TGIF AND THERE IS NO RUNNING!

Although I am on vacation in Montreal, I have been running steadily 5 days a week since getting here. I don't know if it's the mix of parties and getting up "early" (9AM) to run but I feel really tired all the time!

Tuesday I ran 3.5 miler in the heavy snow, I used my new rubber spiky thing to put underneat my shoes (called Get-A-Grip Advanced from Sure Foot), those have great traction and it seemed like I wasn't running in snow.

Wednesday I did some speed work on the treadmill: 5 times 500 m at 9 min/mile (with 10 mins before and after easy run).

Thursday I ran 3 mile outside with a great sun in 29:50.

Saturday will be another 3 miler and Sunday I'll run 7 mile. The schedule says to run a 5K race this week-end but the Montreal Resolution Run was already full so I couldn't get in... bummer! I'm going to have to do a lot of running until Thursday because I won't do any for 4 days when my newfie/boyfriend is coming to visit.

Happy running everyone!! =)

JOYEUX NOËL / MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! =) I hope you will all celebrate with your families tonight and tomorrow. It's difficult to believe it's Christmas eve with that temperature, 6 oC without snow! Me and my dad decided to play a little prank on my boyfriend who has never been to Montreal and make him believe that we were ready to go for a swim.... hence the picture!! And we were not even cold! =)

This weather feels like we are in the spring!! I'm not complaining because this is great weather to run in! Although it did start only today, yesterday I did 3 miles in the ice rain and ice grounds and today was beautiful like that for my 6 miler. I finished in 1:00:03 must have been my fastest time so far. I've read that the "off season" as they call it should be a time to run slower but I don't feel like I'm pushing myself hard when I run... not sure if I should try and slow down, any opinions from other experienced runners?

I'll leave you on this and I hope you will all have a great time with your families! Joyeux Noël and don't indulge in food and wine too much!! =)

GOING BACK TO MONTREAL TOMORROW!!

I'm finally on vacation!! YAY! I'm leaving with the 6 AM train tomorrow back to nice Old Montreal. I'm excited to see the family and my niece again, she must have changed so much since the last time I saw her in early November!!

I didn't have any time to run today but will definitely do some speed work tomorrow on the dreadmill at my parents'.

I felt so special when I read on Kristi's blog that she tagged me!!! The Good Doctor (a blog that I often read without leaving any comments!!) started this game which consist of going to the closest book and typing the title and author here. Then to turn to page 123 and find the fifth sentence on that page and to let you know the next three sentences...

So here we go, you guys are lucky this is a French book!!

Title: Carnets de Naufrage, Author: Guillaume Vigneault
Quote: Je suis passé au frigo me préparer une sorte de repas, comme je le fais toujours en rentrant du boulot. Du fromage, du jambon, un oeuf dur, un reste de saucisson, et un concombre pour me donner une bonne consistence. Avec une bière, pour les bulles.

Then we have to tag three more people. So I've chosen, Amanda (who hasn't blog in too long!!), Yumke and Liv (who Looooves these chain things!! :P).

Last week before Christmas!! Happy running everyone! =)

FUEL YOUR BODY WITH WINE...

And you'll have a crappy run! I had a couple of wine glasses yesterday and decided to get up early and go for a run....

1- I felt dehydrated to start with
2- Ipod had no batteries (seem the problem is bigger now...)
3- It's freakin' cold

I have no clue how you music-less runners do it, that wasn't the most pleasant run for me, I missed Madonna! Oh well, hopefully I can fix the Ipod and my problems will be solve!

Have a good running week.

I AM FREE!!!!!

I just successfully passed my doctoral qualifying exam today and I'm officially a Ph.D. Candidate!!!! YAY! I haven't run for the past week but that's part of the deal when you're studying so hard! So GLAD it's over and I am not looking back! I will be putting on those running shoes tomorrow and starting at week 2 (yes I missed the first week...) of Hal Higdon's Half-marathon training schedule. Can't wait to run again!!!

Happy Running all!!! =)

FIRST DOUBLE DIGIT RUN SINCE THE MARATHON!!

I haven't been posting much lately because my 2 runs a week are not that exciting! I was trying to get back at long runs on the week-ends since the marathon (Oct 15!!) and always backed-out at Mile 7... For some reason I thought I was out of shape and lost all my fitness... but on a 6h night of sleep with an outside temperature of -2 oC and a wind from HELL (30 km/h). I decided to suck it up and stop trying to find excuses and go for a 10 mile run.

First 5 miles were a breeze, wind was at my back (52:52) but when I switched directions it was painful... let's say I didn't stay near the water for long where the wind was blowing directly in my face. I finished the remaining 5 miles in a less scenic place but buildings are a great shield against nasty wind (55:47)!! I'm overall very satisfied with this run, nothing hurt (knee or legs) and it felt great to be back there for so long. An improvement of 8 mins since my last 10m in training this past summer (1h55).

After reading all about people putting up their Christmas tree, I finally put mine up, I believe Rocky really enjoys the colorful lights (fiber optic one!) That also answers Marty'S question about the size of the pooch... small!!


Now, I really gotta get back at this studying business..... Happy Running everybody! =)

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!!! =)

The sun is shinning, the temperature is mild (10 oC) we can't really ask for more at this time of year!! I went for a 6.5 mile run yesterday at 10:54 min/mile and it was just awesome! =) I ran 1 mile by myself before meeting my now weekly running buddy (aka My newfie) at the beginning of the trail for a 5 mile run. He has made some fantastic improvement in the small amount of time he started running.... (read little jealous!) He hadn't run in years and the first time we meet up for our run, he managed to run continously for 2.5 miles! And now he can run 5 miles without stopping! And I'm not slowing down from him, he can keep up with me no problem! He's already a speed racer, I'm sure his Y chromosome has something to do with it..... After our 5 miles, we separated and I ran an additional half mile... It was already dark when I finished at 5:30 PM!!! I had to walk the pooch.... in the dark, this is the only part of this that really sucks!! Here is a picture of my little Rocky, the first man in my life obviously... =)

Happy American Thanksgiving and happy runing!!

GARMIN IS ACTING FUNNY!!! NOOOOOOOO!

I was/am suppose to study all day for my comprehensive exam on December 18th.... obviously procrastinating. So the apartment is clean as it can be, dishes are done, clothes are washed and I went for a 1h15 long run! I did 7 miles, even though Garmin is telling me it's only 6.55 miles!! I hit the 10K (6.1m) at 1h05 which I thought was pretty good, ran 5 minute more and Garmin tells me I'm at 6.01 mile! WTF! Garmin cannot be broken because that will break my heart!!! I'm praying for a dislexy or hiccup moment... hopefully she'll be back on track next week!! I think that she's still under warranty anyway but I don't want to send her away!! ;-P

On another note, I will keep going to my spinning classes... last Thursday I was so sure I was going to quit, telling everybody that it would be my last spinning class and it turned out to be the best workout so far. I guess the prof sense I was going to quit and gave her 110%... or I'm just not a quitter... you make your own opinion!

