Is it really November? Is this happening right now? This year has flown by!
I’m happy to say that life is GOOD and while marathon training is ongoing, there are other things going on in my life too! If you know me, I could talk about running ALL day, lol!
It’s the first Saturday of the month, meaning it’s time for the Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah! Join us as we catch up on life!
By the way, if you live in Philly, my bloggy friend Chrystina wrote an awesome guide to The Best Chai in Philadelphia. As I’m writing this post, I’m at Elixr Coffee, one of her recommendations, and the chai latte is fantastic!
[bctt tweet=”Time to spill those #runfessions! How was your month of running and working out in October? #runchat” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Ultimate Coffee Date – November
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that I’m really excited about Thanksgiving. It will be the first Thanksgiving in my new home with Bret, and both of our families will be coming to the festivities. Finally, everyone will get to meet each other. I’m really excited about it, and since it’s still a few weeks away, I haven’t started stressing about the logistics and menu yet! I’m in the calm before the storm. Do you have any favorite dishes you like to serve for the holiday? I’m always open to suggestions!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that my knees have been talking to me. I’ve mentioned the past couple of weeks of marathon training that my knees have been pretty annoyed with me lately. And it’s not just one knee…sometimes it’s the right knee, sometimes it’s the left, but I think the left has been the least happy. It worries me a little bit because I have had problems with the elusive “runner’s knee” in the past. At first, I attributed the pain to running such longer distances on pavement, but after talking to my coach, I realize how much I’ve been slacking on my pre-hab exercises and foam rolling post-run.
Over the past few weeks, I have worn a knee brace a couple of times – I received the Wimi Fitness Runner’s Knee Brace + Copper Compression Knee Sleeve to test and review and I really like it. I’ve only used it on short runs on the treadmill and a couple of nights when my knee was feeling sore but I could definitely feel the support thanks to the compression. Compression just makes everything feel better, doesn’t it? LOL! If you have any favorite post-run exercises you do to keep knee pain at bay, please let me know!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…how I’m so pleasantly surprised to have received so much support for the If Girls Ran the World campaign and for Girls In Tech! If you donated to my page, I really appreciate your generosity! My goal was to raise $250 on their behalf and I’m almost here with about $176! I’m proud that I was able to contribute 126 miles to the goal of 24,901 miles by October 31. I’m just really grateful to be able to run and to support a worthy cause in the process.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that I can’t wait for the election to be over. I live in Philly, and lucky for me, it’s considered a “battleground state” and as such, there have been endless commercials for/against Clinton vs. Trump and Pat Toomey vs. Katie McGinty. It’s beyond annoying. Thankfully, I have already turned in my absentee ballot and we will see what happens. I’m actually tired of all of the SNL skits, but I wouldn’t mind watching some old Veep episodes for a good laugh about the absurdity of it all!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that starting a walking team at work has been awesome. The wellness program at work has a Fall Walking Challenge every year and in a way to increase my FitBit steps and improve my social life at work, I created a team with some of my coworkers. It has really been a treat to get to walk with “The Goal Getters” for 4-5 days a week, and they seem to really enjoy the time too. I spend WAY too much time at my desk, and it has really helped to break up the day having a special time to walk and get some fresh air! I have to confess that sometimes the walk is the highlight of my day, lol!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that 2017 race planning madness begins! It seems WAY too soon, but now is the time to start thinking about spring races for 2017. I already have a few on my radar:
- 2/25: Disney Princess 10K – My sister and I are signed up! It’ll be our first Disney race and I hope we have a really fun time!
- 3/25: ALA Fight for Air Stair Climb – I have done this event several times (you can see my most recent recap from 2015), the last time I ran up the building twice to get 100 floors. This time, 50 flights will be good enough for me!
- 3/26: Love Run Half Marathon – This year was my first time running this race in relay form, but next year I’ll be running the whole distance! I’m an ambassador for the race again, so you can save $5 on registration with code JANELLELOVE.
- 5/28: Buffalo Half Marathon – I’ve lived in Philly for a long time, but I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. This will be my first time running a race in my hometown, so I’m really excited about it! Save $5 off registration for any race with code 2017-BibRave-JJ!
- 6/1-6/2: Ragnar Relay Pennsylvania – I’ve previously mentioned that I joined a team with the City Fit Girls! I’m really excited and hope to have a great experience, as this is one of my big bucket list races. I can be a little shy sometimes, so hopefully by the end of the relay, I’ll have some stronger friendships and great memories.
