FULL FORCE MARATHON TRAINING!

I am still plan less, as I haven't decided which one to go with, but I am running! I run pain-free but the aftermath is not pretty... I have to ice my foot all night and the next morning is associated with intense pain and walking like an old lady for 20 mins. After that, the pain "kinda" goes away... I have my 2nd treatment of ESWT tomorrow night and I am confident this will be taken care of in a timely manner...

Rocky joined me on all my runs this week!
Tuesday 3 miles @ 10:58 min/mile
Thursday 5 miles @ 10:56 min/mile
Saturday 11 miles @ 11:15 min/mile (4.5 miles with the Dude)

I am so happy the mileage is getting to a decent level, I am planning on finding a marathon plan ASAP. It probably won't be the FIRST plan, since I want to run with my dog and he wants to smell a lot so I have to pull him a lot in the right direction! Speedwork with him is something to forget, running with a 14 lbs resistance is hard! I just ordered a stability belt to run with your dog on ebay so I should get that early next week and that'll make my runs with him much easier. =)

I've been tagged by Ken and Laurel to share 5 facts about myself on my blog, some random, some weird.

The Rules of the game: Link to your tagger, and post these rules on your blog. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.Tag 5 people at the end of your post by their names and links to their blogs. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

FACT 1: I could live on a diet of chips, more chips and water =) Self control is not something that comes naturally to me! lol

FACT 2: I am not environmental friendly when it comes to kleenex... I must have some sort of nose issues because I use at least 20 kleenex per day! Let me tell you it's not pretty during my winter runs...

FACT 3: I've never taken a break from school, went from high school to cegep, then university with an undergrad in chemistry and a doctorate in environmental sciences. That's why I'll only be 27 and you will be able to call me Doctor! (Now I wish I enjoyed life a little more...)

FACT 4: I was voted Miss Analytical Chemistry the last year of my undergrad. Not it wasn't a pageant just voting for who was the most hardcore analytical chemist!

FACT 5: I refuse to use another bank than my bank to withdraw money. I know it'S only 2$ charges but it drives me insane to pay for nothing. So, I end up never carrying money on me and always paying credit... there is only 4 National Bank of Canada in Windsor!

Next up (yep I know how to count... but I tag 6 people!):

Francis

Kenny

Jelly

Shelley

Mark

Amanda

THINGS ARE LOOKING BRIGHTER

I ran 4 miles on Saturday with my dog in the misty rain. It was nice and the body hold on. I was in a lot of pain the morning after though. And could barely walk for the first 15 mins when I woke-up... On the good news side, I had an encouraging appointment at the chiropractor =) He has started some ESWT (extracorporeal shock-wave therapy) at low intensity on my heel. It's mostly not painful, unless he's hitting the spot where I have pain, which makes me cringe a little.

"Shock wave therapy is thought to work by inducing microtrauma to the tissue that is affected by plantar fasciitis. This microtrauma initiates a healing response by the body. This healing response causes blood vessel formation and increased delivery of nutrients to the affected area. The microtrauma is thought to stimulate a repair process and relieve the symptoms of plantar fasciitis." -http://orthopedics.about.com

I am going to have 5 treatments (once a week) before I leave for Christmas and that should be enough to totally heals it. That made me happy, I trust him 100%, he solved my shin splints problems in 3 treatments with Active Release Technique in the past. He said I probably won't see a full recovery until the treatment is all over but it should start feel better soon. Since I don't have any pain when I run (just the morning after) he told me I can still run =) And that I could probably do the marathon. I'll wait until we're closer to the date to decide what I am going to do.....

Ok, well that's the story of my road to recovery!!! Thanks for reading everyone and happy Running!

FIRST RUN IN 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!!


Yes a little 2 miler but oh god did it ever feel good! =) I ran with my dog and had a late start which means its pitch dark outside but the view ofthe Bridge all illuminated and Detroit skyline was really nice. I didn't have my camera but I found this picture on the web and it looks just like this (mavrinac.com).

I didn't really feel any discomfort from the heel and did my exercices when I came back + I'm icing it right as I type this. I'm going to go for a 4-5 miler this week-end and hopefully this means I can resume my training! YAY! I'm so happy!!!!!

NOTHING NEW TO REPORT....

Foot still hurt, not as much though, the doctor diagnosed the Plantar Fasciitis as Michelle mentionned in my last post. I am taking some anti-inflammatories and resting the foot for a week or two. I am thinking about doing a small run this week with the pooch and see how it feels. This does not look good upon my Miami Marathon =( I knew I was already cutting the training a bit short with only 3 months before the marathon but now it looks like I will have to transfer to the half. There is no way to do this without getting injured with only 2 months before the event now.... I'm disappointed but it's not like I did all the training and got injured at the last minute. That would be a lot more frustrating... If I recover quickly from the PF I can try to go for a half-marathon PB....

