I ended up with a four-day weekend last week. I took the Thursday off for a very special Hayley event and then figured there was no point going into work on the Friday so I also booked a vacation slot for that day. I enjoyed the four days off for sure but it was still pretty active.

On Thursday after I got the kids off to school I laced up my shoes and ran 5.2K in about 32 minutes which was good. I was inexplicably hungry (I don’t usually feel hungry until I’ve been up for awhile) so that made the run a bit “meh” but I managed. I even felt good enough to shoot a video when I got home showing my favourite post-run stretches.

(Some day I really must get a better widescreen-capable camera. And preferably with a better mic.)

The special event that evening was Hayley’s violin recital. I had originally thought it was just her school but it turned out to be several local schools with kids from grade four up to high school grades, most of whom played violin but there were a few cellos and drums in there too. They played at the Halifax Forum and told the story of the Titanic through music with Hayley’s group playing “Mirror Waltz” and “Flowing River” and then they joined in on the grand finale of (what else) “My Heart Will Go On”. The evening was hosted by John Dunswoth of “Trailer Park Boys” and “Haven” fame which was pretty cool.

It was a great night, much more grand than I expected and I think it really sealed it for Hayley wanting to continue in violin next year.

I took some video (of course) and thought I’d share the big finale. Hayley comes in at the 2-minute mark.

Even though I didn’t run on Friday we managed to take some time to be active by going to the park. There are definitely times when I go to the park and sit down with a book but more often than not I’d rather be on the move. We get a lot of wind gusts there anyway, so it’s a good way to stay warm too!

Park yoga!

On Saturday I stayed in bed a bit longer than I meant to just because it was warm and I was sleepy but eventually I kicked myself out so I could go for another run. I did 5.1K that day but the difference was that – in anticipation of Citadel Hill – I ran up a pretty steep hill on my route. I managed to make it to the top without stopping and then even though I kept thinking, “I have to stop and walk soon I think!” I never did which gave me great hope for the race.

I love that picture. It’s so deceptive and makes the hill look so innocent and easy. LIES.

I did get some quiet downtime for awhile when George and the kids headed out to the store and I took full advantage by doing my toenails, pouring some juice, and reading a book out on the back deck in the sun.

All that rest gave me the energy to go back to the park for the second day in a row and I got my chin-up on.

And then of course, I already re-capped Mother’s Day, including our third day in a row at the park. I love the weather we’ve been having. Last year Halifax nearly drowned with incredible rain throughout late May and into June so we’re soaking up the sun while we can just in case!

As for today, it was tough at first to shake off four days of being at home but once I got to work I got back into my groove (the tea helped) and the day whipped by quickly. I came home and went for yet another 5.1K run, tackling a hill again and I ran it in just over 31 minutes. I was really thinking I couldn’t handle Citadel Hill but I think if I’m smart enough to not burn out by trying to bomb straight up it that I really can run this whole damn race. And if not, hey, it will still be fun and the view will be spectacular!

The countdown is on – race day is in just six more days and I have one more day left to run before that. I can’t believe it’s almost here, I can’t wait!

(Psst, it’s still not too late to sponsor my fundraising for my run if you’d like. No donation is too small nor too big and it’s for a great cause!)

This morning I practically had to drag myself out the door to go catch my bus to work. It’s not that I didn’t want to work per se, it’s more that it was drizzly and damp and I was tired so what I wanted to do more than anything was go to bed and get more sleep. Then maybe drink a cup of tea while browsing mindlessly across the Internet. Alas, it was Monday and off to work I went.

Throughout the day I found myself yawning ridiculously. I looked like I’d been crying at one point just because I kept hitting one yawn after the other, making my eyes water.

While washing my hands in the washroom this afternoon I randomly found myself looking forward to not feeling obligated to run all the time so I could go ahead and get back to other exercises that I also enjoy like HIIT and kettlebell and Zumba.

The weather for Tuesday looked nice. Between my fatigue at work and my inertia in the morning, and then the icky weather I figured I’d take one more day off from running, maybe do a bit of yoga in the evening, and I’d just do a run tomorrow.

On the bus ride home, the sun was out and it was neither cold nor overly warm, just a comfortable temperature in between. I caught myself thinking about how nice it would be to go for a run before supper. I figured supper would be ready shortly after I got home though so I mentally scratched that possibility off my list.

Except when I got home George told me supper wouldn’t be ready for some time and that urge to get out and run was about as overwhelming as that mosquito bite that you can’t help but scratch so I flew up the stairs, changed, grabbed my running shoes, phone (for the timer) and iPod (for the running playlist) and I was out the door.

I had no intentions of running. I did not really even want to run until I was on the bus coming home. I had not eaten healthy carbs or fruit on my break in anticipation of a run, in fact I had eaten a Kit Kat bar.

And so somehow I ended up running 5K in just under 29 minutes, hitting a 5:46 pace. I don’t even know how I did it, but I do know that I never once wanted to stop, I never once had to urge myself to keep going, and I felt fantastic throughout the entire run. I looked like a serious runner on the outside but on the inside I was mentally raising my arms and fist-bumping the air like Rocky as I ran up and down the streets of my neighborhood.

