The Rural Runner: exercise

Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts

This past year, I've been super into hot yoga, as the town I moved to has an adorable little spot called The Yoga Barn. The majority of classes are either Hot Power Vinyasa, or Warm Yin Yoga. So depending on whether or not you want a solid sweatfest of a workout, or a peaceful relaxing stretching session, those are the options. For me, it all depends where my schedule and shift work lands. Most times after a night shift, I'll stay up to attend the 9am class. Or if I am off, I'll go to which ever one is the hottest class of the day. This week, I was luckily off for all 4 days of yoga! (She has classes Monday-Thursday with some extras on weekends sometimes).
So I registered into the Hot power classes all four days. And as I'm sitting here typing, I'm realizing just how sore I am from 4/4 days of hot yoga. It's not as easy of a workout as everyone seems to think, and so I figured I would share with you all the thoughts that go through my head while I'm in class.

Okay, here we go I'm ready for a workout.
Woah, should have came earlier, its PACKED in here.
Okay there's a spot I can fit in!
Shit, it's at the front of the class..
Well I hope people behind me don't try to follow what I'm doing.
Alright, childs pose to start. I can handle this.
Deep breath in through the nose, deep breath out through the mouth.
I'm totally not a nose breather.. it sounds like I'm snoring over here..
First pose.. I got this.
Okay this isn't so bad, I'm not even really sweating yet!
Well then.. that must have just been the warm up.
Yup, now I'm sweating.
Right, focus on breathing. Opps.
Downward dog, my favourite because I can take a breathing break!
Oh, never mind we're doing another flow again.
If we do any more chaturanga's I'm gonna chaturanga on the floor.
Okay, yes focus on breath.
I've never sweat SO much in my life.
Warrior 2.. my shoulders are on FIRE.
Is anyone else sweating as much as me?
Like.. I'm literally DRIPPING on the floor
Chatu-friggin-ranga.. aka just do a slow motion reverse pushup until you collapse on the floor
Embrace the pain
Okay the sweat is literally in my eyes and I can't see.
Good childs pose, I'm just gonna lay here and die for a second.
Nope, no break were going again.
Damn it there I go losing focus again!
Breath in and high mountain, breath out and fold.
Maybe if I grab my towel and wipe my ENTIRE BODY no one will notice?
I think I have ADHD..
Just. Breathe.
Warrior three.
Yep and I just fell over onto the girl beside me.. SORRY.
How do some people have such good balance?
Phewf I think were slowing down.
Ah my breathing is almost normal now.
Savasana.. my favourite pose.
YES the cold compress.. ALSO my favourite.
Mmm it smells like peppermint.
I never want to move from my mat EVER.
That was amazing.
Im gonna be sore tomorrow!
When can I do that again!?
Maybe after a shower..
Ew, is that really how much I sweat?
What a GREAT workout!

Some day, I might be able to get through an entire yoga class without letting my mind wander, but today is not that day!

Peace, Love, Yoga.

Namaste,

The Rural Runner

Whenever I'm training and have a set distance goal, sometimes it can be hard to hit an exact amount of km, especially if its on a trail or in a subdivision. If you're like me and have OCD, I like to have my numbers be exact.
I started using this website I found on google and thought I should share it with my fellow runners :)
Its called on the go map and I'm 80% sure google runs it (its based off google maps). What I really like about it is that you can map your trail runs in parks. Sometimes when I'm feeling zero motivation, I open up the website and plan a route. I don't know why but it always gets me excited about running!

Heres an example of a random trail I was playing with in the city..

Its also nice because you can switch between miles and kilometres (I'm pretty confused when it comes to miles sometimes?!)

Also it feels much more badass saying you ran 21.1 kilometres as opposed to 13.1 miles ;) just sayin..