On the good news, I just finished my second scientific article (Mineralogical Approach to the Study of Biomineralization in Fish Otoliths) and it will be submitted to Mineralogical Magazine Journal tomorrow! 2 downs, 2 more to go before this thesis is done! =)

PITY PARTY AND RANT....

So, it seems that it's one thing after the other to prevent me from running. The mono, a cold and now this foot issue.... It has started about a week ago, I didn't want to write about it because I thought that the extra rest due to the cold would make it magically disappear... yeah I know stupid... so the problem is that my heel hurts when I put pressure on it. So, I just walked on the tip of my toes on this foot during the week. Yesterday, the foot felt a bit better and I got my new toy so I decided to test my heel for a 3 miler. Since the run, I can't even put my own weight on my heel without sharp pain. =( Anyway, now I'm super down and I can't run and I'm definitely throwing myself a pity party but sometimes that's what you need.... Right now, it's icing for 10 mins every hour (says Dr. Mom) and see how it feels tomorrow.

On to the next part of this post, the "Rant".... So, since my heel hurts and I can't run or really walk much on it (still have to walk the pooch). I figured I should get it checked by a doctor... Well, being an out-of-province patient totally F'ing SUCKS. That means I will have to pay from my own pocket to get any X-Ray done or any other test that a doctor ask me to do. And my government only reimburse me 50% of any bills I pay. And it takes... oh yeah maybe 6-8 months to get reimbursed!! So, I'm getting screwed. Anyway, I know it'S way worse in the States so sorry for my US friends, you must still think I'm pretty lucky but it annoys me... Ok, well sorry for this really pessimistic post I guess tomorrow will be a better day.

HAPPY OWNER OF...

A brand new Forerunner 205!!!

WOOHOO!! I'm so excited to run with it tonight =) Thanks Mom and Dad for this great B'day/Christmas present!! I just realised I never mentionned it was my B'day... on October 25th! lol A few days after the Detroit half.

HUM... THIS DOESN'T START WELL!

So, it's week 1 of marathon training and total miles ran is 0. =(

Everyone I know is sick or starting to feel sick so it's no surprise, with my super immune system that I caught that cold. I'm thinking a cold on week 1 is better than marathon week so I've been resting and waiting for it to go away. I just started to sleep better last night as my nose is not stuffed up anymore. I missed the weekday runs but I will do my long run on Saturday (9 miles). I'm still hesitating between 2 plans. Hal Higdon marathon training plan Novice 2 tweaked to run only 3 times a week and the FIRST plan. Considering that I'm starting this training late and that I'm in the middle of intense lab work and writing my thesis, running 3 times a week will be an achievement itself!

Yesterday was Halloween and although I did not dress up this year. I dressed my pooch for his nightime walk. It was only a hat but he was sooooo cute!! As you can see with this picture, Rocky does not seem too impressed....


Have a good week-end everyone! =)

NEW 2008 GOAL....

Flight -Booked
Hotel -Booked
Race -Registered

"Congratulations! You are now registered for the 2008 ING Miami Marathon"

I wanted to have a goal over the winter, I knew that without one I would get lazy... it's so hot and cosy inside! And I also wanted to make sure I would make time to train during my last few months of thesis writing. So, there we go, it's all booked and I got a cheap flight out of Detroit for 200$ I just need a dog-sitter and we're golden!!

What convinced me is that my parents will be in Miami that week-end prior to leaving for a cruise. So, I will have my cheerleading team with me again and I know that will make a whole lot difference!!! =)

See you in Florida Laurel!!

GREAT RACE PICS!

I had a great time at the race and it shows on these pictures!

DETROIT HALF-MARATHON!

I had an awesome race =)

The weather was perfect, the wind was more cooling than hard to run in I found. The best part was that I felt good and strong all long. I finished in 2:22:04 my 3rd best time out of 5 halfs.

Most of you know, I caught mono at the beginning of August and I was unable to run for more than 2 months. I started training for this race 3 weeks ago and I only did 2 long runs (8 and 10 miles). Considering all these, my goals today were to:
1-enjoy the race
2-run at a comfortable pace and
3-try to finish under 2:30.

So, 2:22 is a totally unexpected result for me and I'm pretty happy with it. =)

This is the first race I run without my ipod and I enjoyed it a lot because there was lots of people cheering on the side of the street. I don't think I would run without it in smaller races (like Forest City...) I always had tons of people around me (30-40 people!) for the duration of the half! I usually run alone in smaller races so that was a great change.

I have a “thing” for bridge, I love them! It’s hard to explain but everywhere I visit I’ll photograph them and I really feel in love with the Ambassador bridge since I moved here. So, running on it was a big highlight for me. The tunnel was HOT, I was sweating buckets, the breeze at the end felt so good. And the crowd on the Detroit side was so much bigger than on the Windsor side!

