If something with running is not your thing… that is okay!

We are back home from Vernal and between the weekend and camping last week… I’m pretty sure I’ll be spending today doing laundry:)

Knox wanted to sleep over with his cousins and the girls slept at the hotel with us.

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How we do Skye’s hair—>  we let her play with some AirPods (she loves taking them out and putting them back in) to distract her from what we are doing ha.

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We met up with my mom for breakfast in the lobby and those mini waffles were delicious.

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After that we went to church to hear my nephew speak.  He did amazing and I loved hearing about his experiences as a missionary for the past two years in Texas.

These two are still twins:

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We then all went over to my brother’s house for lunch.  Skye dipped her roll in ketchup so that was fun.

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We drove home after that and Skye now repeats ‘bop it’ because we played it so many times in the car.   When we got home we made some dinner and Knox asked to see if I could style his hair like Skye’s.  I think I did a pretty good job!

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I am so so excited for this week!

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After I finished my ultra in March I have had people tell me that now that I’ve done 50 I am going to want to do a 100 miler.  I really wanted to be an ultra runner (and look up to them even more now…) and REALLY thought for sure I would do more right after I finished the ultra but after a few months of thinking about it… that was a one and done for me:).  I am very happy that I did one and enjoyed (sections;) of my ultra but as time goes by… I’ve realized more and more that ultras aren’t for me.  I love the trails for training runs (going on a great one today) and hiking but the more I am training with friends for road races, the more I see how much happier my heart is with doing those.  Maybe if I had a team to train with for ultras I would like them more too but I think I just really love the speed work (and not running back to back long runs or for hours on end;).

Long story short, I’m telling you this because there is zero reason to do anything with your running/training that you don’t want to do.  If you did one marathon and feel like you should keep doing more because everyone else in your running group is but you hated it, then don’t do another.  If you find your heart is happiest with certain types of racing (or not racing at all)… stick to that.  An ultra runner may not like a 10k or the roads at all and that is more than okay!  You might like racing as many weekends of the month as possible or maybe one race a year is your thing.  Keep trying new things (I’m glad I did!) but don’t feel forced to do something because everyone else seems to be doing it or tells you that you should keep going with something.

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I smiled a bit during my ultra but then smiled for 99% of Boston a few weeks later.  Do the training/racing that makes you smile and don’t worry about what it seems like all of the other runners around you are doing.

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PS I still can’t eat these ever since my ultra (I ate a ton of them during training and the race and I just can’t eat them again).

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PS the most viewed posts last week were these ones in case you missed them:

*Friend to Friend—> On Loneliness and Hopelessness

*A Sneak Peak & 8 Things That Might Happen or How Things Work When Janae is Gone

*AF 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

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Found anything with running/exercise that is just not your thing?

Who has a July birthday, anniversary or race?!

What are your Fourth of July plans if you are celebrating?

Any fuel that you’ve used a lot in training/racing that you can’t stand anymore?

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47 comments

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So after not running for almost 3 years and never running longer than 5 miles ever, this year I trained and ran my first ever 10k and loved it. But then I signed up for a half and I’m starting to regret it. I did a 9 mile run last weekend and by mile 8 I was so done that I had to walk the last mile. I have until August to decide if I’m still going to do the half or just do the 10k in stead. But the heat and humidity are also finally here and it’s really slowed me down. Yesterday I had 6 miles planned and only made it 3 and then walked 1.5!

Staying home for the 4th but going to visit family on Saturday for a cookout.

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Lisa, are you fueling during your long runs? When I trained for my first half last year, I found that I burned out around 8 if I didn’t eat something/take a gel around mile 5 or 6. I know many runners do halfs with no fuel but that is what worked for me.

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I have been doing Huma Gels, but I need to try something else because I’ve been using the ones with Chia seeds and I started to get bad gas pains. I think I’ve just been letting the ACTUAL summer weather get me down, because i’m so much slower now that its really humid!

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you can so do it! You have a month and only a few more miles to build up. Try some fuel, carry a bandana to wipe away sweat, and wear as little clothing as possible! You won’t regret crossing that finish line:)

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If you can do 9 miles (even if the last mile was walking), YOU CAN DO THE HALF-MARATHON (if this is what you want for YOU). Doing that run in the heat and humidity makes it 10 times harder. Keep me updated on how you are doing and I’m cheering you on either way! Have a beautiful day Lisa and I TOTALLY agree with Lisa, adding in more fuel helps so much. Fueling during a run is life-changing for me!

