One of my first running coaches passed away recently. Jack coached both cross country and track at Wadena High School for many years. His teams had many successful seasons in both sports and he was named Coach of the Year many times. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure Jack knew much about distance running, yet had some very good runners pass through the program. The school dug up these oldies but goodies from the yearbook, then named Indian Trails. These gems were from my sophomore, junior and senior years in case the 80's hair didn't give it away!
So how does a coach with limited knowledge of running have so much success? Attitude! Our coach was one of the most encouraging, enthusiastic leaders around. In track for sure, and usually cross country, too, we could hear Jack's booming voice at every turn urging runners to give it a little more and usually we could find just a little more effort around the curve, up a hill, etc. We were given quite a bit of freedom as far as supervision goes and usually we didn't abuse it...however there was one time we lost a girl in the cornfield and that other time the same girl opted to swim a creek during a race rather than run over the bridge. On that occasion, other coaches thought she'd been pushed. They never noticed that her brand new running shoes were on the bank of the creek nice and dry while she ran the rest of the race in her knee high tube socks! There were a couple of times that our antics went a little too far and then we'd get the disappointed look/speech. Honestly, I can't even remember what we had done, but am quite confident it never happened again. In all fairness, Jack may have had extensive knowledge of sprinting, hurdles and jumping in track. I didn't do those events, but since we had some very good competitors in those areas, they must have been getting their technique somewhere. Perhaps some limited skills along with making athletes feel valued and special was enough in these areas as well as for the distance runners. They say that people won't always remember what you did for them, but they will remember how you made them feel. I was just commenting to my family that I think every one of the kids on Jack's teams felt like maybe they were the favorite sometimes. They may not have been the fastest or brightest member of the team, but every teammate was important. Look at some of those photos...there were years where we were barely fielding a team counting on very young runners to fill a roster, yet always competitive. I am Facebook friends with several of my old cross country teammates from high school. Some of us still run recreationally and some are coaching. Without learning to love running and being with a team in a positive way in our teens, we wouldn't still love to run 30 years later. Rest in Peace, Jack. Long may you run, because you always encouraged us to run a little more. Missee
1 Comment
Last week I reported that we were all set for our first Holiday Lights run on Wednesday this week. Well, 6-8 inches of new snow overnight Tuesday shortened that run to 5 miles, and also turned my solo day off into a snow day for my husband. I was so looking forward to our long run and then a quiet day to myself. Guess the snow gods were worried I'd be lonely. At least the snow wasn't enough to keep me from getting to the beauty salon to cover the random tinsel in my hair (sparkly grays!). The five mile run was pretty good, all things considered. We've been running in the same community for so long that we quickly came up with a game plan to try to find mostly plowed roads that were fairly quiet. I was so thankful to run with a friend because my internal dialogue was so very noisy that morning. For some stretches, I just couldn't wait to head back telling myself this was making my legs tired, I'd probably fall, I could just run later, etc. Other stretches I was feeling content and comfortable to find a snow track and simply follow along in both a mental and physical groove. On these stretches, I was joyful not to have to find my own way. On some of these, Deb opted to just join in the same path behind me and let me use my headlight to find us a good route. By myself, I'm sure the negative voices might have gotten persuasive enough to turn toward home too early. At the end, we decided to try again for the lights on Saturday morning. Well, Mother Nature is trying to pull another fast one on us by dumping more snow on our area. When I saw a potential for up to 4" by Saturday morning, I texted Deb on Friday to propose a Friday evening run. In case it hasn't already been apparent, we are quite set in our ways. The two of us have been running together for somewhere around 13 years and I could probably count on one hand the number of times we've run later than 9:00am. Almost always, we run at 5:00am on Wednesdays and maybe as late as 6:00 on Saturdays, so 5:00 was definitely out of our zone. These lights better be good! We took off at 5:00pm and quickly noted that we seemed to feel alright other than dodging occasional snow piles at intersections. We were even so bold to cut behind the grocery store to get to the light show faster, then remembered that there was a murder back there a number of years ago, but continued on the same route. (The murder was a drug deal gone bad; no random creepy dudes back there.) . We got to the community center at 4.9 miles ready to do about 1.5 laps of the trail and head back for a total of 9-10 miles. Imagine our dismay when the light trail was totally dark! We went inside to ask when the lights would start and were told December 7!!! Have you ever seen the movie Vacation with Chevy Chase? The movie centers around a family road trip to Wally World. When the Griswolds arrive, they discover that Wally World is closed for repairs. How disappointing! That is how we felt with no Christmas lights to run through this evening when we'd made such efforts to beat the storm out there. I've felt this way once before. My family and I drove to the Wisconsin Dells for a marathon in about 2010. When we arrived, we drove into a parking lot not unlike the Wally Word lot in the movie and were the only car there. Fortunately we did find right lot and the amusement park and the race were on as scheduled. My family tends to do things the hard way often...we like to say there is an Anderson adventure everywhere we go. For this reason, my dad has nicknamed us the Griswolds. We always have a good time, just maybe not the good time we went there to have. While we did not meet our goal of seeing the holiday lights this Thanksgiving break, we did indeed beat the snow and got 9.25 miles in and proved to ourselves that we wouldn't somehow melt or implode if we tried to run in the evening. I believe we both still will prefer morning, but it's good to know that we can step out of our zone, even literally, and it's all good.