Happy Running all!!! =)

p-s Marty I've been trying to get to your blog all week and the page is always blank... not sure what's up with that! I hope the marathon went well!!!!

ALREADY 1 MONTH AFTER!

A month ago, I was feeling on top of the world with the end of months of training and the finish of my first marathon! I can say now that this feeling is gone and that I've use the excuse of just having run a marathon to indulge with food and wine a little too much! I'm now 5 lbs heavier and in desperate need to get back into running seriously! That's why I picked a race, the Chilly Half-Marathon (Burlington, ON) in March. Amanda and my newfie will run this race too, company is always fun! Although the guru Hal says I could start my training the week of December 18th.... I will start now! I need some sort of schedule to follow, a structured training. I HATE, HATE with a capital H my spinning classes... looking at my watch every 5 mins so even though I paid 75$ for these (ggrrr) I'm not sure I will go anymore!! Ok, enough ramblings!

Happy running week everybody! =)

BLOGGER BREAK!

A conference in Montreal and the visit of my new niece (Alice) in Ste-Luce-Sur-Mer kept me away from the blogger world for this past week!! But I got 3 runs in, 3 miles each time... I find it hard to get back at it! I think I'm enjoying this break from running and it makes me appreciate more when I am actually going for a small run and clear my mind.

WHO RUNS TO A HALLOWEEN PARTY??!!

ME! I decided to dress up as a marathoner (I know, I know REALLY original!) but useful as I ran from my house to the party! It was only 3/4 of a mile away but it was my first nightly run and I really liked it! It also put me in character! =) There was even one person asking me if I ran a marathon before coming to the party... :S seriously, I'm not joking!! Obviously, this person has no idea what a marathon is all about.

I went for a 3 miler on Sunday with my first ever running buddy, My Newfie!! It was really nice, way more demanding to run and speak at the same time! I liked it a lot and hopefully this can become a weekly habit!! =)

Have a good running week people!

p-s for those of you who were wondering... I'm still in a non-commitment mood so I haven't decided about a next race!

EVER HEARD OF PRLS???

To steal an expression that Kristi came up with, it means: Post-Race Letdown Syndrome!!! When I read her post on What to do next? I felt like she was taking thoughts from my head and putting it on paper. When you've trained so hard for months and the race is now over, you realized that there is nothing you HAVE to do because you don't have a running schedule anymore... you pretty much don't know what to do with yourself! I love having some sort of structure and training plans work well for me.... As much as I want to run another marathon soon, still feeling the marathoner high here, the perspective of training like crazy in the middle of winter is not pleasant at all. So, a spring marathon is out of the way for me. I'm hesitating between running the Detroit or Chicago marathon next year... we'll see... until next October, I have to find a race and commit to it!! I'm going crazy here! =)

EVIL WEATHER!! POOR RUNNERS!

The Detroit marathon was this morning and it was a cold and windy one!!! My newfie and I got there at 6:30 AM and were ready to work hard! The water nazi was giving order and we pretty much just followed them! It was great to see all the runners,the wheelers and the walkers. I did my paparazzi at the beginning and took a pic of the first runners (who did not stop for water FYI). The winner of the race, Josephat Ongeri from Kenya is probably one of these 3 runners =) We were at the beginning of the race (mile 6) and everybody was in good form when we saw them. I kept yelling at people: "good job guys", "keep it up" "you're doing awesome". =) I had a lot of fun!! I will definitely volunteer again next year if I'm not running it!

DETROIT FREEPRESS MARATHON 2006

This Sunday will be the Detroit Free Press Marathon, which I believe (I might be wrong here...) is the only marathon to cross an International border (US-CDN). Runners will run on the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to Windsor (awesome!!!) and continued their way on our nice Riverfront and finally make their way back to the US using the tunnel... this is definitely a marathon that I want to run in the future!! =)

For this year, I will be volunteering at the water station on the Canadian side. I'm excited to see the elite runners and give some encouragements back to the runners. For me, this is a way to give some payback for the awesome volunteers that cheered me in Toronto. My newfie is volunteering with me, even though we have to be there at 6:45 on a Sunday morning... thank god for the clock going back an hour on Sunday!

Previously, I mentionned having signed up for some spinning classes.... oh well, I just learned that spinning is not my cup of tea, I'm a runner and do not enjoy all that much sweating on a bike in a small room with 10 other people... I paid 75$ for these classes so I will attend them.... anyway can't wait to go on my run this afternoon!!

Have a good week-end fellow runners! =)

DISAPPOINTED!

I had been waiting a whole week to see the official marathon pictures. And the only one they could come up with, is that one!! I mean, I ran for 5 FULL HOURS and they could only come up with 1 picture!!! This wasn't even close to the finish line!! The more I look at it, the more I get to like it, but still I thought that they were taking pictures of everybody at the finish line! My friend Amanda, has 3 pictures of herself and she ran the half. Where were these photographers anyway?! This shot looks like when we were doing the Spadina loop, as you can see nobody's behind me.... Oh well, I'll survive and will stop complaining right now but still disappointed!!! ;-)

BACK ON THE ROAD!!!

It's been 8 days after the marathon and I couldn't wait anymore to go back on the road and run some more! The weather was nice and cold and I ran 3 miles at a 10:25 min/mile pace. I was really happy to reunite with this running business, it always allows me to think and re-energized which is almost a spiritual experience itself! I think I have find a running buddy!! =) My newfie wants to join me once in while on my short runs! That would be awesome!

To finish, I would like to say a BIG Congrats to all the Chicago marathoners! Yumke who did freakin' great on his first marathon, Arcaner who PR'ed (yay!) and Jelly and Frankie who I'm sure did awesome too =) Take it easy this week guys, you deserve it!!!

PICTURES!!

This one was taken about 30 minutes before the race, I'm with my dad

Here are my Number 1 Fans (sharing the title!) Mrs and Mr Flashy

Great picture taken by the Lovely Amanda, me and my dad are running to the finish line! Strong finish for both of us! =)

Amanda and I proudly showing our medals and barely able to stand on our own!!

A great massage for some tired legs, that was truly awesome! I could walk without any problems today!! But stairs are still a challenge!

I'm taking a full week off running! Well deserved :o) I hope that all of you going to Chicago this week-end will have an awesome time and that the weather will be great! Good luck all =)

I DID IT! I AM A MARATHONER!!!
PART 2: The RACE!

