Dr. SONIA!!!

Sorry for the delay, no need to worry, I did successfully defend my thesis on Tuesday morning!!! I am now officially Dr. Sonia!!! YAY!! So happy but still SO BUSY!!! I have some revisions to do and I'm leaving Windsor on Tuesday morning, so I've been working very hard on making sure the thesis is ready to be submitted before I move out!

My whole family came for the defense, it was very nice =) And I think part of my lucky charms as everything went really well!!
This is a picture of me and my advisor, I will miss him a lot. A very great researcher and taught me so much in the last 5 years.

Running has taken a back seat and my 2 miler yesterday hurt my PF... this really sucks!!! The things that sucks even more is that I've ran out of funds for the chiropractor and will have to pay for it with my own money (and I'm now unemployed... so yeah fun lol).

Anyway, I will try and catch up with you guys tonight while watching the game or this week-end! GO HABS GO!!!

OKAY... SO ITS WEDNESDAY AND STILL NO RUNNING...

I'm having winter-thesis blues. It's pretty bad. We set my defense date for April 15 which is coming at lighting speed for those wondering!! Especially since the thesis needs to be finished 5 weeks prior to the actual defense (i.e. Freakin March 11!).

So, my head is a big mess and my bronchitis is taking its slow-ass time to leave. I had to go back to the doctor today and get stronger cough syrup and an inhaler (like they give to ashtmatic peeps). So, yeah, running has been the least of my problem lately.

I wanted to go for a run yesterday but we've been hit by another stupid snowstorm and its minus crazy mental degree outside! This is getting old and there is no spring in sight!?! Blech, I'm in a bad mood!!

So, yeah running plans for tonight are 2 miles but I really don'T feel like it, hence why I'm sitting on the cough writing this instead of being outside.... anyhow, the pooch is waiting for his walk! So, I gotta go!

Hope you're all surviving the weather!!

PITY PARTY AND RANT....

So, it seems that it's one thing after the other to prevent me from running. The mono, a cold and now this foot issue.... It has started about a week ago, I didn't want to write about it because I thought that the extra rest due to the cold would make it magically disappear... yeah I know stupid... so the problem is that my heel hurts when I put pressure on it. So, I just walked on the tip of my toes on this foot during the week. Yesterday, the foot felt a bit better and I got my new toy so I decided to test my heel for a 3 miler. Since the run, I can't even put my own weight on my heel without sharp pain. =( Anyway, now I'm super down and I can't run and I'm definitely throwing myself a pity party but sometimes that's what you need.... Right now, it's icing for 10 mins every hour (says Dr. Mom) and see how it feels tomorrow.

On to the next part of this post, the "Rant".... So, since my heel hurts and I can't run or really walk much on it (still have to walk the pooch). I figured I should get it checked by a doctor... Well, being an out-of-province patient totally F'ing SUCKS. That means I will have to pay from my own pocket to get any X-Ray done or any other test that a doctor ask me to do. And my government only reimburse me 50% of any bills I pay. And it takes... oh yeah maybe 6-8 months to get reimbursed!! So, I'm getting screwed. Anyway, I know it'S way worse in the States so sorry for my US friends, you must still think I'm pretty lucky but it annoys me... Ok, well sorry for this really pessimistic post I guess tomorrow will be a better day.

HUM... THIS DOESN'T START WELL!

So, it's week 1 of marathon training and total miles ran is 0. =(

Everyone I know is sick or starting to feel sick so it's no surprise, with my super immune system that I caught that cold. I'm thinking a cold on week 1 is better than marathon week so I've been resting and waiting for it to go away. I just started to sleep better last night as my nose is not stuffed up anymore. I missed the weekday runs but I will do my long run on Saturday (9 miles). I'm still hesitating between 2 plans. Hal Higdon marathon training plan Novice 2 tweaked to run only 3 times a week and the FIRST plan. Considering that I'm starting this training late and that I'm in the middle of intense lab work and writing my thesis, running 3 times a week will be an achievement itself!

Yesterday was Halloween and although I did not dress up this year. I dressed my pooch for his nightime walk. It was only a hat but he was sooooo cute!! As you can see with this picture, Rocky does not seem too impressed....


Have a good week-end everyone! =)

CHICKEN?

We've been having some crazy hot weather these days, I'm talking high 30's with humidex (100 F). I tried to wake up early today but no luck. My body just didn't want to do it. It's already 34 oC here and I'm in no desire to get out of my cool A⁄C apartment..... Yep, you can call me lazy =(

I'll see how it feels when the sun goes down and I might venture tonight. As for today, I am doing nothing! Walked for 20 mins with Rocky and I was in sweat. Thursday 4 miler was done in 44 mins and with the pooch so we're getting pretty good at this ;-)

2X5 & 3X4...