What races are you looking forward to? Any recommendations for races in mid-April?
What would you share with me over coffee?
Hi!!!!
Sorry it has been so long since we have caught up. I took a blog break and I am slowly returning.
New house!!!!Congrats! What a lovely way to celebrate Thanksgiving! I make a challah bread stuffing sometimes with chicken sausage and sometimes with oysters….yums!!
Foam rollinf for sure for the knee and I also love pigeon pose stretch. I hope you continue to feel better.
I need to get back to the walking group at work. It was such a great way to get up and move. Good job!
Yeah Ragnar!! Best race experience ever!! Enjoy!
Oooh and Disney….how cool!! Bucket list for me!
We will be doing Hot Chocolate in Philly again but that is the beginning of April.
Thanks for letting me catch up !!
Great hearing from you, I have missed you so I’m glad to see that you’re back!
I’m gonna be out of town for Hot Chocolate (go figure), but one of these days I hope we get to finally meet! 🙂
Oh, no, take care of your knees! I think wall squats and quad/hamstrings strengthening is supposed to help. I’m debating a marathon for 2017. Scary!
Thanks, I’m so glad my knees are feeling better now, but I definitely need to work on my squats! Did you decide which marathon for 2017 yet?
My knees started talking to me when I upped my mileage this fall. I had been keeping things low all summer because of my PF. Sheesh. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Thankfully, they’ve both been pretty quiet–occasionally I’ll get a twinge when I’m going down stairs, tho.
Hope your knees are feeling better now…I hate when our trouble areas start “talking” to us…but we always have to be sure to listen and take action!
We’ll be headed to Buffalo in early March for the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Assoc swimming/diving finals (last year we went to Florida). I have already tried searching for a race 😉 There is Fight for Air Climb, but it’s the second weekend…I was excited to (almost) get to do another Climb.Favorite Thanksgiving food? Well, besides the turkey and pumpkin pie, I always make scalloped corn 😉
I hope enjoy your time in Buffalo and hope the weather won’t be too rough! That’s too bad you won’t get to do the climb, I’ve already signed up for Philly and look forward to training! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving…scalloped corn sounds good!
Your race schedule looks like a lot of fun!
And for Thanksgiving you can never go wrong with a green bean casserole…especially the ones you make from scratch instead of canned soups!
Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Jessica! 🙂
Glad to see I’m not the only one already mapping out 2017 races! Looks like you’ve got some good ones – running Disney with your sister will be a blast.
It’s awesome you’ll be hosting Thanksgiving in your new home!
Sorry about the ongoing knee troubles. I find the minute I get away from foam rolling and my PT exercises trouble begins. I’ve been using KT tape when I run too and it’s been helping a lot. Hope your compression sleeve helps.
Thanks, Michelle! I’m looking forward to racing in 2017, I just want to keep up this momentum! We had a great Thanksgiving…I was supposed to recap it but I’ve just been so busy so I’m a little behind on things LOL.
Thankfully rolling has helped the knee tremendously and I haven’t had any issues since the marathon and a couple of my runs post-race…what a relief!
Great recap! Your upcoming races look great! I have never done a Disney run, but they look super fun- it will be great to do with someone- especially a sister! Good luck with the families meeting eachother- it is stressful, but remember that they all love you, so that is the most important thing! Happy November~
Thanks a lot, Barrie! I’m looking forward to the RunDisney experience, I know it’s one of a kind! And we were thankful to have a great Thanksgiving holiday, hope you did too 🙂
I am so with you on the election! I cannot wait until Wednesday and then all the campaign commercials will be over. I don’t have any suggestion on April races but I love that you are planning already! This is the first year that I haven’t started my race calendar already. Not sure what 2017 will bring for racing.
Thanks, Missy! Hope you have a fun year of running in 2017!
Sorry to hear that your knee is acting up! I also have been slacking a little on the pre hab and I am off to stretch and roll right now. Thanks for joining us for coffee always great to have you
Thanks for hosting, Deborah! The foam rolling really makes a difference, I was a skeptic but it does work lol!