In other news:
Ive officially checked in to not 1.. BUT 6!!! Spartan races! All elite heats (what have I gotten myself into?!). I decided to take the plunge last week and just buy a Eastern Canada Seasons pass. It makes sense money wise, since myself and my boyfriend Kirk are planning for so many Spartan races close to home this year.

Heres the races I've officially registered for so far,
Quebec City Sprint - June 4th
Quebec City Super - June 5th
Toronto Sprint - July 2nd
Toronto Super - July 3rd
Montreal Super - July 30th
Montreal Ultra Beast - July 31 (death by Spartan race)

I must be out of my mind, but sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy ;)

Happy running friends!
The Rural Runner

Hi there! Earlier this week during some random internet browsing, I came across a wonderful post. Reading it really made me think about all of the ways we sometimes hold ourselves back. We only get one life, and we need to take some chances and live life to the fullest, and thats what this list is all about..

Things to give up:

1. Doubting yourself

2. Negative thinking

3. Fear of failure

4. Criticizing others

5. Negative self talk

6. Procrastination

7. Fear of success

8. People pleasing

I think many of these things we all do in our daily lives without realizing it.

One of my biggest struggles is with fear of failure. Im always way too concerned with the "what if's?"

Its completely natural to have fear about some situations, but its important to overcome that feeling and take yourself out of your comfort zone. This is something I've been trying to focus on more, saying YES to life and experiencing as much as I can.

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

- Nelson Mandela

Its a beautiful world out there, so overcome that fear and experience it!

What are some things you want to give up, in order to improve yourself?

The Rural Runner

I frequently get asked "what do you think about when you run for that long?!" I'm not sure what people are really expecting for an answer, it's not like I'm solving all of the worlds greatest mysteries while I'm out running for 2 hours..

After seeing a post today on Shut up and Run, I decided to share my own thoughts while running.

Today was a 16km hilly run, so you can imagine that there may be a lot of complaining.

Things I think to myself while running:

1. I literally want to do anything else but hill training right now.

2. Okay this isn't so bad actually! Except I've only been running for 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

3. I think this car is trying to play chicken with me..

4. Okay he turned. Good cause diving in a ditch isn't on the top of my to do list today

5. This isn't too bad.. And it's nice out today!

6. Speaking of nice out.. Holy hell its hot. Must take off jacket.

7. Of course I WOULD be running AGAINST the wind. And now I'm cold.

8. My spleen might just be in the process of exploding.

9. Wow this hill just keeps going doesn't it?!

10. Maybe I should walk for like 5 seconds.

11. Of course a car drives by right when I started walking.. Now I look lazy.

12. Okay running again. Oh wait.. Yup I can taste my lunch. Please don't vomit.

13. I'm gonna have some wicked calves after this!

14. Omg this is a serious uphill battle. Much like my life so far.

15. Wow what a gorgeous view! Must stop and take running selfie.

16. I hate running.

17. Finally at the top! Oh wait.. There's another hill within the hill. Damn it.

18. Well I guess my pace isn't that bad considering I'm running up a mountain of death.

19. YAY DOWNHILL TIME! I'm going so fast!!

20. My legs literally feel like bricks. I'm carrying around bricks for legs.

21. Okay.. Could you make it a little less obviously that you're staring at me...

22. Maybe he was staring at my thighs.. Like come on legs, must you jiggle THAT MUCH?!

23. I should have wore sunglasses.

24. I wonder if people drain their pools in the winter, or let it ice over?

25. Shit now my foot is wet, where did that puddle come from?

26. It smells like horse shit here.. I gotta run faster to get past this farm.

27. Only 5km left I CAN DO THIS.

28. Okay. I can't do this. I need to quit running.

29. Maybe if I drop out of my ultra no one will know..

30. Except that's embarrassing.. Must keep running!

31. Omg I just got passed by a 15 year old boy.

32. SOME OF US ALREADY RAN 13.67 KM AND HAVE A GRANDMAS PACE OKAY

33. Oh thank god the light is red I can rest

34. Well that rest lasted exactly 5 seconds.

35. Almost home, if I can survive the first 15k I can do one more kilometre!!

36. Oh thank god I'm home. Where's the food.

37. That was great when can I run again!

Oh the many emotions of a runner.

