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Race Report: Blue Ox Marathon 2023

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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 ...

Run Outside Belt Bag | Pens & Paces Review

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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 ...

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

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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...

Race Report: Fargo Marathon 2023

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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 - ...

Relive the Race | Handcrafted Coasters Review

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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...

A Gentle Feast: Cycle 4 Term 2

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We've made it through the holidays, a bout of influenza and a pretty solid chunk of winter. It feels like a relief to be within reach of Spring. Maybe a month or two more of this frozen business to go!  One of the best things we have done this year was state testing at the mid-point of the school year. Two of the boys were required to test this year and I wanted to have the process slightly more streamlined that the last.  We did a couple testing things different: Testing earlier in the school year so we aren't missing out on beautiful Spring days at the end of the school year. We used the untimed online CAT instead of the paper form. This was easier to navigate with two testers and two younger kids running around. Plus, the results are instant rather than mailing in and waiting! We will definitely go that route again in the future.   Morning Time is a messy ordeal though I do like having all of the kids at the table, even if it's just for a short while. Artwork to compli...