Vacation report: Week #2 - And still more beaches

Husband's goal for this vacation was to make sure I got to the beach so often I'd get sick of it. (Riiiiiight. Like that's ever going to happen.) And, fortunately, the weather's mostly cooperated. It rained last Wednesday but we were in the city to spend time with a friend visiting from Yukon so didn't mind at all. And, as it turned out, the rain let up long enough to show him around and have supper outside! Otherwise, most days have been perfect for beaching - though some have been a bit breezy.

We spent the majority of our days at Risser's Beach last week but we made it back to Hirtle's on Sunday, when we had friends visiting from the city, and I rode Patti there again today after touring Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. The waves were terrific both days. We had a blast body-surfing on Sunday, and I snapped these photos of some adorable beach faeries during a long walk up the beach and back. 

Husband and I also spent an idyllic day at Cherry Hill Beach last Friday. It's only about 15 minutes down the shore from Risser's but I hadn't been there in years. Now that we've been, I can't understand how we forgot about it. What a gorgeous spot! And we had the beach almost entirely to ourselves for much of the day.

Unfortunately, all the warm humid weather has made marathon training more challenging. I managed to complete most of my workouts last week but at an abysmally slow pace. If I don't pick it up soon, there's a good chance my next marathon will be slower than my last - which is not what I was aiming for. Given that the forecast for this week and next is more of the same kind of weather, I'll focus on making the most of my hill and interval training in hopes I'll be in shape to run faster when temperatures drop a bit. 

So far this week, I've done a hill training session (7k, including 7 hills) and an 8k easy run. Tomorrow is interval training and on Saturday I plan to run 26k to Risser's Beach. I know from past experience that I'll enjoy cooling my legs in the ocean when I get there and the route is gorgeous so there'll be plenty to keep my mind occupied if my body gets cranky about the hills along the way. Assuming all goes well, I'll take the plunge and register for the Valley Harvest Marathon early next week. If it doesn't, I have some hard thinking to do. The Legs for Literacy Marathon in Moncton takes place a two weeks after VHM and is considerably less challenging so it might make sense to run it instead. However, I've really been looking forward to VHM because much of the route is along roads I traveled regularly in my youth. I'm hoping the happy memories will distract me from the pain in the final kms of the race. Stay tuned!

All in all, it's been a great second week (and a bit) of vacation. At the moment, it seems inconceivable that I'll be ready to return to the office on Monday but I suppose I'll cope. 

Hope you're enjoying the last gasps of summer too. Happy running and writing!

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that, of course, we've been eating ridiculously well this vacation - another benefit of staycationing. Last night, we whipped up a yummy bumbleberry made with blackberries from our own garden, local rhurbarb and strawberries. Yum!! And there's been tonnes of hodge podge (new potatoes, beans, peas, cream and butter) not to mention fresh corn steamed on the BBQ. My goodness, I love all the lovely fruits and veggies we get this time of year! 

Vacation report: Week #1 - Beaches and more beaches

Week #1 of our vacation is over and I have to say it's been good so far. There's been plenty of good food and wine, a reasonable amount of exercise, lots of reading and relaxing and even a bit of painting. The best part has been hanging out on the beach of course. The weather's been nothing short of perfect almost every day.

Of course, I'm happy to be on a beach, whatever the weather. Frankly, people who only like beaches when the weather's warm and sunny aren't serious beach people in my books. Sure, beaches are nice in the sunshine but that's something truly magical about them when the weather's less than ideal and you have them mostly to yourself.

We definitely didn't have them to ourselves this week. The weather's been stunning. We spent the first couple of days at Risser's (have I mentioned lately that it's my favourite place in the world?)...

Then sauntered half an hour down the other side of the Lahave River to spend a day on Hirtle's Beach...

Before making a somewhat longer trek to Summerville Beach just outside Liverpool...

And returned to Risser's for several hours today - until a thunderstorm chased us home.

All three are fabulous for different reasons. Hirtle's has the most spectacular waves...

... and is located near the entrance of a terrific hiking trail that circles Gaff Point. In fact, it was the opportunity to go for a hike that drew us to Hirtle's this week. We were feeling the need for more exercise after a couple of days lounging at Risser's.

Summerville has welcomed American tourists for generations - and for good reason. It's over a mile long with soft, white sand that sparkles in the sunshine. Seriously. It sparkles! Plus, it has a decent restaurant at one end. Husband and I really enjoyed sitting outside on the deck listening to waves crash against the rocks below as we sipped local beer and wine.

Clouds arrived later in the afternoon but that was fine too since we needed a break from all the sunshine and they offered some interesting photo opportunities.

Risser's is...well...Risser's. It's an excellent beach with good waves and lovely walks behind the dunes and across the marsh, as well as down the beach...

But it's true appeal is hard to articulate. I just love being there! And, apparently, I'm not alone in that.

For those who may be wondering how marathon training's gone this week - well, pretty well, all things considered. The fall I took last Sunday exacted a bigger toll than I realized at first. I was quite sore all over for three or four days and my arms are still feeling cranky. Nevertheless, I completed a couple of decent training sessions this week (including hill and interval training), as well as an energetic hike around Gaff Point, some "swimming" (aka playing in the waves) and a couple of good yoga sessions.

Truth be told, I may have overdone the yoga a bit yesterday. In my defence, it was hard not to. My yoga spot on the back deck is lovely - shaded by the house with a ideal view of the garden and bird feeder. It was wonderfully mellow watching the birds come and go while I did my thing. Honestly, I was tempted to stay there all day! My body felt terrific when I'd finished, but a little less so when I woke up this morning. It turns out all the downward dogs made my calves and hamstrings grumpy. I'll have to be a tad more sensible tomorrow.

