Why the Label? + We should probably not travel for awhile.

We made it back back home safe and sound. Andrew and I had to laugh once we got home because I think our brains were so focused on making sure we had all three kids with us at all times that it made us lose our mind with everything else.  We lost our computer and iPad on the way there and on the way home we left a suitcase in the elevator (luckily all things have been found and we will get them back soon).  Our rental car also got hit in a parking lot and we didn’t get the drivers info (we should have paid for the extra insurance ?).  We also bought tickets for the wrong thing on the wrong day.   It was all more than worth it though. There was some serious bonding that happened on the trip (especially with Knox and Skye… it was adorable), a lot of great memories were made and five days all together felt amazing.

Skye dove head first into my cinnamon roll yesterday morning.

And somehow all three kids fell asleep on the plane.

Skye loves to rub her blanket on her nose when she is trying to fall asleep.

The way to California was a different story… Keeping an 18 month old entertained on an airplane is very interesting.  I’m amazed by everyone that does it for longer flights and with more little ones.

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I have a few more pictures from our trip that I’ll share because I only took one picture once we got home yesterday!

*We went to an Angels game with Andrew’s family while we were in California!  Brooke fell asleep on my lap but Skye and Knox had a great time.

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*I think Brooke got in a few miles while at the beach… Running on the sand is no joke.

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*I’ve had a few people ask me if Legoland was worth it.   Brooke and Knox both absolutely loved it but I also think they are the perfect age for Legoland.  I feel like once they get a little older they won’t love it as much.  As for Andrew and me, we are happy that we went but Disney is by far our #1.  We also ended up standing in more lines at Legoland compared to Disney.  I think everyone was afraid to go to Disney because of the new Star Wars attractions and avoided the park so we walked right on to a lot of rides at Disneyland.

But if your kids are like Knox and Brooke then put Legoland on your list.

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*While we were at Legoland we randomly bumped into my sister’s best friend and their family!

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*Skye did really well at Legoland too but we also found that she can ride way more rides at Disney vs Legoland.

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*The weather was absolutely perfect while we were there.

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*And maybe someday Skye will like the beach.

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*This is how Skye let’s us know she is ready to go out and do things… she brings us her shoes to put on her and then stares at us until we get up and go.

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The other day Jen, Emilee and I were talking about how we have labeled ourselves to be something as far as running goes and how we want to break free from that.  It wasn’t until this conversation that I realized how much I have really done this with my running.  I knew for 8 years I was capable of a 2:59 but I have always told myself that’s kind of where it stops.  That’s as good as I will get.  Those girls that run faster times than that were runners for different colleges or they have way more muscle or they are capable of training more etc etc.  I labeled myself a 2:59 (which I am very proud of) but stopped my dreaming there for a very long time.

Why in the world would I label myself or put a limit on my potential?

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Take a minute and think about the labels you have given yourself with your running.  Are those labels holding you back?  Are they making you believe that you don’t belong or that you can’t get better than X time in a race?  I think when we remove the limits/labels we randomly choose to give ourselves, we are going to be surprised.  I have officially taken away any and all labels from my running besides ‘strong and capable of great things.’  I think you should too.


What labels have you given yourself with your running and are they holding you back?

GPS for your car… Waze, Google Maps or other?

-Andrew and I need your help to figure out which one is better because we both feel very strongly about which one is better.  He won’t let me tell you which one I prefer until after we see your answers.

Who has been to Legoland?  What were your thoughts?

What is the longest flight you have ever been on?

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94 comments

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Wow I love your story about labeling ourselves! I do that in lots of ways, not just running. It’s like letting myself off the hook so I don’t have to work as hard!!
Glad you all had a wonderful vacation. Thank you for the inspiration this morning!!

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Yes… ‘it’s like letting myself off the hook so I don’t have to work as hard.’ That is definitely why I do it too. Thanks so much Kathy and I hope you have the best day!

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Waze all the way

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I’m with you Melanie!!

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Waze for sure! Happy Monday!

