training

Half Marathon Training Week #11 / #12 ~ Bluenose

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 19 Comments

It’s race week! But first, Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there. I had an amazing day with my family 🙂

Week #11 didn’t go as well as I wanted to but sometimes that’s just what happens. Late nights in the city, falling asleep with your kids, on the road for work most of the week and juggling family priority is real life for me. I honestly feel lucky to have even ran last week. Having said that, it wasn’t a bad week just not full potential week if you know what I mean.

What was Planned vs What Really Happened: 

Monday: 60 min cross train | 61 minutes on the bike (23 km). Good ride, did some upper body strength training too.

Tuesday: 8 k | Rest Day. We didn’t get home from the city until 8 pm and I fell asleep putting my youngest to bed. I knew this run wouldn’t happen but was hopeful I’d get it in some time this week.

Wednesday: 10 x 400’s | Nope – not happening. Late night with my kids and just couldn’t get in a workout.

Thursday: 5 k | 4 k run with Carmacks. He makes me run faster – so basically a short tempo run. I was on the road all day so this was a nice way to get moving.

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Friday: Rest Day | 15 k long run. This was the ONLY time I could fit in my last long run. I got up stupid early; 5 am and was out running by 5:55 am. This was a nice long run – pretty simple, enjoyable and easy.

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Since I ran 4 k the night before, I figured the two runs roughly 12 hours apart would be good enough for my 19 km long run that was supposed to happen on Sunday. When I got home from my 15 k long run, I walked my daughter’s to school and quickly got ready for work. Yeah, I still had to go to work but I had the first hour of my work day off so that helped a lot.

Saturday: Rest Day | Rest Day. Nailed it! I was busy with my girls and their friend – lots of walking and bike riding.

Sunday: 19 k Long run| 5 k run with my daughters. With it being Mother’s Day, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get in my long run. My husband worked the night shift and we had plans as a family. We had a great day with brunch at Brigadoon (camp for chronically ill children) where we did archery, arts/crafts and paddled in the big war canoe. Once we got home, we went out for a 1 k run together and then the girls got on their bikes while I ran 4 k.

Post run/ride selfie (missing hubby who was walking the dog)

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Total km of running this week:  24 km running, 23 km cycling, a little paddling too!

Total km this training cycle: 192 km

Week #12 looks like this:

  • Monday: Rest Day! | I had planned to run or bike tonight. We’ll see.
  • Tuesday: 6 k
  • Wednesday: 30 minute tempo
  • Thursday: 5 k
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Rest Day | 2 km kids run with my daughters.
  • Sunday: Bluenose Half Marathon!

Follow me on Instagram for this week’s training and my half marathon this weekend. I’ll likely not blog about this week so…catch me on IG if you want to know how it’s going.

How’s your spring shaping up?

Anyone running Bluenose (or another race) this coming weekend?

What’s your favourite way to enjoy a long weekend (locals – running Bluenose maybe?)

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap today.

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Half Marathon Training Week #9 ~Bluenose

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 17 Comments

It’s getting closer! Now only three full weeks away is my next half marathon – really hard to believe that it’s almost here.

My daughters are both running the 2k the day before my race, so it’s going to be a fun weekend of running! Sadly, my husband works that whole weekend – bummahhh!! Anyway, training last week was better then week #8 so I’m heading in the right direction. Or at least I think I am!

What was Planned vs What Really Happened

Monday: 60 minutes cross training | Rest Day. My body was in need of a rest day after my 15k long run on Sunday so I took it.

Tuesday: 8 k | Yoga Flow. I went to yoga at lunch and it was just what my body needed. A good stretch and a little challenge here and there. I was thinking about running that evening but decided to take it easy.

Wednesday: 45 min tempo run | 5 k trail run (35 minutes) with  Carmacks. It was the first run that I’ve fallen while running with him attached to me. Thankfully, nothing was broken and I only had a few good bruises and 1 large splinter to dig out of my hand.

Thursday: 5 k | 20.40 km Cycling. I didn’t really want to run on my treadmill (only option for the day) so I jumped on my bike around 8 pm once my girls were asleep (husband was working).  It wasn’t the best ride but I got it done. I’m way off my monthly cycling mileage for the month but I’m okay with where I’m at. There is a possibility I can get in a ride Monday night so we’ll see!

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Friday: Rest Day | Soccer Game. Friday’s are usually my standard rest day but I had a soccer game. One that I was really nervous for since I haven’t played much this winter due to injury. We had no subs which meant I played the whole game. So much sprinting, tracking, running, jockying and moving around the field. This was my speed work for the week for sure! My abs hurt for a few days after along with the muscles in my feet and shins! Oh, and we won!

Saturday: Rest | Rest Day. I took the day off from any activity. My girls has swimming lessons and then went to our neighbours for a sleep over. Since they were gone, my husband and I went out to dinner and came home to watch “Downsizing”. Meh, it was okay but I don’t think I’d recommend it. at 9:30 we got the call to come get the girls as they couldn’t fall asleep. We both anticipated this so it wasn’t a big surprise.

