Due to a forecasted blizzard warning and 12-18 inches of snow arriving Friday to Saturday evening, I decided to move my long run for the week from Saturday to Thursday. Today's weather was beautiful for running. It was in the 40s and overcast. Perfect! My training plan called for 18 miles. It went pretty well and I ended up with a 9:18 average. The hardest part for me with having to eat a fuel packet at miles 5, 10, and 15. Running fuel does not taste good to me. I know that it is important to fuel for a long run, so I will continue my plan to consume one per every five miles. I have been using the Huma Chi Energy Gels because they seem to be a little easier on my stomach. The best flavor that I have tried is strawberry and the worst flavor so far has been apple cinnamon. I am happy to have this run completed. I will have a 20 mile run in two weeks and then the program lowers the milage until the marathon. I only took two pictures today. The entrance ramp in the above photo is called Gravity Hill. Locals say that if you put your car in neutral, you actually go back up the hill. (I may have tried it...if I tried it...it worked!)
Happy Running! -Stephanie
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Snow falls yet again on another April day in southwest Minnesota. There is a layer of 3-6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and more continues to fall. On Wednesday, the forecast calls for 50 degrees. Some spring temps are just what we need! On Saturday, I completed my long run for the week of 12 miles. My running friend saved me (again) by meeting me at mile 6.5 and running the remaining 5.5 miles with me. I finished my audio book, The Wife Between Us, at mile four and listen to music for the remaining time until I met my friend. The next audio book on my Audible list is Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. Key Lime Pie Murder is #9 in a series of books about Hannah Swensen, a baker from rural Minnesota, who becomes part detective when she stumbles into the wrong places at the wrong times. These books are light reads and even include recipes from Hanna's bakery, The Cookie Jar. There are currently 22 books in the series. My Sunday was spent with... I hope your weekend was a great one! Happy Sunday! -Stephanie
My running friend has been sick about a week and a half leaving me to run with only my own thoughts to entertain me. I've got a pretty active imagination, so while I'd rather run with her, I can think of enough wacky things to last a whole workout. My husband bought me a pair of AfterShokx headphones for Valentine's Day. They don't actually go into the ear so it's a safer option. You can hear what's going on around you and still listen to music or a podcast. I mainly wanted them for listening to podcasts while I walk Charlie, but I took them running this week. I tried an audio book yesterday and some running podcasts today since it was at least getting light by the time I headed out. Even with my ears open, I'm not comfortable with headphones in the dark. I need as many senses keeping me upright on the road as possible! Having the podcasts going really helped the miles fly by as I did a 10 mile run with four of those at a faster pace. One of these days, I'll share my favorite podcasts in case you are looking for something new to listen to on your commute or runs.
Yesterday, Stephanie and I had a long chat about our speed in 2018 compared to 2017. We both feel that our pace has slowed and our GPS watches confirm that thought. I'm not sure if it's age, poor winter weather, training, life or some other force that's pulling on our backs. I suggested gravity as an option since we seem to be having the same issue at the same time and are not exactly the same age--I think Stephanie might think I'm a little nutty! That conversation helped me on my run today. I set out expecting it to be slow. I ended up averaging 9:11 per mile over the 10 miles which I would have considered a fail in previous years, but I thought about it a while and concluded that if I can run my half marathon averaging only 2 seconds per mile faster, I will be at 2:00. Since four of the miles were at around 8:45-8:50 pace, maybe I could throw in a few more of those and average around 9:00 per mile. That would put me at the finish a couple of minutes ahead of 2:00--sounds like a fine run to me these days. Come summer...if it ever comes, I might be able to ramp up some of my training with nicer weather and more daylight. That may improve my paces, or maybe just make me feel strong to really sweat it out. Speaking of sweat...I may still be a stinker. Even my youngest who has been affectionally known at our house as "Momma's Little Stinker" caught a whiff after my run and suggested a shower. I guess those four faster miles cleaned out my pores and freshened my attitude. I'll just call it the smell of optimism! If you are into pessimism, let me show you some photos from this morning's run. It is April 7th and look at all the snow. The temp this morning was a balmy 11 degrees with a windchill of -2. Enough already! We are looking at 3-5 more inches of snow tomorrow into Monday but some warmer temps and rain toward the end of the week. Will we see dry land by Tax Day (April 15)? Happy running--Missee The short answer to that question is likely...NO. It will not stay winter until autumn, but my guess is that now that we are several days into April, we will quickly jump from deep snow, ice and slippery travel to hot summer weather. That is, once we've finished this cold snap which is expected to last at least another week. On other running blogs and podcasts I follow, there is much buzz about the Boston Marathon coming up in less than two weeks. I really feel for those in our area training for Boston as they have not had any nice weather days and race day weather is always unpredictable. The year I ran it, temps started in the mid 70's and climbed to 89. I was so sunburned that the lines from my tank top lasted all summer. Here is our extended forecast...not a shorts-day in sight: This morning was glare ice on the roads. I opted for the treadmill (also known as the dreadmill or the instead-mill) at the gym. I was the height of fashion heading out the door. Don't tell Stephanie I was wearing navy and black together!!! And yes, that is my pasty white skin, not tights or long socks. In Minnesota, we love to whine about the weather, so conversation has been lively amongst co-workers and complete strangers. I still use the WTForecast app for my weather which has fun weather complaints. Here is what I had this morning. Notice that the windchill remain sub zero. Wow that's cold! The one good thing about getting this snowy weather in April rather than November is the strength and extra minutes of sunshine. Even when the temps remain in the 20's, the sun warms up the streets and helps with melting. I had Charlie out for a nice long walk in the sunshine after work and we had only a couple of icy patches to navigate compared to this morning when there were no dry patches. The longer days are also helping people feel more optimistic.
