Friday Favorites, Vernal Day #2 & Mission Accomplished!

Mission Accomplished:  We have visited every single one of my siblings houses within 5 months—>  my sis lives right by us (that’s easy), my brother in Arizona, my brother in Kentucky and now my brother in Vernal, Utah.

I set out for my run right as the sun was coming up and decided to get in some hills if I could find any.  That marathon of mine in October is full of rolling hills so I need to get my legs used to them.

This was the view from the top of a huge hill I climbed.

I really just got in one big hill but that hill was rough so I was happy about it.   I forgot my Garmin and I didn’t want to wake up Andrew to steal his so I used Strava.  I rarely use Strava but every time I do it makes me think I really need to use it more often.

5,843 feet… that is more than a mile above the ocean and I could feel the extra elevation yesterday but it was absolutely gorgeous running around this new to me area.

It was also 66 degrees so that was amazing.  As I was coming back my sis-in-law was standing outside to ask if she could take a running picture for me.  She is actually the kindest person (not exaggerating, you can ask anyone that knows her) I have ever met in my life.  I first met her when I was 11 years old so I’m pretty lucky to have her in my life for so long.

The next item on our agenda—>  A hike.

The most important hiking supplies that we bring are below… and Skye’s backpack carrier.   These Sour Patch Strawberries are something else.

We went to Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery and it was amazing.  It reminded us so much of Zion minus the fact that there aren’t any crowds (we were the only hikers… there were only a few people fishing that we saw).

The hike that we did was a little over 2 miles each way and the kids did great (my definition of great while hiking = overall they were very good along with some moments/minutes where they tested my patience greatly;)

We sat around in the shade while the kids played in the water for a while and we snacked.

On the way back we went a different direction and saw a bunch of Indian petroglyphs from 800-1200 years ago.

We got back to our cars and had a big picnic.

Fast forward a few hours and we went to dinner at 7-11!  When my brother first told me he was taking us to dinner at 7-11 I was not super excited ha… turns out they have a restaurant in town called 7-11 that is really good.  They also have the best scones.

And then we drove home!  Knox leaves this morning so we made it a short trip but both kids have asked if we can go back next week!

RACE DAY TOMORROW.  This week has been really fun for my running… if only I could do two races a week every week.

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I LOVE hearing about the amazing things you are doing so feel free to send them to [email protected]

Frances!!!  “On July 22nd, my boyfriend, Xander and I ran the Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon!  It POURED for the majority of the race, which made it super challenging.  I gave up on attempting to PR when I couldn’t see 10 feet ahead of me with how much it was raining!  We were really just happy to finish!! After we finished, Xander told me it was one of the top 5 hardest things he has ever willed himself to do.  It really was not fun in the moment, but we both feel very accomplished having completed a half marathon in a monsoon:)”

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I have some Friday Favorites to share today!

*nanohydr8.  I have tried the nanohydr8 shot out a few times now and I have loved it.  I am hooked.  I can’t believe how much of a difference I feel during my runs when I have used this (I used it during my last race and last long run too and it has worked out so well for me).  It’s full of energy, electrolytes and amino acids… I’m so excited to see how this is going to help me during my marathon.  I am just using it for races/big workouts.  I don’t take caffeine at any other time so that’s what I’m personally doing.  Also, you can get 20% off if you want to try these out—>  use the code HRG20 HERE!

*Levitate 2s.  You know when they come out with a new version of a shoe that you love with all of your heart and you are really nervous about any changes that they are going to make because you just love the original so much?  I am here to say, if you love the Levitate, the Levitate 2s are even more amazing.  This is a bold statement but I think the Levitates are my favorite running shoe ever.  I’ll do a full review on them after I get in some more mileage in them.

*Probably my favorite episode from Oprah’s podcast.  “You first must come to terms with the false stories you tell yourself.  These erroneous tales can be quite dangerous and hold you back from your high purposes.”  <—This episode was just what I needed because I come up with all sorts of crazy stories in my head.

*I have two songs for my running that I am absolutely obsessed with.  I’ve been listening to them during all of my speed workouts!  This song and this song:

*Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.

*My favorite snack of the week.  These tortilla chips and cheese.  I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

*TRADER JOE’S OPENS TODAY IN MY AREA + I have a race expo to go to = It’s going to be a good day!

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Do you use Strava?  Have you ever in the past?  

Have any favorite things this week?

Anyone else racing this weekend?  Any long runs?

Favorite type of cheese?