Frustration

Two posts in a single day! Might this be the end of the dry-spell?

I haven't written much about running lately and it's not because of my not trying to get out now and then. Instead, it's because I physically cannot run. Well, not for long anyways. I've been diagnosed with Patellofemoral Syndrome in the right knee, a fairly-common injury for runners. It's a painful injury but fortunately, it's also treatable. Unfortunately, recovery is a long process and progress is slow.

My right knee started hurting a few months back, after a long run along the seawall. Walking was no problem, except when walking down a steep hill. When I went hiking with Joanne last month, the hike up was amazing, the hike down almost brought me to tears. I asked my GP about it and she sent me to a sports doctor at UBC. Apparently, I was lucky because my doctor is fairly known in Vancouver for treating serious athletes (and occasionally, sports enthusiasts like myself).

The treatment is not very complicated, I must do drop-squats every day with increasing weights. OK, not too bad. I can also continue running, but only for short times, and have to stop as soon as my knee starts hurting. The first week, that was around 5 minutes. Today, I can do about 10. Ten minutes... I'm so far from the half-marathon days :-( At this rate, I might be able to run a 5k in the fall.

This is very frustrating, especially considering that running is my own form of meditation and relaxation.

This is the song I'm listening to: Laisser l'été avoir 15 ans, Natasha St-Pier et Claude Dubois

Sore

I love long weekends, especially when I had completely forgotten about the extra day off. On Tuesday, I watched the hockey game (Vancouver-Calgary? "watch" is a very strong word, more like "glanced at") and had dinner with friends. Stephanie asked if I had any plans for the long weekend. My answer was "long weekend, what long weekend?" I knew Easter was coming up, but I didn't add it up to getting Friday off. Sometimes, I think that's a bit sad ;)

Friday was beautiful. Warm and sunny, almost 20 degrees outside. I went for a long run before lunch, well, long for my poor legs that hadn't hit the pavement in a little while. Breathing was fine, knees and calf muscles not as much. It also didn't help that I went for a long walk on West 4th in the afternoon. Boy do I feel sore. But I did find what I was looking for: a fabulous pair of jeans. Shopping for jeans is just as hard as shopping for shoes. It takes a while to find a perfect pair that fits AND looks good.

So, what are my long-weekend plans? Well, I originally planned to have Lara, Gerri and Charles over for dinner tonight, but Lara is too busy studying herbs and has a big exam on Tuesday. OK, I can understand the crunch of the end of the semester. Instead, Gerri and I (and maybe Charles, once the Montreal-Toronto game is over) are eating out, hopefully at Vij's (I say hopefully because the place is always busy and doesn't take reservations). Then, we'll pretty much go with the flow, maybe head over to Yaletown somewhere for drinks. Scott and a few friends also said they would give me a shout if they head out, we'll go meet them somewhere.

Sunday will be a day to catch up with some work (yeah, yeah, spare me the lecture) so I can avoid 10-hour days next week. Sunday night, I'm meeting Rafael for a live show downtown. Can't remember the venue, but it sounded promising.

New shoes! How white... not for long!

No turkey

This weekend couldn't have been more different that last year's Thanksgiving weekend. I could have hosted another dinner, but having been invited to a few myself, I thought it would be a lot more fun (and a lot less work) to be a guest this time around.

On Friday and Saturday, I had the pleasure of having a visitor. Monique, a long time friend of the family, was dropping by on her way back from three weeks in China. It sounded like she had a memorable trip (and 900 pictures to prove it). We had a chance to catch up (I usually see her at New Years Eve only, if I happen to be in Montreal) and see a bit of Vancouver. Last time she was here was 1995 and it rained. Unbelievable, I know ;) Monique left on Sunday and is probably still trying to recover from the time difference.

Last night, I had dinner with Charles and Lara. I hadn't seen these two for a few weeks now and it was long due. It's good seeing them together again.

Now, after not spending too much time reading and preparing assignments, I'm due for a day of school work. I have to step out to look for a new pair of running shoes, my old ones being so worn out they are becoming dangerous. Last week I ran 5 km and on my way back home, the sole of my left foot started hurting like mad. I was limping the following day. Since the pain eventually went away, I know this is not an injury, but there's no way I should be running in those shoes anymore.

Tonight, I have been invited at my friend Typhanie's place for a Caribbean dinner. She has a friend from Martinique who wanted to prepare us typical dishes from her country. Can't wait!

Wanted: personal assistant

One scholarship application with a letter of recommendation and all kinds of school transcipts? Check!
One leadership assignment worth 70% of the final grade? Check!
One finance assignment about a venture idea, along with the corresponding PowerPoint slides for a class presentation? Check!
One truckload of marketing reading and a short marketing assignment? Check!
18km run? Check! (OK, technically it was 6km on Saturday and 12km on Sunday, but that still adds up to 18)
One hour of salsa to kick off the weekend? Check!

