What’s My Marathon Goal + Never Too Early

Morning!  Another post with a run to chat about along with many pictures.  I wish there was a way to look up how many pictures I have posted on my blog over the last last 9 years because I’m sure it’s an insane amount ha.

8 miles with Emilee + a mile with Brooke, Knox and Skye (with walk breaks) + 2 more miles with Skye= 11 miles.  This week we have two crazy workouts up ahead (ummmm 20 x 400m… yeah that’s going to hurt) but the mileage is dropping down 20% so I’ll be hitting around 65 miles.

I got a picture with all four of their feet off the ground… they were flying.

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Skye and I also stopped by my sister’s while we were out and about and Skye grabbed a kiss.

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My legs felt a bit tired from the 20 miler on Saturday but overall I felt pretty good.  It’s that time of year when all of the summer running pays off and the cooler temperatures just feel so completely heavenly.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about my marathon goal time!  For so long I have only thought about a sub 3 marathon that this is new territory to me to be thinking about what is next.  I think fitness wise, I am in shape for a 2:53ish marathon (and my coach will argue that I’m ready for faster after my 1:20 half;).  I feel like 6:35s are kind of my sweet spot right now.  I feel comfortablish (in a marathon pace type of comfort) in them, I feel in control and my heart rate is beating happily at that pace.  BUT then again… I’m not going to hold myself back if in that final 10k of St. George if I can go faster.  I will honestly be thrilled with any PR (I want to celebrate every small step along the way) but a 6:35 average pace is what feels just about right at this point.

My goal will be to go out for a 2:53 finish but if I can, go faster in that final 7ish miles to bring down my time if all of the stars are aligning!  The important thing about this marathon is to REALLY plan on negative splitting the course.

Last year my first half = 1:31:51 and my second half was 1:27:23… a 4.5ish minute negative split (the course is MADE for negative splits) so I’ll work on being really smart in the beginning to hit that goal.

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Allie Kieffer said, “Putting my goals out there amplifies my enthusiasm and holds me accountable.  The fulfillment and purpose I get from striving for a goal far outweighs the possibility of failure.”  I totally agree with this and why not put our goals out there?  If we fail, we GET to keep trying and trying again until we hit them and if we succeed—> awesome.

Skye and I had a pretty low key day at home together yesterday.  We ate leftovers and put the house back together after the bday party and tackled 5 loads of laundry.

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After-school snack courtesy of the bread machine.   Warm bread with butter is just the best of the best.

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Followed by some cheese and homework.

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Later on Brooke went to her best friend’s birthday party.  Her best friend moved here from Peru 1.5 years ago and she has been teaching Brooke some Spanish which is really fun.  They just love each other to pieces.

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Skye had major FOMO over not being invited to the party so we went to the park instead and made burgers at home for dinner.

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PS these are on sale right now at my Costco.  I LOVE them before a run (not a race or hard workout but before my normal runs).  The kids love them too and they make mornings easy.

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PPS I’m trying this out and I’ll let you know if it helps my eyelashes grow again after having fake eyelashes for more than half a decade.

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PPPS It’s never too early for pumpkin Reese’s.

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What are you most looking forward to this fall… Traditions?  Foods? Holidays? Weather?

What’s your run today??

Tell me your next race goal PLEASE!

Any other kodiak cakes lovers?  What do you top them with?

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67 comments

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I’m so excited for your race! I love that goal. It seems realistic, room to go faster if you’re having a great day and a huge PR! :) I was just looking at my marathon course (it’s not until November) and the last two miles are totally downhill haha. I think I’m going to order a negative split pace band made for that course to help me stay conservative at first. If all goes well, I’m going hard for a sub 3 (or as close as I can get this time). It’s scary…but my workouts have been on point for that, so we’ll see! There’s always another race to try again.
Thanks for the info on the Senita shorts yesterday! That helped me decide which size to get!!

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I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOUR SUB 3!!! No ors… YOU CAN AND YOU WILL! You are right there girl and I can’t wait to hear about it:) Enjoy those last two miles… I envision 6:05s on those for you:) . Have a beautiful day!

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You are going to rock this upcoming race! I can’t wait to read all about it.
Yes … please keep us posted on the eyelash serum. Mine are getting very sparse (age) and would love to hear if this works. There was a lady working at a local store and she had the looonnngggest lashes I have ever seen (other than fake). She said she use to have very fine thin lashes but was put on an eye medication that contained Latisse, which they discovered made eyelashes grow. Does this serum you’re trying have latisse in it?

