Happy Sunday! My regular exercise schedule includes a nice long walk on Sundays. As I was walking around a bike path that borders the track, I followed the arrow sign telling me to go inside the gate for a bit of speed work. I'm don't like the term "speed workout" since I am not speedy. It was just a little cardio bonus for the day. I ran 400m, walked 400m, ran 300m, walked 300m, ran 200m, walked 200m, ran 100m, and walked 100m. After this I left the track and continued my Sunday walk around my town. I am fortunate that our school district has allowed the public to use the track. With that in mind, I hope that everyone who takes advantage of using a local track follows the rules posted. The rules at our track include rules like no pets, no bikes, rollerblades, or skateboards, and to use the outside four lanes. It was a beautiful day at the track. I took a nice long walk before heading home again. It was a perfect Sunday workout! Happy Sunday! -Stephanie
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It's fun to explore new places on vacation. It can even be pretty interesting to see what's in your own city by taking a different route or even doing a familiar route in the opposite direction. While on vacation last week, I noticed a few fun things that the locals maybe don't even see anymore. This guy was part of a fence post only a few hundred yards from the driveway to the cabin we rented. I wonder what made someone create him... Is he fishing? Is he drinking beer? If it's both, he's probably not catching too many fish. There was an abandoned farmhouse about a mile away. In the morning, the sun would shine through the empty windows and made a peaceful morning backdrop: There were endless miles of gravel roads for Charlie and me to explore, and they were hilly! We also saw this sign to watch out for snowmobiles. I watched really hard and saw three deer, but no snowmobiles! As always, we had a wonderful week of fishing, reading, running and relaxing at the lake. This week, my daughter and I began a very strict food plan to help us flesh out our food sensitivities of which we seem to have many. As we move along the process, I'll share a little more about it. Today, we are too tired and hungry to give it a fair assessment. By Monday night, we'll be adding more foods back into our plans and we are excited about that. There is no Diet Coke on my list and the resulting caffeine headache was a nightmare. I had been warned this would be the case and promptly set about cutting back a couple weeks ago to get ready. Word to others...if you have to cut back on your caffeine, going to one Diet Coke per day and then none is not gradual enough. Hope you are having a great week--Happy Running--Missee
Our family just returned from a wonderful week of vacation at a lake in northern Minnesota. Since Missee and I grew up in northern Minnesota, I especially enjoy the beautiful lakes, the pine trees, the coolness of the mornings, and the beautiful sunsets. I love Minnesota! During our week of rest, we managed to fit in a bunch of swimming, a lot of card playing, some reading, and plenty of running. The running is perfect because there is a dead end road with plenty of lake views that takes us exactly 2.5 miles from our resort to the end. A roundtrip run of five miles is my ideal running distance. This year I alternated my running partners. On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday I ran with my children (not the full five miles) and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I got to run with my husband. Other highlights from the week included a visit from the grandparents, outdoor church in the grotto, a lakeside yoga class at our resort, and our resort's weekly bingo game. As our family's schedule seems to keep getting busier, I enjoy having us all together for a week of fun! We are back at home and back to our summer routine. I hope your week was also a good one! Happy Running! -Stephanie
I spent the last week at the lake with my family. This is now our 18th consecutive year of spending a week on Sybil Lake near Vergas, MN. It's really quite amazing that our kids who were 1,4 and 5 when we started this tradition still want to do it at 18, 21 and 22! Here they are fishing together: This guy has only been with us for three lake vacations, but he loves it, too. He gets to have lots of extra running, walking, laying in the grass by the lake and of course, fishing :-) . We were fortunate to find a rental that allowed us to bring him along. Since the guys spend so much time fishing, I was free to run, read, quilt and lay on the hammock by the lake with a good book. This year, I even packed my yoga mat and spread it out parallel to the lake to do some yoga poses down by the lake. My longest run of the week was a 10-miler on Tuesday morning. It is very hilly around the lake and most of the roads are gravel so that presented some extra challenge, but it was fun. How cool is it that once around the lake is almost exactly 10 miles!?! I literally started at the driveway from our cabin, went once around and then about .05 past the driveway to get the mile 10 beep.