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100% agree! Thanks Donna, you too! I hope your week is a great one!

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I like Waze better! It tells you about accidents, police, stuff in the road, how long traffic jams will be, etc.

I’ve never been to Legoland, but at Christmas we thought about going! I have two nieces, they are 3 and 5, so we took them to Disney and Sea World instead. But maybe once the younger one is older, it would be good!

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I’m with you Mariah… I like Waze way better too. So fun that you took them to Disney and Sea World! I hope you have a wonderful week:)

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Where is your yellow striped dress from?! It looks so comfortable!

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I want to know too!?

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Hey Leslee!! I got it at Called to Surf but they don’t have it on their site anymore but I did get this one that I love too:
https://calledtosurf.com/collections/dresses/products/kesia-stripe-dress?variant=19839994658909
I hope you are having a wonderful day!

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HEY JAMIE!! I got it from Called to Surf but can’t find it online anymore:( I also bought this one though and I love it (plus they have a ton of cute dresses right now). Have an amazing day!

https://calledtosurf.com/collections/dresses/products/kesia-stripe-dress?variant=19839994658909

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Love the label thoughts as well, I always tell myself I am not good at racing, so this year I am working on building that confidence up!
We use Google maps, Google owns Waze and are incorporating a lot of those features recently which is nice. We used Waze in college to avoid cops, haha!
The longest flight I have been on was 12 hours going to Thailand (Chicago to Tokyo) and then another 6 hour flight to Bangkok (for work). I think on the return trip I traveled 26 hours in “12 hours” (time changes really kick your butt) – also hard to stay active on such a long flight. I would stretch by the bathrooms because there was more space.

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Emily, that is awesome that you are working on that right now. It’s so interesting to me that we make up these stories for ourselves and I can’t wait for your new story about your racing to come true:) . I did not know that Google owns Waze… interesting. 26 hours… that made my body hurt just thinking about it. I hope you are having a great day!

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I am so glad you got back your technology! That just have been hard not to worry about while you were gone.

have not been to Legoland but I have been to Knott’s Berry Farm! Disney trumps all. But Disney World is way grander than Disney Land!

My longest flight was about 10 hours, with my longest trip being 24 hours (including 2 five hour layovers).

Skye is such a great communicator!

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Thanks Tonya! It was pretty stressful. We need to take our kids to Florida to the Disney parks there. I remember thinking Epcot was the coolest thing ever.
Hahah she really is! Have a wonderful day Tonya!

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Google Maps here!

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Andrew is on your team:) . I hope you are having a wonderful day Michele!

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Looks like you all had a great trip! My longest flight was to Australia last January for a study abroad. I didn’t think we would ever get there! I hope you have a wonderful week :)

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Study abroad in Australia… that sounds absolutely amazing! I am so happy that you had that experience. I bet that flight was crazy long. Thanks and you too!

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I know people love Waze but it always seems to give me false hope on my arrival time, ha. My iphone maps app is almost always the most accurate!
18 months is such a hard age for travel! They don’t sleep that much, but they also can’t entertain themselves with a tablet/activity and get so antsy to move.

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Yessssss… exactly! I think we will avoid traveling with her for a little while now haha. Andrew completely agrees with you on the false hope thing but for me it is usually right on. I hope you have a great day!

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I’m starting to label myself a lot as I get a little older..I just turned 40, and it seems like that’s my why for everything. Oh I’m a much slower runner now that I’m 40 etc. My husband is always teasing me it wasn’t some magic threshold to being old!
I love Waze!!
We’ve done Disney World several times with the kids, and when we moved to Texas,we finally made it out to California. By then the kids seemed too old for Legoland,so we did Disney Land and Universal instead.
My husband is the great traveler (for work mostly) so he’s done all the really long flights all over the world. My longest flight is only five hours,and it seemed endless to me. I don’t love flying. Our kids have always been great flyers. I would say our only difficult flight with them was when our youngest was 15 months and she started throwing up the last night we were at Disney. That was a tense flight home because we knew she was feeling so awful. As soon as we arrived home our older three promptly starting throwing up too. Yeah happy vacation memories :-)

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YES… time to take that label away because you aren’t slowing down! Oh I bet that flight was miserable and full of anxiety and of course everyone ended up getting sick. You all survived and that was our goal for the trip too haha. We need to take our kids to Disney World.