Hopefully I'm not insane and other people think similar things while running haha.

What do you think about when running?

The Rural Runner

After realizing now that I forgot to post about the 5k New Years Eve fun run I did with my boyfriend Kirk, I decided it's better late than never!

I signed us up for this free race sometime in October, which was good because it ended up selling out quickly! The race race bibs were super cute and had our 2016 New Years resolution written on them too (mine is to run my first marathon). We also got a nice hat with registration.. Which is super warm and I wear basically every outside run now.

Me and Kirk decided to dress up a little bit and wrapped ourselves in battery operated lights and wore happy new year hats! After all.. It was not timed and just a super fun event!

At the start line, we did a little countdown to new year (pretending it was actually midnight.. The race was really at like 5pm haha), and then they set off ALOT of amazing fireworks!

Everyone watching the fireworks when we started. That darn light up head band was falling off the entire time.. Worth it though!

The race was basically a little loop around the town, staying on the edge of the road or the sidewalk, with all right hand turns. There was a short part through a subdivision, which was great because people still had their Christmas lights on, and made for a more scenic run.

We weren't really pushing crazy hard, but somehow managed to PR my 5k at 26:36! It's not crazy fast.. And my goal is a sub 25min 5k. But it's not often I head out specifically for 5k fast paced runs, since I've been focusing so much more on longer distances recently, so I'm pretty excited about this!

All smiles at the finish knowing I hit a PR!

After the race there was tons of food and drinks to fill up on! Hot chocolate, timbits and subway deli sandwiches.

We're hoping to do this race again next year because it was such a blast!

After the race we headed back up to Cape Breton to go to a Celtic music concert and to celebrate together.

As much as wearing workout clothes all the time is great.. I LOVE any excuse to dress up!

We had some champagne and danced until we were sweaty, it was a great way to ring in the new year!

So.. it's a little late.. But Happy New Year!

Here are some of my running/fitness goals for 2016:

- run my first marathon (Maratime race weekend, September 16)

- complete a Spartan Race Beast (April 30, in New Jersey)

- complete the Montreal Spartan Race Ultra Beast (July 31)

- do a muscle up

- do 10 pull-ups in a row (half way there!)

- do a 50k run for my birthday

- finish top 10 elite female at a Spartan Race

- sub 25 minute 5k

- sub 2:15 half marathon

Here's to making 2016 amazing!

What are some of your goals for this new year?

The Rural Runner

Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to. Not everything can always go our ways I guess, because what fun would life be if it was always easy? (Trick question.. That would probably be great.) anyways, without the shitty things that happen, and the road blocks along the way, we wouldn't learn or gain anything. (I will explain the point to this later on.. Keep reading!)

I've been training for 3 months now for the Hypothermic Half marathon, January 17, and last week (stupidly) thought I would be working, so I convinced Kirk (well.. not really convinced cause he's always down for a gruelling/long run) anyways, I asked Kirk if he would like to do the half marathon with me a week before instead (plus were both pretty broke so saving $80 was another argument for running it early).

Either way, I was feeling pretty disappointed that I couldn't make it to the race (Ps.. I found out that I'm not actually working, opps.. We're still will not be entering though, were poor haha). So we figured we would go and run the same route we would have been taking during the race!

Luckily the entire trail was clear except for some snow half way (for about 6km). The temperature was fairly mild at only just below 0, so it was the perfect day for a long run.

We packed the camelbak, stashing Gu and shot bloks, did a quick warm up, started the tunes and our tracking watches, then we were on our way.

We maintained a pace around 6:00-6:30 The route was absolutely gorgeous and winded past multiple lakes, all while remaining completely flat. A great trail for PRs!

