Due to illness, my Christmas vacation is NOTHING like I had planned. Hmmm... what did I do? 1. I watched a lot of TV, too much TV. Here are three shows that I have enjoyed this week. I have been a Days of Our Lives fan since was in high school. I watch Days regularly, but the other two shows are ones I don't normally see. 2. Caught up on some movie watching. My husband and I finally had time to watch some Christmas Hallmark Movies and the Birdbox on Netflix. Wow! The Birdbox is amazing! I highly recommend this one. It's free if you have a Netlix account. 3. Drank plenty of Ginger Ale. I don't know why, but this only appeals to me when I am ill. I really like Diet Coke, but when I am ill... Diet Ginger Ale is what I need to have. I miss running! I miss exercise! I miss being outdoors. When I am ill, I usually tough through it and continue my exercise plan. This illness has completely derailed my schedule. I have had a full week off of running. I did make it outside one day to do light snow removal and some in a little sunshine and fresh air. I think I started on the road to recovery and I can't wait to feel better! Wishing you health.. Stephanie
0 Comments
Our house has fortunately been spared from any major illnesses during the holiday season, but sick family members have changed our plans just the same. First was Stephanie's fever and accompanying aches and pains. We missed them a lot on Christmas Day, but were thankful they spared us from any germ sharing. As of yesterday, she hadn't improved much, but hopefully it passes soon! Our 91 year old grandma attended Mass and dinner with us. Being as sick as Stephanie would be devastating to her. I was a member of a bell choir at church this fall. We played Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Mom snapped a photo of me playing chimes on Christmas morning. We have to wear white gloves while playing so we don't tarnish the bells or chimes. While our choir was made up of beginners and our music was pretty basic, we practiced weekly since September and worked hard to learn the parts. It went pretty well. It's always worth noting that someone who doesn't know anything about bells wouldn't necessarily know that we are beginners who are progressing rapidly. People are a little captivated by the bells and enjoy them regardless. Other areas of my life that I realize that how good something might be is in the eyes of the beholder are when I make a quilt and know where the mistakes are but others only see the beauty and when I run and am going what I feel is slow, but others would think...that looks fast or that's soooo far! Our other change of plans was that we were supposed to go see my in-laws in Duluth this weekend. My father-in-law has had influenza since just before Christmas and isn't feeling up to company yet. While it would have been fun to spend that time in Duluth, I signed up for a quilting lecture for this afternoon and one more Christmas light walk with Deb for tomorrow morning. I will very much enjoy both events :-) My daughter and I have struggled with some nuisance colds for the past 10 days or so. Nothing serious, just a little coughing and very runny noses. It's pretty disgusting, but running is helping get the crud out. Needless to say, I've been washing a lot of mittens this week. Yuck! Neither one of us really feels sick, just a little run down, so no need to take the week off from exercise. Rather than a variety of distances like normal, I've been sticking to 3-5 miles each day with no days off. The weather has turned colder with a bunch of new snow so the paces have been slower. My running dog has been going every day and loving it. I guess with a fur coat, winter running is more comfortable than summer. Here is today's weather report including the -17 windchill: And an "after" frosty selfie: While Haley and I are quite anxious to ditch the Kleenex box, we are both very thankful to not be too ill to take part in the activities we want to do so long as we cover our coughs and sneezes with our elbow, keep washing our hands...and running mitts. Since the weather is cold and the roads are slick, I'll enjoy my medium length runs with Charlie for now. Happy running! Missee
I work as an elementary teacher, so I am around a fair share of illness. However, I have yet to miss a day of school this year due to illness. Like so many other times, illness for me strikes during holiday breaks. I came down with influenza like symptoms on Sunday afternoon. My plans for a happy family Christmas Eve and attending a family Christmas party at Missee's house on Christmas Day came to a screeching halt. I was able to prepare some appetizers for my family to enjoy after Christmas Eve mass. My family attended a wedding reception for some family friends a few weeks ago. Take a look at these party favors. Each reception guest had a personalized drink charm. I decided to use our charms on glasses of sparkling cider. Despite how our Christmas holiday played out, I remind myself that Christmas is about a time of year and not just a couple days. Overall, our Christmas was one to treasure. Merry Christmas! From Our Family to Yours Happy Holidays! Stephanie
