Today was my children's last day of school before summer vacation. We look forward to this day for weeks, but when school is done for the year we need to stop to think of what to do next. Our summer will include summer rec, pool time, vacation, spending time with family, and plenty of relaxation. I also want to sign up our family for some fun 5K races. A couple summers ago, I did an Internet search on a "Summer Bucket List" for families. We made a few changes to the list for fit our needs and worked on crossing items off the list throughout the summer. The Summer Bucket List is great for days in which you are having a tough time coming up with something to do. Here is an example of a family summer bucket list that I found here. Wishing you a happy summer! -Stephanie
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I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend and taking a few moments to remember the service men and women who have and do work to provide us the luxuries of living in a country where we have a lot of personal freedom. Stephanie and I have two cousins currently in the Navy and a couple more who have served. My daughter's boyfriend is currently in the National Guard, too. Amongst the current soldiers, this group includes a fighter pilot, helicopter pilot and an aircraft carrier navigator. An impressive group indeed! Charlie and I made a tour of local memorials on our morning walk-run. Here are a few of our stops: In the cemetery, I noticed grave sites for two people I knew for running/exercise purposes. One was a teammate of my kids. The last time I saw him was the track awards night his senior year. He died the next September. The other was a lovely lady I used to work out with at the gym until our gym closed. She was the definition of positive and confident. Just being around her made others feel confident as well. She passed away from melanoma about ten years ago. Memorial Day is a great day to think about those who made an impact in our lives--big or small--and pray that their souls are at peace in Heaven. Well, a quick run report to go along with our memorial tour today: I increased my running from one yard total to a half to one block every 5-10 minutes. Charlie was so excited when I'd tell him, "Should we run?!?" Everything still feels good. Hurray! I was able to get on an elliptical yesterday at Mom's and get super sweaty. Hurray for being sweaty, too! The Garry Bjorklund Half is in 19 days; I just might be doing it with a reduced time expectation. I might be aiming for the 2:01 I ran at Earth Day, but this time be delighted to finish pain-free instead of sad and mad.
In addition to today being a national holiday, I have the honor of posting our 💯 th blog post. That's a lot of running stories and I've got several more ideas in my head. Stephanie is super creative, so I'm positive we've got at least 100 more to go! Thanks for reading. Be sure to Comment if you've got an idea of something you'd like to see in our blog. Happy running--Missee Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Many Minnesotans take advantage of a long weekend to get to "the lake" for some relaxation, family, and fun. Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope it is enjoyable! My family is home for the weekend but many in my community are at "the lake." Without people outside working on their lawns or cars passing by, it was a quiet long run. Since I had ten miles of solo running this morning, I decided to purchase an audio book. I ended up purchasing The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty on iTunes. So far, I am enjoying the story. I always prefer running with someone because the conversation takes my mind off of the fact that I might be getting tired or that I may have an ache or pain. However, sometimes I am running on my own. An audio book is great way for me to pass the miles. I enjoy music also, but an audio book is my pick for a longer run. Audio books are more expensive than paper copies, so I tend to purchase one when I have an iTunes gift card. Many libraries have audio books that can be downloaded for free with a library card. On my run, I passed a church with this awesome sign in the yard. Well said! Wishing you a happy long weekend! -Stephanie
Care to Comment? *Do you like to listen to audio books? If so, do you have a favorite book or author? During the track season, we have blogged about hurdle races and steeplechase races where hurdling and water jumps were involved. The cousins are interested in and even good at these events. Tonight, we were watching the Division 2 track meet on the internet when a preview for the next event came up on the screen: Yes, the women's and mom's steeplechase races are coming up next. 😳 Thankfully this was a typo and the men's race was coming up after the women's. There are a lot of fit moms out there, but please don't save a whole race of hurdles and water pits just for them! I am hoping to resume my running next week after a couple of rounds of physical therapy. I have permission to "run across your lawn" to test out the hamstring. Hmmmm...we are planning a trip to the farm where "the lawn" is more than a mile long in places. Maybe not what he meant. I do have a host of exercises to do a couple of times a day to stretch and strengthen the whole back, glute, hamstring area. I should finish stronger and with some exercises to continue to keep the muscles that don't get much work from running in better control. Stephanie has been posting a lot about Sharpie markers lately. I found this that might be helpful if she marks too much! The Apple Duathlon is going on in my town tomorrow. Participants run a 5K, bike 20 miles, then run another 5K. I've watched several times but never participated. The problem is that fast bike riding scares me. Maybe I'm just not good at it or a chicken of the speed. I'll be content to watch again this year. Have a great long weekend whether that includes a race, long run or just once across the lawn. Happy running! Missee
The podiatrist I visited in March recommended purchasing custom orthodics to help with the sesamoiditis and plantar fasciitis. My appointment with the orthodics office was today. The podiatrist wanted to see my running shoes at my office visit. I didn't think to bring them with me. For the appointment with the orthotist, I brought along my Asics Gel Nimbus shoes. He noticed that my shoes were quite worn out, which I knew. I had been waiting to order new shoes until after this visit. It's a good thing that I waited. After I put on my shoes, the orthotist checked the fit. He asked me if I had toenail problems. No, I do not. Do I get black toenails? No, I actually have not lost any toenails due to running. This was a interesting to the orthotist because he said that my running shoes are a full size smaller than what I should be wearing. What? This was surprising news to me. My feet were a solid size 7 until I had two children. I now purchase size 8 for both my running and dress shoes. I guess I have been purchasing the wrong size in running shoes. He told me that I need to buy size 9 running shoes. I guess I might be dealing with "vanity sizing" issues?!? My custom orthodics will be ready in a couple weeks. They are made right at the orthodist's office. I'm excited to see how it will feel to run in them. Hopefully, my feet will be pain-free very soon.
