Did You Know? Questionable. The Greatest…

If this picture makes you think that Skye finds the swings questionable then the picture did a great job explaining Skye’s feelings towards the swing.   Or maybe she was just not happy to be in public in her pajamas.  And without her normal bow.

She did find the slide to be a little bit more exciting.

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My day started off with 6 miles easy in preparation for today’s workout.  My workout today is going to be hard but I’m working on learning to embrace being uncomfortable and that is going to help me out big time on October 6th (and next week during my 5k)!  Also, I haven’t raced a 5k since 2014… hmmmm.

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Laura posted this on her IG story the other day (ps if you don’t already follow her, you need to… she constantly inspires me) and I loved it.  I thought about it a lot during my run yesterday (I also listened to How I Built This—> Steve Madden ((it’s crazy to learn about how these huge companies came to be)).

The greatest instrument you’ll ever own. <— Y.E.S.

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Brooke got some time with Elf.

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She asks me a few times a day if we can move to a farm.

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A farm probably won’t be in our future so I guess we will just have to visit farms as much as possible.

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My brother and sister-in-law (and their 7 kids) had their flight cancelled so they came on over to our house to hang out for a while.

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Quesadillas, pb and j sandwiches and popsicles were what fueled the day of cousin time and for dinner we made sweet potato fries, salad and loads of chicken cooked in olive oil and Mrs. Dash.

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Dessert.  Costco.  Thank you for accepting these into your store.

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The kids had a bunch of popsicles.

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And we finished off things with a rousing game of Old Maid.

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This is a very random thought but my friends and I were talking about this movie the other day.  It brought back many memories for me… I think I watched this movie at least 100 times as a little girl.  Anyone else?

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Reading all of your comments yesterday about Grandma’s Marathon made me even more excited to do it next year!  With each comment I kept thinking THIS IS MY RACE!! I will say, the weather stuff did make me a bit nervous (there have been some very cold and very hot years… although, I would love a cold year;) BUT I’ll just have to remind myself to let go of the things I cannot control.  Why not embrace the challenge and the unknown a bit.  Plus, it will feel like I don’t even have to breathe because of the elevation so that will totally make up for the humidity, right?  Or maybe I can put 20 humidifiers around my treadmill and get in some long runs that way to prepare myself.  Or I can just go to Hawaii and train there for a while;)

Holly has rocked this course over and over again and I LOVED her tip about the tangents.  This is something I can start practicing now in preparation for the race (and during my two races next week)!

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Running the tangents wrong could add a full MILE to your marathon to this course… yeah, I don’t want to run 27.2;)

Reading about tangents made me interested about what has happened in my previous marathons so I looked up my last three marathons to compare them (it’s been a bit of time since my last marathons).

GPS watches aren’t 100% accurate but it looks like in Boston I was about .2 miles over but for the other two I was pretty close to 26.2 miles.   These last three marathons that I have done do not include very many turns so I kind of just ran straight for those but it looks like for Grandma’s I WILL have quite a few turns/curves to figure out.  PS it turns out my body loves that 3:10-3:15 range.

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The goal for us is to run the shortest distance possible around the curves/turns:

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And this might show you why your Garmin might give you a different distance than you expected at the end of a race:

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(source for first image and below quote and source for second image)

Did you know that they require bike measurements for all USATF races?

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Have you ever finished a race and had your Garmin tell you a much different number than you thought it would?  Which race(s) and how big was the difference?

Do you remember any movies that you watched over and over again as a kid?

What has been one of the things that you have least control over during a race?

Favorite board game or card game?  We are in desperate need of some new ones.

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52 comments

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Yay! So Grandma’s may happen? Cool! I was looking at prices yesterday. It’s going to be pricey so I better start saving now. It will also be a super fun memory so I’m looking forward to it.
Does anyone know if it sells out right away?
Thank you in advance.

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I’m pretty positive it is my plan! I can’t wait and you have to come! I’m not sure if it sells out but that is an excellent question… anyone know?! Have an amazing day!

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The half sells out FAST. As well as hotel rooms.

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Thanks Molly! Let’s all get busy on registering together!

