Posts

Race Report: Fargo Marathon 2024

-
Image
(Repost from IG with some deets at the end) On Saturday, I ran the Fargo Marathon for Marathon #19! There is a lesson to learn from every marathon and yesterday’s was: Even when things don’t go according to plan, NEVER GIVE UP‼️ Back when the miles felt smooth :)  I went in with an aggressive “A” goal, overshot my pacing (oye 🙄) and hit a pretty hard wall wayyy too early in the race. After mile 10, I started to fade and knew that my current pacing wasn’t sustainable for the next 16.2 miles. I was passed by many runners at that point and really battled it out in my mind for the rest of the race. Somewhere around the 25th mile of the race, a half marathon runner yelled, “the lead is only 4 minutes ahead, GO GET HER!” I said, “thank you!”, and gave her a thumbs up but was very doubtful that I could catch anyone with how miserable I felt. How not to pace a marathon... I kept trucking at whatever pace I could keep, feeling pretty tense and disappointed in how I executed this ...
2 comments
Read more

A Gentle Feast: Cycle 1 Term 1 & 2

-
Image
It's been too long since my last homeschool update; time runs away from me. Our previous school year ended abruptly and in a hard way, when my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer after Mother's Day. We completed our state testing requirements much earlier in the school year and well-exceed Minnesota's required number of school days, so we stopped the school year a week early and went to grandma & grandpa's farm to spend time together.  That's the beauty of homeschooling. There is room for flexbility, swapping around days/weeks, starting or ending early and even taking school on the road with us.  Life has been a bit different ever since then but we have made so many great memories even during tough times! Having Christmas together as a family at my parents' farm was a miracle in itself.  ---- We soaked in the summer as much as possible - full of farm things, swim lessons, 4-H, fairs, a trip to Mt. Rushmore, family time, baseball - and then started sc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Race Report: Blue Ox Marathon 2023

-
Image
Where will you be in 10 years? Had you asked me at the 2013 Blue Ox Marathon, my first time at this race , I never would have guessed I would be here now. There are so many amazing blessings in my life that I never could have dreamt up and also trials that I would never have anticipated.  I originally wrote this post like a week ago and it was much longer. Like super long, too much and I don't have the emotional capacity to share anything besides mile stats and race deets at this point. Running is so simple in that way - like numbers are a weird source of comfort. In a nutshell, we keep on keepin' on, trusting God in all things. The structure of marathon training is very enjoyable - predictable, exact, a box to check. It is a time juggle but it's about the only thing in my life that is a box that I can check off! Most everything else is fairly repetitive, ongoing and requires way more emotional energy :) So marathoning is hard but also so simple.  That must be what keeps ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Run Outside Belt Bag | Pens & Paces Review

-
Image
Disclaimer: I received a Pens & Paces Run Outside Belt Bag in exchange for my review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! I am a child of the 90's and was rockin' an acid wash fanny pack wayyyy back then, so this new trend just speaks to my soul! Carrying a belt bag as my purse has been a very welcome transition as my kids have grown out of diapers and life is only getting busier. Pens & Paces  was created to empower women in running, When they released the Run Outside Belt Bag this Fall, I had to try it!  First off, I absolutely love the olive color! I'm all about colors in the green family and find that this doesn't show dirt or wear-and-tear as easily as lighter-colored bags.  The Run Outside Belt Bag features an adjustable strap, plenty of inside room - to fit my wallet, resistance bands, snacks, keys, etc - and then an outside ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Soaking Up the Sun (without the burn) | KINeSYS Active Sunscreen Review

-
Image
Disclaimer: I received KINeSYS Active Sunscreen in exchange for my review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! Our school year ended, I raced the Fargo Marathon and, then BAM! , summer took off in full swing from there after! I hardly was able to even wear shorts outside while training for Fargo (maybe in the last two weeks or so of training?) and then Minnesota swung from freezing to a whopping 80-90°F streak!  My initial thought was, "wow, my Scandinavian legs will be glaringly white on race day"  (which they were) and, "I sure hope we don't burn like crazy once actual Spring shows up."  Transitioning from freezing temps to crazy hot is always a shock to the system.  This review opportunity with KINeSYS Sunscreens couldn't have come at a better time! Owners Wade and Lisa Heggie have each had past experiences with skin cancers, which led the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Race Report: Fargo Marathon 2023

-
Image
Disclaimer: I received free entry for the Fargo Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! Here we are - writing the race report that I don't even know how to start. Training for Fargo went very well and I was able to run (and enjoy!) higher mileage than I ever thought possible. When I thought that training for Fargo in 2022 was the coldest, snow-stormiest I had ever experienced, I was then humbled by 2023. This training cycle included A LOT of speedy treadmill workouts and even treadmill easy-efforts and long runs. It was just cold, icy and snowy forever!  Somehow I managed to not get sick at all in this training cycle (after a run-in with influenza over Christmas). That's a miracle for any parent-runner!  The mileage progression went as follows:  01 - 45.0 02 - 55.1 03 - 60.1 04 - 64.1 05 - 55.0 06 - 70.2 07 - 70.4 08 - 75.0 09 - 70.3 10 - 60.0 11 - ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Relive the Race | Handcrafted Coasters Review

-
Image
Disclaimer: I received a personalized Handcrafted Coaster in exchange for my review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! Running is an odd sport or hobby, if you would call it that. For the marathon distance, you put in months of training, run your face off on race day and then, after grabbing your finisher's medal & some food, you head home. That's it! Hundreds of miles, weeks of training and the "big event" is over in a few short hours. Then you're back to the regular daily life, where I literally talk about running maybe 1% of the time - not including the blog or IG, of course. (That's literally why I use those platforms, for an opportunity to talk running!) If running does come up in casual convos, it's like "oh, you like to jog? " ... To which I would probably respond, "Yes, I guess you could say that! It's pretty...
Post a Comment
Read more