QUEEN OF CROSS TRAINING!

Well at least today ;-) It might have something to do with the 10 days of prohibited running or with an Event that I will soon participate in!! Missy here will be doing her first Try-a-Tri on July 12th! It will be 300m swim -13.2K bike - 2.5K run.

I have no money to invest in this sport at this moment, so a new bike was out of reach but my Mom offered me her 1987 Road bike and that will have to do! I haven't named the bike yet but I'm thinking it'll be something like "Granny" or "Oldy"... any ideas?

Other than that, I went to the pool for the first time since my first year in University (that was a long time ago!) and was able to do 1K of crawl non-stop in 28 mins. I'm pretty happy since I'm really rusty but I'm like a fish in the water so I wasn't worried about the swimming part.

Counting the days till I can run again! (7 if you were wondering)

BONNE ST-JEAN!!!!

Happy St-Jean-Baptiste Day everyone! This year is very special for me as I have been away for the past 5 years and I can finally celebrate with my family. It is also Quebec's 400th Anniversary! So Happy Birthday Quebec!

Moreover, it is my Mom's Birthday, so Bonne Fête Maman!

Yesterday, my foot was hurting too much for me to go anywhere but tonight we went to Park Bellerive in the East End of the Island. We saw a Quebec band named Harricana who mostly plays other quebec band's music but they play it well and we had a great time. It's really too bad I wasn't feeling that well again tonight because we would have stayed longer.

I SURVIVED THE CORTISONE INJECTION!!!

I went to the radiologist this morning. He took a radiography of my foot and the procedure was done under arthography. I didn't look at the screen or the syringe so i have no idea what it looks like.

The doctor started by freezing my foot which hurt a little but when he injected the cortisone it was more intense pain. I tried really hard not to move my foot... Glad it is done, I should feel a difference in 3-4 days and can start running again in 10 LONG days. Now that my feet is thawing, I can feel some discomfort but no real pain....

Thanks for the positive vibes everyone!

BIG DAY TOMORROW!

I'm finally getting the cortisone injection. Last week, I ran 10K and hobled for about 2 days... I know this can't go on any longer. Even tough I have been doing the LTR with my Dad, it is slow running and only 30 mins of a run:walk combination... I miss running long!

I heard the procedure is VERY painful... So, please send me positive vibes for tomorrow and have a tought for me on your run!

Thanks guys!! I'll post tomorrow about how it went.

p-s Yes, I finally got my router to work so I'll be more 'present' on the net! LOL

THE TAGGING GAME

I was tagged by Ken to play along this game.

Here are the rules as explained to me. Copy the rules (or your version of them) and the set of questions onto your blog post, provide your own answers and then tag 5 new people. If tagged, you’ll find your name at the end of this post. To be sure everyone tagged knows they’ve been invited to play, go to their blogs and leave them a comment notifying and referring them to your blog for details. Lastly, once the chosen have answered the questions on their own blog, they should come back to yours to tell you.

Here are my responses.

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
10 years ago I was finishing high school and my running was sporadic. I would go on intense training months where I was running everyday to no running at all for a few months. I only participated in a few races when I was 13 and 14 years old. A 3K in 1993 and a 5K in 1994 at the Quebec cross country event which took place at Ile Ste-Helene and some inter-high school competitions at the 1600m. I have no recollection of my times… Even then, I wasn’t super speedy! I know there is a box somewhere with my cross country times but nothing I can find easy.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?
Best – Crossing the finish line of my first marathon =) Even when I think about it now I get tears in my eyes. The result of a lot of training and determination to go all the way.

Worst – Mile 20 to 26.2 of my second marathon, my mental let me down and I found myself walking in a forest alone (small race). I wascrying and I had trouble breathing... there was nobody from the race during that part and that freaked me out. Finally talked to myself a lot and decided to suck it up and start running again but it was the hardest thing I have done so far. Came very close to a DNF… but I’M NOT A QUITTER!!

