Where to begin?!
Brace yourselves for a lengthy post, a 24 hours race means a long recap. But before I can begin talking about my experience, I will provide an explanation of how the race works as best as I can.

The Cabot Trail Relay.

A 276km, 24 hour, 17 leg relay through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia.

(Note yellow highlighted road on the map below!)

The relay begins at the Gaelic College in St. Ann's (near Baddeck). Each runner (from a team of 17 members) runs one leg of the relay. We had 2 support vehicles to assist in driving runners to and from legs as well as providing water/food/encouragement along the way for each leg. The legs varied from about 13 to 20 km each, all on a variety of different elevations, according to their location along the Cabot Trail (See below). Each leg connected together completes an entire lap of the 276km Cabot Trail. The start of one leg would also be the finish line for the previous leg. When you start your leg, you have a certain amount of time to reach the start for the next leg.

For example, leg 1 started at 0700 in the morning. Kirk ran this one, and he had until 0840 to reach the start line for leg 2 (which is also the finish for leg 1). Because they have to continue to move the finish lines along with each leg, if you don't make it to the finish line/start of the next leg, you will miss the mat and the chip cannot be tracked, so you get the same time as the last tracked runner that made the finish +5 minutes as your final time). At the end, the times from each of the 17 legs is added up, and the team with the fastest overall time wins (this year 1st place actually took only 16 hours to run ALL 17 legs.. thats crazy!). Our team only had 9 people, as opposed to the normal 17, which meant the majority of us would be running 2 legs (or more).

Our team name was Running Dirty as we are all primarily OCR and trail runners!

We all met bright and early Saturday morning in Baddeck for a quick breakfast of egg and avocado sandwiches, then drove to the official start line of the race at the Gaelic College. Kirk was our first runner and we cheered him on as he left. We then waited our required 25 minute period before leaving (each support vehicle had a different time, to prevent car congestion). Driving along the first leg of the relay was a great indication of how the race would go. Support vehicles were cheering out the windows of the cars, everyone was having a blast, and the route was absolutely gorgeous. Anytime I get to be near/run by water, I'm a happy clam :D

Kirk made it to the finish of his leg with a time of 1 hour 19 minutes.

Kirk and I after leg 1!

Martin was up next, and his leg started within 20 minutes of Kirk arriving. After we picked up Kirk/dropped Martin off and cheered him on as he began his leg, we started to drive toward the beginning of leg 3.

I was running leg 3 and my excitement/nervousness was growing. Doing the calculations, I knew I would be cutting it close to the cut off time. I had to maintain a pace of 5:58 to reach the finish line at leg 4 before it would be closed. This was stressful because not only is my average pace during EVERY training run EVER only 6:30-7:00 a kilometre, but I would still have another leg to run after this one. Regardless, I braced myself and got my kit ready to go.

Rock tape saved my life.

Starting out, I tried to maintain an even pace at anywhere below 6 minute/km. Running an entire minute per kilometre faster than I've ever ran was hard, but physically I felt great. I maintained this pace for the first 5k, thinking maybe I just might be able to make the cut off time. Somewhere along the way, whether it was a hill, or just that pushing that hard was getting the best of me, I ended up with a couple kilometres being a 6:30 pace. I came into the finish line a mere 2 minutes after they closed it, missing the cut off time. After spending the entire week before this race panicking and stressed out about how I knew I wouldn't make the cut off times, this was very disappointing. I basically collapsed into Kirk's arms sobbing, feeling like a failure and very embarrassed about being such a slow runner. I know I'm still a newbie at this and I can't expect to get fast right away, however I felt like I was letting my team down.

Luckily, team Running Dirty was there for the fun times, and not for placement. Everyone was really just excited about me finishing strong, as opposed to caring at all that I didn't make the mat.

After some talking to Kirk, he convinced me to be proud of the fact that I had just ran almost 16km in an hour and 22 minutes (this is a good 20 minutes faster than an average run for me) and I've realized how much more I am actually capable of when I push myself.