Sunday: 15 k Race | 17 k Long Run. Our girls planned to go back over to our neighbour’s house to have breakfast and my husband and I planned to go for a long run together. However, our neighbour wasn’t feeling 100% so we brought them home for breakfast. I went for my long run and my husband ran when I got back.

So my long run. We’ll it was just plain shitty. I ran 3 k with Carmacks and came home to meet my husband for our run but that fell through so I went off to run another 14 k by myself. I chose a hill route as my husband and I enjoy running that and I figured I’d just stay with the plan.
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It sucked. I hated it. I enjoyed only 1 km of that run as I was flying down a long hill but pretty much everything else about that run sucked. Running is hard for me right now, really hard. And, that’s okay…not every run can be easy or good or enjoyable! In the end I was happy to have accomplished the distance but hope I can get back to really loving running again.

This could have been the week that I just pushed myself to do a few workouts rather then enjoy them. However, I think coming off the flu has taken me a little while to really get to 100% feeling great. I’m hoping that this week is better. Better sleep and recovery, better running, better workouts.

Total km of running this week: 22km, 20km cycling, 1 soccer game.

Total km this training cycle: 137 km

How was your weekend?

What do you do when running is just hard?

Do you substitute other sports for speed work?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap today.

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Half Marathon Training Week #5 ~Bluenose

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 20 Comments

Happy April!!! Another week of half marathon training is in the books and it was a little all over the place. I took an extra rest day and then piled on a few cycling miles to try and reach my cycling goals for the month of March! I’ll write about that soon for now, this is how week #5 went of training.

What was Planned vs What Really Happened:

Monday: 50 min x-train | Rest Day. Just didn’t have it in me to work out.

Tuesday: 7k | Nothing. This wasn’t a great day. Our hot water tank died and I had to get that replaced, drove to the city for a workshop and drove back. Got home after 630, got the girls to bed and ate a late dinner sometime after 730. We then had to clear out our old couch from one room and put it in another room. I was just spent after all that.

Wednedsay: 7 x 400’s | 7k treadmill run. It was a long day at work but I managed to get in a good 7k treadmill run. It wasn’t was of those runs where I was dreading how long each km was taking me but more of a surprise…I’m already at this point in my run. Kinda slow going but it felt good!

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Thursday: 5k |5k at lunch time. My first runch of the year up and down some hills, it was rough going.

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Friday: Rest Day | 26.27km Cycling! I pounded away on my bike for an hour and one minute to get in 26 km. My monthly goal was 100km and this would get me SO close!

Saturday: 5k pace | 20.18km Cycling. As noted above, I was so close to my goal for the month I couldn’t let it slip away. Happy to say I met it with a little to spare.

Sunday: 13k |13k long run. Boy, was I NOT wanting to do this run. I just wanted to put it off, and put it off again. We did a small Easter egg hunt for our girls and then my husband went back to bed (night shift) and my girls and I drove to Halifax for family dinner.

Before dinner, I had to get in my long run so my girls hung out with my parents and I ran. Even as I put on my running gear, I didn’t want to run. For some reason, running just hasn’t been FUN lately for me. It’s more then likely because I’m really having to work hard during all my runs. Hills are hard, distances are hard, speed with with Carmacks is hard BUT, I’m still doing it all. No one ever said it would be easy…and I’m okay with that.

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As I started out for my long run in my parents subdivision that is nothing but hills, I decided to hit the main road (St. Marg. Bay Road – SMBR) and then head up towards the 101 highway. This meant that I had to run up a really massive hill and I was half excited for the challenge and have scared I couldn’t do it. I made it to the first street and took a short little jaunt down the road to catch my breath and reset for the next leg of the hill.

I wanted to make it to the bridge to the Golf course and once I got there I decided to go over the bridge and run around the golf course. This might have been a bad decision as it was nothing but hills again! After a kilometre in there, I left and ran back down the massive hill to SMBR towards another subdivision where my sister lives. I then back tracked to my parents place but those last 4 km were the worst.

I took some fuel and water with me (left my Nuun at home – sad day) and consumed them along the way. I finally tried the “salted” maple syrup my friend gave me from Endurance Tap – WOAH!!!! This stuff is AMAZING! I honestly though I was about to dive into a plate full of pancakes with THE BEST maple syrup around! It was thick and sweet. I have no sweet clue if it helped me but it was by far way better then any fuel I’ve had to date!

I finished my run strong which made me feel good however I could hardly comprehend how my legs even knew how to keep running those last few kilometres. I had on my Tiux compression socks which are a life saver for me. I did some stretching and legs up the wall for a bit, grabbed a shower and was ready for Easter dinner with minutes to spare!

Total running km this week: 25km (46 cycling)

Total km training this cycle: 73

I’m happy with my week of running and cycling but looking for a little more balance during the whole 7 days rather then packing it all in a few days. More planning is needed on my end.

How was your Easter weekend?

Anyone run a race this weekend?

Favourite fuel for training/racing?

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.

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I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap today.

Week 11 Half Training Maritime Race Weekend

/ Anna @ Piper's Run / 25 Comments

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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