Wednesday, May 30, 2007

IT'S OFFICIAL

I am NOT running a fall marathon...

"Thank you for submitting your entry for the October 21, 2007 Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon: Half-Marathon. ALL ENTRY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE TO ANOTHER DATE, PERSON OR EVENT. NO EXCEPTIONS."

I made up my mind today... after putting all my marathon training on a calendar, I was just so overwhelmed! I wanted to try a new program from this book I read 4 months to a 4h marathon with a higher mileage per week and long runs go up to 24 miles. So, I would have to do a 21 miler when I will be in a conference in San Francisco and another 23 and 24 miler in the summer heat of Windsor.... I am not ready to commit to this with the end of my Ph.D. being so close (defense planned in December).

I really wanted to run the full but I cannot see myself devoting all that time to training when I know it is going to be hard for me to write my dissertation! I'm telling myself that t
here will be other opportunities to run fulls when I am 100% ready to run them. Nothing like doubting the full and getting to race day with no confidence and no desire to run the entire 26.2 miles. You gotta really want it.... I don't think I really do, not now, I think I need a break from intense training this summer!

The thing that "sold" me too, is that the half does run on the Ambassador Bridge, in the tunnel and the finish line is in Ford Field like the marathoners... so I am not missing any of the "cool" parts of the race.

I am racing a half-marathon in Blenheim on Sunday, not sure I am ready for this, but I will try to follow a fellow runner friend who is trying to PB and see if I can follow her!
***Toenail update***
It's gone! It has fallen on Tuesday and there was another smaller toenail fully grown underneath! =) I can wear sandals! YAY!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

MY FIRST...

Toenail loss!!!! hahaha I feel silly just writing about how proud I am to be losing a toenail! But I really feel like the hardcore marathoner right now! It never turned black, it just hurt a lot and then started to "peel"... it's hanging by a side right now... will probably lose it very soon... ok, I will save you all the gross details (and will not include pics!).

More to come on my awesome trip to Vancouver... I definitely fell in love with the city and the green surroundings! =)

Sunday, May 20, 2007

VANCOUVER!!!

Going to the West Coast! =) I will be gone for a week and will be internet-less! I'm excited to run in Stanley Park and try my new running skirt! I ran only once this week, 2 miles on Thursday, my IT band was really tight and my feet felt weird. My feet is still a bit shaky but I'm hoping this will clear up as we're going to do lots of walking in Vancouver!

Have a good running week everyone!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I DID IT AGAIN!

I ran another marathon! It took me a while to have this sink in! Sorry for the late race report but since Monday I have a visitor from out of town at my house (my Newfie) so it’s been hard to write about my experience!

I arrived by train in London on Saturday, took it easy, went to Starbucks to read and enjoy a latte. When my room was ready, almost an hour later than the official check-in time! I had no time to take a nap and chill before the Maniacs Meet and Greet. We went to a restaurant that serves pasta in giant (huge) bowls!

Here’s a pic of our table (pic taken by Brendan Reid/qmp maniac)


The night finished early and I was happy to get back to my room for 8 p.m. I watched tv all night, spoke on the phone with my BF and prepared my clothing and breakfast for the next day…. I went to bed at 10:30 and felt asleep right away… I was up around 12:30 for a bathroom break and then started getting nervous about the race! I tossed and turned for the remaining of the night, not my best sleep!! But, I was up by 5 AM, got my breakfast in 2 h before the race and relaxed. I was out the door at around 7:30, I didn’t want to wait to long outside as it was a bit chilly in the morning.

On my way to the starting line, I meet this dad and his handicap daughter (in a stroller/wheelchair), Amanda, they were racing their 9th marathon together and wanted to finish in 3:40! They had run Boston twice already together! Impressive team! I was happy to talk to them, I wished good luck and was on my way to meet some maniacs.


The time was almost up to the race so we all took our place near the starting line, I went on my own to have time to myself before the gun went off... I felt the same as I felt for my last race, a bit teary, still couldn’t believe I was about to run for that long again! I knew this race was going to be different as my dad could not be there and he was such a great help for the last one. I was thinking about him a lot. I knew my friend Flashy and her BF would try to see me around 38-39K so I was holding on to the thoughts that it would be good to see someone I know along the way, especially when things start to get hard!!

My plan was to race at a pace that would have me finish with a 4h33 time (10:26 min/mile). I didn’t want to start to fast, which is always my problem, and I was very proud when I saw that I could pace myself properly and that was going very well (for the first 8 miles anyway).

Mile 1 10:16
Mile 2 10:26
Mile 3: 10:32
Mile 4: 10:18
Mile 5: 10:38
Mile 6: 10:22
Mile 7: 10:15
Mile 8: 10:23

The end of Mile 8 and the beginning of Mile 9 was quite hilly, I slowed down a bit so I don’t exhaust myself but that’s when my hip started to “feel funny”. It started to hurt when I would climb hills and disappear when I would be on flat ground. So the next 7 miles were done trying to forget about the hip and enjoying the ride. I was thanking people on the side of the road and the awesome volunteers!


Mile 9: 11:02
Mile 10: 10:19
Mile 11: 10:41
Mile 12: 11:05
Mile 13: 11:23 (half-marathon at 2:21:26)
Mile 14: 11:15
Mile 15: 10:42
Mile 16: 11:08

That’s when I switched to Plan B, which was a 4h45 finish with average pace of 10:55. I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain a fast pace for the remaining of the race as I could feel my hip more and more. But then my knee started to hurt too and that’s when it started going downhill… I started to take walk breaks, hoping the knee/hip would miraculously recover... I was losing time and I was in pain. I was trying to tell myself some motivating speeches: “Pain is temporary, pride is forever”, “You’ve done this before, you know you can do it again” etc. But it wasn’t working, I was losing my “mental thoughness”!!

