I am back from vacation. For most of the 17 years of our weekly lake vacation, we have gone in late July or early August. Once we returned, we always felt like summer was winding down. I generally had to dash off to the school nutrition convention the next week and back to work the week after. This year was the complete opposite. My husband actually had to finish up a half-day at school on the day we left. We literally left work to our vacation. Now we are back home with the whole summer yet to go! I wonder if the summer will feel longer? To be transparent, I do get another week's vacation in July when I will be attending running camp. Wow, a running camp for grown-ups? No--I get to do running camp with D's high school team. We will be traveling to Wyoming to run at altitude for a week. And, maybe best of all, we will be stopping at Mt. Rushmore on the way out. I have wanted to go see "the heads" for a long time! I will be helping with some of the meals and errands, but mostly free to explore the area and join the team on runs. I'm already a little afraid for the 11 miler on the last day that climbs I believe 4,000 feet--but mostly excited to spend the week with D and helping the younger runners get their legs under them by encouraging them on their workouts. Be assured of some awesome photos to the blog that week. In the meantime, I am continuing to rehab this stubborn hamstring. It's a huge bummer not to be running, but mostly I'm missing out on my social time with friends. Sometimes people ask why I run so far (could be 4 miles or 14, it's all far if you don't run). I always say it's because we need that much time to chat! Yesterday, I was sad about my limited prescribed workout for today. Wednesday is my day to run with my friend Deb. Here is my text and her response: I would have completely understood if she had taken a pass on this crazy little run-walk adventure. A real friend will not only give up her regular run, but dislike yours with you! Charlie did come with us and was reluctant for a while until he got the hang of listening for the beeps from my watch. He really likes Deb, so I think he would rather just have her attention instead. I tried one other adventure this week. It is perhaps the opposite of getting more exercise. I baked bread. I used the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Bread mix. I ordered it directly from their website after my mother-in-law told me how easy it was to make. It does take a long time, but it is not labor intensive. The total time was about 2 1/2 hours, but each step maybe took about 5-10 minutes of hand-on work and then more waiting. Here is my finished product. It turned out very nice. With a whole household of GF folks, I don't have to worry too much about overeating :-) This bread looks and tastes more like regular wheat bread than most of the frozen products we've been purchasing. I will definitely try making this again!
Hope you are keeping cool with your running this summer and can find a running friend willing to enjoy or even dislike your runs with you! Missee
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Hello! I hope your summer running is going well! Summer brings changes to my running. I drink more water and change my running wardrobe. Here are a few items that I need for a good summer run. 1. Sunblock. I put on sunblock first thing in the morning so it has a chance to soak in before I head out the door for a run. I also keep this basket of sunblock (and bug spray) by the back door so that my family remembers to use it. 2. A hat or a visor. Wearing a hat or visor keeps sun out of your eyes and off of your face. It is a must for me in the summer! 3. Running Sunglasses. These are a must! I do not spend a lot of money of running sunglasses because I tend to get sunblock on them or they get scratched. I like sunglasses made specifically for running because they are designed to not slip down a sweaty nose. 4. My ALL TIME FAVORITE shorts from Road Runner Sports. You can find the link here. I love these shorts because I like having two zipper pockets along with a velcro pocket in the back. I also think they are very reasonably priced. Right now the full price shorts are $34.99 and some less popular colors are on sale for $24.99. (There is an additional discount if you are a VIP member of Road Runner Sports.) I recently purchased a pair of black shorts for my running friend as a birthday gift and one pair in a maroon color for myself (on sale). With a black tank, some of the colors offered at the sale price look nice. 5. Running t-shirts or tanks. I like the ones from Old Navy. I recently purchased this one in black. Although I am 5'7", I like to purchase shirts from Old Navy and Gap in Tall sizes. It gives me additional length so that my shirt does not ride up at all while running. 6. Body Glide Anti-Chafe Balm. In the summer months, it is not uncommon to have some chafing. I often often experience chafing under my arm where a tank may rub. A little of this balm before running can make a big difference. Happy Summer Running! -Stephanie
Care of Comment? Do you have any recommendations for summer running gear or apparel? Our first blog giveaway is complete. We had two entries and two WINNERS!
