I can't believe it's only been a little over a week since the stroller world record was broken by a former Mom Crush and friend of mine! I guess it feels like it was much longer ago because I knew this day would come! I tried to get this post out earlier but.... #momlife... I've been busy....Also, we lost power this morning... SO Right as Monday comes to an end, I give you this weeks #momcrush with a video and my inexcusable commentary to go with it (take that Runners World! haha! Juuuusssst Kidding!!!) ​

It's no secret I've been trying to Monetize my blog since earlier this month. I intend to mostly continue on doing what I'd normally do... I'm just pushing myself to actually follow through and write. If applicable, I've started to include links to products directly related to the topic I'm covering... (so if you see one, and it's something you're interested in, help a girl out!)  

I was blogging anyway, why not try to make something of it?

In the process of learning the ins-and-outs of having a blog to make money (even if your goal is, say, gas money?), I've created a Pinterest. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm way behind on this stuff.  Out of curiosity, I clicked on the little "Promote" icon and I followed my curiosity to pay for an advertisement. I scheduled to pay a whopping $2.00 (because.... I still need to pay for gas) to promote a post I wrote a long time ago and just recently edited and linked to the products I originally mentioned. This post was organically created, and was the most "pinterest worthy" post I had... so it made sense to experiment with the promotion features with this particular post. 

It was titled "10 Things they DON'T tell You: POSTPARTUM" and if you don't remember, this was the image that I soon found out was not worthy of an advertisement:

Here we go again I thought another viral facebook post.

This was my first reaction to the "Me Too" movement started by Tarana Burke many years ago and recently shared by Alyssa Milano in response to the Havey Weinstein scandal. It's not that I don't think these issues are important, and that people shouldn't speak out... It's just that I, personally, would speak up (and for the most part have spoken up) the minute anyone crossed me the wrong way.... and my knee jerk reaction was that this movement just opened the door for people who actually have not been harassed, assaulted, or raped to seek attention. The idea is that you just post "Me Too" if you've been a victim, and although stories are welcomed, they are not required... In my mind I rolled my eyes seeing some of the "me too's" knowing full well that nothing "serious" ever happened with many of the people posting.

....but then I had a change of heart after reading some comments of people who didn't think much differently than me, particularly one from my friend and teammate Ellen which read as follows:

Hi Everyone!
I started doing #Momcrushmonday on my instagram as part of my New Years Resolution. After having a baby I slacked a bit, and was looking for new and fun ways to share other awesome moms. I will be having moms guest blog on Mondays sharing some background info about themselves, their running history, their journey to motherhood, favorite products, and more!
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Hello! My name is Heather and I blog at HeatherRunsFast.com. I got into running after gaining the freshman 15 in college and wanting to lose some weight. I met my now husband around the same time and we were hooked! 10 years later, I've run 10 marathons and too many shorter races to count. My marathon PR is 3:13 but that was pre baby days! A year after having my daughter Kara (who's almost 2) I ran a post baby PR of 3:22. While running is my passion, family has my heart. After going through infertility for #1 (weight gain, no exercise, injectible meds), we've been on the same road since January of this year for #2. After 4 failed and 4 cancelled IUI cycles, we have moved onto IVF and will hopefully get pregnant this month! I've registered for Boston, so hopefully I'll be running it with a cute belly! I've got a great support system, on and off the roads and couldn't be more grateful. My husband is amazing and my daughter is my world, I love watching her grow up. Every day is a new adventure and my heart grows even more full. I work full time, so I'm that crazy woman who gets up at 4AM to get my run in so I can spend every second with Kara as possible. It's all about balance! 

I can't live without my Garmin, Nuun and foam roller for running. As a mom who trained and breastfed, Nuun was a life saver for hydration and electrolytes. Since I do most of my runs right out of bed, my Trigger Point foam roller is a must to help wake my muscles up. We don't tend to buy many popular products for Kara, as bad as that sounds. She watches a bit of TV, hasn't seen any movies, reads a lot of books and plays with dolls/trucks/play kitchen/balls. My favorite thing of hers are these triangle shaped crayons that are easier for her to hold onto and color with. 

Products that are mentioned in this post:

Hey Guys! 
Still tweaking some things on the new blog location, but thanks for your input and patience so far! 
Today I have a review for you, my first one! When I put the Milkies Milk-Saver on my instagram story, I got SO MANY comments about it. Where to get it, how it worked etc. etc. 

SO, without further a-do, I give you my first ever YouTube video review. I've got some other running and non-running things I want to review so subscribe to my channel so you can get it first! Also, if you like the product, help a sister out and follow the Amazon link below to purchase! 

In honor of my last night on maternity leave, I give you a poem... 
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