As you can tell from my sister’s arm and hair behind me… we were pooped at the end of our run. No matter what, running is just always hard. The difference is that you just get faster (or in my case slower with each month right now;) but it’s still just hard.
I really need to make a shirt to wear after my run each day that say’s this:
I’ve had a few people ask me what my sister has done for strength training (she prefers strength over cardio) during this time of gyms being closed etc. She has been loving the Beachbody app that she does in her home gym and her favorite workout from the app is the Brazil Butt Lift High & Tight workout. She is sore afterwards for a few days each and every time she does it. I’m working up the courage to try it out with her one day:)
I came inside from my run and we dug into breakfast. I copied Knox’s breakfast once I was done with my daily ‘half a cantaloupe’ tradition.
Knox left with his mom and then I took the girls to get in one of their final summer activities for the year at the splash pad.
Skye has reached that stage where she wants to do everything herself… get dressed herself, put her carseat seatbelt on herself, brush her hair… and the list goes on and on. She is so incredibly independent!
Yesterday in the comments, Anna talked about her love for caprese salads and as soon as I read it, I had to have one myself.
Finished off with some peaches that we got from an orchard.
I was in quite the baking mood yesterday and made two of my absolute favorite sources of carbohydrates…
Superhero Muffins. If I put them in birthday cupcake liners then Skye is even more excited about eating them.
And braided bread to go with our dinner.
Because pregnancy does weird things to me and makes me NEED chicken noodle soup on a 100 degree day;)
Just a few more random things…
Andrew brought me home flowers but Skye was convinced he brought them home for her and argued with me for 5 minutes about it ha.
Brooke sold apples from our apple tree out front and made $2.
Just a flashback picture from 364 days ago when I did one of the most beautiful runs I have ever done in my life (Mt. Timpanogos)…
I really wanted to hear where everyone is with their running right now. I got pregnant before the pandemic hit here so my brain was already turned off to racing, training and working towards goals before all of the races were getting canceled. I knew from the beginning of the year that it would be a while again until I was going to be improving or really racing again but I want to know where you guys are all at right now…
Where is your motivation coming from for running right now? Is anyone following any type of training plan or running what sounds good each day? Are you hopeful for spring races or just riding this thing out? Where are you at with how your running has been impacted this year?
Any shortages at the grocery stores or online driving you crazy?
-WINDOW CLEANER AND CLOROX WIPES… anybody else?
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?
Would you rather get flowers or chocolate or other from a loved one?
53 comments
Mariah
This time has been great for building up an amazing running base! I don’t care how fast I am and I’m not comparing myself to other people or to my PRs. So I’ve been able to run long distances with no injuries! Big win :)
I wish Clorox wipes would come back already! Thank goodness there are no more toilet paper shortages here though, that was more worrying haha.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Mariah! This is so good to hear. Your base is so important and to build that without any injuries is awesome. Definitely a big win. OH YES, the toilet paper situation.. that was bad haha. Hope your Tuesday is a wonderful one!
Rhiannon
Oddly enough, having to remain so distant from people and limited activity availability has actually made me MORE motivated to run/workout. My boyfriend and I have been running together on the weekends and sometimes during the weeks – I never realized how much faster I could be if I ran with someone else! So I guess that’s helping me! I’m not really following any plan, but I do write what I did that day on the calendar, and I use that as encouragement to keep moving almost every day!
Weirdest shortage I have noticed… string cheese! Who is eating all of it?! I keep having to buy the expensive brand or organic!!
I’m not much of a chocolate person, but I do LOVE getting flowers. It just brings me such happiness!
Have a great day, Janae! :)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Rhiannon! This is great to hear. I am so glad that you have had so many awesome runs with your boyfriend and I totally agree, others make us faster! I’m really excited for you. Oh that is interesting about the string cheese, we haven’t had that hear yet.. I’ll send you ours:) I hope you get some flowers soon. Have a great morning Rhiannon!
