Running Race Dilemma – Which One To Do?

January 31, 2014 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 22 Comments

Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook saying that registration was opening for one of the races I want to do this year. My heart rate went through the roof! HA! The thought of hitting register/paid made my heart rate increase and I could feel it happen – seriously! I had a good laugh at that!

I haven’t posted my running schedule yet as I am still decided on a few runs. I have however decided that I will run my (2nd) 1/2 Marathon in the Fall. I’m toying between two runs: Valley Harvest Marathon (10 minutes from my house) and the Prince Edward Island Marathon (5 hour car ride with both girls one way). What do to? Let me break it down:

Valley Harvest Marathon – 1/2 Marathon – October 12th

$60 (early bird is before Aug 31st)
Kids Run (Yes – Lilly ran last year)
10 minutes from my house
Thanksgiving weekend
Sunday morning @ 8:30 am
Have run the 5k and 10k before in the past – great events
Could just run the 10k this year (and do PEI 1/2 the following weekend)
Potential of have family and friends throughout the course – if they want to get up that early 😉

Prince Edward Island Marathon – 1/2 Marathon – October 20th

$67.50 (early bird April 30th)
Kids Run – YES!
Travel costs ($250- $350 – gas, bridge fees, food)
Sunday morning 9 am
Having my little family there to cheer me on and maybe a few others too
5 hour car ride with both girls (one way)
Staying with family for 4-5 nights (Drive over Friday and come back Monday)
Did I mention it would be a 5 hour car ride with both girls more than likely on my own
Weekend with my husband and girls…plus Aunts/Uncles BONUS!!!!
Driving 5 hours BACK HOME a day after the 1/2 Marathon more than likely by myself (unpacking car, laundry, meals etc)….maybe I’ll just take some vacation time.

My heart really wants to run the PEI 1/2 (like, REALLY WANTS TO) but the logistics of doing that could be pretty stressful leading up to and then still having to travel back home. I just have a feeling that it would be a great run to do. I want to do the Valley Harvest because its 10 minutes from my house, I’ve run the 5k and 10k before, it’s familiar to me and I feel like there will be less stress (potentially).

Registration opens tomorrow for The Tartan Twosome Run!!! (Sept 12th & 13th) A coastal 5k Friday night at sunset overlooking the ocean and the Classic 10k the next 8am sunrise. This would be perfect for training for my 1/2. Plus, I can dress up like a Pirate…RRRRRRRRRR! I’m in!

What to do, what to do. My heart is torn. Valley Harvest (Oct 12th) OR Prince Edward Island October 17-19th?

Also, I never realised how much I value those kids runs! Lilly is already excited to do another run this year!

Have you ever been stuck on which races to run?

Do you register the day registration opens or wait?

Do kid’s runs matter to you?

Yawn…why am I tired?

January 30, 2014 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 15 Comments

Yawn, yawn goes my face today. I slept like a log last night and couldn’t figure out why I was so tired this morning. Then I had the following two conversations that made me laugh, both times… out loud.

Conversation #1 with my husband:

Me: How was your night?

Sai: Pretty good, had one patient and then it was a quiet night. And yours?

Me: Well, after I got the girls to bed, I took out the compost, shoveled the driveway, did the dishes, washed/dried some laundry then ran 5k, showered and stretched. I got up at some point but can’t really remember if it was with one of the girls or just for me to use the bathroom. I slept like a log.

Sai: Ahh, well that’s a long list of things you did. Could be why you are so tired this morning.

Me: Humm…yes!

Conversation #2 today – with my Mother:

Me: Dialing phone number as I yawn into the phone and say hello mid-yawn.

Mom: You’re tired dear. What were you doing?

Me: Well, last night …after I got the girls to bed, I took out the compost, shoveled the driveway, did the dishes, washed/dried some laundry then ran 5k, showered and stretched.

Mom: While laughing, she replies with “you lost me a ran 5k”. You should really rest tonight, dear.

Me: Yawn…good idea Mom!

Apparently if you sleep like a log it doesn’t always mean you are well rested.

Tonight’s plan after the girls are in bed:

Shovel driveway – should only take 10-15 minute … we had light snow fall last night after I shoveled the first time. Might even skip this.
Yoga / Stretch and focus on my back exercises
Rest with my feet up by the fire *might even take a picture if you’re lucky*

I am hoping this will reduce the yawning tomorrow and make me feel a little more rejuvenated and ready for the weekend!

Do you sleep like a long after a busy day?

How often to you yawn?

When do you need a break from doing everything?

Mental Health and Being Active #BellLetsTalk

January 28, 2014 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 23 Comments

I’m a firm believer that being active; exercising, working out, physical activity – whatever you want to call it…. can help keep you focused, deal with stress and keep you sane. I’m not saying that it’s the end all be all for everyone but being active for me keeps me grounded, helps me deal with life stresses, lets me escape for a little while and keeps me sane.

