Have you ever done anything you immediately regretted? Last week that was Saturday morning yoga for me. I'd been debating with myself if I should go or not after our 10 mile run. Right up until the last minute, I hadn't really decided and then figured it would be good for me to just go. It was all going fine until the very last stretch. Literally the VERY LAST STRETCH, I was lying on my back stretching my hamstring when I felt this awful pop. The hamstring I had injured about 3 years ago was out of whack again. Talk about ruining a weekend!!! Since it was Saturday morning, I knew I'd have to wait until Monday to get it looked at and decided to play it smart and ice, foam roll and NOT run. It was probably lucky for the doctor that I had two days to wrap my head around the fact that I have two months before Earth Day and there is plenty of time to take a week or two to heal without worry that I couldn't run and finish a half. Deb and I ran 12 miles the week before...we could finish a half on very little additional running...if we had to. For the past 7 days, I have only walked, light stretching and light exercises. Charlie is not complaining as he gets to go on every walk; he prefers walking to running and if it isn't too brisk, all the better. This morning, I tried about a dozen running steps to see if there would be any twinges of pain and there were not. Tomorrow I have the green light to try a light run and then a follow-up appointment on Monday to hopefully add more strength exercises to shorter runs for this week. I'm trying to be very compliant and avoid the very long recovery I had last time. Wish me luck tomorrow! Here's to hoping your running is going well on these longer spring days and that you don't do anything you'll regret...never thought yoga would be included in that! Happy running--Missee
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A number of years back, we had a winter that seemed to last an awfully long time toward spring...well that happens fairly often. But, this particular winter/spring, Deb and I were approaching Earth Day Half Marathon in late April and had yet to have one day nice enough to break out the shorts. On a particularly snowy morning, Deb had remarked, "Well, pretty soon we'll be wearing shorts!" There did not seem to be one single sign that shorts weather was coming! After this, we've started saying earlier and earlier that pretty soon it will be nice enough for shorts :-) I thought of this on Thursday and Friday this week when I jumped on the treadmill to avoid the -35 degree windchills. It's always 70 and while not sunny, brightly lit with incandescent bulbs in my basement. You can tell this is an "after" photo by a special someone's attention to the knees LOL! One of my indoor days was a walk plus exercise circuits, the other was a 3 mile run plus circuits, so not a lot of time on the treadmill, but I was thankful not to miss out on those workouts. I've seen some posts lately on Facebook on how to do a treadmill run without getting bored. My comment to the group was that if I need to do a long run, I'll tape a piece of paper over the display and then not peak under it for a certain number of Netflix episodes. Nothing makes the time drag like checking my progress about every 40 seconds. Even on a 3-miler, I'll lock the display on calories and then pick a number at which time I'll let the display scroll again. I can also admire all the taxidermy hanging around the room. There are 3 fish and two deer hanging up for my viewing enjoyment. While the weather cooperated with getting outdoors, this week's long run was a doozie! Twelve miles with the final three at race pace PLUS a 10 minute walk which was expressly listed as not part of the 12 miles. Other than forgetting to start my watch at the beginning, it went off without a hitch. The final 3 miles were 8:51, 8:23 and 8:28, so I was quite pleased. This week coming up is listed as a "Cutback Week." Workouts will be shorter and easier to rest up for even longer runs and more work at race pace. Since we completed 12 miles this week, there is no doubt that we can finish a half marathon, so the next weeks will be about trying to do it faster, stronger and uninjured. Deb and I have agreed that we seem to have fired up some muscles that were not being used often enough. It will be interesting to see how much that might help! My youngest son is an aspiring mechanical engineer. He likes to chat about building and improving things and always has interesting ideas, plus he fixes lots of stuff for his mom. When our school was rebuilding its playground, we had lots of chats about safety and how today's playgrounds are much safer, but some of the adventurous play structures that were common in the 70's and 80's would be considered dangerous. I found this meme that pretty much summed it up. Keep in mind that one of the favorite games on this item was to lay on one's belly with your head hanging off and then dropping a piece of litter such as a discarded pop can and yelling "Dropped it!" and the next guy tried to pick it up and yells, "Got it!" If anyone remembers how we ever won or lost at this game, please comment! I hope shorts weather is coming soon to an outdoor run near you, or that you can enjoy your treadmill until that day arrives. If you have a great old-school playground in your neighborhood, be sure to jump on the merry go round and spin a couple laps on your belly. Happy running! Missee
It has been a great while since I have posted on our Running with Sisters blog. I had back surgery on December 10 and have been working hard on my recovery. Issues with my back began a few years ago. Each time I would recover, but the pain kept coming back. Things got worse this summer and much worse as the school year started in August. I had increasing pain in my leg, hip, and back. I limited my running and tried numerous remedies. An MRI showed a herniated disc in my lower back. I had back surgery on December 10. I am not cleared to run for three months after my surgery, so I now have 23 days to go before I run again. Currently, I am in my third week of physical therapy. My therapy is helping me work towards my goal of running again. I really really really miss it! In the meantime, I can walk. I do yoga and have started riding our Peleton bike on short low impact rides. My goal is to run again, although the fear of back pain is weighing heavy on my mind. I even signed up for a 5K in May. My progress is slow, but I am determined.
