What I’ve Been Wearing Lately #SweatBetter

July 6, 2016August 23, 2016 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 34 Comments

I’m not a big fashionista or anything but I would say that I do enjoy some fun workout gear and clothing. Having said that, I’ve been wearing a few new things lately on my runs, bike rides and just in general, every day.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might notice I’ve been sporting some new things like the Polar A300 Activity Tracker. I’m also recently wore the grey Under Armour Run tank on a hot afternoon run (below). The word”run”on the front is reflective (safety bonus) and Under Armour HeatGear® long shorts.

July 2nd Run Polar

I’m a big fan of longer shorts to avoid any chaffing because let’s be honest – it happens. And it happens to women’s legs more then not! The shorts are super comfortable and I’m thinking I want to go back to SportChek and get another pair so I can run in them more then my short-shorts.

The Polar A300 has been a fun addition and I’m still in the process of figuring it all out. Just when I think I know what I’m doing, I hit another button or sync it to the app on my phone and wham-o …it does even more! I’ll talk more about that next week.

Even though I took two weeks off running, it didn’t mean I wasn’t still active. Between playing soccer, coaching, going to yoga class and getting out on my bike, I still got to wear a few more things!

When the Nike Free RN sneakers arrived I had to wear them to work as I couldn’t just leave them at home to sit all day. They fit like a glove! I was super nervous about running in them as I didn’t think they’d give me enough support. As well as, I’m super cautious about getting injured. After wearing them at work for a few days and around the house, I knew they would become my go-to shoes when I’m not in sandals this summer.

Anna S Wear to Work

They are super light weight and again, fit like a glove. I finally tested them out on a run recently and was really surprised (I’m not just saying that). As I started my run, I couldn’t even hear them on the pavement. You know when you hear runners hitting the ground really hard in a race, that’s all I could think of and how quiet these were. They felt great on the road, then in the woods/trails, crusher dust trail and then back on the road again. I love the colours too.

A while back I wore my Nike Run “There Is No Finish Line” tank which is a bit more of a muscle shirt and something I’m not used to wearing. I did like how comfortable it was and enjoyed the change in style for my workouts. Plus it can show off my fun-coloured sports bras underneath which isn’t something I’d normally do either 😉

There is No Finish Line.jpg That’s what I’ve been wearing lately during my workouts. It’s so nice to finally have summer weather to wear lots of tanks and get new summer tan lines and a few more freckles, ha ha! I’ll share a little more next week.

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!

What’s your favourite piece of summer running gear to wear?

Do you have a go-to shirt or shorts that you love?

Do you use an activity tracker and app?

A few favourite 30 Day Challenges {Workouts}

November 1, 2015 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 8 Comments

I’ve tried so many 30 day challenges and failed at 99% of them, seriously! Oh, and I’m extremely fine with not completing the challenge but more happy that I started them and got as far as I did. I thought I’d share a few of my favourites since it’s NOVEMBER 1st !!!! When did that happen!

Plank Challenge (Loved this one)

This is the one challenge I’m doing this month, only because I love it and I want to see if I can continue after the 3 minute plans. Time will tell.

Cardio Challenge

Sun Salutation Challenge (I liked this one)

Posture Challenge

Are you go at sticking to 30 day challenges?

What’s your favourite challenge you’ve participated in?

What’s the worst one you’ve done?

Please note – I did not create any of these challenges but either found them on Pinterest and tired them myself. I’m not a fitness instructor or Doctor. You should check with your Doctor, fitness instructor or fitness professional when starting these activities.

The Struggle Is Real: Make It Happen

September 21, 2015September 20, 2015 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 22 Comments

Well, you all know how much I have struggled this past year with injuries and it’s all because I love to be active! I got injured while play soccer which side lined me from training for many races over the past nine months.

As I was starting to get my hamstring better, I struggled with just running 5k’s! No lie, for the first 2-3 weeks each run was a struggle. It wasn’t always a struggle to get out the door, as I was keen on training for my next half marathon. This would have been my 3^rd half marathon and a personal goal I had set for myself and was looking forward to the challenge. Life sometimes has other plans.

I’d pack my gym bag in the morning and lace up at lunch time to complete my “runch”, finish work and take care of the girls on my own if my husband was away. There were many nights of running on the treadmill after a full day’s work, dealing with the girls, dinner, dishes etc. Some nights I would get everything done only to remember….I still needed to run or do a workout. The struggle was real on those long days but the running and workouts never felt better!