Next up was leg 4, which was up Cape Smokey and run by Mike. He started a few minutes late and still finished 13th out of about 70 people!

Leg 5 was run by Tara, the other female on the team, who is super fast and can easily keep up/pass all the guys!

After Tara was done, it was past lunch and we were all starving so we stopped at a grocery store for some hummus and carrots, apples, orange juice, crackers and chocolate. Not a real lunch by any means but it really hit the spot.

Carrying on, leg 6 was run by Justin, leg 7 was run by Mark and leg 8 was run by Lloyd. I'm going to be honest, most of the day after I ran was a complete blur. Between eating, trying to get some rest (I was still recovering from working a night shift the day before) and checking into our airBnB Tara got in Pleasant Bay, I wasn't really sure where the time went.

Our rental had a short path to a look off! Selfies in-between napping haha.

Before we knew it, it was 8 pm and time for Kirk to begin his second leg, #9. This leg had the most elevation change (gain and loss), was the first night leg, and it was raining. At the top, ironically, the team doing the water station was dressed as devils with signs reading "Welcome to Hell".

Wet and cold. Bad combination.

Looking happy, but inside probably dying.

When Kirk finally reached the end of his leg, we could all tell he was exhausted. We fed him a club sandwich and he got into the shower at our rental to warm up.

Our team was also in charge of a water station, except ours was for 1230 at night. I slept through it in the support van so I can't really talk about how that went, opps! Had to sleep a bit before my next leg at 5 am.

Throughout the night, Martin ran his second leg (10) - the hardest leg, straight up with a lot of turns and no downhill, Tara ran her second (#11), Adam ran his first (#12), Mike his second leg (#13) and Lloyd his second (leg 14).

Before I knew it, my team was waking me up in the back of the van and saying I had less than an hour until I ran again (leg 15). I can confirm one thing.. you don't get a great sleep in the back of a car thats driving up mountains haha. Another thing.. running was the last thing I wanted to do at that moment. Freezing cold, exhausted from barely any sleep, sore/stiff from running and then sitting in a car for hours... I was miserable and really dreading my run. This leg was just under 16km of rolling hills and I knew the cut off time would be tight. There came the anxiety again.

Once I started going however, I was surprised how well my body managed to run while sore/tired/etc. I was maintaining just around the pace I needed. Around 9km in though, I could really feel the effects of the past day and knew I was beginning to be dehydrated. Luckily my team was there to support me and give me water. I carried on, spending some time running with/behind my old friend from high school, Jessica. Having my team cheering me on, and Jessica there was just the push I needed to carry on and finish the leg strong.

I came up short again, by barely a minute, as I saw the next leg leaving as I was rounding the final corner (which meant they had closed the finish). However, instead of feeling disappointed this time, I felt proud that I had maintained a long run at a much faster pace than I had ever been used to before. The crowd was still at the finish since leg 16 had only JUST left (Kirks 3rd leg) which was great because the cheers while finishing the leg was amazing.

Once I arrived, we drove to the finish of Kirks leg, at the start of leg 17 - Martins 3rd, and the last leg.

They had a pancake breakfast set up at the end of leg 16 and it was just what we all needed to refuel!

Is it sad I have to stand on a tree stump to be the same height?

Finally, after over 24 hours the race was winding down. We met our entire team at the finish line in Baddeck and waited for Martin. The crowd was unreal and there were a thousand people there cheering everyone on!

Quite a tall team! Minus the 2 shorties in front ;)

After the race was over, all 1300 of us racers/support crew headed to the arena for a post race meal.

The Lion Club had worked so hard to prepare steak, lobster and vegetarian trays. I had the vegetarian, which had pizza, quinoa/grain mixture and a pasta salad. Everything was delicious, especially the carrot cake for desert! I was so hungry and excited I completely forgot to take pictures of the actual food!