Happy Saturday! -Stephanie This fall, I was constantly bummed out by the decreasing daylight each week. Well, we made it to December and now the days are getting longer. It has actually gotten quite noticeably lighter in both the mornings and afternoons. Each week, I am noticing that it gets lighter earlier and earlier in our Saturday morning runs. It made me think of this old proverb: This little proverb makes me feel like I'm beating the race against time and age if I'm up early enough. I'd stand no chance against the lion or the gazelle, but when the sun comes up, I'm challenging myself to be active and healthy.
What makes you feel super strong? The speed work and striders we've been doing in this training cycle are making me feel stronger and hopefully the GPS will start reflecting that. This weekend, we are kicking it up to 10 miles plus 4 striders. I'm looking forward to it; when the sun comes up, you better believe I'll be running! How do you decide where to shop? Most people will say selection, price and often include customer service. My husband ordered me a jacket that I might use for running or just for cool weather. It came from Wintergreen Northern Wear in Ely, MN. It did take a month to arrive, but they do advertise that your garment might be sewn just for you if there are none in stock and stayed in email communication while we waited. Here is my package. Everyone who worked on my jacket signed off. I even got Michelle’s card and photo. She even included a decal and some mints. It took me a while to figure out those were included because they were wintergreen flavor! My custom made jacket will get many years of good use after being so thoughtfully crafted and packaged. The great thing about Wintergreen is that while their garments are expensive, they are of excellent quality and the styles do not change. I got a Wintergreen winter coat more than 15 years ago that I still wear now. The same style is still available, but the trim has changed which is the only clue it’s not new.
A year or two after getting my winter jacket, Mom ordered mittens to go with my coat. To our dismay, the red wool did not match. Wintergreen’s excellent customer service to the rescue! They dug through scraps from the previous year’s red wool and found enough to make a pair of mittens that matched perfectly. I did wear those out eventually...mittens get heavy wear. They say that if you get great service, you’ll tell all your friends; if you get terrible service, you’ll tell everyone. I guess that makes us friends🥰. . Someday I’d like to visit Ely with its International Wolf Center and Wintergreen Northern Wear. They have a marathon and half in September. Maybe next year would be good since it will be after the weddings. There is one event there that I do not wish to try which is the canoe portage marathon. People actually carry a canoe on their head for 26.2 miles. No thank you! Deb and I are now on Week 3 of our training plan. Today we had 6-8 uphill striders to do after a five mile run. We did all 8, but my legs sure burned on the last couple. Deb said hers did,too, or maybe she was just making me feel better? I’m not positive we are getting any faster yet, but the variety is good and the circuits seem to be making us stronger. This weekend is another 8-miler before the long runs go to double digits. Have you ever had some great service you’d like to tell us? Have you ever portaged a canoe? Add it to our Comments section. Happy running—Missee Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged yet in 2020! Sorry for the long absence; let me catch you up on some of what I've been up to...well, I love to spend chilly afternoons or evenings in my sewing room. Here is some of what I've been working on. From left to right, I've got a bag that is made of pet screen mesh and buffalo plaid. It would be a great bag to carry a lunch or beach items. The middle photo is a block from a new quilt along Mom, Stephanie and I have started called Know Them, Raise Them, Be Them from Gruber's Quilt Shop in St.Cloud. A new quilt block is introduced every other Monday that has a story of an influential woman in history and a quilt block that represents her. This one is Empress Theodora; the next one is coming out today. If you want to do this quilt and missed the first block, email me and I'll try to help you out! The final photo is a sweet little purse I made for my daughter, hopefully to use at her wedding. It would be something both old and new. It's a new purse, but the fabric was left over from our wedding 25 years ago. Stephanie wore a dress from this fabric. I should have had this purse ready for her! Besides sewing, I have been shoveling! Last week I shoveled four times from Monday to Wednesday. Yuck :-( . We got even more snow Friday into Saturday which required the snow blower. Friday I got to work from home. My co-worker didn't get a lot done... I've also been running! Deb and I started the Train Like a Mother, 13.1 Crush the Distance plan a week ago. So far, the running part has been pretty easy. The extra exercises are a bit more challenging, but not impossible. Twice so far, we have added striders to the end of our runs which are sort of a build up to a sprint and then backing down again. Four times we have had circuit exercises to do. If you'd care to exercise along with us, they are found on YouTube if you search Train Like a Mother. So far we have done circuits #1 and #2. I believe there are six different ones that all concentrate on core and stability exercises to make us stronger by balancing out muscles that running does not strengthen. This hopefully makes us more able to push ourselves without injury. This week, we moved our long run to Friday because of the weather forecast. The turned out to be a good choice. I opted for the treadmill Saturday for a short run and Sunday for a walk. It's such a treat to have choices. If I feel a little frustrated by the snow and ice, I remind myself that I could choose treadmill if I don't want to deal with the conditions...and sometimes I do, other times I choose to tough it out for the benefit of the fresh air. I found this on Facebook and loved it...-20 is my limit! I do not have Croc shoes, nor does anyone in my family. My very conservative-dressing sons have expressed that they would not like to own a pair. I thought of them when I saw this. I do love me some shiny shoes, especially bright new running shoes, and have seen a lot I would mind walking a mile in, but not Crocs. Thanks for catching up with me today! I will not let so many days go by without blogging again, even if it's just a couple short sentences and a pic or two. From last time, did you remember to look for the dog in my blog??? By the way, he did get is three miles in this morning :-) . Happy running--Missee
