Friday Favorites + Much Better at This!

Teething is still going strong over here but we did get some big smiles from her throughout the day too!

My Thursday run was 9 miles @ 8:34 average pace.  I was tired (that is to be expected during peak/teething baby week) and took a few breaks to just stand there for a minute.  Today is an easy run and Saturday is a 3 hourish run that is going to be the best dress rehearsal for race day.  I’ll probably be doing that one with some friends which will be really nice.  I’ve really got to nail my nutrition down so I have an exact plan for the race.

There is a new fire down south.  The air wasn’t bad during my run but it was crazy to see the smoke roll in over the mountains.

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I am still loving bringing my water bottle in my fuel belt.  I forget that it is there, it never leaks and it actually holds a lot of water.

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Pattern day for these two.  Themed days at school are heaven for them.

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Knox asked me to blog about his latest lego creation that he made.  He told me that he thinks you will all be impressed when you see it and I agreed with him.

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Yesterday I did much better at really resting my body.  I like to be on the go and moving as much as possible but instead we hung out on the rug for a while.

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I even did most of my work from the ground on the laptop.  I also decided that washing and doing my hair was too much effort so as part of making sure to recover… I’ll let it stay dirty for a while;)

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Skye had her 9 month doctor appointment.  How we are to this stage already, I do not know.

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Afterwards we grabbed some J-Dawgs.  Normal hot dogs do not compare to these in the slightest.  Andrew is all about the jalapeños and bell peppers on his but over the years I have liked those two things less and less.

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Another highlight from our day was Knox’s soccer game!

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Skye made a friend with a baby 2 weeks younger than her while we were there.

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And then they did their normal ‘sprint down the hill as fast as possible’ thing afterwards.  PS I am pretty sure one of the biggest reasons our kids are loving soccer so much right now is because the after game snacks that they get.   <— Which runners understand with the food at races in the finishers area.

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I just have a few (aka I took a little break from buying ALL OF THE RUNNING gear this week;) Friday favorites to share with you this week:

*My favorite podcasts from this week—>  Ali on the Run w/ AMY CRAGG (the 1st podcast I’ve listened to with Amy), Ali on the Run LIVE @ NYRR, Rambling Runner with Sarah Bishop, Developing Emotional Maturity and 3 Life-Changing Mantras to Remember During the Marathon of Motherhood (and running).

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*RUNTRITAM posted these stats from the Boston Marathon 2018… WOW.

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*Clearly chocolate covered anything.  SO good.

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*Jen posted this list of ways that you know you’re a runner and I thought they were pretty funny:)  My most expensive shoes are definitely my Levitates ha!

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*I took this screenshot yesterday so we are actually 21 days away now… I am more excited for race day than I have ever been before.

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*Gwen Jorgensen shared her pre-run activation drills…  they are really great!

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If you want to be featured for your running accomplishments, send it to [email protected]

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Jenny!!!  “Early this spring, my cousin Ashley texted me and asked if I wanted to train for a half marathon.  I said, “of course!”  I was just coming off from an injury so I took a few months to slowly work my mileage back up and make sure that I was healthy before signing up for one.  But once I felt confident, we signed up for the Hobble Creek Half in August. I haven’t ever “officially” trained for anything more than 10k, so this was a new experience and I loved it!  It would have been way more fun on the long runs if Ashley was running with me, but we live 4 hours apart so that wasn’t going to happen.  It did help that we checked in with each other daily about it.

2 weeks before the race we had a lot of fires going on in our area (and right near the course) and my asthma made an appearance in a big way.  I started getting nervous about running the race in the smoke but every time we checked the race directors assured us that the canyon we would be running in was better air quality.  So we decided to just keep watching it and do what we needed to do.  I took my inhaler a whole bunch and took some allergy medication daily for those two weeks (doctor’s orders).  And started to slowly see a difference in my breathing.

1 week before my race my knee started to hurt really bad.  It hadn’t happened enough to call it an injury but I decided to take a few days off.  I ran again 3 days before the race and it was worse.  So I called my PT to see what he thought of me running.  He confirmed my thoughts on it being too early to call it an injury but told me to stretch, ice, foam roll and stretch like it was my job and that he would tape it for me before the race.  So that is what I did.