Food, new friends and good conversations

After the lunch, we took some more pictures and said our final goodbyes before everyone left for a long drive/flight home.

Yay team Running Dirty!

Also in the picture are our lovely support crew/driver ladies! I cannot thank everyone enough for such an amazing weekend. Our captains Tara and Mike, for putting so much effort and time into planning everything, and for allowing a slow poke such as myself the opportunity to join such an amazing group of runners for the weekend. I feel blessed for being able to run one of my bucket list races so early in my running journey and cannot wait to run this next year (faster and more improved, of course!!).

Not only did I prove to myself that I can run 30km on little to no sleep, that I can push myself to go faster, but also that I can maintain a 6 minute pace for that a longer distance.

Once my legs recover, I cannot wait to get back out and continue training to see how much I can improve from here. My goal for next years relay (hopefully we can all return!) is to maintain a pace of 5 minutes/km. Tons of time to train.

For now, I continue training for the Ultra Beast in the end of July! A couple months of solid training left to go! I'll be ready in no time.

Happy Trails,

The Rural Runner

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Now that I'm home and have spent my Monday resting muscles and joints, I figured it was a good time to share my race recap from the weekend.

Kirk and myself packed our bags Saturday morning with multiple running outfit options (never know what weather will be like come race day!), tons of Gu, water and oatmeal, and our running shoes. We left at around 10 in the morning to begin our 4-5 hour drive to New Brunswick. It was a beautiful 20+ degrees for the drive, and we sure do love road trips!

Goodbye for now Nova Scotia!

We arrived around dinner time and went straight to the Convention Centre for race kit pick up! This is always exciting, especially when theres an expo. After collecting our race shirts, course map, and talking to some people about up coming races (and being convinced to do the Marathon by the Sea Port City challenge, in Saint John, NB), we headed to our hotel to check in, and get our race kit ready for the next day!

I will make a post about my race day essentials soon!

We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Fredericton, since I got a good deal/used RBC points! Upon arrival the nice gentleman at the front desk asked if I would like to join the membership club, I said sure, and he upgraded our room for FREE to a suite! The room was absolutely gorgeous and HUGE with a sofa in the front as well as mini kitchen, and a huge king sized bed and flat screen in the back. This was such a great start to our weekend.

Once we were all settled, we headed to downtown Freddy to search out the race start line and find some supper. We stopped at a restaurant modelled after the prohibition called Vault 29. We both started off with a Shock Top beer (this may be the best new pre-race tradition EVER!)

For food, we both ordered the black bean burger with sweet potato fries. Im honestly drooling right now just thinking about it.. they were literally the most amazing fries I've ever eaten.. EVER. Seriously. 

After that, we took our full bellies out for a walk around the town. I don't think I could have eaten one more bite, but it was exactly what we needed the night before a big race.

Once we returned to the hotel, we both settled into bed early since tomorrow was a big day and we would be getting up early to get prepared for the race.

We woke up at 5:45, got dressed, ate our oatmeal and headed for the start line. We got there early and dropped off our bag, taking off our extra layers before hand. It was around 11 degrees, with cloudy skies (no rain though!) and absolutely no wind.

Perfect race conditions as we knew it would warm up more before we were done racing.

Kirk was aiming for around a 1:30 half, and my goal was to beat my previous time of 2:33. We went our separate ways as he headed toward the front and I stuck at the back of the crowd near the 6:45 pace section.

After a little wait, the gun went off and the huge crowd of runners made their way through the start line. I tried to keep my pace slow and as close as possible to my race pace (which is SO hard to do when everyones cheering and the adrenaline is pumping!), and ended up going out a little fast at a 6:00 pace (which I maintained happily until slowing down to a 6:45 pace at around km 7).

We completed the first 4km through town, until turning onto a trail and (to me) the most scenic part of this run, the walking bridge.