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I was diagnosed with glaucoma recently and now have to put drops in my eyes every night for the rest of my life.
The doctor said that the side effect of glaucoma drops is long, thick, dark lashes. Well I’ve been on it for two months now and nothing…of course I’ll be the only person not to get the good side effects.
I was telling my friend about this and she said that some of her friends, her included, take the drops just to grow their lashes. The brand is called Latisse. She said that while on it you do have to have your eye pressures monitored if you don’t have glaucoma and are just using it for eyelash growing.

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Hey Deb! I am not seeing any latisse in the one that I have! Corry, my friend does use that medication for hers! Tell me more about your glaucoma. Are you doing okay?

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Yay! You sound like you have a great attitude approaching this marathon, and I hope you have FUN and are proud of all the hard work.

I love getting apples and apple cider doughnuts in the fall. SO good.

My next race goal is completely up in the air! I just did my first 10k (I’ve done longer races but not that length), and it was so much fun. I was getting over being a little sick, so I had to do some walking, but I still came in pretty close to my goal time (which SHOCKED me because I felt like I walked a lot). I have no idea what I want to do next . . . I’m just going to keep my eyes open for any good-looking races! (Obviously there will be a turkey trot. :-))

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CONGRATS ON YOUR FIRST 10k!! That is so so exciting and you rocked it even after being sick. Keep me updated on what is next to you and now you have me craving an apple cider doughnut. Thanks you so much, I can’t wait!

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Hey if that lash serum doesn’t work the way you hoped for, try Grand Lash MD serum. I was super skeptical of it at first, but after 2 months of using it (along with pairing it with L’oreal Voluminous mascara) I’m in LOVE. I’m in the same boat as you, loved the way extensions looked, hated the upkeep. Now I’ve been asked by a couple of people if I have extensions again!!!

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NO WAY!! Okay, I will totally check it out! THANK YOU TATUM. It sure is nice to not have to do the upkeep anymore. Hope your day has been great so far!

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It is never too early for any Halloween candy, ever. Especially the candy corn-salted peanut mix.

Sounds like you have a great goal (so speedy) and a smart plan to achieve a great time!

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I’ve been slowly trying all the frozen kodiak cake waffles. This last time I got chocolate chip and they are my favorite!

Good luck on marathon training!

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HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THE CHOCOLATE CHIP!?!? Must find now. Thanks so much Heather and I hope you are having a great day!

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I am looking forward to pumpkin muffins and pancakes. I’m ready for crisp weather and bonfires. Hope you have a blessed day Janae!

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Oh all of those things just sound so perfect right now. Thanks so much Kimberly! YOU TOO!

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I’m so excited to hear how your race goes. Keeping you in my prayers !
Today’s run was 6 x 1 mile. It went really well and my hip flexor felt way better today.

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So happy that your hip flexor stayed happy! Way to go on today’s workout… that is a hard one! Thanks so much and I hope your Tuesday has been great so far:)

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Run today: reading on the treadmill for 50 ish minutes! Nice and chill… about all I can handle these days!! Kids, stress, work etc stress me out so I like to keep my running laid back or else I end up stressing about that too!

I’ll be interested to see how your Mary Kay works!! I bought neulash last year during the Nordstrom sale… kind of ridiculously expensive BUT it seriously worked and I got asked all the time if I had lash extensions! It is crazy. Plus it lasted over a year.

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Interesting about neulash… so happy it works so well for you and I’m definitely going to check it out if this doesn’t work. You are being so smart about this season of your life! Keep using running as your relaxing time with all that you have going on in your life. Hope your day has been really great so far!

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Lately the pics you’ve been posting of Brookie she looks SO much like her cousin! Especially in the picture of her going to the birthday party!

I’ll have to try those waffles. I love the pancake mix they have, but have never tried the waffles!

My run today was 2 mile warmup, 8x 20 sec strides, 40 sec recovery, 2 mile cool down. This is my second “workout” back so we just eased in with some strides and they went super well again today so my coach said we can get back to actual speed workouts next week!

Fall I’m most looking forward to it cooling down a bit, the Florida racing season, andddd getting married;)

My next race will be the Secret Place half marathon, it’s a local race raising money for the new human trafficking home here for 12 year old girls. It’s the weekend after my honeymoon so I’m not really going to have a goal pace, but it will be my first half marathon since injury so one for such a good cause I just had to run it. I’ll be raising money for the run as well to donate to the home!

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STRIDES AHHHH You are really back! So excited for you:) . Oh I totally agree… Brooke and her cousin look SO alike lately! You have the best fall ever up ahead of you:) . So so so sad that there has to even be a reason to raise money for human trafficking but so grateful that race is doing that. You are amazing Eleanor!

