Month: October 2015

Halloween Workouts – Tricks on You

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 7 Comments

Oh Halloween, you are here again. I have a love-hate relationship with Halloween. I love seeing the kids all dressed up and loved it as a kid but sometimes I just don’t like it. I can’t pin-point what it is but I’m just being honest.

Having said that, we’re taking on the “Frozen” theme for Halloween this year….well, it’s actually just taking over our lives in general – for real. I have more Frozen glitter all over my house….really, everywhere.

Let it go, Piper….Let It Go! 

The girls are so excited to be Elsa and Anna, we’ve been practicing dancing and singing in costumes all week. I’m going to be Olaf since I have a costume from last year’s run…

1000 Kilometers PR

Since I’m sure you’ll have lots of trick-or-treaters, here is a workout from Suzi at Confessions of a Fitness Instructor. She has a printable workout and more “exercises vs costumes” for you to do. Let’s just say that hanging out with Elsa and Anna (Princesses) is going to have me doing a lot of “curtsy lunges” 🙂

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Now, if you choose to eat some of your children’s candy {when they are not looking} you’re going to need to do some of these workouts:

I’m not saying if you eat a candy you have to workout to get rid of those calories but this is more of a fun way to enjoy eating those candies and working out! And yes…I’ll be eating some candy but I’m also hoping to get out for a run Saturday.

If you have a toddler and a baby this Halloween, you may want to check out an old post “How to Survive Halloween with a Toddler and Baby”.

How to Survive Halloween with a Toddler and a Baby

What’s your favourite part of Halloween?

Favourite candy to eat?

Do you have any Halloween traditions?

Happy Halloween tomorrow!

Half Marathon Training Done – Now What?

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 8 Comments

Just like that my half marathon training came to an end – a good end I will say. After starting back in June, yes June, I finally managed to get the distance in without any major injury during my run. After finishing my half is a different story but I’m working on strengthening my hamstring/glutes once again.

Now what? What does one do when they finish their training, complete the race (or not), having nothing left on the agenda? Well, you set other goals. You plan for the next *thing* and you relax a little 😉 You rejoice in 12-18 weeks of hard work, sore muscles and tears.

I don’t have any “races” booked for the upcoming months (2015) and  only recently starting to think about 2016 races I want to do….that list is long but I will narrow it down. I also have a different list of goals I want to achieve next year. Yes, I’m already thinking about 2016 goals, new year resolutions, challenges etc. And that’s a good thing because it means I’m not going to stop running or trying to get stronger. I’ll spare you the details of my goals until next year though 🙂

In December there is a local 5k Santa shuffle (for lack of better word) that I’d like to do however, my husband is away that day so I need to figure out child care and then get my girls to their indoor soccer practices. That is still a month and a bit away so no rush on that one.

261 fearless oct 26

What now?

Well, I need to work on getting my hamstring better. Better? Yes, it’s still not 100%. The PEI half marathon took the good out of my leg as it was sore for close to five days post run. THAT was upsetting because I had had numerous long runs without difficulty.  I think it was because of two things 1 – the last 5k was rolling HILLS and 2 – I didn’t stretch like I normally did after my other long runs. #mistake Most of my long runs did not end with 5k of massive rolling hills and you need strong glutes and hammy’s for those hills.

So for now, I’ll run when I can, attend lunch time yoga when my schedule permits, hit up GoodLife Fitness here and there and work at making my glutes and hamstrings stronger. I’ll be honest, I don’t wish to relive the pain of 2015, the months of frustration and the multiple forms of treatment to feel normal again. I’m not even sure I’ll feel normal again but am hopeful.

I’ve put indoor soccer on the back burner which is huge for me. I desperately love playing soccer and may have had too much fun playing keep-a-way with Hilary at the Parent-n-Tot program last Sunday. I felt in my element on the turf with the soccer ball, running around.

Do you have any more races lined up for the rest of 2015?

Have you started to think about 2016?

What are you looking forward to the most over the upcoming months?

Curried Cauliflower with Spinach & ChickPeas

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 8 Comments

We eat a fair amount of curry and chick peas in our house. Now I’m not talking all the time but everyone will eat it which is a big success when you have two little kids and a vegan. One of our other favourites is Curried Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Coconut Milk that I shared back in August and wanted to share this one today!

It’s so easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of prep time. Though you need to make sure you have all the ingredients (as with any recipe). Yesterday, I had to run to the store – literally – to pick up an onion. I wasn’t to upset as I wanted to get my first post half marathon run in and my hamstring was feeling good.