Mile 17: 11:37
Mile 18: 11:27

Around Mile 19, I started to cry, I was exhausted and I didn’t understand why it was going so bad and why it was so hard. Even though, I kept repeating if it was easy everybody would run marathons! I tried to straighten up my act for the next few miles.


Mile 19: 13:22
Mile 20: 13:01
Mile 21: 12:49
Mile 22: 12:27

Then by Mile 23, I lost it completely, the tears, the sobs and then I had difficulty breathing… a bad sight. I was already disappointed of myself for losing it and I was beating myself up instead of taking that energy to run a bit harder. My own fault, my mental wasn’t as strong as I thought it was… I really thought I wouldn’t finish at this point… Every time I would stop to walk, my body was telling me it didn’t want to keep going and starting to run again was so painful… But I guess I was strong enough to shut these thoughts and “just keep fuc’ing Running”!

Mile 23: 13:24
Mile 24: 13:24
Mile 25: 12:49
Mile 26: 12:30
.2: 11:01

The rest of the race was hard, I knew that I was going to miss Flashy at 38-39K at this point, because I told her not to wait for me too long there, if she wanted to see me finish in 4h30. That was harder than I thought it would to not have the support from my dad like at my first marathon, I appreciate even more today that he was there for me in Toronto!!

When I turned the corner and was able to see the finish line, tears came to my eyes again, I knew my friends would be there and I was happy I made it through another marathon. I crossed the finish line and hugged my friend Flashy! I started to cry again, it was hard but I made it, I learned a lot on myself….

Thanks to everyone for reading, I am happy to have such a great bunch of people for support! I am not done with this marathon business… ;-)



Sunday, May 13, 2007

HARD DAY... TOUGH RACE...

But I didn't give up... hip/knee problems ealy on lead me to a 5:03:23 finish (chip). I am proud I persevered... more to follow when I rest and digest my result.

Friday, May 11, 2007

RACE JITTERS!!

I am leaving tomorrow morning for London. I am at the same time excited/scared/stressed about the marathon! I know I trained hard and I should be able to have a great race and get the results I want. It's an accomplishment itself to be running a marathon and I am not forgetting that. I committed to the training, long runs in the snow and cold, I gave it all I got, dedicated all the way. I am proud of that and I am proud of myself no matter what!!

Thanks for reading and wish me good luck!!

Have a good week-end everyone! =)

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

REST, COLD FX AND ORANGE JUICE...

Will help you get rid a of cold!!! YAY! I feel totally fine today! Resting this week-end was the best thing I could have done =)

I ran 3 miles yesterday with my dog. After spending all day inside at the air conditioning, I didn't realise it was 28oC outside and that we had a smog advisory... We stop every 0.5 miles and he drank some of my gatorade. My poor fur-baby looked like he was going to have a heart attack around mile 2... so we slowed down. At some point, I even picked him up and kept running holding him!! Note to self, he can run 3 miles when it's cold out. He's just not a runner =( I think I've resigned myself now! Average pace = 15:03 min/mile!!!! OMG that was the longest 3 miles I have ever ran! BUT my dog didn'T have a heart attack =)

On other news, I went to an atheletic bra clinic at the Running Factory last night and the guest speaker was Silvia Ruegger. She's holding the title of the fastest canadian marathoning women (1985) with a time of 2:28:36!! Oh man was she inspiring! She was explaining her story, that with 4 months before the National Capital Marathon in 1984 she decided to switch to marathon training, her previous specialty being the 1500m and her longest long run was 12 miles! She had an intense training, more than 100 km per WEEK! And in the end, she won the NCM marathon (1st woman) and was one of the 3 canadian women to qualify and participate in the first time women marathon at the Olympics! AND THIS WAS IN 1984!! I had no clue women could not do long distance running in Olympics until after I was born, this seem so surreal!


She definitely inspired me and totally pumped me up for Sunday! I am so excited and cannot wait to race and give my best at the marathon! This was exactly what I needed after getting a bit down with catching a cold. Anyway, I could write a lot more about her but I'm not sure it interest everyone! If you have a chance to hear her speak go for it!

Happy running!!

Friday, May 04, 2007

IT'S OFFICIAL....

I have a cold.... I'm all stuffed up and can only think about sleeping. My head hurts and I cannot breathe properly. I just bought that cold FX remedy... hopefully this can pull out some miracle in time for the marathon. I've been struggling with the thought of missing my last LSD tomorrow (8miles). I rarely miss runs, I feel like I'm being lazy if I even just think about skipping a run... I will see how I feel tomorrow morning but I feel tiny bit silly to even considering going... It's just 8 miles and I know it should not affect my performance on marathon day....

Other than that, I felt pretty zen about the marathon... not as excited as the previous one. I guess it didn'T help that I had a crazy week at school + some personal turmoil... I went back to read my blog entries from last October before the marathon and it got me all excited again. So, I know when I'm going to stand on the starting line, game face will be on and I will do my best

I decided to share my expectations with you and will try to not be disappointed if I can't pull it off my first goal...
1) Finish in 4:30-4:40 (Pace = 10:15 to 10:40 min/mile)
2) Finish between 4:41-4:49 (Pace = 10:45 to 11:00 min/mile)
3) Finish between 4:50: 4:59 (Pace = 11:05 to 11:25 min/mile)
I do not think that my first goal is out of reach. According to MacMillan and my fastest half-marathon, I could do 4:33. Hopefully, the weather gods will be on my side and I will feel good on race day!
Here is the week recap
Tuesday 4 miles @ 11:07 min/mile
Wednesday 3 miles @ 11:33 min/mile with my pooch
Thursday 4 miles @ 10:39min/mile
Have a good week-end everyone