Where does the time go? It seems like only a few days ago I was looking forward to Christmas vacation and now we are ready to turn the calendar to 2020 at midnight. For those of you ready to "party like it's 1999", enjoy and be safe! On New Year's Eve 1999, I was eight months pregnant with baby #3 and had a 4-year-old and a 2 1/2-year-old. You can imagine what a wild evening that was not. LOL! At my house, we aren't doing anything wild and crazy to ring in the new year, but we are looking forward to an exciting 2020 with two weddings. Here is our family Christmas card complete with the in-laws to be. According to my Garmin, I ran 1456 miles in 2019, which I believe does not count any of my treadmill running. That's a lot of steps to average 28 miles per week. No wonder I need new running shoes so often. I do try to replace them often as the "worn out" pair become my dog walking shoes and still require some cushioning. The extra walks are good for both Charlie and me. So what is the plan for 2020? I've got two half marathons on my calendar. In fact, I've paid the entry fees for those already. Earth Day Half Marathon will be first on April 25 and then the Garry Bjorklund (Grandma's Marathon event) on June 20. I registered for the Train Like A Mother, 13.1 Crush the Distance training plan/group. Training starts January 13 for the April 25 race. There is a combo of distance, speed and strength in this program. If not a fabulous finish time, I'm hoping to be free of the little aches and pains that signal muscle weakness and getting older. Deb is also running Earth Day, so we will be ready to go on race day! Speaking of Deb, we have made two more trips to the holiday lights since my last post. The lure of the light show has made it easier to get those long runs in while the conditions are not the best. We really can't complain too much about cold and wind the past few weeks, but there has been a fair amount of snow and ice which deters us at times. Well, this year, they added a snowman train at the light show. We thought it was so darn cute that I brought my camera along to snap some pics in it. Here is Deb... Then I took a turn, too. Clearly this train is child sized, and fun for a couple of grown-ups to climb on for a pic at 6:00am before anyone else could see or judge. From what is visible of the lights behind the train, doesn't it feel magical for a child to ride a snowman train through this winter wonderland? It's my job to check on the light show schedule to see if we can get there one more time before it is done for the season. Fingers crossed!
I've commented many times that I am thankful that Elf on the Shelf wasn't yet a thing when my kids were little. Still, I do enjoy seeing some of the creative things other people's elves are doing on Facebook. While talking about said elves, my husband said that Dog in My Blog sounded more fun. This year I'll try to stick Charlie or something about a dog in somewhere just so you can find the dog in the blog besides the other exciting things I write about :-) . Did you find him today? I think one of my favorite dog stories of 2019 is about Louie, a friendly golden lab who decided to run with me back last summer. What are your goals or resolutions for 2020? Do any of them involve your running plan? Share in the comments section! Happy running--Missee In a previous post, I remarked that I'd ordered some new running clothes on and All Sales Final sale. My clothes are here and I've been trying them out. So glad that I took the chance and ordered from Skirt Sports! When I ordered, most items on the special sale were under $40, but to get free shipping, a $100 order was required. Here are my items. Toasty Queen Skirt...reg price $129, I paid $30. This skirt/tights combo has wind resistant fabric on the thighs and skirt to keep my legs warmer. This one is nice and warm. I am trying to add a less stretchy drawstring to keep it from riding down just a bit, but otherwise seems like a great product. It seemed like maybe the rise on the tights part is a little long, but adding another drawstring should be good. This is the Wonder Wool Skirt, Regular price $129, I paid $25. This one kept my bum nice and warm on my run today. I was concerned about the skirt part riding up on both these items, but they did not and felt super cute and feminine to have a little dress on. My skirt is pink. The tights on this one are of a lighter weight than the Toasty Queen version. Triple Pocket Tight . Regular price $92, I paid $25. This particular photo is of the plus size version of the tights, but this is the fun print I ordered, so I wanted to show you this one. I wore this tight at the Snowflake Shuffle where the spunky red and green added to my festive outfit. This tight was very comfortable and has pockets big enough to carry my keys and cell phone during the race. The fabric is high quality. I can wear these tights to yoga as well as running. Wonder Wool Long Sleeve Top. Regular price $80, I paid $20. I got this shirt in grey instead of pink, but this may be my favorite item...once I'd washed it once. I first wore this top on a morning run. When I returned, I smelled an awful smell and suspected Charlie had done his business in the house (which he does not do unless ill). I realized it was sheep smell from the wool shirt. After I washed this one once, the smell did not return after runs. My only disappointment on this item was that I'd tried to order it in two different colors, but they ran out of the blue and canceled my second top. I'd have liked two of these.