The workout I enjoyed the most this week was the one I did this morning. I read about it in a NY Times blog a year ago but forgot about it until it popped up in my Facebook newsfeed yesterday. Like many people, I find it hard to do speed work consistently. In theory, the workout described in the blog - called "10-20-30" - minimizes the duration of the pain while improving overall running performance. The idea is to run 30 seconds at an easy pace, 20 seconds at a moderate pace and 10 seconds all out repeatedly for a total of 12-18 minutes. The good thing is that it's fun and the hard bits don't last long. The bad thing is that it's quite a bit tougher than I expected so I can't honestly say I'm looking forward to doing it again - though it's certainly less daunting than a 6k tempo run in 30C temperatures!

That's it for week #1 of our vacation. Looking forward to an easy run tomorrow morning and a long run on Sunday before we head over the mountain for a visit with friends in the Annapolis Valley. Next week, we plan to spend more time at the beach and visit with a few more friends and family - though we're determined to keep our program light so we get plenty of rest too. Of course, I'll be continuing to train as well.

Hope you're enjoying these last weeks of summer as much as we are!

Happy running!!

Vacation!

Sitting on the deck sipping coffee and watching birds at the feeder while I write this. After a couple of hot days, this morning's air is fresh and cool - like early fall. It's day #3 and I still haven't fully relaxed into vacation mode - despite plenty of good food and wine. It's hard when there's so much I could/should be doing, but I'm determined to rest as much as possible - when I'm not marathon training, that is.

My training goals for the next few weeks are to run 5 times per week and do yoga daily in an effort to kick my marathon preparation up a notch. So far, the running's going okay but I haven't started the yoga routine yet and I'm not sure I will today either because I took a fall while running with my buddy David yesterday. I went down relatively gently but still managed to scrape one elbow rather badly and my shoulders, arms, and hands are sore from the impact. I don't think they'll be up to doing downward dogs for a few days. I'm luck to have gotten off so lightly since it really could have been much worse. I know people who've broken arms and gotten concussions as a result of similar falls.

David and I were nearly18k into our run yesterday when I fell. We'd planned to do 22-24k but it was 28C in the shade and humid by the time we hit 20k and my arm hurt so we called it a day. Despite everything, I enjoyed the run. David's good company and the route was gorgeous - from his house in Prince's Inlet, along a shaded trail to Lunenburg, around a loop that took us to Carter's Beach and back.  We didn't stop to take many photos so you'll have to take my word for it, but here's a sample.

Husband and I plan to stay close to the country house for much of our vacation but hope to make quick trips to the Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton to see a few friends as well. Once I've a little more energy, I'd also like to spend time with my camera. I'm determined to get a few decent shots of the birds at our feeder. They're fun to watch but move so quickly it's hard to capture crisp images. So far this summer, we've spotted woodpeckers, jays, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees, doves, and goldfinches - in addition to the robins, ravens and eagles that visit our yard regularly. 

My other major project for this vacation is to start planning my (semi-) retirement. Husband and I have been batting around options for awhile and the time has come to make some decisions so we can start moving in our chosen direction. More on that when we've concluded negotiations. :-)

Hope you and yours are enjoying these last few weeks of summer!

Beautiful summer days!

Summer's here! And so far, we're really enjoying it. This was a long weekend in Nova Scotia, and the weather was hot and sunny for the most part, so Husband and I spent all day Saturday and Sunday camped out on Risser's Beach. We even went swimming a few times since the water was 18C and there were some lovely big waves on Sunday. The crowds were as large as I've seen them in awhile but it was still lovely and quiet at "our" end of the beach.

The weather made my weekend runs a bit challenging though. I slept later than planned Saturday morning and it was so stinky hot by the time I awoke that I opted to run 8k after we got home from the beach. Running on a stomach full of beer and chips after 6 hours in the sun wasn't easy but it was easier than the alternative.

This morning's long run was more comfortable. Once again, I slept later than intended but still managed to get on the road shortly after nine. By sticking to the Centennial Trail, I was able to remain in the shade for much of my 20k and there was a slight breeze so I arrived home feeling a good deal better than I did at the end of last week's 17k.

The rest of my training week was good. I checked off a hill training session on Tuesday and speed training on Thursday. Marathon training is going well so far but, of course, the toughest weeks are ahead.

Other activities this weekend included gardening, photography, retirement planning, cooking and reading. In short, I was "vacation hardening". Just four more days of work and I'm off for three weeks. Three weeks! Needless to say, I'm excited. It's been far too long since I had a proper break.

After two solid days on the beach, we were ready for a change of pace today so spent the afternoon in Lunenburg. After a lazy lunch on the deck of the Salt Shaker Deli, we wandered through town stopping at several local galleries and Ironworks Distillery to pick up a bottle of their award-winning Bluenose Rum.

We also caught a glimpse of the Bluenose, in port to pick up passengers for her next tour.

Back in the car, we explored the roads outside town, and stopped to take a few photos. Lunenburg is a UNESCO Heritage Site for good reason. It's ridiculously picturesque.

We'll likely make it back to Lunenburg for the folk festival next weekend - always a highlight of summer on Nova Scotia's South Shore.

Hope you and yours are enjoying a sunny, warm summer as well!

Happy running and writing!