My first swimming lesson!

On Tuesday night was my first swimming lesson. I was very nervous and didn't know what to expect at all. Well, I was very pleased with what I got!!!

My friend seems to know exactly what he is doing, and he sure knows a lot about swimming and the mistakes everybody makes when they learn. He said my arms were strong! (thank you personal trainer for designing me great programs!)

We didn't do any arm work tonight though. We focused on the legs and breathing. I was using a kick board, so I wasn't scared of drowning and I could concentrate on my legs. It took me some time to be able to move my legs in an acceptable way, but I did it. The breathing was more difficult. I took too much air in and I couldn't get a right rythm of breathing in and out. I practiced for a while and finally got it, but when I tried to do it while swimming with the kick board, it didn't work...

My friend left, but I decided to practice a little bit more. And I was able to do almost 2 complete lenghts of the pool while breathing corectly!!! I think the last time that I was as proud was when I was able to run for 3 minutes for the first time!!! It was a great feeling! I couldn't wait to tell my friend the day after that I was able to do that, but he saw me on his way out. When he left, it didn't look like I would be able that night, but I was!

Walking back home, I realized that it's now official: I'm a triathlete in training!

29...

It's my birthday today! :-)

I'm 29, my last year before I turn 30. Most of the time, I don't really mind getting older, because I look back at all that I have accomplished in the past years and I expect that I'll be accomplishing even more great things in my 30s. However, this morning, I woke up with a little bit of anxiety, thinking that this year was my last year in my 20s and that I would soon be considered "a real adult". I should be happy that I'm soon going to be out of what I call "the troubled times" and into what I call "the shining years" and I'm sure I'll be happy in time.

In the meantime, here is a list of all I plan to do before I turn 30:

- Run my first 10K
- Learn to swim
- Do my first triathlon (Try-a-tri)
- Improve my eating habits
- Buy my first house (with JF!)
- Get a new job

Cheers to my last year as a 20-something!

BRAVO JF!!!

Aujourd'hui, JF a couru le demi-marathon au Festival de la Santé à Montréal et il a atteint avec brio l'objectif qu'il s'était fixé: terminer en moins de 2 heures. Il a traversé la ligne d'arrivée en 1:57:34!!! Durant toute la course, il a eu un grand sourire dans le visage et il semble avoir énormément apprécié son expérience.

Bravo JF! Tu es l'exemple parfait qu'avec un peu (beaucoup) de travail et de discipline (beaucoup de discipline), on peut atteindre nos objectifs! Je suis très fière de toi! :-)

Félicitations à Eric qui a terminé son propre demi-marathon en 1:57:57! C'est un résultat incroyable, compte tenu de l'été occupé qu'Eric vient de vivre avec la naissance de son premier enfant. Bravo Eric!

I think I can do this!

This morning, I went to cheer on the Canadian Triathlon participants. I got a chance to look at people's transitions, clothes and gear. It was a great idea to go down there this morning and take a look. I particularly enjoyed watching the try-a-tri participants during their swim. It doesn't look easy, but I think I can do this! :-)

Congratulations to Andre and Bob, who finished a Sprint Duathlon this morning and to Andy, who is in the process of completing his first Iron distance Duathlon as I type!

They cannot all be good runs...

Today was one of those days when you should stay home and sleep all day. I think I'm coming down with a cold, or my allergies are out of control. I've been feeling tired all day, I can't stop sneezing, I'm too cold, I'm too hot... I don't feel good! I decided not to go to the gym this morning and to skip my run.

After having run errands, JF asked if I wanted to go to a nearby park with our bikes and then, I could go for my run from there. I thought it was a good idea and that it could help my immune system fight the cold, and so we went. Today, I was supposed to increase my running intervals to 3 minutes, and I did so for the first half of my run. I wasn't doing so good, mostly because I had shin pain (again!). About 2/3 into my run, I had stitches everywhere I can have them. I really wasn't feeling good, so I decided to walk until the stitches would go and then run one last interval. The stitches never went!!! So I walked the last third of my run. The bike ride home was difficult, but fortunately, it wasn't very long. I think i'll consider this workout my second brick!

A Perfect Run!

Today, I was getting discouraged again because I feel so tight in my quadricep tendon and I thought to myself: "Am I ever going to feel good, without injuries or nagging discomforts?". I was getting negative about my capacity to run, and thought that it would be impossible for me to ever do a triathlon when I'm always injured...

I went to the gym and for my run anyway, and I had a great 3K run! I felt super good, physically and mentally, I was fast, my cardio was good, it was perfect! I felt like dancing and I almost did, but there were too many people on the bike path and I looked weird enough already with that big smile on my face that I didn't want to raise suspicion! ;-)

My calves and hamstrings were pretty tight when I finished, and my quadricep tendon started to bug me again the minute I stopped running, but I felt great!