Race day I took some ibuprofen, allergy medication, and my inhaler (feeling kind of like an old person with all those pills haha) and we headed to the starting line.  About a mile in I needed to go to the bathroom already!  So I stopped quickly and went.  By the time I got out, Ashley was pretty far ahead of me but I could still see her.  I was pretty convinced that I wouldn’t catch her but told myself as long as I could stay in a place that I could see her I was doing pretty good.  So I kept plugging along.  My knee wasn’t really bothering me much at that point so I kept pushing my pace a little bit.  Around mile 6 I caught up to her and we were both really glad that I did.  It was fun and nice to have someone to visit with for a couple of miles.  Around mile 8 or 9, Ashley kept encouraging me to go faster.  She said she could feel me pulling her along and that she didn’t want me to slow down for her.  I didn’t feel that at all.  I was so convinced that going faster would make my IT band and knee flare up more and I’d be in trouble.  But I finally decided to speed up just a little bit at a time.  From there I felt like the miles just kept passing by.  I felt so good and strong and I was running off of all that adrenaline and other endorphins.  By mile 11 my knee had had enough.  The pain got worse and I slowed down but I kept going.  There was absolutely no way I was going to DNF with 2 miles to go.  Pretty soon I was at the finish line and I ran/limped in as fast as I could.  I finished at 1:47:25 and took 3rd in my age group and I was the 43rd woman overall.  Ashley ended up finishing about 7 minutes behind me!  It was such a fun experience and I’ll be doing it again.  But for now, I’m taking a long recovery because my IT band and knee are still pretty angry/injured.  It was worth it.  I’ll be back to running/racing soon!”

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I’m just going to brag about my family for a second:)  My niece and nephew are rocking cross country.  My nephew was in the top 10 and my niece had a 1 minute pr!

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Jalapeños and banana peppers—> Yay or nay?  Sauerkraut? 

Have any exciting plans this weekend?  

Favorite chocolate covered item on the planet?

-Chocolate covered caramels.

Those of you prepping for a race… how many days until your race?

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52 comments

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Tell Knox that his Lego creation is AWESOME!! :)

I have a race exactly one month from today. I’m hoping that I will still be ready for it, though I’ve had a slight setback with the kidney stone last week and the kidney infection this week that was caused by that stone. But I’ve been training for it for a while now and still want to be able to race it. It will be my first race to actually race in almost two years!

My friend is getting married in San Diego this weekend, so it will be a fun weekend of celebrating her and her wonderful fiance. Hope y’all have a great weekend, Janae! Go DOMINATE your long run tomorrow, my friend! :)

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I will, thank you Natalie! ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!! You are going to be ready, you are so strong and you have fought through so many things. You’ve got this! Enjoy the weekend, that sounds perfect. Thank you!

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Jalapenos, yes but only on certain things. Banana peppers and sauerkraut, no thank you!!
This weekend (well actually today and Sunday) I am running in my first pair of Levitates!! I got them yesterday in the mail. They are the first edition and I found them on the finishline website for $67…………NEW! They still have a few colors and sizes left but they are $90………for some reason the black ones were cheaper than the other colors but I think they are all sold out now. I seriously can’t wait to run in them. I name all my shoes, (ha!) and I go with a letter of the alphabet, so these shoes will start with the letter M and I will decide the name during their inaugural run today! (Sorry, geeking out over here! My launches are wearing thin and I realized on my last long run that they wouldn’t make it for my next race, so I needed some new ones…..although I can run in my Saucony’s, but I prefer Brooks)

I love chocolate covered gummy bears. I get mine from a local chocolate kitchen called The Hot Chocolatier.
And I have a race (a half) FIFTEEN DAYS AWAY!!

Have a great weekend and long run!!

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AHHH LEVITATES… this makes me so so happy! I love that you name your shoes, that is so fun. Let me know what you think of them, I’m stoked for you! I need chocolate covered gummy bears asap! FIFTEEN DAYS!! Thanks Loribeth!

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Knox’s lego creation is BOSS! And both the kids looked rad for pattern day :)

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Thank you Nicole… I can’t wait to read your comment to him. It will make him so happy! I hope you have a wonderful day!

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Chocolate covered peanut butter is my absolute favorite!

I’m running Twin Cities Marathon in 22 days…a progression run today and a 24-miler Monday morning, then the taper begins!

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AHHHH 22 days! That is coming up, I am SO so excited for you. Please let me know how your 24 miler goes, you’ve got this!

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I have that same water bottle but feel like the water gets so warm SO FAST! (I guess being up against 98.6 degree body and being 6,000 degrees outside is a bad combo). I have been freezing it before hand and it thaws quickly and stays cold longer :)

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YES… my water gets so so warm too but it is better than no water for me:) I am totally going to copy you and freeze mine, thanks for the idea! Have a beautiful day!