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Just wanted to say you’re amazing for doing that with the kiddos, and I’m glad you still had a great time!

My longest flight was 9 hours to England. It’s honestly torture. Ive never done it with kids, but its torture enough for adults. Even if you think, oh i’lll take the overnight one so I can sleep…nope. You wake up and there’s still 6 hours to go and you run out of things to do/read, etc. lol.

I use google maps for the car, I think their traffic situation is pretty accurate. I love how Andrew won’t let you tell us who likes what till after hahaha!!

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Oh thanks so much Eleanor. Oh that must have been soooo hard. I cannot sleep on planes either! Hahaha now I can tell you and I am the biggest Waze fan ever:) . He didn’t want me to sway any opinions haha. I hope you are having a great Monday!

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Google Maps. I like the features of Waze but I don’t like it for actual navigation.
I feel like we’re also labeling ourselves in our non-running lives and setting limits on our potential.I’m going to try and be more mindful of that.

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That is so true Sam! These labels hold us back big time. I hope you are having a great Monday!

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What a great vacation! When I saw you were going to Legoland I thought Brooke and Knox are the perfect age for that, but agree with all your other thoughts on it. You have to try universal studios when your kids are older. I’ve used waze for longer trips but find google maps to be very accurate. Curious what Andrew likes. Happy you got all 3 kids home ;)

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Oh I cannot wait to take them to Universal Studios! That place is amazing. Andrew is all about google maps and I only use Waze:) . Thanks so much Juli and I hope you are having a wonderful day!

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Waze!

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I fully agree with you!

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We did legoland in March and we loved it. Perfect for our 2 boys at that time: 6 and 2.5. Plus we got free tickets since my husband does a lot of work there and it wasn’t peak season yet so no lines. I wish he’d get free Disney tickets too since he does some work there but they don’t offer and you don’t ask! We’ll go eventually. I think flying with kids once they’re mobile to about 2/3 years old is the hardest but it’s still worth it. Just lucky we can travel and expose our kids to so much.

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Free + no lines + perfect ages for your kids… best Legoland experience possible! Yes, that is what Andrew and I were talking about. We felt very lucky to get to take them and we can now recover since we are home haha. I hope you are having a wonderful day with your boys!

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I’ve never tried Waze. I let Google run my life. ?

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Try Waze asap and you’ll be happier hahah. I hope you are having a great day!

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Google maps for mapping things out and looking at areas and roads and rest area/food establishments ….Waze for actual driving for the traffic info/construction/police notices …with a side of google maps open on the other phone to see if we want to take the detour or not…..

So…..both?

Glad you had a good trip!

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Hahah you are on both of our teams then haha:) . Thanks so much Bethany and I hope you are having a great day!

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Google Maps. :) Waze is too gamified.

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I’m sure Andrew will shake his head yes when he reads your post. Have a great week Marilyn!

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Quick question: has your blog been taken off of Bloglovin? It doesn’t automatically pop up for me anymore. Maybe it’s something I did?

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YOU DID NOTHING WRONG!! We have no idea why it stopped sharing it on Bloglovin but it should be working now. Will you let me know if it stops working again this week? Thanks and I hope you are having a great Monday Jenny!

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Google maps for me. Also, why isn’t your blog showing up on my Bloglovin feed? It’s been like that since you’ve been on vacation so maybe cause you aren’t on your laptop? IDK but wanted to let you know. Have a fabulous Monday!

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Hey Barb! It is finally working again! Not sure what happened but will you let me know if it stops working again for you? I hope you are having a wonderful day Barb!

