cross training

Half Marathon Training Plan ~ Bluenose

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 23 Comments

A few months ago I agreed to run a half marathon with two friends whom will be running their first half marathons!!! Kind of exciting, right! I’m currently in week 4 of my training and thought i’d share my training plan.

I usually post this prior to starting a round of training but I was two weeks into training before I realised that I should have been following a training plan! Obviously, those two weeks I did not follow my exact training plan below but I was running, cycling and going to yoga anyway so it all worked out just fine.

Event: Bluenose Marathon (5k, 10k, 15k, half, full and team relay)

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Race: Half Marathon.

Date: Sunday May 20th (kids run May 19th)

Previous Bluenose races: First half in 2006 (different course), 3 – 10k’s, 1 -5k and 4 kids run’s (2k).

New This Year: The course has changed and going in reverse order!

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Training Plan

I’ve used Hal Higdon half marathon training plans for the last few years and really like them.  I often modify them to fit in other activities such as yoga and soccer, not to mention I change them into kilometres since I run in kilometres not miles.  I’m not a fan of doing math while I run so having the plan in kilometres vs miles prior to training is key for me. Half Marathon Training Plan KMChanges you’ll see each week: 

  1. I don’t plan to run 5 days a week. My life or body doesn’t allow for that – let’s be honest! I’m happy to do other activities such as skiing (last few weeks) to yoga, cycling and soccer.
  2. I like to run in even numbers like 6 km  rather then 3.5 miles which is 5.63 km. Therefore, I might run slightly longer or slightly short then expected when the plan was converted from miles to kilometres.
  3. I have kids and my husband is a paramedic = shift work!!! I fit in my runs/workouts when I can and sometimes I change up the order of those based on my families needs vs my training plan. Life happens!

Future Races for 2018:

I have not registered for any other races this year and I’m kinda loving it. Don’t get me wrong, I have about 5-7 that I want to run between now and November! I’ll likely sign up late for most of them, some I’ll miss due to family responsibilities and some I want to be a pace bunny for again.

I’m also going back to my weekly posts of “What was planned vs What really happened”. I started this a few years ago and enjoy recapping my weeks this way. So there you have it, my training plan that I’ll attempt to follow with some weekly modifications.

What’s your favourite half marathon training plan? And why?

Have you ever forgot to start your training on week 1 before?

What’s your best tip for half marathon training?

I don’ t blog every day but you can find me over on Instagram most days!

Also, looking for some running discounts? Check out my discount page that is always being updated.

 

Yoga Aches and Pains

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 7 Comments

Yoga has been one activity that I started doing more regularly last year. There is a local studio near my work that offers a variety of classes but I’ve mainly been going to their lunch time class on Tuesdays when my schedule permits.

I missed a few weeks due to work meetings which I’m okay with but I always notice how much of an impact yoga really has on my body when I miss too many classes in a row.

Earlier this week, I went to yoga after missing two weeks and I really enjoyed it. It relaxed my body, challenged my muscles and eased my mind. However, when I woke up Wednesday morning I couldn’t understand why up upper arms hurt. It took me a half hour of being awake to remember that I went to yoga the day before

My arms even ached on my run Thursday night which reminded me that running isn’t just your legs working. Really, I should be doing more yoga at home and not just the 20-30 minutes I do post long run (and 5-10 minutes on short runs).

I wore the Under Armour HeatGear Capri’s for the first time and loved them. They didn’t move around or fold over in the waste like another pair of capris I have. I felt great in them – you know that feeling when something just fits your body and it makes you feel good? Well, these capris did it for me.

yoga July 12th

They have a signature moisture transport system that wicks away the sweat to keep you dry. If only that worked on the rest of my body (lower legs/ankles and arms). Yoga class in a small space in the summer time can get really warm fast. Thank goodness they had some fans going towards the end of the class.

The other thing I liked about the capri’s is that I could wear them under my dress and it just worked as an outfit. Double bonus!

Now, I have to be completely honest with you, I didn’t want to share the photo of me doing the tree pose. Why? Well, all I could see were flaws. My leg is too forward, my hair is a disaster (post class), my glasses have a reflection, I can see the chub on the side of my shirt. I got the instructor to take the photo for me quickly after class and have sat on it all week. Do I post it or not. So…I just decided to post it and whatever…that’s me, not my favourite shot but honestly, feeling comfortable in my own yoga abilities and the clothing that I’m wearing.

Happy Friday! Any weekend plans?

When’s the last time you hurt a day after a workout and took a while to associate it with your workout?

Do you wear capri’s in the summer to yoga class?

