CATCHING UP....

So I've been MIA. The cycling commute is kicking my ass!! I'm doing 25 miles per day on average (40 K for the metric folks). I'm definitely feeling it in my legs on the Friday. I believe most of the time the wind is in my face and when it's not I am FLYING! Rain or shine I am on my bike and not looking back at my time on the bus/subway. And I've lost like 7 lbs so who could complain about that?!!

I've been seeing the new physio and just started having some great results with the cold laser treatment on top of icing like crazy and stretching. I had my first run PAIN-FREE since November 2007 yesterday!! A blissful 5K with Rocky. It was wonderful. I'm feeling the foot a little right now but continuing with the treatment and hoping to see continuous improvement. Physio is SURE I will be able to run the Niagara Falls half on my Birthday and that made me very happy. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And the 'stupid foot' problems might be coming to an end...

Leaving you with a pic of Rocky and the tulips who are just out in our front yard.

I hope all the Mississauga runners are having a great time!

HALLOWEEN!

Rocky was a total hit with the kids yesterday! Most of the little kids were more interested in him than candy LOL And we were giving good stuff not crappy halloween candy! ;-) I decided at the last minute to dress as a witch, no big make-up or nothing but Rocky and I were matching.

We had decorated and I brought the laptop outside to have some 'hauted house' type music. We had like 100 mini chocolate bars and 60 rocktets necklase. WE WERE READY. Well my Dad, Rocky and I were outside from 6-8 PM and we only had 20 kids come to our house =( IT WAS A LONG AND BORING WAIT! And I obviously ate way too much candy while waiting for the kids...

As far as training I am back full force, except for the running part. Here's last week in review:

Tuesday -Swim: 1K in 25 mins

Thursday -Swim: 1.1.5K in 36 mins

Saturday -Bike: 20K in 46 mins

NON RUNNING CHRONICLE....

Ok, so only 20 days until I can run again. Every time I see my Dad leaving for a run, my heart ache... ;-) But I am so proud of him that I forget about my own pain =) I totally slacked off on the bike and the swim so tomorrow I am going back to the pool!

Foot is going relatively well... no more throbbing pain and I can walk barefoot again without agonising pain... seems like things are going well but it doesn't feel 'normal' like the other foot. So, I am cautiously optimistic as I don't want to be disappointed all over again, like las time.

Saturday was my birthday and I'm starting to freak out about being almost 30 (28 to be exact). I know this is silliness and totally irrational!! But I feel like an old fart! My Dad was my age when he had me... and I am the baby of the family. I am far away from having a family of my own (if ever) guess I gotta find myself a MAN first LOL In the meantime Rocky is my Baby!! LOL

I found him a super cute costume for Halloween, he's totally hating every minute of it but it makes me laugh. And I'm sure the kids will like it when we give candies out on Friday.

It was great to be back in Windsor, it is only when you have left that you realise how much you miss the people there. My ex-boss is just the best, we worked really well on our last article when I was there. So it will be submitted to a very good journal soon! =)

Now, this is the part I was dreading writing about because I am still very disappointed about the outcome of this. In my last post, I wrote about a job possibility at Environment Canada in Burlington and having a professor I know trying to put a good word for me. Well, he did but he was told that the interviews had already been conducted.... so yeah I wasn't short listed. I am more than disappointed, I just don't know when this will happen for me. =( And I thought knowing the person would have gotten me an interview at least... ='( The professor told me I was sooooooooooo close to getting the interview.... so yeah it sucks ass. Still trying to digest this rejection. I know that in the order of things, it wasn't meant to be but I am still totally bummed out about it.

I DID IT! THESIS HAS BEEN SUBMITTED!

I did the unthinkable.......... I submitted my thesis 24h in ADVANCE, yes you read right! While most people can't even submit theirs on time, I gave mine a day before! I was all done on Monday night at 7 P.M. =) And pretty proud as you can see! lol My committee has one week to review and accept it and then it will be sent to the external (from U. of Manitoba).

So, I've been on the "party" since then.... lots of beer! I feel like I am on vacation until the defense... which is far from the truth since I still have to study and submit my 4th article which will be derived from the last chapter of my thesis.