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Knox-your lego creation is AWESOME!
I’m with you on the choco covered caramels! I have one each morning with my coffee! Best wishes on your long run this weekend!

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Knox’s lego creation is awesome!!! I miss the days when my boys would sit and build legos for hours!
Nay on both jalapenos and banana peppers!! Bleh
My half marathon is Oct. 7, so I think I’m 22 days away…yay :)
Have a good easy run day today, and make sure you spend lots of time on the rug again ;) I know you will nail the 22 miler tomorrow!!!
Happy Friday :)

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Jalapenos and banana peppers are both so yummy! Not the biggest fan of sauerkraut though…
I am currently 38 weeks, 5 days pregnant so maybe having a baby is in my plans for this weekend?
I think chocolate covered raisins are my most favorite chocolate covered item…but anything covered in chocolate is always amazing!!
Not currently prepping for any races (just labor soon!) but depending on when I bounce back after this baby I might do a spring race…we’ll just see how things go :-)

Have fun on your long run tomorrow! I have absolutely loved following your training this summer! You’ve been so positive and I can feel your great energy and I am hoping for a huge PR for you!

Also – I completely love that you talked about resting more! I often feel super guilty just sitting around and I try to be as active/moving as possible but sometimes our bodies just need to rest and that is okay! I’m so glad you embraced it!

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You are SO SO CLOSE TORRIE!! I am so excited for you and I hope that you get to have that little one as soon as you are ready! Thank you so much for your sweet words Torrie and I totally understand what you are saying… let’s both be better at resting more!

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I don’t have answers to your questions today, but I’d like Knox to know that I wish I could drive a full-size version of his Lego creation! I think that could take a person on many cool adventures!

The Boston “fun facts” kinda made me laugh, as I imagined 3,000+ people saying “all the nopes” to running in those conditions. I also love the ways you know you’re a runner–fun to relate to some of those :D

In 3 weeks you’ll be rocking that marathon!! Yahoo!

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I can’t wait to tell him this, thank you! Thank you so much Corey. I hope you are having a great Friday!

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I love working on the floor with my laptop and Knox’s lego creation is awesome. Legos are so much fun.

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They are… it’s one of the things I really enjoy doing with the kids (I am not good at playing dolls though… I need to learn that ha)! Have a wonderful day!

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Excellent job Knox! I’m impressed!

My son HATES themed days at school. He barely participates. If it is something simple like mismatched socks or something similar he participates. His school does some fun days like 100 yo day, Pirate day and Grinch day. I see some of the kids really get into it. Not for my son. I guess he really is just into being comfortable! LOL!

Good luck tomorrow on your 3 hourish run! You’ve got this! 21 days is almost into the teens!

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Hahaha I’m like your son… I’d rather just be comfortable. Thank you so much Bridgette, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

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You know you are a runner, when you read the question “Exciting plans this weekend?” and the very first thing to pop in my head is long run.

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YES YES YES!!!! I am the same way:) Have a great weekend Erica and I wish we could long run together this weekend!

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I have an 8k next Saturday! I was signed up for a half but my training wasn’t going well so I switched to the 8k.

This weekend we are going through hurricane Florence?. We live in Charlotte and are expecting flooding and power outages. ? we don’t have flooding!!

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Erin, I am so so so sorry. You will be in my prayers and please keep me updated on how you are doing. NO FLOODING PLEASE. Good luck at your 8k next weekend!

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Nay to all three. Ick.
Chocolate covered caramels are amazing, yes. I also like chocolate covered cashews, but unfortunately have developed an allergy to cashews.
120 days until my main race that I’m training for (Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge); another half in 51 days.
My exciting plans are volunteering at my best friend’s fundraiser for pediatric cancer research.

Also, Knox’s Lego creation is awesome. I have neither the patience nor talent for creating any thing out of Legos.

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Boooo to the allergy to cashews, I have never tried chocolate covered cashews. I will eat some for you:) 120 days until the Goofy Challenge, I want to come do that with you. Sounds like a really great event! Thanks Linda and have a great night!

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I am loving Gwen lately but current favorite Bowerman babe is Shelby Houlihan!!

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I’m loving her too!!! So many amazing female runners right now!