We will try again next weekend for our holiday lights...simply having a snowstorm and the lights off will not deter two ladies who love their Christmas lights. Stay positive and happy running! Missee Everyone would have to be living under a rock, or perhaps training too hard, not to notice that every ad on radio, TV and the web is advertising "Better Than Black Friday" specials. While the idea of the sales at this time of the year is gift giving, it is a great time to stock up on items for yourself that you'd buy anyway but can get on sale right now. A couple weeks ago, I ordered a new pair of Asics Nimbus running shoes from Amazon. I love the color and have to admit, they do seem to run faster than my old shoes...at least on the first couple of runs. Next I stocked up on some makeup from QVC while they had Black Friday prices AND free shipping. Then I ordered a sweater for my husband from Duluth Trading Company. He wears Christmas sweaters to school Every. Single. Day. from mid November til New Year's. The sweater was this year's addition to the collection. Well, to get free shipping, you needed to spend $75, so I ordered some pants, too. Next I found a dress from Chico's that I thought might work for my daughter's wedding. It was 50% off, plus another 5% off for being a Passport member. Unfortunately, that didn't work out when it arrived, but certainly worth a try.
In the meantime, I went a little Amazon crazy and ordered up a gift for my dad along with all the socks for our family's gift exchange. We have done PJ's for a few years and decided to try socks this year. I can't comment on what I ordered other than I think they will like what I picked! When I was ordering those, I also saw some cute Bride and Groom socks that will go into the stockings of our two engaged kids and their fiances. Finally, I got an ad from a company I often hear about on the Another Mother Runner podcasts, Skirt Sports. They have running skirts, tights, jackets, etc. As you can probably guess, everything is pretty modest with skirts over the tights--made for real women more than teens. They had a tremendous sale last week with items ranging from $20-40 that were usually $75-110+. The only kicker is that all sales are final. For those prices, I decided to take a chance and ordered up several items that I'll be sure to review when I get them! One of the items was called the Toasty Queen skirt/leggings combo. It advertised that the skirt keeps those places warm that are always cold. Deb and I always say it's the "fat places" that get cold. That probably isn't nice to say, but we all know what that means...inside of the thighs and outside of the butt cheeks are where I tend to freeze up when it gets nasty cold. My new skirt will give me an extra layer there. I took a chance on another company that Stephanie really likes, Grace and Lace, last fall on an All Sales Final sale and loved everything, so hopefully I strike it right again with Skirt Sports. As often as I can, I try to get extra rebates from Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates). It's sometimes hard to remember to log in before I shop, but I get anywhere from 1-6% back and on Cyber Monday, those amounts are often at least double. If you don't use Rukuten, you can sign up using this link, and we will both get rewarded the first time you save on something you were planning to buy anyway. By spring, I might be broke from all these good deals (just kidding!), but if I would stop shopping for a couple days, I'm sure that Capital One would be calling to check on me. Perhaps it is a good safety plan??? Until all my new running clothes arrive, I'll be enjoying our beautiful 35-45 degree weather in my broken-in gear. This week, we are planning our first run to the holiday lights in my town. As long is there isn't a NW wind, we will probably be regulars out there until early January when they go back into storage. A strong wind from the NW means going into a headwind the whole way home which is less enjoyable. Happy running and happy shopping! Missee I definitely feel winter's arrival in our part of Minnesota. The trees are bare, the wind has a cold bite, and we know that any day a white blanket of snow will be here to stay. It is also time to dig out my winter running gear. Here are some of my favorites... 1, Old Navy Micro Fleece Performance Zip Pullover for Women. This is my favorite running/lounging sweatshirt for winter. It has a full-zip, even though is says it is a zip pullover. I have had this one before, so I stocked up on three colors for this winter. I bought black (in photo above), white, and gray. It is also a good value and comes in tall length if you have a longer torso. 