Holiday gift guide for the runner in your life

Struggling to find gifts for the runner in your life? This gift guide has you covered with gift ideas ranging from $ – $$$.

Books — 26 Marathons: What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career by Meb Keflezghi, Stronger by Kara Goucher or a number of other running books. 
Oiselle mug — I mean someone can never have too many coffee mugs, right?!
Trigger point foam roller — hurts so good.
Winc wine subscription — Uhm, yes please. Different wines hand-picked and delivered to your doorstep? Sign me up too.
Run stickers —
House shoes — These from LL Bean have been on my wish list for weeks!
Yeti — coffee mugs, bottles, coolers, etc. You can’t go wrong. 

What did I forget? Leave your favorite gifts as/for a runner in the comments below!

Adventuring in the cold and what to wear on those cold runs

Anyone else already over this cold weather?! I know it is so easy to stay inside during the winter months, but getting out in the sunshine (even in the winter) is SO important!

Not only am I trying to avoid the treadmill, but I am trying to take Murphy out in the cold so we can both burn some energy. The fresh air is good for both of us!

What to wear when running in the cold:

• 30 degrees: 2 tops, 1 bottom. Long-sleeve base layer and a vest keep your core warm. Tights or shorts, depending on your preference.
• 10 to 20 degrees: 2 tops, 2 bottoms? A windbreaker over a base layer, and two pairs of tights or wind pants over the tights.
• 0 to 10 degrees: 3 tops, 2 bottoms. Two tops and a jacket.
• Minus 10 to 0 degrees: 3 tops, 2 bottoms, gloves, something to cover your face.
• Minus 20 degrees: Hop on the treadmill.

Simple berry, honey and cinnamon smoothie recipe

Kindness

Shouldn’t it be easy to show others kindness? I know it can be hard, so I like seeing a reminder to just be nice and give some grace. Instead of getting mad while driving, I just remind myself I don’t know what the other person is going through and it’s going to do me any good to get mad.

So I hope you see this and are reminded to show some kindness today, tomorrow, this week — forever!

Soaking up these outside runs

Yesterday it was in the 60s – today it’s in the 20s. I am so glad I had the chance to run outside yesterday before this nasty and cold weather moved in (I feel for the parents who are out with kids trick-or-treating in this weather).

These fancy flora rogas from Oiselle are so fun! 

Between working three jobs and a somewhat demanding travel schedule for work, outside runs have been few and far between lately. Taking time for yourself IS NOT SELFISH (something I’m still learning). Getting outside in the fresh air is good for my soul and my mind. I’m going to be bummed when the weather forces me inside on the treadmill. Until then, I’m sneaking outside every chance I get.

Low light and self-timers ^^ #DoItForTheGram

How is the weather where you are? Some of my friends are seeing SNOW already — uhm, no thank you. I will take my crazy Kentucky weather over snow in October. Next week it should feel like fall again 🙂

Five year anniversary trip

I’m mainly posting this for me to remember — so here it goes!

Last month Ryan and I celebrated FIVE years of marriage. It’s so crazy to me that it’s been five years since we got married and six years since we started dating. Time flies!

While we both have insanely busy work schedules (and I’m working three jobs) we knew wanted to get away for a couple days to celebrate us. Since Owensboro has super cheap flights to ST. Louis (one of our favorite cities) we thought now would be a good time to try them out!

Our tiiiiny plane. There were only five us including the pilot! A quick flight, but SO loud.

We stayed at the Four Seasons in STL and it was everything. I wanted to bottle up the smell of the hotel and take it home with me. It was that nice. We had treats waiting for us when we arrived and everything about our stay was enjoyable. My favorite part was the 90-minute massages we had booked at the Four Seasons Spa.

Our first night was super casual — we went for dinner and drinks, watched some baseball and went to the casino.

We got to watch the Cardinals win (our favorite thing to do!) and they advanced to the playoffs. So fun and exciting.


I’m thankful for our love and life together and can’t wait for many more years together.

2019 Owensboro Bridge Run

Coming ‘atcha today with a race recap! (I know, I know – there has been radio silence on the blog lately. But at least I’m checking in with something good!)

On Saturday, my husband, his dad and I ran the Owensboro Bridge Run 5k! It was the first race both of the guys and they actually enjoyed themselves!

My father-in-law has been training for a while and he ROCKED IT. He finished in 37:51 for his first 5k race and I am SO proud. Ryan finished a few minutes behind his and dad and my heart could have burst seeing him cross the finish. While I have been running for years, it’s never been his thing. I try not to push it on him too much, but I was so hyped to have him out on the course with me.

Caught this guy at the finish line while I was waiting on Ricky and Ryan. So inspiring!

I finished in 31:39 and I’m pretty happy with that time! It was faster than the 5k I ran in May and with life being so crazy lately, I’m proud of the fight I had during the race.

Everyone got a finishers medal and they were super cute and simple. (That’s the bridge we ran across in the background!)

I also surprised myself and ended up placing third in my age group! I was so pumped. I placed 3rd out of 10 runners in the F 25-29 group and the 4th place female was only 5 seconds behind me. So I’m glad I booked it at the finish.

The race was a part of the Owensboro Air Show weekend. On Friday night we went to a static air show at our local airport and the demonstrations we saw were amazing. The sunset only made it better. On Saturday we sat in the sun for way too long watching the actual air show event. One of the coolest events in Owensboro.

My heart is so full from such a fun weekend with family. I am so thankful to live in the town I grew up in and that I get to share it with some of my favorite people.

Busyness

Trying to beat the heat

It has been a scorcher in Kentucky lately! We’ve had an excessive heat warning out for days and it’s been brutal (I know many of you are in the same boat — so so hot!)

So while we’ve been trying to stay indoors as much as possible, we also love being outside so we’re trying to find ways to beat the heat, be active and be safe.

We found little pool for $15 at Aldi and snatched it up fast. We knew this would be perfect for the background and great for Murphy.

Since Murphy isn’t a fan of bath time it took some convincing for him to get in the pool. But once we got used to it he loved playing with his ball in the water and drinking from the hose.

We probably spent two hours outside in the backyard going back and forth from the pool to the patio to running around the yard. $15 well spent if you ask me!

We’ve also been waking up early to get in some long walks before it gets too hot outside. We did 4 miles on Saturday morning and it was so much! Murphy did find a snake at the end of the walk (HE ALWAYS FINDS THEM) but other than that it was pretty uneventful.

We’re supposed to get a little relief from the heat later this week — so that’s exciting! While I love summer, something about a nice breeze and temps in the 60s is always welcome.

Stopping by my college town

A couple weeks ago my husband and I were able to stop through our college town — Murray, Kentucky!

While we drive through there often (it’s on our way to Ryan’s hometown) we never get to stop and walk through campus. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to grab a bite to eat and see some of our favorite spots.

The shoe tree (pictured below) is one of my favorite traditions at MSU.

A tradition since the late 1960s, Racer “sole” mates who meet on campus hang their shoes on the Shoe Tree, which is said to bring them a lifetime of good luck.

We nailed our shoes to the tree in 2014 when we got married. It’s so fun to come back five years and see them still there! We brought Murphy to walk around campus and it was so hot but so fun to reminisce on our college days!

Here is Murphy on the back steps of Pogue Library! I spent a lot of hours in there studying and writing stories for the college newspaper.

It’s been a crazy life around here lately so blog content is few and far between, I know. But I’m so thankful for those of you who check-in and read! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @mileswithmeghann for more regular posting.

Murphy has his own IG account now (@murphythemuttmix) so give him a follow too if you like adorable pups.

Happy Friday Eve!