Those of us who are old enough remember the good old classic song, Louie Louie. (Or our parents listened to it and we played on the old vinyl albums.). In addition to the oldies stations, Louie Louie is also a classic pep band song that really revs up the crowd. It would probably make a good song on a running playlist, too. I had an adventure on my run this morning that made me think of the song. The plan for today was to do a longish run of 8-10 miles. The weather started out foggy with a dew point in the mid 60's and temps in the upper 60's. I was supposed to do about half of the run and meet up with Deb for the second half. About two miles into my run, I heard some jingling behind me and looked back to find a friendly-looking yellow lab running along. I yelled a couple times for him to go home and continued on. He apparently was enjoying the running and kept on going. I wasn't sure where he had come from and was hoping we were approaching either his house or the end of where he was comfortable being out on his own and head back. I'd also figured that if a police car came by, I could flag them down for assistance as we almost always see one or more police cars every morning. A mile and a half later, I still had a four-legged partner. At that point, it didn't seem likely he'd find his own way home so I tried to see if he'd let me look at his collar at which time I found out his name was Louie--like the song. There were phone numbers on the back of his tag and I called one of them. Even though it was 5:30am, I got an answer on the first ring. When I asked the man if he had a dog named Louie, he answered, "Yes and we are looking for him!" I told him the direction I was headed and he said he'd meet us. I'm not sure why I was so confident Louie would continue to follow me, but he did. In the meantime, I called Deb to meet me in a different spot so I could drop off Louie first. When his owner found us, he looked really happy to see him and Louie jumped right into the SUV. Apparently Louie had loosened one of the boards on the fence in his backyard and that's how he happened to be out loose this morning. I wonder if Louie just wanted to do a long run today??? Once Louie was safely headed for home and a drink of water, Deb and I continued on our run which was getting progressively warmer and more humid although we agreed that we've had worse. We managed nearly five miles (8.55 total for me) which was pretty solid in sticky weather. In an effort to drink more water, I put bottles out for us on the front steps to drink right away after finishing. We grabbed our waters and Charlie, safely on his leash, and got a nice cool down walk. While getting a dog returned to his owner might seem like the obvious choice, there is a big problem trying to figure out the owner...in order to read a dog's tag, one must get close to him. You also have to put your head awfully close to the big teeth of a dog you don't know. After running together a couple miles, I was not afraid of Louie and he complied by standing still while I checked his tag. Before we had Charlie, I would have not been brave enough to do that. I also would not have realized how much pets are considered part of the family. Even though we have a dog, I have not forgotten how afraid people can be, especially if they don't know the dog. Charlie runs with me on shorter easy runs a couple of times per week. When we are meeting other pedestrians, I try to shorten up Charlie's leash because while I'm pretty confident he would just try to lick their knees or solicit some petting, other runners have no idea how naughty or nice he is.
With any luck, none of our readers will encounter any loose dogs on the run. It can be very scary if the loose dog is not a great partner like Louie. Stay cool; it looks the current heat wave will last only another day or tow. Happy running--Missee Do you have any tales of dog encounters? Share in the comments!