We hit the 10km mark at just over an hour, which was exciting because I was hoping to finish in under 2:30. However, shortly after was when my hip pain started (again, ugh) and we hit the first section of unpaved road with snow/ice. Neither of us had spikes and it slowed us down quite a bit, keeping our average pace at around 7:00/km.

We reached the turn around point and walked for the first time for a minute while we quickly ate some chocolate Gu, drank water and continued on our way (Btw, having a camelbak is a lifesaver).

Kirk was really pushing me near the end, we ran our quickest km of the entire half, at around 6:00/km.

It was so painful, I may have told Kirk he better run fast cause I was gonna catch up and kick his ass.. Haha I can't be held accountable for the things I say while run-suffering.

We finished the 21.1km at 2:33:58.

At first I was slightly disappointed that we didn't finish in under 2 and a half hours, like I'd hoped, but then I realized, there's 1 of 2 ways I can let this affect me. Either I can see it as a failure (pretty shitty way to look at it..) OR I can use this positively, and learn from it. I know more about my limits now and what kind of pace I can currently maintain for long distances, and also, I now know that I'm fully capable of emptying the tank with a couple fast kilometres toward the finish line.

You're always capable of more.

We can either take our struggles and find a positive within them, or ruin ourselves with stress over the negatives.

For this (non competitive) half marathon, I am going to look at the positives:

- even though I wasn't able to race the actual half marathon, I still ran the same distance and route anyways. After all, why put 3 months of hard work to waste?

- I got to spend 2.5 hours with my amazing boyfriend, enjoying (almost) every minute ;)

- I learned even more about my long distance running ability.

- I beat my original half marathon time by almost 30 minutes!! Yes, you read that right. A half hour PR. How can you not be happy with that? Especially since the races were less than 4 months apart. Which tells me that I've obviously made some serious improvements on my pace!

- after realizing we burned off like 1700 calories.. We went and got Izzy's bagels.. Our tradition and obsession (except for relish veggie burgers.. Can't beat it!). The Runger was real.

Overall, it was a great run with a lot of positives! Also, it added fuel to my fire and I will complete my next 21.1km run in under 2 and a half hours.

I'm coming for you next year, Hypothermic Half!

But for now, on to training for my first ultra, April 30 in New Jersey!

Stay positive friends,

The Rural Runner

Brace yourselves.. This is going to be a long post.

With the health industry being how it is now a days - an easy way for some to manipulate others in the grand scheme of making a few bucks.. It's impossible to not fall victim to the many "get thin/buff/toned/abs/healthy/whatever fast!!!" Lies.

Quick weight loss solutions do not work. How many people do you know that are stuck inside this vicious cycle? Really, think about it, I used to be, and you may be as well.

Seriously, if you want something that lasts, the only way to do it is by building a solid foundation first.

This is true for basically everything in life.

How do you have a good relationship? By going slow and building trust.

How do you build a house that will last? By building a solid foundation.

Good things take time.

Yes it would be amazing to have your dream body overnight, but much like Rome, it can't be built in one day.

That being said, it's not going to be easy, but the best way to do it is to start slow and develop healthy habits.

Now, I'm by no means an expert, but I will share with you what has worked for me.

Keep in mind, everyone is different and everyone's body reacts in a different way, so these are just the things I found helped on my road to a healthy lifestyle.

First things first.. You have to change your mindset.

Like I said earlier, it's going to take time and patience. You cannot get upset when you don't immediately lose 10 pounds (etc.), because a healthy lifestyle is exactly that.. A LIFESTYLE. This means you will be living it forever. Not just WHAM 10 pounds down and DONE.

You must remember, you only get one body. Treat it well, fuel it right, and in return your body will reward you with feeling and looking amazing. Once you step away from the focus of the scale and "I must lose (insert weight here) by this date." Then the pounds will fall off themselves, as will the extra fat.

What most "lose weight fast!!!!" Scams forget to inform you is... Losing THAT much weight THAT fast is super UNHEALTHY!