I run. I play soccer. I do DVD workouts. I ski. I snowshoe. I walk. I try to bike but not a strong skill for me. I swim. I play with my daughters outside.

I enjoy team sports and individual challenges.

I value the benefits of being active. I value how it makes me feel physically and mentally.

It’s part of who I am and hopefully will always be.

I’ve never been depressed, sad at the appropriate times but not depressed. I’ve never been diagnosed with a mental health disorder though I have experience times of great stress and anxiety. I do however, have a family member who does suffer from depression and at times that has been hard to understand.

But you support. You be there for them. You talk about it. You engage them in life.

I am writing this post as awareness and to support the #BellLetsTalk day that is happening in Canada. You don’t have to be a subscriber of Bell to add the hashtag of #BellLetsTalk. You simple just have to type it in any message you tweet today.

Those Bell customers you can text, tweet, call long distance and share an image on Bell Let’s Talk Facebook, in return Bell will donate 5¢ every time you do text, tweet, call etc. Bell Let’s Talk Website

They have already had 20,134,357 tweets, text, calls and shares…keep it up! Let’s help raise awareness of mental health issues and help raise money for some much-needed initiatives. Photo: We've surpassed 20 million tweets, calls and Facebook shares! That's an additional $1,000,000 for mental health initiatives. Keep it up, everyone! http://ow.ly/t2eE6 #BellLetsTalk

Last night I managed to run 7k – something I haven’t been able to do in a long time (for many reasons). I felt like I accomplished a little goal of increasing my miles, pushed my body and improved my state of mind. Physical activity is important to me that’s why I make it a priority in my life over other things.

Help end the stigma around mental health and hashtag your tweets peeps! (Or call, text, share).

What has “being active” (exercising, working out, physical activities) done for your mental health?

How do you support someone who might suffer from a mental health disorder?

Miles to Kilometers…OR Kilometers to Miles?

January 27, 2014 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 29 Comments

Hello Monday….we meet again 😦

We just had a fantastic weekend as a family of four. Yes, we were all together, played outside in the snow, hit up a great birthday party for a cute little 1-year-old boy (Hilary’s boyfriend), I got some cleaning done and my husband and I had a date night in.

Hilary and Lillian

Oh – and I had an interesting run Saturday night. The plan was to run 5k. Simple or so I thought!

After using our treadmill a.k.a. THE BEAST a few times I decided I wanted to change the distance from Miles to Kilometers. Why would you do that? Well, I am Canadian and we do everything in kilometers. If someone says to me, “the store was two miles away”…I would have to calculate that in my head (not happening) and really think about the miles. If you said “the store is two km way”…I’d probably say, okay, cool.

Even though I thought about writing/printing out a miles/km chart that I can place by “the beast” I didn’t want to mess with my head when running. Also, I kinda hide 1/2 the distance so I only see the end numbers 1 :55, not the first number. Anyway, last week I was running and thought I was almost done my 3.1 miles (not really a FULL 5k) and actually looked at the distance and I was a WHOLE mile off! Dang…I had to keep running.

So, I changed it to KM Saturday night and feel so much better. The run however had it’s up’s and downs.

I had another stitch on the inside of my left rib cage so I pushed through to 2.5k and thought I just need to make it to 3k. At 3k, I slowed down, put my arms in the air and took it easy for a minute. Then increased the speed and was thinking that 5k was out of the question. I just needed to make it to 4 and then I would stop.

When 4k hit I was actually feeling pretty good so I decided to plow through it and get 5k. Just before 5k I turned up the speed even more. My legs were going full tilt and it felt great to be RUNNING, so I ran just over 6k (6.2k to be exact).

I wanted to run more but I was planning on going outside for a run on Sunday. Whomp, whomp, that didn’t happen but other important life moments with my family did.

Post run snack: blueberries with coconut greek yogurt and energy balls

It was hard to come back to work today and knowing my husband has to leave again tomorrow for a few days kinda sucks. The girls get so excited when he comes home. I had a few moments this weekend that all I could do watch Sai and the girls and was just completely in love. #HappyRunningMama that, I am 🙂

PS – Bell Let’s Talk Day – Jan 28th 2014

Tomorrow, in Canada it’s #BellLetsTalk day. What does that mean? Well, it’s a day where Bell customers can help end the stigma around mental health. I wrote about it last year and you’ll be seeing me tweet A LOT tomorrow and text those that I can.

Why? Because Bell will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives for every text message sent, mobile and long distance calls made, tweets using #BellLetsTalk (USE IT) and sharing their Bell Let’s Talk image on Facebook!

Did you know: 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness at some point in their life.

Will YOU join me tomorrow and include #BellLetsTalk as a hashtags with twitter (or text, call etc. if you are a Bell subscriber)???? Twitter: @Bell_LetsTalk

How was your weekend?

Did you get outside?

Anyone involved with an organization that raises money for mental illness?

Add #BellLetsTalk to your twitter tomorrow – Please and Thank you 🙂