Groceries? Stuff I needed from the drugstore? Laundry?

Right...

How much would a personal assistant cost? Probably my entire salary, I'm guessing :-(

A sign of the times to come

Funny how September somehow forces us to return to a more disciplined routine. At least, that's my take on it. Mind you, I wouldn't be able to do everything that needs to be done if I didn't plan my days a little bit.

Long story short: homework, reading, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, a few items on my to-do list (three plants now have new homes, they don't look happy yet but it's for their own good), cooking, sorting out paperwork, running, weights at the gym, and a movie. Not bad for two days :-) What I didn't have time to do: bring books to the used bookstore and start an outline for my Leadership assignment (the individual assignment is worth 70% of our grade). Oh! and washing floors. I'm seriously considering getting the cleaning ladies back in here every month for the big items...

I must get back to running regularly. Unfortunately, this week is, once again, not a good candidate for regular runs. I have a course on Monday night and a workshop on Wednesday, I'm having dinner with a friend of the family on Tuesday (although if I make it out of work early enough, I'll be able to go for a short run). Today, I went for a 14km run, stopped probably around 13.5 because my leg muscle were seizing and I feel pretty sore. The Fall Classic is in November...

I don't get it...

I was reading the Runner's World Stephen brought to work today (we're sharing a subscription) and it has an insert advertizing that, on September 17, an American by the name of Dean Karnazes will begin an expedition where he will run 50 marathons in 50 States in 50 days.

Suddenly, I had an urge for ice cream. Triple chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Lots of it.

Enough said.

First long Sunday run in a while... very slow

It didn't help that the temperature was quite high, even early in the morning. In the shade, I was doing OK, but as soon as I hit the sunny areas, I had to slow down.

It was a beautiful run though. And memorable. Shortly after I ran under the Burrard bridge, going towards Kits beach, I saw a bald eagle attacking a crow. I know there's a nest in the area, you often hear screeching. I guess the crow had been a pest and was flying too close to the nest. It didn't take long for the eagle to kill the crow, but not before the bugger cried for help. In a few seconds, the eagle was swarmed by an flock of crows. Then, I felt something fly right above me, another eagle, this one all black. I'm thinking that must be the baby, he doesn't have his white head yet. All this was happening only a few feet away from me, as I stopped running to admire the beautiful bald eagles. The eagle eventually flew away with his kill, surrounded by very noisy and angry crows.

Oh, and on the way back, I saw two seals pop their heads out of the water in the harbor.

Who needs the Discovery channel when you live in Vancouver!

I spent a few hours this afternoon at the outdoors salsa event, at Robson Square. It was great, in the shade, with a bit of a breeze, it only got really hot after dancing a few quick-paced songs. Great idea, free salsa in the downtown core on Sunday afternoons!


Sunset

Caliente!

Vancouver, for a city that is right by the water, usually has dry summers. Today, I actually heard someone mention the dreaded "humidex" in the forecast. It's 29, but it feels like 35... That's nothing like Kelowna (in the Okanagan) where it's 35, but feels like 40 today.

Needless to say: I'm melting. I wanted to go to the pool, but the sun is very strong and I want to avoid burning. I'll have to go for a stroll along the seawall tonight, to cool down.

This is a quiet weekend for me. Lara is in Montreal, Gerri is on the train, a few other friends have official "functions" (weddings, staggets, showers). I'm going to enjoy a bit of reading, maybe some salsa outdoors tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully a run in the morning, before the temperature turns unbearable. I'm going to sign up for the Fall Classic again this year, but I'll run the half marathon, not the 10k. Training starts tomorrow.

Is it Friday? It should be Friday!

I can't believe how busy I've been lately. Good busy, once again, but busy nonetheless. I just came back from two hours of salsa, the first hour being the lesson and the second, the practice session. Raf and I had fun, we tried different combinations, different movement sequences (well, he tried, 'cause I just try to keep up and follow properly). We're going to continue the classes into level 3, where things get serious and they teach you really interesting moves.

Last night, I went to the opera with my colleague Soraiya, to see Faust. It was great, a bit morbid but then again Faust is no comedy. Good thing for the dialog showing up in English on top of the stage, because I couldn't follow the story just by listening to the singers, even if the original dialog was in French. Well, some did pronounce a bit better than others :-)

And to top it all, I'm back on a pretty busy running schedule, in preparation for the half marathon on June 25. I kept up the running after the half in February, but not at the intensity I need to prepare for a race. Which is normal. But now, time is not on my side and two months is just enough to prepare and build up to the 21km distance once again.