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Knox, that LEGO creation is so super cool!! Does it carry the smaller car?
My plans for the weekend —> first run post C-section!!!!!! I’m soooo excited!!!! I feel great in my recovery so far, but I’m also going to make sure I take it nice and easy and listen to my body. I think I’ll start with 0.25 miles and see how it feels from there.
The next race I’m training for is 228 days away…I took a big leap of faith and registered for Boston 2019! No idea yet what my race goal will be, that all depends on how this return to running goes over the next couple months. :)
Way to rock the recovery process and set yourself up to be healthy and fresh for your big race! I have a good feeling you’re going to do amazing, your training has been on point all summer!

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It sure does:) AHHH KELLY I am so so excited for you. Please let me know afterwards how it goes. Isn’t it amazing how our body’s can heal from things like that?! I am THRILLED you signed up for Boston! Go Kelly Go! Thank you so much, I hope your day is a great one Kelly (and that you are getting some sleep:)!

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Love the lego, he’s a great builder! My 12 year old was WAY into legos for a long time, so good for them!

I am prepping for race day also tomorrow (have I mentioned how I love that our race is on the same day, you are totally pumping me up with positive energy!)….20 miles…race fuel, clothes, everything to pretend its race day! EEEEK

And yes, my most expensive pair of shoes are my running shoes. :)

I hope you have a wonderful long run Saturday, Janae!! I’ll send you some good long run vibes :)

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I seriously love that we are pretty much training together and cheering each other on:) Let me know how tomorrow goes. You’ve got this Meg and keep those positive thoughts flowing. You are STRONG! Thank you so much and I am sending them right back to you!

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Knox did a really good job with his Legos! So creative. I grew up with two brothers and two boy cousins, so I spent A LOT of time with Legos. I also have 6 nephews…so I know good Lego stuff when I see it :)
Chocolate covered caramels, pretzels or peanut butter are all winners in my opinion.
Sending you all the good vibes for your long run this weekend! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.

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He will be so happy to hear from an expert about his legos, thank you so much Elizabeth! I really appreciate you and hope that you have an amazing day!

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Haha the “no fear of porta potties” made me think of a time last year when I was shopping and asked a clerk where the restroom was. She responded VERY apologetically that is was being remodeled and the only place to go is a porta potty outside. I was like “Oh, ok no problem, I do that all the time!” Lol
Sauerkraut!!
My weekend is pretty lowkey but I am totally ok with that!
Chocolate covered pretzels, and also gummy bears ?
22 days, 21 hours until Chicago!! ???
Quick question/advice… my leg is feeling mostly better from tweaking it last wknd and I plan on doing a bike ride to warm up, then testing it out today. I had one more 20 miler planned (I did 22 last wknd) for Sunday, but I’m not sure if I should go for it, or skip it and just start my taper. What are your thoughts?
Have a great day!

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Your story made me laugh… I guess I forget that porta potties aren’t usually used by the normal human like they are for runners! Enjoy that lowkey weekend, sounds perfect for me. You are going to rock Chicago and I am so glad your leg is doing better! Are you working with a coach? That is a REALLY tough question! I might try it out until I feel any pain and then stop or maybe even just skip it since you clearly have the strength and endurance (22 MILES!!) to rock the race. I think for me I would rather show up to the starting line a bit undertrained than overtrained/injured in the slightest. Let me know what you do! GOOD LUCK!

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Way to go, Knox! Great creation!

I love banana peppers, jalapenos are usually too hot. Sauerkraut is a no ;)

My next race is in 25 weeks – I signed up for the Revel Kulia marathon on the Big Island. I have 9 weeks of pre-training before my real training begins.

I love Jen’s list. I’m no good at mile/kilometer conversions, but I can relate to all the others.

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First of all, it’s definitely a Friday and my brain is not working because I read that as “jalapenos and bananas” as if you wanted me to combine them, and it made me feel a little sick!! :) Yes to jalapenos, no to banana peppers. Sauerkraut is also a yes for me but only in specific situations! Like canadian bacon pizza or with kielbasa and fried potatoes!
Exciting plans – my newly engaged friend is coming into town this weekend so I get to see her and talk wedding things! Plus there’s a large craft fair not far from me so a bunch of us are going there. My friends and I have a tradition now of going and it’s a lot of fun!
50 days til my race! I feel like time is going by awfully quickly these days!

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Way to go on your Lego creation, Knox! It looks like there’s even a motorcycle attached? So cool!
I love chocolate covered oreos.
This weekend my parents are visiting and my kids have soccer games.