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Your marathon goal is amazing, I’ll be cheering you on from over here! And 20x 400m…good luck!
I’m looking forward to the cold and rainy weather. Have the fireplace on, long walks and hot chocolate after..I love the fall.

No race goal for me! I’m 12 weeks pregnant at the moment (we started telling people today) and unfortunately my doctor advises me not to run during pregnancy. I’ll start training again next year. I’d love to do a long(wish) trail run. But for now, I’ll stick to walking and swimming :)

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AHHHHHH CONGRATULATIONS SANNE!! I am so so so beyond thrilled for you:) This is the best news! Enjoy the walking and swimming.

PS . I JUST SENT YOUR PACKAGE YESTERDAY AND I’M SO EXCITED! Oh I am so excited for all of those things too!

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Just wondering if you’d share what your heart rate looks like during your runs. I’m always curious :)
Thanks for all of the good (and fun!) info.

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That is a fabulous idea! I have my huge workout tomorrow so I’ll share that info on Thursday’s post and then also on what it is on my easy days etc. Great idea. I hope your day is a beautiful one Megan!

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This has nothing to do with your post (6:35’s – AMAZING by the way.), but I had to share with you our love of your mom’s lasagna. After bookmarking the recipe for probably five years, I finally made it, and now it’s one of our favorites. I think the secret is the mozzarella. So much better than ricotta. Anyway, I’m making it tonight for dinner, and it’s on my mind. Please tell your mom thank you!

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AHHHHH this just makes me so happy. I’m with you on the mozzarella > ricotta. Keep enjoying it and I’ll be there in a few hours to join you and your beautiful family for dinner tonight:) . I sure will. Thanks Heather!

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I was SO EXCITED to read your race goal! AAAHHHH! You can totally do it. This new training team has been so good for you, and I cannot wait to sit back and watch you succeed. You’re amazing!
I haven’t tried Kodiak Cakes, but my husband makes his own maple syrup, so I guess that’s what I would be topping them with. It’s heavenly.
I’m planning on doing a Turkey Trot, but that’s about it. We’re trying to “grow our family” ;) so my ultra-obsession with ultras will have to take a backseat for a year or two.

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GROW YOUR FAMILY ahhhhh… I need more information haha (I thought you and I were on the same family planning calendar;). So thrilled for you all!
Thank you so much! Training with these people really has made such a big difference. Your husband makes his own maple syrup… okay, that is awesome.

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Fall means APPLE CIDER DONUTS!!!!! And apple cider and caramel apples. Just give me all of the apples. I wore my new Senita shorts this morning. I got the 7 inch length and they were perfect! Stuck my phone in one pocket and mace in the other. Nothing moved! Just did an easy 4 miles.
I have a few 5Ks this fall but no real goals. My husband was diagnosed with kidney failure this summer which has resulted in a lot of time spent at doctor appointments and sleepless nights worrying. So the idea of a longer race just doesn’t seem possible right now. Our goal right now is to find him a new kidney. Learning how many people in the US are waiting for an organ was overwhelming so we are hoping to find a living donor who is generous enough to give up a kidney. Running was a huge part of his life, and fortunately he has been able to keep running just much slower and for shorter distances. But I know he is looking forward to the day when he can cross the finish line of a marathon again.

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Corrinne, I am so incredibly sorry. I cannot even imagine what you are all going through right now. You are all in my prayers and I hope that you are able to find a living donor to help your husband. Please keep me updated!

PS so thrilled you are loving the shorts… those pockets (and the price are just the best!

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I recently ran a 50 mile race in Ohio and one of the aid stations had a sno cone machine! It was the best and the course was a loop so we got to hit that aid station four times! Nothing like a sno cone to help with the heat.
My next race is in October 100k at Oil Creek. I am hoping to finish in 17 hours.
I love Kodiak cakes. Will have to look for the waffles around here.
You’re going to crush St George! Can’t wait to see you negative splits!

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CONGRATS ON YOUR 50 miler… and the sno cone machine is brilliant. I am so jealous that mine didn’t have that:) . 100k BOOM Tisha, you are on fire! You better let me know how it goes! Thank you so much and I hope your day has been really great so far!

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You are going to rock this next race!! All of your consistency and hard work will definitely pay off!!!

Question for you, I have a Garmin Fenis 5S Plus, and I would love to have a summary screen like that (with the little map, times and total), but I’m not sure if this is something you can set up, or if it’s only available on the 6 maybe? Do you happen to know?