Combine consistently busy days at work with busy evenings with more workouts and you get one tired Melissa. Where's my bed?

Especially tonight... I was up early this morning to do my fit test. After ten sessions with the personal trainer, it was time to see some results. I'm pretty happy with the progression. I lost 3% of body fat mass and gained quite a bit in lean mass (muscle). My chest, back and legs are all stronger. I'm not smaller or lighter, but I do feel that my resistance has increased. The training sessions were a good investment. I'm not going to sign up for another ten, but I will sign up for bootcamp sessions at lunch time. Bootcamp is a good full-body workout that keeps your cardio pumping for an hour. I know I wouldn't push myself that hard, so having someone push for me will help keep the pressure on my workouts.

OK, off to bed now. Mmmm... bed...

Sun Run 2006

This year, it was a real Sun Run, not a Rain Run, not a Cold and Windy Run, but pure beautiful sunny April weather. Very nice. 50,745 other people also thought so, I'm sure. Yes, this year's race broke the 50,000 runner count, quite impressive.

Less impressive was my time, but I blame the crowded course and the fact that I was a bit overdressed (still have to figure out my spring-summer gear). I was hoping to run the 10km under an hour, and I ran in 1:05. Oh well, there are plenty of other races out there, I'm sure I'll beat the one hour mark one of these days.

From now until June 25, I'm on a tight running schedule. I have to get back on track for the Scotiabank half-marathon!

(Somewhat...) working out again

During my fight with a nasty cough, I was obviously not feverish enough to work out at the gym or go for runs. I can't imagine how the heavy breathing would have helped my irritated throat.

This week, I started exercising again... somewhat. It feels like I've lost 50% of my strength and cardio in the past two weeks. I know it won't take very long to feel right again, but this has been a very frustrating experience. I worked out with Jenika this morning and she had to cut short several of the exercises she had planned. She was good about it though, very patient and encouraging.

So, I'll have to see about my short-term goal of running 10km in less than one hour. The Sun Run is in one month, let's see how things are progressing. I still plan to run it, but it might not be my personal best after all.

See below a picture taken at a healthier time: Jen, our clinic leader, sent me this picture from the half marathon in February. I remember that stretch, it was pretty cold and windy, might explain why I'm not looking so happy!


First half marathon - running along the seawall

Let the sun shine

Wow! What a wonderful weekend this was!

Two sunny and warm(ish) days, three dinners with friends, lots of fresh air... A girl can't ask for much more.

Friday night was the dinner at Libby and Dan's, which I described in a previous post. It was so much fun! Then, on Saturday, I had an early meeting with the Strata council and a woman who could potentially become our new property manager. We have to get rid of the current company, it's unacceptable how little service we get from them. Then, I did a bit of cleaning, had lunch, and was about to go out for a long walk with my camera, but the batteries died after two pictures and I had to return home to see if I could get any replacements. While I was home, Raf called and asked if I was doing anything Saturday night. I didn't have any plans, so we decided on dinner and a movie. I was in a mood to cook and offered to make dinner instead of us going out. Now I needed groceries, both for Saturday and Sunday night, so instead of pursuing the photo-safari, I opted for a trip to IGA.

I made a stir-fry with turkey and chicked sausages, and it turned out really well. Raf was hungry, he had gone for a long run in the morning and built up quite the appetite. After dinner, we took the bus back to his place to take Macie for a short walk (Macie is Raf's puppie Beagle, she's a real cutie) and headed out to the movie theatre to see Syriana. It's a good movie, very dark, and a bit depressing when you relate what they show to reality (and realize that the worst parts are true).

On Sunday, again, the sun was shining outside. I woke up somewhat early and went for a short run after breakfast. This is the first time I ran without my jacket, it was even warm when I was facing the sun! Nice. I came back home for lunch and headed out again, this time with charged batteries in my camera. I walked around the seawall for two hours, soaking in the afternoon. You can see some of the pictures here. Pretty incredible if you think that we woke up to snow on Friday morning (actual snow on the ground, something quite unusual in Vancouver in March). Everyone was out enjoying the weather.

Then, I returned home, read a bit and then started preparing dinner for Charles and Lara. I made a beef stew on egg noddles, something meaty as Charles had requested. We had such a great dinner, wonderful food, good wine, that we forgot entirely about his promise to teach me the secrets to attracting men. Let's say that we had more important things to talk about. I'll miss Charles while he is away, but I'm sure he'll be back in no time.


Goodbye Charles, see you in six months!

