It’s race week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or week 12 of training, which will be pretty light. I’ll be going to yoga, a short run mid week and then a rest day or two as I’m running a double race. Friday night is 5k and Saturday is the half marathon for me (Tartan Twosome).

Last week was pretty good for training despite missing some mileage and taking an extra rest day but felt it was successful.

What was Planned vs What Really Happened:

Monday: Stretch & Strengthen | Stretch & Strengthen. I finally managed this! I did a Jillian Michael’s DVD workout which I have done in about a year. THAT was fun!

Tuesday: 5k | Yoga + 5k. I went to my normal Tuesday yoga class at lunch but needed to run Tuesday night. It was the night before school and things weren’t going great for bed time. My husband was home so I went for a run after a little frustrating bedtime moments for the girls. It was just what I needed.

Wednesday: 10 x 400 @ 5k pace | Rest Day. My body needed this.

Thursday: 5k + Strength | 5k + Strength. Nailed this workout too! I went for an evening run in the dark and then did a number of exercises: Clam shells, squats, lunges etc.

Friday: Rest Day | Rest Day. Nailed this one too! We had a kid free weekend and went out for dinner.

Saturday: 5k pace | 13k Trail Run at Cape Split. My husband and I wanted to run this for awhile and this was our opportunity. I’ve hiked it a number of times but the last time we did it together was 10 years ago!

Cape Split

It’s now a Provincial Park and even has a proper parking lot (yes, you can tell how long ago I’ve hiked it based on the parking lot). When we arrived it was windy and cool and I was worried I didn’t have enough clothing on – fear not – I did!

We started off ahead of a large group of students but had to run past a hand full of small groups of people. It starts off up rocky hill and I was seriously worried that I wouldn’t be able to run it. It’s a 6k out and back – used to be 8 but that parking lot took a bit off the trail since I was last there.

It’s a small trail where you can walk one behind the other in some places and 4 wide in another section. It’s up/down, small and large mud puddles, extra paths you can take and has a great canopy overhead. When you make it out to the point you can see (if there is no fog) other parts of Nova Scotia. It’s really stunning. There are a few places that you can hike to and sit and take it all in.

We hung out at the point for 15 minutes or so, took a few pictures, ate a snack and drank some Nuun. (You need water and food on this trail). We headed back as the heat of the day was really starting to increase. Sweat was starting to drip down my face from the heat and the challenging terrain was getting hard for me.

You see, I’m not a trail runner so navigating roots, rocks and large puddles of mud was a challenge. A fun challenge none the less. My husband had trail runners on and would run right through the mud but I’d have to slow down and take an alternative route, sometimes climbing through trees and side paths. My little Asics held up but trail shoes are in my future!

I struggled on the downhills that had a lot of stumps and rocks but just took my time. Luckily my pacer (aka husband) would notify me of what was ahead of me so I could adjust in time. As we got out to the trail head, we reached 12.24km and I wanted to finish on an solid number so I ran around the road and parking lot to finish with 13km.

Sunday: 19k Long Run | 3k walk + Soccer Game. I used my trail run on Saturday as my long run to free up Sunday. Saï and I went for a nice walk in the morning with Carmacks before the girls came home and then Sunday evening I had a soccer game. We won our soccer game 2-1 and I’m achy from everything.

That’s it! Here I am, week 12 of training and the double race is this weekend! It’s a pirate themed event and I have no costume so I’ve gotta figure that one out soon or just wear what I’ve worn the last two years.

I’m looking forward to running my 6th half marathon in a few days. I’m not sure if I’ll get to post here again before the race so if you want to follow along you can check me out on Instagram.

How was your week?

Anyone else running Maritime Race Weekend or another race?

Do you like trail running?

I’m linking up today with Sara Runs This Town, HoHo Runs, MissSippiPiddlin.