3. Why do you run?
I started as a way to lose weight and remembered why I’d always return to it when I was younger. I love to run, I love the way it makes me feel. I cherish this time alone to think about all sorts of things. I’ve been missing this peaceful time a lot since I don’t run as much as I want. But I also learned that I like running with people now. In Windsor with the GLIER Running club and now with my Dad and Aunt =) Since, I started running again in January 2005, I have never stopped and I don't want to either.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you’ve been given about running?
Best –You shouldn’t run a marathon on a 2 months training schedule (and I didn’t).

Worst – Get these orthotics and you will help your PF.... yeah they worsen it.....

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
I have a huge wooden chest where I keep all sorts of memorabilia, love letters from ex boyfriends, my many diaries and even pieces of hair! I can’t throw anything that holds a sentimental value to me….

These are the folks I'm tagging:
Leana
Kenny
Francis
Michelle
Jelly (I hope this will make her blog again!)

TIME IS FLYING!!

WOW! It's already Mid-June, I've been on vacation/un-employed for more than a month now and it feels like I defended my thesis yesterday... I've been VERY bad at blogging, sorry everybody. I gotta fight for the computer here, things should go back to normal soon as I will invest a big 60$ into a router. I will work on submitting 3 papers to scientific journals all summer... not that I really want to, but its good data and will look better on my résumé!!

Lots of catching up to do:

1- My foot : Stupid stupid foot. I hate you!! I'm going to get the cortisone injection on June 23rd, hoping this will cure me. I could resume training about a week after the procedure. I also tried the physiotherapist in the meantime but without any significant results.

2- I got my Dad started really well on the Learn to Run program! We're at Week 5 and we're running 3 mins and walking 1 mins intervals for about 30 mins. We even kept with the running on our trip to Aruba. It's also the only running I've been doing these days as my foot is bothering me on longer runs...

3- Next race : Quebec City Half-Marathon /Demi-Marathon des 2 Rives (I will see you there Leana!). Friends of mine from Nova Scotia were doing the full and I decided to tag along and make a trip out of this. It should be fun and will give me a goal for training this summer.

4- Last race: Cabot Trail Relay Race was SO MUCH FUN! This is a great event, I'm happy I got the chance to participate. I didn't sleep the whole week-end but it was worth it. I did Leg 7 which was shorter than the one I was suppose to do. But I just hadn’t realised that I was trading distance (leg 14 is 20K) for monster hills…

My plan was to go slow on the uphills and then to hammer the downhills! And this is what I did. That 8:44 mile is real and I can’t even do that for a 5K race… so I was going down fast! I was so afraid to be last and seeing the ambulance (who followed the last runner for the rest of the leg!) that I pushed myself a little too hard on the downhill. I had to walk the last little hill of my leg but after that, my energy was back and I finished strong. Pretty happy with my time considering the year I had, plagued with injury and life... and I only missed the mat by 2-3 mins… The rest is a real blur, wine, cheering runners at the night legs, sleeping well not really sleeping in a van, teaching lots of French swears and other X-rated sentences to my anglophone friends. LOTS OF FUN!

Our team finished last... but it wasn't about performance. This event is a lot more than a race, it's about friendship, cheering your teammates and having fun.

My week-end's best moment: meeting, talking and taking a pic with Ed Whitlock =)

The race by numbers:

Mile 1 @ 11:13 min/mile

Mile 2 @ 11:54 min/mile

Mile 3 @ 11:56 min/mile

Mile 4 @ 9:57 min/mile

Mile 5 @ 9:20 min/mile

Mile 6 @ 8:44 min/mile

Mile 7 @ 11:38 min/mile

Mile 8 @ 10:51 min/mile

Mile 0.2 @ 10:56 min/mile

Total 8.2 miles in 1:27:45 @ 10:42 min/mile

More on my trip to Aruba in an upcoming post!! Happy Running to everyone who can!! =)