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The tangents stuff is interesting, thank you! And very strange…I listened during my run yesterday–same episode–How I Built This—> Steve Madden (I have a bit left to finish it on today’s run).

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WOW… that is crazy. Wasn’t this one super interesting? I had no idea about his history and the jail time etc. I hope you have a great day and enjoy your run today!

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Woo totally off topic but check out Runningwarehouse is having a big sale !! https://www.runningwarehouse.com/salecatpage.html?ccode=SALEWS

Super excited for you to run Gma’s!! You ought to do CIM one day; it’s so close too…

You go girl!

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You are the best… AWESOME!! So I REALLY wanted to do CIM this year but Andrew is in the hospital that weekend/week (he already has his school schedule) and I really want him to be at my marathon to see him on the course:) Plus, we didn’t have options for the kiddos but it WILL happen someday! I hope you have a great day!

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Hahaha, Skye’s face in that swing pic is hilarious!! And I remember that movie! My sister and I used to watch “Now and Then” over and over again. I also watched “Free Willy” and “D2: The Mighty Ducks Are Back” quite a bit. Such classics!

I think the weather is always the thing that I’ve had the least control over during races. The good thing, though, is that everyone in the race is dealing with the same weather, whether it’s super hot, humid, cold, raining, or whatever. Sure, others might be more used to running in that type of weather, but you’re all out there braving it together. I’ve learned that it’s best not to get anxious about the weather and check the forecast a million times the week of the race because I’ll just psyche myself out. You just have to trust that you’ve put in the work and are ready to give everything you have no matter what the conditions are.

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Oh Free Willy and D2 were some of my favorites too! Yes, so true… so nice that you are all in it together when it comes to the weather and the distance. I love that thought Natalie. I hope your Wednesday is a great one!

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Good Morning!!

Love those farm pics!! My mom grew up on a BIG farm, and my brother and I would spend a lot of long weekends there. I loved all the animals and the wide open spaces; my aunt used to give me riding lessons in the upper ring, and we would just ride fast on the open trails!! There were tons of goats, and we’d have goats mild ice cream and we’d cal it “squeeze and freeze”! I’m so lucky for those experiences.

My craziest marathon “time” was Chicago – I think the tall buildings messed with my Garmin and I ended up with over 32 miles! I know that didn’t happen, but it made pacing kind of hard. But I got a good PR out of it!! :)

One ‘out of control’ issue for me is crowd size. All of my races have been big ones, and this year will be my first smaller, lower-key experience. It’ll be interesting to see how it feels without a lot of crowd support.

THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME TANGENT INFORMATION!!!

Have a great day!!!

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Oh I love that you were able to spend so much time on a farm when you were growing up. Brooke would be very jealous.

THIRTY TWO MILES!! Okay, that is nuts… I bet it was fun to see what your average pace was for those 32 miles:) I hope you love the smaller race experience this year. Thanks so much Liz and keep me updated on everything!

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A little princess is one of the best movies ever!!! I also Watched an animated movie called The Last Unicorn 100s of tikes as a kid, and Beauty andctge Beast :) it’ll be interesting to see what movies my daughter has on repeat once she is old enough

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Well, I think Brooke will need to see The Last Unicorn! Seriously, it is so fun to see if they like any of the same ones that we did as kids too! Have a wonderful day Brittany!

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Apples to Apples…fun for all!

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I forgot about that game! Yep, we NEED THAT!

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My girls are really into monopoly jr and the game of life right now.

I always forget about running tangents. I’m pretty sure that I ran further in high school than anyone else during my races because of that haha.

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Oh I love Life! So my friend just got a new monopoly game that only lasts 15 minutes… I think I need that for our family big time ha. I hope your day is a great one Jenny!

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I though the same thing when I saw that movie on Netflix! Immediately went on my list. I wonder if it will be as good at 30 as it was as a kid… Haha

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I’m really hoping it will be! I am also wondering if it will be a good movie for Brooke because I don’t remember the whole thing… might have to wait a few years. I hope you have a great day Emily!

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Interesting about Grandmas tangents. It’s a straight shot for so long. My Garmin read 26.3 miles.

I listened to that episode of How I Built This yesterday. It didn’t make me really like Steve Madden!