I tried very hard to get a picture of Rocky with a graduation hat but no treats could make him sit still with that thing on his head! So, here's the best shot....

I also ran 2 times this week (yeah!) and don't feel like I lost TOO much fitness (great!) so I'm still going to attempt running ATB 30K later this month. I have already decided that I will be running with a friend and taking it slow so no pressure to perform....

Tuesday 3 miles @ 11:39 min/mile

Thursday 4.5 miles @ 10:58 min/mile

WRITING, RUNNING AND STRESSING...

What a week! You'll definitely hear about my high stress level in the upcoming weeks... I just finished my 3rd article to be submitted on Tuesday and that represents one chapter of my thesis. This means that I have met the minimum requirements of my program to graduate (1 published, 2 submitted!) =) My Boss still wants me to write another one but it doesn't have to be "journal-ready" for the defense. I'm doing relatively well but still needs lot of running time to keep my sanity! I want to get back to 5 days of running per week in preparation for Around the Bay.

I ran twice with people this week and I loved it!! Wednesday was, Flashy and I's weekly Fun-Run and we did 4 miles. Last night, I would have probably ended up sitting on the couch all night feeling miserable due to Single Awareness Day (aka Valentine's Day) so having planned a run with Flashy, her BF and an office-mate was awesome! Rocky tagged along for that 6.5 miles and he rocked it! I was so proud of my little Dude =)

I have put on some weight since the beginning of this thesis writing and I am feeling a lot slower, it might be mental but overall I feel bad for putting some weight back on (I had so much problem getting rid of it...) One day at a time, I keep repeating to myself.....

Here's last week in review:
Tuesday 2.4 miles @ 10:57 min/mile
Wednesday 4 miles @ 12:01 min/mile (Fun Run with Flashy and Rocky)
Thursday 6.5 miles @ 12:01 min/mile (V-D Group Run)

Have a good long week-end everyone!

THERE IS NO BAD RUNNING WEATHER!!

This is the speech I was giving one of my non-running friend today as she called me crazy for running in 4 inch of fresh snow. My friend Flashy and I decided to do our weekly "Fun-Run" on Wednesday and this was the day of , yet, another winter storm.... nice! We headed out at 7:30 PM, the snow was falling, it was so peaceful. The run, though, was less than peaceful! So freakin hard to run in 4 inch of snow! We managed 3.1 miles in 44:15 and when we stopped we both felt leg tiredness and butt stiffyness! lol We thought we were pretty hardcore as we didn't see any walkers and only one other c-r-a-z-y runner!!

We stopped in the middle to take some pics but it was pretty dark.

Me and Rocky with Detroit in the background

Flashy running towards the Ambassador Bridge!

STUCK IN A SICKNESS VORTEX!!!!

Well Ken couldn't have said it better :" You know what happens when we have plans... Something seems to creep in".

Yep it does. To make a long story short, I started having this stomach-intestinal bug for about a week now. I tried to get rid of it with pills but its not working. So, after I called the Healthline last night. The man-nurse told me to forget about sugar and fat for 2 days. I'm allowed to eat rice, potatoes, soup and chicken. Some easy digestible things like canned fruits and yogourt. Fun times.

So, I'm not so sure about that 12 miler anymore =( This sucks, so tired to be sick!!

I did run 4 miles last night in 45:06, it was pretty windy and I gave in a good effort. I'm thinking Sunday might be a better day for my run if I feel better by then. Who knows???

