Last time, I had admitted that track season is one of my very favorites. As I look at my schedule for tomorrow, I wonder if I might be an adrenaline junkie. My college kids are going to be at the same meet, so I'm planning to attend that one while my husband follows our HS runner closer to home. It's a big treat to have two competing at the same place, but this is one BIG meet! The running portion will start out with FIVE heats of the 5K. Three are men's heats and two are women with each heat having 25-35 runners...that's nearly 90 men and 65 women in just that one event. Track events begin at 9:00am and are scheduled to conclude around 5:30pm. My son is running in heat #5 of the 5K which should be the fastest heat at 10:10am. Then, it's on to field events. My daughter competes in three throwing events and will be in Flight #4 of each. The strongest throwers are scheduled for the later flights and there are either 4 or 5 flights in each event, so she's also expected to perform well. Before I begin to navigate getting back and forth between track and field events, I need to allow about 90 minutes to drive, find parking and get to the stadium. Prior to that, I need to shower and have some breakfast...all this backing up to planning a start time to run. My run for tomorrow is supposed to be 3 hours with 4 miles at race pace. My training plan includes a chart for a minimum length of long run when life throws a curve ball. So...if I want to do the full 3 hours, shower, etc., it's looking like a 4:00-4:20 start time. Yikes! To be fair, I have not yet used the minimum run provision and I'm just finishing Week 17, so I'm not going to stress about cutting it a little short just once. One of my friends is willing to run at 5:00 which I will absolutely take her up on...the solo long runs were very difficult. I think I'll be trying to go at least 30 minutes before meeting her and then going as long as I feel I'd dare to still have enough time not to stress while driving. What plans do you have on tap for the weekend? While my running and track meet day sounds a little hectic, I'm looking forward to it. I've started purposely not setting an alarm on Sunday mornings, so I'll be looking forward to that, too. Even without an alarm, there is always plenty of time to walk Charlie, read the paper and get ready for church, but still a treat to get up without a purposeful schedule...like tomorrow :-)
Happy running! Missee
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Running is my favorite exercise. Here are some of the reasons why I enjoy the sport... 1. A good run can take anywhere from minutes to hours. You can make it fit your schedule. My favorite running duration during weekdays is 40-45 minutes. On weekends, I like to run 60-90 minutes. When my kids were little and my husband was working, I would hire a babysitter so that I could run. It was worth every penny! I would come home from a run and feel like a better version of myself. 2. It challenges me EVERY time. I ALWAYS feel like I get a good workout. When you build up endurance, you just run faster. When you want to challenge yourself, you can sign up for a race. 3. Running is never boring! No two runs are exactly the same. You can easily vary the length, duration, and pace of a run. I enjoy running in every season and in almost every weather. (I could do without strong wind, heavy rain, or temperatures greater than 70 or less than 0 degrees.) 4. You can run anywhere. As long as you have running shoes, you can run at home, on vacation, while visiting family, on a treadmill, etc. Running in new environments is fun. You can really take in the scenery on foot. I have enjoyed running in many communities. 5. Running is an individual or group sport. You can run with a friend, spouse, sibling or alone. (Running with someone is definetly my preference!) Most of all... Running brings happiness, peacefulness, and calmness to my days.
Happy Running! -Stephanie Care to Comment? Why do you run? (If you are not a runner, why do you exercise?) We are now approaching one of my favorite seasons...track and field season! My college kids have already finished their indoor seasons and are headed outdoors; my high school junior has indoor meets tonight and Saturday before tackling outdoor next week. The weather is looking like it will cooperate, which makes it that much better. I have done track seasons by many different avenues...athlete, spectator, coach's wife and mom. Track mom is a pretty awesome role and I've been enjoying that one for at least 10 years not counting the Community Ed track programs when the kids were in elementary school. Being a track mom sounds like a passive activity, but I can assure you that parents can get quite a workout, especially if you have a kid or kids doing both running events plus field events. There is also strategy involved in making sure you are properly situated to view each event without being obtrusive. Can't be the embarrassing parent who doesn't know where to stand! Depending on the meet, parents might also be in charge of measuring field event distances and taking times during races. Last Saturday, I proposed wearing this costume to my daughter's meet: Of course, this would have been in the embarrassing category. My daughter is delightfully easy-going about many things and her reply was that I should also wear a coat! Apparently she has not been reading the blog or she would have known that I have indeed gone out in public wearing Star Wars fleece pants and the idea of wearing these might have seemed ok to me. My Saturday run was a mere 2:20 after a couple of weeks in the 2:45-3:00 range. There were 5 race pace miles included and I am happy to report that I hit them all spot-on! I'm not yet sure that 7:55 miles really are my race pace, but it was pretty exhilarating to hit those paces at miles 3, 5, 7 and 10. There are 4 weeks left in my heart rate training and I'm getting pretty excited to see how it plays out in a race. This morning, I ran one mile at 7:55 and 3 more 8:15-8:25 which was another pretty aggressive workout--my former pace for daily runs was in the 9:00 range. Even if the race does't result in a PR, it has been fun to try a completely different style of training. I love this sentiment, but, to be clear, this runner is NOT dressed for winter! If you get the chance, stop by a local track meet and soak up the enthusiasm of athletes who are out there for the love of the sport. It is a rare track meet that is crowded; they are almost always free admission, and extra spectators are always welcome. Here are my favorite teams this season: Hope you are off to a good start on the week. Happy running! Missee