Now, if all my runs were like that, it would be heaven!

My running is improving!

Tonight, I uploaded the data I had on my heart rate monitor watch. I hadn't uploaded the data since my July 2nd run, so I had quite a few workouts to enter into my Excel spreadsheet.

I was delighted to see that my speed has improved a lot lately. I decided to go back to doing 2 minutes intervals, which may help me be a little speedier. I find that when I run faster, my form is better and I have less pain overall. I'm gonna try to keep that speed while increasing the lenght of my intervals. I hope that I can get to 10 minutes intervals sometime this Fall.

My last workout (yesterday) was very good. It was tough, but I stuck to the plan of running 2:1s, which made me very proud. That inner critic in my head shut up and I didn't have to fight the urge to take early walk breaks - I just did what I had to do! Turns out that all my 2 minutes intervals were done at speeds between 6:17/K to 7:00/K. For someone who ran 8:00/K to 8:30/K a year ago, I feel like I've come a long way! All this work at the gym paid off. I think I may have a 5K PB ahead of me for this Fall...

I had a brick workout on the book for today, but it was pouring rain all day and I decided to clean up the appartment instead. It was a good workout, although not as intense as a brick workout!

De retour au travail

Les vacances sont finies... J'étais triste de retourner au travail mardi, parce que JF et moi on s'est vraiment amusés durant nos 2 semaines de liberté totale. C'était bien de faire ce qu'on voulait quand on le voulait, de ne pas avoir d'obligations autres que celles de passer du bon temps!

Même si je suis déçue de voir les vacances se terminer, je suis heureuse de regarder en arrière et de voir qu'on en a pleinement profité. On a fait toutes les choses qu'on voulait faire: du camping, du vélo, des visites à la plage, un peu de magasinage, plein de repas au restaurant, etc. On est bien reposés, physiquement et mentalement et c'est tout ce qui compte. Non?

My first Brick!

This morning, I did my first brick workout (biking, then running). I biked 20K in 1:03:24 (yay! I'm getting faster!) and then ran/walked 1.66K in 00:13:43. While on the bike, my legs felt very tired and I was wondering how I would be able to bike 20K, then run 1K. I pushed away those negative thoughts and just kept going.

Back home, the transition went well. I had all my stuff prepared and was ready for my run in a few minutes.

When I started running, my legs felt heavy, but warm. It was a strange feeling. There's a small hill next to where I live and I decided to walk up that hill, then start to run. Just walking up the hill was painful! I felt like I would trip on my feet, because I couldn't lift them much from the ground...

I was able to run 2:2s and I was super fast when running (under 7:00/K!)! I had pain in my shins, though it wasn't the same type of pain that I had when I had shinsplints. It was more like normal pain. No need to say that I stretched well when I returned home and I iced them. Now, the legs will get a good 2 days of rest.

All in all, I'm very happy about my first Brick and plan to make every Sunday morning a Brick morning for as long as the weather permits­.

I'm officially a triathlete in training!!! :-)

Maïa et Litchie rencontrent Coquine!

Nous avons eu la visite de mon père et ma mère, ainsi que leur petite (minuscule) chienne Coquine. Nous avions très hâte de voir la réaction de Maïa et Litchie (nos deux monstres félins) lorsqu'elles rencontreraient Coquine. Tout s'est plutôt bien passé! Coquine a suscité beaucoup d'intérêt chez Maïa et Litchie, et Maïa a pris un malin plaisir à suivre Coquine partout dans l'appartement:


Litchie, lors de son face à face avec Coquine:



Coquine a plutôt choisi d'ignorer les chattes, qu'elle semblait trouver un peu intimidantes. Toute l'animalerie semblait soulagée lors du départ de mes parents et de Coquine!

Biking... Swimming... Running...

Biking: I'm really starting to enjoy biking! Yesterday, I went for a 22K bike ride, but I did 25K instead, even if I didn't feel like it. When I started, I had the wind on my face and it was very tough. I kept telling myself that I wanted to go back home, but I didn't! It took me 1:20 to bike 25K, which is not super fast, but I'm getting more and more comfortable on my bike and this is what matters.

Swimming: JF and I went to JF's brother's cottage over the weekend and I had a chance to swim (with a lifevest) in the lake. I really enjoy being in the water and I don't mind being in a lake (some people in JF's family do. They prefer pools and won't go into the lake). At one point, I started swimming towards the boat and after 2-3 minutes, I turned around to see if I had moved (I thought I hadn't). Well, I had moved a lot!!! I was so proud that I could move into the water and can only imagine how much better I'll get once I learn proper technique.