2. Athleta Altitude Pant in Polartec Power Stretch. Now this one was a splurge for me, but I had credit card reward dollars to use on this purchase. They really keep my legs warm during cold runs. We haven't hit minus zero degree temps yet, but I have been impressed by the thickness and the warmth of the fleece. They do run a bit long. I am 5'7ish and they are almost too long on me. 3. QVC Due North Ice and Snow Cleats. These cleats stay on my running shoes for the majority of the winter months. They provide traction on icy roads and sidewalks. I have had several of these over years. I probably replace my cleats every 2-3 years for best traction. I really do love Minnesota winter running. There is something pretty magical about running in fresh snow, braving the elements, and appreciating the beauty of the season. In other news, I have a back injury that is impacting my running. I do not like taking any breaks from running. Can anyone relate to the meme below? :) Happy winter running to all! -Stephanie
Firearms deer season in Minnesota, affectionately known as "Deer Camp" lasts nine days starting on a Saturday 30 minutes before sun-up and concluding the following Sunday 30 minutes past sundown. There is a silly old song called "The Second Week of Deer Camp" that local radio stations love to play in anticipation of deer opener. No one would actually want to be hunting near the fellows in the song; it doesn't sound safe or even very fun. Well, this year, Deer Camp for my guys lasted less minutes than a good Saturday morning run. It took about 45 minutes of shooting light to round up these beauties (I mean bucks!). We like venison and it keeps our hemoglobin high with its high iron content, so this was a highly successful morning. Generally my guys are good and perhaps somewhat lucky hunters so I had faith that we would get meat, but never thought it would be so quick. Charlie and I slept in a bit before going for a run. All the shooting was done before we left the farm. We went to town to run for safety’s sake...not everyone had filled their tags by 7:45am. It is always fun to explore the town where I grew up and see what’s new, changed or comfortably familiar. I casually snapped this photo of our childhood home. The porch was added on by Mom and Dad after Stephanie and I had left home, but otherwise the house looks pretty much like I remember it. I did notice that most of the houses on the block have fences now and almost none did back in the 80s. Hopefully it’s to respectfully keep pets and kids in their own yards, not to avoid the neighbors! We got a nice five miles in at a leisurely pace and went back to pick up Mom who opted for a gym workout. It was a nice run! This week is forecasted to have record cold. I am not too excited about the cold so early. Winter is long enough without starting 6 weeks before the solstice. My deer hunters who are all done hunting already are excited because ice fishing might begin earlier if there is a good cold snap to get the ice forming and then if we continue to get cold nights it will thicken quickly. As for me, I am trying to take the attitude that cold weather could move my runs indoors, not postpone or cancel them. It may take a lot of lotion and chapstick to get my skin and lips used to the idea of this cold dry weather. It is better on my hair however. Keep warm this week on your runs! If you or family members are participating in deer hunting this week, good luck and stay safe. Happy running! Missee
I am now three weeks out since my last half marathon. When runners are between training cycles, it can be very difficult to decide how much to run...or not run. The first week or so is about recovering from the race, then it becomes a mental and physical tangle of wanting to run and talking oneself into cutting it short because "I'm not training for anything anyway." That's where a good running buddy comes in very handy. If you want enough time to hang out with your friend, time to pound the pavement. I also like to think about Gallileo's law of inertia...an object in motion tends to stay in motion. My old-ish muscles would have a hard time getting rolling again after an extended off period, but if I keep moving I'm much better off. About a week ago, we had a short week at school and Deb took some vacation time, so we decided to do a long run on Friday morning. I don't believe we had settled on any specific distance or time goal, just a general route. Well, we got about 6 miles in when Deb suggested we add on a loop around a pond. This is the same pond that we are anxiously waiting for the holiday lights to appear. It's not that we want to rush the holidays, just that we enjoy the decorated path. I pointed out that this addition would put us over 10 miles, but Deb pointed out that it was such a beautiful day that we shouldn't waste it. That turned out to be an excellent idea and a lovely run of just under 10.5 miles. Some day this winter when it's -20 and we opt to cut it a little short, we can remember that we opted to extend on a nicer day. Hip, hip, horray! It's quilt camp week!!! We will be at quilt camp next weekend enjoying 3 days of sewing, laughing, running, laughing, making new friends, eating and more laughing. