THE MONTHLY POST....

I have come to this! One post per month... oh well, better than leaving the blogosphere altogether!!

I copied Lisa and ordered the exact same cycling jersey she had bought! I felt like a copycat but her being in New Mexico I knew we wouldn't be seen together wearing them... ;-) She had requested a picture so here it is:
I've done 3 races in the last month... keeping myself busy =)

1- Tour du Lac Brome 5K -21 June 2009

Like I mentionned in my last post, I offered the 5K race registration as a gift to my Dad for father's day and told him we would run it together. He has been running for a year now and I'm really proud of him for keeping up with his 3 runs a week. His previous PB was 41:10 at the Miami Tropical 5K. It rained a little bit a the beginning but we had a mostly dry race. The weather was perfect for a PB! And PB he did! We finished in 39:18 and he worked hard for it, the course was a lot hillier than what we're use to in the East side of Montreal. It was great to push him on the course and have him meet his goal. My Dad rocks!! 2- Not since Moses 10K -28 June 2009
This is by far the weirdest and most awesome adventure race you can do!! We run at the bottom of the seawall when the tide goes away in the Bay of Fundy. It's a mix of sand, mud, knee high water, rocks running. Very hard to do but very fun! I was even attacked by a lobster and a blue lobster nonetheless! Those are pretty rare and I couldn't believe I'd seen one =)

3- St-Lambert Sprint Triathlon -18 July 2009

I was pretty nervous heading into the race because I haven’t gone to the pool often in the last few months and I knew it was going to be hard. When I left the house it was pouring rain and dark, suppose to thunder shower... Surprise surprise at the race site: it's sunny and warm!! My cheering squad could have come afterall.... oops didn't have sunscreen...

Swim 750m -18:37 (including T1)

Very satisfied with my swim, I passed 2 swimmers in my lane and hold on to the lead swimmer. 30 laps went by really fast. This swim was only 30 sec slower than at my last tri (Esprit).

Bike 22K -42:49 (including T2 of 2:17)

We had to do 6 loops and I remember messing up at my first sprint tri so I kept repeating which loop I was on…. It did feel a little OCD. LOL Garmin tells me I had a speed of 30 km/h on the bike which I’m very proud of! All that cycling commute is definitely paying off. =)

Run 5K -36:21

The run was hard, I maintained an 11:21 pace, not the 10:30 I wanted but I couldn't go faster. I'm sort of disappointed in my run but it was 30°C and the sun really hit hard on me. I didn't let this bring my mental down when I saw I was slowing down, I always tried to pick the pace up a little.

So overall, I'm happy with how I raced and going to try and do better at Valleyfield! I was burnt on my shoulder and face and felt sick most of the afternoon and night... never forget that sunscreen even if it rains! Lesson learned...

AROUND THE BAY 2009 EDITION

The race that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside =) I am happy to have been able to participate in this event this year. 2007 holds my PB for this distance (3:21 while marathon training!) and 2008 was done while suffering with PF and finishing my thesis (3:40). Although I was in no shape to do the 30K this year, the relay was a great way to participate in my favorite race. Our team "Footlose and Fancy Feet" did really well, I ran with my friend Pat who smoked the hills (1:35 for the last 15K).

I was convinced it would magically stop raining for the race but when I got up on Sunday and I realised it was going to be pouring rain.... I had a mini panic attack LOL

Once I walked to the starting line and got all excited to start runing I forgot about the rain (well at this point it was just light rain). Then 15 mins in the race it was torrential downpour!! Soaked totally soaked... but smiling =) I always get emotional at the beginning of races, like I'm here doing this! It just feels awesome to be running with 7000 of my best friends!

My target goal pace was 12 min/mile. Splits:

Mile 1: 11:17 min/mile (I thought WAY TOO FAST, SLOW DOWN!)
Mile 2: 11:43 min/mile (better but still too fast!)
Mile 3: 11:36 min/mile (You're going to pay for this later on!)
Mile 4: 11:54 min/mile (now that' better!)
Mile 5: 11:58 min/mile (right on)
Mile 6: 11:36 min/mile (burst of energy!)
Mile 7: 11:18 min/mile (I'm freaking doing this)
Mile 8: 11:10 min/mile (OMFG!)
Mile 9: 11:18 min/mile (I can't freakin believe it =)
Mile 0.47: 10:29 min/mile (KICK BUTT FINISH!)