Thank you to Marree and Sandie for entering. You will each receive your visor and iTunes gift card this week. Thank you for supporting us and our blog! Happy Running! -Stephanie & Missee After a rainy, chilly start to the morning, it's now sunny and mid 70's at the lake. We are going home tomorrow, so I took a little photo safari today to show you the high spots if you have a chance to vacation I the Vergas or Perham area. First of all, if you get to Perham and are very thirsty from your run or from eating Barrel O Fun chips, be sure to stop for some water in the park: Next, if you like to slide, be sure to climb this turtle's head and slide down his back. The factory where Charlie's dog food is made is right behind the park. Next, I headed into Vergas to see the world's largest loon! He looks out over Long Lake. There is a park with a fishing pier and swimming beach as well. Some years, when I was uninjured, I would run to the big loon and back to the cabin. This year I drove...that's why I'm not sweaty!
Hi All! It's a rainy Sunday morning at the lake. In order to get WiFi, I have to sit outside. I'll post again when the rain lets up. In the meantime, don't forget to enter our blog giveaway by commenting. Happy running. Be sure to wear a hat or visor to keep the rain out of your eyes. Need a new one??? Enter to win!
I picked up my custom orthodic shoe inserts yesterday. The orthodics are intended to support my high arches and to take pressure off of the sesamoid bones so that running longer distance will be less painful for my feet. While fitting the orthodics in the Brooks Glycerin 14 shoes that I purchased at the orthotist's office, it was determined that I needed to increase my shoes size by another half of a size. If you read my previous post about orthodics, you will know that orthotist had recommended changing my shoe size from and 8 to a 9. Now, I am in a 9.5. Just kidding... These are not my new running shoes. I am really glad to know that I have been running in the wrong size shoe. Getting into the right size could make a lot of difference. I tried wearing the orthodics for the first 5.5 miles of my run today and I am very happy to report that my feet felt good. I switched into my old shoes for the second part of my long run. Below is a photo of the insert that comes in the running shoe (top) compared to the orthodic shoe insert (bottom). Hopefully you can tell from the photo that the arch is greatly supported by the orthodic. Just a reminder... Don't forget to enter our first ever blog giveaway. All you need to do is to write a "hello" after the post from June 7 along with your first name and email. (Your email address is not published on the blog.) We are giving away a GapFit running visor and a $15 iTunes gift card. The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Sunday, June 11.
Have a happy weekend! -Stephanie Wednesday was International Running Day, a day to celebrate running all over the world. I celebrated it with a day off from running, but wish I was running! Here is what I've been up to on vacation so far: I finished Before The Fall on Tuesday and then started Marathon. Ironically, Marathon (fiction) is about a bombing at the marathon in Duluth which I am registered for the half in 9 days. Yesterday, I jumped into the lake and when I hit the water, I think that was a bomb to my hopes of running next weekend. I didn't do anything crazy, but hitting the cold water did a number on my sore hamstring:-( I would list myself as 'doubtful' to participate. Big-time bummer! On the plus side, the book is very good so far. It is set in Duluth and I'm pretty familiar with the city and recognize a lot of the landmarks the author references. I will reassess my running plans for the week before my next PT appointment when I get home. If if you think you'd enjoy the book Marathon, you might also enjoy a movie I watched with my family last weekend. It was called Patriot's Day and is a true story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. I thought it was well done and cheered for the Boston Police when they finally captured the bomber. It's a true story, so that fact shouldn't ruin the ending for anyone. Charlie and I have been getting a lot of steps on vacation...and since it was sunny, we took a selfie of our shadows! We both look much taller in shadows! Be sure to look back to Stephanie's post from yesterday and enter to win our summer prize giveaway. We don't sell anything, so no purchase is necessary. Hoping everyone is running pain free this week...don't jump in any cold MN lakes! Happy running--Missee
My children and I are enjoying our first full week of summer vacation from school. I am a teacher, so I feel very fortunate to spend the summers at home with my children. Most of the Summer Rec offerings have not started yet, so we have a little more time on our hands to fill. Yesterday afternoon, I suggested to my son that he and I get outside for some fresh air and exercise. I asked him if he wanted to take a bike ride or play tennis. He said, "Could we go for a run?" Hmmm... it was in the mid to upper 80s, sunny, and I had already run in the morning, so... YES! We could definitely go for a run! We ended up running about one mile and walking one mile. Summer running with my son was awesome! Guess what? Missee and I are hosting our first blog giveaway!!!!!!!! Missee and I are hosting our first blog giveaway to thank everyone who has visited our site. Today's blog giveaway is for a GapFit visor in optic white and a $15 iTunes card. In recent posts, I have shared with you that I have tried wearing a running visor vs a hat on some hot weather days. I have also shared that audio books or music are great ways to pass the time when running by yourself. How to enter...