Post #300

I'm not kidding, that's a pretty good stretch of periodical writing if you ask me. 300 posts to date, some crazy initiative that started in July 2004. I'm quite happy to keep the tradition alive :-)

I went for a long run this morning, the first since the half. I was planning to run around 14km, but changed the route half-way and ran 12km instead. It was pouring outside between 10 and 11:30, when I decided to step out. I don't mind running in the rain, it's the wind that I mind. I use this cool little mapping tool to figure out distances. I also tried using the heartrate monitor again, this time without any set limits. I'll do this for a few months to figure out my target rate, and then try to run within limits.

This afternoon, I saw Charles and Lara. We had tea and sweets, chatted about Charles' trip to Haiti where he will monitor the second round of elections and help with the reconstruction efforts. It's a big deal but a great opportunity for him as well. He's leaving on March 14 and will be gone for six months. This summer, Lara is probably going to visit him. It's just too much time to spend apart otherwise! And he'll probably need a bit of a vacation after all his hard work.

Gerri is also leaving, tonight, but for only one month (only!). She's off to Thailand, to further study Thai massage, spend some time meditating and cleansing, and lots of time on the beach. She does this kind of trip every year, last year, if I remember, she was in India for two months.

Other race stuff

I promised a pre-race picture with some of my clinic buddies, here it is. We were still smiling when we crossed the finish line!

I received this wonderful pendant in the mail today. I ordered it from a local jewelry artist after finishing the half-marathon. It's my own little personal reward for reaching this goal.


Running buddies from the clinic

Half marathon... check!

I feel giddy writing the title for my post. I did it! I ran a half marathon, my very first, and it wasn't so bad. It's pretty exciting to reach a goal you've set for yourself. My time was nothing stellar, or even good compared to some of the other runners, but it's my baseline for other races in the future, and I'm pretty proud of it. I ran in 2:33:05, close to my initial 2:30 goal.

Now, I have to admit that my legs are sore, and so are my knees. It's a long race, and a lot of work. Fortunately, I had booked a two-hour massage with Gerri this afternoon. It will help my poor legs on their road to recovery. No running this week, no heavy weights, just some light cardio. Gotta recover properly.

We were quite fortunate for the race, it was cool but sunny, barely windy. Volunteers were out in numbers, cheering runners and distributing water and Gatorade. At the post-race event, we had yummy bananas, oranges, yogurt, bagels, all organic or whole grain, and even some chicken-noodle soup. As soon as I stopped running, I cooled down really quickly so the warm bowl of soup was more than welcome.

One of my clinic buddies, Diane, took a picture of the 2:30 group before the race. I'll upload it to the blog as soon as she e-mails it to me.

Next up? The Sun Run in April (with the hope of running 10km under an hour), the Scotiabank half marathon on June 25, to keep me going, and, depending on how things are going, the Royal Victoria Marathon in October. Lara and Gerri promised they would be at the finish line in Victoria, cheering me on, if I run it, how can I disappoint them?

You think I should sign up for this race?

It has my name written all over it (literally).

I'm here, I'm here...

I just realized it's been a week since my last update. We've been busy at work and I've had plans for the last three nights, so this didn't leave me much time for anything.

The weekend started with a new tradition Lara, Gerri and I have started: Girl's Night Out. No boys allowed, we pick a restaurant we'd like to try and spent an evening together, chatting and laughing. We went to Hapa Isakaya, a Japanese restaurant on Robson. The food was fabulous, as was the place. Unfortunately, it was probably too rich (and we ate quite a bit), so I felt a little bit nauseous all night. I didn't really sleep much. I'll know next time to enjoy but eat sparingly.

On Saturday, Vancouver woke up to a beautiful, sunny and warm day. Everyone was out enjoying the day. Some flowers are timidly breaking the ground, some of the Rhodos, maybe a bit confused, are also blossoming. Lovely. I did some shopping, again on Robson. Lots of places had sales, and I picked up a few clothing items for quite the deal. I went back home, had a nap, then made dinner and prepared for the evening. I was invited to my friend Jeff's birthday party (Jeff used to live in my building, but he moved six months ago). He now owns a place in Gastown, a real bachelor pad that he renovated splendidly. The party was packed, very loud, and quite fun. I'm surprised nobody called the cops.

I didn't go home very late, my throat was a bit sore and I wanted to avoid getting sick.

This morning, I slept in a bit. This is the first Sunday I get to do this in a while (well, except for the plumbing-problem evening), our run for the day was only 6km, I thought I would run it later, by myself. This week is about tapering off, not going too hard on the runs, to let the body recuperate for the big race next weekend. Yes, February 19 is in a week! It's both exciting to finally approach this date, and scary.

I bought a heartrate monitor using a coupon from the clinic, and tried it on my run in the afternoon. I actually ran with it for 5 minutes until I had to shut it down, it kept on beeping madly at me. I probably didn't set up the target rates properly, so it had my 85% rate set to 161, which is too low. I guess I'll have to read the manual :-)