With only a few hours left in 2017, it's time to say goodbye to the current year and look ahead to the next. Each passing year has always had a few pros and a few cons. With a couple of stubborn injuries in 2017, I am looking forward to more consistent running in 2018. There were also some upsides to my running this year with one of the big highlights being going to running camp with the Sabres Cross Country team back in July. This blog would be one of the other big plusses of my running year. It is fun to look back on what we have posted through the year. I hope you have enjoyed it, too! Minnesota is in a giant deep freeze this week. Our -20 degree limits for outdoor running have been tested and exceeded several times. I was ready to wimp out on Wednesday morning, but Deb promised we could shorten if needed. The temp ended up being -14 with no wind, so we muscled out five wonderful miles. Here is what I found on a couple of weather apps... Those are not encouraging weather reports. Looking ahead, it is supposed to get above zero by Tuesday and then the temperatures will be somewhat normal for January...single digits with a few days towards 20 degrees and some days with below zero nights. Without nasty NW winds, those are good days to get some nice medium-length runs outdoors. In my last post, I challenged our readers to think about some New Year's Resolutions that would be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely (SMART). I decided on three that I would post to the blog. 1. Hydration Goal: I will drink at least 32 oz of plain water daily. Everyone knows that the recommendation for water is more like double that amount, but I struggle to get my plain water ingested every day. If it were Diet Coke, no problem! I don't drink 12 Diet Cokes a day like our current president, but I can't say I wouldn't enjoy that much. 2. Nutrition Goal: A few years ago, I had quit eating/drinking things with added sugars on the advice of my doctor. After a month or so, I went to having sweets on Sundays only and occasionally adjusted that to a different day for special occasions. I felt more energetic on that plan, but a series of stressful events pulled me off the wagon when chocolate seemed soothing or at least something to try to fight the stress. I am not very good at moderation in relation to sugar, so once a week is better for me that one small sweet treat per day. I admire people who have a candy dish on their desk...mine would be just a dish...My nutrition resolution is to eat sugar on only one day per week his year. 3. Fitness Goal: With the injuries I had last year, I have found that strength training is not optional to keeping my running on track. I have made an effort to do exercises to strengthen my hamstrings, hips and feet. My fitness goal will be to do a minimum of 10 minutes of strength exercises three times per week. While I'll be hoping to do more than that, I'm sure that 10 minutes is attainable, the A in SMART! Deb posted her SMART goal to stretch three times per week. We will work to keep each other on track. Happy 2018 to all and many happy miles of running for the upcoming year! Don't forget to enter our Blog Giveaway! You have until noon CST on January 1st to comment for a chance to win one of two prize packages.
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Just before Christmas, I announced our Blog Giveaway. We will be accepting entries until noon on January 1st. Let me remind you of the fabulous prizes! With two prize packages, the "odds are ever in your favor." I love that quote from the Hunger Games book--odds ever in my favor=positive thinking. To enter, comment in either this blog post or the original giveaway post back about a week. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact the winners for a shipping address!
