Great time celebrating the Millers this past weekend. • Didn’t think I’d have any juice in the legs to hit the dance floor after running 36km in the morning but you’ll always find an extra gear once Mr. Brightside comes over the speakers. • Also nice to finally break out the suit Papa Weezus put me in pre covid.. just glad it still fit after supporting local a lotttt these past two years. • Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend… it’s now officially race season. Let’s go!

We going back to back. • I had been so nervous for this run all week. The long run and tempo just hadn’t come together for me at all over this build, so when I looked at the plan 10km warm up, 21.1km at marathon pace and 5km cool down - I really didn’t know what to think. • Luckily I had a solid run Tuesday to build off of and was just hoping to carry it through but still I thought the worst. • But when I woke up today it just felt different than all other long run mornings and felt fresh and went into with an open mind. Whatever happens happens is my favourite thing to say when I’m nervous. • Well it happened and it went well. Probably the best long run of any marathon build I’ve ever had. The main thing is I didn’t try to do too much, and just stayed in my lane though I did have my first ever puke on the run and let me tell you that was not fun. • Last really long run of the marathon build before we start to taper for Berlin in 23 days. So excited and can’t wait for race day. Big thanks to the roadrunner for being my pace bunny today - definitely couldn’t have done it without him! • Hope everyone has a great long weekend!

Rasing money while running has allowed me to run with a purpose with every step. • It all started back 5 years ago when I raised money for Team Diabetes/Diabetes Canada as I had a lot of friends in the community and I was at risk for pre diabetes when I was at my heaviest. • 5 years later I'm back doing it again this September with Diabetes Canada is encouraging Canadians to Lace Up to End Diabetes through a virtual fundraiser where participants can choose their activity and set their pace pace! • Whether it’s running, walking, shooting hoops or whatever activity, you’re able to set your goal through the Lace Up app in the Apple app or google App Store! • Like I said earlier, I was one of the ⅓ of Canadians at risk for diabetes and one of the ways you can prevent or delay it is through exercise. If you want to join my team search brecarperuns in the app or if you don’t want to and have the means please donate through the app - it’s greatly appreciated! • Join me in September by taking the #LaceUpYourWay challenge and lets lace up to end Diabetes together!

Finally. • It’s no secret that the last few weeks I’ve been absolutely struggling. Not wanting to go on runs or when I did I didn’t feel good on them, which is unlike me. I was in a very negative space with running. • I thought it was just going to be one bad week, but then it was two, and then it was three until the train finally rolling last week and I couldn’t get out of bed for a few days. That’s when I realized it was time to ask for help and there’s no shame in that. Internally there was something going on and though I couldn’t see - my two watches could. • Luckily it’s started to feel like I’m on the mend and I’m not sure if it was booking the hotels for Berlin today or what but I finally had a workout where I didn’t feel like garbage the whole time though it’s funny because it was the biggest speed workout of the build. • Though I’m not fully back and hoping some blood work will tell me more but I can see the finish line in sight. I’m not going to let a few bad weeks throw off the efforts I have put in to get to where I am at this point, even if it’s not where I’d thought I’d be. • Today on my last 1km rep I said to myself that whatever happens, happens out here but what we can be proud of is that we didn’t give up when it got hard today. • Always just looking for a positive and growing from there - hoping it will carry into my biggest workout yet this weekend and the last long run, See you in 26 days Berlin!

Year 2. • The road to Nationals in Medicine Hat, Alberta gets started tonight. • It's still such a full circle moment for me getting to come back to coach the cross country team of the College I attended when I was 360lbs. Last year was my first year as a coach and it was a successful one as we had two runners attend nationals in Calgary. • This year? I'm not sure what's in store but I know that same as last year that there will be a focus on the field but also the focus is off of it as well with building them up as not only athletes but as humans as well. • The message will be the same as last year, which is all I expect of them is to put effort and show up on days that we may not want to be there. That they won't always going to be motivated but discipline, consistency and work ethic means more because hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. The reason I expect this of them is because it can be applied to anything in life and it will open a lot of doors in life and won't ever leave you plus it'll help you accomplish things that you never thought you could. • It'll be fun stepping back into the Wellness Centre gym again tonight because it always brings back memories as the place that gave me the start on my weightloss journey which is the 10 year anniversary of it starting. • Can't wait to see what lays ahead of the Knights this year - time to get to work! • If you know of any local runners attending Fleming and want to try out - tryouts are all week at the Wellness Centre 6-8pm and as well as few nights next week. Tell them to contact me or come out!