Charlotte
My first marathon that I signed up for transitioned to a 2-week long window where I can still run the course, complete with hydration stations (bring your own bottle!), aid tents, bathrooms. I haven’t committed to training for it yet, but need to decide if I’m going to amp up my training since race day is late-November!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Okay, that is REALLY cool that your marathon is doing that! What a great idea to keep it going but also safely. Let me know what you decide and I hope your morning is a beautiful one, Charlotte!
Lee
the best thing i’ve eaten recently……….i bought a brisket at the farmers’ market on saturday. my husband smoked it on sunday. it was the best non-dessert food i’ve ever eaten. it was a huge piece of meat so we had it last night, too. it was delicious. i bought sirloin tips from the same people. i hope my husband can do some smoker/grill magic with them, too.
i’m hopeful for spring races. right now, i’m concentrating on building a good base (at 25 miles/week; 10 mile long run) and then adding some speed. i do a timed 5K once a month to see if i’ve improved. i don’t really have anywhere longer than that to time myself. once i hit my 5K goal, i’d like to move up to 10K. there’s no place flattish to do that near me that isn’t an extremely populated trail. i don’t know that it’s worth the risk. luckily, i think i have a few months to figure that out. the pandemic hasn’t really impacted my running because there are no races so i have no incentive to come back too fast and mess up my knee again. i think it has actually helped that. i think this is the longest stretch i have run in the last two years. 10 miles is definitely the longest i have run at one time and i’ve done that the last three weeks. that’s the only silver lining in this nonsense.
there is a shortage of clorox wipes and lysol spray and disinfectant cleaner. everything kind of rotates. i’ll go a while without seeing pasta, hand soap, canned soup, canned vegetables, and then they’ll come back. it’s really weird. i buy a few extra when i see them just in case.
the braided bread looks good. i want to get back into bread making. homemade is way better than anything in the store.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Is it weird that now I need brisket before 7 am. That sounds amazing and I hope the sirloin tips turn out just as well! You are rocking your training right now and have built an awesome base while at the same time improving your 5k and keeping your knee happy… awesome! I’m really happy for you Lee. That is interesting about the canned soup/veggies. I haven’t seen that yet here! Try the bread and let me know what you think! Have a beautiful Tuesday Lee!
Wendy
Oh my gosh…. Clorox wipes!!! I wish I could get some. When someone posts on social media that they found some, I am instantly jealous, ha ha. Other than that, it’s not too bad. My boys are sad that there seems to be a major shortage of flavored cokes, especially vanilla coke! 1st world problem boys.
I am eating all the peaches right now. They are so good. I am not a fan of peach pie, or crisp, or anything with baked peaches, but YES to all the fresh peaches ?
I really struggled with running motivation for a bit. I personally didn’t have a race on the calendar, but started thinking of some fun fall and winter ones. Living in SoCal, we have races all year. But when everything started getting cancelled, it really put me in a little funk. But after dealing with my achilles, I have had a lot of motivation to just build a really good and solid running base again. Even adding in some fun speed work! It’s funny how when you can’t run (injury or illness, etc) that can really help Kickstart your motivation again. Plus, as I think we’ve all said, our daily runs still feel like the world is normal.
By the way, you’re looking healthy and happy in your 3rd trimester! Thank goodness for good health and supportive family!
Have a great day Janae ?
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Wendy! We will always be so grateful in the future when we are able to buy clorox wipes easily! Andrew totally agrees with your boys and he is missing those flavored cokes! I love where you are at right now and I totally agree, after an injury or time away from running we appreciate and love every step we can get. Such a good point… the normalcy that we get during the run is so needed. Thank you so much friend and I hope you have the best day!
Mollie
I’m losing motivation. The heat this summer has been terrible and it’s starting to wear on me. My goal race is now still “kind of” on (you can run the course anytime over a week or something) but that’s definitely not going to be a real race for me, and I don’t think I’m going to do it. So I’m not sure where I’m at. My coach has been upping my mileage and I’m starting to dread every run. I need to do some soul searching and see if I want to take a break and maybe try again in the spring, or hold on for the rest of summer and just hope one of the races doesn’t get canceled. IDK.