I was really quiet on the way to Mel Lastman Square, I was nervous and trying to concentrate on the run I was about to start. We arrived about 45 mins before gun time. I pinned my number on my shirt, attached 5 gels to my pants and stretched my legs. We were there to see the half-marathoners leaving, there was so many of them! It was like the never ending start line! My dad went outside to cheer them up and look for Amanda. I stayed inside continued stretching as I was not ready to go in the cold out yet....

With 10 mins before the start of the marathon we all went outside and make our way to the starting line. That's when my dad in the excitement of the start of the race lost 1 glove... he was going to go back on his steps and try to find it... but we were getting so close to the start!! I couldn't stay in place and while he was doing that, I walked to the end of the starting line with Flashy. I was really emotional at that moment, I started crying I couldn't believe I was actually there, about to race a marathon, it almost felt unreal even though I have been training for months for that....

Flashy hugged me and she was a little teary helself, she said good luck and then we saw my dad holding the big "Go Sonia" sign so he was there! He made it for the beginning of the race! No time to hug him, the gun went off, but I knew he was going to be there along the way. Garmin was working nicely at the beginning and I pace myself at 10:45-11 min/mile. For the first 10.5 miles (17 km), there was only a few people cheering (during that square around Mel Lastmen Square) but as soon as we hit Yonge there was plenty of people and they were all very supportive. It was awesome! The only thing I remember about that first part of the race is how many small hills we had to clim to then go down just after! I was on the auto pilot, my legs were moving without me having to think about it. I was just smiling and enjoying the race and thinking about what a great achievement this is! About 1h55 minute into the race, I first saw my Dad at Finch and I had time to tell him that I was feeling great and the race was going really well, we clapped hands and I was gone. I saw him just a little after that at York Mills and I was still feeling strong there. He was so cute with his sign and waving at me. I passed the half-marathon mark at 2:22:46 and was ready to tackle the giant hill of the marathon course. I slowly ran it all the way up, no walking! I finished at the top at the same time as a brother and sister from Danmark and we were all happy we made it to the top! Cheering each others =)

I was still feeling great at that half way mark. I was told by one marathoner that after that big hill, it would be all downhill from there.... I don't know if it's because Windsor is so damn flat but I saw and felt hills everywhere even after that! It was like never ending! And the wind was in our face all the way along Yonge, it was hard but I kept smiling and thinking this is awesome! I'm doing this! I was so greatful for all the people cheering for us. I was looking at them along the sidewalk and I said "thanks" to everyone of them for all their encouragements. People were really surprise when I was thanking them and they cheered me even more! Shouting my name and yelling: "keep going", "you're doing great", "looking strong". It was awesome!

I was always on the lookout for my dad and I saw him again at Eglington where I was starting to slow down the pace but I was still in good form. That was just before the 25 km mark (15.5 miles) and we were leaving Yonge to do a loop over on Spadina. It started getting really hard after that when I reached and passed the highest mileage I had done in training (16 miles). Around the 30-31 km (19 miles) mark people were giving pieces of bananas to runners and that was simply great. The gels were working well for me (I forgot to mention I had 1 gel every 50-55 mins) but I was getting a little hungry! Just after that we passed a corner where a bunch of people were doing the wave for runners and shouting your name. It was so great, it really gave me a boost of energy!

After that, we were about to go on our last loop down Rosedale Valley and my dad was waiting for me at the corner of Yonge and I almost didn't see him! He tried taking pictures but it didn't work, I wasn't in the best form anyway at that point! I really hit a big wall when I reached 35 km (22 miles), there was fewer and fewer people cheering and my legs felt like cement. The front of my thighs were burning, I was plain tired. I had been running for more than 4h at that point. I saw the Danmark people again, the girl was running her first marathon and she said she was feeling it in her legs too. We exchanged cheering words and they passed me, I couldn't keep the fast pace anymore. I kept telling myself: "Un pied en avant de l'autre". One feet in front of the other is the only thing you have to do to finish this! I saw my dad for the last time before the finish line at 38 km (24 miles), he was standing at the top of a small hill near Union station. I started crying when I saw him, telling him I was so tired... he said don't give up you're almost there. That gave me a small (but non negligeable!!) boost of what energy was left and the last 4.2 km didn't seem too bad. When I saw a sign that said "LAST MILE!" I started speeding up again. I was so happy and even though I was going uphill, I had found some hidden energy and passed several people along the way too! It took forever to see the finish line! I thought it was just around the corner but there was a sign saying: "Almost there"... Then I saw my dad who looked so happy and proud! And he started running with me, it was great!! We were going to get to the finish line together but when I finally saw it, I told him: "Papa, j'y vais!" and sprinted my way to the finish line as fast as possible! Leaving him running behind me! I saw Amanda first who was there with her friends to cheer me and then Flashy was there too with her boyfriend. I finally passed the finish line at 5:01:51, hugged Flashy before I was told I should keep moving! My dad finally catch up on me and he hold me while they were removing the timing chip from my shoe. Someone put the medal over my shoulder and I thanked her while I started to cry. I was so happy! I did it, me, the once overweight girl, I just ran a 5h marathon! It's awesome! My dad took pictures of me with my medal and the only thing I could think of was getting a massage for my legs who were killing me... so there I went. My dad was still in the picture taking momentum so he took some pics there (blogger is acting funny so I'll post more pictures later!).

I was on a high for the rest of the day, I proudly wore my medal everywhere I went, even to bed!!! We went for lunch/dinner and then immediately hit the road back to Windsor after that. We stopped every chance we got so I could stretch my legs... I took an epsom salt bath and went to bed but I couldn't sleep, I was thinking about the race and all the wonderful things I felt that day. It's such a mental sport and I knew I could do it. I was, I am so proud of myself and I am already thinking about my next marathon! Oh and I forgot a really important thing, my knee didn't hurt me at ALL, it felt great all race long. =) I never felt the need to pee during this 5h race and if you know me this is truly a miracle! So, I only walked at the water stations while drinking gatorade and water. All the rest was pure running! =)

Thanks for everyone who cheered during the training to this marathon. Whether you left a positive comment on my blog or were a supportive friend or family member, I made it to the finish line because of all your help. So, thank you all..... =)

I DID IT! I AM A MARATHONER!!!
PART 1: Before the race....

I want to start by writing that I had an awesome week-end and a very good time during the race!!!

