Matthews diner waldwick nj
Jun 30 2018
Matthews Diner (Waldwick)

Matthews Diner (Waldwick)

Recently I went to Matthews Diner in Waldwick, I’ve wanted to go to the Matthews Diner for the pure reason that my brother’s name is Matthew.  There is no apostrophe in Matthews on the sign, so I’m just going with it.

I arrived around 11:30 am on a weekday. Honestly, it was much more crowded than I anticipated.  It was busier than I’ve seen many diners on weekends.

Matthews Diner (Waldwick) Atmosphere: A
Matthews Diner is a colonial-style building. It’s not a big, metallic, shiny, diner but it does have a very colonial look.  The entire town of Waldwick appears to have the same sort of Colonial look which is neat.

Matthews diner waldwick nj

The inside reminds me of an Irish pub.

Matthews Diner (Waldwick) Coffee: B
The coffee was decent, and there wasn’t anything unique or unusual. That seems to be the trend lately with diner coffee but normal coffee is never a bad thing.

Matthews diner waldwick nj

Matthews Diner (Waldwick) Food: C
Matthew’s Diner menu has an all day breakfast and lunch menu. So the Matthews Diner menu serves everything all of the time. It’s always nice to be able to order breakfast at 6 pm or lunch at 9 am. There are plenty of menu options from beer and wine, to “appeteasers”,  signature salads, paninis, burgers, wraps, and sandwiches. For dinner, Matthews Diner has NY sandwiches, dinner classics, broiled or fried seafood, “grilled greats”, pastalicious, and dessert. The Matthews Diner menu is overwhelming.

I opted for pancakes, two scrambled eggs, and bacon. I heard the pancakes at Matthew’s Diner were good.  I will say when the pancakes came up they were big. One of my more favorite diner pancakes.

Matthews diner waldwick nj

I was disappointed in the eggs as they were undercooked. I decided not to finish them.  It’s hard to mess up breakfast, but undercooked eggs is one way.

Matthews diner waldwick nj

Service: C
The waitress barely came to our table, and we actually had to ask another server for a drink refill. She was friendly, however, either they were understaffed, or our waitress forgot about our table.

Cost: $
For my coffee and breakfast; the cost was $13.

Overall Thoughts/Would I come back?
I liked Matthews Diner in Waldwick, and it’s clearly doing well (as shown by how busy it was on a weekday).   I was disappointed in the eggs as well as our service. I would be interested to go to Matthews Diner at dinner time.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: C
Service: C
Price: $8-15
Overall: B

You can see all NJ 195 Diners I’ve been too here.

Questions for you:
Where are your favorite pancakes from?
Have you ever been to a restaurant with your name in it?

Hollie 0 Comments
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Jun 29 2018
Diadora Fly Shoe Review

Diadora Fly Shoe Review:

Before a few months ago, when I thought of the brand Diadora, I thought of soccer shoes.  Even fashion shoes, but not running.

Diadora is an Italian company that is slowly breaking into the running industry if you are local, their US headquarters in Philadelphia.  Pretty cool that they are local since most running brands are based out of the West Coast or Boston area. While Diadora has several running shoes, their main two are the Diadora Mythos (stability) and Diadora Fly (neutral).

One thing to mention about the Diadora Fly and Diadora running shoes, in general, is the colors are wild. You won’t find many neutral or toned down colors with Diadora. They are bright and loud.

Diadora Fly Shoe Review:

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Diadora Fly Ride:

Diadora Running Shoes designed the midsole with their “Diadora Blushield technology.”

What does this mean? Diadora BlueShield technology is designed to provide dynamic stability.  So the Diadora fly running shoe is stable when you need it and not when you don’t. This is especially good if one-foot pronates more than the other or your gait drastically changes at the finish of the run. It doesn’t overcorrect anything, and if you ever run in the Nike Lunarglide, it’s similar to that. In fact, the Diadora Fly is soft as well, so a good alternative after the Lunarglide was discontinued.

Diadora Fly Shoe Review

The Diadora Fly is soft and cushioned.  I like how light and responsive the Diadora Fly running shoe is.

One thing I appreciated is right out of the box; the Diadora Fly felt great. I never felt as though I needed to “adjust to them” or “break them in.”  You shouldn’t feel like that anyway, but I felt good when I added these to my rotation.

There is plenty of cushioning in both the heel and forefront of the Diadora Fly to absorb the impact. Even with all of the cushioning of the Diadora Fly, you still maintain a lot of contact with the ground, and they are responsive.

