2016 goals

Final Goals of 2016 Wrap-Up

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 29 Comments

Yup, I’m far behind in wrapping up stuff for 2016 and no, I don’t have my goals fully set for 2017 but I’m working on it.

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Last year I had a number of goals I wanted to achieve over twelve months. Some I did and some I fell short on and some didn’t even make the cut. C’est la vie!  I’m not going to get too caught up in what I did or didn’t do, or dwell on it. It’s time to move on, set new goals and accomplish new things.

My 2016 goals were:

Active Lifestyle:

  • Skate on the Oval: Nope – move to 2017.
  • Cross train more:
    • Do more yoga – Yes and continue.
    • Cycle (outdoors and indoors) – Outdoors yes, indoors not yet.
    • Strength training and PT exercises – Okay for the first six months then it kinda went south.
  • Running:
    • Run three new races: I ran two new-to-me races: Johnny Miles Half Marathon and Heart of the Valley 5k.
    • Improve my times in 5k, 10k and Half Marathon distances – Nope. 😦
    • Be a pace bunny again.  Sadly I was too injured. This was disappointing.
    • Represent Team Nuun  – Yup, I think so.
    • Avoid injuries!  Ba ha ha ha! Wishful thinking! A nice ankle injury mid August.

Family:

  • Ski and skating this winter – We did good at skiing but not skating.
  • More time together, less time apart. Yup!
  • Take a vacation with just my husband. Nope…no vacation. 😦
  • Go camping and paddle this summer together. Nope. We did camp in our backyard which was fun but not a a campsite.

Blog:

  • Blog three times / week. – I started off pretty good then kinda slowed down.
  • Take a blogging course. Did this last January.
  • Limit evening social media.  Started off the year good but then it went out the door.

Other:

  • Volunteer more.  A little bit – coached soccer for both of my daughters.
  • Be a better Mom. I tried but can’t say I nailed this one.
  • Take a pottery class. Nope….still on my list to do some day.
  • Go to bed earlier. I started off doing really good with getting to sleep earlier but that too went out the door fast.

There you have it! A pretty simple post for my 2016 goals. I don’t feel I need to reflect on these in depth but didn’t want to leave ya hangin’ 😉  As I mentioned, I’m still working on my 2017 goals but hope to have that done soon to share with you!

Did you set and achieve your 2016 goals? 

What’s one thing you didn’t do in 2016 that you want to do in 2017?

Have you set any goals for 2017? (Or still working on them like me?) 

Sometimes I Need Goals

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 14 Comments

As we move into November I’m just starting to feel like I’m doing better at being more active after dealing with my ankle injury. Though I love running, it’s not the end all be all for me. However, without running (at times) I feel a little lost…ever feel that way about something?

I’ve only been running 1-2 times a week which is fine since I’m not training for a race at the moment. However, I probably should start doing some longer runs on the weekends if I’m considering doing the Hypothermic Half in January (15th). If I run it, I’ll sign up last minute and pay the hefty fee as it’s going to depend on the weather and if we can get into the city that weekend.

Having said that, I’ve realized I need some goals. Specific goals. Little goals. Easy goals. Goals I can accomplish but still have to work for….they can’t be THAT easy. So, I started with some little things:

More workouts each week

This doesn’t have to be running but just more workouts. In the last week I’ve run twice, gone to soccer once and barre class yesterday. I’m planning to go to yoga today as well. Small goal but still have to work for it.

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More daily movement

Some days I can literally sit at my desk ALL DAY LONG! For someone that works in the Physical Activity world…well, sitting all day isn’t something we’d promote that’s for sure. So, I’m trying to get up before my watch beeps at me “you’ve been sitting too long. If I’m not working out at lunch time then I want to at least get outside and walk for 10-20 minutes. More daily movement.

Oh, those 2017 Races

I wrote down all the races I want to do next year the other night and I got really excited. Now those seventeen…yes, 17 races are just races I want to do. I will not be able to do them all, nor even half of them but hey, a girl can dream. Some are local, some are in the city (family visits) and some are out of Province that require long drives or maybe even a flight! Right now, that list is all just about the possibilities and a way to get me motivated to start running more.

Blogging

One day at a time. I enjoy blogging but can’t write every day of the week or even more then 1-2 days a week. I’m going to do what I can and try to not worry about the stuff I can’t do. However, I do post on Instagram almost daily, so come check it out!

More family time

Oh, I live for the weekends. More specifically, I live for the weekends when my husband isn’t working 😉 Last weekend was probably one of the best weekends we’ve had in a while. Nothing planned other then swimming lessons (they are doing so great) and gymnastics (which got cancelled). We raked leaves and had some trees cut in our yard and the girls helped us move the wood too! This lead to a campfire and s’mores because….why not, right!