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Stephanie and I were just on FaceTime trying to figure out the pattern she was preparing for next week when she reminded me to bring my headlamp for running. It is still dark here at 7:30am, so we will definitely need some lighting, but perhaps a little less on Sunday morning when we will be falling back an hour. The Camp Lebanon staff are fabulous cooks, so a nice long run is very refreshing. Halloween is also coming up this week. I'm a number of years beyond marching around the neighborhood trick-or-treating, but it is fun to see kids dressed up in costumes both at school and at our door. Have you ever done a costume run? I have never done a Halloween-themed one, but did wear holiday spirit wear/costumes for the Snowflake Shuffle a couple of times. Maybe Charlie and I will got out running in costumes this week; in the dark no one would even notice! Charlie wore his costume to do his volunteer work this weekend. Would you give this guy a treat? Buzz Buzz . The clerk at Dollar Tree asked if I had a "little one who is going as a bumble bee" this year. Ummm...yes??? Speaking of the Snowflake Shuffle, the date is Saturday, December 7th at St. Ben's in St. Joseph, MN and raises funds for the track and cross country teams at the college. It is always a fun day and a good cause. Plus, a race put on by runners is generally going to be well organized because they know what they like. And, there will be hot chocolate, what else could a person want?
I will be continuing to use my law of inertia to keep myself moving into the fall and winter weather, like Dorie always says, just keep swimming (running). Have a great Halloween and dare to wear a costume on your next run! Happy running--Missee Going on vacation involves a lot of moving parts. Since Charlie joined our family about 3 1/2 years ago, we have not had a vacation that required planning for his care. The places we've stayed or our week at the lake allowed him to come with us. Until this fall, Haley went to school only 10 miles away from us so if we needed it, she could come home and let him out, etc. for a couple days. When we booked our trip to Maine, Mom quickly volunteered that Charlie could come to the farm. It just so happened that Haley and her fiancé had to meet with the priest on the first day of our trip so they came to our house and took care of Charlie for the weekend before meeting up with my parents to tag off and send Charlie to the farm for a few days. I think we've mentioned in previous blogs that Stephanie's and my children (ages 14-24) all love to go Grandma's, "and you don't come, Mom!" It was finally Charlie's turn. We texted to see how he was doing and apparently the little guy had made himself quite at home. He looks pretty comfy sleeping on the couch where he can keep track of the people and see out the picture window. No one knows what goes on at Grandma and Grandpa's when the parents aren't there, but all the kids and even the dog sure like it that way. While at the farm, Charlie not only got to go for walks out on the road and in the field, he even got to go to a cross country meet. Charlie has always loved cross country, well mostly he loves people and sweaty knees. There is no place better to find these than at a meet with a lot of hard-working runners. My niece and nephew ran well and think perhaps he is a good luck charm. Mom delivered Charlie back to our house and stayed here with him the last two days. He again enjoyed long and short walks and a trip to the carwash. All of these things might sound like things people would naturally do with dogs. However, Mom does not like animals. She quickly warmed up to Charlie because he's Haley's dog, so he must be good. I kind of wonder if Charlie doesn't consider himself and animal and has convinced Mom of that. Charlie loves her. He is generally very good about not jumping on people, except her; he gets so excited he can't help himself. He also made an exception for Stephanie the last time she was here. We were very appreciative that our family could coordinate to be sure Charlie had a fun vacation while we were gone. It was definitely out their comfort zone for Grandpa and Grandma at the farm to take on dog sitting, but they did it willingly--volunteering before we even had a chance to ask. The kids in the class that mom was subbing in said she was so lucky to be dog sitting, I think we all know who the lucky one was in this scenario. Charlie is wondering when he can go to Grandma's again. With deer hunting coming up quickly, it won't be long before we head up that way. I apologize for anyone longing for a running tale in this blog post. Hopefully a couple of cute dog photos are a like a "rest day" from the running. Happy running! Missee