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Ouch, we are tied at 1 for being hit in a rental car in California. Mine was just down the street from Disneyland. I’ve also been waken at 3am (after flying and being at Disneyland until midnight) by ADT (due to a defective motion detector luckily. And that was before a magic morning where we had to be at the gates prior to 7am – and then closed the place down at midnight again with no nap. I was so tired!

For your rental car – usually your own insurance will cover it – and then most credit cards will cover the remainder that your insurance does not cover. It depends on the card.

I now carry a piece of paper when I travel that has every imaginable phone number I would need, insurance places, local police station, credit card help lines. etc…

You are right though – once you get all your stuff back and settled back in, it makes for a great story!

I label myself as a 5K runner, hoping to break that mold with some longer distances. Google Maps for me.

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Oh my goodness… we were just down the street from Disneyland too. Oh I bet you were exhausted! I can’t imagine:) . Okay, that is what the insurance company just told us… huge relief!!! Our $500 deductible was making me nervous. Such a great idea to carry that paper… I’m going to copy you. Can’t wait to hear about your comeback 10k. Hope you are having a great day John.

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Google maps for actual navigation, Waze for weird traffic. I haven’t used Waze ever since it tried to send us through a road that had since been turned into a shopping center. Although Google maps did try to send me through a road that wasn’t done being built yet. The difference was I could see the current road with Google maps and with Waze I had to backtrack really far.

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Oh that is really frustrating. Andrew totally agrees with you! Enjoy the rest of your Monday Kristen!

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Google Maps!

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Andrew is on your team!

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I had a serious talk with myself this morning while out running. I am so slow these days and I’ve been really discouraged about it. This morning I gave myself permission to be slow (and take as many walk breaks as I needed) and just be thankful that I can still move. Six miles took much longer than it use to, but I’m really glad I got out and pushed for a longer distance.

We always use Google maps. Although there are times when it tries to save time and I end up on a while goose chase!

We went to Legoland many years ago with Les’ sister and her family. Her boys were into Legos big time so they absolutely loved it. I do think it’s for a much narrower demographic. Disneyland is for everyone! Have you taken the kids to Knotts Berry Farm? It’s another fun one here in So Cal.

13 hours LAX to Rome is the longest flight I’ve been on.

P.S. You were here for perfect weather – it turned ugly yesterday, our first triple digit temps of the year.

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WOW… it got hot fast! It was like 70 degrees for us.
I am so glad you had that talk with yourself and it’s amazing what gratitude does for us. You are amazing Kathy!
Yes, we went to Knotts and they loved that too! Hope you are having a great day!

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I think the directions are more accurate on Google maps, but the police lookout on Waze is a must have for holiday weekends. If you don’t have unlimited data though, Waze can burn through a lot as it refreshes very frequently.

Longest flight I’ve been on is Chicago to Finland. Although there was a layover in Germany, so no one flight was more than 10 hours.

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That is a very long flight to me… traveling wipes me out. Andrew agrees with you on the accuracy of Google Maps. I hope you are having a great day so far!

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24 hours to AUS. In the middle seat. With kids all around me. Beautiful trip – so good to get away! And I hear ya on the other things going wrong…story of my life.

Question: do you like the WP platform you’re on? Anyone have any thoughts on WP vs Squarespace?

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Hey Jenni! If I was to start a website right now, I would 100% choose Squarespace. I have had a lot of issues over here:( but to switch it over would be a mess. 24 hours… with kids all around you. You are a strong woman!

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Google maps for sure!! Waze is way too busy-looking and cartoony, I can’t stand it except to find out why traffic has stopped.

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Hahaha I feel like you just explained it the way that Andrew explains it!

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There is also a map debate in our household. I am google maps and my husband is waze. It’s definitely a polarizing argument ?

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Hahaha polarizing argument… I completely relate with you!!!

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Traveling with kids is no joke! Way to go for making it back with all of them :)

After Google maps sent me on a crazy off-road mountain to avoid traffic and the car in front of me got stuck and I cried, I am pretty strongly against using it anymore ;) Therefore, I am all Waze.