Also, Kodiak cakes are SO good!! I might have to make a trip to Costco after reading this post, now I have a craving! :)

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Great question… Andrew set it up for me so I’m not even sure! I will ask him when he gets home from work if that is okay! Thank you so much and grab the waffles asap!

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Good morning! Just got off my peloton and feeling good about getting in a workout this morning. Tomorrow starts my third trimester of pregnancy so every little workout is a win. I am a huge Christmas fan. I decorate early and just love the season. This year is going to be even more fun as I will have a baby girl somewhere between thanksgiving and Christmas! My toddler loves kodiak cakes. Each morning he wakes up and as soon as we start to walk to the kitchen he yells waffles! He asks for them with budder (butter) and sesup (syrup). It’s pretty cute. They even make it into our end of day conversation about what he did that day. They are very important to him! Love watching your sweet kids grow! I don’t run much anymore but I still enjoy hearing about your goals! Good luck

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CONGRATULATIONS KAYSE and you are so right… every workout is a huge win! Maybe your new little one will have the same birthday as Skye:) Oh I love that toddler language! Hahah they are important to me too. Thanks Kayse and so cool you have a peloton!

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Lash Boost by Rodan and Fields! I have been using it for a while and get asked ALL THE TIME if I have fake lashes or extensions. It is the best stuff…pricey, but good. I can get a tube to last 6 months using it every day.

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NO WAY!!! Okay…. if this doesn’t work I am totally switching to that. Thanks for letting me know Tiffany! Have a fabulous day:)

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Oh my goodness!! 20 X 400s?!?! I can’t even imagine! You will rock them for sure! We did mile repeats this morning and I had so much anxiety over the workout that I didn’t sleep well. But, I was happy with my effort on minimal sleep. And, even more happy that it’s done. :) Now, trying to teach all day after very little sleep and a tough workout is a challenge!

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Way to go getting in mile repeats with little sleep…. those are harder to me than 400s. You are a rockstar. Good luck with the teaching and hopefully you can sneak in a little caffeine! Recover well from those mile repeats!

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I am most looking forward to running/walking in the crisp leaves on the ground with my kiddos. The leaves always make me feel young again and smile so big! Also, really looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch and carving pumpkin for the first time with my four year old.
My next race is a 15K Oct. 5th and my goal is to complete it in 1:20! Nothing compared to your marathon pace but I would still be happy with it!

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I totally agree with you… those leaves just take me back big time. Pumpkin carving will be such a special time with him. OH GIRL… that is huge and awesome and I am THRILLED for you to rock that goal next month. Please let me know how it goes and I’m cheering for you!

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Idk about Mary Kay but the Rodan + Fields lash booster WORKS!! Myself my mom and many friends have used it and its crazy how well it works. Maybe a back up if the Mary Kay one doesnt work for you! :)

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Oh awesome! I’ll give this one a few weeks and if it doesn’t, I’ll go there. Thanks so much Janelle. I hope you are having a wonderful day!

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You know what the difference for me was with sharing verses not sharing goals? I had to reassess my relationship with people who were happy or secretly happy for my failures.

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Oh that is deep… I’ve never thought of that but it is interesting how I am much more likely to share my biggest goals with people who I know love me and want the best for me. Good stuff Erica, you always get me to think! I hope you are having an incredible morning so far!

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I have been noticing how bright your eyes look lately :)

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Oh wow! Thanks Jackie! I hope you are having a really great Tuesday!

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I sell MK and have never tried that product! Let me know your feedback!

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I totally will! I swear they have already started growing a bit. Have a great day Stacey!

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I’m running the Half Ironman in Atlantic City on Sunday. I honestly just want to finish smiling. I’m a mid pack biker and a back of the pack runner. So finishing happy will be huge. Finishing is acceptable and 7:30 is when I’m expecting to finish.

I’m in taper and had a 35 min “easy” run today which felt so hard! My legs were heavy my heart rate was jumping around. I think taper has got me crazy.

I love apple picking. The apple trees are just getting ready here so soon!

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Ahhhh good luck on Sunday and please let me know how it goes! I can’t wait to hear about how you finished with a huge smile on your face:) Oh the taper… I swear the awful tapers = an amazing race day! I can’t wait to apple pick too! Happy resting this week Mary!

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I’m curious – how much do you think the extra mileage you’ve built up to has helped you get faster and fitter?