Diadora Fly Fit:

As far as running shoes go, Diadora running shoes are one of the widest brands out there.  They are cut on an overall more full and straight last.  Typically I wear a women size 10-11 wide, and the regular 10 felt bigger than any other 10 I’ve worn.  I stuck with the 10, and it’s a good fit for me. If you find your foot is a little wider through the arch or even a wider heel, the Diadora Fly will fit well.

The upper of the Diadora Fly has no seems which is great for someone with bunions. It is lightweight and breathable.  I don’t have any complaints. The fit of the Diadora Fly running shoe is great for me, because of my wider feet.

As you can see the color is of the Diadora Fly cannot be missed. I had to say something right?

Diadora Fly Shoe Review

Diadora Fly Shoe Review Conclusion:

I was pleasantly surprised and like the Diadora Fly Running Shoe.  You won’t find a lot of information online about Diadora, because they are newer to the running scene.  In fact, local to me in New Jersey they are available to Philly Runner, Haddonfield RunningCo, Runners High, and Brooklyn Runner.  Diadora is a high-quality brand, and I’m enjoying them.  I hope they continue to stay in the industry.

If you like the Brooks Ghost, Brooks Launch, Saucony Ride, Saucony Kinvara, Mizuno or Wave Rider, New Balance 1400, or Nike Pegasus the Diadora Fly might fit nicely into your rotation.

Current Rotation:

Easy/Daily Runs: Hoka Bondi 6,  Brooks Ghost 12

Speed Work: New Balance FuelCell Rebel, Reebok Float Ride Run fast Pro, Hoka Rincon

Long Runs: New Balance FuelCell Rebel, Mizuno R2, Hoka Cavu 2

Races:  Reebok Run fast Pro

You Can See All Current Shoe Reviews Here.

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. 

Questions for you:

Have you ever worn a smaller brand? Have you ever of Diadora Running Shoes? 

What is your current favorite shoe?

Hollie 1 Comments
Benefits of Racing Frequently
Jun 28 2018
Benefits of Racing Frequently

My cup of tea is not everyone’s cup of tea.  In fact, trivial to the post I don’t drink tea, just coffee.

It’s no secret I haven’t been training like when I set my half marathon PR in February.  After February, I trained and ran, but I know myself well that I’m good for a couple of PRs (if I’m lucky) a year.

April, May, and now most of June has gone around, and here we are.  I want to consistently run and train again, something I rarely do over the summer.  It’s hot and humid, but I want to spend all of my time outside.

Like when I set my 5k PR over two years ago, I plan to do a lot of 5ks on weekends.  This is what led to my 18:13  a couple of years ago.  I don’t think I was quite there in February but did run 18:29 at the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k in March.

Benefits of Racing Frequently

Many people have asked:

Why race so much? Why spend so much money on running road races?

I’ve talked about this before but I don’t have kids, and my husband and I don’t spend a lot of useless junk.  I prefer experiences or good food, versus an expensive piece of clothing or whatever.  In fact, my New Year Resolution was not to buy any new nonrunning clothing.  So far so good.

 Won’t You Get Injured?

I would like to hope not but I take at least 1, sometimes 2 days off per week.  I either cross train (it’s been hiking recently) or don’t do anything.

I also take my easy runs, extremely easy.  I could run 8 minute miles (extremely unlikely) or 12-minute miles, but I keep it easy and by effort.  I mentioned last week I had a Garmin Vivosport which I put in timer mode.  I usually run for X amount of minutes or on a route I already know the distance (then I don’t time it).

It’s Also Important to Remember a Few Things:

You’re not going to progressively get faster:

As I know and have experienced many times with racing frequently, you won’t get faster every single time you race.  You shouldn’t expect too!  Progress is not linear with anything.  Last week I ran a 20:06 5k.  It’s a great base and who knows, next 5k might be slower but I know I’m putting in the effort, miles, and consistency.  A few years ago, I ran a 19:10 5k in one I was hoping to PR.

Remember, at the end of the day, “it’s just running.”  You will be the same person whether you logged a PR or didn’t.

Races are Hard:

If you are like me, you know you can push yourself harder at races.  If I do a workout alone, it usually feels harder and more of a challenge.  Running a race as a workout, allows me to push myself harder than I would alone. I usually have to watch out for mentally burning myself out from overracing.

Racing with Friends:

Since I work at a running store, I do appreciate being able to see friends or people I’ve helped in achieving their goals.  It’s great to run with friends at local races and support a local cause.

Progress is Measurable:

There are many factors with a race, but you are able to see if you are progressing or not.

I like the ability to see that progress.