Average: 11:30 min/mile

I am so happy with my race!! I never thought I could pull that pace for 15K! The chip time is higher considering that around 5.5 miles, I was stopped for more than 2 mins as a train passed.... I had been able to avoid it the last 2 years but there is always a train on race day and it stops a lot of people. Pretty frustrating but nothing you can change about it! I'm not hurting too bad today. Foot is sore and knee too but I'll survive this. I'm bummed I didn't see many bloggers. I got the chance to chat with Francis before the race (it was good to see you again!).

Rain or shine this race is the best!!

RUM RUNNERS RELAY REPORT

Nova Scotia has to be the best place on earth!! I love it there and the relays they organise are just the most awesome way to spend a Saturday =)

Hurricane Kyle was kind enough to wait until Sunday with his strong wind and rain so we had an almost rain free day on Saturday. My leg was at 8:55 AM and about 11.4K long.

My foot had been bothering me lately so the goal was nice and slow but the pressure of coming in last really motivated me! I started running and soon found 'my shadow' this woman was following me so close that I could feel her breathe in my neck!! In this first picture you can not even see her behind me!!

I thought she was going to pass me at the beginning since she was so close but she didn't. As the racewent by, I started to distance myself from her. My main goal was to not let her pass me at anytime!!

Then at the half point, I gave her a little wave and said goodbye for good! At that point I was about 200-300 m in front of her and would keep this lead until the end.

A big thanks to my favorite Haligonian, Lisa, for running part of the last half of the leg with me. She kept talking to me to keep my mind off the pain of all the rolling hills and a blister that had started on my right foot. In the end, she mut have run close to 3K with me and I really needed it, she got me through a big hill right and we just kept on trucking. My foot was killing me at that point.

My leg ended with a slow incline to the finish line and I kept repeating to myself: "Are you f'ing kidding me?! I was pissed LOL But I finished and didn't let that woman pass me =)

This was a very hilly race for me! I never run hills as it is totally flat around Montreal. The green line is elevation and the scale goes from 100-500 ft! I usually have profile with a 30-50 ft. scale LOL

Finished the 11.4 K in 1:16:39 (10:49 min/mile) according to my garmin but the official time is actually 4 mins faster than my finish time (1:12:47) since I didn't make the mat and got a 5 mins penalty on the last person who made the mat's time...

Overall, I'm very happy with this race and I had a great time cheering my team 'Runningmania.com' during the day. Here's a group pic with 2/3 of the team!

Other NRR good news, I got a post-doc offer while I was in Halifax at Université de Montréal. I also applied to a research position at Environment Canada and I actually know the person who is hiring and he told me I had great chance to get an intervieew! YAY! So things are starting to move for me. Send some positive vibes please!

Ok... google reader tell me there are 67 new posts? You guys wrote a whole lot while I was gone! Will try to catch up tonight and tomorrow! =)

5K OASIS RACE REPORT


From my Dad:
Thank you everybody for all your kind supporting words, Sonia showed me the post she wrote about my first race. It was a wonderful experience, the rain did not bother me at all, actually, it helped keep the humidity down as it was very humid today.

The finish line in the Olympic stadium was an extraordinary experience. It gave me an adrenaline shot and I was able to finish the race with a sprint! My next race is in Miami on January 24th and it will allow me to continue training throughout the fall. In the end, I want to say a big thanks to my personal trainer who supported me during my training.

From Me: It was a great experience to pace my Dad for his first race. I was so PROUD of my protégé and how well he did. According to my garmin we came in at 38:27 and he was really happy to be done in less than 40 mins which was his goal. But there was not mat at the starting line so we only have a gun time (no chip time!) and we were near the back of the pack =(

So, his official time is 40:11... I was a little disappointed but the most important thing is that he's done it, feels great about it and he's really happy with his medal!! LOL

(Oh and one woman was hyperventilating near 1.5K and I asked her if she was ok and wanted help. She looked at me really rudely and gave me the finger!!! I couldn't freakin believe it, neither did the people around me.... seriously?!)

Here's some pictures from the race:

Before the race, I surprised him with the signs!!

My Dad smiling at the starting line. He didn't keep that rain coat very long, way too hot!

Us ready to race in the rain!