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Hey Jenni… that is a great question. Emilee and I were talking about this on our run yesterday. She has built up to 90 mile weeks too. I don’t think it is helping me during my workouts to run faster times (because my body is tired from all of the miles) BUT I think that it pays off with races. When we tapered the week of my half-marathon PR last month I think that the higher mileage really helped me to get to that PR because my legs are stronger from more miles and are used to a lot of work so going into the race with fresh legs from the taper and the strength from the previous weeks really helped. Hopefully for the marathon the same thing will happen… at mile 20ish when my legs normally start to get really tired, they will be stronger this time and able to withhold more miles before fatigue. I hope that makes sense… I need to do a vlog about it ha. Have a wonderful day!

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My trail race is in 2 weeks in whistler – called WAM. Whistler alpine meadows 55km. I am pretty excited. We have already booked a place and I have friends running 55km as well – as well as the longer 110 km and 175 km trail races so looking forward to hopefully cheering them on too. I did a solo run there a couple weeks of ago just to see the course and it was stunning.

I love fall – the colours of the leaves, the cooler weather the pumpkin spice lattes. I also like fall because it’s a season of change. It’s been a bumpy year – for me, and for people I care about so hopefully that changes

I have never tried kodiak cakes!

Happy training – excited for your upcoming marathon!

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Hey Kristine! Oh GOOD LUCK… I am so excited for you. Sounds like it will be the perfect weekend. Andrew is dying to go to Whistler! I am so sorry that 2019 has been rough, I am really hoping for you too that things smooth out this season. Thank you friend!

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Just always in awe of your speed <3

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I MISS YOU!!! COME TO UTAH AND STAY WITH US AND I’LL TAKE YOU TO THE PRETTIEST PLACES!

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UM YES PLEASE

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I’m running the St. George marathon too! It will be my second marathon and my first time at St. George. I’m actually hoping to take almost an hour off my marathon time, haha. I did the Utah Valley marathon last year and took it way easy and finished in 4:26. So I’m hoping for a sub 3:30 at St. George. Too ambitious? I guess we’ll see!
Anyway, I’ve been following your blog religiously during this training cycle. I’ve learned so much from it, thank you for all that you post. You’re an amazing athlete.

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I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU!! You are going to love it! Oh Utah Valley course kills me haha… you will love St. George and YOU CAN DO BIG THINGS!

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My kids and I are CONVINCED that Reese’s PB cup *shapes* taste better. Pumpkin shaped are the best, followed by Easter Egg and Christmas Trees. I think it’s the ratio of chocolate to PB. so good.

Today was a 2,4,2,4,2,4,2 min with 1/2 time rest between. It wasn’t that bad (although during I probably thought differently) Not to be a creeper, but at one point I was thinking “Janae runs like 2 minutes faster pace for intervals like NBD.” Much respect for you speedy mcspeedsters!

We bought Kodiak Cake pancake mix when we visited the states-they’re tasty! I wish we had those waffles though! SO good for breakfast or a snack/dessert!!! Last year I used to do Waffle Wednesday for the high school XC kids I coached. They would have LOVED these!!!

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You are my hero. The end.

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You are going to rock your race!! I sort of ran St. George last year. I decided the day before to go ahead and do it, I had only ran 6 miles before then due to a stress fracture. I still can’t beleive that I did that. Anyway, I definitely want to run it again, while healthy this time though!

I am probably most looking forward to the slight weather change (SoCal). I’m just excited to be able to have xc practice after school and not in the evenings due to excessive heat anymore!

My run was 4.5 miles of hills this morning and a few faster miles with the team after school.

My husband wants to run the Dopey Challenge at Disneyworld for his 40th birthday, so that is next on our agenda!

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My new goal is my first trail race. It’s the weekend of my 39th birthday! I wanted to do something new to start my next year. I actually signed up before ever running a trail so last night I decided it’s time to train and I ran my first trail run with a training group! 4miles and it was so hard and so scary! My whole body hurt and was dirty! I’m glad I have 2 months to train because the race is 10.4 and they told me it’s a challenging course. Eek!
Can’t wait to see you hit your next goal!!

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Hi! I just found your blog a few months ago and love your daily updates. The photos are the best – your kiddos are so cute!

I know you’ve been running for forever but I’m curious if you have any blog posts where you talk about how you built up mileage or got faster. Or if you ever made your own training plans before you had a coach. I’m trying to get into running more and am looking for examples of how people become great runners :)

Thanks and good luck in your marathon!

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Hey Emily!! Wahoo… welcome:) Thank you so much and I’m thrilled for you and your training. I hope is post can help a little bit:

https://hungryrunnergirl.com/2019/08/top-10-things-helping-me-to-get-faster.html

PS I did kind of do my own thing before I started using coaches and the ending wasn’t great (injuries…) so I highly recommend getting a coach. I know that people like Mary @itsamarython do group coaching too which would be cheaper! GOOD LUCK!

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