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I do think the heat and humidity are really making a big difference, it was 75 degrees and 70% humidity that morning. I’m trying to get up at 4:30 and get them done in the morning before my hubby has to leave for work at 5:45 so its not so bad :)

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July 17th birthday for me….turning 50! I can’t believe how old I got, where did the time go?
I just can’t get into yoga.
In Canada, where I live, it’s our July 4th today, we celebrate on July 1st. We are going to the big park in our city for celebrations and then there will be fireworks tonight.

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Happy birthday month Corry, this is a big month for you! Happy July 1st to you Corry! Have the best time and I’m with you on yoga… I KEEP TRYING AND JUST CAN’T!

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Have you folks tried Yoga with Adriene? I haaaate yoga (pretentious nonsense) but her YouTube channel is great. There’s also a 9 minute post run yoga on YouTube too, that one is good. No heart chakra nonsense, just stretching.

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This is what I need – thanks! I just can’t with all the chakra & breathe through your eyeballs stuff of the regular yoga classes!

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So agree!! I like half marathons, marathons, and I have done a 50K—I would rather do the longer distances than do a 5K – 5K is too much pain and too much pressure for me and I never feel like doing one just at ‘easy pace’! So I know myself, and know that I will push super hard and it hurts—-AND I just don’t enjoy them, so I don’t sign up for them anymore :)

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I hear ya on those 5ks… they are a different level of pain! So glad you have figured out what is best for you and what makes you happy. Congrats on all of your accomplishments, you are rocking it!

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That’s so funny that you can’t stand the Fig Bars anymore. My daughter was dairy- and soy-intolerant when I was nursing her, so those things (as well as the “brownies” they make) became my desserts for a while. After eating so many of them, I can’t imagine having one now!

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Ohhhhh I bet those are not in your life anymore after eating so many of them. I don’t know if I will ever eat them again ha. Have a wonderful day Susan!

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I want to know about your cute dress in those photos?? Love it.
And when you ran with your dog, what did you use for leash?

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Here is the dress and I love it! https://roolee.com/collections/dresses/products/savannah-skye-dress?tap_a=6753-c39683&tap_s=19596-96bbf6

Here is the leash:
https://amzn.to/2ZZFkLV

Have a great day Mary!

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Thank you so much Janae for sharing that it’s okay to be into running. I’ve been into running since I was 20 and I’m 28. I’ve ran 2 fulls, plenty of half marathons(they’re my sweet spot), and plenty of “smaller” distance races. My goal is to run a 50k before I’m 30 or by the time I turn 30. I’ve been through plenty of injuries, a stress fracture in my fibula is one of the most memorable. I’ve also gone through runner’s burnout. I have great running friends too! BUT, now I have a new job(at a natural grocery store) and it consists of being on my feet A LOT and walking A LOT. It’s my first retail job, my last job was office work, was there for almost 7 years, didn’t like it though so I left earlier this year. I had more energy to workout outside of work, aka running a lot, with my office job. Now, that I have a job that is physically demanding, the thought of running doesn’t appeal to me. My running friends would love for me to run with them but right now, even when I do run, they suck. My mind and body is happier with other forms of exercise, hiking, strength training, HIIT, walking, and sometimes swimming. My feet are killing me the end of the day from work so the thought of pounding pavement, trails, or on the treadmill makes me cringe. Sometimes I beat myself up about it, I try to get in a run but I’m like, “Nope. Not into this!” So, thank you so much for posting that it’s okay! <3 :-)

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Thank you so much Kayla for sharing your story and I am so happy that you are now at a job that you love. There are definitely seasons of life when running is better than others. You are on your feet all day long and you need to rest afterwards. Things might change in a few years and they might not so keep doing the forms of exercise that make you happy right now. I hope you are having a beautiful day Kayla and keep in touch!

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You’re very welcome! I couldn’t agree with you more! :-) You have a beautiful day too!

