It seems that October 1 is the New Year's resolution day of the road racing world. My inbox has been absolutely full of race registration reminders and incentives this week. I just registered for the Scheel's Earth Day Half Marathon. Even though last year was disappointing for me, it's a great race and I'm willing to try again! Plus, when we ran this morning, Deb informed me that she is already registered. Friends don't let friends run alone.
Last week, I was notified that the Gobble Gallop on Thanksgiving opened registration this week. We usually go to Duluth for Thanksgiving to my in-laws, so that's a fun 5K to run. Hopefully some of my husband's family will join in as well. That race is a fundraiser for the local food shelf and the prizes are pies instead of medals. At that holiday dinner, there are at least 8 gluten free people, but the others are happy to eat the pie! Grandma's Marathon opens their registration Sunday night at 5:00pm. Getting into the marathon isn't hard, but the half will fill quickly. I'm planning to be on my computer by 4:55 to try and register. If I don't get a spot in the half, I'll wait a while before considering running the full. Blake and David will probably run the 5K or maybe the half. If David decides to attend UMD next year, we will try to coordinate orientation with the race weekend. I also saw on Facebook that the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon will have their first price increase October 2. Stephanie mentioned doing that race as her next marathon. I think my college kids will have their conference meets that week so I can't commit to joining her but the race starts at the school where I work and ends near where Haley attends college. We'd love to have Stephanie and family stay with us for easy access to the race. I love races with easy logistics! in addition to those race choices, I'm still planning to do the Snowflake Shuffle at CSB. Last year was my first time racing in costume and I'm going to bring out my gingerbread person outfit again! This race is a fundraiser for Haley's track team as well. No fun photos this time, but plenty of links to most of the races I'll do during the next year. If you know you like certain events, it can save a lot of money to register early. This is one of our two fall weekends with no cross country meets. I enjoyed a long run this morning and then some leisure...maybe. Happy running! Missee
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We have been writing about the Milaca Mega Meet for a few posts and rightly so. Over 4900 kids grades 7-12 finished races that day. It was exciting to watch even races where we didn't know any competitors personally. Races started approximately every 15 minutes from 10:00 until 2:30, so there was a constant stream of finishers. Lauren didn't have a great race. That will definitely happen from time to time. It was extremely hot and humid. Some 🏃🏽 have a harder time than others in extreme weather. I was proud of her for toughing it out. Shes newer to cross country than her cousins. Experience will help her a lot. David,on the other hand, had a super race. I was nervous because he has had his share of rough performances in the heat. He continued to move ahead throughout the race and even into the finish area. His team moved from the 3A race to the 4A race for stiffer competition and they found it, but beat one team ranked ahead of them in the polls. It was a great way to race at Milaca for the last time. These running cousins had a host of sweaty fans. There were seven of us watching and boy were we hot! Even at the end of the day, we were still smiling! Blake was at a different meet but equally hot. Look how sweaty he is!!! Weather is better now, so enjoy. Happy running. Missee
My daughter competed in the Milaca Mega Meet on Saturday. According to their website, the Milaca Mega Meet meet hosts an average of 150 schools with more than 5,900 runners competing. The meet was good, but our day did not go exactly as planned. About ten miles from home, we heard a strange noise coming from under our car. I assumed it was a stick that was stuck under the car and had wiggled free. Wrong. A few miles down the road, the tire pressure gauge warning light came on. We stopped at the next town (probably five more miles down the road) to find that we had a tire that was quickly loosing air. Luckily, we were able to make it to a service station who was available to help us at 7:30 am on a Saturday. In about 30 minutes, we were back on the road. Thanks to the quick tire repair at the service station, we were able to make it to Milaca before Lauren's race. We expected the temperature at the meet to be about 70 with a possibility of rain. Instead, it was hot, sunny, and very humid. Not the best weather for running, but a fabulous day. Missee's son also competed in the meet, so we spent a lovely day with family. Have a great week! Happy running! -Stephanie
I enjoyed Stephanie's last post about their family dinners. Gathering for dinner is one of the things my husband and I are proud of insisting on as much as possible. We don't even answer the phone during meals. Our motto is that if it's important, they'll leave a message. I'm not nearly as good on the meal planning as my sister. I try for a while, and love how much easier it is to shop with a plan. Eventually I fall off the wagon again and struggle to make dinner. Spaghetti is our standby when all else fails. We still enjoy spaghetti, so it's all good! One thing that derails my meal planning is the appearance of fresh game. We love venison in many forms, goose, duck and fish. It's all best fresh, so my best laid plans are happily put aside when fresh,local food becomes available! Here is the scene in my driveway last night: David somehow finds time to hunt, fish, go to school and run. He's got amazing energy. We are looking forward to watching him run this weekend at the Milaca Mega Meet. My niece, Lauren, will also be running. There are usually close to 150 teams participating. We are hoping for good weather which makes it way more fun for spectators.