Happy Weekend! I hope you are having a good one! My Saturday morning started with an hour run followed by a five minute cool down walk on the treadmill. Since I was running solo (and early), I decided that the treadmill was the best option today. The run went well. I wore the orthotics that the podiatrist made for me at my appointment. He constructed these orthotics during a short office visit. Wow! I was impressed! The orthotics are supposed to bring cushioning to the heel and fill in the arch. This is what they look like... My plantar fasciitis has been much better lately. Maybe the orthotics are helping?!? The rest of the day was spent at the gym. My daughter had a basketball tournament in our hometown. My husband and I spent a couple hours working at the tournament in the morning before my daughter played three games in the afternoon. Grandpa (my dad) came to cheer on my daughter's team. We had a fun day! Wishing you a happy weekend! -Stephanie
Our mom is on a fabulous vacation this week, so I have taken on her routine of phoning Grandma each morning on my way to work to check in on her and see what she's got planned for the day. She's always got something interesting to talk about, but each day also includes progress on her spring house cleaning. My thought was, spring just started on Monday, but Grandma is nearly finished with her cleaning...just the garage to go and she's waiting for a warm day so she can hose the floor. I haven't done much in the way of spring house cleaning yet, but chatting with Grandma usually inspires me to do one or two little things to declutter. My desk is actually looking pretty good! That got me thinking about running and how I could do a little spring cleaning on my running program to rejuvenate myself. I came up with these physical and mental items I could do: 1. Toss or donate any winter running clothing that is worn out, ill fitting or I just never wear. I know there are tights, shirts and gloves that have seen much better days. I will also look for sales on winter gear for next year. 2. Look through my old running shoes and keep only my current running shoes, one set for walking, one set for working outdoors and toss or donate the rest. I wear out my shoes fairly quickly, so the old ones can pile up without my noticing. 3. Check the calendar and be sure the races I have already registered for are written in and check the dates for other races I enjoy and see which ones might fit into our schedule this year. It's financially advantageous to choose and register early for the best prices. Sometimes we have three runners in a race, so saving $5 each adds up. 4. Decide on any training plans necessary for races and count back the weeks to be sure I get started on the right day. This sounds easy, but I am currently doing 21 weeks of a 20 week training plan because I failed to check the race date and count back accurately. I hope that repeating Week 9 is worth it! 5. Clear out the mental clutter. This might be much more difficult than discarding tights with holes in them...negative thoughts are as sticky as molasses, but making room in your mind for positive attitudes is crucial. My yoga instructor always tells us, "Don't judge it; just notice it." So if negative thoughts are running through your head, try not to give them life by engaging them; notice and let them go. I promise, this will be one of those housekeeping items that has to be done and redone on a regular basis like laundry and dishes. 6. Embrace an attitude of gratitude for the longer days and warmer weather. Our Minnesota seasons are short, so enjoy the one you are in today. Today is National Puppy Day. Charlie already celebrated with a 50 minute run this morning. He might be the most spoiled dog ever, but he's also a fun little companion. He had his checkup this week and the vet said his running program is good him...also that he is now full grown and should not gain any weight. Keep running and watch those treats, Charlie! Here's to hoping your running program is keeping you fit and healthy just like Charlie. Happy running! Missee
Care to Comment? What is the status of your spring house cleaning? Will you try any of our running-related cleaning tips this spring? Today is National Common Courtesy Day. I found the following information on nationalcalendarday.com. "In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courtesy is described as a: behavior marked by polished manners or respect for others: courteous behavior b: a courteous and respectful act or expression. Common courtesy can be as simple as saying “please” and “thank you” when asking for and receiving a service, gift or assistance. Kindness and courtesy do go a long way and are noticed by others even if you do not realize it. Letting someone in front of you in traffic is easy. Hold open a door for someone or give a person a hand with his groceries. Give up your seat on the bus to someone who might need it. Introduce yourself to the new employee or kid at school and take the time to introduce her to the rest of the crew. These are just a few examples of small things that make a difference to someone else. They are momentary deeds of being courteous." This got me to thinking about courtesy and running. How, as runners, we can be courteous to and what courtesies do runners appreciate? How to be a courteous runner... 1. Stay off of private property. Stick to the sidewalks, streets, and bike paths. 2. When running, move the edge of the road as a car approaches. 3. Try to avoid running on busy or narrow streets. 4. Wear reflective vests during dark hours. Drivers want to see you. 5. Greet fellow runners, walkers, etc. when appropriate. How to be courteous to runners... 1. Move over when driving. Please give us a little room when it is safe to do so. We appreciate it! 2. Do not honk, yell things out your window unless you are a personal friend of us. 3. Do not flip your headlights on to "bright" unless necessary when you approach us. (Yes, this happens.) 4. When we say "hello," please say "hello" back to us. 5. Even when we look really tired, don't ask us if we need a ride. (Yes, this has happened also.) Let's celebrate National Courtesy Day by doing one "extra" courteous thing today.
