Hello friends,
As you all know I've been training for my up coming ultra the end of July!
The race is fast approaching, and I'm doing what I can to prepare myself for what is sure to be a difficult 12 ish hours on top of a deathly mountain. No big deal right..?
My training this week included 1 long run, a speed workout, and a few average distance runs. I mixed in some biking as well.

Monday:
21.1km we decided to run this one straight up the mountain to the look off, across, then back down the mountain. The view was absolutely worth the climb!

Half way through I got a little tired and needed to take a break...

Running downhill is actually way harder than you would expect.

After completing the Cabot Trail Relay, which includes some serious up AND down hills, we have realized that downhill running is something we actually need to practice more often. Were always so concerned about the uphills and being able to maintain a decent pace while climbing, however, running back down is often overlooked. Downhill running can be a great time to gain time and cover a lot of ground fast, however it can also cause quadriceps exhaustion, shin splints and even injury if not done right. Theres an interesting article I found on running competitor here, for anyone interested in more information.

Tuesday:

(Rest day) but I was hugely motivated to run for some reason, so... 3.2 what was intended as a short stretch out run after our half the day before, turned into a very fast run with Kirk. Felt good to get the legs moving for a short distance though.

Wednesday:

Today was scheduled for a 9.7 km run. However, I only ran 7km.. which I told myself was okay cause I ran when I wasn't supposed to yesterday.. and it was crazy hot out. Almost like running in a humid sauna.

Thursday:

Cross training. Biking is my favourite form of cross training! I feel so free and happy when I'm on a bike. I like to bike to work when the weathers nice. Or to the market with a backpack for a short local ride.

Friday:

Scheduled for 8.05km. Lets honestly hope I have the energy for that after work. 

Saturday & Sunday:

I am scheduled for a 25.75 km run after work Saturday, however there is absolutely no way I will be completing that long of a run after working over 12 hours, plus long training runs like this require planning and preparation before hand. So instead, I'm having rest day Saturday and the long run on Sunday before I lay down to sleep for my night shift. Its hard following a training schedule when you work such long hours and are on your feet all day!

Training goes on though.

Hope everyone's training is going well!

Happy trails!

The Rural Runner

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Sunday:

Sunday evening, Kirk and I made a dish I found on one ingredient chef, the author, Andrew, creates generally easy to make vegan recipes which all start off with basic whole ingredients. I love his blog and decided to give a coconut sweet potatoe curry a go (original recipe here). Now, mind you, we made this for my family, and they're not the kind of people that like eating anything with vegetables in it, especially if it's spicy. Since I've been trying to get them to eat healthier, I figured it was worth a try, and I knew if no one liked it.. there would be plenty of left overs for me ;)

The recipe included chickpeas (love them!!), diced tomatoes, sweet potatoe, coconut milk, onion, chilli (for me, the spicier the better), ginger, garlic and lots of spices (yay!), all on a delicious bed of rice (it called for jasmine, but I used white and it tasted just as well). The recipe was easy to follow and surprisingly just as easy to make. Here it is simmering (50 minutes felt like forever when the entire house smelt delicious)

I was worried about it being too soupy/runny because we didn't drain the can of diced tomatoes, but it ended up being a great spicy kind of sauce on top, and added more flavour to the rice.

The finished product.

I loved it.. And so did everyone else too! It was relatively cheap to make (assuming you already have all the spices) and was a delicious healthy meal! The leftovers lasted me all week.. It made ALOT of servings.

Recently I've been cutting meat out of my diet. Mostly for the reason that the only meat I really ate anyways was chicken and sometimes a burger, but mainly because of the way it makes me feel lately. It's like my body doesn't want to digest it (not surprisingly) and I just end up with a bad stomach ache. So anyways, for the past almost month I haven't eaten meat (I can't drink milk either because of lactose intolerance.. So that part was easy haha), honestly it's been going great. I'm at my lowest weight I've been in years (not that I had toooo much weight to lose, but this makes me happy!), I have more energy for my runs, and now less digestion problems. It really hasn't been all that difficult for me to cut meat out, except for the fact that it's the only thing my family eats. So basically I just bring my own rice and salads to family dinners haha. Since the change, I don't even crave meat anymore, and it's opened my eyes to just how many meat free options and meals there actually are! Just gotta do a little research. I'll probably still eat eggs every once in a while (eggs are in cookies okay don't judge me.) so I guess that means I'm not a full on vegan.. And I still love honey (sorry not sorry.. Bees are scary insects.. Not animals..) but that's okay because I'm happy with my change so far! 

Srsly.. This meme is spot on.. I've already gotten the "but how will you get your protein?!" Judgement question like 20 times. Hmm lets see, chickpeas, broccoli, kale, soy.. Want me to keep going? "But you need meat!!" And then I respond with this sassy answer.. "Have you ever actually seen someone end up in the hospital because they haven't eaten enough meat? No? Me neither, in fact I've seen more people in the hospital because they eat too much meat and fat and bacon, etc.".. Then I awkwardly laugh and say "just sayin" as they stand there with their mouths open trying to think of a comeback.

Anyways rant over. On to the next topic..

Monday:

Me and Kirk were talking on the phone and decided to do a New Year's Eve fun run this year!

It's free and is only 5km and isn't timed or anything.. But we're doing it together and I'm going to dress up and it'll be a great time! There's chilli and hot beverages afterwards, and then we will probably head to Cape Breton to ring in the New Year with his family.

Tuesday:

I had a wonderful 10km run yesterday evening, everything went smoothly and I ran basically the entire thing without walking, which is an accomplishment for me. I finished with 64 minutes.

Note to self.. Selfies while running = bad haha.

Next week.. I'm determined to do 10k in under an hour. It's been a long term goal for me and I'm SO close. I know I can do it if I just push myself a little more, especially now that I've been way more on top of my nutrition.

Wednesday:

Remembrance Day.

A very important day of the year for me, being in the military. Today was my 3rd year attending the ceremony. It's honestly an amazing feeling marching in on parade to the cenotaph with the veterans. It's so humbling being able to speak with them afterwards and I'm so proud to be able to serve my country. My fellow soldiers are like brothers and sisters to me, there's very few jobs out there where you become a family like we all are.

Here's a couple of us after the ceremony.

There was a wonderful turn out this year with hundreds of veterans, soldiers and civilians attending the ceremony, and the weather was perfect.

Also, exciting news.. I got promoted today! Officially Cpl Misner. Been a long time waiting for this, so it was great to be able to celebrate after with everyone. And yes, I'll have to update my DEU's now with my new rank :)

With all the activities going on, and my long drive home, I didn't have time to get my run in today.. Which is probably best since my dress shoes gave me HORRIBLE blisters on both heels. I lost a couple layers of skin (yuck) so will probably go for a bike ride tomorrow to cross train instead of making up the kilometres by running.. It is what it is and I'd rather not make my feet worse. Especially since I will be doing a long run this weekend, 16.1km is on the schedule. Stay tuned, I'll post my running schedule later this week.

If you're still reading, God bless you, what a long pointless post haha. But now you're all updated!

Until next time friends,

The Rural Runner

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