Friday Favorites & A Girls’ Night!

I had zero desire to start my run but was so happy I did for the rest of the day because it made me feel so much better.

4 miles @ 9:43 pace.

Another day, another walk…

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We checked off another Halloween tradition and carved pumpkins.

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And Skye painted hers.

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For dinner I went out to celebrate Candice and Megan’s birthday.   Getting out for a few hours of girl time was very needed and it was the first time I wore something other than pjs after 6 pm in a long time ha.

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You’d think after ten years of doing this I could take a good food picture ha.  We went to Black Sheep Cafe and I had the fried chicken and mashed potatoes and they were heavenly.

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PS they brought their school pictures home… They are growing up way too fast!

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I’ve got a few favorite things to share with you today!

*Tis’ the season to be wearing something to keep my ears warm for most of my runs over the next few months.  I found a new one that I am in love with because it is so soft, reversible (2 colors in 1 wahoo) and keeps my ears so warm. It comes in a few great colors too and you can find it here!

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*A few of you recommended that I listen to ‘Your Own Backyard’ because you know I love listening to True Crime podcasts.  This one is   very interesting and I am hooked!

*OOFOS keep my running feet healthy and these slippers keep my feet warm/cozy/feeling loved all winter long.

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*I am so excited for this one.  I haven’t tried out all of the pieces yet (because they won’t zip up right now:) but I will give full reviews for when I do.   Brooks has come out with a new Carbonite line with better reflectivity than ever (they developed it with 3M).  We are all running in the dark a lot more often during this time of year and we need to be seen!  They also came out with a Carbonite tank and shorts too for those of you that are living in warmer areas and running in the dark too.  Usually superreflective gear is made for colder temps so I am so happy they did this!

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*I FINALLY have my medals hung up with THIS medal hanger.  You’d think that after 12ish years of racing I would have done this a long time ago but I haven’t.  Slowly but surely we are decorating our new gym space (aka our garage but now it feels fancy;) and I put my medals up (my favorite ones.. I don’t have all of them because I’ve lost a lot of them when moving etc) yesterday along with my favorite print that Andrew had made for me.  Now to hang up some of my favorite race bibs, quotes, pictures and a chalk board.

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Do you have your race stuff hung up?  Where do you keep your race bibs/medals etc?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?!

Do your ears get cold easily while you run?  Do you wear a lot of earwarmers/headbands?

How often are your runs in the dark vs the light?  What do you wear to be seen?

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29 comments

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Looking forward to relaxation?? would you mind sending me the recipe for the chicken tortilla soup? When I tried the link the other day it took me to a dead end page. Thanks bunches!!

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Hey Laurie! I hope you have the best time relaxing this weekend and that you LOVE the soup (sorry that link didn’t work). Here it is and we usually add a can of tomato soup to this… https://munchercruncher.com/2012/01/cream-cheese-chicken-chili-in-the-crock-pot/

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Oh I love those ear warmers! I actually think my current favorite was a HRG recommendation! haha. The lulu one with the ponytail hole. :) It’s back up in the 70s here though.
I’m definitely checking out that podcast!! I just found a new True Crime podcast that I love–The Prosecutors. A different perspective on some of the most interesting cases! You should check it out. :)
Have a great Friday!!

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Okay, that makes me so happy! That one is still one of my favorites and I really hope they bring it back in more colors. It’s 30 this morning so I’m going to dream about 70s (even though I would sweat to death in that ha)! THANK YOU so much for telling me about that podcast, I can’t wait to check it out. Have a great weekend, Mollie!

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For my first marathon, I made a shadow box with the course map and my bib and my medal hangs on the side of it (it’s too fat to fit in the frame since it has a Liberty Bell that rings on it). My other medals hang up on a medal hanger Santa brought me last year. But now they’re all packed in a box lol.

My ears start cold but then I usually get really hot so the head band comes off. I’ve learned to just suck it up with cold ears until I warm up since I don’t like having to carry my headband. When it’s super cold I wear an ear warmer that I got as a gift from Lulu Lemon! Sadly they don’t make it anymore (from what I can tell) but I love it. Have a great Friday!!

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What a great idea to do that for your first marathon, I love it! It’s all going to look so good in your new house! One of my absolute favorites is from lulu too… I’m hoping they bring it back too! Thanks Maureen, you too!

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Maureen, that sounds like the Philadelphia marathon—that was my first one too! What year did you run it? I’ve been thinking I need to make a shadow box but I never thought about the bell being too wide to fit.

Janae, for reflective gear I bought a jacket on Amazon that’s basically the entire garment made of reflective material. I’ve been told by cyclists who pass me that they can see me from really far away and that it’s nice because they don’t have to guess where I am based on a few reflective stripes. The only problem is that it’s like wearing a trash bag so I sweat profusely and then have to wash it a lot.

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Hi Cynthia! I ran it in 2018 and it was amazing. What year did you run it? I hope you had an amazing experience there. Yeah I didn’t think the bell would be too wide. Not sure if there’s different depths for shadow boxes but mine seemed standard when I bought it. I got it at Michaels so who know haha clearly not an expert. I really like how my box turned out

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2018 was my first year too and it was amazing. 2019 was a whole different story but man did I feel tough afterward!

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Omg small world! Maybe we saw each other haha. I was kind of upset I was injured in 2019 and didn’t even sign up but when I saw the weather I was okay. Everyone who ran it last year was a bada** !!

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Hey Cynthia!! Okay, that jacket sounds amazing! And the extra sweating makes you even more tough than you already are:). Let’s all meet at the Philadelphia Marathon in 2021. SO fun that you were both there. Enjoy your weekend!

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LOVE how the gym is turning out! We have had our gym in this house for six years and all our medals are still in shoe boxes, LOL.