Merry Christmas, everyone! We have successfully navigated through the shortening of days and got to the Winter Solstice yesterday and the days will now begin getting longer. This is great news to me because all the way back in October, I was lamenting the darkness knowing I had three more months of increasingly shorter days. Well, I made it and now the days will begin getting longer. After several slippery days in November, we have had very mild December weather which has made for nice running. This morning, Charlie and I met up with Deb to enjoy the holiday light show I blogged about last week. We walked a solid hour and over 9,000 steps chatting the entire time. I'm really hoping that Deb's foot is good to go soon; running solo those extra days is going ok, but it's so much more enjoyable with a friend. Getting to the lights on time was a struggle with a furry friend...I had to grab a poop bag, leash and remote for his collar along with my phone, keys and a few Kleenex. In the rush, I left Deb's Christmas gift near the front door. Bummer! Once we had finished our walk, I apologized for leaving her gift at home. Deb said that I should open mine. I love it! Crazy thing was, here is the gift I forgot at home... Yep. It is exactly the same thing. How ironic that we bought each other the same gift and they say "Sole Sister." I guess we do really think alike and that must make us sole (or soul) sisters. We will probably wear them for the Earth Day race, but also for plenty of other runs. Those socks are so soft and comfy! I will be hosting Christmas dinner this year and have been trying to get ready alternating from feeling confident that it's all under control and frantic that I've got so much to do. Yesterday I did a bunch of baking and included a few extra cookies for Stephanie that are both gluten free and no peanuts. Eating with our family is something like eating with Jack Sprat...some can't eat gluten, some can't do poultry, others have different assortments of restrictions. We don't judge it; just notice what ingredients are in our foods and choose accordingly. Thankfully no one is a picky eater. I'll be heading out to the holiday light show one more time tomorrow morning with another friend for a five mile run to celebrate Christmas Eve. Staying on a running routine helps me feel better even with the extra treats. Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas with family or friends and some healthy running. Happy running--Missee
My family attended a wedding in Nebraska this weekend. Because of the long trip, we traveled on Friday, stayed over two nights, and returned in Minnesota on Sunday. Traveling is not a good excuse to forsake your fitness. When making a hotel reservation, we always make sure there is an adequate fitness center available for guests. Our hotel's gym was great. The treadmills were solid and the room was very clean. I brought my iPad along and was able to login to the complentary WiFi. I could easily watch some Netflix and get in a good Saturday morning workout. I had the place to myself, so I was able to get in a run and a walk. After a great workout and a leisurely breakfast, my family headed to a local mall for some Christmas shopping. We are entering the last week of school before Winter Break. The excitement is contagious! Happy Running! -Stephanie
The city where I live has been having a light display for the past couple of years that just keeps growing. It goes on a 3/4 mile loop around a pond at the edge of town. The lights are on from dusk til dawn daily. Each year the display grows and this year they have added activities in the evenings such as carriage rides, hot cocoa and bonfires. The newspaper did a nice article about the display here. The lights are even nice to view from the street driving by although the only effect from there is Wow! That's a lot of lights. I think I've been to the light display six times already this year but always pre-dawn, not in the evening. If I run from home, it's a solid 8+ mile run. I can easily make it 10 by adjusting the route to and from or going around 2-3 times when I get there. I did the 10 mile option yesterday. If you've been following the blog for a while, you may suspect this was a "Stella's Groove" run based on the pace and you would be correct. From watching my long run pace while my friend is recuperating from foot surgery, I can definitely tell that the weather makes a big difference in the pace I can maintain. I've had a couple of nice runs in the 20's and 30's which were speedier than last week when my starting out temp was 2.