This bridge was gorgeous. I used this picture from google ;)

The course was absolutely beautiful, and made me wish I lived in Fredericton. There is a great amount of walking/biking trails all throughout the city and I was so impressed by them and their accessibility. 

After the bridge, we continued on the trail which was a combination of paved and hard packed, and running beside a river. It was also relatively flat which was perfect for setting new PRs. I was feeling great at 10km in and decided it was time to take my first GU. I saw a water station coming up at almost 11k and ate my chocolate Gu before grabbing a cup of water and chugging that so I could keep going without stopping. I was feeling so good I didn't want to ruin my stride by stopping to walk.

At last, I had reached the turn around point. Seeing that orange cone was a great feeling, I looked down at my watch and was excited to see I was over half way done! I couldn't believe how amazing I felt (must have been that pre-race beer, Ha!).

At around this point, I had been maintaining a similar pace to another woman for almost 3 km and decided to stick with her. We chatted for quite a bit and I found out it was her 65th birthday!!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Her smile and cheerful outlook helped me finish the race strong. She was very inspiring, and I told her its a life goal for me to be as active and fit as she is when I'm older. She helped me maintain my pace for almost half of the race, and I was so glad to have met her along the way!

Around 17.5km I finally started to feel tired. Honestly was expecting this feeling at around 12k in so I was glad it hit me later on. Training is paying off. I had one Gu left, so as I was coming up to a water station I ate it fast and slowed for another quick drink. My pace this kilometre slowed significantly to around 7:00 a km.

It was around 18km that I finally saw that beautiful bridge again, and I knew I only had a short 2 km left to push.

After the bridge there was a straight stretch, one corner and then another quick stretch to the finish.

Rounding the corner and hearing all of the crowd cheering was an exciting feeling and the energy helped carry me to the finish line. I went all out for the last 500 meters and thats probably the closest I've come to blacking out/puking on a run haha.

I finally crossed the finish line and saw Kirk waiting for me. After catching my breath he told me I beat my time! By an entire 13 minutes! Like I said.. training is paying off! I finished with a time of 2:20 and couldn't be happier. Before I started the race I had high hopes of beating my previous time, but in the back of my mind had a fear that I wouldn't be able to do it. 

But, as Kirk always says, "push those thoughts out of your head! Its all mental and you know what you're capable of, and its big things."

That man sure motivates me to keep going and push my limits.

Having someone there to support you and make you stronger is an incredible feeling. I'm so grateful for not only Kirk but also the amazing people and friends I've made through racing. Its honestly such a supportive community of people. I also came to realize during this race, while people were passing me (which at points can be mentally difficult), that even though its a "race", I'm only truly racing against myself. I feel like thats the same for the majority of other runners as well. We're all chasing that new PR or that personal goal or that fast time for ourselves. I think this is one of the reasons why were all so supportive of each other, because for some, even simply finishing is an accomplishment.

My new favourite medal!

For now, I'm switching my focus toward running more hills and further distances in preparation for The Cabot Trail Relay the end of this month. Our team is small and therefore I will be running two legs for a total distance of 32.42km.. If any of you have been to the Cabot Trail.. you know just how many mountains there are! Training will be tough for the next 3 weeks but I'm very excited to run this as its one of my bucket list races!

Today was a great rest day, but back at it tomorrow for an 8km run. Hope everyone's training is going well too!

Happy Trails,

The Rural Runner

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Rise and Shine!
It's a new month, a new day, and as good of time as ever to get a head start toward healthy living and happiness.

The easiest way to start is by small steps. This can be as simple as getting to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal. Sleep is so important for recovery as well as your mental health. Aim for 7+ hours a night (although everyone's different for how much sleep they need to feel well rested.. I need like 8 or 9 hours haha).
One way to help you fall asleep is by disconnecting. Staring at a bright phone or laptop screen (even a tv) before bed is going to do the opposite of make you sleepy. Take a break from the phone for atleast 30 minutes before you plan to go to bed. This will help your mind to settle and your body to relax. I find reading before bed really helps me settle into a good sleep.