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Great advice/comment about doing what makes YOU happy and not what everyone tells you that you WILL do. Since someone mentioned you would absolutely do a 100 miler after, it makes you think that is what you “will” or “should” do. Isn’t introspection and self-awareness the BEST?? And your ability to look in the mirror and assess what is best and happiest for YOU is really great. I have also gotten so much better with this as I’ve gotten older. I would love to recover and feel physically like I am 25 but being 40 (41 this month!) … maturity-wise I am SO much happier. I am just DONE with doing anything that I just don’t want to do. Of course there are tons of things that we HAVE to do. That is life. But for the things we can choose – running types of races, what we eat, etc. then why do anything OTHER than exactly what we want to do?? Like bacon in guacamole. Um, yes!.
Yay! :)

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Isn’t getting older the best? It’s so nice to figure ourselves out more and more and do what we know is right for us.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH AMANDA! How are you celebrating? I hope you have some guac with bacon in it soon… it was the best thing I’ve eaten in a while haha. Enjoy your day Amanda!

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Happy Monday, Janae! I love this post because I hear a lot of people ask “how do I force myself to run” or “how do I love running?” or they’ll ask me how I got myself to keep running. Well, because I DO love it! And if its not your thing, that’s ok! Also, I’ve only been running for 3 years now, and I’ve run 4 halfs and so a lot of people ask me when I’m doing the full. But, I don’t think I’m physically or mentally ready yet because its very demanding so if my heart isn’t in it, its not going to be a fun training cycle. Maybe one day I’ll have that desire but until then I’ll keep doing what I love!!

My 4th of July plans are to run the Peachtree Roadrace 10k on the 4th and then go to a Braves game! My fiancé and I are both running so we are very excited for the big race experience:) No goal, just having fun. In my town the races are like 100 people so a 60,000 people 10k sounds amazing:)

And I am like you in that I’m also really excited to just wear all my 4th of July clothes that I bought;)

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Exactly… I hear that a lot too! We are only going to stick to the things that we enjoy as far as exercise goes so find what you enjoy! You keep doing those halfs (I think that is my favorite race distance:).

Peachtree is on my bucket list, have the BEST TIME! Have the best time and let me know how it goes!

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We don’t know what we are doing yet! We usually have a ton of family partying going on but that side of the family all went camping or has other plans. So we aren’t super sure what we will be doing yet but it will be amazing because the 4th is my favorite day of the year!

Welcome home to your nephew! It’s always so fun to see them for the first time.

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Thanks so much Jenny!! He sure has grown up! The 4th in Utah seriously is the best! Enjoy this week Jenny:)

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It’s like I blink and you’re running ?‍♀️ another race! I think ? it’s awesome you’re running what makes makes happy! Did that make sense ?!?!

I would love to see a family pic with as many Skye hairdos as possible!!! ? Is this an option? ???

July is one of my favorite months! Grilled food, longer days, firework shows and ice cream mmmm ?

P.S. Do you have a favorite no show sock? Something exercise proof but also ew I don’t want hot sweaty feet proof?

Have a wonderful July 1!!!!

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Hahaha this summer is already flying by! I need to find some more options to do for her hair too:) . My favorite running socks are these ones: https://amzn.to/2XGrBfB . They are the best (IMO:).

Thanks so much and you too Sydney!!!

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Hi Janae! I wanted to recommend a book I’m listening to on Audible right now. “Nowhere Near First” by Cory Reese. He’s from Utah (I’m sure you’ve heard of him), he did Buffalo Run and a lot of races you’ve done including St George. Shares your faith and values, I’m enjoying it on my runs. I usually have to listen to an audiobook 2-3x to really get it all as I get distracted, I get my money’s worth, LOL. I thought you might be interested too. Welcome home to your nephew, what a great thing he’s done. Hugs!

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I’ve met Cory Reese… he is INCREDIBLE! I just put that book on my list, thank you so much and I cannot wait to read it. Thanks so much Amy and I hope you have a great day.

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I definitely can’t run everyday anymore. Fortunately, I’ve embraced cycling and switching back and forth has worked really well. I still love running but I think my marathon days may be behind me. I ran for over 15 years before running my first marathon, so I’ll keep running for the enjoyment. 4-7 miles works well for me, that distance doesn’t take a lot of planning so I can just head out the door and adjust by how I’m feeling that morning. No pressure feels best these days.

We’re going to Georgia at the end of the month to celebrate my in-law’s 60th wedding anniversary. All they want is for their kids and grandkids to get together so that’s what we’re doing.

We have a service at church on Wednesday night – Les and his trumpet student will be playing a duet of “America the Beautiful.” I heard them for the first time yesterday and they sound great! Les has been playing for over 40 years and his student just started last Fall but he’s really picking it up quickly. Pool, bbq, homemade ice cream and watching fireworks from our backyard are on the agenda for Thursday!