Running: I got a gait analysis last Friday and it turned out I needed shoes that offered me more support than my current shoes. I went to buy new shoes today, I bought Brooks Adrenaline. They're very comfortable and are supposed to offer my feet good support. I'm having them checked by the orthotics guy on Friday and I'm crossing my fingers he'll give me the go to run again! I really got my running mojo back and I can't wait to run again!

The quest to become Kelodie the Triathlete starts today!

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to tri-a-tri next Summer. Tri-a-tris are beginner's triathlons and the one I want to do next year consists of 200m swim/20K bike/5K run. I can already bike 20K (did that on Sunday and it took me about 1:20 - I need to increase my speed) and I can already run 5K (I'm slow, but I can do it!).

My challenge will be the swim part, since I have to learn to swim. I currently use the "trying not to drown" swimming technique, but I heard there were more efficient ways of swimming. A friend of mine has a lot of swimming teaching experience and has agreed to show me how to swim this Fall. I can't wait!

Yesterday, I was in a lake and realized that I am not afraid of water, like I thought I was. I am afraid of having water in my eyes and not touching the bottom of the pool or the lake. Those fears are very easy to fix! Other than that, I also realized that I love being in the water and that I can float. This is all very encouraging!

In particular, there are 4 women on my running forum (www.runningmania.com) who inspired or encouraged me to take on triathlons. Thank you Irongirl, La, TracyW and Ktheturtle! Your support means a lot to me!

Vive les vacances!

Nous sommes en vacances! De mon côté, je profiterai de 2 semaines et 1 jour de congé alors que JF profitera de 3 semaines complètes de repos bien mérité.

Au menu: camping, visite à Mont-Tremblant, visite de mes parents et activités dans la région.

Je nous souhaite du beau temps!

Bébé Maxime est arrivé!

Mon amie Karine a finalement donné naissance à son gros bébé dimanche soir, le 23 juillet. Maxime était dû pour naître le 13 juillet et après bien des jours d'attente et 2 rendez-vous pour provoquer l'accouchement, Maxime a décidé de se pointer la binette dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche. Après une journée de dimanche épuisante, les médecins ont décidé de recourir à la césarienne passé 21h dimanche soir. Maxime est né à 21:54, un gros bébé de 8lbs et 13 onces.

Félicitations à Karine et Éric, les heureux parents de ce petit trésor. Il a été longuement attendu!

Bienvenue Maxime dans notre grande famille élargie. Je te souhaite une belle vie, remplie d'amour et de bonheur. Tu verras que ce monde n'est pas toujours beau, mais que si tu t'entoures bien, tu y seras très heureux. J'ai hâte de te voir grandir et j'espère courir avec toi un bon jour!

Thanks to ART - I'm feeling much better!

I had an appointment for an Active Release Technique treatment on Friday at lunch. It was amazing! Not as painful as I expected, but very effective! When I went back to work, I had NO back pain all afternoon!

The appointment itself was very inspiring. The person who treated me is an Ironman and he had many runners, cyclists, Ironman pictures in his office. He made me comfortable right away when he encouraged me to keep training and who knows? Maybe I would be doing an Ironman someday.

I came out of my appointment feeling pumped up and ready to attack my 10K training... The running part of the training will wait a little bit, but in the meantime, I will work at the gym and increase my strenght. I will also spend more time on my bike. This morning, I went with JF during his LSD and biked for about 1:15, a good 17K. My legs were dead when I came back home, but it felt very good!

I am now listenning and looking at the live feed from Ironman Lake Placid, where a few Running Mania friends are competing today. It's so exciting and inspiring!!! I don't get tired of hearing strangers being told "You are an Ironman!"

Now, I can't wait to hear about my friend Karine, who was supposed to deliver her first baby today. I hope it went well and that mom and baby are OK.

2 weeks without running - my misery!

It’s been 2 weeks today since I last ran, because of shinsplints and lower back pain. I’ve been very depressed about this because I need to run to be physically and mentally healthy. I’ve been going to the gym though, trying to keep in shape and maybe even improve my cardio capacity.

I’m seeing a chiro/ART provider next Friday and I can’t wait to “get fixed”. I’m hopeful that this will help me a lot. I’ll finally get treated by someone who knows what he’s doing.

In the meantime, I’m taking it easy today. The forecast calls for 40+ temperatures here.

Bienvenue sur mon blog - Welcome to my blog

Bonjour à tous,

J'ai décidé de suivre la vague et de démarrer mon propre blog. J'y parlerai de mon entraînement de coureuse débutante et de mes points de vue sur la vie en général.

Bienvenue!

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Hi everyone,

I decided to start my own blog. I will discuss my beginner runner's training and give you my point on view on life in general.

Welcome!