Happy Running! -Stephanie Last weekend was a lovely springtime sunny couple of days. The last few days have felt more like Mid-March with rain, wind and cold. Stephanie and I both work in schools, but in different capacities...also different schools. She is a teacher while I am in charge of every student's favorite subject. Lunch! This time of year gets very hectic in schools with field trips, special events, graduation festivities, sporting events and the like causing every day to be different than the one before. Icky weather in May does have one advantage in school. The kids are fairly content to stay indoors when it's rainy compared to beach-worthy days. Some days the field trips are headed to the zoo, other days the zoo is right there in the cafeteria! Running helps keep the kids and the staff on track. When the kids can't get outdoors, they have a tough time behaving in school. I completely sympathize with them; getting my run each day helps my behavior, too😂. The other day, I saw this meme about North Dakota. I think all northern tier states can agree with the sentiment on a 40 degree day one week out from Memorial Day. With school and running, we are always measuring where am I today compared to the finish line. With 7 school days remaining, let's call this Mile 23 of a marathon. The finish line is in sight. However, for school staff, the last day with kids just means a transition to fully focusing on the first day of the next school year. I am ready to finish up the chaos of May and send the kids home for the summer. Happy running! Missee
This morning, I was running in the rain. Just running in the rain. What a glorious feeling. Okay... maybe not a glorious feeling, but my long run today turned to be a pretty good run. Our part of Minnesota has been quite rainy. Today, was no exception. It rained throughout my entire run this morning. At first I tried to carefully step around the puddles. After a few miles, I just ran through the middle. I was completely soaked. Running through the puddles reminded me of how kids love to ride their bikes right through the middle of puddles. It was pretty fun! For some reason, my hair does this in the rain. A shower and lots of conditioner and I am able to undo that mess. Some tips for running in the rain. 1. Plan ahead. If there is a good chance that you are going to get wet, leave your electronics at home. I have tried to put my phone in a plastic bag, but I'm too afraid to use it for music while it is raining. It is best to just leave it at home. 2. Leave a towel and robe by the door. Our laundry room is a few steps away from the mudroom. I walk in the door, kick off my shoes, and head to the laundry room to put my wet clothes right into the washer. 3. Make peace with the fact that your shoes and socks will get wet. Even though I know this, I try to keep my shoes as dry as possible for the first few miles. Running socks that are not 100% cotton keep your feet much more comfortable. I like the dry fit socks from Road Runner Sports.
4. Wear a hat with a brim. Your head is still going to get wet, but it is better to keep the rain drops out of your eyes. 5. Shower immediately upon returning home. A hot shower is the best way to warm up after the run. 6. Enjoy the ever changing weather as much as possible. Once you are wet... you are wet. Have fun and enjoy the run! -Stephanie My daughter's last track meet of the season was yesterday. She ran the mile and threw the discus. It was a fun season and I hope that she will continue to enjoy track for years to come! Missee was in track all through high school. I just ran track for a few years. At one point, we were both in the 4x800 relay together. The 4x800 was my favorite event. It was a four person relay in which each member ran a half of a mile. I was the first runner and Missee was the anchor. (She has always been much faster than I am.) I found this photo of us after a rainy track meet. Our relay must have earned a medal. After the track meet, my family celebrated with some shakes from the local ice cream shop. Have a wonderful Friday! I have an 8 mile long run planned for tomorrow morning. The forecast is calling for cooler temperatures and some rain.
Happy Running! -Stephanie I've scaled my running way back the last couple of weeks hoping to rehab a sore hamstring/glute/hip. Each time I run, I hope it won't hurt, but no such luck. Today, I saw the chiropractor again and since it doesn't seem to be improving, now I am going to try physical therapy. The chiropractor said it is not causing damage by attempting to run, but I'm also not getting much of a run done before I'm in pain. My next half marathon is now one month away, and I'm really nervous and frustrated that I may not be able to participate. In the meantime, I'm going to try to get access to an elliptical and try to get some longer workouts completed. I will wait to see what PT has to say before I make a decision on the race. I've been going to the same chiropractor for a number of years and he is confident I could finish a half if my hamstring was doing ok with little training between now and then. We will see... I find injuries very mentally difficult. When I am not actually running, I don't feel pain and would love to be out running. When I am running, the pain is bad and I can't run although my lungs and mind really want to. I feel bad when I'm trying to run with a friend and am unable to complete the course. Basically, instead of refreshed, accomplished and physically tired, I struggle with being disappointed untrained and just plain 😡. It is a challenge not to let those attitudes creep into the rest of my life.
It it is important to listen to your body and allow little or big injuries to heel properly. The patience is hard to find! Hope you are able to be injury free this spring! Happy running--Missee For most of my longer races, I have trained and ran with my running friend, M. She is not planning to run the Green Lake 12 Mile Road Race with Missee and me in July. However, M is such a great friend to me that she has been joining me for the long training runs. Isn't she awesome? Long runs with a friend are a 100x better than by yourself. The miles fly by when we are deep into conversation. On Saturday, we ran nine miles. It was sunny and warm. On warm days, it is good to plan water stops ahead of the run. On one of our regular routes, we pass by my house at five miles. When I remember, I put water bottles in my mailbox for us. (Notice that I also have sunblock in there is I need to reapply.) You might also notice that I have our initials marked on the lid with a Sharpie marker. Missee had mentioned in a previous post, that we like labeling with our Sharpies. Missee writes the date she starts wearing a new pair of running shoes and I label my running socks. :) Care to Comment?
What do you label? Have a wonderful week! -Stephanie |
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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