I used to say chocolate for sure, but flowers sound better these days. We all need more bright and cheerful things around. :)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Mollie, you are DEFINITELY not alone in that… I see a lot of people feeling that same way! Definitely talk to your coach about this so you can get your running back to fun and something that builds you up. That heat you experience is something else and to add that to all of the stress, you must be exhausted! Keep me updated and I hope you get some flowers soon!
Kristine
Flowers for sure!
We just got back from a week long camping trip and one of the places we stopped was Manning Park. We did a 20km trail run/hike along the Heather trail to First brothers and it was stunning. Alpine, wildflowers and mountain ridges. I told Jason that was his belated birthday gift to me lol. We came home a bit tired and grimy but with full hearts.
For me it is about exploring and getting back to adventures. My longesr road run these days has been about 12 -14 miles ish and I also signed up for the virtual seawheeze half marathon. I think for me I am remembering why I love to run and running with less pressure.
Your run looked beautiiful! I also love how Skye thought the flowers for hee. Have a wonderful day Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh I am SO happy to hear about your camping trip! I am so glad you had such an amazing time and I want to do that run/hike… sounds breathtaking. I am so happy you are loving this time of adventure and excited for you to do virtual Seawheeze. Have a beautiful day Kristine!
Gillian
I haven’t been running much this year and have focused on Strength training/muscle building instead. I have 3 little ones and it has been so much easier to head down to my basement gym when they are sleeping than to wrangle up the jogging stroller, two bikes etc to get them to come with me. Next year I have a goal to run a 2021 fall 50k in my area.
That salad and bread looks like the perfect summer meal. I am drooling over here.
We have run out of all forms of diet cola/pop here! So weird to see such empty shelves in the drink isle of all places! We finally got Hand sanitizer back on the shelves and hand soap with no limits as to how much you can purchase.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
This is the perfect year to be focusing on the strength training and SO so good for you (I need to follow your lead). It really does work perfectly with three little ones at home. It is going to help you rock your goal next year big time. That is what Andrew was telling me too, he wanted diet coke so badly and couldn’t find it at Costco! Yay for hand sanitizer being back! Hope you have a beautiful day!
Corry
I’m in Canada and having a hard time finding cases of canned pop that are diet. I mentioned this to my cousin and she was told its because the pop companies are only producing the best selling products at the moment because of covid.
Clorox and Lysol wipes shelves are always empty.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Andrew said he is having a hard time finding his diet coke here too! I cannot find fresca anywhere either which makes me so sad. Good to know that is why, we were sure wondering. I cannot wait until we all have wipes again. Hope you are having a beautiful day in Canada Corry!
Carrie
Groceries are just crazy expensive here! Not sure if this is still true but in the beginning Of the pandemic they said that dish soap is fine for cleaning those high touch surface areas so I also use that!!
My plan after my half was to train for a full marathon in the late fall. I then developed a heel stress fracture mid June and COVID or not a full would not have happened. I am allowed to start trying running this Thursday. The doctor has me building VERY slowly and it’s going to take me a while to even build to a mile… I can however walk so I can supplement.
I am a big fan of Kira Stokes App, lots of great strength in those workouts!
The Hungry Runner Girl
THANK YOU for sharing that with me about dish soap… off to do that to my countertops, thank you! I hope that your groceries drop prices again soon. So many big (expensive) changes this year! THURSDAY… I am so happy you get to run again. Please let me know how it goes and that is so smart to build slowly, it pays off in the end. I will have to check out her app, thanks Carrie and I hope you have a great day!
Becky Przy
I have loooooved building a high mileage base! For years I wanted to run 40+ miles/week, but either I got injured (added mileage too fast) or I didn’t have the time (I didn’t want to wake up at 3 a.m. to get my runs in before work). So it has been awesome being able to hit all time high mileage and feeling comfortable at 50-65 miles per week. Plus, it is wonderful “me” time since I am with my kids all day everyday and my husband is still working.
The best thing I have eaten lately is these little avocado chocolate cups I got from Target and I mixed it with peanut butter–so good! Also, Dill pickle hummus from Trander Joe’s.