My friend also very much enjoys the holiday lights so last weekend I asked her if she felt like her foot would be okay for a walk around the light display figuring once or twice around might be her limit. Well, we (along with Charlie) kept going until the lights turned off at dawn an hour and about 5 laps later. I was extremely impressed that she walked that long and far in a surgical boot. It was so much fun catching up that we went again this morning and made plans on the way out to go again next weekend! People around town seem to be really enjoying the light display. I like that it can be a fun family activity for those with small kids or those who enjoy the togetherness of moderate crowds of people. I love that it can be just as fun for the early morning crowd who are up and exercising anyway but can take in a change of scenery and bolster their holiday spirit. I've yet to go out there and be all alone; there are always other runners or walkers on the path, but not enough that anyone gets in anyone else's way. I'm glad that everyone can take part because it's also free, even when there are snacks being served. Bentleyville in Duluth is a much grander Christmas light display that is also free and super-cool complete with music playing along the walkways and Santa being present to meet with kids except on Christmas Eve (obviously!). However the scale of Bentleyville makes is impossible for them to just leave the lights on all night like our lighted path in Sartell to accommodate the morning runners. They are both awesome light displays, but in their own way. The town where we grew up plays Christmas music very loudly on main street during the Christmas season...and when I say loudly, I mean nearly concert volume. Extremely festive! There is also a house with an incredible light display. See more about it here. Do you have a favorite holiday light display? Can you enjoy it on your run/walk? Does your city have any special holiday events that you like to take in each year? If you are having mild December weather like we are, be sure to get out and enjoy it! Happy running--Missee A couple weeks ago, I suggested running socks with inspirational messages as a great Christmas gift. As I've been gearing up for winter running, I've noticed a few more items that, while not necessities, are sure nice to have. Those are the type of items that make great gifts--things that are fun treats but many people wouldn't buy for themselves. First is my Garmin 235. A GPS watch is a tool that is very versatile. The good old Timex Ironman watches work perfectly well to time runs, but I enjoy some of the features on my Garmin. The main thing is that it measures distance. I can change and adjust my route and know exactly how far I've gone. Other cool features that I use less frequently are heart rate, pace alerts, workouts and interval timers. The watch syncs itself to Garmin Connect on my iPhone where I can see all sorts of graphs and data. I'll admit that I don't often use a lot of that data, but it's there if I ever want it. I also enjoy being able to see how much I normally run per week and month to see how my overall program is going. The second item I'd be sad to be without is my headlight. I use a Diamond brand light with a blinking red light for the back of my head, too. The feature that would make one of these lights a great gift is getting one that is rechargeable. I like the fact that I don't have to wait until the light is dead to get it nice and bright again. At this time of year, I usually try to charge it about every 4-5 days. The final item that I suggest runners would like to see under the tree are Aftershokx headphones. This week, I ran alone more days with one friend recovering from surgery and another lucky enough for a long weekend golfing in California. My Aftershokx make the solo running easier with audio books although neither of the past two I've been "reading" are feel-good stories. It takes a couple good Hallmark Christmas movies to pick me back up! The nicest feature of the Aftershokx is that they do not prevent runners from hearing what is going on around them such as traffic, dogs and other exercisers.
If none of these fun treats suit the runners on your holiday gift list, new running shoes are always appreciated, especially if you take the time to get just the right model and size or even take your runner to the local running store to be fit for a new pair. Hoping that your shopping to-do list is getting shorter by the day and that your weather has been mild like we are having in Minnesota this week. I now I'm looking forward to some longer runs to check out the holiday decorations. Happy running! Missee I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! In the busy month of December, remember to take some time to do something for yourself like a run, or a nap, or some time reading a book. My Saturday began with a 40 minute run + a 5 minute walk on the treadmill. After that, I changed in a different pair of shoes. Does anyone know what these shoes are for? They are spin bike shoes to use on our family's early Christmas gift, a stationary bike. I have never taken spin class and only ride a road bike occasionally. For me, a bike has been a way of getting from one place to another, not necessarily for the purpose of exercise. So when my husband began talking to me about purchasing a Peleton bike, I had to do some research. We visited a Peleton store on a trip to the Twin Cities and decided to purchase one.