The next small step towards a healthier life begins after you wake up in the morning. Start your day with a nice glass of water. Fights off dehydration and sets the day off right. Our bodies are basically 1/3 water, don't deprive yourself of something we so naturally require.

Next, and this is the biggest tip I'll share today.. DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST!
I know you've heard it before, and it's 100% true - breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.
Now I can bet some of you are saying "I don't have time in the morning to eat breakfast." Stop lying to yourself, and refer to tip one. Get to bed earlier so you can wake up earlier and have time for a healthy start to your day.
Nothing sets the tone off better for a good day like a good nutritious breakfast!
My favorite meal to start the day is a smoothie. Not only is it quick and easy to make, but it's great for your health and is fully customizable. There is so many different combinations for smoothies depending on what fresh fruit or juice you have kicking around. 

My favorite is a combination of Kale, banana, peaches, vanilla protein powder and orange juice!

Quick tip: bananas block out the taste of veggies in the smoothie.. some people just have a hard time getting past the color ;)
Other options for healthy fast breakfasts..
- oatmeal
- yogurt with granola and berries
- a banana, some nut butter and a glass of orange juice
- eggs and a piece of fruit (kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, Apple, etc.)

Easy, fast and healthy choices.
No excuses.

It's never too late to become a better you and get healthy.
We only get one body, take care of it.

The Rural Runner

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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

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This morning I woke up with full intentions of getting out of bed at 630 and hitting the trails early for my 12.9km run. Let's be honest, I always go to bed with such great intentions and plans for the next morning. If only I had the same amount of motivation throughout the entire day as I do when I'm laying in bed at 10 o'clock. I always set my alarm early and end up pressing snooze. Then pressing snooze again.. Then more than likely pressing it a third time. This is why I have to set like 12 alarms to ring every 5 minutes just to wake up for work..

And I'm totally the person on the right..

Anyways.. This morning I turned off my alarm and crawled back into bed (like usual), and while I was laying there, I was thinking.. (Mind you, this is a mere 7 hours after setting the alarm for a morning run in the first place, thinking it was a brilliant idea):

It's too early.

I'm too tired.

It's cold out. And this bed is so warm.

My hamstrings are too tight.

I'm too grumpy.

I have too much to do today.

Etc etc..

An accurate representation of myself this morning. Whine city.

Literally every excuse possible was running through my mind as to why I shouldn't/couldn't run. But then I said to myself.. "Self, what the heck are you doing! Get out of bed and go running! Right now is the only time you have all day to fit it in and that's why we sets the alarm (I say in a golem type voice). So get your ass up and dressed, we're leaving!" Yes, that's literally how I talk to myself sometimes.

Anyways, I get out of bed and reluctantly got dressed, knowing it was for my own good and that I wasn't going to win an argument with myself. I set out on my typical route, which felt very weird considering I typically run in the afternoon. According to my training schedule, I was due 12.9km so obviously I wa going to run 13.

Srsly.. Run circles to make that shit even. #OCDprobs

The run started out fairly well, I was maintaining a 6 minute kilometre (this is pretty good for me, don't hate). My goal for the run was to maintain my pace and do 13 km in under 1:30. Totally do-able.

When I left the house I had been wearing a long sleeved shirt and a wind breaker, plus long pants (stupidly assuming it was colder that it actually was). I ended up getting super hot a couple kilometres in and decided to ditch the long sleeve. Half way through stripping (while running mind you) I managed to get my shirt up over my head only to notice and older woman walking on the trail was looking at me like I was nuts (haters gonna hate). I chucked the shirt (okay just kidding I folded it neatly and tucked it in a hidden area with shelter.. Like I said OCD) and continued on my way.. Feeling much lighter and breezy. Continuing on the trail, I realized it was the exact route I had taken when I developed my stress fracture in August. This was encouraging since I was feeling great so far, and am fully healed from that very shitty injury. I went 0.5km further than I had that day, turned around and continued onto the second half of my run. Only 6.5 km to go at this point.

