My daughter had her final cross country meet of the season on Thursday. We traveled to Luverne, MN for the Section meet. There was a light rain and soggy ground, but the temp was perfect for running. It was another strong race for our team. These cross country runners continue to impress me with their determination, grit, and team focus. It was a great season! Due to the weather, I packed a rain poncho. I was pretty sure that I was a fashion don't, but I didn't realize how bad of a fashion crime I had made... until I looked at the photo. When I texted this photo to my parents and sister, Missee replied, "Warm and dry is always in always stylish." Thanks, Missee! Maybe I should look for a raincoat for next season. :) Missee and I just got back from our Quilt Camp weekend. We had a gorgeous run on Saturday morning. An update will be posted later this week. For now, here is one picture of our run together. Have a great week! Happy Running! -Stephanie
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Do you like Halloween? I can't really say that I ever have liked the idea of ghouls, witches and creepy clowns. I did really enjoy making Halloween costumes for my kids. Some of my favorites were Woody and Jessie from Toy Story 2, a box of popcorn and a horse costume. The kids and I enjoyed using our imaginations to create a fun outfit. It seems that more and more people in our community have taken to decorating outdoors for Halloween. As someone who is outdoors in the dark, frequently alone, I can't say that I really feel like it's fun or enjoyable. This house at the end of our block went with basic ghosts in the tree...not too scary. This house a little further away was scarier. The creepy character near the house was waving it's arm slowly. If I didn't know better, he'd have made me a little nervous. Last year there was a house a few blocks from us that had many scary characters in the yard. The first time my headlight caught the eyes of a scary clown, I nearly screamed. Not fun! I've seen many houses that have put up fake spider webs. I've had a terrible time getting rid of real spiders and their messy webs this year; I sure wouldn't put up more of them on purpose! At Christmas time, I'll be hoping that neighbors would leave their lights on for us to enjoy in the morning. The creepy, scary stuff I'll be thanking them to turn them off! Do you enjoy Halloween? Have you ever done a Halloween race in a costume? I'll enjoy seeing the kids at school and at my door in fun costumes like princesses, superheroes and puppies, but would happily skip anything with blood and gore. In the event of an actual creeper or zombie chasing me, I'll be thankful for my running...Missee
My running friend and I are elementary school teachers. Since we were both off of work due to Fall Break (MEA), we decided to forgo our regular running route to visit a local monument. Neither of us had ever been to Camp Release, so we decided to make that our running destination. Camp Release is a state monument that commemorates the release of 269 captives held during the US-Dakota war of 1862. It is on the Minnesota State Registry. You can read more about Camp Release here. Camp Release was approximately 2.5 miles from our starting point and very near the golf course. On our way past the golf course, I told my friend about "The Hill" that the cross country runners conquered just days days before. We decided to give it a try. This picture does not capture the difficulty of this hill. It was a fun challenge and I am positive that our trek up that hill was not as graceful as the cross country runners.
Our run ended up to be six miles. If your running is getting mundane, try choosing a new destination. Happy Running! -Stephanie I'm lucky to live in a community that continues to grow and flourish. When my husband was a student teacher and volunteer cross country coach in 1993, the town had around 3,000 people and around 100 students per graduating class in a brand new high school. The last estimates I have seen puts our current population at just over 18,000 people and the makings of a much larger new high school opening in the fall of 2019. Graduating classes are expected to climb over 300 students by 2020. With all those people, new houses of sprouted up all over and corn fields have become neighborhoods. The new high school is on the same site as the elementary school my kids went to when it opened in the fall of 2004. It was way out on the countryside on a narrow road with no shoulders and no bike paths. This summer, the road was widened to three lanes and paths added in anticipation of around 1200 students headed that direction next September. Not only is this much safer for the students headed out to these schools, it creates new running routes for me! Last weekend, I walked the new path to get a lay of the land and check out a view of the new SHS. I think I'm going to like the new options. The path is nice and smooth and Charlie noticed that the utilities are in place for street lights along the new path. That's important for us early morning pedestrians. Back in around 2006, a new development started going in near the elementary school. Well, 2008 saw a big halt to building and spending and it remained a ghost neighborhood. The new high school renewed the idea of living at the north end of town and houses are going in. When I see new large homes going into town, I like to welcome the new taxpayers to come in and help pay for the new school. These homes will likely pay a higher portion of the taxes than I :-) Another upside to all the construction is the presence of random porta potties just in case one of us would need one. While I'm sure we will continue to use a lot of our standard running routes, what a treat to find new roads that can be used for variety or to change things up when the wind is out of an inopportune direction.