I saw my parents at the end of the tunnel, waiting for me near mile 9. It was great to see them. My dad tried to take 2 videos with his camera and ended up with nothing cause he’s technologically challenged... Lol Oh well at least he tried =) This was also the first time, my mom saw me run at a race and that made it pretty special for me.

Overall experience was awesome =) I want to come back for the full one day!

Thanks for reading everyone.


Before the race starts at 7:15 AM with my parents, it was so dark! And it wasn't super easy to get up at 4:45AM!!!

It only took me 2+ mins to cross the starting line , I was in Corral O which was in the middle of the row.

The race is over and it's bright oustide! With my folks again

1 YEAR AGO ALREADY!

That I became a marathoner! Today was the Toronto Marathon and it was and extra special run for me. I kept thinking how far I've gone with my running in a year. Lots of races: 2 marathons, 3 half-marathons, one 30K, one 10 miler, three 10K and two 5K. Ouf that is a lot!! I can say that I am as ready as I can be with only 4 weeks of training for the Detroit Half. I ran those 10 miles in 1h53 (11:20 min∕mile).

I met a French guy while running today, that totally made my day! We started talking around mile 5.5 and then chatted our way to the next 4 miles! It was great, made me completely forget about my legs being heavy and my body hurting. And I got to speak some French in Windsor so that always makes me happy!

Taper week is coming my way, Rocky and I will enjoy the lower mileage!! =)

UNDERWEAR POST

I don't usually talk about my underwear in public but it was soo ANNOYING on my run tonight! I usually wear some fancy dri-fit Nike panties but I didn't want to waste them on a 3 miler (yes I wash once a week!). Well, I did not change it and ended up wearing this stupid "loose" underwear. That underwear will slowly makes it way down to your knees making you feel very uncomfortable... It will also make you look stupid as you try to bring it back up in the middle of the street. Yeah, lesson learned... It did become a little less bothersome when the rain started and it was all wet... not the best just a little better. Anyway, enough about panties... I ran 5 miles on Tuesday and 3 miles tonight. No idea of the time as I still have no watch.

There has been a lot of heated discussion on RM.com about the use of ipods in races. I have always raced with my ipod and never saw a problem with it. I keep the level low and enjoy both the crowd (or lack thereof) and music. I had never realised before some races are banning the use of ipods (you can get disqualified). I never thought about the fact that I was not following the rules but now that it has been brought to my attention, I do not want to live in sin ;-) But I have never raced without an ipod and its almost like a security blanket at this point. I usually don't run without it. Anyway, just wanted some opinions from my fellow bloggers about the use of ipods in races that banned them.

Thanks and happy running everyone! =)

"WE'RE ON A SCHEDULE!"

That's a comment that Ken left me on my previous post! hahaha I thought it was so funny, we really are on a schedule! I wish the weather would cooperate with my schedule... I guess at least I didn't have to run a marathon in those conditions.... unlike some of my friends who were in Chicago. My maniac friend, Pat, finished the marathon in 4h58 and I am so proud of her! I cannot imagine what she went through. And to think that last year's crew were freezing out there! I am very disappointed for people who were running their first marathon and didn't get to finish. Hopefully, they will find another race and get that well deserve feeling of crossing the finish line...

So today, I felt the guilt of missing my LSD yesterday so I went for 2h of biking of about 30K. And I walked for about 2h... I hope I sweated some of that pumpkin pie! lol

Happy thanksgiving everyone =)

CHICKEN?

We've been having some crazy hot weather these days, I'm talking high 30's with humidex (100 F). I tried to wake up early today but no luck. My body just didn't want to do it. It's already 34 oC here and I'm in no desire to get out of my cool A⁄C apartment..... Yep, you can call me lazy =(

I'll see how it feels when the sun goes down and I might venture tonight. As for today, I am doing nothing! Walked for 20 mins with Rocky and I was in sweat. Thursday 4 miler was done in 44 mins and with the pooch so we're getting pretty good at this ;-)

STRONGER THAN THAT MONO!

Yep, that's how I feel right now, I nailed that 5 miler last night and I'm up for 4 tomorrow! Bring it on =)

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

After that post, that I would ever found a 8 miler H-A-R-D... oh well, taking time off running really shows. My legs were still sore from Friday's 5 miler and I didn't really feel like doing 8 miles. But if it's on the schedule.... I'm the kind of person who will have a hard time backing down from the schedule (good and bad I guess). Anyhow, at mile 3, I really wanted to turn around but then Madonna's song Push came on and she told me "you push me, to go the extra mile". So, I did go the extra mile.... and at mile 4, I turned around and made my way back home. Before the turnaround, I stopped for a minute walk at mile 1, 2, 3 and 4. I had a washroom break at mile 5.5 and ran without stopping for the rest. I really wanted to go home! lol

Tuesday I am supposed to do 5 miles, I hope my legs will feel better. If not, I will do 3 miles.... I've decided to bring my dog on the weekdays runs with me. He was so good last Friday he's not out of this yet!!

