This is another one of those recipes that’s not really a recipe – it’s so easy! It only has three ingredients and takes 15 minutes to make. If you have kids — or anyone in your family — that loves jam, you HAVE to try chia jam! It’s a yummy, healthier alternative. Don’t get me wrong, jelly and jam still have a place on our house, but this is a great addition to our rotation. Try it today!
SNOWvember
This week, winter came out of hiding and said hello to Northeast Ohio. That’s right, we had SNOW (and several inches) on Tuesday, which made my usual morning running routine a little messy and more difficult than usual. Between the snow – which meant a snow day for the kids – and then FW being home sick – it was a wonky week and I was not able to get as much done as I had hoped. But, I was also very GRATEFUL this week to have access to a home gym that we have been building up for the past few months.
November was a good month for me. Got in a few miles, and finally some activities besides running – including indoor cycling and rowing machine! And of course, core work 3-5x a week. My total mileage was 140.09 miles, which isn’t my highest month, but also not my lowest.
Here’s what the week looked like:
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Turkey Week Runs
Well that was a whirlwind week! The past few days I’ve traveled 20+ hours in the car, spending time in three different states (not including Ohio!), but my heart is so full. I haven’t seen this family since lsat Thanksgiving, and while a year flies by, it’s been too long.
Thanks to all the travel and hours in the car, and not being home, my workouts were a little less than regular this week. But of course, it’s all worth it. It included a few runs, some time in hotel pools, and a Turkey Trot. Here’s how the week looked – and this week you get to see my workouts and also time in the car, for something new :):
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Before the Craziness Begins
I can’t believe the crazy/best time of year starts SO SOON. I really am not ready for the holidays this year.
Earlier this week, one of my coworkers asked me if I was traveling next week. Traveling? I thought. Why would I be …. oh yeah! I had no idea that Thanksgiving was a week away.
Don’t get me wrong – I am beyond excited to see my family and take some time off work next week. But the month has flown by and I’m not ready to get everything done that needs to get done before Christmas is here!
Luckily, we had a pretty low-key week. There were only 3 days after work with something on the calendar (kids practices and my committee meeting), and even though I was tired in the mornings and hit snooze too much, I still got in some good miles and time on the indoor bike. Here’s how the week looked:
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Another Year for CLE!
Guess who’s back?!
Me!
I’m back as a Cleveland Marathon race ambassador. I announced my return last week and am excited to meet the new ambassadors and get started with training for the 2024 half marathon/5k challenge series again.
I’m excited to be back, but also enjoying my time off from training. I am enjoying just waking up, running what I want to run, and keeping my base miles going.
Which is exactly what I did this week! We lucked out and had GREAT weather most of the week – and I mean no snow or frigid temps to get in the way of my runs. That meant I got in some morning miles PLUS one day in shorts! Here’s what it looked like:
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More Than Running
Phew! We had a busy week and I am grateful to have gotten in my workouts this week. And I’m proud of myself this week – I tried something new! I finally broke out our new rowing machine and used it. I didn’t use it a lot, but I tried it two different mornings, which is a big deal for someone like me who typically only runs.
But before I get into how I did this week, I’m excited to share that October also actually went pretty well. Here’s what it looked like:
- We ran two races! The Cleveland Heights Happy 5K was great- I ran it with my 7 year old and he finished in 31ish minutes. Then we did a 1 mile fun run at my kids’ school at the end of the month.
- I got in 144.02 miles of running plus about 56 miles of walking!
- I got in core workouts 3-5 days/week
- I maintained an injury-free status and hope to stay that way.
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Spooky Season Walks and Runs
I can’t believe that the last weekend of October is here! While I hate to see fall go by so fast, I do love all the spooky decorations that I pass on our walks and runs this time of year. The street near our house really goes all out for Halloween and it’s so fun to take walks with GM and check them out. Even in the morning when I run by and it’s dark, some are so lit up they’re amazing! Here’s what the week entailed, including some of the decor I get to experience daily:
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Where is the sun?
Just two weeks ago it was sunny and 80s here. It was glorious! But now it feels like we can’t catch any sunshine – it has rained more days on than off the past few days and I am done with it.
I know I’m complaining, but not only are the clouds so gloomy, but they aren’t condusive to my runs! Why?
- They make it even darker (if possible) when I run in the morning
- The sidewalks are slippery
- I get caught in puddles and my socks and shoes are soaked for days
- My trails are all muddy
- If it’s raining when I go out, I get wet and cold and can’t seem to get warm at all the rest of the day!
Here’s to hoping we have a little break and some sun peeks through again soon. At least I’ve still gotten to go out for my runs as planned for the most part. Here’s what the week entailed:
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And just like that it got COLD
BRR it is cold here! And by cold, I mean in the 40s/50s, which means in 2 months I’ll be dreaming of this “balmy” weather. Sigh – I know I’m a cold baby, meaning I love heat and can’t stand the cold. But after last week’s temps in the 80s, this week’s drop 30-40 degrees felt intense!
The good news is that the weather didn’t impact my running too much. We had some rainy days but most of my runs stayed clear, and I even felt pretty good during most of them. Despite having a hard time getting out of the house when I’m cold, once I’m out, I feel pretty good! My only hiccup this week was feeling sick on Wednesday morning. I think it was a reaction to my covid shot, which I got Wednesday. But other than that, the week went well!
Here’s what the week entailed:
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5K With My Original Running Buddy
Somehow September ended, and I don’t have any idea where it went. Here are some of September’s highlights:
- Total mileage: 135.31 mi
- Additional fun facts:
- Core workouts: I got in my core workouts 4-5 days/week!
- Walking: I got in several days of walking each week, a few miles each time. Weather wise, Sept. was gorgeous so it was easy to get out and walk before work, at lunch and even to and from some soccer practices.
And, a big highlight from this week — we did a race! There was a fun family run in our neighborhood, and B, LM and GM did the family 1 miler. FW decided the week of the race that he wanted to run the 5K, so we ran it together and he did great! So here’s how this week looked, including his run:
I Crashed The Web 