We recently returned from a fabulous five days in Portland, Maine. It was both my husband's and my first time in that state, so we were very much looking forward to a city right on the ocean in autumn that is known for good food and, of course, a running race. Our trip out there was fairly uneventful other than a mixup at the airport shuttle service. Fortunately, their online system had us book a shuttle that gave more than enough time to get there, so that delay was ok other than I would have rather set my alarm for 1:15am instead of 12:10am to get there. We arrived in Portland at 12:30 Eastern (11:30 Central) excited to start our vacation and a little sleepy. Being up through the night does tricks with a person's appetite but I was sure if I got a good solid lunch once we got to our hotel I would feel just fine. We opted to eat our first meal right in the hotel restaurant. I tried haddock which is a white fish with lobster sauce and my husband opted for a lobster roll which is essentially a sub roll with lobster stuffed inside. Then we were ready to venture out to get my race packet. The hotel suggested we use Uber to get over there. Neither of us had ever tried Uber before, but once we had downloaded the app and figured out the address of where we wanted to go, our driver arrived in mere minutes. One Uber ride and we were both glad we had decided against renting a car. Portlanders drive more aggressively than we thought and parking was sparse. Once inside the expo, it was super easy to get my race packet and shirt. They even allowed people to try them on to be sure the size was correct. I met some nice women while trying on my shirt and we advised one another if we thought they were choosing the right one. The gal right in front of me was running her very first half and was pretty nervous. After the race gear, we proceeded around the expo which I would classify as medium sized. There were some vendors with a variety of wares. If someone needed to purchase something to wear or use at the race, they could probably find it at this expo. We bought my husband an Illuminite jacket. In case you've never seen their products, they sell items that are super reflective without looking like you have escaped from a construction site. He doesn't run, but it will be a nice jacket to walk Charlie or even stepping out into a parking lot. Don't be a Ninja! Our last stop was at the Maine Marathon gear table where everything was super reasonably priced and the customer service was top notch. Consequently, we purchased...a tank top, coffee mug, steel travel cup, last year's race shirt and some logo stickers for about $50. Their logo is super cute, so I was excited about the gear. And, the very friendly woman who helped us designed the travel cup. With her endorsement, of course we needed one :-) On the way out, we stopped a nice couple headed for the parking lot to ask where we should have our Uber drop us off on race morning for best access to the starting area. They gave us great advice and wanted to know where we were from and how we ended up at the race. Then the man gave me his card...he happened to be Bob Dunfey, the Race Director. I guess if we needed some direction, we went straight to the top! The next morning we managed to get another Uber and arrived at the starting area of the race in only a few minutes. I'd have to say, this race had the BEST porta-potty to runner ratio of any event I've been to for a long time. Having a bit of a nervous tummy, I think I got in line four times in the hour before the start and had zero trouble being in the starting area with time to spare. I also walked out on the course a bit before the race. The scenery was beautiful. The weather was nearly perfect--about 45 and sunny. There was a light wind that was only noticeable for a few stretches on the way back, especially over a very large bridge. I started out with a guy running the marathon dressed as a bottle of mustard. He completed another marathon the day before in New Hampshire dressed as ketchup. More than a few people asked if he had a relish costume which he did not...but he does own a hotdog costume! The run itself went really well. The RaceJoy app was encouraging. Each mile, I'd hear how much time had passed since Mile 1, pace for the current mile, average pace and projected finish time. I think Mom and Stephanie were pushing the Cheer button back in MN because shortly after each mile, I'd get one or more "Woo Hoo!" in my ear. With one mile to go, I got a Halleluia chorus. The only disappointing thing was that the app was telling me that my projected finish time was around 1:55:30 and when I