Happy Running! -Stephanie Over the past few weeks, both Stephanie and I have mentioned buying running shoes and purchasing them online. I'm not sure about Stephanie, but I prefer a little advice on my gear from time to time and find a local running store to be extremely helpful. The Endurunce Shop in downtown St.Cloud is owned and completely staffed by runners. You might find some knowledgeable folks at chain stores or malls, but at the Endurunce Shop, you are guaranteed that whoever is helping you knows running. In fact, a good portion of the staff are college runners that my oldest ran with or against either as a HS or college runner. Here is a link to their website: http://endurunceshop.com/ When I am having issues with my shoes, feet or legs, I will stop down at the Endurunce Shop for advice on what style of shoes might help. They generally bring out a wide variety of shoes and even sizes of styles they feel would be good and we start testing them out. They even have a treadmill inside the store to try the shoes in action. In addition to a wide selection of running shoes, clothing and gear, they sponsor local races, events to look at new products and a weekly 5K fun run known as Hump Day 5K. I have only done it a few times as my yoga class meets at the same time. Quite a few people attend Hump Day weekly and get entered for the chance to win prizes. The over-21 crowd likes to gather afterward at a local watering hole next door to celebrate their run. Prices at a small, locally owned running shop are likely going to be higher than can be found online. If I go into the shop and take advantage of the service they provide with shoe selection, I will buy at least one pair there. If I end up liking that style and want to get another pair of the identical model, I will shop around online or watch for a sale at the running shop. Another nice perk they offer is a team discount for the local high school teams. All team members and their families are offered 25% off for one or two days at the beginning of each season. At 25% off, the prices are definitely competitive with online shops. My family includes 1 shotput/discus thrower and 3 distance runners (including me), so we try to be careful with our shoe budget also taking into account that scrimping on shoes leads to injuries. All methods of shoe procurement will be considered! Just Saturday, I blogged that online shopping buys me more time for running. Now I'm telling you that local stores are where it's at. Truth be told, both ways work for different reasons. As I described, I use both methods to buy running gear and will continue to do so. Today, the temps were again over 40 and only light winds at running time A.K.A. "oh-dark-thirty." (4:30 am) I'm hoping this time, capri weather sticks around. It was absolutely delightful to do a little speedwork, stop home to pick up Charlie and meet up with a friend and her furry running partner McGee for a 30 min run. Today is the official first day of Spring and what a perfect way to welcome it. My husband and I got engaged on this date back in 1993, so we have a special affinity for the start of Spring each year. Happy Running! Missee Care to Comment?