I did a little photo safari action on some of my runs which I'll share in a few days. I've got a couple of good random photos to show. It's always fun to run in a different place once in a while to explore the area at relatively slow speeds. One big plus to my runs at Sybil Lake were that I was chased by exactly ZERO dogs. There were a couple barking from kennels and one was starting to run out but turned around when I yelled for him to go home. I wonder what Charlie would do if someone ran by and he was off his leash? My guess is that he would run out and try to lick their sweaty knees and that it might scare them if they didn't know Charlie. I appreciate dog owners who realize that their very nice dog might scare someone who doesn't know him. One new thing I tried was stand-up paddleboarding. I noticed someone paddling by our first morning and asked my husband if he knew of a place we could rent one. Our son upped the ante by calling a friend who lived nearby and asked if we could borrow theirs since they were out of town. We were lucky enough to be able to borrow two boards for the week. I was out on them every day except Thursday when it rained all day. Charlie loved it, too, and was out their with me when he wasn't riding with David. I'd highly recommend it! I hope you have been able to enjoy a vacation or even a "sta"-cation this summer with a little more time to relax and run at your leisure. Happy running! Missee Saturday was a fun day in the lovely city of Menhaga! We started out smiling already in the driveway: ...before waiting a long time for a train that was already gone. Some trick driving my our mom put us right to our race on time. There were definitely a lot fewer runners in the 10K than the 5K. My thought is that the 10K does not get a lot of repeaters due to its rigorous course. Here we are at the start and the competition. Stephanie was quite sure she was going to be the last finisher. I scoped out a few I thought we could beat. As it turned out, I was the "middle" finisher (20 of 39) and Stephanie was a couple ahead of that. The race was fun although adventurous. By mile two we had left the pavement and headed off on a dirt road. A few of our fellow runners almost missed a key turn until we yelled at them to come back. I suspect a couple of runners did miss that turn as the last couple of finishers looked like more experienced runners than their place/time indicated. The only suggestion I would have to improve this race was to use some chalk or spray paint to put additional markings on the course for those who lose sight of the next runner...it happens. As we moved along, the gravel road turned to a grass path and then more woodsy. Just when we thought we might be lost, we spotted a water station in the woods. Stephanie described it as being just like The Amazing Race when the racers encounter a key stop where they get more instructions. We got a smile and a cup of water, just what we needed. The terrain was indeed challenging; mile 4 took us a solid 11 minutes and we were not resting or picking flowers back there! I was glad to get to the gravel and then tar roads for the ease of footing, but it got a little hotter on that stretch. Another cup of water at mile 5 was welcome indeed. St. Urho was a wonderful sight after 10K of adventure. We found our family at the finish area and then a group of sisters who had done the race. I told them we sisters had a running blog and asked if we could take their picture. They were happy to pose for us! There were 6 sisters in their group and they said there "were 7 of us" but I didn't find out why the 7th sister wasn't participating. Their shirts say, "What Happens With the Sisters, Stays With the Sisters!" Stephanie placed 2nd in our age group and I was 3rd so we got medals. Mom and the kids did not place in their age groups, but Mom did knock one minute off her time from Sunnybrook Stomp. Great job!