Consistency and discipline has always been one of the biggest keys to unlocking your own potential.  When I hit a two year plateau of not losing weight during my weightloss journey, I stuck just stuck with it, long after I wanted to quit because it wasn’t working anymore. I had developed a new habit and lifestyle and enjoyed it - so even if I would have stayed at that weight I stuck at for the rest of my life, I would have been content that I didn’t give up. • Was I frustrated, yes but good things happen when you don’t give up just because it gets hard. • This relates into running lately for me as these past couple weeks I’ve struggled. Ive kept showing up, putting in the effort but the results aren’t there. I always think back to my two year plateau where eventually hard work and consistency paid off, even if it wasn’t on the timeline I wanted. • I’m not sure what the future holds or when they will start to turn but I definitely won’t give up just because it’s hard right now. Today was another example of it where I wanted to get out of the struggle of the last 10km of my longest training run to date but we stuck with it. One bad week or month or even year won’t ruin the consistent efforts. • This also goes for people that say just because they had one bad weekend of eating they threw away all their progress. I didn’t lose weight overnight but I also didn’t get to where I was my biggest overnight. Don’t think you threw it all away with one bad weekend. Don’t make yourself feel guilt or force yourself go to the gym for hours upon hours- just get back on track and remember that consistency is key and you will be fine. I promise you that!

If you’re in need of a little laugh today, like I am then I present to you this masterpiece. • Still don’t know why I squared up like the bee was going to throw hands with me but they are arch nemesis numero uno right now after getting stung on the forehead the other week. • Been sick ever since posting this on my story the other day and it was almost like I felt it all coming to head. That same night I posted that I had no motivation to run or do anything and that I was fatigued. Next thing you know I’ve been in bed for 2 days with bad health metrics on both watches. Luckily I think it’s something that’s going to pass soon (not the vid, wouldn’t want that again) with a bit more rest and recovery. • Sucks that it’s in a marathon build but a few days off won’t ruin it. The consistency over the past few weeks will carry me through! • Now to eat for the first time in a few days, what should I get!?

Burnt out from running or marathon training? Me too. • It's been a struggle lately. The initial excitement of having a running goal wore off and as the summer heated up, the burning desire to run was all but extinguished. • Its normal, everyone can or will go through it at some point. Now I haven't skipped or missed a run but when you start to stare at your shoes more often than not than springing outside, then there might be an underlying issue. • Alexi Pappas said her coach told her this "Whenever you're chasing a big dream, you're supposed to feel good a third of the time, okay a third of the time, and crappy or not great a third of the time. If you feel too good all the time, you're not pushing yourself enough, and if you feel too fatigued, you might be burning out or having a mental-health challenge and need to reevaluate," • For me I'm so close and can see the finish line of training but the past 3 workouts haven't gone my way. My body is tired. My mind is tired. I start questioning myself and wonder if I'm capable. I've run through being tired before but when that all starts to go, it might be telling you take a step back to take a step forward. Remember one or two missed or cut runs won't ruin your training and might even help you in the long run. • Here are a few other ways to combat running burnout: -Find the root cause of your burnout -Be honest with yourself or talk to your coach -Remember your why -Use the 15 minute rule -Rest or Take a Break -Make sure you’re eating enough -Talk to your doctor and see if you’re healthy -Change your running plan -Run in a new area or with friends -Mix up your runs -Buy yourself something new -Revisit your goals • Remember know you can do it, you've done it before and you can do it again. What are your ways you combat running fatigue?

Daily reminder that size doesn't dictate pace, how far you run or your ability to call yourself a runner. • I vividly remember hearing this lady saying that guy is too big to run fast. I'm sure she had no ill intent behind it but for someone just getting into the sport, it just added a little fuel to the fire to prove her wrong. • As somebody who took a long time to define myself as a runner because I didn't think I would fit in due to my size when I had started running, it felt like a little setback to all the courage I had built up to submerge myself fully into the sport. • When you're on the outside looking in on running, there's a bit of a preconceived notion that you have to look a certain way to be a runner. But once you get into the sport you realize that running is for everybody no matter what you look like. • Running isn't a one size fits all type of sport. It's for anyone, so just remember as long as you lace up your shoes, you're a runner. Go as fast and as far as you want no matter your size, who cares what anyone else thinks of you. • Just run.

Since I posted that mental health video a few days ago I’ve had a lot of questions on how I started my mental health journey. • Self growth/love doesn’t come easy - it can be super uncomfortable but the benefits far out weigh being slightly uncomfortable for a bit. It’s hard to grow always being comfortable. • My first step was admitting I needed to talk to someone and going through the process of finding a therapist that fit my needs. From the first session I implemented some meditation into my daily life to become to be more present and mindful of my surroundings, while helping me start to solve problems that I had wanted to face since I was a kid. • The next step for me was signing up for a journalling course. The program I used was a 33 day course where you worked on yourself for 33 minutes a day. This forced me to think deeper while doing things like talking to yourself in the mirror, finding things you loved about yourself or even sitting in silence. • Of course since then I’ve had set backs because, the journey to self acceptance doesn’t happen over night and it isn’t linear. Though the setbacks have helped shape me to become the version of who I am today. • There are numerous ways that you can help yourself out as self growth isn’t a one size fits all thing. It’s about what’s right for you and when you want to take the leap. • Here are other ways that you can grow: -Exercise to clear your mind -Reach out/talk to friends and ask for help -Write daily affirmations -Breathing Exercises -Give yourself mental health days -Read -Mirror Talks/meditate/Face Fears -Do something you love! • There are many other ways that you can start to grow. You can start small, it doesn’t have to be all at once but it shouldn’t be scary to grow and start to love yourself. You only get one life and you can learn to enjoy the journey whether you’re going through a hard time or sailing through the good times!

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