At the finish line with our medals =)

TRIATHLON DE MONTRÉAL -RACE REPORT

I had a lot of fun today... Isn't what matters in the end? I think so too! =)

Swim 750m
It was my first open water swim ever and we were doing it in the Olympic bassin the site of the Olympic rowing events during the 1976 Olympic Games. It was very cold and pretty much everybody was wearing a wetsuit... I have yet to purchase one since it is so expensive and was wearing my speedo! It was very cold at first and I was panicking a little bit with everyone swimming on me. It took me a while to feel comfortable in the water. I swam about 3 mins slower than at my last tri.

Swim time = 18:07, pace = 2:25/100m


Bike 20K
We were doing 4 loops of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve the site of Montreal's Formula 1 Grand Prix. I was very very careful with my laps count and was dedicated to NOT mess it up this time.

So, I did my first lap and saw my Dad at the end of the lap. I yelled at him but he never looked at me... I looked at the time 10 mins! I'm like WOW! I'm fast, this is good =)

At the end of the 2nd lap, I see my Dad again and decided to wave like crazy on the bike.... everybody else around him saw me except him.... good god he's a bad supporter lol

At the end of the 3rd lap, I was doing all I could so that he could see me which involved yelling and waving and he FINALLY SAW ME!! YAY! Even captured this following picture (I'm in orange):

At the end of 4 laps I was around 39 mins, I was smoking fast and very happy about it!!

Bike time = 44:24, pace = 27.0 Km/h

Run 5K
The run was great, I was not feeling as exhausted as I felt in my last tri. It was hot but I was determined to not slow down. I also finished 3 mins faster than a month ago! =) I am pretty happy about this segment because I was finally feeling strong on a run in a triathlon, mini victory for me here.

Run = 33:18, pace = 6:40 min/Km

Total time was 1:35:47

Which is only 3 mins slower than my last sprint tri where I messed up one of the loops on the bike!

Thanks to my Dad for coming with me and being there to cheer... when he could see me LOL

SMART... ME? YEAH NOT SO MUCH....

So, I went to Quebec City conviced I would ran the 10K with Lisa but we finally went for the half-marathon.... decision made after having too many beers! Maybe not my smartest decision but time will tell... the good news: I survived. I ran with a good friend and thank god she was there or I would have given up as I was in a lot of pain starting at mile 10. Let's just say those easy 5Ks with my Dad are NOT the best training for a half... and I knew that. We just decided to be silly and do it for fun and fun we had as you can see in our 'costumes'....


We got lots of cheering because of what we were wearing and the fact that Quebec City is celebrating is 400th year. It was a great boost of energy. It was a PWed for both of us but it was HOT (ask Leana....) and we were there to have fun. =) Couldn't have asked for a better racing partner! So glad I did it and my foot is not so bad today.

I spent an afternoon with Leana and her Mom and it was very nice to meet her, she's a lot taller than I expected ;-) Sorry, you didn't have the race you were hoping for but the weather is so unpredictable... Monday would have been a GREAT day for a race!!!

FEW TOUGHTS....

Ok, this race was not what I was expecting.... I'm really disappointed because I missed a loop on the bike course... I did 17.21K instead of 20K and that pisses me off beyond belief... It takes away from my sence of achievement of doing a sprint tri. I feel like Icheated and I'm a big loser but I had no idea until the end of the race... and I definitely didn't do it on purpose... sigh I need a bike computer.

I also have several issues with the race itself, lack of organization, they change the swim from lane to mass start (OMG!!!) and that did not make me happy to learn that at the last minute. I also had to wait 30 mins in line, yes 30 mins to get my chip and that's despite getting to the site 1h15 before my wave start which I was almost late for...

I might write something more tomorrow but right now I just feel like a big loser, I know it's my fault since I didn't do the loop but guidance and indications were not good at this event. I'm so pissed off.

The numbers:
Swim 750 m @ 14:57 (2:00/100m)
Bike 20K* @ 40:46 (29.4 km/h) +T1&T2
*Actual 17.21K in 37:55 (27.2 km/h) from Garmin without T1&T2
Run 5K @ 36:19 (7:09 min/km)

TOTAL 1:32:14 ...

I guess what pisses me off is that I was really happy with the whole experience until I finished and realised my mistake... I will get my revenge... I am not done with you Sprint tri!!

