That feeling when you just sit back in the car and don’t move for a while because of two reasons…
A) You just want to sit in there and soak in your accomplishment + your rush of endorphins from exercise + the joy you feel from quality conversations with your running partners. B) Because you are just way too tired to stand up and get out of your car for a minute (and you know the second you go inside it is go time again with kids ha).
I was able to join in with my friends for 10 miles of their longer run. They chose a very hilly route that tested me big time and that last mile of the run I felt like I was just barely hanging on to them:). We climbed 771 ft in the 10 miles (8:07 average pace) and switched off from being freezing cold (on the downhills) to burning hot (on the uphills) a few times over the miles.
At the end of the run I realized that my pockets were missing from my favorite running leggings… but then realized I was wearing my pants inside out the whole time.
I got home and then Andrew went biking and these two joined him for a bit at the end.
Then we made it to a park!
Beck spent his weekend doing his favorites things—> eating, sleeping and showing off his smiles.
The highlight of our Sunday was Brookie coming home. She was with her dad over the weekend and had a fabulous time skiing. I’m so grateful for how easy things are for everyone involved in Brooke’s life, she has a lot of people that adore her.
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And just some random things to talk about….
*We are fully hooked on meditating every day now. I mean, it’s been over a week of us sticking to something so that is saying a lot;) Meditating has been the perfect way to end our days together. The other night Knox told me that he used something he learned from meditating to help him to fall asleep at night. Andrew and I will listen to it and use it to help us to fall asleep too some nights. I’m loving how it slows down my brain for a few minutes and how it helps me to relax my body. I bought the year’s subscription to Headspace… that’s how much we are loving it.
*On Friday before Brooke left we decorated V-day cookies. We loved this recipe with this icing and cookie cutters I found at Target but can’t find online.
We’ve been decorating sugar cookies for each holiday together since she was Beck’s size:)
*Because you really catch people’s attention when you come in to talk to them with a headlamp on.
*How is this fair? My nephew has not done ANY running and last week his friends dared him to run a half marathon. He went home from school and jumped on their treadmill and boom… 13.1 miles without stopping. Ridiculous. It reminded me of how Andrew ran a marathon after his longest run leading up to the race being 10 miles!
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Those of you that have completed a marathon… What was your longest run leading up to your first marathon?
What is something that you do before you go to sleep that helps you to sleep better/relax/unwind?
Do you love frosting/icing or is it something that you believe ‘less is more’ with?
What was the best part of your weekend?
39 comments
Kristine
Those cookies look so good! Now this makes me want to bake lol. What a great tradition with Brooke:)
I think my longest run leading up to the marathon was 20 miles. This weekend flew by. Saturday I ran 9 miles in the rain and dark with the headlamp but for some reason I enjoyed that lol followed by an afternoon of napping. Sunday we took puppy to the beach and she was so happy to be free and digging in the dirt lol. The wind was crazy but it was gorgeous out. And then was able to meet a friend for walk.
And I am all about the frosting!
Have a great day Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
HEY KRISTINE! I am so glad you had such a great weekend… a nice run and a nap= my perfect day:). River was in heaven at the beach… I’m so glad you were able to go meet your friend! I hope you get all of the frosting soon! Thanks Kristine, you too!
Jenny
The longest run I did leading up to my first marathon was 18 miles- not quite as extreme as Andrew, but still those last 8 miles were grueling!
I love tiny little Beck lying on the floor with the big kids in that picture!
Congrats to your nephew- he is insane : )
The Hungry Runner Girl
I bet those last 8 miles were something else! Hahah he already wants to be part of the group. Thanks Jenny, I agree with you! Have a beautiful day friend.
kelly
I am a frosting/icing person FOR SURE! But, I don’t love the crisco-y/sugary kind as much. But give me a delicious cake with creamy good frosting and I’m thrilled (I love good wedding cake!!!) Frosted sugar cookies are the best thing ever. Yum yum yum!!!!
My first marathon was in an Ironman and my longest run was 16 miles. To this day, that was still one of my best feeling marathons and I did a negative split. Typically my longest run before a marathon will be 22-23miles.
I like to listen to a meditation or a sleep story before bed. I am a night time worrying/fretter.
So glad Brooke had a great weekend and that things are going smoothly.
Your nephew…..wow. I bet he was sore after?!
Best part of the weekend was getting a ride in on Saturday and a trail run Sunday. The mommiest part of the weekend was watching the first half of the SuperBowl with my teenage son. It came on at 0030 so we had a goal to stay awake through the halftime show then any minutes after that was bonus. Needless to say we both fell asleep but it was fun to have goofy treats and have our puppy snuggle (take advantage of us being on the couch).