Flowers and chocolates are wonderful, but I would take coming home to a clean house, laundry done and the kids being fed. I swear if I go run errands for the afternoon, the house is 10x’s dirtier and no one was fed. I am trying to unload the groceries and kids are asking me for something to eat and the kitchen is somehow a mess even though no one ate;-). haha, you can tell what kind of day it was yesterday!
Enjoy the last few days of summer vacation!!!! Have a wonderful Tuesday Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Seriously, this has been your year for mileage and I am SO happy for you. 50-65 miles per week wahoo and I get what you mean about the me time and how needed it is now more than ever. Well, now I need to go get those avocado chocolate cups… and that hummus! I fully agree with you on that, those acts of service mean the world! I hope that you get some of those soon:) Thanks Becky and you too!
Erica
My mom and I are actually “in a fight” about working out and races etc. right now. Ican be out the door seeing what my body is capable of just because. I am in better running shape now than I have been in 5 years……….my mom is in the I need the race, the trophy otherwise it doesn’t mean the same.
Best thing I have eaten recently is grilled cheese as takeout from my favorite deli yesterday. You know the type on that vienna panini type bread? Ahhhhhhhh, so good.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I am so stoked about how well your running is going. You are on fire and it just seems to be working out so well for you! I hope your mom is able to get a race or two in soon. Welp, now I need a good grilled cheese so thanks for that;) PS are you teaching virtually this year??
Megan H
Hi Janae!!!
In Texas and the only thing i haven’t been able to find is Tilex Clorox Mildew Remover!
As for running, i went out guns blazing in April/May to train for a 10K on the the Nike Run app. I was getting faster and building mileage, then one day I did back to back track speed workouts (didn’t stretch after) and bam I pulled the left quad that I kept pulling last time i was in marathon training (2017) and several times after I “retired” from marathons and started playing soccer again . Around this time the nike app malfunctioned and somehow DELETED ALL MY RUNNING DATA OFF MY PHONE. So i just stopped running for a few months and did lots of BodyFit by Amy videos for strength and cardio, along with lots of yoga (i meet up with friends 3 times a week over zoom and we do a video together!) I filled the running void with solo hikes after work. Now I’m starting at running a mile again, but I’m limiting myself to just 1 mile 3x a week, but still doing strength, yoga and hiking. It’s so hot here anyway, a few months off will hopefully make me stronger for the fall and get me ready for soccer (if we can ever play again!)
The Hungry Runner Girl
I need to pay you to send me clorox wipes;) I hope you get the tile mildew remover soon! A pulled quad… OUCH! I think that was a great call to take that time off from running and get so strong! I bet the hikes were amazing for you mentally too! Keep me updated on how your running and soccer (I hope it starts up soon for you) go and I hope you get some cooler temps soon! Thanks Megan!
Bri
I’ve been really enjoying extra time for running. Before all of this, I was leaving for work at 6 am and getting home at 6 pm on my shortest days. I’ve loved being able to run so much during the week, and I have spent a lot of time building up a solid base. I’m thinking I may go for a fall marathon in 2021, but we will see what happens with those!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Bri, I am SO glad that you are getting the extra time now for your running. I cannot imagine that work schedule that you had leading up to this pandemic. This new schedule probably feels like heaven! Here’s to hoping you get that fall marathon next year! Have a great Tuesday!
Joan
Hey there! My running motivation is pretty nil right now. After my baby was born 4 months ago, my knees just haven’t been the same so I have been walking with the stroller and doing online workouts. There was a hint of fall in the air this morning and it made me really miss running! Fall is my favorite time to run!
I am definitely a flower person, they make me so happy!
As far as grocery shortages, creamed soup of all things! Also, get a Norwex window rag and you will never have to buy window cleaner again. I love mine! No chemicals involved so my little kids get the window washing job?
Have a happy day!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Joan! Congrats on your new little one, I hope you are sleeping and feeling well. I am so sorry about your knees right now and I hope with a little more time they are ready for running again. I REALLY hope you get to enjoy your fall miles! Please keep me updated and I will send you some of our creamed soup:) THANK YOU for the tip about norwex window rags, off to get one! Have a great day!