While I wish I did a better job on meal planning, I'm going to continue to enjoy the surprise walleye, deer or water fowl that end up on my table. I'm going to enjoy a long run Saturday morning before the Mega Meet, then will willingly rack up thousands of steps watching the teenage racers. They do have an "Old Timers" race for coaches, parents, etc. I'd be delighted to pay Stephanie's entry fee if she wants to run!!! It is with a guilty conscious that I admit... I don't like to cook. I take great pleasure in a clean house, so I don't mind to clean. I love the look of a freshly mowed yard, so I don't mind doing yard work. I don't mind paying bills, cleaning closets, or painting a room. I really love to eat... I just don't like to cook. Because I love my family, I cook anyway. Dinner at our table is truly one of my favorite times. It is at our kitchen table, through the sharing of a meal, that we share stories of our day, laughter, and struggles. We linger at our table, much like my family did when I was young, and talk. It is important family time. I will make peace with cooking in order to share these precious times at our family table. My running friend, M, has made a weekly menu for years. She really encouraged me to start meal planning and making one trip to the store each week. It is more efficient and less money is spent each week through multiple trips to the store and/or eating out. Planning a weekly menu has been very helpful for us. I will plan 4-7 meals at a time, make a list, and get necessary ingredients from the store. It would be too difficult for me to plan a meal after I come home from work. This has worked for us. I still am at the grocery store probably two times per week, but we eat out less which saves us a lot of money. My daughter and I found this sign that we now have in our kitchen. Up until lately, we just recorded our meal plans in a notebook. Although I still have the notebook (so I can look back for menu ideas), this is a great visual for the family. Care to Comment?
*What type of meal planning do you do? Any suggestions? Happy Running! Happy Eating! -Stephanie As our blog followers have seen in our first 8 months of posts, our running is important to us, but yet we laugh at ourselves pretty regularly...Stephanie 's last post highlights losing her sunglasses on her own head; I went for a run in Star Wars fleecy pants; and one of my favorites was when Stephanie veered off the bike path to avoid a pink lizard toy. David is on a very good cross country team. They have shown a lot of promise since they began running together as 7th graders. They were so little! Now most of them are seniors and have continued to work very hard both in and off season. In addition, they are the best of friends. I'm looking forward to our annual taco night coming up next week. These guys are fun to have around and incredibly polite. Don't believe it when people say that kids don't have manners anymore! At the race race last Saturday, one of David's teammates was interviewed after the race. The video is just a couple of minutes long. Alex does a nice job speaking, but his friends are really the stars of the show! Notice them hamming it up for the camera. Two of them are Alex's brothers. If we can take a lesson from the Sabres, it would be to work hard, play hard and try not to be so serious. These fellas run super hard, but look at the fun they muster up shortly afterward. Can't wait to see them race again tomorrow! Happy running--Missee
Happy Monday! It has been a very busy few weeks! We are back into the school routine and all is well. My daughter had her second cross country meet on Saturday. Cross country races are both motivating and inspiring. If you have never attended a cross country meet...I highly recommend it! I needed to break my weekend run into two parts. I ran 30 minutes on Saturday morning before driving L to meet the cross country bus. I ran the additional 35 minutes on Sunday morning followed by a nice, long walk. As a mom, I sometimes need to change my running plans to fit my family's busy schedule. All is well. As a busy mom, I find that I am constantly misplacing things...my phone, my purse, my glasses, and my sunglasses. I spent too much time looking for my running sunglasses the other day. Finally, I just had to run without them. Walking out to the street, I found my sunglasses... I didn't think to check for my sunglasses on my hat. Ugh! At least they were found. All is well. This weekend also included some fabric shopping. Now that fall is almost here, I have a renewed interest in crafting. Here are two projects from this week. The welcome sign was made at a craft class. As soon as a coat of polyurethane is applied, I can move the sign to our front porch.