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AHHH that is crazy that it sent you there! Waze is the best, I agree. Thanks so much Marissa and I hope your Monday is a great one!

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100% Waze!! My husband would say google maps though.

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We are just like you and your husband:) . Have a great rest of your Monday Michelle!

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Waze. 14 hour flight which was only 1 flight of 3 to get to Bali. Not sure I’d take a 1 year old but my friend took her 1 year old from NY to Israel. She and her husband were ragged. He’s a doctor and she’s a PA. She said she’s taking benedryl next time, for her son!

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Oh I cannot even imagine taking that flight with a 1 year old. And Bali… I want to go there! I hope your day is great so far Kathee!

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I am struggling with a “postpartum runner” label these days. I’ve got a four month old son (my first) and am having trouble with my hips to get back into running. Plus how do you find the time?! I’m trying to be patient with myself and not settle into any labels :)

Our bodies are so amazing, and the process of “zero to wow” can be really fun and exciting! I’m trying to look at it that way and keep working on my PT instead of getting sad or frustrated.

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Sarah, congrats on your new little one and I hope that your hips are feeling 100% soon. Be gentle with yourself and remember that recovery for everyone is so so different. With Brooke I did all of my running either very early or on the treadmill and with Skye, Andrew was home so I was able to run easier. You are doing amazing and please keep me updated on how you are doing.

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Google Maps! My husband loves Waze but I am not a fan.

Your trip looks amazing! Did you try out any of the Star Wars rides?

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Hey Corrinne! So we found out that you had to have reservations to go into the Star Wars area… we were bummed but hopefully we get to at some point soon. Have a fabulous rest of your day!

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Google Maps has never let me down!

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Andrew is on your team! Enjoy the rest of your day Jennifer!

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It’s funny because I always say I run for fun. I do but I always have a bit of a competitive fire inside me. This weekend we were on the Sunshine Coast of BC for 3 -4 days (which is beautiful by the way) and I ran a trail race a friend directed. I signed up for the race a week before and surprised myself by finishing just outside of the top 10 females. I always say I am not a downhill runner but when a girl and 2 guys came flying by – I gave chase – I only kept up for a few minutes but obviously I was running faster than before they came flying by. You look so fresh – is what i get at the end of trail races. Sometimes I get curious what I could do if I pushed myself and got a coach or what I could do if I truly ran a race without fear without holding back and raced. – I have sometimes done that in road races but definitely not on the trails haah. Often I say I am not fast like so and so. But that really isn’t the point. I haven’t figured out the limits of my own ability.

No legoland yet but would be curious to see it.

Longest flight was to Australia years ago 13 + hours for sure – in a jeans skirt no less as an unseasoned traveller!

Have a fantastic day Janae and glad you are getting all your stuff back! Sounds like you had a great vacation though with your family:)

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KRISTINE!! Huge huge huge congrats on your trail race (I bet it was stunning). You rocked it and keep on exploring those limits because I think you have so much potential!

Jean skirt for 13+ hours… I bet you learned your lesson haha. Thanks so much and I really hope you are having a great day!

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Waze forever!

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I agreeeeeeee! Have a great week Katrine!

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My husband says Google Maps, but I am 100% Waze!

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That is how we are! I hope you are having a really great day so far Jamie!

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Waze – it doesn’t use any data :) and i find it to be very accurate and fast

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I agree with you!! Have a great day Jessica!

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I like Waze better, but tend to use apple maps the most and I hardly ever use google maps unless an app opens it automatically
My longest flight ever was when we flew to New Zealand, we went STL->SFO->LAX->INC->BKK->AUK total flight time in the air was 35 hours and a few hours worth of layovers… it was EXHAUSTING!! Other long flights have been from DC to South Africa, Australia to San Fran, and Detroit to South Korea. It never gets easier… We are taking my daughter who will be 15.5 months old by the trip to South Korea, so wish us luck!! My mom’s side of the family lives there and they are sooo excited to meet her!