I have been living in my lined Boston Birkenstocks, it’s like wearing slippers outside =)

I am looking forward to snow this weekend to help with all of our fires.

Happy Friday!

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Thank you so much Beth, I’m loving having it already! Hahah my medals were in old purses for years and years too so you aren’t alone in that ha. Just looked up the lined Boston Birkenstocks and I definitely need those. ENJOY the snow and I am so glad that it is going to help. Thanks Beth, you too.

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My partner made me a rack for my medals and I keep some of my race bibs in a picture frame but I keep some in a shoebox lol.

I sometimes run before sunrise. Other than a headlamp I like bright colored running clothes and little lights for my shoes for night running. For the really dark mornings before sunrise just a headlamp.

Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the forecasted good weather. It has been a crazy month. We might take puppy who is now six months and try and take some good photos! We haven’t had a family photo shoot so debating the best way to do it. And hopefully a good run somewhere in there!

Have a wonderful day Janae!

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Okay, that medal rack of yours is extra special because it has your accomplishments and it was made with love. I can’t believe your pup is now six months old… time is zooming by. You’ll have to send me one of the family pictures. ENJOY THAT RUN and thanks Kristine.

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My hubby and I have run all of the Disney over the past 14 years, so we have a ridiculous amount of medals. We were just keeping them in a box, but then we realized how beautiful and magical they were, so in our spare room we put up a couple of really long, sturdy curtain rods and hung them from there. And for fun, we threw some big Mickey gloves on each end of the rod. Now we deem that room “the medal room” – makes me smile every time I go in there. :)

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14 years of Disney races.. that is SO great Kerry! I love that you guys have done that and I bet you have really missed them this year. You are going to have to send me a picture of your medal room… HOW AWESOME! Have a great weekend, Kerry!

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I bow down to everyone who is so organized as to have their medals hung up! Mine are in a giant freezer ziploc bag shoved somewhere in my closet! Ha! I’ve convinced myself I’ll them in our next house because 1 main criteria for the new house will be to have a gym space for me. Not just a mud room :)
I think I need to check out Brooks Carbonite line; I wear a headlamp, reflective vest & lights on my shoes and I still almost get hit a couple times a month! Doesn’t help that I run when most people aren’t fully awake yet.
This is so adult/sad (??) of me but I just bought a carpet cleaner and now I can’t wait to clean my carpets this weekend!
Have a great day!
Oh, and super cute school pics! I have to figure something out since my boys school is still 100% remote and probably will remain remote for quite some time.
P.S., do you have an indoor cycling/strength routine that is tried and true? I just bought an indoor cycle and I’m looking to combine cycling w/ strength for the ultimate HIIT workout …. which may or may not exist?! (Yet!)

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Wait, when are you guys thinking of moving? I’m excited for you to have that gym space and a place for all of your medals! PLEASE please please I hope the Brooks Carbonite line really helps you… that made my heart drop reading that you almost get hit a few times a month. Haha it’s adult of me to be jealous of your clean carpets this weekend;). I am so excited about your indoor cycle set up now and I wish I had a good program for that… I’ll keep my eyes open and let me know if you find anything. People swear by the Peloton app and all of their programs for the bike/strength and you can use it without a peloton bike too!
Have a great weekend, Jenny.

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Hi Janae! I totally forgot I have a earwarmer headband too! I will need to pull it out soon. This weekend I’m looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch with my friend and her baby, and doing just one strength workout (my fiance set up his home gym in the garage). Happy Friday!!

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YAY for your home gym in the garage! I am so excited about that. You are going to have the best time at the pumpkin patch. Happy Friday to you too, Amy!

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My ears hurt when I run in any temp colder than 60 degrees. I found this fleece hat that has both a bill to protect my eyes from the sun and fabric to keep ears warm that you pull down (or stuff under the hat). It works much better than the separate headband/hat combo I’ve been wearing for ages. https://www.trailheads.com/trailblazer-ponytail-hat-for-women/

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Elizabeth. You have just made me make a purchase… I opened your link, saw it and fell in love and bought one. BRILLIANT. Thank you so much, this is going to be perfect for the days I am running and it is snowing/raining and freezing and the same time. Have a great weekend.

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Elizabeth,

I might have to order one too (a men’s of course)! Do you know how it does in the rain?

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The bill would keep the rain off but the top is just fleece, so during a hard rain, I think your head would get wet eventually. I’ve used it during light rain/mist to good effect.

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Yes! My husband and I have our half and fulls (and his ultras) and a few 5/10Ks. It feels like forever ago, but we have our bibs from last thanksgivings 10K hanging up (last race).

I really like buffs as big headbands-ear covers.

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I used to have one just for myself and then my husband started running races with me too, so for Christmas a friend of mine got me one for the both of us that says Soul Mates in it for the long run. I don’t really keep my bibs, but I do have 3, 2 are from Disney races, only because they are personalized and pretty and the other is from my only marathon.
I have to wear ear warmers when running in the cold. My inner ear is super sensitive and starts to hurt with wind and cold weather. I used to run in the dark either late at night or early in the morning. I have a reflective vest that I can throw on over my clothes, which was nice especially in the summer at night since like you said most reflective clothing is made for winter. I also would sometimes wear a headlamp too. If I didn’t have a headlamp, I would use the flashlight on my iphone and anytime a car was coming, I would just flash the light at them and move it around so they would be able to tell it’s a runner. When I run with my dog, I have a light on her harness that can flash so they could see both of us. (which also works great for camping).

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Tell me about about the Smartwool headband. Is it at all itchy?

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Hi Janae!
You should try the podcast “Small Town Dicks”. Not to be crass but it’s about detectives and Yardley smith from the Simpsons is the main host. She talks to detectives about their most interesting cases. It is very interesting and well done! I think you’d enjoy it!

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