Happy Monday!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hey Kelly! I really hope you get some delicious cake with frosting or cookies with frosting. YOUR FIRST MARATHON WAS AN IRONMAN!? Okay, I am in awe! That is incredible. Okay, what is it about nighttime worrying… I feel like a completely different person in the morning when it comes to that. He was so sore and SO so hungry haha. I am so glad you got in a ride and a trail run this weekend and your Super Bowl watching with your son sounds perfect. I love it! Thanks Kelly, you too!
Gillian
Thank you for the cookie recipe! I need a new one as the one I use the cookies spread in the oven making them look like blobs lol. Those look SO good! I’m going to try them out this weekend.
I’m so jealous of your weather! We have -40 temperatures here and SO much snow the schools are closed today. We are a long way off from bringing bikes out.
Enjoy your Monday!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I hope you love them this weekend… let me know! SNOW DAY! I hope you all stay warm and can get in some sledding or something:). Thanks Gillian, you too!
Mariah
Those cookies are gorgeous!! Amazing decorating skills.
I read before bed, sometimes just a few pages make me tired immediately!
Best part of weekend was catching up with a friend who I hadn’t seen in a while. And running while it was snowing yesterday! How do you do it?! I felt proud of myself but was also complaining about snow on my face and in my eyes during the run haha. The snowflakes were huge!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I am SO glad you were able to go on a run with your friend this weekend… and the snow is tricky! BUT I promise you get used to it after a while and I definitely always wear a hat when it is snowing to avoid the snow on the face thing. I bet it was gorgeous though. I’m like you, just a few pages and I’m ready to snooze ha. Have a beautiful day and I hope you eat some cookies soon! Thanks Mariah!
Kristin
Oh my gosh, SO jealous of people who can just run long races without training! I feel like I can barely run them with training. :-). That’s awesome. I also laughed about you realizing your pants were inside out–that 100% sounds like something I would do.
I always read in bed before I turn the light out, which really helps me wind down, and I also love the sleep meditations and sleep sounds in headspace! And reminder for any educators that headspace has a free yearly subscription for them!
I like frosting, but I REALLY love sprinkles . . . they are the best part of cookie decorating.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Right?! How do their bodies (and brains) allow them to do it? I need ALL of the preparation before a race. I still need to try the sleep sounds. I didn’t know that about headspace, that is so great that they do that for educators. I hope you have a cookie with a ton of sprinkles on them soon! Have a beautiful day Kristin!
Jen W
Those Valentine cookies look amazing! You have me drooling on my desk here at 9:00 am! ha ha Frosting?! Bring it ALL on!!! My husband bought a big chocolate chip cookie cake at the grocery store for our Super Bowl dessert that came with frosting to decorate it ourselves—we used every drop of that frosting! ha ha
And, you wrote that by the end of your long run you were just hanging on, BUT you WERE hanging on, and that is so awesome. THAT is why running with a group is so powerful. And, it’s hearing things like that which make me really wish I had a group of my own. You’re lucky!!!
Have a beautiful day, Janae! It’s cold cold cold here in PA!!!!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I hope you get some cookies with a ton of frosting asap! And now I need that cookie cake, sounds delicious and I’m so grateful you used all of the frosting that it came with:) Thank you, that is SO true.. I am very lucky and I would be SO happy if you could be in our running group. Wouldn’t that be fun? I hope you get some warmer temps asap (or come visit Utah soon and run with us please:). Thank you Jen, you too!
Beth
Lol, teenage boys don’t know how good they have it ? I haven’t ran a marathon without doing at least a 20 miler in training. I have done 9 marathons so I am looking for something special for number 10.
Your cookies look professional, I am super impressed. I don’t have an artistic or crafty bone in my body.
So excited for you that your running is coming along, you are an inspiration. You make it look easy but that is some amazing dedication and hard work ?.
Have an amazing Monday!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I’m with you on needing that 20 before each and every marathon! AHHHH #10 is magical (it was when I finally hit my big goal) so I can’t wait to hear about where and what you choose. Thank you Beth, definitely a lot of pain (not injury pain ha) happening on this comeback but I love the work! Thanks friend, you too and I am guessing you guys are having beautiful weather today too!
Wendy
Oh my gosh, your nephew!! That’s crazy and amazing.
The marathon plan I use has 3 20 mile runs. The last time I ran a marathon (in 2019), I ended up just running 1 of the 20 milers, and I felt like I wasn’t quite prepared.. ha ha.