I've had this crazy idea growing in me, I think it's from looking at the live broadcast of the finish line of the Scotiabank Toronto marathon yesterday. Even though the image was not the best, everytime someone would cross the finish line and hold their arms in the air, I felt all teary. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I crossed that finish line (2 times now!). Some of my friends are going to Las Vegas on December 2nd for the marathon/half-marathon and I'm thinking of tagging along. Airflight out of Detroit is only 220$ right now!! But I would really like to have someone to share a room with... so any takers????

Have a good week everyone and congrats to the week-end racers! =)

THAT SORE FEELING...

Oh I missed you! All the time, I couldn't run, I really missed that tired leg feeling you get after a nice run! Yesterday, the dog and I headed out for a slow 5 miler. No watch, no GPS, no Ipod, no fuel belt, plain simple running with the sound of my steps on the pavement. (Ok, the reason for no GPS is that it is still broken and not replaced... but that's another story itself!)

It was my longest distance in over 2 months and I felt it during and after the run. It was also a first for my little 14 lbs dog, he had never run more than 3 miles!! But that was in the middle of the summer and the humidex is pretty crazy here... He still had energy to charge other dogs at the end of our run... so I think he can do this long on a regular basis =) I was so proud of him!

I had a great time in St. John's, the weather was a lot nicer than when I was there in July. It was great to see Sunny Newfoundland =) That's a picture of Andrew and I during our hike of Signal Hill.This is a picture of me, hiking in Bay Roberts, a small village about 45 mins out of St. John's.

I HAVE A PLAN!

So, I finally sat down to make a running schedule for the time that is left before the Detroit half. I want to do 3 days a week of running so here it goes:

This week
Friday: 5 miles
Sunday 8 miles

Week 3
Tuesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Sunday: 9 miles

Week 2
Tuesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Sunday: 10 miles

Week 1
Tuesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 2 miles
Sunday: Half-marathon

This is a quick 4 week plan to a half-marahton... that seems crazy to write but I feel like my running base will come to the surface once I start running. I have only been running 3 milers since I started again so it will be challenging.... I hope the rest time in between runs will make it easier on my body. I will never know until I try so that's what I am going to do! I am really looking forward to run on the Bridge and in the Tunnel =)

Have a good running week everyone!

BACK ON THE ROCK...

So, I am in Newfoundland, again! I got some cheap seat sales on the web and flew all the way here for a last time before Christmas. =)

The great things about being here:
1) I have a handsome running buddy
2) We ran 2 times 25 mins (3.8 Km) in the past 4 days
3) It's nicer out right now than back in July!!
4) I'm spending time with my BF

I feel much better about the running, we have another 25 mins planned tonight. I think I can do this!!!

2X5 & 3X4...

I've just started feeling a little better so I thought I would start running immediately. Getting back into running is hard... I'm struggling. I feel like I lost ALL MY FITNESS.... This is so discouraging... Tuesday I did 2 times 5 mins of running and Thursday I did 3 times 4 mins of running in the company of my lovely dog. He enjoys it a lot, I, on the other hand just think I'm slow and out of breathe... I am getting really worried about the Detroit half marathon. I think I can pull that distance even if it takes me 3h but do I really want to be that slow. I have really been looking forward to running on the Ambassador bridge and in the tunnel so I might do it just to tell people that I've done it....

San Francisco was cold and full of junkies and homeless people... at first our hotel was in Tenderloin which is apparently the biggest ghetto in SF.... oups!! That said we switched hotels and it was fine but I still didn't enjoy the trip as much as planned.... and I always wanted to visit California. I'm still shocked that I didn't like SF! When I kept complaining about the weather, people would said: "well this is Northern California, what did you expect" and "just go a few km in shore and it's 100 degrees there". Yeah well, I'm stuck in SF and it's cold and I hate it... On my last day, we rented a car and went to Muir Woods and the beach and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E =) The water was very cold but I still swam in the Pacific Ocean and I was happy...

I dig my toes into the sand

The ocean looks like

A thousand diamonds strewn

Across a blue blanket

I lean against the wind

Pretend I am weightless

And in this moment

I am happy happy

-Incubus (I wish you were here)

Oh yeah, the conference went really well!!! I presented in front of my biggest crowd ever, about 100 people!! I was really nervous but once I was in front of the audience it did not show at all =) I even made them laugh 3 times!! I was so proud!! Who said scientist have to be boring?