I am scheduled to run the Earth Day Half Marathon on April 21st. My concern at this point is about a half mile stretch that goes down a grassy hill and across a park heading into the first water stop about Mile 3. I'm not too hopeful that it will be dry and easy to navigate. A few years ago we had a similar situation with some April snow and people pretty much walked down that hill so as not to slip on the wet grass. I should maybe plan for that scenario already. The track kids are having to make many adjustments so far due to weather; I can, too. If you can't enjoy this weather, be Minnesotan and complain to your neighbors and running buddies. Happy running--Missee Our school was closed today for another snow day. We are starting to wonder if spring will ever arrive? The snow has ended for now. Let's hope it doesn't return until December. My children do assigned school work on snow days. These new snow days are called Virtual Learning Days. It really works out great! They both could shovel snow as a Physical Education assignment, and that is what they did. Please excuse our squinting, as it was bright and snow flakes were flying at our faces. I saw this recipe in our local paper a while ago. I thought about trying it today, but didn't end up making "snow ice cream." Has anyone tried this? The rest of the day included some work from home for me, a run on the treadmill, a trip to my workout class, and some organizing of my sewing room. Happy Spring! -Stephanie
My husband, sons and I enjoyed Easter at "the farm" with my parents and a number of other relatives. The guys and I all arrived on Holy Saturday and spent the night after celebrating the Easter Vigil in a neighboring town where the priest is what Blake called a "minimalist." Father chose to do all the essential pieces of the Vigil without dragging anything out too long. We got a kick out of being told to "mind your candles," when people were trying to hold lit candles and follow along in their prayer books. The boys noticed a young man of eight to ten years old being told, "That's enough!" when he drank too many gulps from the wine cup during Communion. After Mass, we enjoyed supper and games before turning in at a reasonable hour. For the record, I not only lost, I came in last place in both of the games we played. Mom and I got up around 6:00 to head to town for some exercise. She went to the local community center and I chose to run outdoors. The weather was not great: Yes, this was Easter morning, April 1, 2018 and that is not an April Fool's joke...1 degree with a windchill of -14 degrees. It was super cold, but I still had a fun run and made it into a little photo safari. First of all, there was the moon...it was the same shape as the temperature the fist time I checked it this morning--0! I kept running along toward the house where we grew up. We lived in town as kids; Mom and Dad moved to the farm about 18 years ago when David was a tiny (well he was 10 pounds, 10 ounces--he was NEVER tiny) baby. When I got that far, I saw that the truck parked in front of our old house looked an awful like Bobby's! It was indeed not my husband's truck, but that is the house where we grew up. The porch on the front was built after we were out of school, but the oldest two grandkids enjoyed playing out there when it was new. Strangely enough, the house next door was grey and our house was yellow and now they've switched. My fingers were getting cold from taking off my gloves to snap pictures, but when I saw this blow up snowman on Easter, I had to get another photo. For the record, there was just enough wind that the snowman was swaying a little like he was shivering. A photo safari is not complete without at least one selfie. Here I am enjoying a sub-zero windchill Easter run in my hometown. Hope you enjoyed some family, food and a good run this Easter. Outdoor track meets are scheduled to start next weekend for my college kids. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we get some warmer weather! Happy running--Missee
I wish you a very happy Easter! May your day be filled with joy! My family is home celebrating today. Due to work commitments we were unable to travel to be with family, but our day is starting out great! I am baking caramel rolls for breakfast and have opened my "Peeps" candy to properly harden before I eat the the next row of marshmallow goodness. I like them better when they are a bit dried out. I had posted this picture yesterday asking what you saw in the photo. Through my eyes, the patched crack in the tar looked like a person running on the shoulder of the road. Did anyone else see that? It might be a family thing, because Missee and our mom saw exactly what I did. Happy Easter! -Stephanie
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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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