Okay, so you were just getting back on track after all the turkey stuffing, shortbread, and New Year’s bubbly. Then your special someone sidetracked you with that amazing dinner with the delicious chocolatey dessert for ♥ day. You know their intentions were good, but yikes – you only have so long to whittle those love handles down before the Easter Bunny comes hopping along to tempt you further. Plus summer’s just around the corner… right?
So what can you do to burn off those Valentine’s Day indulgences? Get active. Get outside. Do one or the other, or even better – do both. Unless of course it’s -30°C, in which case, that swimming pool, spin class or hot yoga session is looking pretty good.
If you’re looking for some activities to kick yourself into gear, don’t forget to check out our Events Calendar. It might be winter but that doesn’t mean you should be hibernating. You’re not a bear.
Here’s just a sampling of some great activities to get your heart rate up:
- Ongoing: MEC Vancouver is holding free group runs every Wednesday evening.
- February 18: The Yeti snowshoe series heads to Whistler Olympic Park this Saturday.
- February 19: Victoria’s Hatley Castle 8K road race is this Sunday on the island.
- February 26: Get ready for the Langley Aldergrove Mud Run, an 8K trail run that’s sure to get your heart pumping.
- March 4: MEC Raindance 5K/10K run in North Vancouver.
- February 20 and 22: Calgary has Gord’s Frozen Fifty on the Monday, then when you’ve recovered you can check out an Introduction to Winter Scrambling on Wednesday. Two days is enough recovery time for you isn’t it?
- February 26: Edmontonians… get ready for the Hypothermic Half Marathon 21K.
- February 25: Grab some of your friends or colleagues and enter The Great Grain Relay.
- February 26: It’s the Winnipeg Hypothermic Half Marathon 21K.
- Ongoing: MEC Barrie will help you work up a sweat with their free indoor cycling sessions on Sundays. They’re only happening until mid-March though so hurry up or you’ll miss out.
- February 17: Make your peace with winter and climb some ice in Haliburton.
- February 19: Ottawa has the Winter Marathon and Marathon Relays, with a variety of distances to suit everyone – so there’s no excuses.
- February 18: Head to Fôret Ouareau in Nôtre-Dame de la Merci for a day of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
- February 18: Don’t worry Montreal, you get a Hypothermic Half Marathon 21K too.
- February 19: Hike Nova Scotia has events on in a few different locations so check out the calendar for details on one nearest you.
Awesome!
Not so much going on for Vancouver Island, NORTH though! Sometimes it’s really hard living in the middle of no where!
Cheers
Hi Nicole. I’m not sure how far north you are on the island or what activities you are interested in, but I had a look online and found a Half Marathon in Courtenay on March 18 if that interests you. You can find all the info on the Vancouver Island Runners’ Association website. But you’re right, the pickings are slim, at least from what I can see online. Otherwise… maybe you could start a meet-up group in your area. There just might be some like-minded folks in your area and I always find it’s easier to stay motivated when I have other people to do things with.
lol…I’m waaay up in Port McNeill!
Most people seem to stick to themselves around here!?
Thanks anyway!
And with the cougars lurking and bears waking up…
Ummm… yea… as you said, that’s getting pretty close to the middle of nowhere. Stay safe up there on the trails… bears can be cranky when they wake up. I imagine it’s like Monday morning x 1000 to them.
lol
Thanks!
Can you recommend a ‘running’ training web site?
I’m sure there are a few out there but because the Sun Run is coming up here in Vancouver, the first one that comes to mind is the SportMedBC site. They run the inTraining programs that are designed with the Sun Run as goal at the end of all their 13 week training programs. But, the programs are great no matter what your goal is, or just for your own personal training use because they give you specific things to think about and work on when you are running. They have a few different programs as well depending what level you are (i.e., Walk/Run, Learn to Run 10K, or Run 10K Faster). You can print off the training programs from the Vancouver Sun’s Sun Run website and use them on your own, plus they have a tonne of great online resources on things like gear, nutrition, training techniques, dealing with injuries, and staying motivated. The Running Room also has lots of online resources and some web-based training programs. Hope that helps.
Thanks so much!
Have a great day;)
Nicole