Sneak Peek :)

Will be back home in a week or so...

meanwhile here's a sneak peek :)

Countdown...

5 hours to go...

My Sixth 5k (Toronto Zoo Run)

translated from my french blog

warning, the following post is really long... phew!

Today (as in Oct 17th. I didn't feel like translating for the longest time! :P) for the first time S ran a 5k with me!!! It was the Oasis Zoo Run. Wheee :) We ran in our neighborhood a few times to practice together and I noticed right away that he is well ahead of me when it comes to speed - oh la la! It's crazy how easy it seems for him! When we train together he is nice - since I'm much slower than him he runs ahead at his own pace and then he loops back to meet me so that I always have him in sight. For his very first race though, I wanted him to give all he had and not wait for me, I was really curious to see what kind of time he could finish in! :)

It was 2 ºC outside (35.6 ºF) this morning - I didn't have the 'courage' to run in shorts - brrrr. But S decided to be brave and do it. Let's just say that getting there an hour early and having to wait in the cold was not very pleasant - I was so cold myself, I can't imagine how cold he must have been!





Unfortunately, these are the only 2 shots that made it to the memory card, even though I thought I took a bunch of shots before the race. The batteries were really low, that must be why... Too bad, I had some better shots in there - but I guess they just don't exist anymore :( oh well...


At the start line, they had organized people in 'waves' based on how long it would take to finish. We went to the 28-32 area, the second wave to start, one minute after the official start (the course was just too 'small' to let all the participants in at the same time...)

When we finally started running, S asked for my help to start his iPod, a few clicks and it worked, as soon as it did off he went... He ran so fast, he quickly disappeared in the crowd ahead of me, I was so proud! Go S GO!!! :)

There were a lot of hills on the course - oh boy oh boy - pretty difficult! (Hills that I inexplicably didn't anticipate even though I was right there visiting the zoo with my co-workers back in april... pffff!)

There were some 'loops' during the race where you got to run facing the runners that were ahead of you (how do you call/explain that? does it make sense?) anyways... So at the first 'loop' I kept an eye on the oncoming runners to see if I could spot S, I eventually saw him, all focused and concentrated! So concentrated that he didn't evn react when I yell woo hoo at him and waved :) It took me what seemed like a minute to a minute and a half to get to the point where I met him - I was so impressed when I realized that! WOW!

Somewhere around the 3rd km I started having cramps :( I tried to breathe calmly/deeply/slowly to see if it would go away, but the air was too cold, which kind of made it worse (exercise induced asthma/coughing etc.) But I was hanging in there... a few minutes later I started to feel pretty intense 'TOM' cramps - ouch So I ended up stopping twice to walk a little bit, it was brief, but it was needed...

By the time I got to 4km, I was really giving everything I had to this race - you're doing fine, don't pay attention you're not in pain... don't stop! don't stop! Eventually I heard a volunteer yell ''100m to go!'' So I started pushing and accelerating. I sprinted to the finish line... oof! this had to be the toughest sprint I ever ran, more difficult than any other race I did before - but I did it!!! The clock said '34:13' when I crossed the finish line (so 33:13, if you remove the extra minute we waited for being in the 'second wave') My HRM says 32:30 though... and I really clicked a bit before the start line and really waited until after the finish line to stop it... So my time was ok I guess, somewhere between 32:30 and 33:13. Not too bad...

I quickly spotted S in the crowd after finishing, faster then my stomach/lungs recovered so I had to collect myself before asking him how he did, hee hee... after a minute I said 'how........ long... you....?' He said that theclock said 28:30 when he crossed the finish line!!! (As in 27:30 if you remove the 1 minute offset...) WOAH!!!! I was so proud of him!!! His very first 5k and he does it in 27:30!!! Imagine if the course would've been flat - he would've been even faster!!

ok now I'm jealous! hee hee, just joking ;)

It's our last race before our wedding on Nov. 4th... in a little over one week... We plan to run on our honeymoon at Disney World, I looked it up and there are a few paths available... it's going to be so much fun to run there! Like a little bit of extra summer time to enjoy running outdoors :) From now until the wedding we have cut out all activities to avoid getting any injuries hee hee do you think we're being too 'safe'? :) Let's just say I'd rather be safe than sorry...

