Weekending + Stranded + Unstructured


An afternoon run with Jenn! I never run in the afternoon, but it worked best for our schedules so we went for it. I first met Jenn when I was training for my ultra in 2019 and she saved me by meeting me at 4:30 a.m. to get in those long runs.

I haven’t had a Saturday run in a very long time that didn’t include specific distances and paces… we just went out and ran around the mountains for 11 miles.

I need more runs like this in my life.

We got in a ton of climbing over the 11 miles, and this was from the portion called ‘Grizzly.’ You climb and climb and climb for about .6 miles and climb almost 400ft. It hurt so bad, but the rest of the run felt really good.

Hoka fans. I love the Speedgoats, but I can’t wait to try what Jenn was wearing (Tecton X) because they are a bit less bulky, and they have a carbon plate.

We found a stranded mountain biker while we were out… Andrew was mountain biking and a branch broke the spokes on his bike!  He took it in right away and thankfully, will only be away from his bike for a few days.

For any Utahan’s reading, this was the trail we did starting from the gun range above the Orem Cemetery. This route had us climb about 1500” and took us up to the rock pile, down to Johnson’s Bowl, and back up Grizzly. Some of my favorite trails in the area are in this post!

Trail running with Jenn is the best because she has been running these mountains for decades, so I never have to worry about getting lost.

Not my favorite race day, but definitely my favorite race shirt.

Andrew is great at helping to hold my feet down for one of my PT exercises. This move is so insanely hard for me, but I’m determined to get better at this.
We started Saturday off with early morning soccer games.  Andrew was on call and our games were early, so that is why I ran in the afternoon… he never got called in, so he was able to mountain bike while my niece was over with the kids.

He was so tired that he fell asleep on the driveway.

We hot tubbed.
And we had Tillamook ice cream while watching TV. So I don’t think I’m lactose anymore because ice cream doesn’t hurt my stomach anymore?! Does anybody else have this experience?

 We finished off the weekend with some time exploring.

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Lactose intolerance? Does anyone have this problem? When did it start for you?

Ever gotten lost on a run?

-YES. I was in St. George on trails, and we didn’t have cell phone reception, but luckily we made it back fine.

Tell me a highlight from your weekend!  Who raced?  Let us know so we can congratulate you!

Are you following a plan right now for your training or deciding what you want to do each day?

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27 comments

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Those trails look fun but I would be worried about cougars!
I can’t do regular milk at all for the last 10 years. I drink the fairlife stuff. Cheese & ice cream don’t bother me at all, only milk.

I did my marathon a few weeks ago, and I have a hilly 5 mile on Memorial day, but the rest of the summer will be focusing on a late summer half marathon & a November full marathon where I want to break 4 hours finally!

Have a great week!

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I had a few thoughts about cougars while we were up there too! I haven’t tried regular milk yet so who knows if that would bother me too. Thank goodness for fairlife! Sounds like the perfect summer and I can’t wait for you to break 4 this fall! Thanks Loribeth, you too!

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Good morning! I miss running without a plan, how freeing! I used to do it a lot more before kids. Now I feel like I always have to be back by xyz time for sports, school, work etc. But part of that is on me because I am an early morning runner. I guess if I wanted to wait and try and run at night I might have more freedom?
No big plans for my running right now, mainly because we’re about to come into summer and all our traveling (plus heat is NOT my friend). Def. a fall half though… my heart keeps telling me I should try for a full but I just don’t know if I have the time without doing 2 a days, and there’s just SO much going on! I’d also love to do more trail running, but I’m a little nervous to run alone- getting lost is one of the reasons!. (PS: Thanks for posting the link to your trail runs… we’re going to be in Utah for the first 2 1/2 weeks of August, and eager to give them a try.)
Highlight of the weekend was going to the Padres/Dodgers game with husband and kids! We had AMAZING seats and the kids are old enough to pay attention the whole time. Apart from that, birthday parties, sports, long runs etc. The usual ;-)

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Running at night sounds soooo hard so I get why you go early! You’ll have to let me know about where you are going this summer. There will be a time and season for that full marathon so listen to your gut for when it feels right! Let’s go for a trail run in August! Oh I bet that game was so much fun, Andrew is jealous:). Happy Monday, Arianna!

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I’d love that! …as long as you promise to go easy on me, I’m not where near as speedy as you, especially at altitude! :-)

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Yes, it’s weird. Dairy will bother me, and so I’ll avoid it for a while – like a year+, and then I can eat it again. Not sure if my gut needs to do some healing post antibiotics or what, but this has been happening since I was a child.

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It really is so strange but that makes complete sense about it maybe needing some extra healing after antibiotics etc. For some reason I think mine has something to do with having a baby… I swear after each one I had weird allergies and things that slowly went away?! Our bodies are sure incredible. Hope your Monday is off to a great start, Heab:)

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Pregnancy did that for a friend of mine! Dairy was not her friend unless she was pregnant. But after her third pregnancy it hasn’t bothered her at all. And that baby is almost nine, so she figures she’s not lactose intolerant anymore.

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My lactose issues are weird- I can eat cheese and some ice cream (I can’t go crazy), but dairy milk, creamer, and whey protein mess with my stomach, not sure why. What a beautiful run! I am loving the pictures of the gorgeous trails near you! Happy Monday, Janae!

