Friday Favorites, No Desire, 1st Crawl.

I’m just going to go ahead and clap for all of us that have recently gotten out on our runs when we had NOOOOO desire to go.  Thursday morning I wanted to just stay in bed for another three hours but it was either I run right at that moment or never that day so thinking about the marathon for a minute got me up and going.

But like usual, I felt a million times better afterwards.

My coach put in bold on my plan to take it really easy yesterday.  I don’t use my heart rate monitor that often on my watch anymore but I do sometimes on my easy runs to make sure I keep it easy.  I have 8 easy today and then tomorrow I have 17.5 with my last longish workout (2x 6 miles and 1 mile fast thrown in there) before the marathon.

8 miles @ 8:45 average pace.

She is just as fascinated by my favorite lipgloss (punchy from Victoria Secrets) as I am.

The good and the bad of this picture.

The good:  I grabbed some lunch with friends and look at that guac… chicken and tortillas at the bottom.

The bad:  I dropped my Hydroflask and I’m not very happy about that huge dent.

Skye did her first ever mini crawl over to my Fresca so that was exciting.

That tongue of hers is out most of the day.

I think Brooke might want to be a teacher too… After she finished her homework she asked Knox if she could teach him everything she learned.

Another soccer day!

Knox asked to hold Skye during a few of his breaks.

I hope you have a great weekend!

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Time for a few Friday favorites!

*THIS IS US starts again in 4 days.  My emotional tie to this show is probably not healthy… I just love it too much.

*Koala Clips!  A few of you recommended trying out a Koala Clip a few weeks ago when I was talking about finding a solution to not having my phone in my fuel belt (it was annoying me) anymore.  I was excited to try them out because I want a way to have my music for the marathon and this way Andrew can track me while running (using Find My Friends)…  I reached out to Koala Clip and they sent two for me along with a 10% code for you if you want to try them—>  HRG10!  I am really loving it… I get the safety/ease of having my phone with me but now I don’t feel my phone anymore.  It took me about a mile to get used to it and then I forgot it was there.  Thanks you guys for helping me find a solution.  Oh and I also can easily grab my phone out and put it back in while running so that’s great too!

*To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before.  A few of my friends told me about this movie on Netflix so I made Andrew watch it with me:)  We actually really enjoyed it (yes, I still like watching movies about high school drama;) and it was pretty funny!

*Allie Kieffer posted this stretch and I tried it out.  It was amazing.  My hip flexors get so tight and I usually do this stretch without the box but using the box took it to the next level.

*I bought some new black jeans here that I’ve officially worn 4 out of 5 days this week and I probably would have worn them 5 out of 5 days but I had to wash them.  They are so comfortable, flattering and I LOVE the front button details on the jeans and the bottom of them:)  They are $135 now but I waited for one of their discount days and got them for $78 so wait for another discount day if you can.  They are just so amazing I had to tell you about them now.

*My favorite fall jacket!!  Every fall I wear this jacket (they have a bunch of different colors too) like crazy and it’s time for it to be out of the closet again.

*Steph Bruce posted on her IG the other day, “Defeat came knocking on my door yesterday and I let it in, early on in my workout.  But now I feel prepared that next time it comes knocking I’ll slam the door on its face.”

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I love hearing the amazing things you are doing, send them to [email protected] if you would like to be featured!

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Molly!!!  “This past Saturday I ran my FIRST marathon!  With seven half marathons under my belt and several in the shorter distances, I felt it was time to venture into the unknown territory of 26.2 miles.  The past couple years I’ve had some friends start running full marathons, and after getting to go to Boston to cheer some of them on this year, I was so inspired and knew it was time I give this distance a go.  My training plan sent by my coach was initially very intimidating to me (a 60 mile week!?) but the confidence he had in me, along with my determination to do this, and do it well, led me to believe I could actually conquer this thing.

Super small marathon… it was the Pacific Northwest Marathon out in Eugene, Oregon. I’m from Florida so it turned out to be a destination marathon, and I’m thinking all my future marathons should be the same idea (plus who wants to run 26.2 miles in FL weather WOOF).  The course was beautiful and flat, it was in the 40s/50s throughout the race, I had my mom and brother out along the course cheering me on, and my coach running alongside me pacing me to ensure I have a seamless first marathon (and update my instagram story like every mile which all my supporters LOVED lol).  Feeling truly blessed by this first-time experience.  I went in with a time goal, but also realized anything can happen.  I’ve seen it happen to people and since my body hadn’t gone that distance yet, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I held on to my 8:30 pace goal till about mile 18, then really started to slow down.  Amazingly enough, this did not discourage me!  I have to say, running a marathon is incredibly humbling, and as my goal time started slipping more and more away from me, I stayed more positive than I thought possible, and was just SO HAPPY that I felt strong enough to finish.  Never walked, just ran at the speed my body was allowing.  I crossed the finish line in 3:51:44 and feel so accomplished.  I’m writing this 3 days out from that marathon, and I’m already itching to start planning my next one.  I learned so much this weekend and want to use that to better myself and my running.”

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MICHELLE!!!  “I got my acceptance letter for the Boston marathon on Monday!  I cried tears of joy when I got the letter!  I have been trying to qualify for 4 years and finally did in May with a 10 min PR and a Boston qualifying time with a 5:56 cushion.  I was praying this was enough since it is getting harder and harder to get in with so many people qualifying!  I am beyond excited to run Boston in April especially with family and friends being able to come and see me run for the first time!  I appreciate any advice you have about Boston or any of your readers that have run it.  Fell free to contact me @ [email protected]”

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Stephanie!!!  “Hello from the UK!  My husband and I got married on June 23rd 2018 after a whirlwind engagement.  I have been running on and off since 2014 when I finished my first 10k and it has been one of my goals to run at least one half marathon.  Unfortunately I always got injured because I kept on wanting too much too soon.  So, after several rounds of shin splints I decided to give it another go this year but I told myself to take it really easy, give myself 5 months of consistent training and foam roll/stretch religiously.  It also helped that I managed to get my then fiancé to run the Richmond Half Marathon with me.  So that’s what we did last weekend.  We finished in 02:28 and couldn’t be happier.  We even managed to stick together throughout the whole race and crossed the finish line holding hands.  It was such a special experience and we fell in love with each other a little more that day.”

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What are your weekend plans?

-My last long long run before the marathon (17.5 this weekend and 9-12 next weekend)!

Have any favorite things this week?!  TELL ME PLEASE!

Do you pay attention to your heart rate during training?

Last drink (besides water) that you had?

-Fresca.  I love that stuff.   Soon hot chocolate will enter my life again.