Last Sunday, we went to cheer on our soccer team (we're officially on the team but we're not playing until after the wedding...) and a girl from the opposite team fell on her wrist, you know, a typical fall where you would just get up and forget about it. Well, when she checked her wrist with her other hand she immediately lost all color in her face - the pieces of her arm were not in the right place anymore. Both teams were in shock to see what happened to her. I'm pretty sure she must have broken the bones in her forearm, her arm was like a 'Z'. She left in an ambulance and the game continued - everybody was slightly less, um... competitive after that... I think it really traumatized everybody - she kept repeating (please forgive the swearing...) ''My arm, it's fucked! It's fucked!''

so yeah - maybe it is a good idea that we're not playing after all... :)

Anyways, I'll keep an eye on the web site for the race to see if they post some photos, I'll update this post if they do...

A thing I meant to mention though is that both S and I have been sneezing like crazy since we got back from the Zoo, S more than me (he tends to be allergic to a bunch of things...) I wonder if it has to do with the animals at the zoo, or if it's just that we caught a cold or something...

Also, go see Marie's video of the 'finish line' on her blog - she ran the 10k at the zoo this morning! WOO HOO Marie!!! If I run today, it's in big part thanks to her - she persuaded me to try a race, which led to me 'training for the race'... And she always generously encourages me... I am totally addicted to running now - wheeeeee!! :)

My Fifth 5k...

translated from my french blog...

So I completed my fifth 5k this morning, it was for the CIBC Run for the Cure. My new shoes made their first appearance :) Speaking of which, it was when I bought them at the Running Room that I was told that this event attracts even more people than the Scotiabank run!

woah!


And boy was that true! It was kind of hard to find my way, the signage wasn't very clear... That might be because it wasn't an 'official' race but rather a 'fun run' - as I was told when I picked up my kit... There was going to be no official time recorded, no 'chip'.

But that's not so bad, because the 'charity' part of the event was really cool. It just felt like it was much more about that than it was about running... Sometimes you gotta do it for the charity right? ;)

I really enjoyed seeing all the 'bibs' that people were wearing that said who they were running for. Certainly made for interesting reading material during the race hee hee :)

Since the official shirt was white, I decided to go for my yellow 'Acura' shirt again, easier for S to find me in the crowd... :)



The race was supposed to start at 10am, but it was delayed, not sure why, although the 30 000 people present might have had to do with it... we actually started closer to 10:14...

It was pretty tight in there, but people around me were running pretty slowly, which helped me pass them all, mua ha ha ha It sounds silly, but the fact that I had to pass people a lot to keep a 'decent' pace definitely helped a lot with accomplishing this:

At the finish line, I looked at my watch (which I wore specifically because there wouldn't be a chip, to get a sense of how much time it took me and all...) and I couldn't believe my eyes - here I am, getting ready to show S with a 'no way - that's impossible!' look on my face





ha ha, I realized you can't see the info on that shot, so I took a new shot when I got home, here's what it said:





Wha??? 28:38? No way!!! According to S, the big clock at the finish line with the 'gun time' was indeed showing something like 28/29... Really? Ok, I guess I'll never know for sure without the official results of the chip, but I think it's safe to say that I beat my 32:19 personal best for sure! Wheeeee!! :)

My next race is the 'Zoo Run' at the Toronto Zoo. This time is special, this time S will accompany me!!!!!!! :) It's another 5k, and I am really looking forward to run it with him. This will be the last race before our wedding too :) I'm not quite sure if there it's a 'chipped' race or not yet, but we'll see...

Speaking of S, I have to tell you that all these races I've been running recently, I couldn't have done them without him. He's my #1 supporter! He encourages me so much - he drives and comes with me to all the events, he always reminds me to and helps me prepare, he has a wonderfully positive attitude about the whole thing and it motivates me so much! I think he genuinely enjoys watching the races :)





and now, I leave you with something I would just prefer leaving 'un-explained':





And also - thank you all for your encouragements - I think of the blogosphere all the time when I run, I wouldn't have dared to try this if it wasn't for you guys! so THANK YOU!!!! :)

My Fourth 5k

translated from my french blog...

This Sunday I participated in my fourth 5k event. It was for the Scotiabank Waterfront 5k.

20 000 runners were expected this year for the 20th anniversary! (running in the marathon, the half marathon or the 5k) There was a LOT of people at Nathan Phillip Square - phew!







It was so crowded at the finish line - S couldn't get a spot close by... This was his view of the finish:



I was well prepared this time. My outfit and gear was all in one place, ready to go. I had breakfast plans (Ezekiel bread and peanut butter with a glass of milk, yummy) I tried to 'apply' my new strategy : convince my brain that what I was about to do was easy... :)

So I started in the middle of the crowd in the yellow corral, about 2 hours after arriving on site (the start of the 5k was at the CNE this year, so there were shuttle buses from downtown to the start line...)

When I started running, I noticed I had some lower back pain, felt like muscle cramps of some sort. I guesses it was probably because I was a little cold and had been standing for a while... it worried me a little bit, but it quickly went away, phew!