On the bright side, this is my fur-baby's birthday! He's 4 years old today and it's also the anniversary of his adoption by me, 2 full years of love =)

BIG WEEK


It was the first week on the new training plan. Since I received my new hands-free leash, running with Rocky is a lot more fun! Here's pic of us getting ready for our run on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Rocky and I headed to Malden Park for hill training. We found a hill about 250 m elevation and it was hard to climb. Since, I've never done that type of training I didn't know what to expect and its a LOT harder than it seems. Rocky totally tried to make me trip on the way down of the hills and I was getting pretty annoyed with him! lol Not that he knew what he was doing but I was still pretty mad! We did 6 hill repeat. The first 2 miles to go to Malden Park were done at 10K pace (10 min/mile), 2 miles of hill repeat and 2 miles back.
Tuesday: 6 miles @ 11:33 min/mile

On Wednesday, Rocky and I tried something new. My best friend and #1 Fan, Flashy, just loss tons of weight and started running 3 months ago (apprently someone inspired her... ;-) ). She can now run 5K 3-4 times a week without problems! So, I suggested to her that we do a Fun-Run together and see how it goes. We ran 3 miles and spoke the whole time! It was great and Rocky tremendously enjoyed the slower pace! It's going to become a weekly habit =) Wednesday: 3.1 miles @ 12:55 min/mile

On Thursday, I was suppose to do speedwork, 4 miles at half-marathon pace. As soon as I started running, I knew it was going to be bad. The ground was very icy, my foot was not feeling good and Rocky was like a 14 lbs bullet to my foot. The Dude was tired and he just didn't want to go fast. I didn't notice until I went back home and he was liking his paw that he had hurt his pads =( Poor little guy, now I felt all ashamed of pushing him to run... Thursday: 4 miles @ 10:52 min/mile

On Saturday, it was a beautiful day here. Only -2 °C and an awesome sun. I wasn't in the mood for running when I had woken up but I really wanted to take advantage of the weather. So, I went for a 10 miler even though only 8 was on the schedule, better run longer in great condition we don't know what kind of winter we're going to have! Since Rocky was on the disabled list, I went by myself which hasn't happen in ages! I forget how easy it is to run without a 14 lbs resistance! I finished the 10 miles in 1:46 and I tried to do 2 miles at marathon pace near the end (10:12 and 9:48 min/mile). Saturday: 10 miles @ 10:36 min/mile

Weekly total: 23.1 miles!

Have a good week everyone =)

MY DOG IS WINTER READY!

I present you: Rocky aka "The Pimp" (my brother found the nickname!)

I'm not sure I am that ready for winter running but no choice!!

I just made my short 8 weeks training schedule, which will have 2 hard runs, 1 easy run and 1 long run. I think this should get me to the finish line with a decent time and that's all I'm asking!

THAT SORE FEELING...

Oh I missed you! All the time, I couldn't run, I really missed that tired leg feeling you get after a nice run! Yesterday, the dog and I headed out for a slow 5 miler. No watch, no GPS, no Ipod, no fuel belt, plain simple running with the sound of my steps on the pavement. (Ok, the reason for no GPS is that it is still broken and not replaced... but that's another story itself!)

It was my longest distance in over 2 months and I felt it during and after the run. It was also a first for my little 14 lbs dog, he had never run more than 3 miles!! But that was in the middle of the summer and the humidex is pretty crazy here... He still had energy to charge other dogs at the end of our run... so I think he can do this long on a regular basis =) I was so proud of him!

I had a great time in St. John's, the weather was a lot nicer than when I was there in July. It was great to see Sunny Newfoundland =) That's a picture of Andrew and I during our hike of Signal Hill.This is a picture of me, hiking in Bay Roberts, a small village about 45 mins out of St. John's.

RAINING... AGAIN....

I ran 4 miles on Tuesday (10:30 min/mile) and then 30 min tempo run on Wednesday (9:35 min/mile). And tonight was 2 miles in pouring rain.... again... grr! We're having this freezing rain warning going. I decided to bring the pooch along tonight, makes the run more enjoyable =) And I knew I wouldn't have to walk him in the rain after (bonus!). He did start to slow down considerably after 1.5 miles, he was way behind me!!! I believe he can run 3 miles but 2 miles is a great distance for him. I would have love to adopt a bigger dog and be able to do all the runs with him, maybe one day!

I just checked the weather network and it seems that Sunday will be a great Race Day! Sunny with a high of -1 oC and a min of -6 oC and wind of 20 km/h. Perfect! Well this has time to change like 20 times in the meantime but at least the outlook is good!! I can't wait till the road trip, Flashy is coming with me! This is going to be great!!! =)