Not only will you gain it all back (and probably more), but the majority of what you lost was probably water weight and not fat.

Which leads me to tip number 2.. Which is also one of the most important ones..

Drink more water!

I'm talking 1.5-3 litres a day.. Every day! I guarantee 2/3 of the world is chronically dehydrated.

Have a headache? You're dehydrated.

Feel tired? You're probably dehydrated.

Cranky? Dehydrated.

Dry mouth and bright yellow pee? YUP, you're dehydrated.

If you find it hard to drink that much water everyday, start off by adding some fruit or lemon to you water.. The taste will be much better and it will make it much easier until you're used to that many litres a day.

Which leads me to my next rant:

Pop.

Seriously.. Cut out the pop, you don't even need that extra sugar. And if you're one of those people sitting there saying "oh well I drink diet soda, soooo there's no sugar" I could smack you. Smarten up people, think of those nasty chemicals you're currently ingesting.

Also would just like to put this out there.. What the heck does pop even taste like? Nothing natural that's for sure.

Next topic..

Sleep.

Most of us aren't getting enough. I'm talking a solid 7-8 hours. If you're thinking.. I don't have enough time to sleep that much.. Well actually you do. If you get that much sleep every night, you will be WAY more productive during the day, and way more able to complete your necessary tasks, which means you will have more time for sleep.

More sleep = more focus and productivity.

Plus sleep has many benefits.. You burn fat while sleeping, and it's like a time machine to breakfast.

Breakfast is basically the best meal ever and brings me to our next topic..

Nutrition.

First off, go back to step one, and change your mindset. We must step away from the idea of being on a diet.

I do not diet.

Back when I was competing, I had such an intense focus on every single thing that I ever ate. It was such an unhealthy obsession with food, to the point where I would literally feel SO disappointed in myself if I even ate a bagel (for example) and would basically starve myself the next day.

I can't stress this enough, food is fuel.

I train hard and eat to fuel my body.

Calories are energy, carbs are glucose for energy and survival. And protein is the building blocks for muscle.

Another mini rant: stop. Counting. CALORIES. For the love of God people, calories ARE GOOD. Calories are the reason we walk, breathe, LIVE.

Of course you will lose weight on a 1200 calorie a day diet.. Because 1200 calories a day are recommended for a 4 year old child. You are a grown assed adult. Not a child. Eat 1800+ calories a day, even more if you're active. In fact, if you're active and burning around 6-800+ calories from activity, you should be eating 2000+ calories a day.

Trust me, calories do not make you fat.. Unless the calories are from junk. 100 calories from vegetables are completely different from 100 calories of chips.

Like I said, calories = energy. Google it if you don't believe me.

Ever wonder why when you don't eat for a while you get tired, slow, grumpy and light headed? Hm, maybe because you're not eating enough calories for energy. Okay end rant.

Moving on..

The best way to eat nutritious is to eat natural foods. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits, basically anything that's one ingredient.

Think about it.. If something can last 2 years on a shelf without expiring..

How long will that food stay inside your body?

Simple foods break down so much easier and are better digested, leading to a higher absorption of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for our bodies.

Here are some of the foods I typically eat: (again, everyone is DIFFERENT, these are my personal food choices)

Vegetables:

- peppers

- spinach, kale (BEST food EVER!), leafy greens of any kind really

- cucumber

- carrots

- celery

- sweet potato! (Basically every day.)

- zucchini (makes great shredded noodles)

- spaghetti squash (also great noodles)

- basically any vegetable.. Except broccoli.. I hate broccoli. Ha.

A salad a day keeps the diseases and obesity at bay ;)

Fruit:

- bananas (literally everyday)

- berries

- apples

- peaches

- any fruit.. Especially when in season.. And especially in a smoothie for breakfast everyday.

Grains

- whole grain sources..

