One of the best parts of the summer is the fact that the sun doesn't go down until about 9 at night. This could not be more perfect for people like me who work long 12 hour shifts, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. It's nice getting off work at 7pm and still having enough daylight left to go out for a run, where as in the winter it would be dark at 4:30pm.

Last night after getting home late from work I squeezed in a quick 6km run. It wasn't my full scheduled 12km, but I still got out there. Sometimes after a long hard day at work all you need is a peaceful run by yourself. The sun was setting across the horizon on the fields and it was so serene.

Lately, I haven't been getting out for every single one of my training runs like originally planned. I'm unfortunately not at that level yet where I can run 6 days a week. My body is only able to do about 4, with the other days being filled with bike rides, walking and/or yoga.

It feels discouraging seeing my training plan check-marks only on some days of the week, but I know my body and 6 runs a week would be overtraining for me. Some day I'll be able to run 6-7 days of the week without developing an injury. For now, I'm sticking to 4, maybe 5, even though my plan calls for more.

One aspect of training that I have been keeping up with very well is my long training runs. I haven't missed one yet and I'm very proud of that. I may have missed a few 6-8k runs, but every week, I get out for one long run of at least 2 hours.

This past week was 25km. I did it with Kirk and we ran straight up the mountain for the first 6km, followed by 13 kilometres of rolling hills toward Halls Harbour, and then 6km back down. It was 25 degrees out with not a cloud in sight.

The sun completely sucked the energy right out of me and by kilometre 14 I was completely dying. We had brought a camelbak and plenty of Gu, however nothing seemed to help and I could barely maintain a run. This had never happened to me before in a run and it was super frustrating to feel this way. I was completely dehydrated and weak and thank god Kirk was there to push me to keep going and get home.

After the run, and after I cried for a bit because lets be honest, that was one of the hardest runs of my life, we showered and got ready for my dad's engagement party. Thank goodness there was lots of food and wine cause I needed it!

We clean up nicely post-run ;)

Hope everyones week is going good! Until next time,

Happy Trails,

The Rural Runner

Continue Reading

Sometimes the best way to motivate yourself, is by motivating others. Recently, I've had the opportunity to help my mom with her weight loss goals. We've been working together for about 2 weeks and so far it's going great! Not only has she lost 8 pounds, but I've lost 4 myself! I've been helping her with healthier eating and we currently are working out about 5 days a week. She will head to the garage to exercise on the treadmill, and I complete my run outside on the trail. We also include one day a week of weight lifting/resistance training or cross training to keep things interesting. Not only has she noticed a significant increase in her ability to run further distances at a time, but she is feeling and looking better. I'm so proud of my mom for putting in the effort, and love seeing her positive results.

Helping her has been such a huge motivation for me to keep going as well. I was even able to complete a new goal this week... Reaching the blue level on my Nike plus running app!

                                                                       

I may be a huge nerd.. But this literally made me jump up and down in excitement! Now if you can see how much excitement that brings me.. You can imagine how overwhelmed with happiness I am when I can help someone else reach their goals too! I can't even describe to you what an amazing feeling it is having someone tell you that you inspire them to work and try harder. I am always encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle for the many physical and mental health benefits it provides, and when I am able to make a difference with someone else's life it is very humbling. If I can cause a positive impact on someone's life then that makes me one happy lady! Especially if it's someone I love.

Keep inspiring friends,

The Rural Runner

Continue Reading