MY FIRST TRIATHLON IS HISTORY!

I've started thinking about doing a triathlon since I've been injured with plantar fascitiis (8 months ago!!). I am also very inspired by a close friend who is training for her first half IRONMAN and she inspired me to go forward with this sillyness! Lisa, you're the Best. =) Since I got back at my parents' house, I've worked hard on the bike and at the pool to be able to do this. Sorry, if this is long, like any other 'first' it is great to write a lot so you can remember it and see your progress as you move along!

Pre-race

I ended up having stomach issues yesterday and did not feel very well for part of the day, not sure IF it was due to pre-race jitters or just a bad spinach salad I had for lunch... LOL After 2 bottles of perrier water I was finally feeling better. Carb loaded on a wonderful chicken pasta recipe (yum make it!). I went to bed early but did not sleep well, kept dreaming of getting lost in transition or missing something to go on the bike and run... yeah everytime I woke up I told myself that's enough now! But would start dreaming the same thing again... I rarely get like that with running race anymore, seems the unexpected is frightening!

The cheering squad and I got up at 6AM, brekkie and we're out the door by 6:45AM. Here they are in all their glory! Thanks for coming out with me.

We got to the race site no problems, I went to get my race kit, my chip and get marked but the girl at the registration booth did not tell me there was a board where I could check which rack to put my bike on... I knew there was 2 waves of try-a-tri and she said to another volunteer: wave 1 red cap. So, I tought it would be written, Wave 1 Try-a-tri somewhere... We went the transition area and the bike racks were separated between Wave 1 to 12... so I had no idea which wave I was in really (I knew it wasn't the 'real' first one tough lol). I asked a bunch of girls at Rack 10 if they were doing the try-a-tri and they didn't even stop talking to answer me... only one guy turned and said he wasn't.... hum friendly! So I then ask someone who was in charge of transition area and he didn't know, so about 15 mins later and going back to check a board near registration. I knew which one was my bike rack (5th wave!!). I felt I looked so so clueless but this all new to me!

I meet up with a friend that I went to Université de Montréal with, Élaine, she was also doing her first try! It was great to see a familiar face and we went through this event together, it took some of the nervousness away. She said we were very lucky to be in the middle of the waves with a start at 9:10AM as they usually put the try-a-tri last, thank god because it was a HOT one today!

Off we went to the pool for a little warm-up and we anxiously waited our wave to start. We had a little race meeting and it turns out I was on the first wave of the try-a-tri. Most of the people in my wave we're doing their first one too! I was in Couloir 5 and Élaine went to Couloir 6.

Anxiously waiting for the start of my wave above!

Swim (300m in 6:52 with T1)

I believe I'm a good swimmer, my technique is not perfect but I am like a fish in the water so I knew this was going to be faily easy for me. My tryouts at the pool were close to 9-10 mins for 300 m so my goal was to go sub-9min, so I was delighted to see a sub 7 mins!!

I'm in the red cap, the girl in the green cap, asked me what my 300m time was and she tought she was faster so I let her go first... after 1 lap I had to pass her cause she was going to slow! This time included a run of about 200m =) It was a pretty weird feeling to just start running after you've been in the pool, I was definitely out of breath when I reached transition! I was 17th overall when I got out of the pool.

Bike (13.2K in 36:18 with T2 -garmin says 33:44)

After crossing on the mat, I reached my place and was pretty quick on putting everything on. Got the garmin on Auto multisports (thanks to Leanafor pointing that to me!). More running and off I went, hop on the bike. I had to do 3 loops of a 4.4K course. Élaine passed me about 2 mins in the bike ride! She has a neat bike =) It took me about half a loop to get my breathing under control, I think I pushed a little on the swim lol Granny was doing good, I had no clue of my speed as the multisport just says Bike and doesn't give you a speed... oh well, I went by perceived exertion. It was a flat bike course, great volunteers cheering too. I had lots of fun, one of the bike marshall even said to me it was great to see such a great smile. =) My goal was to go sub 40 mins so I'm very please with Granny's performance, however, she's still pretty old and rusty so I went from 17th to 35th but I'm ok with that. I knew my bike had limitations and I wasn't there to win any speeding contest! Off from the bike and run about 300 m again to my bike rack, I was out of breath really bad, I had to walk and take it easy there (as you can see in my exhausted face!).