Look around your town to find roads that are either brand new or that you've never tried before...assuming your town is void of "bad neighborhoods." In that case, always choose safety first. Happy running--Missee I was already excited to go watch Stephanie's kids run cross-country on Tuesday. Then I got this text exchange... I had NO idea I was a big time runner. It was incredibly flattering that Henry thought that much of me. I had several reasons for wanting to come to the meet:
Next was Lauren's turn. She also had a great race, especially the last third where she was really picking up steam compared with the other runners. She finished moving ahead in the pack, so she was feeling confident at the end. Us fans split up to cheer her up the final hill...it was even tough for spectators to make it to the top to see the finish! Watching the race was very fun. Not only did I get to enjoy the afternoon with family, I got to cheer for lots of runners. It is very motivating for my own running to be a part of races whether running or watching. I'd encourage others to go watch a race and cheer even if you don't actually know anyone running. Happy running--Missee
It was a fabulous night for Lauren and Henry's final regular season cross country meet and we were thrilled to have three special people in our cheering squad: Grandpa, Grandma, and Missee. Cheering for runners is one of our extended family's favorite activity to do together. Grandma and Grandpa travel 2+ hour each way to cheer for Lauren and Henry. They have made it to several meets during the year. Missee also traveled 2+ hours to watch the kids run. We are blessed to have strong family support! The weather was cool and windy, but decent for running. Henry and Lauren ran well. They have learned a lot about running and being a part of a team. I am so glad that they have chosen to be part of the cross country team. It has enriched their lives in so many ways! Running is something that we enjoy as a family and as an extended family. Some of us run, some of us like to watch running, and some of us really enjoy being outdoors on beautiful fall afternoons. I like to do all three!
Happy Running! Stephanie People can become hooked on all sorts of things. Some of them are harmful to their health and relationships such as alcohol, drugs or smoking. Others are fairly harmless like Diet Coke, running and pumpkin spice lattes. (I don't know why that is a thing, but to those who love pumpkin and coffee, they LOVE this time of year and Starbucks has been able to cash in.) Deb likes to say that we run in the dark to hide our addiction joking that we should be ashamed of our inability to quit running and our need to go several times a week. I'd argue that I could quit anytime, but the rest of the people in my life wouldn't like the resulting personality shift and beg me to get a few miles in. LOL! Just kidding...maybe. I wondered how much of an addict I might be a few years ago when we had stopped at a convenience store for a pitstop on a fifteen mile training run. A random stranger asked how far we were going and I told him seven miles. Why on earth would I lie??? The fellow might have thought three or fifteen miles were equally difficult or crazy. Since that day, I have wondered a little about my level of addiction, but I digress. When I can't be running, I also love to watch other people run. and cheer for my favorites. We had been cross-country parents for the past ten years following the Sartell Sabres and UMD Bulldogs. The boys finished their last CC races in November of last year, so that piece of our autumn was missing this year. This week, I have the opportunity to see more family members running! Stephanie's kids, my niece and nephew, have their conference meet on Tuesday and I'll be traveling down to watch them. I can't wait to cheer loud for my favorite Thunderhawks. The kids sometimes find their parents extremely embarrassing, but I'm allowed a pretty wide berth along with Grandma and Grandpa. Oh, the joys of parenting teens! True addiction is not funny, so I do apologize to anyone who is struggling with a serious problem that may take offense to my joking about being hooked on running. I think most runners would admit to being dependent on their runs for fresh air, mental clarity and physical well-being and would feel a tremendous sense of loss if they had to quit cold turkey. I can't wait for Tuesday to get my "fix" of running spectating while cheering and running to different spectating locations around the course.