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So so strange.. I haven’t tried dairy milk and I’m wondering if that would hurt too?!? If you are ever in Utah, come with us! Hope your day is a great one, Emily!

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I get lost all the time! Lol. A friend of a friend wanted to run a marathon unofficially so a group of us ran. I joined for 28 km or 18 miles. Sunday we biked around the city with River to cheer for the marathoners as our city hosted a marathon. And then weather was nice so I ran an easy 5 km after. I am done now lol.

We also went looking for his wedding outfit lol.

Have an amazing day Janae! Your Saturday trail run sounds great.

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I’m tired just reading about your weekend but it sounds like it was so much fun. Glad you were able to enjoy the gorgeous weather. I can’t wait to see your wedding outfit! Thanks Kristine, you too!

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That trail looks awesome! I’ve experienced the same with with ice cream and milk products- sometimes it really bothers me and I take a break for a few weeks, but it usually does not- idk what it is!

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SO so so strange. Glad I’m not alone in this! I’ll keep enjoying my ice cream until it hurts again;). Hopefully you can too! Happy Monday, Alicia!

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Such awesome trails out there. And I love just running for the joy of running. No specific distance or pace, it’s so fun. I did that last week in an area I hadn’t been to in a few years. It was hilly, hard, and so much fun.
Our niece and her fiance were here with us all weekend, so we had lots of fun family time. We hadn’t seen them since last August, so it was great to catch up.
Have a great start to the new week.

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RIght?! We just need to let go of the numbers and paces sometimes! I’m so glad you had time with your niece and her fiance, I hope that you don’t have to go as long in between visits for the next one. Thanks friend, you too!

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Hi Janae! I haven’t had a race for a long time now and just enjoying running whenever I feel like it! It’s really nice but I do miss the structure of a training plan sometimes. One of my friends has problems with lactose but only when the milk is older (close to expiration date)! For me during times of high stress my body is more sensitive.
Happy Monday!

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There are pros and cons of both structured and unstructured training! Keep enjoying this time of running whatever feels best. Okay, both points are so interesting… high stress and older milk. I would have never correlated that but I can totally see the stress effecting me more. Weird! Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a great day, Amy!

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I haven’t run trails in so long and I miss it! Your run looks amazing.
I am very thankful today that me and my kids are all better after having the stomach bug. That was a doozy and I wasn’t able to eat real food for a week! Maybe now I can actually go for my first run since Boston :)
Have a great day, Janae and family!

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STOMACH BUG. Oh Stacey, I am so glad you guys are better after that… sounds like it was miserable! I hope your first run back is a good one and you can get in some really good food too. Thank you!

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I became lactose intolerant around age 17. It was really hard at first because I lived on milk (probably explains a lot) and I would have ice cream almost every night. It took me a while in the denial stage to give up ice cream, but honestly it hurt my stomach so bad, I would just want to curl up in fetal position. I’m not even tempted by someone eating ice cream around me because I think of that. At this point in my life, I limit dairy. I was never a big cheese person expect for pizza. I’ve noticed a huge difference in my skin/breakouts since not having much dairy in my diet. I still love butter and I have cheese when I crave it. Thankful for all the almond milk variations of ice cream that have popped up for days when I’m craving some.

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Wow, thank you for sharing, Alicia! It really is so interesting how it effects everyone so differently. I noticed a change in my skin too when I cut way back on dairy! Thank goodness for all of the different non-dairy options now, they save so many of us. Happy Monday!

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Tillamook ice cream is just the best!!! I love Marionberry pie flavor but over the years they’ve skimped on the pie parts.

My running is so erratic right now because I coach the distance kids for track. (I work full time so my days are at work). It’s okay, it’s good practice to be content running when I can or doing lower mileage. I do feel like a weekend warrior though, trying to get in my bike rides and runs.

Those trails look so fun! I really need to plan a run/mountain biking vacation in Utah.

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Hi Janae! I did my first race since having a baby over 2 years ago this weekend. So exciting to be out on the roads. I did a 12k, and had a blast. I’m already thinking about what my next race will be.

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Caitlin! This makes me so so happy! Congrats! Oh you have to let me know what is next for you!

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Hi Janae, I had a race on Sunday. It was the wings for life run and it was tough! The finish line is a car that starts 30 minutes after the runners do and gets faster as it goes.
I was aiming for 25-27k and I made it to 26km. But it was so hard! My body wasn’t happy and it was really hot. And I wanted to give up starting at 7km. I stopped running at 25km because I had no idea when the car would come by and my mental game was not strong anymore. I walked a few steps and then picked up my pace again and the car was there 4 minutes later. I wish I had just kept pushing. But we couldn’t see the car anywhere near us and that killed me. Even though I could have pushed more I am still happy with my result and I will do that run again next year. And I will up my mental game for sure!
It’s a great event and for me it was way harder than any other race I’ve done because I didn’t know how long I would have to continue. Also I could have probably gone faster but then I would have had to go further… The event is great! If you ever get the chance to participate, do it!

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I ran the Toronto Marathon on Sunday! Ran 4:20 which is a 15 minute PB post ankle reconstruction. The course was hillier than i expected (I’m from Windsor where our only “hill” is an overpass at the highway) so my legs were trashed early but i’m pretty happy with the result either way.

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