We arrived in Toronto Friday around 7:45 p.m. as we got stuck in some major traffic entering Mississauga... I had dinner with my dad and a friend from France who was spending the week-end in T.O.!! I dreamed about the race all night and didn't get much sleep. In the middle of the night, we heard this guy shouting in the hallway to call 911 because his friend was dying..... the hotel where we stayed (shall remain nameless...) was cheap and not in the best neiborhood..... oh well, hopefully the guy was allright... we didn't hear what happened

On Saturday morning our task was to find a long sleeve purple shirt to run the race. We ended up going to the Running Room and I chatted with the owner who had race 53 marathons!!! He was the 4h Running Room Rabbit at the Toronto Marathon. He adviced me well as I felt warm enough at the beginning of the race and never too warm during the 5h race. I meet up with Amanda in the afternoon and we picked up our race kits together. It was the first time we seen each other and we had a really great time, trying out some flax seeds and picking up loads of free stuffs at the running exhibit. I also went a little crazy on the Toronto Marathon shopping. I boought myself a really cute purple t-shirt and my friend Flashy bought me a blue fleece as a birthday present. And I got a technical red t-shirt in my race kits... I thought, what the hell, this is my first marathon I'll always remember it!! =)

We went to the Carbo dinner and got to eat some great food and listen to amazing speakers (to name a few: Bill Rodgers, Chris Wollam and Roger Robinson). The speaker that touched me most was Katherine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon. She gave a really inspiring speech on her experience running the Boston marathon and how hard she is working now on making running available for women all over the world... she was a great speaker I was a little teary and emotional during her speech (and pretty much all along the week-end!). The carbo dinner finished early and we were back in the hotel room for 8:45 PM. My dad and I planned his "subway trips" for the marathon. Like a true supporter, he wanted to cheer me along the course and we wanted to make sure that he would have enough time to take the subway and ran outside to see me. =) We were off to bed for 9:30 but sleep did not come easy, I turned and turned and turned anxiously awaiting the race. I felt like I was pretty much ready to go and this night of sleep was just too long to wait! I was up during the night several times. I had a banana around 5 A.M., then we woke up at 6:30 and we ate breakfast. We ran up to the hotel of Mr & Mrs Flashy and called a cab... and off we were to the starting line!!! YEAH!

More to come....

LEAVING TOMORROW!!!

WOW! I can't believe the marathon is in less than 60 hours!! Flashy, her boyfriend and I are leaving Windsor tomorrow right after lunch.We'll be in Toronto for dinner time! I think I'm going to go and pick-up my race kit on that night.... I'm too excited to wait until Saturday!! The only thing that's not exciting me right now, is the weather! Can it get any colder?? Seriously, it was SNOWING in Windsor today! Global warming... my a$$!! ;-) If it was as cold as today on Sunday, I would consider running with long sleeve, gloves and a headband! I will have to bring a truck load of clothes! Hopefully, it will warm up a little... the weather network now predicts a maximum of 13oC with isolated showers, I can handle that!

As for the running, I stayed on plan this week, Tuesday's 4 miler was done on the elliptical, Wednesday's 3 miler finished in 29:03 on the treadmill and a slow 2 miler tonight in 22:50 (there was some pretty intense winds..).

Ok, Wish me good luck!! I don't think I'll have a chance to check in until after the marathon!! =)

Have a good week-end everybody!

INSOMNIA....

I was wide awake around 3:30 AM yesterday morning and couldn't get myself back to sleep!! It was so frustrating, I kept turning and turning and turning..... thinking and thinking about marathon day: all the smallest details inimaginable.... what time to wake up, what to eat, when to leave the hotel room, what to wear to go to the starting line, trying to imagine the feeling before the race starts then pacing myself during the marathon to do a great race, crossing the finish line with this amazing smile on my face and tears in my eyes.... well you get the picture! Hopefully, the worrying will go away and the great-resting sleep will come!!

I opened the tv during this insomia period and watch the end of a movie called Without limits which is about Steve Prefontaine's life. I got hooked and finally went to bed around 5 AM.... This guy also inspired me with what he said:

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

-Steve Prefontaine

Well said Steve... well said =)

LAST SATURDAY'S LONG RUN!!!

It was already the time for my last "long" run before the marathon! I still can't believe how far I've come with my running! And next week-end is the marathon!! YAY!

Nothing really interesting happened this morning, I went to the gym and I did 5 miles on the elliptical and 3 miles on the treadmill (10 min/mile pace). I was running in front of a window that's like a mirror and became totally obsessed with my colar bones.... they look really weird when you're running :o) Besides that a pretty boring Saturday morning ;-) At least next week-end will be full of excitement!!!

I was really disappointed for my friend Amanda who gotten sick in the last 2 weeks and might not be in shape to run her half. Hopefully, a miracle will happen and she'll be running =) Hang in there dude ;-)

Happy running everybody!

COLD OUT.... BUT NOT COMPLAINING!

I ran my 6 miler after work at a 10:44 min/mile pace which was really comfortable. My chose of clothes however didn't make me feel too comfortable! I was a little cold.... t-shirt and capris, note to self: "next time wear the long sleeve..."

9 DAYS... 9 DAYS... until the marathon!!! I'm getting really excited but also really nervous... It's some weird mixed feelings....

A QUICKIE...

Not the one you're probably thinking of! ....I ended not being able to get up this morning, so I had to fit a run after work and before tonight's pot luck dinner (I should leave now but I want to share my PR!). I ran 4 miles at an average pace of 9:38 min/mile! My fastest pace ever! It felt so great! I am so proud! The next runs will be done at a much reasonable pace but I wanted to push one last time before the marathon! You have a proud runner here =)

GREAT OUTFIT FOR A BIG DAY!

I just made up my mind on what I'm going to wear for the "Big Day" as I like to call it! I HAD to go with my favorite color: PURPLE! So, people look out for the crazy purple girl running in Toronto! =) I did limit myself and didn't go for purple capris.... I thought that was pushing it a little too much!

As for running, I was up and ready for my 12 miler on Saturday but the weather had to come in my way... rain is not my friend as I don't want to catch a cold with 2 weeks before the Big Day. So, I went to the gym, stayed for an hour (even though the limit is 30 mins!) on the treadmill and ran 5.8 miles. I was pretty pleased with my pace doing 9:40 min/mile for the last mile! Yay for negative splits! Bra hold on great, I was pretty amazed, so it was worth 70$ =) I did the remaining 6 miles on the bike and went for an hour of aquafitness...

Tomorrow's a 6 miler and I have to fit it before work as I have something plan for the night.... I hate running in the dark... might go to the gym... oh and I've already selected a post-marathon activity to keep me fit and busy: spinning 2 classes a week! I'm excited!

Happe running everyone!

CAN'T WAKE UP ANYMORE!

Sunrise is around 7h30 now! So late.... and I can't get myself up early enough when it's dark like that! I could only fit a 4 miler this morning at 10:47 min/mile pace. It felt good, I forgot to wear my knee strap and no pain... knocking on woods here! Body is holding on! YAY!

I stopped by the Running Factory today and bought myself a new full support compression runner's Bra from Champion which is chafe resistant. Almost to good too be true.. except the price: 69,99$. I hope it's worth all this money! Later on this issue after Saturday's 12 miler!

