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...

TIME FLIES.... AND I CAN'T KEEP UP...

It's been 1 month + since I've checked in here. I feel like I can't keep up reading what others have to say anymore so I feel bad just posting and not replying to my blogger friends.

I've been cycling commuting for 2 months now, only missing a few days and I'm totally loving it! I'm doing 100-125 miles a week. The days I had to take the bus/subway were horrendous and I don't know what I will do come the fall when it gets cold... snowy and they close the cycling path. I'll probably be heading into a depression ;-)

I've lost 22 lbs and I feel great (only 15 to be back in marathon shape!). I remain pain free when running, I still have to pinch myself once in a while... It's so hard to believe!! I am not going crazy and will only run half-marathons in the fall and keep on with the stretching, icing and cross training. I'm up to 8 miles LSD and having a big grin in my face the whole time =)

Training for Niagara half starts at the beginning of August. In the meantime, I'm running a 5K race tomorrow to celebrate father's day with my Dad. Next week, I'm running 10K on the sea floor. And I've got one or two sprint triathlons in mind.

I had tae-box classes on Friday at lunchtime and I LOVE it. It's over for the summer but I've been thinking of registering somewhere since I loved it so much.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer, I'll try to be better ;-)

BIKE COMMUTING ADVENTURES!

Wind of 33 km/h in my face...

Wind gusts of 46km/h...

Ride of 1h25 instead of 1h...

Plastic bag got caught up in my rear wheel!!!

so I had to stop and remove chunks of plastic everywhere!

BUT looking like a superhero at work...

LOVING IT!!!!

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!

HIKING IS MY NEW FOUND PASSION!

I know it's been 3 weeks since the Easter trip but I just got the pictures my friend took during the week-end! And Andra asked for a trip report =)

We were in Willoughby State Forest near Barton (VT) which is pretty small and not touristy at all. It was really peaceful and quiet, in fact we only saw 2 other hikers the whole time...

First day: Moose Mountain

We did not see anyone on the mountain that day and it probably was because the conditions were EXTREME. There was a snowstorm (-3°C/26F) with 30 mph wind... intense. We did not pack for winter conditions and it was up to 15°C the day before so it was a little unexpected. We were cold as soon as we started our hike! The trail was considered moderate but the first mile was all uphill with a climb of 900 ft. It was all snow and ice, good thing we had our grips on. We stopped twice, once for a snack but after 3 mins we couldn't feel our fingers and we were really cold. That's at that point that we noticed Rocky was shivering so I put him in his little carrier (YES I know how crazy it looks to carry your dog in a baby bag!!) but he really needed it. I even had to remove one my fleece and put it around him....

After 2h30 of pretty brutal conditions we made it to a lookout and got a great view of the moutains around even if it was a pretty dark day.

We tried to eat our lunch but it was too cold so we decided to make it back. I felt really heavy carrying Rocky and it was hard to move fast. The descent was quicker but it was hard for the knees and ankles. At this point, I removed Rocky from the bag and he made it down the mountain by himself. We were so happy to get back to the car and put the heat on!! We had the remaining of our lunch there. We felt pretty hardcore but needed a 2h nap to recover LOL

Total: 6.8 miles in 4h15

Second Day: Pigsah Mountain

There is a God somewhere because our 2nd day was totally gorgeous. A little warmer 5°C/41F without a crazy wind. It was still cold but we were able to eat our lunch at the lookout point without shivering to death =) The trail was harder but still considered moderate by the map, we hiked 1200 ft. in 1.1 miles. The view from the top and onto Clear Lake was spectacular!! Rocky did really well in the warmer weather he was able to do it all by himself =) Very proud of my little Guy!!

Total 4.2 miles in 3h

Random news:

1- I am seeing a new physiotherapist and she says I don't have PF anymore but achille tendonitis. The treatment is cold laser, stretching, ice ice ice, exercices and no running for 2 weeks. I'm actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I've spent the last year being told there was 'nothing' where I had pain and now the physio has given me hope again!!! =)

2- I raced a 5K last week at the Montreal 21K. It was close to a PW (32:56) but I had a little 'surprise' at the starting line.... aka as my EX who showed up at the race.... messed up my game!

3- I'm starting to commute by bike on Tuesday (I'm off tomorrow) it's going to be a daily 50K ride.... I should be back in top shape for the summer! I'm excited and hoping to finally be able to shed the 30lbs I put on since my running has decreased dramatically.

That's it for me! Thanks for reading and I'm hoping to catch up with all of you tomorrow!

4- I went hiking yesterday again!! We went to Mont Sutton here in Quebec and we did about 4 miles in 4h so yeah it was steep!!

OFF TO THE GREEN STATE!

Probably white right now though =)
Have a fabulous long week-end!

RECOVERY FROM SURGERY

Seems the surgery recovery is a little bit longer than the doctor led me to believe when I first saw him....

2 WEEKS WHITHOUT RUNNING OR SWIMMNG!!!!!!!!!

My mind will go crazy but the foot will appreciate it. My hiking trip next week is not compromised as long as we keep a walking pace and don't push it. I will also be able to start biking after Easter.

I'm having my sutures removed on Wednesday, right now it's not painful but I'm pretty uncomfortable. This is no mystery plastic surgery, I had 2 moles removed from my back and will know in about a month if they are benign. It was strongly suggested I have them removed since skin cancer runs in my family but the dermatologist do not think they are malign. So, I'm positive about this.

Hiking trip is in 4 DAYS!!!!!!!