Kimberly
Hands down I want someone to bring me CHOCOLATE over flowers. Specifically Reeses’s peanut butter cups. I’m obsessed. The best thing I’ve eaten lately is bbq pork steaks with corn on the cob and Caesar salad. I’m pretty salty that I can’t find feisty cherry Diet Coke anywhere!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Kimberly. I need that bbq meal that you had right this second! Andrew totally feels your pain about the lack of soda… hopefully you find some cherry diet coke asap! Have a wonderful day!
Betsy
That’s awesome your sister is doing Beachbody. I’ve been doing their workout programs for several years. I’m not a coach and I don’t buy their supplements or products. Just do the on demand membership. For strength training I love Liift4. I’ve done that program over and over. I also love Autumn Calabrese Pilates in the 21day fix program. That’s as far as I dabble with Pilates but I love that 30 minute session.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh that’s awesome… my sister love love loves their workouts and uses it all the same way that you do. 30 minute sessions sounds perfect to me! I hope you have a really great day Betsy!
Amy S
Hi Janae! Since I don’t have any races I’ve just been running for sanity and since I don’t want to visit PT during this time I just take it easy. I just tell myself it’s a different season and I was pretty good about building up core strength since I was worried about going outsiee for a while. That’s a good reminder I should get back to that.
That salad looks wonderful, I love when tomatoes are red all the way through. Have a great day!
The Hungry Runner Girl
That is seriously the best way to see this time and you are doing amazing. I need to send you some of these tomatoes, they are incredible. Thanks Amy, you too!
Annie
Motivation without races – I find this such an interesting topic! I have found some other goals to motivate me this summer. I started cycling and have a goal to complete a 100 mile ride by Labor Day (I’m on track to do this!). I also have tried to pack in as many trail miles as possible – backpacking, trail running, and hiking. It was motivating for me to hold onto a strong running base so that I can do as much as that as possible. I did an 18 mile trail run Sunday (4400 ft of elevation) and it went so well! I also have found it helpful to set micro goals (i.e., “I want to run 40 miles this week”) for myself. I doubt there will be any races any time soon so this will have to be how it goes for a while!
The Hungry Runner Girl
100 mile ride by Labor Day… I am stoked for you! PLEASE let me know how it goes! I am so glad you have been able to hit the trails so much, there is just something so peaceful about the trails. Your 18 mile trail run sounds HARDCORE to me, that is amazing. Keep making these amazing goals and we can all do the same. Have a great day Annie!
Kathy McElhaney
My motivation has been cycling the past few months. Tomorrow is Les’ birthday and my first 100k ride! I’ve trained well and my only real concern is nutrition. As long as I don’t bonk, I expect to have a great day. Even if I bonk, we’ll have fun together!
We are celebrating Les’ birthday all week. His requested dessert was German chocolate cake and homemade vanilla ice cream. My grocery store was out of ice yesterday! We’ve had extreme heat in So Cal so I guess everyone has been buying it up. I was able to get the ice from a Chevron mini mart and our celebration got off to a great start yesterday!
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently – homemade ice cream. There really is no comparison. https://mcmomentsandmemories.blogspot.com/2017/08/friday-foodie.html
I love getting flowers! I won’t buy them for myself, but I’ll definitely buy chocolate, so flowers are special.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Happy birthday to Les tomorrow and I am so excited for your 100k ride! I hope your tummy is happy and you feel all of the energy tomorrow and I would love to hear/read about it! I am so glad you finally found the ice and I need that peach cobbler and ice cream now! Thanks Kathy and have a great day:)
courtney lawrence
I love that trail picture from a year ago. It reminds me of when I used to live in Colorado; Barr trail is gorgeous in October. Also, I totally feel you all on the fruit addiction right now. I’m obsessed with peaches after a hot workout!
