Some blogger love + Friday Five – Summer’s Halfway Over?!

Oh hey, mid-July. I didn’t see you there.

Is anyone else shocked at how quickly this summer is flying by? I haven’t blogged in almost a month (the horror!), but don’t get your panties all in a bunch. I’m still here.

I’ve also been feeling slightly overwhelmed and discouraged by blogging at times. If you’re a blogger too, you know – it’s hard. Really hard. Especially if you have an actual day job where you may work 50 hours a week, or, I don’t know… kids (I hear they’re a lot of work too). Everything there is to learn, the social media, SEO and promotion, the pressure to post great content, and OFTEN, gain followers and traffic can be just plain exhausting. That’s why I found it pretty refreshing to hear some different perspectives from Hannah and Kristen. Two of my favorite bloggers, both very successful, and with different stories to tell. Their situations may be quite a bit different from mine, but bottom line, they reminded me that it’s OK to do this because I enjoy it. I also have a big blog crush on Lindsay. I love reading her blog because it’s genuine, fun, and HILARIOUS. Just try to read this stuff and not laugh. So I’m trying to remember to just do me. Blogging can be crazy time-consuming, but I think it’s more important that I’m having fun – even if I only have a few readers – than to stress out wishing that I could do more and make money and become famous.

Now enough with the sappy stuff. What the heck have we been up to?! Glad you asked.

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Sandhills Half Marathon Recap: Thoughts and Lessons Learned from the Worst Race of My Life

mad-thoughts-and-lessons-learned-from-the-worst-half-marathon-of-my-life

This is a story about that time that I thought I could win the Sandhills Half Marathon.

I was right on pace for the first two miles.

Then I thought I was going to die.

Then I learned some serious racing lessons.

And I finished.

Weekend before last, I ran the Sandhills Half. It was the. hardest. race I’ve ever run. And it had nothing to do with the race itself, or the course, which couldn’t get much better. It just was not my day. Not at all.

So before I get into the miserable details of my personal experience this year, let me give you the backstory about this race.

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Bolder Boulder, Running Recap + Catch-up!

Hey, remember that one time that I didn’t post anything for 2 weeks and then put up 2 posts in one day? It’s today.

SO, for an update on running – since it has been about 2 months. Anyone else feel like this year is blazing by?! The last goals I posted were for April. Since then, Jesse and I have been following (mostly) my 10 week half marathon training plan. Our half is coming up 2 weeks from today! Hoorayyyy for starting our taper! Here were my April Goals:

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Fabletics Review (+ a cost saving hack!)

Fabletics Review plus a cost saving hack

If you’re like me, you have likely seen Kate Hudson’s smiling face and super toned bod pop up a few times recently on your fb feed or sidebar ads. You may also be like “hey, cute workout threads, Kate. How trendy yet comfy-casual do you look?”

The $25 first outfit offer was too much for me to take.

So I finally gave in and decided to sign up for VIP membership to her athletic clothing line “club”, if you will, Fabletics. The premise is similar to Stitch Fix (which has also been tempting me for several months now and I just haven’t been able to pull the trigger because I rarely pay full price for anything and it’s probably almost surely out of my price range), or Nature Box, or any of those subscription type specialty shopping services that offer “custom” packages on a monthly or so basis.

While you can shop Fabletics without a membership, following are the perks that are included with VIP membership, straight from the website:

  • Up to 40% off retail prices.
  • Free exchanges and easy returns.
  • Free shipping on all orders over $49.95.
  • Earn rewards points (aka free outfits!) with every purchase, friend referral, or product review.

Here’s how it works, and my review after joining and receiving my first outfit (Note: this is not endorsed or sponsored by Fabletics, I am just sharing my opinion. If you sign up with my referral link, I will earn $10 in Fabletics credit – as is offered to all VIP members):

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10 Week Half Marathon Training Plan + Free Pace Calculator!

I’ve mentioned that we are training for a half marathon coming up in June, and our official 10 week training started 2 weeks ago now. Where does the time go?? I’ve also promised to share said training plan and my training pace calculator, so here it is!

If you’re looking for a training plan and want to know if this one could be right for you, here is why I love it:

a. It works well for someone that has at least some experience with running. First and foremost, if you are brand new to running, this plan is probably not for you. It’s not a couch to half marathon program, and it does not allow for many easy “just go out and jog a couple miles” days. However, if you have some experience running and are looking to complete your first half, or you are a seasoned runner trying to improve your time, this plan may be perfect.

b. You only have to run 3 times per week. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t fathom running 5 to 7 days a week like I used to in high school and college. It’s either that I work too many hours, that I’m slightly lazy and enjoy my free time/sleep too much, or all of the above. Being an adult is hard work.

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