I wouldn’t suggest fueling up for a run with a chocolate bar two and a half hours before a run, but maybe there’s something in that Kit Kat…

Anyway. I came home elated, practically shrieking at George about my time, and hopped around the living room for a minute before settling myself down enough to finally stretch (yoga poses are so handy post-run). Now I’m sitting here almost three hours after I got back and I’m still flying high on endorphins and I can’t stop smiling.

The moral of the story is this: Eat chocolate before you run Don’t write off whether you’ll run in the evening or not when it’s only 8:30 in the morning. Because you just never know when the urge will hit you like a freight train and that just may be the day that you kick ass and take names.

I’ve learned something since my awesome shift change. I definitely love working from 10-6 and getting home at 6:30 instead of 9:30. I am so happy to be able to eat supper with my family and be here to read to the kids at bedtime. I missed those take-for-granted things terribly with my old shift. I am very grateful for my new shift.

However, from a fitness point of view, I have discovered that I loathe running in the evening. I’m trying to maintain a three-days-per-week running schedule which is how I’ve managed to progress so quickly in my distance. Because of running three times a week I fully expect to hit 5km by the upcoming weekend and that’s great. Once I’ve hit the distance of my actual race I can worry about things like incorporating steep hills (oh Citadel hill, why oh why are you on my route? Seriously!) and contemplating time.

To do my running three days a week though, I need to run twice on the weekend so hello back-to-back Saturday and Sunday morning workouts. I don’t mind that though. My endurance has improved enough that I barely notice any stiffness or discomfort come Monday morning. That part is fine. The problem is that I end up having to pick one day each week to run after work.

I do realize that I could get up and run in the morning before work but, well, no. Despite my love of my shift I am not a morning person and never will be. I already get up at 7 am to get myself ready for work before I get the kids up (and ten minutes of that time is usually spent sitting on my bathroom floor looking at Instagram photos while willing myself to wake up) so the thought of getting up at 6 to go for a run is laughable to me. I applaud those who get up before the sun and get out there to pound the pavement in their running shoes but it won’t be me.

This means I run after work once per week. This week it happened to be on Wednesday. The problem for me is that I don’t find it enjoyable. I see plenty of people running at the same time of day. I see people running while I commute home. I pass two or three people with a smile and nod (“hey there fellow runner, we sure are a crazy breed what with all this traveling about by moving our feet as quickly as possible but we’ll be in fine shape for the zombie apocalypse!)). Clearly I’m not the only one heading out for a run at a little before 7 pm.

The problem is that after being at work all day I’m tired and while this is an ideal time to try to boost my energy with a workout, I honestly don’t feel like it. On the weekends I get out of bed (no bounding, but I do get out willingly) and go out in my running shoes and take off with a happy feeling. On the evening runs it’s more, “uggggh, I have to run, let’s get this over with.”

I did well on Wednesday in the sense that I did another 4.25km, I did it in about 27 and a half minutes, and I did it without stopping. I felt like I was pushing all the time though. I never hit that endoprhin-rush break-through-the-wall sensation that I love so much.

Still, it keeps me up with my training so there’s that. And the race is on the 20th so soon I won’t feel obligated to run outside of weekends.

So why do I love to run so much if I have to force myself sometimes?

Running is awesome. It’s so good for my head. As someone with anxiety, running combines several wonderful things. One, it accelerates my heart rate in a good way. A panic attack accelerates my heart for no good reason and it feels scary. Running makes my heart pound in a great “look what I’m doing!” way and it feels empowering.

Two, it’s good for my head. I’ve discovered it’s really hard to get worked up over nothing when I run. Between the music playing on my iPod (Toby Keith and Britney Spears are great running partners) and the fact that I’m concentrating on breathing steadily, keeping good form, and thinking about where my next kilometer marker is, I have no time to fret.

Three, exercise is a proven anxiety reducer so there’s nothing but benefits there.

Four, it makes me physically stronger and that somehow translates to helping me feel stronger in the face of anxiety attacks. I’m not sure why, it probably ties in with number three, but I know that sometimes I think, “dude you can run over 4k without stopping, you can absolutely make it through this stupid panic attack!”

Five, endorphins. Oh my God I love my endorphins. I’m sure someone in some pharmacy has bottled up a facsimile of endorphins but believe me there is nothing like the natural kind that hit you when you hit your proverbial wall, push a little harder, and break through. If you ever see me running and I’m laughing all by myself, endorphins are the reason.

Tonight I did a kettlebell workout and tomorrow I’m just letting my body rest because while you’d think kettlebells would focus on your arms they actually hit the legs pretty hard so I want to give my calves and quads time to recover.

Then Saturday will show up and I’ll be the girl in the “save the dolphins” cropped pants, a t-shirt, a ball cap, and my running shoes, racing around my neighborhood to see if I can stretch it out to a full 5k run. I seriously can’t wait.