swelling, they get a horrible headache. Please be careful and give thought to the next batch. Perhaps find a schedule to stretch them out or delay them. My niece was vaccine injured from the MMR unfortunately and has brain damage. She reacted to the toxins in the vaccine and her body could not process them out (she has the MTFHR gene mutation, very common to have) Vaccine injury is more common than you think, especially with the crazy CDC schedule now (to make money). Me age 30 got 8-9 vaccines to be considered fully. Kids now get 69!! ages 0-18, and kiddos now are def. not healthier than when we were kids.

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Oh that is terrible about what your niece experienced, I can’t even imagine! Thank you so much for sharing this information! I hope you have a great weekend Amanda!

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We have some crazy winds too here in Ohio lately. i decided it was too nice yesterday not to run (75 degrees means you must run outside right?!) but we had a windy advisory…. yea my legs feel it now haha. But don’t feel bad, we have snow projected for us again too :( I hope you have a great weekend!

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We woke up to a dusting of the snow this morning and there is more in the forecast for the next few days. It is just not fair!! It is supposed to be spring! I did manage to get three runs in this week so I am quite proud of myself. Two of those runs were done early morning when I am at my best!

Have a great weekend.

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Guess Who is the best! It’s one of those classics that still fun at any age! Also, I spoiled A Quiet Place for myself because I wanted to know what happens and OH MAN. It sounds good so I may work up the nerve to watch it.

I have a Flip Belt but have been working on running with a camelback and that has front slots where I carry my fuel as well! It depends on my distance and fuel strategy. Experimenting with gels but also real food!

Heading to a technology free church retreat! Super excited to be without my phone for a couple of days!

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What an amazing story, Karen!! ❤️❤️

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Thank you ? I’m so thankful Janae has given us a place to come together and share our stories :)

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Yay! I hope the book helps you figure out what works for you! Happy Friday :)

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