I also picked up some new gels which I'm really excited to try:
-GU gels: Lemon sublime, Tri-Berry and Orange burst
-Carb boom!: Strawberry-kiwi and apple-cinnamon
Can't wait to try some of these!

It was a big shopping day as I also ordered the shoe pouch from Road ID that Runnergirl was talking about. It can fit 4 gels (2 in each pockets on each running shoes!) and it should be here 1 week before marathon day. That will hold my gel for the marathon so no capris with pockets needed and I also took Arcaner suggestion and will start the marathon with a bottle in my hand to last me for the 1st water stations which might be crowded and just throw the bottle when empty! It's great to get all the ideas from other experienced runners!

Thanks a lot guys! And happy running! =)

AND THE TAPER BEGINS!

Well there is now 17 days before marathon day!! I started week 16 by doing 8 miles on the elliptical at the gym this morning. Tomorrow will be my 5 miles run and Friday morning the 4 miler will become an 8 miles bike ride.... Still trying to rest my knee as much as possible!

I was really surprised by my short recovery time from the half. I confess that I could barely walk without a limp on Monday... but I took good care of my knee icing it for 15 mins every 2 hours. I also invested 65$ in an awesome leg massage and slept like a baby that night. =) When I woke up on Tuesday, knee was great and legs were not stiff anymore!

I was reading Jelly's blog about racing with or without a fuel belt during the marathon. I have been thinking about this since the half-marathon where I didn't have my fuel belt and it was great! No crazy bottle bouncing which drives me insane... But racing with 246 other people is totally different compared to the mass of people that will run the marathon. I still have to think about what is best. Might do like Jelly and invest in some capris with pockets...

Oh and before I forgot, I was happy to see that I finished 9 (out of 10 but still NOT LAST!) in my age group including all the Races from the Running Factory.

Happy Running week all! =)

A 13.1 MILES JOURNEY!

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny and *windy* day at Point-Pelee National Park! I ran my first half-marathon in 2:23:07!! I was pretty pleased with my time considering my knee problem which bothered me around mile 8. Oh well, I know I could have pushed more but this is not my goal race and the most important is that I finished on my 2 feet!!

The course was a little boring, it was pavement all the way and we were doing the same loop 3 times!! Before this race, I thought we would be running in trails (we are in a National Park afterall!) and enjoy the forest but it wasn't like that at all. The scenery was really redundant… I’m not sure this would be a race that I would do again. I’m sure there are tons of half-marathon course that are more exciting than this. Having that said the run itself was good: I was trying to pace myself at 10 minute/mile at the beginning, even going a little faster when I wasn’t watching my forerunner.

A mistake that I made is to forget my gel!! I was so sure I put it in my bag before leaving the house but it wasn’t… so by mile 8 my energy was down and no way to get it up! I guess you gotta learn the hard way, I will not forget this for T.O.! My second obstacle came right about the same time when my knee started acting funny, I had to stop 2 times to replace and tighten my knee strap which I know cost me some time but it was the first time I was running with it (the brace just didn't work for me). It was a really cloudy day and my Forerunner 201 lost satellite signal around mile 10 and that's when I realised that I rely on technology too much! I found it really hard to pace myself without it, I'm pretty sure I fall under 13 min/mile then... then I saw Mile 12 and started speeding up again! Passing some people along the way which made me feel good to have this push near the end. When I could see the finish line, I took my ipod away and I could hear my best friend Flashy and her boyfriend cheering me up which was the best motivation to sprint to the end! (Oh yeah, I wanted to add: I'm so jealous of all you guys that received medals!! We got nothing at the finish line!!)

Minutes after the race with Flashy, my number 1 fan!!! =)

I am strong! I can do this! Toronto Marathon here I come!

MY FIRST HALF-MARATHON....

Tomorrow I will race my first half-marathon! I am now officially part of these freaky runners that consider a half-marathon a short distance! I'm apprehending the race, it's not that I'm afraid of the distance, I've been running 12 and 13 miler for a long time now, but I'm stressed about my knee. Will it act funny? Will it hurt? Can I do this without pain? I guess the only way to know is to try and tha'ts what I'll do! =)

Have a nice race for those of you who are also racing tomorrow =)

ROAD TEST

Ran 5 miles at 10:47 min/mile this morning and all went well! I just wasn't expecting the icy cold weather!!! I just had to realised it's not the summer anymore and the morning low 10's feels like below 0...... The first half mile was run at a 8:30 min/mile pace as I needed to warm up my body!! Wow, the fall is really here... I saw the first leaves on the ground.... Nice morning, nice run, I'm happy!! =)

A WEEK WITHOUT RUNNING IS....

Hard. Seriously, I've been thinking about running everyday, every second for the past week. It was difficult to see other runners just running freely and pain free... I felt so JEALOUS.

I was also down all week for other reasons than not being able to run.... first of all, I was dumped (over the phone!) by Mr. Smily... and our Grad secretary screwed up our GA contracts and we didn't get paid on Friday... and we won't get paid until the 29 of September!! Wow this whole thing sucks! It was just a really bad week and I couldn't pass my frustrations and sadness in running.... Enough said...

So, I wanted to end my miserable week on a better note, I got up and went to the gym although I HATE THE GYM. The good thing is that there was nobody and I was able to spend 1h30 on the elliptical and "run" 10 miles without pain, well just a little bit at the end, still it made me really happy. It wasn't the 20 miler planned for today but doing half of it is better than doing nothing... and I know, now, my limits and I need to work around them if I want to run the marathon.

I think this week will be a mix of elliptical training and running and then next Saturday is my Half-Marathon and I will not see it as a RACE but as TRAINING....

Happy running (you damn lucky runners!)

TABARNAC DE GENOU....

That's French... and not a kind word.... my knee let me down... I could only do 4/18 miles planned...

Mile 1 : A breeze, bring it on!
Mile 2: What! My knee's acting funny! (it doesn't hurt but it's on the way... this usually happens at mile 12!!!)
Mile 3: OMG, this freakin' hurts, start crying
Mile 4: This is insane, it hurts so much, I had to give up.... and then more crying

I had to walk back part of it and then I took the bus. I feel like a quitter, a failure... my mental state is not the best. I'm doubting myself, what if my body can't hold on? This is hard, I guess I'll have to take a complete break from running... but I don't want to.... I honestly don't know how to deal with that. I feel like this is my fault, I injured myself on purpose not to run the marathon, but I didn't... wow I'm a mess and depress....

Thanks for reading...