I can only handle so many gels before I feel like I’m going to gag!

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No pressure feels best these days. <-- I love that Kathy! You are incredible with all that you do! You and Les are a power team! I love that is how your in-law's want to celebrate. That will be so special. Enjoy the church service and everyone there will be so lucky to hear Les and his student. Have a wonderful day Kathy and I hope you don't have to have any gels anytime soon.

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My sister in law’s birthday is the 4th, so it’s extra special. We get to see her next week, and sweet baby Evelyn so I am excited. I don’t enjoy speed work. I usually train on my own but recently started doing 5k fun runs with a group on Mondays (there’s one tonight!) and I found that I like that, too. However, speed seems to just not be my thing, so I train for distance and do tempos and fartleks but don’t really do track workouts.

This 4th my family is going to do their watermelon hat traditions……they cut a watermelon in half and scoop out all the fruit, then (outside) make everyone try on the rind like a hat, ha! It will be the first year my 2 nephews and my niece try it out, so that will be fun. They are all less than 20 months old. And they all have nature-y names, like Brooke and Skye ………River, Hitch, Winter, and Rose…..although I won’t meet Rose until next month…..they live in Rexburg and she turns 1 this month…..still haven’t met her :(

I can’t eat swedish fish anymore. Stinks bc it was my favorite candy, but I overdid it with running and snacking. No more for me!

have a great week!

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Oh that will be so much fun to celebrate with Evelyn and your sister in law. YES… keep loving what you are doing and that Monday night 5k fun run sounds awesome. Hahah that is an amazing tradition… we might have to copy you. Can’t wait for you to meet Rose. Noooo to your swedish fish hatred now ha. Thanks so much Loribeth, you too!

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Happy Monday! That hotel life sure is amazing when your little! My boys LOVE LOVE LOVE hotel life but mostly because we make sure to get one with a pool. And after our last 2 hotel stays, they now have to have hot tubs as well according to my 5 year old!
I was just thinking about my running future over the weekend and I think I’m coming to realize trails and long slow distances are turning in to my jam. At the same time though I don’t care to be gone from home for too long! I often think, why couldn’t I have gotten into this trail running thing before kids?! Ha! This realization happened while I was tracking Western States 100; maybe if I was watching Boston, I would feel different! Ha!
4th of July we’re going to my bro and SIL house which is a couple of hours away. We’ll be staying all weekend so it’ll be like a mini vacay. Not really for me though since I’m always hanging with the kiddos! The city we’re going to puts on a show over the Bay so it’s pretty cool.
Luckily I’m not burnt out on too much training fuel; I think because I switch it up often. I’ve learned my stomach isn’t too picky with brands/types of fuel just as long as I’m consuming something – anything! I did learn I’m not talented/coordinated enough to eat PB while on runs unless I eat it during a climb!
Have a great day!!

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Hahah your 5 year old knows what’s going on! Brooke was so so sad that we didn’t have time to swim at the hotel! Keep loving those trails and long distances Jenny. When your kids are all grown up I’m going to see you in pictures running the Western States 100! Have the best time at your brother’s house.. sounds amazing! I need to be like you and switch things up more often with my fuel so I stop getting sick of things so often:)

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I agree that it’s not only OK to pursue the athletic/running things that inspire you, but also think it’s OK for those things to change. Maybe you want to focus on 5k-10k for a while. Then maybe trail ultras. Do what makes you happy at any given time.

In triathlon, I totally burned myself out on the Olympic distance so I’m just not doing it this year (except one as part of a 3-day challenge race weekend). It’s fine, maybe I’ll want to go back in a couple of years. Maybe not. Just do the sportz in a happy way.

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That is so so true.. it’s okay for those things to change too! And really I think that is what I wanted this winter, a change! 3 day race challenge weekend… ummm that sounds hardcore!

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I agree completely! So many runners get caught up in what they feel they “should” be doing. For most of us, running is a hobby and therefore it should be fun. No one should feel pressure to run marathons, or ultras, or whatever.
It’s funny — you and I are the opposite! I live for ultras and find that the older I get, that’s all I want to do. I get bored with speed work and road 5ks. Plus, I think my body was built more for endurance than short quick bursts of speed. I did one ultra this year and am thinking about another, but will likely pass on just about everything else. Please don’t feel ANY pressure whatsoever to try any distance. You just keep being you!
I’ll likely hang out with my brother and his family for the 4th.