1. Where do you prefer to buy your running shoes? 2. What do you love about Spring? 3. Do you have a Spring race planned? Which one? My daughter starts track practice this week and needed a new pair of running shoes. Since we were in the Twin Cities last weekend, we decided to stop at a local mall for some shoe shopping. After browsing through a few stores, she decided on a pair of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. They seemed like a choice. The price tag was a little higher than I expected, so I did a quick search on the Internet for a better price. I found the same shoes at Road Runner Sports. After a sale price, my VIP discount (the VIP membership is a $27.99 per year), and a coupon, I ended up paying $22 less than the mall price. Since I was ordering, I also bought myself a new pair of running socks. My favorite running socks are the Road Runner Sport's R-Gear Drymax Dry-As-A-Bone Medium Cushion socks. They are soft, cushioned, and keep my feet dry. I like these socks so much that I had bought some for my daughter this fall for her cross country season. Little did I know that I created a problem. The problem with buying my daughter the same socks that I have is that I can't seem to get my socks back out of the laundry. I am loosing my socks. So when I opened a fresh pack of socks this morning, I had a great idea... use a Sharpie to write my initial on each sock so that I will get it back from the laundry. (Missee posted that she uses a Sharpie to record the first date of use in her running shoes.) After I wrote an "S" on my socks, I have to admit that I kind of regretted it. I felt like I had ruined a brand new pair of socks. However, my husband said that he thought it was a great idea since he has a tough time getting folded laundry back to the owner. At least I will get my socks back. I noticed my daughter's socks today. :) Teens! Happy Running! -Stephanie
Everything we do in a day takes time. Getting ready for work, cooking, cleaning, even Facebook use part of the 24 hours we are allotted each day. People often use the excuse of not having enough time to skip exercise. The truth be told, how we use time is somewhat dictated by the stage of life we currently enjoy, but there is usually some time dictated by our own choices. Before you worry that this post is going to be a sermon about making better choices, let me share with you one way I save minutes in my day to use for running...QVC! More people shop from QVC than you'd probably guess. The age of infomercials selling bogus products put a shameful spin on shopping from TV, but QVC carries the same brand name products you'd buy in department stores and you just call or jump online and the UPS guy shows up in a few days. It's awesome! My most recent purchase was today's TSV (today's special value). Since I buy cosmetics from time to time, I got an opportunity to order early. Here is what came in the box. Kits are generally the best value, but only if you can use most/all the products. Here is my before and after. The before was right after my run. Charlie thinks it's fun to kiss sweaty runners🐶. I find shopping stressful sometimes between finding the right products, dealing with the other customers and parking. Online is so convenient for many reasons, but saving the time and energy of going to the store is huge for me. More time for running!👣 My long run with the race pace miles went pretty well this morning. Chunks of it were into a strong NW wind which I did not enjoy, but overall, I was satisfied. The Earth Day Half Marathon is coming up April 22, so about 5 weeks left to train! Stephanie and I decided that our race reports will include a lot more than the race itself. We want our followers to know how we liked the cost, quality of shirt, ease of getting to the start and even the post race food. The runners hoping to win are most concerned about the actual race, but those of us looking for an athletic endeavor as well as a social outing are looking for different things! Hopefully our opinions can point you to a race you'd like to do in the future.
Happy running! Missee A couple of days ago, Stephanie admitted her fear of being hit by a snowplow while running, along with fears of the dark and dogs. She also hinted that I have my own unusual fear...one that no one would ever guess. However, who could ever look at this and not tremble with fear?!? Or how about this one??? A fear of hay trailers might sound silly until you look around and realize that they NEVER tie those down properly and most of the loads lean one way or the other. The idea of thousands of pounds of hay flattening me to an early demise is truly frightening. I think these loads have always made me nervous, but I had mostly kept it to myself until one of my kids was in preschool and was making a book of feelings. He'd asked me what I was afraid of and I told him trailers of hay. I'm not stupid, if I said kidnappers, the dark or crime, I might have been in for a lot of sleepless nights with a terrified 4 year old. I didn't know what he was doing with the information until parent teacher conferences. We met with the grandmotherly Mrs. S who showed us his book and she got to the page that said, "I'm afraid of Hay Trailers" complete with an illustration of bales falling off every side. She said, "I don't really know what that's about...I did. There have been a number of instances in MN in the past few years of people dying under bales of hay, so this if definitely a real danger. A year or so ago, I was almost crushed by a semi load of hay. I had stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross when he started waving wildly and pointing behind my car. I looked in the rear view mirror to see something just like this not slowing down: Without the quick thinking of the pedestrian, my little car and I would have been made into a pancake by hay, thus validating my fears! My kids also point out that without the pedestrian standing in the intersection, I wouldn't have stopped and also been safe. I've got a clever bunch.
I used to share Stephanie's fear of dogs and would go to great lengths not to pass by where any might live. We seldom see an at-large dog in our city, so that is pretty nice. Once Charlie joined our family, I faced my fear of loose dogs by going to the dog park. At the dog park, you go inside the fence with your dog and lots of others and take them off their leashes to run around and play together kind of like the playland at McDonald's. Not long ago, I would have found going inside the fence ON PURPOSE to be a cause for panic. In fact, I texted Stephanie and Mom from inside the park the first time and their reply was "WHY?" Since Charlie loves going there so much, I have been able to learn to enjoy it. These dogs are not at their own homes, so are not as likely to be aggressive as if you approach their street. I'm not likely to pick up a summer job baling hay, so that fear will just have to stay. This Saturday, my long run includes 5 different miles at race pace. Yikes...scary and exciting. If I can do 5 of them spread out throughout a 16ish mile run by myself, I should be feeling confident about 13.1 in just 5 weeks. Wish me luck! Hope you are also enjoying a slight warm up in weather headed toward the weekend. 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
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