The quilt block was a fail. That happens when sewing. The colors just didn't work and it measured out wrong. When that happens, it is best to remake the block. It was the first block in a sampler quilt that is inspired by the women of the Bible. A new set of quilt block instructions, along with something to read about a woman from the Bible, is sent by email every couple weeks. Missee and Mom are also making this quilt. The first block was named for Eve. I will be remaking the Eve block this week. All will be well. Wishing you a happy week! Happy Running! -Stephanie One of my favorite authors just put out a new book and I've managed to spend a lot of the afternoon catching up on my favorite female private eye, Kinsey Milhone. The books are cleverly titled beginning with A is for Alibi The current title is Y is for Yesterday. I'm assuming the next mystery will be the last...what a bummer! Kinsey regularly runs 3 miles along the beach near her home in California. In the current story, she has adjusted her running routine in fear of a fugitive. Not fair, but smart on her part. I'm reading this book in the classic paper version. I've done a number of them as audio books with some of those being on cassettes! The "R" book is sadly not "For Running" but that would have made a great title. If you love a good mystery, I'd recommend the series. It's not completely necessary to start with A, but the characters develop along the way. The latest story is set in 1989, so it's fun to think back on how things have changed. I admit that my running motivation was super low today. After nearly talking myself out of going, I managed to make it out the door with Charlie in tow. We ran a slow 6 miles which is a decent amount. I decided along the way that today good enough was good enough. Not every day is going to be one of those days that running feels easy and fun. Today I settled for just getting it done. OK, Mt.Rushmore has nothing to do with this post, but I ran across the photo in my phone and the monument is so impressive that I just had to post it. I'd be willing to bet the workers had days they never thought they'd finish the project and sometimes it probably felt like the progress was sooooo slow just like in running. Visit Mt. Rushmore is you ever get a chance and happy running! Missee
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend! Our weekend was quiet. We finished a few home projects and enjoyed some family time. My son and I shared a space while we each worked on our respective projects. My son's project was to rebuild Jaba's Sail Barge (Star Wars) with Legos. Unfortunately, I had stepped on the sail barge and broke into MANY pieces. We had kept all of the Lego manuals, so he was able to rebuild it. From now on, I will be more careful where I step! My project was piecing a quilted tree skirt. I am pretty sure that I purchased the kit for the tree skirt at least 15 years ago. It has not been completed yet. However, I am determined to get this project done by Christmas! Many Minnesota schools are back in session today. We have a lot of family members who are work in or attend our public schools. If you are heading back to school today... Wishing you a happy day! -Stephanie
Even though the calendar says that summer lasts until the end of September, in a family whose schedule revolves around school, summer ends on Labor Day. Our family of five has 5 different school schedules. Two public K-12 schools and 3 colleges. D even has two different schools this year. He attends college classes in the morning and will start his high school classes this week. H's college is even holding class today on Labor Day. My husband and I attended the same school back in the 1990's and they did the same thing even then. It really is awfully early for a 3 day weekend. B had his first cross country meet on Saturday, then came home for the weekend. He's been gone since mid August, so it was great to see him. This is B with his BFF (best fishing friend). These two get along great...they run, are passionate about their fishing and even have similar diet restrictions. They are also roommates with 3 other runners. B finished 8th overall and the Bulldogs won with a super score of 18. Augsburg College, however, gets a low mark for meet management. There was NO bathroom or porta potty at the meet for runners or spectators! The nearest place was a gas station a block away with bars on the doors and windows and the key for their one potty attached to an ice scraper. Thankfully they were nice about sharing. One thing that's kind of a bummer about school starting is back to running in the dark. This morning I met a friend at 6:00 instead of 5:00. It was still a little dark at the beginning, but got lighter. I don't prefer the dark, but Charlie really doesn't enjoy it. He ran with us today and definitely got peppier as the sun came up. Now he's happily resting on the deck after breakfast and posing for a text to H to wish her a good day of classes. Enjoy the unofficial end of summer if you are lucky enough to have today off and the beginning of school for those starting this week. We are partaking of some good MN foods at our house lately...walleyes have been biting and D has secured a bunch of geese this weekend for fall suppers. Yum, yum. Happy 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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