About 2km further, I started to feel VERY tired, literally exhausted. Normally I don't get this at only 8-9km into my runs.. And I had eaten oatmeal before I left (my go to preworkout!), so I was feeling discouraged. I cut back my pace and continued at a slower one that I could handle (around 7 minutes a km.. Basically felt like walking to me). Looking at my timing.. I was at 56 minutes with 5km to go. With this pace I knew I wouldn't make it in time to reach my goal. This made me pretty disappointed..

There I go being a grumpy little shit.

And then I realized.. There will be shitty days and there will be amazing ones, but the thing is, there will always be more days and more attempts and I will get 13km done in less than an hour and a half, one day. My PRs that I strive for, train for, and push myself harder for.. They will always keep changing. What's my fastest? I don't know, because I haven't run it yet. Without these crappy awful shitty runs, there wouldn't be the great ones where we accomplish our goals. We need to embrace the losses just as much as the wins. Today taught me that maybe it wasn't my day, and I didn't hit my goal time or even come close, but I have to get back out there and be stronger than I was this morning. I'm going to improve, learn from it and get faster. Without a struggle there would never be growth, and today I sure as hell struggled! Sucking ass just gave me more motivation for my future runs, and I will push myself and do my best at the race on Sunday because I know I'm capable of more.

Oh and yes, I picked up my neatly folded shirt on the run back.. Safe and sound :) 

Long story short..

Embrace the struggle friends,

The Rural Runner

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After officially deciding to run the hypothermic half marathon coming up in January, I realized it was probably in my best interest to start a training plan, instead of just winging it. Normally I don't have a plan for my runs until like an hour before when I say to myself something along the lines of "hmm I think I'll run 8km today!" As some people always say "failure to plan, is planning to fail." Or something like that? Basically I needed some help in the run schedule department..

I have a goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon on my mind and would love to accomplish that. Therefore, I started looking into possible training plans. I recently learned that Nike plus has a coach option (I wonder if I even live on this planet sometimes haha). I figured this was pretty convenient since I already use the app to track my runs.. So I might as well have the same app tell me how far and how fast to go. I entered in my race details, estimated my current fitness level (intermediate) and just like that had an entire 12 week training schedule made and customized for me. Nike plus is a great app for keeping track of runs, PRs and even challenging friends (add me - MisLyns)!

The plan increases in intensity each week, up until the peak week of training. There is often a cross training day on Thursdays and includes a rest day on Sunday's. Cross training days are great to improve endurance and maintain fitness, all while helping to decrease risk of injury (weight and resistance training is perfect for this too). Some days are easy runs where as the next day is commonly an interval run or fartlek (frequent variation in pace, today mine was 3 minutes faster pace followed by a 2 minutes slower pace). Fartlek training can help with conditioning, and I find it makes my runs go by faster.

The distance of the runs vary from 1 shorter run (around 4-6km), mixed in with a couple medium runs (8-12) and one long run a week on Saturday (16+km). Each week the distances increase, averaging 50-60km total every week.

Monday was week 1, day 1 with an easy 4.8km run. Great start to get the legs stretched out and ready for today's fartlek. Today was an 8.05 km interval run. It took me 50 minutes for the full run, warm up and cool down (I'm not the fastest, but this program will help to increase my speed). Day 2 of the training plan went well and felt good.

Tomorrows run will be the same distance, except an easy pace, so I'm going to change up my route to keep things interesting. Thursday is cross training, and I plan to do an upper body day with the weights in my basement (I haven't really lifted since my bodybuilding days.. So this should be interesting). Friday is a 6.4 km run, easy pace for 4.8km, followed by a faster final 1.6k. Saturday is my first long run of the training plan, and will be 12.9km. I'm looking forward to this comfortable paced long run. Adding distance is important to build up to that final 21.1 km half marathon that's my goal, so hopefully I can complete this run with a similar pace that I'm hoping for on race day. Should be a great Halloween run! Sunday will be my first rest day, and I'm sure it will be well earned.