I’ve always wanted to do one of the Princess Half races (or all of them) – so jealous!! 😉
I’m hoping that my sister and I have a great time! I’m looking forward to running with no self-inflicted pressure on myself LOL
I feel like I am having coffee with you! I totally hear you on the election in PA. I am SOOOO sick of ads on TV, the internet, radio, signs, and then my Facebook feed. I’m also right there with you on the pre-hab exercises. I don’t strength train during competition season since I race almost every weekend so there’s not a good time for it. However, when I extended into cyclocross for the fall, I’m really starting to feel it and my back injury is flaring up again. So my coach has me slowly working back into a strength routine with hips and core focus. Hope your knees get better!
Glad you enjoyed it Kelli! The hips and core are SO key, I’m looking forward to focusing on those areas too over the next couple of months. Thankfully my knees feel MUCH better, I just need to keep them that way!
Thanksgiving will be a big event at your house! I hope you enjoy it! We are traveling this year so I am not sure where we will land for dinner 🙂 I love how you already have so much planned for next year- now you just have to get those knees feeling better!
Thanks, Mary Beth, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and a lot of good food 🙂
Rocktape. I wore a knee brace for a while but I find tape works better — it allies me to adjust my knee, rather than being held in place & just helps me so much more.
As to Thanksgiving, I haven’t even begun to plan.
It’s too bad, you probably don’t need to go through albany to get to buffalo. My next half is in a month & I’m signed up for one at the end of march, too.
I have seen people using tape on their knees and have been curious about it….I’ll have to look into it, but thankfully my last few runs have been free of knee pain so I guess the rolling worked! I am so quick to slack though…
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Other than Buffalo, I would like to do some races in upstate NY and NYC at some point…hmmm…
I’ve been planning my 2017 schedule lately as well. How is it already time for that again?! Be careful with that knee! As someone who has had knee problems in the past, I find that KTape and lots of rest/rolling is best for me. I hope you find something that works well for you too.
Thanks, Jen! What races are you looking forward to? I think all the mileage for marathon training really got to me, so I need to do a better job with rolling! I will need to look into KT tape as a backup!
Philadelphia is only…an hour (or 90 minutes?) from where I am, so I’m definitely going to have to check out all that chai! 😛
I’m tired of the election too, but also kinda terrified about the results. ._. What ends up happening will determine if I have to move my butt over to Canada after I graduate from residency, hahaha.
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 2017! x_x
Farrah, I didn’t realize you were so close to me! Man that chai was good, LOL!
Now we’re in post-election, SIGH….just as crazy as before. But I’m still looking forward to the new year!
Thanks so much for sharing my chai post, I’m glad you found it useful – and delicious! Also, the Princess 10k is the only race that anybody would ever have any chance of ever getting me to run. Have fun 🙂
As for Thanksgiving dishes, that’s a good question. My family starts with corn chowder, then does a round of manicotti, and then does turkey with all the fixings. I know how to make the corn chowder, I know how to make the manicotti, but I literally have no idea how to do any of the other dishes. I should probably work on that this year.
If we were having coffee I would tell you:
* I’m learning how to live with a boy and I’m having difficulty balancing time with him vs. time working on my projects. I’m sure I’ll find that balance, it’s just the beginning.
* I’m failing so miserably at NaNoWriMo and don’t think there’s any way I’m going to be able to write 50k words in the month of November. Half of me is sad and the other half is saying: how the heck did you even think this was possible?
* I found a man’s SEPTA senior citizens ID and his Veteran’s ID on the ground on Friday on Broad Street. Now I need to figure out how to get it back to him. I couldn’t find him on the internet… not for my lack of trying.
* Boot weather is my favorite letter. Partially because it’s comfortable, but mostly because I’m lazy.
I’m glad I could share your post! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a healthy appreciation of chai tea LOL!
I hope you find that balance with your new living arrangement. Going through that a few years ago, I know how tough that can be!
I’m so late in responding but how did NaNoWriMo end up?
Looove boot season too! I definitely need to buy a couple more pairs!
Thanks for the well wishes in the living arrangement. I didn’t quite realize how independent I had gotten.
Um. NaNoWriMo didn’t end up happening like it should have. I have about 5,000 words about a great 10th grade girl named Sam. I hope to finish it one day. There are now at least two started books in my Google Docs folder that I will need to finish. We’ll see when that happens. Thanks for asking though!
Well that sounds really cool! Hopefully you get to finish those stories, I would love to read it one day 🙂