I need to make Valentine’s day cookies again. It’s been several years since I have, and yours are so cute! Maybe I’ll do that this week.
Today is a no school day (Lincoln’s birthday?) so my hubby and I are heading down to Laguna or Crystal Cove for some good hiking with amazing views of the ocean ?. I’m pretty sure that will be the highlight of the weekend.
Have a good Monday.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Hahaha I am just like you… those 20 runs just help me so much to feel prepared for the marathon. I think you need to make these cookies. NO SCHOOL… YAY! I am SO happy that you are going with your husband. I have been to Crystal Cove a bunch of times, I LOVE it there. Wish I could join you guys:). Thanks and you too!
Erica
While laying in bed, I acknowledge the things I wish I had control over, but know I don’t. I give space to the deepest desires of my heart. I think it just kind of gives me permission, like, it has been stated, so no need to think anymore about it. good night.
Best thing I ate was this weekend was a buffalo chicken sub from a local place. Delish!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Send me that buffalo chicken sub, YUM! I love that you do that before bed. I’m trying it tonight (after my bowl of cereal). Thanks for sharing Erica, have the most beautiful day with your students!
Amy Branderhorst
I’ve run 3 marathons and told myself I was going to train for each of them. I started and then got so bored lol! I never ran more than 13 miles for any of them during my “training”, which meant at mile 18-19 I died every time. My one major bucket list item is to qualify for the Boston, so I for sure will actually have to do a full training cycle if I want to achieve that goal :)
Those cookies look amaze balls!
The Hungry Runner Girl
THAT IS AWESOME AMY! Your brain and body are so strong to be able to run a marathon after never going above 13 in training. I’m in awe! I can’t wait to hear about your BQ… keep me updated with it all! Thanks friend and I hope you have a fabulous day!
Clare L
It looks like you all had a great weekend and TEN MILES (FAST!!) 3 months postpartum?? You are just rocking it at life. What a wonderful inspiration. Also such great perspective on Brooke!! She is so very loved.
Yesterday I was listening to some Elder Holland talks and decided to buy artwork with scriptural/spiritual verses for my new place…I’m getting this one:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/637653441/elder-jeffrey-r-holland-quote-heaven-is?gpla=1&gao=1&
And I also randomly found this artist who is just amazing and I ordered this print:
https://www.triciarobinson.com/store/print-wildest-dreams-8×10-and-11×14
I have a question for you… one of my friends has a little girl who’s turning 3 in April. I really want to get her a print but I can’t decide… is there one that you think is best for that age?
https://www.triciarobinson.com/store/beautiful-future-print
https://www.triciarobinson.com/store/beautiful-future-print
https://www.triciarobinson.com/store/print-with-lasting-love
I hope you guys have a great week!
Clare L
Oh oops, here is the third option for my friend’s little girl:
https://www.triciarobinson.com/store/gods-girl-brunette-print
The Hungry Runner Girl
I LOVE the one you send in your second comment. LOVE IT. I want to get it for Brooke and Skye too. And that Elder Holland quote is my absolute favorite. Thank you for sharing, I need to get that one too. How did your Sunday go? And are you running with your friend this week? Thanks friend, YOU TOO!
Clare L
Oh perfect…I love that one so much too. Thanks so much for the help! I can’t wait to give it to her in April. Oh and just FYI– she has a couple of different options with that quote.
Things are definitely going better… I am running with a couple new friends tomorrow!! I actually sent the quote “God gives us difficulties to bring out the best in us” on Friday to a friend who is struggling with something so hard and is just doing an amazing job handling it. Then I reflected on it myself. –> One step at a time, day by day… God will see me through, and when I look back, I’ll be all the more grateful for this chapter in my story <3
Amy S
Hi Janae! Sometimes to fall asleep I think about running easy, left foot right foot left foot right foot, it’s quite soothing! Congrats to your nephew that is quite an achievement! I don’t know what’s more impressive, doing it without training or doing it on a treadmill! Enjoy your cookies they look awesome!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh I love that idea, I’m going to try that out! Thank you so much… and I agree about the treadmill part being beyond impressive too ha. Have a beautiful day friend!
Kathy McElhaney
My longest run leading up to my first marathon was 22 miles.
I usually end up in the kitchen, putting a few things away and getting the coffee pot ready for the next day. I’m not sure that relaxes me, but my subconsciously since I know I won’t have to face it in the morning!
Frosting on sugar cookies is a must. I’m kind of picky about frosting on cakes.