I am very glad that I tried out Skirt Sports, even taking the risk of ending up with $100 worth of items that either wouldn't fit or I wouldn't like. I ordered size Medium, my typical size, in all of the items and they all fit well. I will keep shopping their website when I need to replace other running clothes. They have capris, shorts and summer running skirts besides the warm winter gear I ordered this time. If you are looking for some spunky feminine running wear, take a look at www.skirtsports.com. Watch for sales as the regular prices are a little more than I'd normally pay for my clothing, but I would have been willing to pay a little more than the rock bottom sale prices I got this time for this quality of running wear and will happily order again with seasonal sales and promotions. Happy running, even if it includes a flirty new skirt! Missee Last week, we had some of the pesky weather Minnesota is known for. We started out with about 6 inches of new snow Sunday night into Monday which resulted in a 2-hour late start for school. I'd taken Charlie out for a walk and got the call about the school delay along the road and notified the rest of the staff. That snow made for an icky commute. By Monday night, we'd begun a plunge into negative temperatures and high winds. That meant two days on the treadmill. I'm grateful for an alternative to the bitter cold, but like outdoors much better. Thursday I ventured out for a short run in windchills in the teens below zero. It was good to get some fresh air. By the time I headed to school, we had snow falling quite heavily again. It didn't add up to much, but did cause some visibility problems on the roads. Snow and cold the same week seems a little unfair. Deb and I had delayed our normal Wednesday run to Friday due to the frigid temperatures. When I got up, I checked my weather app and was delighted to find the temperature to be 6 degrees. Perhaps the snow and cold had frozen my brain and frostbit my common sense, but I looked at that temp and thought that perhaps I wouldn't need my warmest winter running jacket today. Hmmm...single digits is still cold! There was no wind, so once we got running, I quickly warmed up and enjoyed the run, but never wished that I hadn't worn such warm clothing. I'm grateful for the development of clothing that lets me enjoy outdoor running on pretty cold days without too much discomfort. Fleecy tights, windproof jackets and even hats with ponytail holes make life easier. If you choose the treadmill, enjoy; if you decide to venture out, the rule of thumb is to dress for weather 20 degrees warmer than what you are having. You can always remove clothing if you overdress a little...single digits is still ok for your heaviest running gear! Happy running--Missee
Last Saturday was the 20th running of the Snowflake Shuffle in St. Jospeph, MN. It is the annual fundraiser for the College of Saint Benedict's cross country and track teams. Since my daughter is now an alumni of that program along with me, I am happy to don some holiday gear and contribute to the cause. Here are Deb and I before the race. The weather was great for running. It wasn't too cold and most of the roads were well cleaned of snow and ice. The running itself was kind of hard; I hadn't participated in a 5K since the Snowflake Shuffle last year, so running at 5K pace instead of half marathon pace was taxing. I think I need to try to run 5K's more often to keep working on moving my feet more quickly. I was pretty excited to finish in just over 8 minutes per mile pace. Deb finished 2nd in her age group and I finished 3rd. It was fun to win a prize for our running ability/efforts. She got a $5 gift certificate to the local running store and I got a St. Ben's T-shirt. Here is my race shirt and my prize shirt. In the past, the shirts were tech fabric. These were cotton, but very nice. I like the little bit of glitter. As always, the race offered free hot cocoa afterwards. Deb and I may have had more than one cup each. Yum!
To follow up from last week, on Sunday, we did do a long run out to the holiday lights and they were on! The long run was a pleasant follow-up to the race on Saturday and the lights were worth the wait. Deb and I agreed that there are definitely more lights out there this year. 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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