After the day off, week 2 starts with another 8.05 km run of easy 4.8km and finish with the last 3.2km at a faster pace. 

I'll be posting updates every week as I continue with this program.

How's your training going? Do you prefer the longer easy pace runs, or shorter interval training runs?Are there any races you're working towards? Let me know!

Keep training friends,

The Rural Runner

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We've all been there, in a rut, unsure where to go or how to move forward. Sometimes just the motivation needed is goal setting. Having something important to you as a goal to work toward is a great way to push yourself to get shit done. Constantly writing down or seeing your goals will put a renewed perspective on what's important in your life. I have many goals that I keep written on notes saved on my phone. Once or twice a week I'll read over my personal goals to refresh my mind on what I want to accomplish, not just with running and races, but with life as well. Everything you do should be an investment into your future. If you're putting in work and are not gaining anything from it, then it's time to do some reevaluating. Goal setting can be just what you need to wake up everyday determined and motivated.

Here are some of my tips on setting goals:

1. Make them realistic and attainable.

Sure, I would like to be the Queen of Canada.. But we all know that's not gonna happen, nor is it realistic. Having goals that you can accomplish gives you that little push you need to work harder and actually achieve it. I'm not saying make the easiest goals ever, because what would be the point, but instead, make it hard enough that you have to work for it, but it's still attainable.

2. Write it down and keep it organized.

Having a written record of your goals will help you to keep track of them. When I write down my goals, I sort them into long term and short term goals. This helps determine potential deadlines and decide what I want to accomplish within a year or what I want in 2, 5, 10 years etc. My goals that are more easily attainable, such as running a sub 25 minute 5k or only eating meat on Mondays.. These are included in my short term goals, where as a sub 2:00 half marathon or full vegetarian diet would be on my long term list. These are things that will take a bit more work but that can definitely be achieved. Other things on my long term list are races like the Disney marathon, where I know it's not just training involved, but I'll have to save money for a while to be able to afford to travel there.

3. Review your goals at least each month.

Going over your goals is a great way to notice any changes you may want to make or any new goals you want to add. This also helps remind you of where you need to go and what you need to work on to accomplish your goals. For example, seeing my goal of running a marathon internationally, reminds me how important it is for me to save money.. and maybe I don't really need to buy those cute shoes if running that marathon is the bigger picture and my long term goal. Keep focused and on track by refreshing your memory of your goals every month or so.

This is me at the top of Cape Split, had a goal to run the entire hiking trail (just over 16km). This was my first long run. Foggy eh! It's high up just off the water with a magnificent view of the Bay of Fundy (when it's clear skies) and is a gorgeous hike up through dense forest and vegetation.

Funny how I thought 16 km was the longest run ever, where I now have a long term goal of a 50km ultra run. This is why it's so important to review your goals, especially when you accomplish one, so you can move on to bigger things.. Keep making new goals and never stop improving.

4. Work for it!

You're not going to accomplish that sub 2 hour half marathon by sitting your ass on the coach day in and day out! If you know your goals, you've written them down and reminded yourself why they're important, now it's time to put in the actual work. You don't get better at running hills by walking them.. So get out there and climb that damn mountain and accomplish your goals.

This is my dad and I on my graduation day, it took 4 years of hard work to get my nursing degree, but it was definitely worth it. This was such a proud moment in my life, knowing all that hard work paid off. There were times where I having a rough go and thought I would never accomplish my goal and graduate from university, but I stuck it out, embraced the struggle and pushed on. Keep your goals in sight and put in that work, eventually your dreams will become a reality.

Keep setting those goals friends,

The Rural Runner

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