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YES he does… I will read your comment to him later on:) Okay, now I need a chocolate covered oreo! Sounds like the perfect weekend… thanks Ali!

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Excellent job, Knox! I am a Scientist-tell him that from my very scientific perspective, his Lego creation looks very good.

Do you have any issues pulling the water bottle out from your back while you’re running? I live in the SW USA where it is incredibly hot and I’m always looking for new hydration sources. Do you have to stop running to pull out the bottle? Or is it easy to wrangle?

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Oh I totally will tell him that… he will be so excited! I do not have a hard time pulling it out at all… but putting it back in is more tricky for me. Lately I just rotate my belt (while running) to the front and pull it out and drink, put it back in and then rotate it back to the back if that makes sense? So far it is the best option I have found so that I don’t have to carry anything. Let me know if you try it!

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Knox I love your Lego creation! I’m a robotics coach and think you would be great on a robotics team:)

I’ll be listening to those podcasts, thanks for posting I always listen when u post.

I had my longish run (8 miler) prep for half and I intentionally did much slower. I think it will help give me energy for my speedy (to me) runs.

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As a Boston 2018 finisher, it’s funny how quickly I’ve forgotten the severity of the conditions that day. My family was so, so worried about me; they drove out to the halfway point with dry clothes/shoes for me, and made me carry a mini portable phone charger just in case I got hypothermic on the course AND my phone died (which didn’t happen; I dressed warm!) I’d NEVER been as cold as I was after finishing, as I wandered copley square looking for my parents. But now whenever people ask me how that day was I say “IT WAS AMAZING!” without hesitation.
I’m doing my second and final 20-miler of this training cycle saturday, and then a whole lot of laying around to recover:) My marathon is now 36 days away, but I’m also running my FAVORITE local half marathon in two weeks, which I’m pretty excited for!

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Kerri, you are absolutely incredible for running Boston 2018. You are hardcore. Wow. Your family sure loves you and was so supportive of you! GOOD LUCK TOMORROW and please let me know how it goes, you are going to rock both the marathon and the half!

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Hi, speaking of nutrition… I remember AZ brother saying he would give a post on his program around the race in May-18. Many here expressed our excitement and support for his progress and we’re really interested in this piece. Also super interested in the changes made from former program to new program. He’s going to do a great job of writing it.

I would say jalapenos and onions over sauerkraut (I know you wrote banana peppers). I never crave sauerkraut. A german-ancestry reader said recently they were making it (for the fall/ winter?) and it was their annual tradition. I might need to know more about sauerkraut. The Koreans have kim-chi and I think it’s more pungent than sauerkraut…. Does JDawg have kim-chi? Artichokes and asparagus are pre-biotics and they might do as much as sauerkraut….

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I just ordered the water bottle and new belt! Fingers crossed that it works well! I have belt that lights up and I like using that when I am walking the dog super early in the morning.

Jalapeños and peppers are my fav!

I’m going to run 6 miles of my husband’s 18 tomorrow and then we’re heading off to the Woodbridge Classic in Norco, CA with our xc team and my daughter, who’s a freshman, is running so it’ll be awesome to spectate!

Costco had some dark chocolate covered caramel with sea salt for a while and they were awesome!

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Knox’s lego is indeed awesome. :)

Sauerkraut: oh yes. We make what we call Reuben sandwiches with it – they’re not at all authentic but it’s all about the sauerkraut. Weekend plans: not too much, but hopefully a family cycle ride on Sunday. Chocolate covered…..raisins, definitely. And next race – the day before your marathon! I try to channel your mental toughness on my runs – hopefully it will be a good luck charm :)

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Great job on your Lego creation Knox!!!!! Grace thinks it’s awesome too!!!!!!

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Knox your LEGO creation is amazing! You are super talented and hope we get to see more ;)

Good luck on your practice run this weekend

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Hey! So I have the Brooks Ghost. I’m wanting something more responsive but a good every day trainer. Launch or Levitate?? Help me!!

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i’m late to this!
yay to jalapeños and banana peppers, if i had to choose one, banana peppers. sauerkraut is good too!

this weekend was mostly birthday parties and back to school parties, plus a long run :)

i am a sucker for chocolate covered almonds. sign me up!

on Fri 9/14, i was 51 days from race day, and today (the day i’m posting) i’m 48 days out. you are so close to race day on Oct 6! hope the taper goes well :) you’re so so ready!

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