Last week I reported that we were all set for our first Holiday Lights run on Wednesday this week. Well, 6-8 inches of new snow overnight Tuesday shortened that run to 5 miles, and also turned my solo day off into a snow day for my husband. I was so looking forward to our long run and then a quiet day to myself. Guess the snow gods were worried I'd be lonely. At least the snow wasn't enough to keep me from getting to the beauty salon to cover the random tinsel in my hair (sparkly grays!). The five mile run was pretty good, all things considered. We've been running in the same community for so long that we quickly came up with a game plan to try to find mostly plowed roads that were fairly quiet. I was so thankful to run with a friend because my internal dialogue was so very noisy that morning. For some stretches, I just couldn't wait to head back telling myself this was making my legs tired, I'd probably fall, I could just run later, etc. Other stretches I was feeling content and comfortable to find a snow track and simply follow along in both a mental and physical groove. On these stretches, I was joyful not to have to find my own way. On some of these, Deb opted to just join in the same path behind me and let me use my headlight to find us a good route. By myself, I'm sure the negative voices might have gotten persuasive enough to turn toward home too early. At the end, we decided to try again for the lights on Saturday morning. Well, Mother Nature is trying to pull another fast one on us by dumping more snow on our area. When I saw a potential for up to 4" by Saturday morning, I texted Deb on Friday to propose a Friday evening run. In case it hasn't already been apparent, we are quite set in our ways. The two of us have been running together for somewhere around 13 years and I could probably count on one hand the number of times we've run later than 9:00am. Almost always, we run at 5:00am on Wednesdays and maybe as late as 6:00 on Saturdays, so 5:00 was definitely out of our zone. These lights better be good! We took off at 5:00pm and quickly noted that we seemed to feel alright other than dodging occasional snow piles at intersections. We were even so bold to cut behind the grocery store to get to the light show faster, then remembered that there was a murder back there a number of years ago, but continued on the same route. (The murder was a drug deal gone bad; no random creepy dudes back there.) . We got to the community center at 4.9 miles ready to do about 1.5 laps of the trail and head back for a total of 9-10 miles. Imagine our dismay when the light trail was totally dark! We went inside to ask when the lights would start and were told December 7!!! Have you ever seen the movie Vacation with Chevy Chase? The movie centers around a family road trip to Wally World. When the Griswolds arrive, they discover that Wally World is closed for repairs. How disappointing! That is how we felt with no Christmas lights to run through this evening when we'd made such efforts to beat the storm out there. I've felt this way once before. My family and I drove to the Wisconsin Dells for a marathon in about 2010. When we arrived, we drove into a parking lot not unlike the Wally Word lot in the movie and were the only car there. Fortunately we did find right lot and the amusement park and the race were on as scheduled. My family tends to do things the hard way often...we like to say there is an Anderson adventure everywhere we go. For this reason, my dad has nicknamed us the Griswolds. We always have a good time, just maybe not the good time we went there to have. While we did not meet our goal of seeing the holiday lights this Thanksgiving break, we did indeed beat the snow and got 9.25 miles in and proved to ourselves that we wouldn't somehow melt or implode if we tried to run in the evening. I believe we both still will prefer morning, but it's good to know that we can step out of our zone, even literally, and it's all good.
We will try again next weekend for our holiday lights...simply having a snowstorm and the lights off will not deter two ladies who love their Christmas lights. Stay positive and happy running! Missee
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Everyone would have to be living under a rock, or perhaps training too hard, not to notice that every ad on radio, TV and the web is advertising "Better Than Black Friday" specials. While the idea of the sales at this time of the year is gift giving, it is a great time to stock up on items for yourself that you'd buy anyway but can get on sale right now. A couple weeks ago, I ordered a new pair of Asics Nimbus running shoes from Amazon. I love the color and have to admit, they do seem to run faster than my old shoes...at least on the first couple of runs. Next I stocked up on some makeup from QVC while they had Black Friday prices AND free shipping. Then I ordered a sweater for my husband from Duluth Trading Company. He wears Christmas sweaters to school Every. Single. Day. from mid November til New Year's. The sweater was this year's addition to the collection. Well, to get free shipping, you needed to spend $75, so I ordered some pants, too. Next I found a dress from Chico's that I thought might work for my daughter's wedding. It was 50% off, plus another 5% off for being a Passport member. Unfortunately, that didn't work out when it arrived, but certainly worth a try.