A little later, I noted that there was a problem in my shoe - pain that I could only assume was due to the nail from one of my toes cutting into another toe... ouch! I tried to somewhat 'spread' my toes apart in there, but quickly realized there wasn't much I could do about it at that point, so I kept going...

Everything was going well, my strategy was working perfectly until I saw this hill that I was familiar with since I drove on it thousands of times - man I thought the brochure said the course was flat!! My brain was instantly and inevitably distracted - oh la la...

ok Marie, don't stop, keep running, you can do this

uh oh, that's tough!

it's ok it's ok, no big deal, let's just keep going, all that matters it that you keep running

but.... uh.... but..... it's difficult......


I kept running, all the way up. But my pace took a beating and my comfort/strategy - pffff... gone! I needed. to. walk. I still kept running until I got to the water station, where I dangerously slowed down to drink.. and then... and then... I walked for a bit.

A the end of the water station area there was a nice volunteer who was cheering on runners she said something along the lines of 'Come on you're almost there, don't stop now!' That gave me the kick I needed to start running again.

At that point, I started thinking about the finish line. Thinking about how I was doing for time... my goal was to finish faster than 32:19. So when I finally turned left on Bay Street, I checked my time and my iPod said 26 minutes. Wow! I was impressed! Being just a couple blocks away from the finish line meant I was doing really really well. So I started accelerating. It goes Front, the King, then Queen right? Here comes Front, yeah! Ok, time to push it a little more! then came Wellington (huh?) that's ok, keep going faster you're almost there! Then came King, ah!!! good, almost there push it!! Adelaide (wha???) man! ok how many more streets now?
Temperance St......
Richmond St..............
and Queeeeeeeeen!!!!
and FINALLY - the finish line!!!! Wheeeeeee!!!

Official results: 32:32 minutes

1311/4249 for the 5k runners
640/2769 for womens
148/474 for my category
pace: 6:44


Wheeeee!! Phew! Only 13 seconds above my goal - not too bad at all!! :)

Another 5k - done!

I found the finish line pretty crowded, I probably lost 1 second there, pfff ;) it really was crazy crowded past the finish line though and I started to worry, wondering if I would find S easily...



Let's play where's Waldo :) I was wearing my green shirt from the TO Women's 5k (I officially decided on a new tradition to wear the shirt from the last race on all my races if possible)






Oh there! I found you!!! :)



After the long path toward the exit and through the food station........




............ S and I 'found' each other and we left the race site. We went to the Running Room right away to get my reward: These super duper new running shoes!! :) (My old shoes were going on 4 years... they are now my designated 'yard work shoes' hee hee



When I took my shoe off at the store to try on some new pairs, I noticed that my sock was bloody - oooops! My toe nail was cutting my other toe after all - oh well! Luckily I had packed another pair of socks... I feel so tough now, yeah! ha ha ha ha





My next race? The CIBC Run for the Cure... Next Sunday! Ouiiiiiii :)

Later!!

My Third 5k

translated from my french blog...

Ok, even if I mistakenly ran for 3.5 km on my first 5k event, I decided it still counted - so from now on, I will include the Pride Run when I count my races. That being said, on August 29th, I ran my 3rd 5k :)

It was the TO Women's 5k. I was better prepared for that race... I got to wear the shirt from my previous 5k at the Acura 10 miler - which ended up being perfect for S, it was easy for him to find me in the crowd!



Can you see the yellow shirt in there? :)



I bought some 'real running shorts' for the occasion. Hmmm, a little short... I decided it doesn't really matter how it looks if it helps me run better :)

I was a bit nervous because I really didn't train much before that race, but I was still determined to improve my time from my previous race. So I pushed hard - I wanted to beat that time so bad! I ended up having to walk a little bit because I had a cramp. It was a very hot and humid day, it was difficult... but I did it!




The results?

Acura 10 Miler: 33:57 minutes
Toronto Women's 5k: 32:19 minutes.

32:19!!! WOW! I was proud of myself.

Next I am running the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. The 5k, not the marathon!! hee hee I'm looking forward to it. I am a bit nervous because I trained even less this time around. I ran yesterday for 35 minutes though, and I would say it was actually pretty 'easy'.

I decided I wouldn't be hard on myself if it felt difficult (after all - I had not run in 2 weeks - oy!) I put myself in this mindset: it's ok, all I have to do is keep going for at least 32 minutes. I told myself: 'pffff it's going to be easy, 32 minutes is nothing! I can to this no problem...' and it worked!!! It was kind of easy. I spent the whole time thinking about my wedding planning, it was fun and very comfortable! If it was that easy every time I go for a run, I would sign up for a 10k! I'll try and trick myself into thinking that running is easy again on race day.