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Haha me either… I was not super impressed by him but it was very interesting how it all came to be. Really?! That is so interesting! I hope you have a beautiful day!

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October 6th is going to be a big day in our house too! We are having my daughter’s first birthday party that day. I can’t believe she will be one in 2.5 months…..time slow down!

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Oh that is so exciting!! Our girls are so close in age! Wish we could do play dates together. I agree, it’s going by so fast! Have a beautiful day with your little one today Megan!

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Boy is Skye looking a lot like Andrew these days! Maybe Kara will be at Grandma’s isn’t she usually there?

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I totally agree that she does! She looks like Brooke and Andrew… nothing like me haha! I am crossing all of my fingers that she will be… maybe that is part of why I want to go do it too;) Have an awesome day Allison!

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I looked for the chocolate covered raspberries last time I was at Costco and couldn’t find them. What section are they in? I’m hoping mine has them and I just looked in the wrong place because they look amazing! As do all of your meals, by the way! I should build my meal plans and grocery lists off your posts. They look so good!

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They are in the frozen section! They are by the frozen fruits and ice cream/popsicles! You need them. I wish I could ship them to you:) Hahah just come over for dinner! Have a wonderful day Ali!

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My last marathon I ran 42.7KM – and all of us (even running at different times) were way over. At first we were maybe 100m away from the KM marking flags – then a huge jump happened. Not sure why – but that last 1/2 km does make a big different in time.

NYC marathon was a perfect 42.2 – which is kind of funny as I definitely did not pay attention to where I was running

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That does make a huge difference! So weird that the huge jump happened! Looks like you ran the perfect race at NYC! I hope you are having a great day Rebecca!

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Your children get cuter EVERYDAY!!! The flowcharts have me cracking up here!! !HA

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Oh thank you Ann! I hope your Wednesday is an amazing one!

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Battleship, Bargain Hunter and Quick Wit were favorite games growing up. Bargain Hunter had a “credit card machine.” We thought it was so cool! Quick Wit was so much “easier’ to play than Trivial Pursuit.

So random about Tangents. I used to be great at running them….until I became a Mama! I am constantly telling my kiddo to stay to the side of the road while riding bikes or walking. So much so that I can’t seem to do it even during a race with closed roads! Bwhahahahahaha!

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Okay, Knox will love battleship! Thank you and I am sure Brooke will love Bargain Hunter! I have never tried Quick Wit… I will have to try it! Thank you! Oh that is so hilarious, I can totally see myself doing that too! Hahahah… you are a good mama! Have a wonderful day Bridgette!

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That picture of Brooke and Elf needs to be framed. So precious.

I totally remember The Little Princess movie!! Wow. I don’t think I watched it 100 times like you, but I remember watching it.

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Funny you said that because I am printing it off and putting it in a frame for her room for her birthday but don’t tell her;) I hope you have an amazing day Alicia!

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I love buying old board games on ebay, usually the prices aren’t too bad and the games were made so much better back when we were kids. I bought pretty pretty princess, guess who, clue, life, don’t wake daddy. all the classics for my daughter!

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That is SUCH a good idea. Brilliant. So many good memories with those too… thanks Amanda!

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Yay! I’m running Grandmas marathon next year too! I was signed up this year but couldn’t make it. I was kind of glad the weather wasn’t great because maybe the bad weather is out of it’s system for next year!

You’re giving me baby fever ?

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YOU ARE!!! I am so excited to meet you there (I really want to do a meet up!!) and I agree, we are going to have amazing weather next year:) Have an awesome day and Skye gives me baby fever too haha!