The Experience of Racing:

I don’t get nervous before big races.  Sure I get the butterflies but I don’t nervous to fail because I know both good and bad races come with the territory.  Not every race will be the best ever, but it’s those not great races that make the good ones feel…good!  I know my family and friends still care about me whether I PR or not.  The experience of toeing the line frequently has taught me that.

Questions for you:

Do you race often?  Do you prefer too?

Hollie 3 Comments
bungalow beach 5 miler atlantic city
Jun 26 2018
Bungalow Beach 5 Miler (32:12)

Last weekend I ran the Bungalow Beach 5 Miler in Atlantic City.  As I continue to build miles, I’m trying to make it a point to race more whether I feel great or not.  If there is anything I learned from the weekend, it’s how to spell Bungalow (at least I think so).

I didn’t feel great on Saturday.  While I only took a week off, I feel like I’ve distanced myself from the sport since about May.  I’ve been running but training for PRs, no.  I rode out the fitness from the training cycle through both Broad Street and the Newport 10 miler.

I woke up around 5, ate, and arrived to Atlantic City around 7 am.  The race starts in a different area than the April Fools Half. As I walking to pick up my bib, a very intoxicated man asked if I was just getting off from the strip club next door.  What a way to start.

The line to pick up bibs was long, and I had time to warm up about 2 miles.  As I was sprinting towards the start, I realized they were doing the national anthem. I paid my respect and made it to the start with about 30 seconds to spare.

The race went off right at 8 am.  During the first mile, I found myself running with a few men.  I passed one other female around mile 1.  My legs felt stiff and tired, and with 100% humidity, the weather was not ideal. I didn’t feel great or especially terrible and ran a 6:23.

I ran the second mile alone.  There was a cross breeze but nothing crazy. It actually felt good.  We left the boardwalk, and I ran a 6:28.

We turned around mile 2.3 and headed back towards the finish.  I like beach and shore races because usually, you get to see friends and other racers going in the opposite direction.  I saw a lot of local people and high fived a lot of people.

bungalow beach 5 miler atlantic city

Thanks, Meridith for the photo!

Around mile 4, I knew the second place woman was quickly catching me.  I was giving it my all.  We entered the beach, and I was worried I would fall, so I took running on the sand extremely safe.  Even though I was barely above a walk, I would instead not hurt myself versus attempt to sprint to the finish only to roll an ankle.  I could see the finish, but I thought it would never come closer!  I crossed in 32:12 and was able to win.

I am happy to be out there again, and it feels good to be racing. In February I ran a 5 Miler in 30:25 and while I’m not in that shape now I’m enjoying running and able to run.  Usually in June that hasn’t been the case.  I’ll continue looking for races and chipping away.  Right now I didn’t have anything “big” planned out, and I’m just enjoying racing each weekend.

Questions for you;

Have you ever run on sand?

Do you have beach plans this summer?

Hollie 3 Comments
Jun 25 2018
Training Last Week: Grinding and Racing

Last week felt better than the previous in terms of running.  I was able to add miles in the week and then had a quality race.  Not my fastest time but great for where I am right now.  I don’t think this will be an amazing comeback story, but more a story of plugging along through the summer months.

Monday: Easy 50 minutes
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Easy 50 minutes
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy 50 minutes
Saturday: Bungalow Beach 5 Miler (32:12)
Sunday: Easy 60 minutes

Thoughts:

My easy runs of the week were just that, easy.  Originally I thought I might get a workout in Wednesday but my body was tired and that would be overdoing workouts and speed.

Bungalow Beach 5 Miler: (32:12)

It was the inaugural year for the race.  Since I like the Atlantic City races so much, I thought it would be fun to do.  The last 400 meters is on the soft sand which doesn’t make for a fast finish.  The day itself was 100% humidity.  So with the weather and course, I knew it wouldn’t be the easiest day.

I’m glad I ran and got to see a lot of friends.  My body didn’t feel great but not bad either.  I definitely didn’t feel fresh.  I was barely able to hang onto first, as the second place woman was fast approaching. In all, I’m happy with how I did and I post a longer recap this week.

Thoughts:

I’m happy with the week and I feel like I’m slowly progressing towards fitness.  I’m nowhere near there but I do feel like I’m progressing.  I was talking to a good friend, and while I only took a week off from running, I decreased my miles and was mentally disengaged for almost 2 months now. I do believe there is something to be said about that.  I don’t think this will be a “glamorous” comeback and I think it will involve a lot more grind but that’s ok.

Posts from the Week:

Vital Proteins Recovery Smoothie

Exploring the Maurice River Bluffs

Blah Blah Blah: Run Easy

Questions for you:

How was your week of training?

Have you ever run on sand?  What is a meaningful cause/charity to you? 

Hollie 3 Comments
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