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July is my birthday month! Turning 40. Where does the time go? Ha!

I am so with you. I ran a 50k a couple of years ago, and just got so burnt out on so many slow miles. I have friends that love it, but I definitely didn’t, and don’t really have a desire to do that again. I am glad I did it, but that’s it. It made me actually not want to run ever, and I haven’t really, but am starting to want to again. Now when I see pictures of road marathons, particularly ones in the fall, I feel like “lets do that again” so I think that’s my sweet spot. I’m going to let go of the pressure to do anything more than that, unless I really want to, and find the fun in running again.

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Isn’t that funny how something that was a saving grace or key to our training/race in turn makes us gag the second we are done with said training/race? After back to back IM’s and consuming way to many raspberry hammer gels and vanilla gu’s and clif bars I went at least 5+ years without either (okay, I may have had a clif bar at 5 years post race, just not my saving grace carrot cake flavor). I of course had one out of habit a few months after and was like “OMG THIS IS THE GROSSEST THING EVER.”

Actually, racing really isn’t my thing, until I do one, then I think it’s not so bad. But, then the ease of training and not driving early to a race sets in and I’m again nahhhhh, about it. After running Berlin in September I was *amped up* to road race (trail runner here) but eventually it kind of wore off and now I just enjoy training and heading out from the door to find new paths and trails. It’s funny how people expect that I run marathons all the time and race because they see me running all the time. I guess I’m one of those who train to train and don’t need an event? Who knows, but I love running so much and seeing things by foot!

I live in Germany, the 4th of July is simply the date ;) That being said, I think the neighbors will expect some sort of display of festivity from us. Hahaha.

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Gear questions for you – I know you discarded your vest during your ultra because of chafing… have you found one you like? Trying to figure one out for longer trail runs. Also I would LOVE to hear a review from you on the recovery boots. I’ve tried them a couple of times and love the feel, but not enough to determine if they are worth the investment (and at what mileage they become worth the investment, if that makes sense). I am in the 40-50 miles per week during my non training season and then up to around 60 during marathon training season, which for me is at least 2 times a year (I am set to run 4 marathons in 2019). I do get puffy with high for me mileage – probably because I wear heels all day and dont’ sleep enough, ha! But I’d love to hear your thoughts. TIA!

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Great questions! I think the problem with my vest was the fact that I wore it for the first time with a tank top during the race! It had worked perfectly anytime I used it with sleeves and I just don’t think my skin was prepped (anti-chafing creams) or ready to use something new for so long. For all of my training runs it was my absolute favorite! I have not tried anything other than the Solomon 12L but it was awesome other than with a tank top for me ha. As far as the boots go, I did not pay for mine which makes it hard for me to say whether or not I would now. I use them three times a week and absolutely love them and do feel like they help me to recover faster but I guess it just depends on your budget. You are doing a lot of running and not a lot of recovering outside of that so if it fits your budget then I would say it is a great investment. I’ll do a full review on them soon! Great idea:) Hope you are having a great day!

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Thank you! Both of these are helpful. I need to just get one and give a try (and this time of the year is the perfect time to give it a tank top test!). Thank you also on the boots, definitely going to consider some (and can’t wait for a review!).

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Hi! First, I loved that whole paragraph about only do what makes YOU happy. I felt like printing it and posting it on my running board! I love 1/2 marathons. My husband, who is not a runner and therefore leery of all things running, suggested I do 5k or 10k so that I don’t stress my body too much. No thanks. The 1/2 marathon is just the perfect challenge for me.

July has a lot going on for me. I’m doing a run in town on the 4th. (Wish I had those great shirts like yours!), My birthday is on the 17th and I am doing the Timpanagos half on the 27th. Are you going to be there? I’d love to finally meet you!

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Training with people is not my thing.
At least not for now. I want a.l.o.n.e time when I go running!
I am the girl who if I am headed out the door and my husband says “why don’t I come with you.” I secretly die a little cause it’s so sweet, but ……

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Brooke’s topnot bun is soo cute! Skye’s messy hair is the best!! Glad you all had such a great time with your family!!!

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Yes! This is exactly how I feel about Ironman. I did one, and it took over my whole life for like 10 months! I was all about the sport because I kind of HAD TO BE. And everyone said I would get addicted and want to do more but…nope! I LIKE having a life. And I missed running! Ironman training is way less running than I was doing before. So yes exactly, not everything is gonna be your thing and there is no reason to force it!

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