Let me me know what your New Year's Resolution will be whether running related or not. I've got some ideas, but try to keep it SMART--specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. Care to Comment? What is your SMART goal for 2018. Can we post something in the blog that will help you achieve your goal? Brrrr...Minnesota is in a cold stretch. Before I met my running friend on Wednesday, the temperature was -13 degrees with a Real Feel temp of -22 degrees. She and I had a cold, but good morning run. The following photos were taken before and after my run. It is very important to dress appropriately for the weather. I dress in multiple layers, wear a hat (instead of an ear band to keep in the heat), and cover my face with a muff/scarf. Although you can't tell, I smiled in both pictures. It kind of reminds me of this mug... When I returned home from my run this morning, I felt like we overcame the cold and embraced Minnesota winter running. Happy Running! -Stephanie
I hope your Christmas was merry! The advent calendar pictured above is handmade by my mother around the year 1978. Missee and I loved turning over each day in anticipation of Christmas. This calendar is now an important part of Advent for my children. (Mom made a second calendar, exactly like this one, for Missee's family so that she could have one also.) We had a great time with Missee's family and our parents. After dinner and presents, we played this game. What a fun game! It was great to play with family. We laughed and laughed. I highly recommend this game for families. It is appropriate for middle school children also. Board games are a great way to spend some screen free time visiting with your relatives. (Thanks to Grandma for bringing this game to the party!) Today included some un-decorating our home. It was a lot more fun to put up the Christmas decorations than to take them down. My kids got to help. :) I'm starting to think of some 2018 Running Resolutions. I'm pretty sure that they will include a full marathon. I will post that after New Year's. Are you thinking of some running goals for 2018? Happy Holidays! Happy Running! -Stephanie
We have now survived the first day of winter, AKA the darkest day of the year. We spent that day at a torchlight ski race. David reported that it was hard to see where he was skiing, but my guess is the lighting along the course is designed for casual skiers and that the racers were doing the equivalent of outrunning your headlights while driving at night. I did managed to snap a picture of David in round one before the lights came on. One benefit of the many hours of darkness is the ability to enjoy the Christmas lights. Sartell has a really nice holiday display that goes around a pond about four miles from my house. The trail around the pond is decorated with lighted arches, trees, projectors displaying snowflakes on the trail and more. The lights come on at dusk and go off at dawn, so runners who prefer morning or evening runs can enjoy the lights in addition to families who drive out there to walk around it after supper. Deb and I ran out to and around it for the second time this weekend. The first time, we ended up with a headwind the whole way back, but it was still totally worth it. This time, we followed another runner through the display, then he turned back and did it again the other way. We went around once then headed back toward my house which amounted to a 10-mile route. It was a beautiful way to start the day. Even more difficult than bucking a headwind is trying to take a holiday photo. With two kids in college, getting all five of us in one frame has become quite an accomplishment. This year, I alerted my family that Charlie was sad that he isn't in any family photos and we needed a new picture. Everyone got the orders to "wear something nice" on Thanksgiving to take a Christmas card picture. Here is what we ended up with... Once the photo was taken, the kids wondered why four people felt like "dress nice" meant a red shirt and one guy wears a gnome sweater. They said it's "ab-gnome-al." He does match Charlie's bandana. My goal was to get a picture and I did--and it's very festive!
The weather in MN is forcast to head into the deep freeze with a high of -2 degrees on Christmas Day. Runners all have their limits on weather they are willing to tolerate for outdoor running. Deb and I double-checked our limits on Saturday so we'd be ready when it gets super cold. We deem -20 degrees to be our limit on windchill. Even in the realm of nasty cold weather, I much prefer a -10 or -15 with very little wind over 0 with a strong NW wind. I'm hoping that our limits don't get tested too many times over the winter. I'm a fair-weather winter fan. Given a choice, I'd like the temps to stay around 20 and for the snow to fall on the grassy parts only and never on the streets or bike paths. I wonder if that every happens...maybe I should have asked Santa??? Merry Christmas to all of our blog readers. I hope you are able to to enjoy some Christmas running and enjoy some holiday lights. Happy running--Missee Care to Comment: Are there any light displays in your neighborhood you like to run past? Do you have any running-related Christmas traditions? A few weeks back, I'd shared a way to save when online shopping called Ebates. If you haven't joined yet, and are still interested, scroll back a few posts and find the link. In that post, I promised a blog giveaway in time for Christmas if at least three people joined Ebates from my referral. Well, three people did enroll, so it's time to give away a fabulous prize! Fabulous might be overstating the prize, but something fun, free and useful sounds pretty great. When the cold weather first began, Stephanie had posted about wearing a heavy amount of lotion with lightweight gloves while running keeps her skin soft. Since then I discovered that my headbands and gloves tend to really stink if I don't wash them often. This blog giveaway will help two lucky readers out with both problems. Prize #1 is two pair of lightweight gloves, two headbands and a container of Bag Balm, a wonderful moisturizer made in Vermont and two warm headbands so the winner can toss their stuff in the washer often. Prize #2 also includes two headbands and two pairs of gloves. The moisturizer in this package is Working Hands, also a Made in the USA product. This one in particular is suitable for both men and women. My son who hunts, traps and fishes loves this product. Both products would also be helpful for dry, cracked feet if your feet are as velcro-like as mine!