My gym bag and stuff.

As I moved along my training, it started to feel better. The struggle was now all about trying to get the dishes done versus my running 🙂 Then, I sprained my foot and the tears just rolled off my cheeks as I saw my first race of the year slip away. How could this happen so close to a race I’ve trained so hard for?

Oh dear, the struggle was real and I’m sure if you’ve read my last blog posts you’d know how much I truly wanted to run at Maritime Race Weekend….not once but twice in the Tartan Twosome. Luckily, I was able to volunteer and be a part of the running community.

We all struggle but it’s really up to us with what we do with that struggle. We can choose to sleep in and miss that early morning run, we can choose to eat that box of chocolates (oh yes, I love my chocolates), we can choose to say I’m just too tired to run {insert your own workout activity here} and we can choose to do dishes over that training run.

To me, being active and living a healthy lifestyle trumps many other things in my life; like deep cleaning my house, laundry, mowing the lawn and the dishes can always wait until the morning. I’d rather go outside for a run or hit up GoodLife Fitness Gym when I can and take advantage of all their classes. I’d rather go for a run with my running buddy or workout at the gym with a friend then do it on my own – THAT motivation is the best!

My most recent struggle had me starting my workout (yes, last night) at 8:45 pm. You read that right, I started my workout as I kept putting it off. I knew I needed that workout for so many reasons and it felt great afterwards. In the end, I try to fit in work outs throughout my daily life and I make it a priority over other “things” after all I’m taking care of my physical and mental health. I choose to work through the struggle of being injured {AGAIN}! Somehow, I just Make It Happen!

Do you struggle to get your workouts in?

What motivates you to get active?

#makeithappen

Terry Fox & My Five Year Old

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 11 Comments

Since Lilly started school earlier this month, she has been coming home with newsletters, books and more recently, information on Terry Fox! This was one of those parenting moments that no one can really prepare you for or help you explain it to your child. You just have to do it your way and go with it.

As I explained to Lilly who Terry Fox was and what he did, I got a little choked up. The reason, well my father had tongue cancer about 8 years ago and had major surgery. Luckily, he is going awesome….minus his heart attack last March…he is still doing great! She had lots of question about Terry’s amputation, how he got better and then got sick again. I explained to her about Grandad’s cancer and the operation he had etc.

So I explained that her school is doing a run/walk and raising money for the Terry Fox Foundation. I again, explained what cancer was (in brief) and that Terry ran across Canada to raise money for Cancer research. We are to collect our nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and twoonies this week and bring them into the school. I’m hoping to take the time off work to go run/walk with her class as it’s an event that is dear to my heart. The love for my Dad (and family/friends) who have had cancer and the love for being active is kind of a no-brain-er for me to participate and teach my daughter the importance of both.

We got on the phone to my parents the other day and Lilly explained to them that she was doing the Terry Fox run/walk next week. She told them “she was going to run for Terry on Friday and Grandad too”. I’m sure you can figure out our reaction to what she said!

There was a run today from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island – across the Confederation Bridge (13k) which I would have loved to participate but it just didn’t work with our schedule and other events going on this month. Though I missed out on a great event and fundraising cause, I now get to do this with my daughter 🙂

Spilled my vega hydrator everywhere but in my bottle last night 😦

Running/Work Outs:

Sunday 13th – Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 Level 2 (killed my abs) + PT Exercises
Monday – 16k Bike Ride + PT exercises
Tuesday – Rest Day
Wednesday – 13k Bike Ride
Thursday – Physiotherapy; 7k Treadmill Run (felt great) + PT Exercises
Friday – Rest Day a.k.a. got addicted to “Scandal”
Saturday – 10k Treadmill Run (felt great)
Sunday 20th – Might do Ripped in 30 again tonight.

That’s about it! I’m still aiming to pace the 1:10 – 10k runners at the Valley Harvest Thanksgiving Weekend (Oct 11th) and so far aiming for the half marathon in PEI Oct 18th. I say I am aiming for it but if I have to drop down to 10k, I will. I’ve learned that this year is just not my year and I have to listen to my body first before I ruin it anymore.

How was your weekend?

Do you participate in any Terry Fox Runs?

Do you participate in your children’s school events?