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Yesterday I ran the half marathon associated with Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN. Spoiler alert...here's my very large, very heavy finisher medal: Weather on race day was absolutely perfect. It was just under 50 degrees and partly sunny when we began at 6:15am. I was happy to see the green flags and also these signs indicating more port-potties ahead. I've run this race before which involves a bus ride to the starting area plus about a half mile walk to the start. I knew the potty situation can be difficult with approximately 9,000 runners dropped off in the middle of nowhere so I walked ahead past a few banks of toilets before joining a line. It seemed to take a long time to get through the line, but it was still around 5:45, a full half hour before race time. I walked further ahead and got rid of my checked bag and headed into the chute area where I knew there were supposed to be lots more potties. I joined a line there feeling like I needed an "insurance dump" to know I wouldn't have to go along the way. This line also took soooo long. My fellow linemates and I listened to the Star Spangled Banner still in line, heard final instructions and even the starting horn. Since my time wouldn't start until I actually made it to the starting line, I just waited a couple more minutes and took care of business. As I moved toward the starting line, I noticed that there were still hundreds of runners waiting in porta potty lines all the way up through the starting corral. I figured I was in good company being patient enough to take care of it before starting. I finally made it to the actual starting line just past 10 and a half minutes after the leaders took off which meant they were already approaching the first water stop at mile 2! I did a lot of weaving through the first mile or two until settling into a steady pace. A few years ago, I ended up in nearly the same position running from behind and passing folks the whole time and it worked out ok, so I was not upset at all that it took me a couple of miles to catch the 2:45 and 2:30 pacers. I found one of my running friends at about 3 miles which was a nice surprise for both of us because we didn't anticipate seeing one another during the race. Remembering what I had pledged going into the race, I went ahead and took a Gu at mile 4 instead of 5 because I was feeling ready for it and had vowed not to be stingy with them. Getting toward the halfway point, I remembered that I was going to try to run very strong in the last 5K, so I tried very hard to just cruise through miles 7,8 and 9 looking ahead to the 10 mile mark. It was helpful that the biggest hill of the race occurs heading into mile 9 where there is a large digital overhead sign proclaiming, "Only 4.1 mils to go. Great job, Runners!" and then there was a timing clock at mile 10 with a guy on the megaphone yelling 5K to go! I took my second Gu at 9 miles and decided I was ready to keep my pace steady into the finishing area. It was kind of fun that this is about where the scenery changes from rural and residential to urban with lots of people out in front of stores and restaurants cheering...and drinking quite a lot of beer and coffee along the road. I was able to use this positive thinking to run the final 5K strong to actually run the last part very well. Notice that my spits got faster as I went along. During mile 13, I was noticing that my legs were getting pretty tired, but decided that was probably good because I must be running hard and my splits reflected that increased effort. With this race, I was very thankful for chip timing. Crossing the finish line, the overhead clock read 2:06:45, but clearly I finished faster than that with my official time being 1:55:59. It was interesting to read my in pacing stats that I had passed 3041 runners in the first 10K and continued to pass people in every segment. Grandma's Marathon always has a top-notch finishing area and swag. The shirts are bright green and the medals were quality. Snacks included chocolate milk, fruit, juice, bagels, chips and a choice of a pop or beer. There are plenty of volunteers around assisting runners who need medical attention, getting their bags back or help finding snacks. While collecting my Coke, I noticed on the large screen that runners were still finishing in droves...and also a bank of porta potties with no lines! Once I had collected my snacks, it was time to head over to the busses going back up the hill...free to all runners and spectators on race day to keep congestion down in the Canal Park area. That is some real MN hospitality. On my way, I walked over a footbridge that I threw up over the edge after the race a few years back. No vomiting this year and no mysterious aches or pains. Today I have general soreness that seems pretty equal left to right, so I'm confident it's the result of exertion, not injury. Blake's fiance enjoyed her time in the medical tent where she reported seeing a good number of nasty blisters and quite a few IT Band suspected injuries. The first question for those folks was if they had trained adequately for the race which often was "no" and the reason for sore knees and hips. The undertrained were fairly quickly sent on and told to see their doctor if it was still hurting in a few days. The weather helped keep their number of customers down this year.
I will definitely do this race again and have until October 1st to contemplate the desire to do the full marathon vs. the half. Half marathons are kind of a sweet spot where it is a very long race that requires a solid training block, but not so much that it puts demands on your life with 3-4 hour training runs that may even require a quick nap and hearty snacks afterwards. After a half, people generally go about having a fun day whereas the marathon can be quite unpredictable from ready to party to put me to bed. I may do a full again someday, but I'll probably lean toward the half at this event with the sweet 6:15 start time, or maybe 6:25 start time if you get in the wrong potty line. If there was one thing that could be improved at this event, it's that potty issue, but I honestly don't know how they'd get more of them out there, so perhaps it just always going to be runners learning to be patient and starting a little late if they decide to wait it out. I've done a late start twice and the only rough part of that was that it was difficult for my family to find me along the course when they watch pacers go by and gauge where I should be from that. Maybe it's time for them to try runner tracking so they can see my actual start time! Hope all your races finish on a high note! Happy running--Missee I registered for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon back on October 1 and now it's only 5 days away! I've seen people wearing shirts or holding signs with this thought and it's really true now: I'm sure it's pretty typical, but these last few days heading into the race are a flood of thoughts and anxieties that are hard to manage. There are the things I can control...training, what to wear, getting my packet picked up, Body Glide, food, etc. Then there are the things I cannot control...weather, traffic, the other runners, weather, the little aches and pains (are they real or imagined?) and oh, yeah don't forget about the weather. One runner posted on Twitter a few days back that she'd had a nightmare that she'd missed the bus to the start line. That was something I hadn't thought about, but since I've done both the half and full at this event multiple times and have never missed the bus, I'm not going to worry about that one...today. So, on things I can control. I did a pretty solid job on the training. I did not miss any long runs and did at least 90% of the speed workouts whether or not they would qualify as speedy. I'll be packing a wide variety of clothing options because on the what to wear variable, the weather also plays into this one. Here is the forecast. This looks like some pretty in-between weather for clothing choices, but good weather for running. Not sure if I'll opt for capris or shorts, tank top or short sleeve, but I will definitely want a rain poncho for the starting area and good socks in case I end up running most of it in wet shoes. I think I'll be packing a sweatshirt and long pants in my gear check bag for snack time and the bus ride afterward.