How to Win! Go to the Comments section and let us know what other ideas you have to keep your hands soft in the color weather. Be sure to put your email address where requested so we can contact the winners! Blog giveaway entries will close at noon CST on January 1, 2018 and winners will be selected via random drawing and notified via email. Prizes will be shipped to addresses in the Continental US only. Good Luck! Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I hope you have a wonderful holiday! Somehow Christmas snuck up on me this year. I think the warm temperatures and lack of snow had me thinking I had more time than I really did. I work as an elementary teacher and love my job! December is a busy time at schools and I smiled when I saw this meme... My latest Netflix show has been The Crown. I just started season two this week. Hopefully I am able to finish season 2 over Christmas break. I hope your Christmas holiday and time off is filled with family and joy (and some running)!
Merry Christmas! -Stephanie I managed to pick up the icky sore throat/cold that has been going around at school. When my kids were little, I used to tell them to take their cold back wherever they got it. That always got a good giggle because even little kids understand you can't return germs to their rightful owner! When I wake up in the morning, I pretty much always feel good and generally wake up before my alarm. If I feel like I might be coming down with something, I use my morning run as a gauge as to whether or not I should go to work. If I'm feeling better after a run, then off to school; if the running makes it worse, back to bed. Most of the advice available on the web says that if an illness is above the neck, run but be gentle. If the illness is accompanied by fever or symptoms below the neck, take the day off. I found this flowchart to help. I took shorter, lighter runs on Friday and Saturday and found that getting moving helped clear out my cough and congestion. Now that I am on the mend, I'm trying to make sure I don't pass it on to others. No one is interested in coughing their way through Christmas next week. My cold isn't the only source of frustration this week. I recently purchased a new computer and am trying to learn to blog on it. Let's just say, there are many differences switching from a PC to a Mac. Being of the generation that learned computers on the good old Apple 2e with the Oregon Trail and an amber screen, technology can be a friend and a foe. I'm looking forward to being able to post more photos and do more creative things on future posts. For today, some text and a couple of archived graphics is all I can get going! I hope none of you need the flowchart I linked to figure out if you are too sick to run this winter. And may all your efforts on your computers be effortless. Happy running--Missee
Care to Comment? How old were you when you first used a computer? Do you prefer to run easy or take the day off when you are under the weather? The Last Jedi opened on Thursday evening and my family was there. My husband and children and huge Star Wars fans, so we have had our tickets for weeks. It was really good! In fact, I think it is my favorite Star Wars movie to date. My husband and children will make several more trips to the theater to see The Last Jedi. I really enjoyed the movie one time and will take advantage of a quiet house to get some gift wrapping and projects done at home. The force to get out and run today was strong. My long run this morning clocked in at 9.65 miles. I felt the speed and determination of Rey... However, my pace per mile was more like Chewbacca. Regardless of the distance or the pace... Happy Running! -Stephanie
The holidays have so much tradition regarding food, decorating and gatherings. One thing I, along with a number of others I know, love is the best genre of movies...Christmas movies! Sadly, I am only now watching about my fourth movie of the season. However, my DVR has at least six more lined up. It really matters not that anyone should be able to predict the touching conclusion prior to the first commercial. I just can't get enough Hallmark. Just to be clear, I do not spend the month of December on my sofa with a bowl of popcorn. I put on my holiday flicks while sewing, baking and wrapping gifts. I'd probably try to watch while running, but that seems to have some safety issues. LOL When I can't find a Lifetime or Hallmark movie I haven't seen, I go back to some other Christmas favorites like Elf. Having a dietitian mom, my kids love Buddy the Elf's food groups...candy canes, candy corns, noodles and syrup. I can't imagine the sugar rush--and crash--on that diet.
Well, I must get back to tonight's movie, Winter Windowland. Hmmm...I wonder if the country boy and the city girl will find romance while designing storefront windows?!?!?!? Then it's off to bed for a 5:00AM run tomorrow. 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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