- pasta

- quinoa, all the time

- crackers for snacks every so often with hummus or cheese

- not gonna lie I eat bagels often now. Have to make up for all that bagel deprivation from body building somehow ;)

Proteins:

First I must say this, I don't eat meat. Eggs and fish every so often, but animal meat makes me feel very unwell.

Listen to your body.

Pay attention to how you feel after eating certain foods. If you feel lethargic and sick, chances are your body can't handle that food. Here's what I typically include for my protein,

- chickpeas

I cook these into burger form, eat it as hummus, or basically everything and anything to do with them. So good.

- beans

Also great in burger form.. In fact, mix the chickpeas and beans together.. You won't regret it.

- nuts (especially on salads, or peanut butter form.. Just watch out for the brands that add a bunch of junk to the jar, go for whole organic peanut butter.. With one ingredient.. peanuts, DUH!)

- protein powders, I put a scoop in my breakfast smoothie (since I don't eat meat)

- cottage cheese

- eggs (every once in a while)

- fish (again, only every once in a while.. Because sushi is amazing.)

Reasons why I'm not officially "vegetarian", I chose to not eat the majority of meat because my body can't digest it.

I'll say it again, listen to your body.

"But where do you get your protein?!" Haha. Jokes.

Side note.. I cut out meat and lost 16 pounds in a month without even trying.. Obviously my body was trying to tell me something.. And was apparently holding onto ALOT of sodium and water. For me, meat = cramp and bloat city. Again, this may be different for you.

Dairy:

My body also cannot handle dairy products.. Lactose intolerant. However, cheese is fine for me every so often, along with Greek yogurt. (Fun fact.. Cheese has minimal lactose compared to milk.. The reason it doesn't bother my stomach as bad).

"But how do you get calcium?!" Well simple, it's in tons of vegetables anyways, and you don't see me with brittle bones, do you? Nope. (Also have weight training to thank for strong bones).

Now, back to the whole change your mind set thing.

Treat/cheat meals are not the devil.

This is a lifestyle. There are very few people I know that can maintain a strict diet every day. In order to make this work in the long term, you should treat yourself every once in a while.

In moderation though.

For example, one or two treat meals a week.

It will maintain your sanity, and help you keep on track. Trust me, one cookie or pizza for dinner once a week, isn't going to make you fat.

As long as you're not eating the entire box of cookies in one sitting..

Another important topic.. Alcohol. I'll keep this brief, moderation is key. Again, every once in a while as a treat it's fine, just don't let it ruin your progress.

Next and final topic.. Exercise.

I'm only mentioning it now because what you ingest is WAY more important.

You simply cannot out train a bad diet.

However, exercise compliments nutrition, and will help you reach your goals. They go hand in hand.

As much as I am bias about running, I know this is not possible for everyone.

So, back to tip 1 - change your mindset. If you want to maintain this lifestyle, forcing yourself to run or weight lift if you don't enjoy it.. Isn't sustainable. This is a lifestyle, and something you want to continue for the rest of your life. You can be expected to maintain something if you hate doing it everyday.

My tip here.. Find something active that you actually enjoy doing. This can be yoga, weight lifting, running, biking, walking, swimming, hiking, hell even if tennis is your thing, just get active everyday.

If it's fun for you and physically active, you're 10x more likely to keep doing it, and if your nutrition is on point, the weight will fall off. Don't listen to that friend saying "I lost weight by burning 1000 calories a day on the stair master!" Blachhh, who wants to climb stairs in a gym looking at a wall for 2 hours a day? Not me. (If that's your thing though.. All the power to you.)

Just get outside, get active, even bring a friend or family, and create a lifestyle you can maintain.

After all, being healthy is for life.

Now please remember, all of these tips are simply what works for me, take from it what you may, and hopefully it helps you in your journey to a fit and healthy life.

To summarize,

- change your mindset

- drink more water

- sleep!

- eat whole foods

- limit alcohol

- exercise

- smile!

You've got this!