My goals for this race are pretty simple. I'll be trying to maintain close to 9:00 per mile, but my main goal is to make the last 5K very solid. At Earth Day back in April, the wheels came off, so to speak, on a couple of those last miles adding a several extra minutes to the run. My aim is to do whatever it takes to keep my head and my legs in the game. Once I'm done posting here, I'm going to look at my playlist add a few peppy songs. I'll be sure to put an extra Gu or two into my pouch in case I need a boost and not be stingy on using it if it might help me stay on track. Good luck to everyone racing next weekend and enjoy a little less running this week because at this point, a hard run will not help, only hurt, the race. Save it for Saturday and happy running! Missee When I plan a trip/vacation for my family, I always check to see what options we will have for running. About 95% of the time, I look for a hotel or resort with a treadmill. Running in an unfamiliar city can be adventurous, but also leads to a bit of stress for me. I want to know where the bathroom are located, have access to a safe path, and know where the bathrooms are located. (Yes, I said is twice.) My family recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC. One of the first things that I noticed after arriving in DC, was the presence of runners. Every morning, afternoon, and evening I saw runners. This led me to think that Washington DC was a runner friendly city, and it was true! We stayed in a hotel (with a treadmill) located about 0.8 mile from the Washington Monument. This was a perfect location to run. Our family of four would run together to the monument, take one loop or two loops are around the monument park, and walk back to the hotel just in time to refuel with the continental breakfast. The Washington Monument area had wide sidewalks big enough for runners, bikers, and walkers. There were public restrooms located in a few different locations, easily accessible to runners. Running was a great way to start the day in our Nation's Capital! On the walk back to the hotel, we sometimes visited another historical landmark. On the walk below, we stopped to admire The White House. Wherever your summer takes you...Happy Running! -Stephanie
Yesterday I set out on my last double digit run heading in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon at Grandma's Marathon in two weeks. After a seriously long and cold winter/spring, we have enjoyed some summer-like weather the past few days and even saw our first 90 of the season on Friday afternoon. Saturday was promising to be just as hot, so in hindsight, I might have been better off getting up a little earlier than my 6am start. I ran the first 5.5 miles clipping along at paces of around 9--O'somethings. At that point I picked up Deb at my house and we both noticed the temperatures were warmer than we've had in quite a while and climbing.