Calm down Marie, we can do this, it's going to be easy, all that matters is that we keep running...

I would really like to get a new record for the Scotiabank race and do it in even less time than the women's race. I'll push it, be uncomfortable for half an hour, but then there will be lots of joy, wheeee :) ha ha ha

ok that's it for now!

I would like to say Good Luck to some lovely TO blogger ladies who are running on Sunday:

Mouse
Eurydice
and
Angela

The are a great source of inspiration to me and they are all running the half marathon WOW! Good Luck Ladies!!!! :)

November 4th 2009

That's in 2 months. In 2 months I will be in New York City and it will be S's and my wedding day.
I have so much to prepare. Lots of things happened since I got engaged in February 2008:

I lost 35 lbs.
I successfully finished my first contract in Toronto.
I started a new (and extremely stressful) work contract.
I started to blog in english.
I started running.
I participated in 3 x 5k events.


Yeah, that's about all I can think of for now... My life is all about work these days. But let's not talk about that...

So here's the deal. I want to push myself to exercise seriously in the last 2 months I have before I wear what will probably be the only dress I will ever wear, and be photographed more than I probably ever will be in my life. My dress is strapless and short... it will show my arms and my legs... I know these photos will be around for a while and that is a very scary thing. Maybe that's somewhat 'shallow' but hey, I just would like to feel good enough in my skin to forget about how I look and enjoy every minute of that special day... and right now I just don't...

I know it is now impossible for me to be at my 'goal weight' by November 4th, so I will focus instead on strengthening my muscles, and tracking all my food properly. We'll see if the scale is nice or not. At this point I have maintained my weight at around 150 lbs for about a year, so it is safe to think that I will be 150 lbs in 2 month whether I like it or not... I would really like to lose 10 lbs (weight 140 lbs) by then, but it will not be the end of the world if I don't.

It's going to be a tough 2 months, intense in work and exercises, but I think it will be worth it, right? I get to enjoy the first 2 weeks holiday I had in 10 years! I need it sooooooo bad!

Now all I need is to stay focused long enough to come up with a plan... hmmmmm........

Booty Camp Fitness Day 5 + 6 + 7 + 8

I finished my 4 weeks of Booty Camp Fitness and here are the long awaited results:

I did not lose weight but... I can definitely see that my body is visibly more 'toned' - I can see my ab muscles a bit now and my legs seem a little slimmer... I couldn't believe it!

I lost an official 4.5 inches!!! Wow! That's more than an inch per week - that's pretty good isn't it? I lost those inches in my chest, hips, bum and thighs mostly... My clothes are getting a little bit lose actually...

During the last 4 sessions of the camp we did some circuits, with a good mix of cardio, legs/arm strength training and abs. Every session Leigha increased the difficulty by having us do more challenging exerices but also by increasing the amount of time that we would do intense work between the small breaks... basically making our bodies stronger every time, improving our performance every time...

I really appreciated how she showed us to do so many effective moves that require no equipment - lots of ab exercises that I had not seen/done before. I really loved the ab work that she made us do, it was very thorough in the sense that it made us work every single ab muscle in every angle - you were working hard, but you were changing positions enough that you could keep going and push it... It really opened my eyes to that kind of exercise and how important having a strong core is and how it doesn't have to be just 'crunches'...

I liked all the leg exercises that we did too. I find that my legs felt so good the next day, gave me that 'spring' in my step!! :)

And I also got to try new arm exercises - my arms are soooo weak... I remember when we lived in MTL and S and I would walk to the grocery store and bring back bags and bags of stuff... he would carry 10 while I would carry 2 light ones, and I would still manage to have to take a break halfway and put them down... lol Starting from that point, with little to no strength in my arms, it is pretty much impossible for me to do push ups... At the Booty Camp, I learned 'moves' that are easy enough for me to do, and challenging enough to get results, and improve my arms' strength which I had pretty much given up on...

So overall, I really enjoyed the experience of the 4 weeks Booty Camp Fitness. Leigha our instructor was really fun and absolutely into feedback from the class, she was keeping things varied so it was never boring, and whenever someone had a request she would adapt the session to include it... She was very friendly and encouraging but she still kept things challenging - I am pretty competitive and I wouldn't have liked it if it wouldn't have been tough, you know? LOL

You can look them up at www.bootycampfitness.com - they have 95 locations in Canada so most likely there's a location near you! They have classes starting in September so don't wait and sign up soon!! I would definitely recommend it!!