I've just started feeling a little better so I thought I would start running immediately. Getting back into running is hard... I'm struggling. I feel like I lost ALL MY FITNESS.... This is so discouraging... Tuesday I did 2 times 5 mins of running and Thursday I did 3 times 4 mins of running in the company of my lovely dog. He enjoys it a lot, I, on the other hand just think I'm slow and out of breathe... I am getting really worried about the Detroit half marathon. I think I can pull that distance even if it takes me 3h but do I really want to be that slow. I have really been looking forward to running on the Ambassador bridge and in the tunnel so I might do it just to tell people that I've done it....

San Francisco was cold and full of junkies and homeless people... at first our hotel was in Tenderloin which is apparently the biggest ghetto in SF.... oups!! That said we switched hotels and it was fine but I still didn't enjoy the trip as much as planned.... and I always wanted to visit California. I'm still shocked that I didn't like SF! When I kept complaining about the weather, people would said: "well this is Northern California, what did you expect" and "just go a few km in shore and it's 100 degrees there". Yeah well, I'm stuck in SF and it's cold and I hate it... On my last day, we rented a car and went to Muir Woods and the beach and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E =) The water was very cold but I still swam in the Pacific Ocean and I was happy...

I dig my toes into the sand

The ocean looks like

A thousand diamonds strewn

Across a blue blanket

I lean against the wind

Pretend I am weightless

And in this moment

I am happy happy

-Incubus (I wish you were here)

Oh yeah, the conference went really well!!! I presented in front of my biggest crowd ever, about 100 people!! I was really nervous but once I was in front of the audience it did not show at all =) I even made them laugh 3 times!! I was so proud!! Who said scientist have to be boring?

I'M ALIVE!!!

And slowly getting better =) I have no longer any discomfort and symptoms left from the mono, except the extreme fatigue, but that's easier to deal with than all that I had. I've had some complications, swollen liver and spleen and had to do a series of more blood work and an ultrasound. Everything is back to normal now. But at some point, I felt like I would never get through this and that is a pretty shitty feeling....

As for running, the doctor said to get back to it slowly and take it easy. I miss it so much though, I really want to go for a run right now... But my mother who has been in town for 2 weeks now, helping me with my dog walking and house chores, is strickly forbidding me to run. I know I am 26 years old but she'S a pretty scary woman when she wants too! lol Seriously, I also think that it is better if I wait until I come back from my trip to San Francisco. I am leaving on Sunday for the AFS conference, I am giving a talk on Wednesday and I'm very stressed about it (it's not done yet...)

I kinda made peace with the idea that I will not PR at the Detroit Half. Just being healthy, running it and having fun will be enough.

Happy running to those who can =)

UPDATE FROM THE SICKIES...

Not our best week in the Melançon’s household. Rocky has been vomiting and has had diarrhea all week… yeah not fun! And I’ve also been pretty sick: nausea, chills, lymph nodes swollen, headache, fever, over tired and appetite loss (that one I can take! lol). The doctor thought I had mononucleosis and that really made me freak out! I mean I am trying to finish my Ph.D. here. I am leaving Windsor at the end of December and everything’s got to be done in the lab by then… so yeah pressure! I am happy to report though, that it is NOT mono =) They have no clue what I have, but whether it is viral or bacterial it should be gone in a week or so (I am on antibiotic). Phew!

But I think I just realized that this is my body giving me a sign that I am not a super human. I cannot achieve everything and there will be more opportunities for me to concentrate on running. I have to listen to my body and I think it’s telling me that I am doing too much. I wanted to go with a Half-marathon training program of 12 weeks-5 days a week of running but I think it is more reasonable for me to downgrade this to 9 weeks-3 days a week… I am taking a full week off and maybe more. I’ll see how I feel. Right now I sleep 12h a night and nap 1-2 times a day…. I am disappointed but I can’t manage everything right now.

I'M A BAD BLOGGER!

Well sorry folks for not being the best blogger around.... with the marathon training over, I just don't have much of a structured training schedule right now. I ran only 2 times last week..... Wednesday (4 miles) and Sunday (7 miles) but I biked 20K again on Saturday. I can tell you that I feel pretty sore today!!

I'm going to race another 10K on Sunday, the HBC Canada Day Run. The weather is very humid here so I am not getting my hopes up on a personal best, you cannot PB at every race (although I'd love to do a sub 1h)!

A while back I was tagged by Michelle to post 6 weird facts about me.... so here we go:

1) I love perfume, I own at least 3 dozens bottles of them. I put perfume even before I go to bed.

2) Before I run, I love to eat my banana with maple syrup

3) My dad and I have been doing these unconventional Dad-Daughter activities together since I am a kid and we usually go fishing or see a hockey or a football game

4) I am not a girly girl but I will never leave the house without at least putting on some make-up

5) Before I go to bed, I have to check if my door is locked and the alarm is on, at least 3 times... sort of a compulsive thing

6) I talk to my dog in French and in English, there are commands he knows in French (assis, reste, viens ici) and other commands he knows in English (stop, let's go, NO!!, be nice, good boy)

Not sure its all "weird" but at least entertaining for you guys!! I'm hoping Yumke, Fran and Shelley will play along too! =)

Happy Running everyone!