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Thanks again for the podcast tip, but i flipped to it, and somehow found you (HRG) were on Man Bun Run! so i listened to that episode, it sounds like you were pregnant with Skye at the time. loved listening to it on my recovery run this morning!

yes the Garmin has told me i completed 13.3 and 13.4 for two different half marathons…! it’s a little frustrating, we are pretty sure for the 2nd one, buildings interfered with the GPS signal. however, for the first one, i dialed that down and hugged the tightest parts of the course and did it this year in 13.13 or 13.16 or something. was glad i learned a little!

yes, i totally remember movies that i watched over and over as a kid. i am totally having my LO watch them now, and she loves them. Homeward Bound was one (i saw that you or Andrew was watching that with the kids) and our LO loves Sassy the cat. i have to agree Sally Field is just too good. Another one is “A Little Princess” the adaptation from the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel. i used to cry so much at that movie – love it!

weather is totally something i do not have control over during a race. the other day i ran a 5K in 90F with high humidity. at the start of the race, they asked us to “run safe and not shoot for any PRs” – and one of the volunteers yelled “water station up ahead!” at the 1.5 mile mark, and several people around me said “oh thank GOD!” – at the BK half, it was pouring buckets with winds. several runners who got dumped on by the rain were yelling “augh!!!” in like mile 9-10 – and another one squealed “yay rain!” – i thought that was pretty funny…and at the NYC half, we started in 25-28F in the corrals, and we had a lot of wind on the course. at mile 9 or 10 i had an exchange of words with another runner like, geez are we there yet?? lol. nope we were on cat hill in central park – but it’s almost like we’re there…! i’d like to think each time it gets less and less brutal :)

board games that we are playing lately is LIFE junior, connect four, UNO, go fish, war, and Clue. we need some good ones too! will be checking out the replies you get here!

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Hahah. I had totally forgotten that song/those lyric. Then I was reading them and thought this sounds familiar. That sound was cool when I was in high school. Many, many years ago.

Tell Skye it’s okay. I hate the swings too. They make me sick to my stomach every dang time.

I am legitimately eating those chocolate covered raspberries as I type this. I saw a neighbor when I was waiting in line to leave Costco and she saw me eating them there. She was like you can’t even wait until you leave the store to start eating them? Noooope.

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My husband and I play Rummy and Spite & Malace often. We love card games. My sister and I were obsessed with all the Mary Kate & Ashley movies when we were younger. We watched them all so many times. I love that Brooke wants to live on a farm… too cute!!! Hope you guys have a great day!!!

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Ahh I loved A Little Princess so good! I just re-watched Hook last night, crazy how much went right over my head as a little kid .. another really solid choice for me is Casper.. hellooo Devon Sawa (totally in every 90s movie ha)

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I think weather is my biggest fear and knowing that I have NO control over it always makes me crazy. The 1st thing I do every morning on race day is get out of bed and check that weather. . . and I check it a couple times during the night!!!!

I love watching Mary Poppins!

This does not help you in the kid department but you and Andrew need to play Sequence!! We play it weekly at dinner! But after you put the kids to bed play it!! It does require a little thinking but SOOOO fun! Ohhhh the kids would probably like the game “Pie in the face”!!!

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I LOVED A Little Princess when I was a kid. I watched it tons of times. I probably haven’t seen it since I was 13, so it’s probably time…

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I’d love to hear from your mom, sister or sister-in-law on how they cook for a large family. I only have 1 kid and I still feel like I’m always cooking. Do they have any tips or go-to recipes up their sleeves?

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I loved the Little Princess. I think I got a locket with the movie one Christmas.
I have always loved Pop o magic trouble. Knox and Brooke will love it. Chutes and ladders
We also played Yahtzee junior a ton. We had a Disney version of it

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I’ve had a marathon come in at 27.6 miles… off-road and self-navigated, I think I did a poor job of the navigation! I was supposed to run a second marathon the next day, but after 8 miles I was only a quarter of the way through, and wasn’t really up for a 32 mile day! That’s my only DNF :’-(

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Ahh! A Little Princess is STILL one of my very favorite movies to this day! I seriously just watched it like 2 weeks ago when I discovered it was on Netflix — I also have it on DVD but sometimes I’m lazy and don’t feel like putting a DVD in the player, ha ha. I used to always watch this movie at my grandma’s house and I love the soundtrack, too!

And…I REALLY need to pick up those raspberry treats from Costco because they look amazing!

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You may just have to pre-order this for Brooke….it’s better to bring the farm to the city, then to move to the farm ;)
https://kidtraxtoys.com/pages/rideamals

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ah, a little princess!! i probably read the book 100 times, ha – it was my absolute favorite. i would constantly reread it when i was younger!

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