The Rural Runner

The past week I've been spending time with Kirk and his family in Cape Breton. There's no better way to spend the holidays than with family. I baked some vegan cookies before I left to bring with me, since I hate showing up empty handed if I'm staying for a bit.

I found an awesome vegan eggnog spice cookie recipe and decided to give it a try. Original recipe here. I love it when websites offer vegetarian alternatives!

They didn't spread out as well as I thought.. Opps. Had to flatten them with a fork.

Kinda look like timbits, YUM!

The finished product was a hit!

I stayed with Kirk and his family for a few days and had an amazing time as always. I love Cape Breton and plan on living there eventually.

Of course while I was visiting, Kirk and myself went for a couple runs.

Our first run was 8km on the Ceildh Trail. It's old an old train track trail that runs for hundreds of kilometres along the Western Coast of Cape Breton that's well maintained and (for the most part) sheltered by trees. It's also pretty flat, so it made for a good run.

Zoom, zoom!

Of course we also found some obstacles to play on.

Some day, I plan to climb across this entire thing.. Ninja warrior training!

The next day we did a quick 5k up the mountain and back down, which really made me realize how much I need to start adding hill training to my workouts!

It was a much more difficult trail than I normally train on.. With a couple technical climbs and some rivers to cross. We go until we reach a hunters cabin hidden in the woods, then turn around as our half way point.

It was a great week away and I love spending it with Kirk and his family.

This week we're planning on spending time in the valley with my family over Christmas, and fitting in our long run tomorrow on Xmas eve! My longest distance ever - 24 km (cause we're all festive and shit). Stay tuned for a recap.

Merry Christmas friends,

The Rural Runner

Now that Ive been home a bit and life has calmed down, I figured it was time for a race recap.

Kirk and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale after a long day of flights and being at 4 different airports. We picked up our rental car (note to self.. Book this in advance next time. Airport car rentals are a nightmare.. And Canadian debit cards are apparently useless in America.)

We finally got everything sorted and headed straight to Whole Foods.

Seriously, there needs to be a whole foods in Nova Scotia.

We got all carbed up and ready for a weekend of racing.

The race venue was pretty flooded, and it was raining hard on and off.. But that didn't rain on our parade, duh we are Spartans! Aroo!

The race went very well, I only ended up doing Burpees for the Hercules hoist (this seriously weighed more than I did and lifted me off the ground) and the rig (opps, need to practice my monkey bars). I'll get you one day, burpee free race!!

Heres the pictures from Saturday's race

Who's this happy during a bucket carry?? Me apparently.. Lol like I said, we were in Miami, it was warm, can't rain on my parade!

The only obstacle that is easier when you're a shorty.. Also, man buns and barbed wire don't get along.

Mmmm doesn't that water look delish.

Pretty excited because I passed a dude! #spartanchicked

Kirk was waiting for me at the finish line with a big hug :)

Ps - you get a free Shock Top at American races.. Now that's what I'm talking about!

I placed 33rd in my elite heat for females, and 5th age group, which makes me super happy because I thought I would be near the bottom of the group! A goal for me had been to place top 50 of elite females so to do this at my first elite race was pretty exciting!

New goal: top 10 female.

Kirk placed 3rd in elite and made it to the podium! He has been training his ass off and deserves a big win like this!

Look at that smile! :)

Holy moly am I ever a proud girlfriend, I literally bragged to anyone who would listen to me that weekend about him winning! Well deserved. Someday, I'll be up there with him :)

The next day I was far too bruised and beat up (8 foot wall probs) to race elite again so I had the wonderful opportunity to cheer on Kirk instead. Watching him race is amazing, he's so fast and focused and when he goes through obstacles he makes it look effortless. I've never been so proud! He came in at 4th place in a very close finish! That man never fails to impress me.

Later on that day, we met up with our friend Juan and ran in the open heat (less competitive). It was super fun completing the race with friends and getting some awesome pictures along the way.