This race was a great value for the price. The price was $16 and change for online entry including the fees. For an additional $3, I could have upgraded to a tech fabric shirt. The shirts were cute with a reference to the Finnish heritage of the area and St. Urho. The shirts were lime green and said they were "Finn-isher" shirts. We wore them all day! Do this race if you are looking for a different challenge--not quite a mud or obstacle run, but not a standard 10K either. The 5K was a little off-road for some variety, but grass paths, not single file winding trails. Runners in the 10K in particular cannot compare their time to any other 10K, but if we did it again next year, could compare the same course again. I'd definitely try this race again unless I was coming off an injury and then might opt for the 5K instead. Having five from our family running made the day way more fun! Happy running--Missee Missee and I both ran this race on Saturday. I am writing part 1 of the race recap. Missee will be also giving you race details in a post this week. What a joy to run with my family on Saturday! Our mom and my two children ran the St. Urho 5K Run, while Missee and I ran the 10K race. The races were held in Menahga as part of their city's Midsummer Celebration. It was a warm and sunny morning. Both the 5K and 10K races started at 9:00 AM. We gathered near the ball fields, picked up our packets, and hung out together before the race. The 5K started a block away at the local cafe, while the 10K started very near this field pictured below. There were 256 finishers in the 5K and 39 in the 10K. The 10K race was an adventure! We ran the first couple miles on the road before turning onto trails. Missee and I ended up in a pack of female runners. We ran single file up and down hills, over a narrow foot bridge, and through the forest until reaching the road again around mile 5. The last two miles were back on pavement. I thought the course was challenging and exciting. The trail running definitely slowed down our pace, but added so much in terms of adventure. According to our mom, the 5K had some light trail running and had beautiful scenery. The finish line was at the foot of the St. Urho statue, a few blocks away from the starting lines. St. Urho was even dressed for the occasion. He had running shorts and a racing bib on to celebrate the event. There was plenty of ice cold water and fruit for the finishers. Awards were given out by the Menahga royalty. It was a well run, well attended event. I would definitely run this one again! The best part of the event was that we did this with our family. Missee also has photos and info to share about this race. Check back later the week for part 2 of the race recap. Happy Running! -Stephanie
I hope the St.Urho Run lives up to its hype as we've been blogging about it coming up for some time. The weather looks good and it's always fun to spend some time with family. My boys are opting to go fishing instead of running, but are looking forward to the weekend as much as everyone else. Yesterday, David found out he didn't have to work on Monday next week so he is plotting how to stay at the farm for a couple of extra days. How fun is Grandpa and Grandma's house when an 18 year old can't wait to stay longer?!? The hilarious part is that his 22 year old brother is just beside himself that David can stay at Grandma's and he has to work on Monday. David, of course, is rubbing it in as much as he can and Blake can't resist taking the bait. David often says, "Blake, is your phone ringing, just I just pushed your buttons???" In all likelihood, the excitement to head to the farm is just as strong at Stephanie's house as it is here. They'd lobby to stay extra days, too, if they could figure out a ride home.
I hope you are all looking forward to your weekend as much as Blake, David and their cousins. Good luck to everyone participating in races this weekend. Race reports and photos from St. Urho will be coming in over the weekend! Happy running--Missee I hope you are all enjoying a happy Independence Day! Because the holiday was mid-week, we are hanging out at home today. Also, the weather has been very rainy. I was going to head out this morning for a run but a thunderstorm sent me back inside for a treadmill run instead. The rain stopped and I was able to take a cool down walk outside. I was on an "Independence Day Safari." Here is what I found. Last weekend, we traveled to Nebraska to attend a family wedding. I talked my kids into going for a run with me the morning before the wedding. Running on vacation is a great way to see the sites. The wedding was at the Lauritzen Gardens Botanical Center of Omaha. The gardens and buildings were open to wedding guests one hour prior to the wedding. We had a fabulous time celebrating with family! I hope your 4th of July holiday is a good one. As Americans, we have so much to be grateful for!- Stephanie