I got the recipe from my mother a few years ago. She found it in a magazine and thought my husband would like it since it was vegan. She’s always trying new vegan recipes for him and follows all the directions 100%, me not so much 😉

Curried Cauliflower with Spinacn and chickpeas PR

Curried Cauliflower, Chick Peas and Spinach. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger (yum)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (I always put way more 3-5 cloves)
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 1 small head of cauliflower
  • 1 can (19oz/540ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 4 cups of baby spinach
  • Rice or quinoa or other grain.

Directions:

1. In frying pan heat oil and cook onion and sugar, stiring occasionally until beginning to brown.

2. Add ginger, garlic, garam masala, vinegar, cayenne, salt and pepper; reduce heat to medium-low and cook until onion is golden brown.

3. Cut cauliflower into florets to make 6 cups (I never measure this). Add to pan along with chickpeas and raisins; cover and cook, stirring once or twice until cauliflower is tender (about 18 minutes).

4. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. ( I don’t remove it from the heat when I put in the spinach).

5. Surve over rice of your choice.

Our girls actually eat this!!!!!!! I find this one really good after a day as the flavour is that much stronger. What’s even better – apparently I’ve shared this recipe on my blog before, whoops! Oh well, I took the time to write this up so I’m going to hit publish anyway. Enjoy 🙂

Do you find curry better the day you make it or a day later ?

Ever run (or walk) to the store for an ingredient you forgot?

Ever shared a recipe twice on your blog? Or something else?

Fall into Fit Gear Exchange!

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 12 Comments

About a month ago, I signed up to do a Fall into Fit Gear Exchange. I was given Janelle over at Wholly Healthy and I sent her a package of some new things and some old favourites. I forgot to take a picture, so you’ll have to check out her blog. 

I received a package from Brittany who recently became a fitness instructor in her spare time (way to go!). Brittany is the master-mind behind this fun exchange. She blogs over at My Mama Journey.

Fall into FitGear Exchange-3

It’s always a fun day when you get a package in the mail but when you forget you signed up for an exchange it’s even better. I sent off my packaged and it arrived at Janelle’s house on the West Coast and I kinda forgot I would be getting something in the mail, until the package arrived! It was sent in two shipments so I waited for the second package to arrive.

Well, let’s just say when I opened everything I was overwhelmed! Brittany couldn’t have known my any better. From the workout foam roller book to the skipping rope, tea, book and new recipes – well, it was all awesome. She also wrote me a super awesome note which I read just before heading off to run my 3rd half marathon. It was just the message I needed to read, so thank you for that Brittany.

Fall into Fit Gear Exchange PR

The tea’s are almost gone and the foam roller book has been opened and unopened many times. I love the note book and I’m pretty sure I have to many of them but I do use them all the time! Brittany, thanks for putting a lot of though into the exchange not to mention hosting it. I’m excited to give the skipping rope a go even though it looks so professional 🙂 I’m sure it will add it my fitness.

Post Half Marathon Run

In other news, I finally went for my first post half marathon run yesterday! Yes, it took me a full week to do, not because I didn’t want to but because my hamstring needed the rest and I was on the road all week for work. And…..it was great!

I was running out of time on Sunday but managed to get in a 5k run. I ran down the hill and out of our subdivision and made my way onto the trail (rails to trails) with the intentions of stopping at the grocery store on my way back. See, I needed an onion for dinner and my husband suggested I combine the two: get my run in and pick up an onion. Really, this was a win-win situation.

Oh  my way back I hit 4k and kept running at close to the grocery store as I could. I paused my Garmin and walked slowly behind a lady that was out for a Sunday walk I’m sure. Once I got in the store I briskly walked over to get an onion and then to the cash register….no lines! I quickly took out the $5 in the back of my skirt and paid for it. I’m pretty sure the cashier knew exactly what I was doing as she asked if I wanted a second bag to carry the onion it. Nope!

As I walked…okay I started to run up the ramp to leave the grocery store, I hit “resume” on my Garmin at the door! I hadn’t lost the satellite – BAM – just like that I was running again. I put the change in my back pocket and threw out the recipe in the garbage bin and kept on running.

I turned the corner with the onion in my hand was just loving my run. I hit the button to cross the street and started my trek back up the hill into my subdivision. Breathing hard, I kept my pace consistent and pushed the last few 100 metres.

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Somehow I managed a sub 30 minute 5k ….haven’t seen that in a while! 29:57 with a stop in the grocery store between kilometres 4 and 5…not too shabby! Even though I stretched well my hamstring was sore a few hours later…..what a friggin bummer. I iced it and that seemed to help but it’s not 100%. Gotta get it and my glutes stronger.

We also had a great weekend: swimming lessons for Lilly, jumping in piles of leaves, indoor soccer started for BOTH girls and just time as a whole family was awesome.

How was your weekend?

Ever exchange fitness gear with someone you didn’t know?

Do you use a skipping rope for training? (Got any workouts to share for this newbie?)