UNSTOPPABLE...

I am on vacation! It's great! I even forgot that I am stressed about finishing my Ph.D. and that I have no clue what I'm going to do and where I'm going to go after that! Life is a bliss ;-)

I've run 8 times since the 21st December for a total of 26.4 miles. I'm pretty happy with my mileage and the runs I did, I sure hope it prevented me from putting on a bazillion pounds from all the food and wine I had.

I'm doing the 5K Resolution Run in Montreal tomorrow. I was pretty excited to set a PR but it's been snowing (and still hasn't stopped) all morning so I'm not sure about that anymore! I forgot my Get-A-Grip for my shoes in Windsor... Oh well, a fun run will be great anyway!

I got my foot fitted at the Westmount Running Room yesterday, I should have done that 2 years ago... been running in Saucony's wide shoes while my feet are very narrow (AA).... The girl was not impressed and told me to throw my old shoes in the garbage! Well, at least I know =)

I hope everyone will have an amazing running 2008 year!

Thanks for always coming back to read my blog and leaving me comments =)

FREAKIN MONO GET OUT OF MY BODY!

So, my bloodwork shows that the mono is still active as there are enough antibodies in my blood to get a positive result back. The doctor said this was quite unusual as it has been 4 months since I was first diagnosed and it should be gone by now. But that explains why I am so tired all the time again. Also, my Iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12 are all very low. The Iron is about 5 time lower than normal, the folic acid 30X and the B12 about 3 times lower than average. She thinks that since I am still fighting the mono my body is using these ressources for that. At least, I know what I have and it should be easy to control with supplements. I will have to check back in January and see if it improved after the Holidays.

I need this vacation so bad right now!! I haven't run since last Thursday and wanted to go for a spin tonight but I ended up napping from 5-6... I think I'll have to cut a day of running. It's just too much right now. I am so tired of having these stepbacks. It's really frustrating to not being able to do more....

I CAN'T WAIT TILL SATURDAY AND GO BACK TO MONTREAL!!

(By the way, Fran, I am eligible for OHIP but since I wanted to move back to Quebec after I am done, I always kept my Quebec health card. Now, I'm not even sure I am going back there so I might switched, its a real dilemma!)

SNOWSTORM OF THE YEAR!

We rarely have lot of snow in Windsor. And we never really have snow on the ground before I leave for the Christmas vacation, let alone that much (15 cm)!! That's quite a big deal here! Rocky has snow up to his neck, he has to jump like a little Rabbit to move! It is so funny! =) At least we don't have as much as Montreal or Toronto (up to 50 cm!).

SICK =(

Yet again... 104$ of bloodwork might reveal something on Tuesday. Until then, rest and then more rest..

SPEEDWORK

Speedwork tonight, 3 miles at 5 K pace, or trying to get as close as possible to it!

3 miles @ 9:21 min/mile

with splits at:
Mile 1: 9:11 min/mile
Mile 2: 9:24 min/mile
Mile 3: 9:28 min/mile

My 5K PB is 27:33 which means 8:52 min/mile average... I pushed myslef tonight and got pretty close so, in my book, that's enough! The pooch took another injury break but his pad look better and he looked so sad when I left him! So, he's back on the road for the Fun-Run tomorrow!

Have a good night everyone!

BIG WEEK


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

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

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

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

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

Weekly total: 23.1 miles!

Have a good week everyone =)

MY DOG IS WINTER READY!

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

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

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

DISAPPOINTED... BUT OK WITH IT

I think I've made my decision on my run this morning. I had 14 miles plan and during the first half I could only think about the work that was ahead of me today for my thesis and I just realised that my heart wasn't into this training right now... I bailed after 7 miles and thought I had put a good effort (Rocky did well too!).

I want to finish my thesis and running has to take the backseat and you can't do that while training for a full. I am pretty disappointed, I feel like I am letting myself down but I registered on a rush (coup de tête in French...). I wanted to do this after I broke up with my boyfriend (yeah that Newfie guy) and thinking that I could manage it all but unfortunately it appears I am no super human so I have to deal that... I ran 2 marathons on 18 weeks training and they were both hard, not sure its a good idea to go along this journey on a 8 weeks training... anyway thanks for reading and I'll just switch to the half and be a happy runner again.