Romantic date idea.. Bucket carry through a swamp, haha😂

Again, man buns and barbed wire don't mix.

We decided to do a sexy hair flip dunk wall photo.. But I forgot.. Hahaha still the best picture ever.

Dunk wall photos are beautiful.

Note to self.. Don't wear a strappy sports bra at Spartan races. Also, say hi to my awesome friend Juan! :)

Overall it was SUCH a amazing weekend. I made a bunch of new friends, completed some goals and had fun racing. For now, it's technically Spartan race off season, but we're training for our upcoming race, the hypothermic half marathon. Back to the cold in Nova Scotia!

After that race, the workouts will be getting very intense as we have decided to compete in the Montreal ultra beast (45+km) July 31.

Ps - we made the 3 hour drive to Orlando to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it was literally the BEST DAY EVER!

Cheers,

The Rural Runner

Finally, finally, finally!!

Tomorrow morning I'm flying out of cold and wet Nova Scotia and heading toward hopefully sunny and warm Florida! Im emphasizing this because I just put my snow tires on Tuesday and am in denial that it's almost winter.

Although it's always fun playing in the snow with your puppy!

Anyway, I've had this trip planned with Kirk for quite a while now and we're super excited to go!

We arrive in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow around 6 and will be staying close by, as our race is in Davie. We're also hoping to get an early sneak peak at some of the obstacles tomorrow once we land!

Goal: keep Burpees to a minimum.. Aka don't fail any obstacles!!

We are racing in the elite heats both days and then probably doing an extra lap just for fun!

After the races were hoping to go out with some friends for food and post race celebrations. We're going to be super close to Miami beach so we are going to rent bicycles and go exploring as well! It's going to be a very active vacation.. Just the way we like it!

After the weekend race weekend is all over, we are also planning on heading up to Orlando for a day to go to Universal Studios.. And more specifically The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!! I'm full on fan girling, this is basically my life dream.. Finally going to Hogwarts!

I'm gonna be that adult that's more excited about this than most children there... Yup.

It should be a great week and I'm counting down the hours until we leave! I'll definitely be posting race recaps as well, so stay tuned.

The Rural Runner

After Saturday's near death experience and what I felt was a very crappy run (okay, obviously if you almost die, it was a shitty run).. I was looking forward to getting back out there and making things right. What some might call "get back on the horse" haha, well actually more like getting back on the trail.

As I was telling my boyfriend Kirk earlier, I have a theory that every bad run always precedes a great one. He completely agrees, it's like whenever you're having what seems like the worst run ever, getting back out there for another go is the best thing you can do. It's like redemption.. So hang in there, better days are coming.

Today I went out for a 10k run, just like any other normal day, except this run felt different than Saturday's. My legs weren't tired, I felt very energized and easily maintained my pace at under 6.00/km. This alone is great news for me because only a month ago my average pace was around 7.00/km.. So huge improvements in speed!

It was a little chilly and there was some snow on the ground, but overall it was a great, clear day for a run.

I finished the run in around 58 minutes.. A new PR for me! I was so excited because last week when I PR'ed my 10k in under an hour for the first time ever.. I was struggling hard. Literally pushing it with everything I had. Where as today it felt easy and natural for me. I happened to look down at my gps watch and was like "woah really.. Was that my time!?" Seriously.. Big improvements because last week I was panting like a dying animal.

Hahaha this was me last week.

2 cat pictures in one post.. I swear I'm not a crazy cat lady..

Anyway, I was also super excited today because I finally reached one of my newest goals.. To run 160km in one month!

Oh yeah baby, finally a member of the platinum club!

It's been a busy month with a lot of training for me and I'm really noticing the improvements I've made by sticking to my training plan. This half marathon in a January should be a piece of cake!

So remember, embrace the shitty runs, because more than likely something great is coming along right after!

Cheers friends,

The Rural Runner

The Rural Runner

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