2006… The year of new beginnings

I started the year of 2006 unsatisfied with my life. I loved JF and the cats very much, I had a good job, but I was missing a social life. I decided to let go of some old friendships and to look for new ones. I knew this would require me to step out of my comfort zone, but I also knew I had to do it or something would always be missing. Making new friends was my resolution for 2006.

There are a lot of things that happened which I didn’t anticipate. Some were pleasant surprises: many new friendships, a new job, my laser eye surgery and new training goals. Others were less pleasant: the cancellation of the program I worked for and the uncertainty and frustration it brought, the multiple injuries and the necessity to reconsider my goals for 2006. Overall, 2006 was a good year where I decided what kind of life I wanted to live, with whom I wanted to share it and what goals I wanted to pursue.

2006 was the year of patience and work, and I hope that 2007 will bring some of the results of this hard work. My resolution for 2007 is to work at being more patient and I know this is going to be a big challenge, but I’m ready for it.

I wish you all a wonderful year, a healthy one where you will find happiness in the smallest things of life.

It's 9:27... My PRK Experience

This Fall, I made the decision of getting laser eye surgery, after trying on contact lenses without success. One day when I went to the optometrist to be told that the contacts that I had were my best option to go swimming, I was so discouraged that I knew I had to choose to either let go of my dream of learning to swim or get laser eye surgery. I thought about it a lot before I made an appointment with the Focus Eye Centre Clinic in Ottawa.

I had my PRK surgery on December 15th, 2006. I was very nerveous and it seemed that the Valium didn't help at all. The procedure gave me a lot of anxiety, but I did it. When I was done, the nurse asked me to look at the clock on the wall, and I could tell it was 9:27! Before surgery, all I saw was a big white round object on the wall and 10 minutes later, I could tell what time it was! :-)

2 weeks later, my eyes are healing alright, although my vision is far from perfect and I still have a way to go before I get to 20/20 vision. During my recovery, I had to learn to be patient and to deal with boreness. I listened to audiobooks, and to so much music that my iPod doesn't appeal to me anymore.

Longest run of 2006

Today, I ran the longest I've run in 2006: about 5.3km. I was able to do 3 times 10:2s and I even had some fuel left to sprint for 5 minutes at the end of my run.

I feel like I've finally come out of my plateau. I'm improving quickly and it feels so good! As always, I'm sore all over and I have shin/ankle pain. Come January, I'll get some customized orthotics made, which should solve the problem!

10K training, here I come!

I'm capable of more than I think

The first time my friend Christian told me I should register for a Half-Marathon for the Fall of 2006, I bursted laughing in his face. To me, this was the most ridiculous idea. Back then, I was plagued with severe shin splints and could hardly run 3K doing 3&1s. I remember coming back home and sharing Christian's joke with my boyfriend, not making fun of Christian, but making fun of his idea that I was capable of running a Half-Marathon.

Every time I spoke to Christian, he would always tease me that I really should register for a Half-Marathon. He told me that I was capable of much more than what I thought. Eventually, his optimism stuck with me and I started wondering...

Last Tuesday, after a terrible day at work, I decided to go running on the Treadmill at the gym. I had no goal at all, and I decided to run by feel. I was feeling good, and I thought "I wonder if I could run for 10 minutes straight?" I slowed down and I did it. Then, I thought "I wonder if I could do this another time?" and I did it. Finally, I thought "I wonder if I can sprint for 3 minutes?" and I did it. It felt so good!!! Last time I had run 10 minutes in a row was on January 9th, 2006. All Summer, the longest I ran was 6 minutes.

On Sunday, I went back to the gym to run on the Treadmill. This time, I ran 3 times 10 minutes!!! I felt so proud, as if I finally was a runner again. It has been over a year since I was able to run 3 times 10&1s.

Christian was right: I am capable of much more than I think.