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35. Hours. I cannot even imagine! That is unreal. You have traveled a ton and GOOD LUCK on that trip and please let me know how it goes. You are going to have an amazing time there and I bet they can’t wait to meet her! I hope your Monday is a great one so far Kathy!

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Sounds like you had a great trip! I’m sure you created lots of great memories. I don’t often comment, but just want to say that I love your blog and often do running workouts that you post about!
I remember a few months ago you talked about having some skin issues and I was wondering what you’re doing to help with that? Your skin looks great by the way. I’m just curious as I’m having a lot of breakouts lately and am looking for some new skincare ideas. Thanks and I hope you have a great day!

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Emily, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I am so sorry that you are having a lot of breakouts lately, I get it. It is not fun at all. I need to write an entire post about this! My skin is still pretty out of control during my period with breakouts all over my cheeks but it is doing a lot better the rest of the month. I cut down on my dairy a lot, I started going to an esthetician and she gave me the products in this post that seem to be helping. I hope also making sure to use a face wipe within minutes of finishing a workout so I don’t have sweat sitting on my face. So far those things seem to be helping a lot but a good chunk of my problem is hormonal and it’s just not worth it to me to take anything that will change my hormone levels! Keep me updated with how you are doing and good luck…it’s so tough!

https://hungryrunnergirl.com/2019/04/that-hurt-for-the-1st-time-in-my-life-a-different-running-goal.html

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Waze!!! I like how the app shows where the police is. Long distance and highway driving I’m 100% using Waze.

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I totally agree with you… Waze for life:) . Enjoy your week Domenica!

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Team Waze! I’m really surprised that you found Legoland a lot busier than Disneyland. Growing up in So Cal, I’ve been to both parks multiple times, and have always thought Legoland crowds to be much more bearable. That being said, Disneyland will always be my favorite park!

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Oh really!!? Maybe we just went on the wrong day or maybe Disney was just extra dead! I hope you are having a great day Kara!

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I’ve never even heard of Waze – apparently I don’t get out much :)

We are planning our family trip for the summer and can’t wait to get away and just be a family without anything else to do for a few days.

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You should try it! It’s really great in my opinion:) . I hope you have the best trip together and let me know where you guys end up going. Have a wonderful day!

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Murphy’s law! Omgoodness too much. But at least it doesn’t seem like things were so bad! I hope Skye warms up to the sand….my mom to this day HATES the feeling of sand on her! I don’t get it…being at the beach to me is heaven!

Waze all the way. I don’t know how I ever traveled without it!
My longest flight was either Israel or Italy. Both totally worth it though (but easy for me to say because I don’t have kids)!

I love your message about labels! Reminds me of a meme I just saw:

Someone once told me not to bite off more than I can chew. I said ‘I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocracy’.

How perfect is that!!?!?!?

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Aw :) I am from Carlsbad and grew up going to Legoland and I always had a season pass. This post reminded me of some great memories there. The park has changed sooo much since the last time I went.

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Waze! Though it’s left me hanging more than once. Took me on a route with a major closed street. Suggested I take really weird ways home — I resisted and had no problems going my normal route. But it’s moatly good.

I definitely have some labels. “Past my prime” for one. Which is kind of funny. Yeah, you slow down as you get older, but I haven’t been a runner my whole life, so there’s a chance I could still get better.

My longest flight is as to China. Longest with kids – cross country. My most “traumatic” kid flight was with my 2yo who suddenly decided she was potty trained and wanted to wear big girl underwear. Oof. Of course I’d gotten a window seat. And we had a little old lady on the aisle. I had to ask her to get up at least 6x over the two hour flight. My daughter would come back and say “I tried and I tried, but couldn’t go.” When she finally went successfully, it was quite the celebration.

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It was all more than worth it though. There was some serious bonding that happened on the trip (especially with Knox and Skye… it was adorable), a lot of great memories were made and five days all together felt amazing.

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