At around 8 miles, Deb had enough of the heat and decided to take a walk break. Not wanting to interrupt my long run, we agreed that I'd run ahead a while and come back. After I'd done that and we got to 9 miles, she'd really had enough. We were in a good spot for her to walk a shortcut around the park while I ran around and through. We agreed to meet at the park entrance assuming I'd be done somewhere in the park and walk out. Well this became the run that WOULD NOT END. I came through the park thinking I was just about done and saw my miles at 9.47...got to the edge of the park and it was now 9.76. I began to think of an old kids song..."The Song that Never Ends." You can hear it here. I continued out of the park and down the hill humming along that "it goes on and on forever just because..." I got to the bottom of the hill and now it's 9.89 miles. Yikes, when will 10.00 ever show up??? I headed back up the hill to meet Deb and finally got my finishing beep. Deb was just as surprised as I that I had to go all the down and partway back up the hill! I am a rule follower as far as distance goes...if my plan says 10 miles, I will not stop at 9.87 without a darn good reason. A couple summers ago, I went to Wyoming with David and his cross country team. We did an 11-miler one of the last days. Imagine my dismay when I had made it through a country road, multiple cattle gates and a 4,000 foot altitude climb only to find out I had to run PAST the bus to the next cattle gate and back to finish. The other parents did point out that I'm an adult and the coaches can't make me do it, but I pointed out an important detail...I was wearing the Garmin and would know if I did 11 miles or some other random distance. On the flip side, if I finish my long run a block or two from home, I feel perfectly free to walk home! I hope that you have some good runs this week even if it becomes a run that never ends, because this one was a good run, but it was sure an effort to get that beep at 10.00 miles! Happy running--Missee I've been known to enjoy somewhat made up holidays and today is one of those. Any excuse for a little celebration seems like a superb idea to me. Happy Global Running Day, everyone! Here's a holiday to celebrate running, running friends and how running connects people of different ages, races, genders and ethnicities. No matter what the rest of your life entails, we can all enjoy the run in some form. It's still early in the day, but I have celebrated so far by pledging to run with Another Mother Runner on the Global Running Day site and then running it with Deb this morning. We did a little walking warm up and cool down which I did not log on my Garmin, but we covered the whole five miles. That hole in the route on the map is our walking time. If you only run once this year, Global Running Day seems like the perfect opportunity. It's a great day for running with absolutely no ice, snow or cold here in Minnesota--a fact that we did actually discuss on our run this morning! Happy running--Missee
Friday was the last day of school for students where I work and for the neighborhood kids where I live. It's a little odd after having a student heading off to a local school on the last day since 2002, now finishing a full school year with no students there. Where I work, I only see the kids at meal time, but I don't imagine there was a lot of learning accomplished in the classrooms those last few days seeing how wild and crazy the kiddos were in the cafeteria. I'm never quite sure if the students or staff are more excited when the buses pull away on that last day. I still have to go into the office for the next week or so to finish up some projects, but my staff is done until our school garden starts harvesting and they were all smiles on the way out on Friday. We followed up the last day of school with helping our daughter move into her new apartment on Saturday. She will be attending pharmacy school in the fall and has already settled into her new place. She was able to transfer from her pharmacy tech job here to the same chain there starting Monday. The apartment has a great view and seems to be in a nice neighborhood. She has pledged to take up running and will have some challenging hills and a great view right out her door. She is doing a Couch Potato to 5K plan so I will keep the blog updated when she gets to that 5K and beyond. We had to leave home at 7:30 Saturday morning for the move so I had to figure out how long I needed to finish a 12-mile run including any potty stops, shower and be ready. The alarm went off at 4:15 and I had pottied Charlie and was on my way by 4:35. I did a 7.5 mile loop that included what we like to call "the new road" as it has only been there about a year and picked up Deb at my house at 5:45. We did the last 4.5 miles finishing a couple blocks from my house and walked back as a cool down. It was a nice steady run. If I feel like that through most of my half marathon in 3 weeks, I'd be happy. I'm getting regular emails now from Grandma's Marathon to make sure everyone is excited and feels informed. The email today was a call for volunteers. If anyone is planning to be in Duluth that weekend, go to the website to check out the volunteer opportunities. My daughter and I helped with a water stop two years ago when I was injured and had a great time. Grandma's is extremely well organized and we felt so very appreciated with the little gifts we were given and were even invited to a party a couple weeks after to thank the workers. The VERY extended forecast for the race is 62 and rain which sounds just fine to me. It is probably way too early to check a forecast, but that's what runners do. I feel like I'll be ready to run a solid if not speedy race. My future daughter-in-law is volunteering in the medical tent at the finish line and we agreed that it will be a success if she does NOT see me although if I'm feeling good, I'll probably poke my head inside to observe her doing her thing...or better yet, being bored because no one needs her services. Last weekend, my youngest son and I tackled a remodeling project. That was a marathon of another sort, but I think we (mostly he) did a great job. My jobs included painting, holding things up and cleaning up while my contractor keep ploughing forward. I'm including some before and after photos just to brag it up a bit. Now that I look at the photos, I realize that I was right to be a little disgusted by the way that bathroom looked! Happy summer everyone and happier 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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