Run (2.5K in 18:11 -garmin says 18:26 for 2.61K)

I knew I had hit lap too soon for the run so that explain the extra garmin time, guess what, I was excited to start running! Soon realised my legs felt like lead... oops Plus, I had loosend my shoelace A LOT so that it would be easy to put them on in transition but they were too lose... so yeah no time to stop and undo the crazy knot I did LOL

Heard my Mom cheering me a lot at that point and that really helped cause I felt I was going SO slow. First mile poped up at 11:22 and I was happy it was under 12 min/mile, I felt I was going much slower tough! As soon as I saw the finish line I speed up and heard my family cheering =) Total time 1:01:21!

It was a great experience and I'm very happy I went through with it. I liked it a lot, I do find it is a very expensive sport and that might prevent me from doing a lot of it... oh well, I'll have a job someday =)

Thanks for reading up to the end!!!

TIME IS FLYING!!

WOW! It's already Mid-June, I've been on vacation/un-employed for more than a month now and it feels like I defended my thesis yesterday... I've been VERY bad at blogging, sorry everybody. I gotta fight for the computer here, things should go back to normal soon as I will invest a big 60$ into a router. I will work on submitting 3 papers to scientific journals all summer... not that I really want to, but its good data and will look better on my résumé!!

Lots of catching up to do:

1- My foot : Stupid stupid foot. I hate you!! I'm going to get the cortisone injection on June 23rd, hoping this will cure me. I could resume training about a week after the procedure. I also tried the physiotherapist in the meantime but without any significant results.

2- I got my Dad started really well on the Learn to Run program! We're at Week 5 and we're running 3 mins and walking 1 mins intervals for about 30 mins. We even kept with the running on our trip to Aruba. It's also the only running I've been doing these days as my foot is bothering me on longer runs...

3- Next race : Quebec City Half-Marathon /Demi-Marathon des 2 Rives (I will see you there Leana!). Friends of mine from Nova Scotia were doing the full and I decided to tag along and make a trip out of this. It should be fun and will give me a goal for training this summer.

4- Last race: Cabot Trail Relay Race was SO MUCH FUN! This is a great event, I'm happy I got the chance to participate. I didn't sleep the whole week-end but it was worth it. I did Leg 7 which was shorter than the one I was suppose to do. But I just hadn’t realised that I was trading distance (leg 14 is 20K) for monster hills…

My plan was to go slow on the uphills and then to hammer the downhills! And this is what I did. That 8:44 mile is real and I can’t even do that for a 5K race… so I was going down fast! I was so afraid to be last and seeing the ambulance (who followed the last runner for the rest of the leg!) that I pushed myself a little too hard on the downhill. I had to walk the last little hill of my leg but after that, my energy was back and I finished strong. Pretty happy with my time considering the year I had, plagued with injury and life... and I only missed the mat by 2-3 mins… The rest is a real blur, wine, cheering runners at the night legs, sleeping well not really sleeping in a van, teaching lots of French swears and other X-rated sentences to my anglophone friends. LOTS OF FUN!

Our team finished last... but it wasn't about performance. This event is a lot more than a race, it's about friendship, cheering your teammates and having fun.

My week-end's best moment: meeting, talking and taking a pic with Ed Whitlock =)

The race by numbers:

Mile 1 @ 11:13 min/mile

Mile 2 @ 11:54 min/mile

Mile 3 @ 11:56 min/mile

Mile 4 @ 9:57 min/mile

Mile 5 @ 9:20 min/mile

Mile 6 @ 8:44 min/mile

Mile 7 @ 11:38 min/mile

Mile 8 @ 10:51 min/mile

Mile 0.2 @ 10:56 min/mile

Total 8.2 miles in 1:27:45 @ 10:42 min/mile

More on my trip to Aruba in an upcoming post!! Happy Running to everyone who can!! =)

RACE REPORT: 10 on the 10th

Better later than never... I've been pretty bad at blogging lately, this is mostly due to sharing a slow computer with my dad here. And the fact that we can't seem to make the router work!