SHORTER RUNNING WEEKS

I have been cutting my running to 3 days a week instead of 4... it has been mentally difficult for me to do that. I love to run, it allows me to think, focus and relax so I've been feeling a little under the weather since then. I did my 9 miler on Monday, walked 4 miles on Wednesday and ran 5 miles on Thursday. I will be attempting the 18 miler tomorrow morning and see how far I can go without knee pain. I will not be pushing on it, they clearly told me that it wasn't worth it to hurt yourself and not be able to run the marathon at all... I'm in "peace" with that and understand why.... (as peaceful as I can be... ;-) )

This morning, I was talking to Magda, a kinesiologist who works with my physiotherapist, about my anxiety towards my lower mileage and fear of not being able to complete the marathon... and she was really re-asssuring, saying that I've been putting on heavy mileage since May (beginning of my half-marathon training) and that I shouldn't worry about that. She thinks that I will finish the marathon and not even feel pain!! She says on Race Day the adrenaline replaces all and with all the people cheering at you makes you forget about the pain. I really felt great knowing that from a professional.

EARLY START???

So I've been browsing the Toronto Marathon website a lot lately and I saw that there was an early start available for the marathon. Last year, 146 people participated in the early start marathon compared to 1483 people for the one starting at 9 A.M.

I want to have the full marathon experience so I'd prefer doing the "normal" one but at the same time I got scared when reading this on their website:

"Due to time restrictions set by the City of Toronto, Public Transit, Police and Emergency service's. We require that all participants in the Marathon maintain a 12 minute per mile pace and may be asked to move on to the sidewalk and obey normal traffic laws if running slower than a 12 minute per mile pace. Those of you who can run faster.....please feel free to do so."

I usually have no problem maintaining a 10:45-11:15 min/mile pace in my long runs but since I injured my knee I've been running a little slower (11:50-11:55 min/mile) which is awfully close to their limit. I do not want to run on the sidewalk that would just not be fun... As anyone ever run an early start marathon? Is it a good way to experience my first marathon? Any feedback is appreciated.

I was looking at the course map because my dad told me he wanted to "follow" me during the marathon so I need to chose several spots where he could come and wave at me or re-fuel me with gatorade =) He's so sweet, I'm so happy he's coming to see me. Well, I was thinking that since we start at Mel Square and do a loop, he could just stay there and wait until the loop is done (about 1h). After that he could maybe take the subway or a bus to go near Yonge/Spadina then Yonge/Rosedale Valley Rd. and finally near the finish line at Queen's Park. I'm not sure if he'll be able to get around easily to these streets but it seems like the best places for him to wave at me!

4 FLIGHT OF CORONITAS

Friday was a slacker day! Flashy and I decided to go for a long lunch at the Chinese restaurant and then skip the afternoon of work to enjoy the new released movie Beerfest. The choice of movie was my responsibility... let's just say it won't win any Oscars... but the perfect movie for a bunch of slackers on a weekday afternoon! Ok, so the movie was really stupid but you have this really intense need of beer after seeing it.... So we went to Moxies for dinner and the beer special was called Flight of Coronitas, which consist of 3 small size Coronas. Let just say that 4 flight of Coronitas later, we were certainly the most joyful and giggliest people in the restaurant....

All of this to say that my night of sleep wasn't the best but I was up on Saturday morning around 7:30 and left for my 12 miler for 8 A.M. I did mostly trails (9 out of 12) at Ojibway Park and Malden Park. I did feel a little dehydrated from my night of drinking. It was the first time I ran with my knee brace and I felt some resistance at first from it but in the end I really liked having it. I felt like my knee was stronger and more balanced. My knee was bothering me a little near the end, but nothing like the previous 2 long runs where I wanted to cry near the end as it hurt so much. This is going to be a big week (5m, 9m ,5m and 18m), I might skip one of the 5 miler and give some rest to my knee, but I will definitely try to run the 18 miler next Saturday.

Have a great running week everyone!

PAPA!

My dad just told me that he decided to come down to Toronto the week-end of the marathon to be my personal cheeleader!!! I am so happy, a member of my family can come and celebrate this accomplishment with me! This is great! =) It totally made my day!!!

PATELLAR TENDONITIS...

That's what came out of the physiotherapist's mouth about my knee problem. This is also combined with a really tight IT band as Frankie mentionned to me in a previous post. I guess all these names seem way worse than it actually is! I took care of this on time as this is not hurting me constantly when I walk.

From the orthopedics about website:

"The patellar tendon connects the kneecap (the patella) to the shin bone. This is part of the 'extensor mechanism' of the knee, and together with the quadriceps muscle and the quadriceps tendon, these structures allow your knee to straighten out, and provide strength for this motion. The patellar tendon, like other tendons, is made of tough string-like bands. These bands are surrounded by a vascular tissue lining that provides nutrition to the tendon. "

She said that I can keep my training schedule like it is BUT when I do my long runs if I feel pain, I HAVE TO STOP, even though I'm not done with my milleage.... hard words to hear... she also said that if I don't listen to my body I will not make it to the marathon... which would be even worse that missing 1 or 2 miles in a run. She gave me some new stretching exercises to do (knee extension over roll and IT band stretch) and suggest putting some ice after the long runs. She stronly recommended cross-training if/when I see that I can't finish a run.... hopefully that won't have to happen.... THINK POSITIVE!! ;-) I'm going back on Thursday morning for a treatment and exercices. And we'll see then if I should buy a knee brace.

On a better note, I ran 8 miles this morning, taking it really slow and I didn't have any pain! Yay finished in 1h35 (11:54 min/mile). I'm thinking about switching my morning runs to afternoons. I don't truly enjoy running in the dark and now that the sun isn't up until 6:45 and I always go out for 6 AM... that means 45 long minutes of darkness! It's also less humid and hot outside in the afternoon....

I hope you all have a great running week -injury free!

16 MILES HURTS!

This was a long run... 3h11 (11:58 min/miles). I felt great until mile 12 when my right knee started to bother me... it was quite bad, I took several walk/stretch breaks but it was even harder to start again... I hope this is nothing serious, I'm getting all worried about it... The thing is that my knee doesn't bother me 2-3h after the run and in general. So, I'm hoping this is nothing serious.... This week, I will buy some kind of knee brace. Does anyone of you have one?? What kind should I buy? Should I see a doctor before purchasing that kind of stuff? When I was talking to my dad on the phone today he said to me: "Maybe you won't be able to complete the marathon..." (translated from French!).... BUT I WANT, I NEED TO COMPLETE THE MARATHON. This is something I've been working really hard at and I want to do it so badly!! I guess I'll see how this whole-knee situation goes this week. The long run next Saturday is only 12 miles and this little step back will certainly be great for my knee.

I hope everyone had a great long run =) Happy running!!!