Can you please do a post on how you deal with discomfort in running? I’m starting to get serious about running, and I think I’ve been brainwashed into thinking that one day it wont hurt anymore or that something is wrong with me because it still feels hard even though I’m progressing. How long did it take you to be able to truly enjoy running?
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thanks so much Courtney and I bet living in Colorado was amazing! I would love to write a post about that because it is something ALL runners can relate to! Something is definitely not wrong with you, I promise you that! I need to write a blog post DURING my run one day ha because I’m sure my tone would be different about runs but since I write them after I’m full of endorphins. Expect a post soon because you are very normal, it’s hard and always hard (sometimes there are magical runs where things just flow but that is rare) for me but the rewards from it make the hard so worth it! Have a beautiful day!
Mary beth
I would MUCH rather get chocolate or anything sweet than flowers! I love a good Edible arrangement! ;) I am training for my 4th half marathon in October but my first half after having my two boys! Trying to fit In running with littles is hard but totally worth it! Took my 5 month old on his first stroller run today, he fell asleep so I think we have many more in our future! (Ps. Just started MC fit’s August challenge, I’m inspired by you Utahians! If that’s the correct word!)
The Hungry Runner Girl
That makes me so happy! Megan is the best of the best! So excited for your half in October and please let me know how it goes! Love that you got out for a run with your 5 month old and that he fell asleep. Have a beautiful day friend.
Laura
I got an email that a sprint triathlon here in colorado is a GO in september, so I immediately signed up! Now I need to get in the pool. I also have my eye on a small half marathon that seems to be still happening in september. I am in better mountain bike shape than I have ever been, it has been so nice to have time to workout and not have to rush off to work. I have been able to meet up with a friend to run every thursday this summer, which has been so great.
I miss Clorox wipes!! I just saw an article that the shortage will continue until spring 2021 because the same material used for the wipes is used for PPE/masks. So sad.
Kate P
I had my first baby in May and didn’t run much during my pregnancy due to two previous miscarriages. I was told I could run but I was afraid to, so I did a ton of walking. This summer has been HOT in NJ so I’m just now getting back into it (11 months later!) and it feels sooooo good but also so hard. My legs are lead and I’m running 3 mins slower than I used to but I’M RUNNING again! It’s amazing how good it feels to be back and to be doing something just for me :)
Terri R
Getting ready to leave on our Grand Tetons/Yellowstone vacation. Your recaps were very helpful in our planning! Thank you!
Here in Northern Nevada window cleaner seems plentiful. I scored Clorox Wipes early Sunday morning at Target — the associate was just unpacking a box! whoo hoo!
clk
Get these for window cleaning! No more wasting paper towels. These are life changing!
https://www.amazon.com/Cloth-Cleaning-Microfiber-Scrubbing-Polishing/dp/B004G621ZG/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&aaxitk=bJhhWVcAJ6.lcM7BR-FR2A&hsa_cr_id=4550937530001&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_2
The Hungry Runner Girl
YOU ARE RIGHT!! THEY ARE AMAZING!! I just got mine today, thanks for the help!
Catie
I’m currently training for my first 10k race (virtual) that will be the week before my youngest daughters first birthday. I haven’t ran more than 4 miles in 7 years!
Brianne
I’m having race withdrawal! All of my races this summer have been canceled. I’m signed up for the Princess Run at Disney again next Feb but they just made this falls virtual so I’m getting nervous they will change Princess to virtual as well. Either way I’m in the gym at CrossFit for my strength and then running so if we are able to run in person I’m prepared!!
Fiona
I ran a spring virtual half, set a new (if unofficial) PR and then continued on pretty hard after a week off until I kinda burnt out on the schedule recently. I decided to follow your advice: running will be there when/how I need it so I took a week off and have cut back to 3-4 runs of whatever I feel like and am semi-forcing myself to strength train more :)
Having a hard time getting lettuce, but only if I do grocery pick up?
Nothing- I need an exciting meal.
Flowers … I always have some chocolate handy
Sheri
Beachbody just added a pre and post barre workout program to their app. I also have always wanted to try the Brazilian butt one. I will have to now knowing your sister does it. ?