When I woke up on Saturday, I was eager to go for a 10K and push the Dr's limit of 5K... In the end, I didn'T think it really mattered as my 5K limit was until today! What is a 5 days difference? ;-)

So, I ran 10K and it was AWESOME (chip time: 1:10:40)! On shorter runs you don't have much time to think and reflect. It was great to being back in this peaceful place I love so much, the roads in my head. And bonus: one runner said Bonjour to me =)

So that's my race report! I have news on my foot issues and what is the next step in this problem but no time to write about it. I have my first job interview for Health Canada tomorrow!!! WISH ME LUCK!!

p-s Thanks Nancy for being such a great RD! And you don't need to add me to your post, I'll be the runner who lost its chip and miraculously find it in the trash! LOL

MIRACLE RACE 5K

It was a beautiful day in Windsor and altough I wasn't feeling like racing all that much when I woke up, the excitement of the race ramped up as when we watched the kids run the "Dash" and "1K". Some of these kids were so cute!!

I was running this to pace my best friend, Flashy, on a very challenging course, think hills, hills and then more hills!! It's good we did a practice run there on Wednesday because that big hill is definitely scaryt! I pushed her hard during the race but I knew she could do it and finish the race feeling accomplished. And she was pretty proud of her performance so that's all that counts!! =) Coach-Sonia that's a job well done too!!

I'll update later with the official results but my Garmin says 36:57 for 3.27 miles. Definitely my slowest 5K but seeing my friend so happy and telling me she wouldn'T have finished it without me means a lot more to me than a PW =)

Here is a pic of Flashy and I taken after the race, all purple and all happy!!



My foot hurts, like a lot, the PF is worse than its even been. So, going to a new chiro/ART practioner tomorrow and hopefully she can help me get rid of this. I might take have to take it easi-er this week..... with the Run for Retina 10K race next week-end, I gotta be in shape for that! I will have a special thought for my blogger friend Marcy during that race. ;D

Have a running great week everyone!

p-s 9 days until my Ph.D. defense right now!!

ETA: Official time is 37:14

AROUND THE BAY 2008

When I ran this race last year, I was at the top of my game... I knew this year would be a totally different story...

I'm not going to make this LSD-race report long. I had the chance to run with 2 friends, one for the first 15K, then 10K by myself (but still talking to strangers lol) and the last 4-5 K or so with another maniac friend. I took 2 Anacin during the race so that my plantar fasciitis wouldn't bother me, it was a wise choice as I didn't feel any pain or calf cramping. My legs were just overall fatigued from the rolling hills. Altough I said to myself I wouldn't be disappointed with my time, I kinda are, I finished 20 mins slower than last year.I guess they are also right about the rule that each pound adds 1 mins to your time... I am 20 lbs heavier this year!

This stays my favorite race, I love everything about it and the weather was fantastic this year... except for the 30-35 Km/h winds ;-)

Oh yeah I wanted to say that near the end of the race, I meet with a French speaking 72 years old man, who was finishing his 27th Around the Bay race and I found him really inspiring! =)

The stats

9 ON THE 9th: SWEETHEART SHUFFLE RACE REPORT

I was reading Marcy's blog last night and saw that she participated in a "virtual race" organized by Nancy. Since I hadn't decided on a length for my LSD, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and go for 9 miles. I participated in my first ever virtual race! =)

It was hard! Most streets are not plowed here but it was slushy enough that the yak trax were not needed so I took them off at mile 2. With the fuel belt already underneath my coat and the yak trax in my pockets, I looked like a pregnant (or overweight) runner... nice! It was grey and raining, I wasn't in the best mood, but I'm glad its done! I would have bailed earlier if it wasn't for that "virtual race".

The facts

9 miles in 1h43 (11:32 min/mile average)

Mile 1 @ 11:35 min/mile

Mile 2 @ 11:50 min/mile

Mile 3 @ 11:46 min/mile

Mile 4 @ 11:33 min/mile

Mile 5 @ 11:41 min/mile
Mile 6 @ 11:23 min/mile
Mile 7 @ 11:43 min/mile
Mile 8 @ 11:19 min/mile

Mile 9 @ 10:56 min/mile (Very happy to be done....)

This is my first time using Google Earth to map one of my run (load from the Garmin) it looks pretty neat!

WELCOME TO MIAMI, BUENVENIDOS A MIAMI!

"Miami uh uh
South beach bringin the heat uh

Haha can yall feel that

Can yall feel that

Jig it out uh"

The race started with this song by Will Smith (Miami) with 10 400 runners jigging to it the atmosphere was pretty wild!! I was going into this race just wishing to have fun and not look at the time... ya right the competitive person I am won and I decided to try for even splits of 10:30 min/mile for the whole half.