The Peleton bike has a large computer screen attached to the front. With a monthly fee, you can take a variety of spin and strength classes. Most of the classes are recorded, but some are live from instructors in New York. I am still working through the two week beginners program which has all been prerecorded. The classes are tough but fun. A twenty minute ride is very challenging for me at this point. I'm using it as a cross training activity after a run. Running is my favorite exercise, so I do not plan on scaling back on my running. The cycling will be a good way to build strength and to challenge myself. So far, I love it! Happy Running! Happy Spinning! -Stephanie Have you ever taken a spin class? If so, please feel free to comment. Do you enjoy spin classes? What is the perfect length of a spin class? Today was the annual Snowflake Shuffle which is put on by and a fundraiser for the College of Saint Benedict Track and CC programs. This year boasted a new course and a new place to meet up and have awards. The college opened a new facility last spring for softball and soccer complete with turf fields. The building in that area with locker rooms, concessions and meeting rooms was a very convenient spot for the race. The new course has a lot of turns which was not too favorable with the current conditions of icy patches from a recent snowfall but was overall a nice course with almost no traffic. The past course ran through downtown St. Joseph and it always seemed like the local police department did not like trying to keep track of the runners amongst parked and moving cars on the only busy street in town. However, it is always good to maintain a good relationship with local law enforcement, so the new course probably helped with that. Even with taking turns cautiously to avoid ice, I managed to finish in an average of just under 8:00 per mile. I was satisfied with my effort. There were around 180 finishers in the race and I was 34th overall and 11th female. Apparently the 40-somethings were the speedy gals today as I was 4th in my age group. The race has a holiday theme with many people wearing holiday clothing and lots of Christmas music along the way. I had an Elf t-shirt on, but while warming up decided it was too cold and kept my jacket on for the race. Once I got going, I kind of wished I'd have skipped the jacket, but wasn't warm beyond comfort. After the race, normally I would have dashed right home, but with our current status as empty-nesters, I went into St.Cloud to run an errand and attend an event at the local quilt shop. While out and about, I had two incidents that reminded me of the old Christmas favorite show...Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. First I stopped to make a return. One of the customer service workers was a little person. She and the gal who was assisting me were chatting a bit and the first woman mentioned, "I have to leave right away at noon to become a dentist!" I'll admit that I had stumbled on the right answer, but wouldn't say out loud, "Are you going to dress like Hermey the Elf?!?" That could have gone really bad if I'd have been wrong. I played dumb and she explained that she would be playing an elf with Santa that afternoon just like Hermey. I always loved Hermey who wasn't afraid to pursue his true interests even when something else was expected. He understood the troubles of the other characters who had more obvious characteristics that made them different such as the Misfit Toys. Soon after I left the store, I got a phone call that also reminded me of Rudolph. Blake called to report that he and David had been out fishing in Duluth when their ice sheet broke loose and they floated off along with 34 other fishermen. They were rescued by Duluth Fire Department and everyone got back safely without even loosing their gear. Since everyone got back safely, I could chuckle a little at thinking about another TV character, Yukon Cornelious. A million thank you's to the Duluth Fire and Police departments for saving my boys!!! Do you have a favorite Christmas movie or character? In addition to Hermey and Yukon, I liked the Bumble who was only mean because of dental pain and the snowman who sings so lovely and can move about with no feet...perhaps I like them all! The scene from the show that I would NOT like a reminder of in real life is when Yukon claims the Bumble bounces--I don't bounce. Happy running! 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
Categories |