The weather this morning is very unsettled. We heard the first claps of thunder and the power went out around 2:00am. By 5:30 when I got up, the thunder was gone (I won't run in thunder/lightning!), but it was still raining and extremely windy with sustained winds. I worked pretty hard trying to make a good excuse not to run; failing at that, I decided to start out. My weather app described the weather as "soggy as a morning diaper." For all of you parents out there, just imagining those first morning diapers should give you a good picture of how wet it felt outdoors. I planned to do a 10 minute warmup run which got me a whole mile plus a few steps into the 30mph wind, then 4x6 minutes at a 5K-10K pace with a 2 minute recovery between and then a cooldown. Fortunately, I got the windy part over with in the warmup plus the first 6 minute effort. In fact, my hat blew right off and I had to carry it. That kind of ticked me off because now the rain was right on my face. However, I was reasonable enough to realize that I could put my hat back on once I could make the corner around 1.75 miles into the run. After the second 6 minute effort, I began to feel pretty good about my tenacity to get out in the rain and try to run hard. Around 3 miles, I was able to turn to have the wind on my back. I was surprised to find I kind of missed the wind on my face, but did not miss it blowing my hat off! When I'd finished all four 6 minute stretches and began my cooldown I even went a couple extra blocks to be sure my run would total an even 5 miles...so much better than 4.77 :-) I always try to finish my runs at the corner near my home and walk to the house. On the way to my door, I was wringing out my shirt thinking about how tough that makes me...run in the wind, rain and probably uphill the whole way in wet shoes. If the run itself didn't make me feel refreshed enough, the attitude would definitely do it. This photo does not do my level of soakedness justice, but I do look happy: The next time you feel less than gazelle-like heading out for your run, try to see how tough you are. For extra motivation, you can even notice how many of your neighbors opted to stay inside for an extra cup of coffee rather than test their limits. Measure your success on the effort rather than your Garmin stats...even if you MUST finish the next mile, no judgements there. Happy running! Missee
I have now been mostly on summer vacation for the past 10 days. The first few days it always feels like I'm trying to finish up a lot of things. This year we had a grad party at the very beginning of summer, so a lot of those little projects got done before the party. I'm now ready to settle into some good sewing and reading projects. When I say "reading," I mean digesting the words of the book either through my eyes or my ears. I've been listening to audio books since my first car that had a cassette player and have only recently advanced to downloading books onto my phone to play via bluetooth on my car's radio or my Aftershokx headphones while running or walking or even working around the house. I'm always looking for a good book recommendation. Fortunately, I'm married to a HS English teacher who LOVES to read, so my stack of paper books is never empty. He does also take into consideration the books I've said I like or don't like, so it's a stack of potential winners. Since he reads much faster than I, I do sometimes have to cull the stack a little and will often hold up two or three and ask which one I should read first. He uses GoodReads to help himself remember what he's already read and to choose other good series. I am going to make an account for myself because while I love the book while I'm reading, by the next week, I couldn't much tell you the storyline. I'm also that way on TV programs...I will get 40 minutes into an episode of Law and Order when I realize I've seen that one. Some of my most recent books have been by female authors. Karin Slaughter's books were good mysteries with some interesting twists. Brian Freeman writes great mysteries that are mostly set in MN. Spilled Blood does not include either of his usual detectives, but a great story. Jodi Picolt writes more of a drama. Leaving Time is the current audio book I'm listening to. She takes turns writing from the voice of different characters which makes it interesting. The main characters are actively seeking Alice, an elephant researcher who disappeared 10 years ago without a trace. One interesting twist is that no one ever reported her missing or started looking for her sooner. My current "paper book" is by Kristin Hannah. I think I read almost half the book yesterday. My pattern with most books is that the first 75 pages take me a long time to get through. Once I've figured out what's going on, I can't put it down until I'm done. I should finish this one by mid-week if not this afternoon! These characters are very tragic--I've been feeling very emotionally involved in this book, so I hope it all works out ok. We have our lake vacation coming up soon. I'm starting to build my book pile to go as I believe I read four entire novels last year. Here's what I've got so far: My mom recommended Lilac Girls, so I might try that one. She said it's a WWII story. I like historical fiction because I can learn a little while enjoying the store. I'll see if I can sign up to get it from the library. With any luck, it will show up just before we leave, so I'll have a little time to finish it. I won't line up my audio books for vacation until it's nearly time to go. With digital loans, there are never late fees; the audio book just goes back to the library when it's due, ready or not. I don't want to get started in a good book only to have it returned before I'm done.
What's on your bookshelf this summer? I'm always open to suggestions and some days it's just too hot to move around much, so getting lost in a good book can be the perfect way to enjoy the afternoon or evening on the deck. Get up early to run and happy reading! Missee |
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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