As Laurel said in her last post, once you've done a marathon you kinda lose respect for the half or at least think this distance is not important considering you've doubled it and not died! So, I wasn't very nervous heading into the race, as I said many times to my mom: "It's only a half!" and she replied that it was still a big achievement nonetheless. I think she was right and I got a little emotional once I heard the gun start, I was happy to be able to run a half. That is something most of mortals won't do in their life and this was my 6th half-marathon =) I wasn't sure if my ankle would hold up but I didn't have any issues with it. It took me 7 mins to cross the starting line, there was definitely more runners than for Detroit.

Before the race with my parents:

The race was pretty much effortless until mile 9. I hadn't done a race at that pace in ages... like months! But I thought I could hold on to that pace for 13.1 miles?! What the heck was wrong with me? lol

I got new shoes over Christmas and should have updates my socks at the same time, they are solely responsible for my blisters (all on my bigger foot). I had to repeat and repeat to myself when it got hard that it was mental and not physical (even though I barely believed it!). I slowed down a little but tried to pick it up as soon as I noticed a slow down. In the end, I am pretty proud of the way I raced considering the training involved before this race.

I loved the race course, it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! The first part running up the road near Biscane Bay with the Palm trees and we could hear the parrots in the trees were simply awesome. I thought it was kinda surreal with the helicopter from Homeland Security too. Once we were arrived in South beach the crowd support was fantastic and really pumped me up (might explain that 10:18 min/mile!). I just truly enjoyed this race, the weather, the crowd both on and off course and would definitely do it again. I know we got "lucky" since it was a cooler day and it barely rained for the half but I think I would have still loved it even if it had been warmer or raining (as crazy as last year's sounded with what Laurel told me!). Racing to the finish was frustrating and very motivating at the same time. You can hear the crowd and you think you're close but there are a lot of turns and I was giving a lot of speed and finally ran out for the final stretch!! My parents said it looked like I was having a hard time near the end and it was close to the truth!! But when I heard them shouting my name and waving big: "Go Sonia signs". I waved back and went for it!! =) What a boost seeing your family can do for you.

I was so touched to read her blog when I got back home. I think she put in words way better than I could do how our meeting went. It was definitely like meeting an old friend and we had a lot to say to each other. I was disappointed not to have more time and sit down for a drink. For sure next time =)

The facts:

13.1 miles in 2:21:44

Mile 1: 10:57 min/mile

Mile 2: 10:37 min/mile

Mile 3: 10:36 min/mile

Mile 4: 10:35 min/mile

Mile 5: 10:18 min/mile

Mile 6: 10:40 min/mile

Mile 7: 10:28 min/mile

Mile 8: 10:34 min/mile

Mile 9: 10:55 min/mile (Getting tired and blistered!)

Mile 10: 11:00 min/mile (only mile at 11 min!)11 min

Mile 11: 10:59 min/mile

Mile 12: 10:59 min/mile

Mile 13: 10:18 min/mile (pushing it hard! Crowd support and seeing my parents helped!)

0.24: 10:35 min/mile

The Best way to end the day: AT THE BEACH WITH MY DAD!!!

RESOLUTION RUN (NOT REALLY A RACE!)

It was a first for me, to race in my hometown! And what a great day for it =) It started snowing the day before and it hadn't stopped until the race. It was a very informal race with 30-50 people only. I was kind of surprised considering the high turn-out in Toronto and Ottawa.

We started at 11 AM on January 1st and I was still feeling heavy from all the food I ate the previous night (and wine I drank ;-)). My personal chauffeur and photographer (Papa) drove me to the race and my mom was there as a cheerleader (with a bad back!)!

I really like the French sign (Coin des Coureurs in that one!)

I meet up with Arthur, a Runningmaniac friend, just before the race started and we ran together talking the whole way through. It was a nice run, it was snowing and very peaceful. The best part was when a drunken guy encouraged us from a moving bus, obviously still on the party at 11AM! We finished in 35:35, my dad made a video but I realised I didn't copy all of this on a memory stick so its on my Dad's computer!

That's the best way to start the year!

DETROIT HALF-MARATHON!