In the meantime, I went a little Amazon crazy and ordered up a gift for my dad along with all the socks for our family's gift exchange. We have done PJ's for a few years and decided to try socks this year. I can't comment on what I ordered other than I think they will like what I picked! When I was ordering those, I also saw some cute Bride and Groom socks that will go into the stockings of our two engaged kids and their fiances. Finally, I got an ad from a company I often hear about on the Another Mother Runner podcasts, Skirt Sports. They have running skirts, tights, jackets, etc. As you can probably guess, everything is pretty modest with skirts over the tights--made for real women more than teens. They had a tremendous sale last week with items ranging from $20-40 that were usually $75-110+. The only kicker is that all sales are final. For those prices, I decided to take a chance and ordered up several items that I'll be sure to review when I get them! One of the items was called the Toasty Queen skirt/leggings combo. It advertised that the skirt keeps those places warm that are always cold. Deb and I always say it's the "fat places" that get cold. That probably isn't nice to say, but we all know what that means...inside of the thighs and outside of the butt cheeks are where I tend to freeze up when it gets nasty cold. My new skirt will give me an extra layer there. I took a chance on another company that Stephanie really likes, Grace and Lace, last fall on an All Sales Final sale and loved everything, so hopefully I strike it right again with Skirt Sports. As often as I can, I try to get extra rebates from Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates). It's sometimes hard to remember to log in before I shop, but I get anywhere from 1-6% back and on Cyber Monday, those amounts are often at least double. If you don't use Rukuten, you can sign up using this link, and we will both get rewarded the first time you save on something you were planning to buy anyway. By spring, I might be broke from all these good deals (just kidding!), but if I would stop shopping for a couple days, I'm sure that Capital One would be calling to check on me. Perhaps it is a good safety plan??? Until all my new running clothes arrive, I'll be enjoying our beautiful 35-45 degree weather in my broken-in gear. This week, we are planning our first run to the holiday lights in my town. As long is there isn't a NW wind, we will probably be regulars out there until early January when they go back into storage. A strong wind from the NW means going into a headwind the whole way home which is less enjoyable. Happy running and happy shopping! Missee I definitely feel winter's arrival in our part of Minnesota. The trees are bare, the wind has a cold bite, and we know that any day a white blanket of snow will be here to stay. It is also time to dig out my winter running gear. Here are some of my favorites... 1, Old Navy Micro Fleece Performance Zip Pullover for Women. This is my favorite running/lounging sweatshirt for winter. It has a full-zip, even though is says it is a zip pullover. I have had this one before, so I stocked up on three colors for this winter. I bought black (in photo above), white, and gray. It is also a good value and comes in tall length if you have a longer torso. 2. Athleta Altitude Pant in Polartec Power Stretch. Now this one was a splurge for me, but I had credit card reward dollars to use on this purchase. They really keep my legs warm during cold runs. We haven't hit minus zero degree temps yet, but I have been impressed by the thickness and the warmth of the fleece. They do run a bit long. I am 5'7ish and they are almost too long on me. 3. QVC Due North Ice and Snow Cleats. These cleats stay on my running shoes for the majority of the winter months. They provide traction on icy roads and sidewalks. I have had several of these over years. I probably replace my cleats every 2-3 years for best traction. I really do love Minnesota winter running. There is something pretty magical about running in fresh snow, braving the elements, and appreciating the beauty of the season. In other news, I have a back injury that is impacting my running. I do not like taking any breaks from running. Can anyone relate to the meme below? :) Happy winter running to all! -Stephanie
Firearms deer season in Minnesota, affectionately known as "Deer Camp" lasts nine days starting on a Saturday 30 minutes before sun-up and concluding the following Sunday 30 minutes past sundown. There is a silly old song called "The Second Week of Deer Camp" that local radio stations love to play in anticipation of deer opener. No one would actually want to be hunting near the fellows in the song; it doesn't sound safe or even very fun. Well, this year, Deer Camp for my guys lasted less minutes than a good Saturday morning run. It took about 45 minutes of shooting light to round up these beauties (I mean bucks!). We like venison and it keeps our hemoglobin high with its high iron content, so this was a highly successful morning. Generally my guys are good and perhaps somewhat lucky hunters so I had faith that we would get meat, but never thought it would be so quick. Charlie and I slept in a bit before going for a run. All the shooting was done before we left the farm. We went to town to run for safety’s sake...not everyone had filled their tags by 7:45am. It is always fun to explore the town where I grew up and see what’s new, changed or comfortably familiar. I casually snapped this photo of our childhood home. The porch was added on by Mom and Dad after Stephanie and I had left home, but otherwise the house looks pretty much like I remember it. I did notice that most of the houses on the block have fences now and almost none did back in the 80s. Hopefully it’s to respectfully keep pets and kids in their own yards, not to avoid the neighbors! We got a nice five miles in at a leisurely pace and went back to pick up Mom who opted for a gym workout. It was a nice run! This week is forecasted to have record cold. I am not too excited about the cold so early. Winter is long enough without starting 6 weeks before the solstice. My deer hunters who are all done hunting already are excited because ice fishing might begin earlier if there is a good cold snap to get the ice forming and then if we continue to get cold nights it will thicken quickly. As for me, I am trying to take the attitude that cold weather could move my runs indoors, not postpone or cancel them. It may take a lot of lotion and chapstick to get my skin and lips used to the idea of this cold dry weather. It is better on my hair however. Keep warm this week on your runs! If you or family members are participating in deer hunting this week, good luck and stay safe. Happy running! Missee
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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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