finished, it was actually 1:57:12, not a bad time, but I'd have liked the faster one more. The course itself was very nice and lived up to the video I watched with the first five miles being quite flat and then picking up some hills. Ironically, we passed a cemetery right around mile 6 and mile 7 (out and back) and we were really feeling it about then that perhaps we were dead meat on this hill. I really wished I could have gotten a picture at about that point. We had just climbed a giant hill and were headed down a giant hill only to go right back up a second one. The sight of all of the runners, many going my way and a few coming back the other way was a colorful inspiring view and a good diversion to the thought of running the hill. When we got nearly to the top of that second hill, there were signs that the turnaround for the half was coming soon and to go to the last cone to turn. As promised, we turned around at the top, then of course went down the giant hill and then up a giant hill in reverse of where we had just been. According to my Garmin, I only exceeded 9:00 for two miles on the race on Miles 8 and 10. My overall pace per mile was 8:51. For that, I was very pleased. The beauty of running a half marathon is the ability to still do fun stuff the rest of the day afterward. We were back to the hotel and showered in time for a GF lobster roll of my own at Luke's Lobster on the pier and a trolley tour of the city. I chose the tour that included a 1/2 hour stop at Portland Head Lighthouse. I love lighthouses which I'll put into another post, but the trolley/bus/boat tours in a new city are a fun way to learn the history and see where any particular locations are that you'd still like to visit. Plus, you get a ride; I did run 13.1 miles and can still have fun, not necessarily looking to rock climb for the afternoon! I was rocking my race shirt when we went to the Flatbread Company for a GF flatbread topped with roasted beets, kale and yellow pepper. Yumm! This restaurant also had an authentic Maine dessert, the Whoopie Pie in a GF version made into a sundae. I might have had one on three different nights while we were there... Aren't those race shirts super cute?!? You are forgiven if you didn't notice my new orange shirt because of the Whoopie Pie Sundae. Definitely consider incorporating a race into your next vacation. It's a great way to see a new city, meet locals as well as visitors and come home with a few souvenirs. Plus, if the food is super in your destination city, you know you will get a little exercise to burn those calories. Happy running! Missee
Cross Country season is my favorite season of the year. When it comes to weather, we have it all. My children have braved heat, wind, rain, and cold temperatures in the two short months of the season so far. On Tuesday, we had our home meet. It looked like it was going to be a wet and cold day, but it turned out to be dry and an excellent temperature for running! At our local meet, parents decorate a winged shoe for every runner on our team grades 7-12. I snapped a photo of a portion of these shoes. We have an impressive number of runners this year! The grandparents also came to cheer on my children. Two more meets to go before Sections!
Happy Running! -Stephanie The Maine Marathon is only one week away. After 12 weeks of workouts, the last few days are more about not overdoing it than gaining new speed or endurance. Many runners find this time, known as the taper, to be quite nerve wracking. It feels like you might get out of condition, but it’s definitely better to scale back and feel antsy and excited at the starting line. I’m planning to take the same approach to this race as I did in Duluth back in June. The first 5 miles I’ll be working on keeping the pace under control. That section of the course is supposed to be very flat. The next 5 miles, I’ll be working on running steady. The final 5K is where I’ll try to run harder if possible. Last week I got one of those fun boxes in the mail from Road Runner Sports that says “You are going to love what’s inside!” like Stephanie posted with their new shoes. My box contained an assortment of Gu packets. I pledge not to be stingy with the Gu and take one whenever I feel the need. Speaking of rooting...the runner tracking for Sunday’s race is being done by Race Joy on their app. I’ll be keeping my cell phone with me so I can be tracked along the race map. After the race, my husband and I will be enjoying several days of the ocean, lighthouses and fun foods. A friend recommended a donut shop that serves gluten free pastries that I want to try. We are also planning to eat some Maine lobsters. Yum!
i hope everyone has a great week. It’s much easier to look at Monday morning knowing it’s 5 work days til vacay. 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 |