1. Leave a comment telling us hello. You only need to write your first name but need to give us your email so that we can contact you for shipping. Your email will not be displayed on the blog. Prizes will shipped to US addresses only. One entry per email address. Items were purchased by us. 2. You must be 18 years of age or older. 3. The contest closes at 11:59pm CST on Sunday, June 11, 2017. A winner will be chosen using random.org and announced through our blog on Monday, June 12, 2017. My family is taking our week-long vacation early this year. In fact, my husband still had to be in school this morning before heading out. We have taken essentially the same vacation since D was 1...he's now 17. Some might think we are silly for taking the same vacation every year. Our thoughts are, if it works, why change? In all fairness to change, this is the fifth different cabin from four separate owners we have stayed with. This cabin we rent now is the most spacious and in the best condition of the five and the lady who owns it is great to work with. She even allows Charlie to enjoy the lake. When we we spend our week here, the main things we do are fish, run, play board games and read. There is also plenty of relaxing, eating fun treats and swimming depending on the weather. I looked ahead and I think there will be less running and more swimming toward the weekend when temps will be in the low 90's. I have already planned to move my long run to Friday and go a little shorter on Saturday. Here is my view: I will be enjoying every minute out on the deck reading or on my runs which will be early enough to avoid the heat, but not so early as at home. I love this sentiment from my weather app and in that spirit, I wish everyone some great running this week! Missee
My long run happened in three phases today. I ran 4.5 miles on my own before meeting up with my running friend, M. She and I ran 4.5 miles together. After a walk cool down with M, I ran a final one mile back home. When it was all done, I completed the ten miles that I had planned for today. There are times in which we need to be a little flexible with our running. Things don't always go as planned. It was a tough ten miles today, but at least I got it done. Today was probably my first humid run of the season. It is amazing how much the humidity can impact running. My legs and arms were heavy and I just felt sluggish. I made sure to wear plenty of sunscreen and tried out wearing a running visor instead of a hat today. The visor worked great. I think my head didn't feel quite as hot as it does in a hat. When I finished, I sat down on the front steps to enjoy some water. This was my first long run in my new (size 9) Brooks Glycerin shoes that were recommended to me by the orthotist. I will admit that running in shoes a full size bigger than what I had purchased for the last ten years felt odd. I am guessing that a larger size is also needed to fit the orthoic inserts. (I'm getting my orthodics on Thursday.) On a different topic, my daughter had to do a project for Health class that required her to make a poster with photos of her starting in kindergarten along with photos of my husband and I from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Yikes! We enjoyed looking through old photos and noticing similarities between her photos and ours. In the photo search, I stumbled across this photo of Missee and me. I just had to share it... Apparently vests were in-style. :) My sweater vest is worn over a pink shaker sweater. (Yes, a sweater vest worn over a sweater. What was I thinking?) If you look closely, I am wearing a tiny heart pin with my name on it and lovely plastic blue beads. It was the 80s. Do you wonder what we are wearing now that we will question in the future?
Have a happy weekend! -Stephanie |
AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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