Ever double up your workout clothing for every day clothing?

All opinions in this blog post are my own thoughts and experiences. These products have been provided as part of the summer SportChek Ambassador program.  Thank you SportChek!

 

Forget Me Not

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 6 Comments

March sure has been a weird month of great ups and a few downs. My husband started his new job here (yeah!) and has been busy. We had a successful work event and I’m currently on March Break with our girls. It’s been YEARS since I’ve taken a “March Break” vacation and it just feels weird! I’ve been running a little and spending time with OLF friends.

Old childhood friends are the best. They know the child in YOU and you get to laugh at all the crazy things you did growing up. Last weekend I got to spend time with an old friend who lost his mother recently. Our visit was brief but made me really happy to see him. The other was with my best friend, someone who I rarely get to see because of busy lives. Though we are busy and doing our own things, we can never forget each other. Plus we have Facebook so we’re always sending each other silly things that only we get 🙂

That’s kinda how I felt yesterday at yoga class. I missed it last week because of work and that’s okay. I managed to go today as my husband was home (another win for the job close to home). The room was full, though not at capacity. I was at the front of the class, eeek! My body was sore from two days of running in a row…well, really, it was sore from the squats and lunges I did during Sunday night’s workout. Would I forget what to do? Would my body remember? Would I even enjoy it?

As I got going in class, I couldn’t get focused. I couldn’t stop thinking about another old friend who’s life has been turned upside down. I’m not going to comment on what it is or who it is as I don’t feel it’s my place to share but she’s been on my mind due to a major life event. A childhood friend. Someone whom I played soccer with, learned to ride the public transit with, hours of bike riding together – those ties don’t go away even if the friendship isn’t as tight as it was as a child.

control

Source

I slowly moved into the flow of the class and my body was achy from running -a good achy feeling. I was challenged. I stretched a little more. And I forgot life for about 45 minutes. I forgot what was going on outside those walls. I forgot about my friend, I even forgot about my family and what I was doing after the class (clay cafe painting with the girls). I just was so focused in the moment. THAT was nice.

All of a sudden it was time to slow down and move into shavasana as the class ending. I was brought back to the reality of life outside the yoga studio and though my body felt fantastic I was reminded of the crappy shit going in other’s lives. I just moved along with my day with our girls which turned into a stressful afternoon but they had fun. I ended my day with a pizza party for a mommy group and kids. Our oldest have been together since day 1…we’ll prenatal to be exact. We got together every Monday during that first year and sometimes even more. Our times together are further and further apart but all four mom’s and 9 kids have a blast. It was the perfect way to end the day.

So forget not why we go to yoga, run a marathon, swim in the ocean or play on the soccer field. Forget not that feeling of accomplishment, achievement, of pride. Forget not that reason we make plans with friends, we pick up the phone or we message someone online just to say “hi”. As sometimes they are the escape we need to feel better, to feel good and to not worry so much.

Do something for yourself today. 

When was the last time you lost yourself in a class or run (insert activity)?

When was the last time you saw a childhood friend?

What’s your go to activity for not thinking about life stuff?

 

 

 

Some Days Workouts Are Just HARD

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 11 Comments

I had one of those days. Busy, running late for everything and then I knew I needed to get my workout it and TRY to get to bed at a decent hour. Life doesn’t always work the way you want it to, nor do some of your workouts.

I woke up Thursday morning with tired legs (thighs to be exact). It was from a great run the night before (7k) and I was okay with the feeling. I was going to run in the evening but then thought about it and decided a DVD workout would be good enough.

I was late picking up the girls, late getting dinner on the table and late getting the girls to bed. Then I remembered I needed to get the garbage and recycling ready…..six bags later and a bunch of broken down boxes, I got it done. I said “screw it” to the laundry pile and put on my workout clothing.

Down I went to the basement and popped on Ripped in 30, Jillian Michaels. A workout I normally love. I went straight to week 4 – bah ha ha…..normally, I would love this workout but I just didn’t. I did enjoy the “abs” part 🙂

jan 28th workout

It took me a while but the reason I didn’t like it was because it was HARD! Good lord Piper, get a grip…it’s not supposed to be easy especially when you jump right to week 4. I recollected my thoughts and felt thankful for the workout, did love it but I got it done in the end.

Thanks goodness it’s now FRIDAY!!!!!! We are in for a snow storm 15-20cm – whoop, whoop. Guess my Saturday morning run might be a snowshoe trek just to get out of our subdivision 😉

Ever have one of those workouts? 

What do you do when you have tired legs? (I’m going to foam roll tonight). 

What are your weekend plans?