Best part of our weekend was having outdoor church service. We can now have indoor church, but with a limited number. So once a month we all meet outside. It was a beautiful day – about 70 degrees, sunny, with a mild breeze. And I got to see all my people!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Getting in a 22 miler feels really good before a marathon (it helps my confidence SO much). I think getting ready for the next day is super calming too. Outdoor church service sounds PERFECT. I am so grateful you got to enjoy the sunshine and being with your people. That is wonderful. Happy Monday Kathy!
Sloan
The longest run before my marathon was 21 miles. I definitely cried at the end of it :)
The best part of my weekend was definitely baking cookies. I make Funfetti cookies and they’re a hit every single time!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
21 miles is SUCH a long ways to go! I need to try your Funfetti cookies… that sounds amazing right now! Have a beautiful Monday, Sloan!
Stacey
That picture of your kids meditating is so darn cute! Between Beck’s tiny little body and Knox dressed like a little teddy bear, I think I have cuteness overload.
Leading up to my first marathon, I ran 27 miles… cuz, y’know, that’s a smart thing to do ;) I have since gotten better about that and cap it at 18.
I work in the field of Sleep (how crazy does that sound?!) so I try to practice what I preach — avoid screens prior to bedtime, and really try to keep my mind away from anything too stimulating. I have found a trick where if I can’t sleep, I try to imagine my childhood home. I walk myself through each room and attempt to remember as much specific details as I can. This usually provides me with calm mindfulness, and I drift off. My baby still wakes up every two hours, though, so I’m up again shortly after this drifting :)
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you Stacey! I agree, I love their meditating picture:) Hahah I’m so glad we can learn over time what works best for us! You are the expert on this… thank you for sharing that trick. I will be using this one! Every two hours?! Stacey, how are you surviving that right now??
The Hungry Runner Girl
PS I am reading ‘Why We Sleep’ right now and I’m loving it… you work in such an interesting field!
Lee
Your Saturday run was tough stuff, and I get it. I feel great for you! I do not get wearing your pants inside out!
All-the-things were happening, as per the usual, at your house over the weekend! What you all are doing with meditation before bed reminds me of “winding down.” People in my family did this, and continue to, going way back. It’s a smart boundary!! Boundaries help us create margin in our lives.
Your nephew finishing off a run with no notice and apparent ease is something he could recall for a long time in his life, and it may cement a message he can do anything/ everything he puts his mind and effort toward. It can become addictive! One could start to think their identity is Super Achiever. IMO Super Achievers still get the right amount of sleep, and have margin in their lives. This is the type of Super Achiever I’m working to be and be around more and more and more!
Kathy
Those cookies look so good and cute!! I’m on team frosting, so more frosting per cookie/cake is a win in my book!
I’ve only done one marathon, but the longest run I did was 16 miles. Not as extreme as Andrew, but that’s what my training plan called for! It was a beginner plan and while I thought I was going to be super unprepared, I actually managed to run the whole time (minus walking through the water stations) and finished in a time that I was content with, however, now I’m wondering if I try to train again, if I can get under 4hrs… That will have to be on the back burner as I’m currently 24 weeks pregnant and don’t see myself being in race shape this year…. However, while I was running my race, every time I got a little tired or needed some extra motivation, I would say to myself that this is the furthest I’ve ever run and I can keep going.
My highlight this weekend was actually being able to see some friends both through a book club as well as a small super bowl party. It was much needed! We’ve also been having a fun weekend tradition of going on a (short and slow) family run and then ending with the park for my toddler and it’s been great family time. While it’s nothing compared to the super cold polar vortex the Midwest is going through, it’s going to be pretty cold this coming weekend, so I’m sad that a family run may be out of the picture.
I’m impressed with your nephew! It’s one thing to pound out 13.1 miles outside on a whim, but on a treadmill?!? That not only shows physical endurance, but mental endurance as well!
To unwind, I actually will play games… sometimes when I’m reading my brain wakes up again so it’s not always a for sure way for me to unwind. I like to do a little stretching before bed and then sometimes I’ll listen to a short meditation app or play a silly game like candy crush or sudoku which makes me tired.
Grace
I am seriously sitting in my car (after work) avoiding going inside RIGHT NOW!
And I always read before bed :)
Teresa
Two highlights for me this weekend. 1st was a wonderful 11 mile trail run, then shopping at Costco with my Husband during the Superbowl. The best time to go for crowd free shopping.
Those cookies are so cute.
I am pretty typical and ran 20 miles before my first marathin. I would have been too nervous to go shorter.
I listen to the Abide bible meditation app before bed. It relaxes me and helps me get my mind focused on God.
Enjoy those “car” moments.