I had an awesome race =)

The weather was perfect, the wind was more cooling than hard to run in I found. The best part was that I felt good and strong all long. I finished in 2:22:04 my 3rd best time out of 5 halfs.

Most of you know, I caught mono at the beginning of August and I was unable to run for more than 2 months. I started training for this race 3 weeks ago and I only did 2 long runs (8 and 10 miles). Considering all these, my goals today were to:
1-enjoy the race
2-run at a comfortable pace and
3-try to finish under 2:30.

So, 2:22 is a totally unexpected result for me and I'm pretty happy with it. =)

This is the first race I run without my ipod and I enjoyed it a lot because there was lots of people cheering on the side of the street. I don't think I would run without it in smaller races (like Forest City...) I always had tons of people around me (30-40 people!) for the duration of the half! I usually run alone in smaller races so that was a great change.

I have a “thing” for bridge, I love them! It’s hard to explain but everywhere I visit I’ll photograph them and I really feel in love with the Ambassador bridge since I moved here. So, running on it was a big highlight for me. The tunnel was HOT, I was sweating buckets, the breeze at the end felt so good. And the crowd on the Detroit side was so much bigger than on the Windsor side!

I saw my parents at the end of the tunnel, waiting for me near mile 9. It was great to see them. My dad tried to take 2 videos with his camera and ended up with nothing cause he’s technologically challenged... Lol Oh well at least he tried =) This was also the first time, my mom saw me run at a race and that made it pretty special for me.

Overall experience was awesome =) I want to come back for the full one day!

Thanks for reading everyone.


Before the race starts at 7:15 AM with my parents, it was so dark! And it wasn't super easy to get up at 4:45AM!!!

It only took me 2+ mins to cross the starting line , I was in Corral O which was in the middle of the row.

The race is over and it's bright oustide! With my folks again

STUPID WEEK-END... ALREADY OVER!!

I am sad that the week-end is already over... 3 days to spend with my BF was not nearly enough. For those who have ever been in long distance relationships (eh Yumke) you know how much separation sucks... Anyhow, the week-end was awesome. We had gorgeous weather and we had a great time at the wedding. We nearly missed the Mass at the Church, we got lost on the QEW/403... We got in at 5h05 as she finished walking up the aisle, phew!!! =)

The Newlyweds leaving the Church:

And here is me with my FABULOUS dress and my Man =)

We spent the week-end in Niagara Falls and visited Jackson Triggs winery in Niagara-on-the-lake.

As for running, we ended up being too busy to run! So, I did my 3 miler on Sunday night after spending 6h in the car and eating chicken wings and fries for lunch.. I was tired and it was not my best run!

I ate a bag of cheese curds for dinner at around 9 PM and still wasn't sure I was going to race that 10K the next morning. I saw that the race was at 10:30 AM and that kind of sold me up! I get to race and still sleep in: awesome!

Carb loading with chicken wings and cheese the day before and barely drinking any water. I knew this was not going to be a fast race and I didn't mind much. I was very tired when I got up. I was suppose to do this as a LSD but I did not want to finish last!! Windsor races always have really fast paces with 75% of the participants finish in 60 mins or less for this 10K!!

Its the first time I race without my garmin and it felt really weird. I had no clue how fast I was going. I tried to keep it comfortable for the first 5K and push for the remaining of the race. I think its a good sign that I passed 4 people in the last half =) Final chip time 1:06:05 (10:38 min/mile) which is better than what I expected! And I am glad to say that I did not finish last! :D

I am taking a day off running tomorrow and will resume on the schedule Wednesday!

Happy running week everyone!

A PB IS A PB...

Even if it is by a few seconds! I finished the 10K HBC Race in 1:01:10 so a big 4 sec faster than 2 weeks ago! Not the under 1h I wanted but I found myself starting too fast and missing the nice kick-ass finish I had at my last 10K. Here are the splits:

Mile 1 -9:10

Mile 2 -9:40

Mile 3 -9:39

Mile 4 -9:56

Mile 5 -10:10

Mile 6 -10:07

Mile 0.28 -12:10 (oh my god! never been so un-motivated to reach the finish line!)

I was a bit overwhelmed with the the price of this race (43$) but the technical t-shirt is awesome and the medal is just crazy! You would think we just ran a marathon. =) I had an awesome time and next time: " I'll get you sub-1h 10K!"