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Sunday’s adventures started off right when I left breakfast on the table for the girls the night before and told them not to wake us up. Seriously, I wanted to sleep in. At 5:45 am, Lilly crept in our room “Mama, is it morning time”…NO, go back to bed. “I can’t sleep anymore”….Go read some books quietly. Then Hilary woke up and “quiet” went out the door. They did play as quiet as they could, reading books and then then discovering the breakfast on the table. I heard the fridge door open and close, laughter and very little arguing. However, after a handful of “be quiet, please”, “let us sleep a little longer, please”, I finally opened my eyes enough and woke up to start the day.

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Mini goals. Easy goals. Something to focus on and enjoy. Is it Friday yet 😉

Do you set mini goals?

Have you started to think about 2017 yet?

Do you plan your weekends ahead or go with the flow more?

Goodbye February…

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 12 Comments

February was a month with lots of adventures; running, snowshoeing, skiing, skating with my family and yoga classes. It was also the month of lots of head colds, sicks kids and sleepless nights.

Though I’m trying to build my base or maintain some fitness before I start half marathon training; running wasn’t high on my priority list this month. I love snow. I love skiing in it, snowshoeing and playing outside with my girls. Unlike last year, we’ve only had a few minor storms (15-25cm each storm) which would provide an opportunity to “play” in the white stuff. After a week or two the temps have warmed up only to melt much of the snow away. It was plus 17C yesterday…in FEBRUARY!!!

Winter Outdoor Play

February was the month of playing outside (when not working of course). I managed to ski a fair amount with my family, friends and on my own. I don’t often take time off work to do something for myself unless I’m really sick but I booked two days off this month. One, to go skiing by myself and run errands in the afternoon and the second day was with a good friend who I don’t get to see very often. Both worth it!

February Mileage 2016

We took the girls skating, Hilary for the first time and got to enjoy a lot of weekend snow storms. The girls absolutely love tobogganing and just playing around our yard.

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Running

Running was better then previous years, last year some how I managed to log 41 km while being injured, this year 55 km. With the mixture of outdoor play, some running and even with the lack of motivation to run, February was still a great month.

Yoga

Yoga’s been great. I’ve been craving each week and trying to get to at least one class. Sometimes I struggle at it, sometimes it’s easy and sometimes I hurt A LOT the day after.

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What’s Up In March?

Well, first off things are changing (will tell you more later) around our house for the better. I’m hoping to get in a few more skiing days/nights, increase my running mileage and START half marathon training for Johnny Miles.

Of course continue yoga class when my schedule permits. I am also taking off “March Break”since Lilly will be off school that week. We have some fun adventures planned and a few local trips.

How was your February?

Any BIG plans for March?

 

Ski, Snow and Running

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 15 Comments

It’s been a busy few days (week) between work, snow storm #1, skiing, facilitating a workshop on the weekend and storm #2…I managed to finally get a run in yesterday!

Last week Lilly had a 1/2 day of school, so I booked the 1/2 day off work and the four of us hit the hill. This would be Hilary’s first time (3 years old) and Lilly’s 3rd year on skis. Both Sai and I went prepared to deal with tantrums potentially from both girls but the complete opposite happened.

ski jan 14 Lilly and Mommy

Both girls had so much fun. Hilary and Sai spent time “playing” on a very small hill while Lilly and I hit the bunny hill at Ski Martock. They now have a magic carpet which is amazing. I skied down backwards for the 10+ runs Lilly did. She’s skiing on her own now and figuring out how to turn and stop etc. It’s so awesome to watch her think about the process.

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I could see Hilary and Sai off in the distance and she just looked like she was having a blast. Lots of laughing and when I got over to them, she kept saying “one more time”. Looks like we’ve got skiers on our hands 🙂

SNOW!

I shoveled two mornings in a row last week so I could get to work and then spent 1.5 hours snow blowing my driveway and two neighbours driveways yesterday. We also played outside all afternoon.

toboggan

I ran last week on the treadmill and it wasn’t great so after 3km, I got off THE BEAST and did some weights and skipping.

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I did managed to sqeeze in a run yesterday after doing the driveways. 5k on snow covered roads and sidewalks that were partially cleared. The sidewalks were like running on sand – not fun.

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It was great to spend lots of time outside (even the early morning shoveling). That’s about it!

How was your weekend?

Are you running inside (treadmill, track), outside (clear roads or snow covered) ?

If you have snow – do you mind shoveling?