What events are you enjoying this fall? Maybe it's cross-country or football; maybe it's the apple orchard or pumpkin patch. Let us know in the comments how you'll be enjoying the too-short autumn season. We in Minnesota know, winter weather usually comes in well ahead of the first official day of winter in December. I have already pulled out my winter clothing and our readers will be happy to know that my sweaty hats, headbands and mittens have been making their appearance in the laundry often so as not to stink! Happy running--Missee Perfect sentiment for a Wednesday! I love that she is using plastic plates instead of glass! We are all trying. It has been raining here for three days. Sunshine is in the forecast for tomorrow. Happy Running! -Stephanie
This morning I was listening to a podcast on my morning walk. It was Another Mother Runner, and at the end of the podcast, they were reading a letter from a "mother runner" who had just completed a 50-mile race. At the end of the race, she said she was feeling good by reminding herself that "I GET to do this!" By "get" to do this, many things could go into that...
How many other aspects of life could benefit from a huge boost up of attitude from "have to" to get to"? The first thought that comes to mind for me is that when I have to clean my house, I have a nice, reasonable-sized home to clean and a sometimes-messy family to share it with. I "get to" help my house recover from our antics. I think it would be a good exercise for me to look at more things in my day to day activities to spin that direction. How about you?
Yesterday I got to run with two friends. Our original plan was for a longer run, but one was not feeling too well and the other had family obligations to get back to a little earlier than ususal. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 7.2 miles with them and then Charlie was excited as he got to enjoy the last 2 miles with me. We were all happy! Something else I am really looking forward to get to do is Quilt Camp at the end of the month. The four of us who go to camp together look forward to it for months! In the next few weeks, I'll be making final plans on what to work on and gathering any essential supplies. All the women who attend camp freely share their supplies with anyone who forgets something and there will be a quilt shop right at camp, too, but if one needs a very specific item, it is good to bring it along! I am planning to work on a Christmas gift for someone who had admired a purse I'd made for myself. The directions were not good on this particular pattern when I made the first one, so I'd already warned Stephanie that I'd be leaving any alcohol and unauthorized guns at home as directed by our camp letters, but my potty mouth may just come along to cuss at my project LOL!!!! P.S. The camp instructions really did say no alcohol or unauthorized guns...also no CD players unless you bring headphones. Thankfully there are no restrictions on Diet Coke or we may have had to find another camp. Stephanie and I will get a great chance to run together each morning at camp before the nice camp staff cooks us up a hot breakfast...and does the dishes afterward while we shower and sew. We will be sure to find some good photo opps out there and post them. As summer turns to fall, what do you GET to do this month? I hope it includes some good running as this is the very best time of the year for some nice long runs. Happy running--Missee Our Minnesota weather changed very quickly from hot and humid to damp and cool. We have had several days lately with temps around 50 degrees which is ideal for running although it takes a few days to get used to the change. Even this morning, it was drizzling and around 50, but we very much enjoyed our run although it now is still dark when we finish about 6:00am. I do miss the sunlight both in the mornings and evenings already. It will keep getting darker each day until just before Christmas. The onset of fall weather has brought out another phenomenon for runners...the opening of registration for spring and summer races. Monday evening was the registration for the Grandma's Marathon weekend races. I was on the computer promptly at 7:00pm to get into the online que and was registered for the half marathon within minutes. Another friend of mine also jumped in and got herself and her adult daughter registered. For folks wishing to do the full 26.2 or even the 5K, it was not necessary to register that quickly, but the half fills very fast. I love that the race starts at 6:15am and the half marathoners are already in the city when the elite marathoners come racing into the finish. I had decided if I didn't get into the half, I would wait a few months and decide if I was up for a full. Now if I decide I'd like to do a full next spring or summer, I'll have to choose another...runcation for our 25th anniversary in 2019??? Not to be outdone by Grandma's, the Earth Day Half Marathon is offering a super early bird special starting tomorrow, October 4th and lasting through the weekend. Rumor has it that registration will be $45 just through Sunday. Deb and I have run this race for many of the 20 years that it's been around, so we are definitely signing up this weekend. Might as well save a few bucks...although I'll also be signing Blake up for the race, so it will actually cost me more than usual, but that's fine. Earth Day has moved its race from SCSU to downtown St.Cloud for the 20th anniversary. They always put on a quality event, so I'm sure the move will be a good one for the race and the city. I hope you consider signing up!
Lots of people find that motivation is very hard to find when the weather turns cold. Registering for a spring or summer race and plunking down some of your hard-earned money just might be enough to keep your spirits and energy up over the winter when it gets very tempting to grab a blanket and a hot chocolate. You can still do both of those...after your run to warm back up! See you at the races and 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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