26.2 WAYS TO KNOW YOU ARE A RUNNER

(I read that a long time ago when I was just training for fun and thought this is crazy!! But now some of these are becoming so real to me! Ran for 8 miles this morning in 1h27 (10:59 min/miles) and I feel Grrrrrrreat! Ok, it might be because of my Venti Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee but I won't mention that...). Happy running all!!

1. You know how many miles there are in a marathon.
2. Your weekly mileage is how much you run, not your commute to work.
3. You know how many miles you get out of a pair of running shoes.
4. You can convert Kilometers to Miles in your head.
5. You measure your running route in your car to get the exact mileage.
6. When someone tells you their age, you automatically know their Boston qualifying time.
7. You know Grandma's as the route from Two Harbors to Duluth, not the person.
8. You can drink, blow your nose and pee on the run.
9. The problem with the treadmill is there's no place to spit.
10. You have less than ten toenails and that's normal for you.
11. Body Glide is your friend.
12. Ibuprofen is affectionately known as "Vitamin I".
13. Navigating walkers, dogs and baby strollers annoys you because it interrupts your pace.
14. When you participate in an organized event, you know not to run in your race t-shirt. (UNLESS ITS A COOL MAX!!)
15. You have a favorite energy gel and flavor.
16. The "Picasso" above your fireplace is last year's TCM poster.
17. You have pre and post race rituals.
18. The journal you keep is in miles and pace not feelings or thoughts.
19. When you look at the weather conditions, you calculate how many layers to wear.
20. The pride you feel after a good run is worth the pain it took to get there.
21. You have more t-shirts than you could possibly wear.
22. When you hear the word "bib", you think of race numbers not babies and Gerber food.
23. The "no carbohydrate diet" does not apply to you.
24. You know that Fartlek is not vulgar terminology.
25. A hill is an opportunity just waiting to be challenged.
26. You know the phrase "you're almost there" only applies when the finish line is in sight.
.2 Your vacation destination is determined by your race schedule.

MONDAY IS A REST DAY?

Not this week! I did 80 mins of bicycling yesterday as cross-training and I believe it helped my legs and feet feel less sore. I felt so good that I decided to run my Tuesday's 4 miler this morning. I worked on my speed and finished it in 39:59 (10 min/miles). I am thinking of moving the Tues-Wed-Thur runs to Mon-Tue-Wed, I find I need more rest before the big runs than after.... Ok, that's it for me now, tomorrow is an 8 miles run and I'm all ready for it!

Happy running everyone! =)

15 MILES AND 3 HOURS LATER....

I AM SORE!!! Wow what a long run... The sun was not up when I left (6:10) so I went directly to my Riverfront trail to see the sunrise but it never happened. It was a really dark and humid morning. After 30 mins, a light rain was coming down and it felt great, the humidity dropped down and it was fresh. But after 1h it started pouring rain and it never stopped!! At the 7 miles mark, I saw Mr. Smily on his bike, we stopped for a brief chat and then continued our way, so good to see him though! The next 3 miles were spent day dreaming about our date tomorrow! Then, I stopped for some stretching and Tangerine Gel (yuck... those are really gross).... I was at the 13.1 miles mark 14 minutes later than last week (1:36)! I guess the rain didn't bring the "best" in me! The last 2 miles were really hard, my right knee starting to act funny, my capris were wet and heavy and I was really tired.

But I did it, 15 miles in 3:01 (12:05 min/mile). I meet up with Flashy and her BF for breakfast afterwards and I got the 3 eggs/bacon/sausage breakfast. I'm full and satisfied, and now, I'm going to go for a power nap!

Oh before I forget, I also want to deeply thanks ViaRail for having restrooms open to the public starting so early! The city of Windsor decided to not open public restrooms in the park this morning.... grr...

DILEMMA... HELP!

Goodmorning runners! I was full of guilt for missing my morning run yesterday that I went after work... 4 miles at 10:54 min/miles pace... I know why now I have to get out of bed in the morning! So much harder running after a day of work!

My dilemma is about participating in the Point-Pelee half marathon... It is only 3 weeks before the Toronto Marathon and it is the week-end I am scheduled to run 20 miles.... I was thinking of doing week 15 (with the 20 miler) before the race... is that a bad idea? And replacing the week of the half with Week 14 which schedule a 14 miler.... Is the race to close to my actual goal race? I read in last month's Runner's World that racing before your goal race is a great idea but they were suggestion 1-2 months prior to it not 3 weeks.... any opinions?? I still haven't paid for the half-marathon race so I could still forget it all together.... but I thought it was a fun way to get a 13.1 miler in me...

Thanks for any tips and runner's wisdom sharing!!

HARD TIMES!!

Tuesday's 3 miles run was a breeze (10:57 miles/min) but on Wednesday I had the most difficult 7 miles run ever (11:54 miles/min). My legs were not following me and were really tight, I had to stop several times to strech... even the super Orange Sports Beans didn't really helped... so I've decided to take a break today and slept in (until 7:30!!!). I think I will be in better form tomorrow to do the 4 miler on my schedule and then up to the 15 miler on Saturday....

Happy running all!! =)

BEACH, RUNNING AND FAMILY = GREAT VACATION!! =)

I am back from my way too short vacation… I guess working and going to school is what makes you appreciate vacation that much. I visited the outlets a lot, got some new running shoes. A pair of Asics’s Gel Solution and a pair of Saucony’s Grid Cohesion, the models are probably 2 years old but I paid 80$ US total for b oth pairs! I’m really happy with my purchase =)

I was a little mixed-up in my schedule as I forgot to bring it with me during our trip to the states but I was trying to follow Week 8 of Hal Higdon’s marathon training (did an extra mile on Wednesday). It would be really great to get the Garmin software to work on my computer but I tried several times and it doesn’t work! Damn technology!!

Monday 3 miles in 32:42 (10:55 min/miles)
Wednesday 7 miles in 1:20:36 (11:31 min/miles)
Friday 3 miles in 31:54 (10:39 min/miles)
Sunday 13.1 miles in 2:22:42 (10:54 min/miles)
Weekly total: 26.1 miles!!

I was in Montreal near the Parc de la Pointe aux Prairies for the first and last runs of the list. The two other runs were done in Portsmouth, New Hampshire near the Bellamy River. OH YEAH, and you read it right people, I did a half-marathon distance on Sunday in 2:22! I was so amazed at myself =) Like Jelly said the change in scenery really does motivate you! I’m now hoping to do my September half-marathon with an average pace of 9:50 which would bring me to a time under 2:10. My legs hurt a lot on Sunday after the run but I was doing fine today and I’m ready for 3 miler tomorrow morning!

However, looking back at my schedule, I realized that I am a week late on my training!!! How did I forget one week? I used a calendar that started with the Sunday and not the Monday and it threw me off…. Ok, I get easily confused! That means that I do not get my easy recovery week and will be doing Week 10 starting tomorrow…. I guess that’s dedication, I just hope I can cope with the 15 miler this Saturday…. time will tell!

Happy running week to you all =)

I'M ON VACATION!!!

I'm leaving by train for Montréal tomorrow a big a 12h trip. And then off to a little road trip (Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine) for a week. I am bringing my running gear and planning on sticking to scheduled (Tues- 3 miles, Wed- 7 miles, Thur- 3 miles and Sunday - 13 miles).

Have a good week runners and I'll catch up with you all next week =)

MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!

The weather was cool at 6 AM! =) It was almost a little chilly for the first mile of my 12 miles journey. I wanted to go running on a trail to make it easier on my knee joints, so I headed for Malden Park (2 miles to go there). What I realized is that I run slow on trails! I'm always afraid I'm gonna trip on a rock and torn my ankle so I go slower... am I the only one who does that?? I tried pushing for speed but I seriously lack balance and didn't want to fall!! The sunrise was beautiful, bright red and orange between the green of the trees =) Trails were great on the joints though so I did about 4 miles there and headed to my usual RiverFront path. After 6 miles, I stopped 2 minutes to stretch and eat the Power Bar GEL flavor Double Latte.... wasn't the best but it did give me the boost I needed to keep going! I arrived at the RiverFront path and I only had 4 miles left, felt like this was going to be easy! I mean ONLY 4 miles ;-) The last mile was really the thoughest but I didn't gave up! 12 miles in 2:24 =)

Here I am 12 miles and a shower later waiting for my Friend Flashy to go for Breakfast! =)

Hope all the runners will get a great run in the somewhat cool weather!

MOTIVATION! =)

I was just browsing the web... procrastinating... and came across the medal I will receive for finishing the 2006 Toronto Marathon! This is socool, I've never received any medals at races even though I particpated in 4 races from the Running Factory, here, in Windsor. I feel like a kid, I got so excited when I saw this =)


Today's a rest day before my LSD of 12 miles on Saturday, I'm hoping for cool weather like what seemed to be a fresh morning today!

Happy Running everyone!

FAST LIKE THE WIND!!

I decide to sleep until 6 this morning, my little pooch has been sick for the past 2 days and my nights of sleep keep being interupted by his scratching.... like every hour!!! Anyhow, it was "fresher" this morning (before the thunderstorm) and I wanted to work on my speed so I did a 3 miles run at 10:08 min/miles. Pretty happy about that, I was aiming for a time less than 10 min/miles but I couldn't do it. This is pretty good for me anyway!!

Later!

RUNNING AT 5:45 AM... NOT MY IDEA OF FUN!!

But I'm a commited girl and I want to avoid the heat as much as possible. So I ran 6 miles at 11:35 min/miles in the hot morning (27 oC feeling like 39oC) . I read in last month Runner's World that in such heat you can add 1 whole minute to your usual average pace, which is what I'm doing.... since I missed my 3 miles run on Tuesday due to traveling. With a 3h sleep and 10h of driving in my system I was just too tired to even want to run... I will hopefully be in great form tomorrow morning to do another 6 miles instead of the scheduled 3 miles and make up for my lost run, we'll see. Getting up at 5:30 again.... I will stop complaining about the weather right now, we're just never happy!!!

Happy running everyone, stay cool! =)

HEAT ADVISORY & TORNADO SEASON IN CHICAGO!


I am still in Chicago and it is sticky hot, the fact that we have to wear pants and close-toe shoes is not helping! When I write "we" all the time it's the University of Windsor team of Scientists (Flashy, Patchy, myself Speedy and the Wise-guy)... We were at the beamline until 11 P.M. yesterday and I missed running so much that I started running around the 1.1 km beamline circle. Later on, I was telling our super beam scientist about my running and he nicely told me that running around the synchrotron ring is illegal.... oupsi!! I did feel bad, for like a second ;-) so we set a map overnight and went back to the hotel room. By the time I finally went to bed and close my eyes, it must have been close to midnight, which is really Waaaaaaaay pass my usual bed time!! I tried to wake up for 5:30 AM for an early run but I couldn't do it... I was still at the door for 6:30 AM =) I left the sleepy group to go for a planned 6 miles run but it was soooooooooo humid and hot (how do you chicago people do it.... seriously!!) so I settled for a slow 5.15 miles run at a pace of 11.28 min/miles.

Gotta go the beamline is calling my name!!!

IN CHICAGO.... WELL JUST 10 MINS AWAY IN LEMONT, ILLINOIS!

Goodmorning everybody!

I am going to be spending the next 72h working intensely at the Argonne National Laboratory using the Synchrotron (Advance Photon Source). For those of you who have no idea what Synchrotron light is and can do, I guess it's like I'm writing in chinese right now! This is part of my Ph.D. dissertation and hopefully we'll get some good results out of this and publish in a good journal..... If you are interested to learn more about synchrotron clikch here! If not let's get to the running part!!

I had a great run just before leaving Windsor on Wednesday, 6.3 miles at an average speed of 10.48 min/miles. I had a tattoo touched-up just after that and can't run until it heals.... hopefully it will heal fast *fingers crossed* as I brought my running gear here and would like to fit 1 short run (3 miles) and 1 LSD (maybe 10 miles).


The site is really big and there is a lot of green spaces to run, it would be fun..... wondering if my garmin will catch a signal...

Ok, gotta get going here! Happy Running everyone!

MY FIRST ATTEMP AT BLOGGING!

Hello all,

I've been reading a lot of running blogs for a long time now.... about 3 months now! I guess it's about time I start writing something of my own. Not that my solo runs are that exciting but I'll try to come up with some stories.

For those of you who do not know me, I am a 25 year old Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Chemistry. My first language is French and so bare with me if some sentences sound funny! I started running in January 2006. At first to lose weight and now I am totally addicted to running! =)

My first goal is to participate in my first half-marathon:
- Point-Pelee/Pointe-Pelée on September 24th

I have been running a lot for the past 3 months, 4 times a week using Hal Higdon's Half-Marathon novice training as a guide and I usually do more milage than what he proposes. Considering this schedule, I am ready for my half-marathon next week-end!! It has always been in the back of my mind to join my friend, Amanda, for the Toronto half-marathon on October 15 but looking back at my progress, I just decided to register for the 2006 Toronto Full Marathon. A journey of 26.2 miles! I'm excited and scared at the same time!!! But I think I can do it! Lots of hard training and positive thinking will get me to the finish line!!

From now on, I will be following Hal Higdon's Marathon Training guide for Novice and will start at week 6 (this week). I CAN DO THIS!!

Thanks for checking my blog! =)

HAPPY RUNNING!

p-s I do use the smile symbol way too often!!! =)