A French Canadian Boston Marathon Story

So all this time I made you believe that I am a turtle and I don't run full marathons and the truth is I BQ'd last year and I am running Boston this year just that.

My uncle ran the Boston Marathon several times and I always admired him for running marathons.  I remember when I was little I would go to his house and look at his medals and I thought he was the coolest guy ever..well after my dad of course.  My dad is not a runner but he does speak 5 languages, that is pretty cool.  OK back to Boston.  So I was always interested in the Boston Marathon and the Montreal Marathon as well. 

Canada is known for knowing a thing or 2 about hockey (remember the last Olympic Games in Vancouver? 2 GOLD MEDALS) but running is not the first sport that comes to mind when thinking about famous Canadian athletes, same thing for Québec where I am from.
We have these 2 Canadian runners that are well known, one for being a disgrace to our Country and the other for being really fast, they have the Canadian nationality but they were both born in Jamaica.

Ben Johnson who was disqualified in the 1988 Olympic Games for doping.

Donovan Bailey, who once held the world record for the 100 metres race and won the gold medal  in the 1996 Olympic Games.

From Quebec we have Jacqueline Gareau. 

If you do some research about the Boston Marathon you are sure to see her name.  She won the 1980 Boston Marathon.  This was the year of the scandal at the marathon.  Remember Rosie Ruiz?

Many of you are probably way too young (some of you did not even know who Bryan Adams is!!!) to know this story.  I remember it well because in Quebec this made the headlines. Jacqueline Gareau had led the women's field for most of the race, only to find another runner, Rosie Ruiz, wearing the traditional victor's laurels when she crossed the finish line.   Ruiz had cheated.  She did not run the whole course. Her post race interviews made no sense and people got suspicious.  Several spotters at checkpoints throughout the course didn't remember seeing her in the first group of women. She also didn't appear in any pictures or video footage.  Also two Harvard students, recalled seeing Ruiz coming  out of a crowd of spectators on Commonwealth Avenue, half a mile from the finish!

Ruiz was later disqualified and Gareau was awarded the victory in a special ceremony one week later. Her official time for the 1980 marathon, 2:34:28, was recognized as a course record.  Here she is with the men's winner,  Bill Rodgers.

25 years later. Gareau served as the Grand Marshal of the 2005 Boston Marathon and was allowed to break the tape in a special ceremony.

Here are the highlights of her impressive carreer:

-Winner of nine marathons including : Montréal 1979 (2h40:56) and 1987 (2h32:50) Boston 1980 (2h34 : 28), Los Angeles 1984 (2h31:57)

-Fifth at the World Championship in 1983 (2h32:35)

-Canadian marathon record holder between 1979-1984 (2h29:27)

-1984 Member of the canadian olympic team in Los Angeles

-1991 Inducted to the canadian runners hall of fame

-1995 Inducted to the Québec Sports Hall of Fame

-2000 Was named Canadian Marathoner of the 20th century


Here she is with another GREAT marathoner:

Going from Devils to Cats to Dogs

Yesterday I finished week 7 of my training plan with another windy run; 4 miles this time. 
Today I had 4.5 miles on the menu and I almost got hit by a car.  Caro was NOT happy.  I was at a stop light, little white guy came on, it was MY turn to go.  This moron decided he cannot wait and off he went turning right and not slowly.  He scared the crap out of me.  I had to stop or else I am not sure I would still have 2 legs.  I let a couple bad words out...all in French as always.

TRAINING PLAN:

LAST WEEK:
WEEK 7:  
Mon: 3 miles: 3 miles
Tue: 4.5 miles: 4.5 miles
Wed: stretch and strength + XT: 40 min bike and abs, arms, legs
Thu: Speedwork:  8x400m: 8x400m : 5 miles total.
Fri: REST: REST
Sat: XT or 3 miles: 9 miles.
Sun: 9 miles: 4 miles
total: 25.5 miles.

WEEK 8:
Mon: 4.5 miles: 4.5 miles
Tue: stretch and strength + XT
Wed: 3 miles easy:
Thu: Speedwork:  8x400m:
Fri: REST:
Sat: 10k RACE 
Sun: Not sure, will be in San Diego to meet my best friend from Québec, that will come before running.

Yesterday after my run I was given front row seat to a special concert:

Jonathan's concerts always go much longer so we had a solo portion:

 He still thinks he IS this guy: so he needed a chair to be like Keith (at least he is not trying to do a back bend like on the picture in the post below!)

 That was fun.  Good times.

Now on to the Madness. 
This year it really is Madness. Butler? OK maybe some did see that coming.  VCU????? Nobody did.  Wow! I love it!
UNC did not help my cause but even after all those crazy games I am still #1 in the pool of 177 people.  Now only 4 people could pass me. 
So I need VCU or Butler to win it all.  That's all.  
So I am now a temporary huge fan of these guys:

I already am a fan of that guy:

And if this guy does not do too much of that I think they have a fair chance at the title.

Me, Keith and Bryan

THANK YOU JIM!!!!

Aren't those great?

I decided to do my long run today in case the rain decide to join the nasty wind we have.  Yes once again some wind for my long run.  I am getting a little tired of it.  9 miles today.  5 of those facing the freaking wind.  At times it was so strong I lost my balance.  Bill's response to that: "Put some weight on!".  No comment.   I took these 2 guys with me in my ears for my run:

I took the picture of Keith the first time I saw him in concert, front row seat, that was great.  REALLY GREAT.

I also took EFS liquid shot, this time vanilla flavor.  This one is better for me.  Less sweet. I can even take it while "running".  I have to slow down but no need to actually walk.  Last week I did not take any water with the EFS liquid shot.  This week I took some and followed Chris K's advice and took small sips after taking the shot.  It worked fine for me.  I cannot tell you how happy I am that this stuff works for me.

If I run like I did today for my next half marathon and even If I crash for the last 4 miles (WILL NOT HAPPEN) I would get a PR.  :)

Next week I won't have a long run, I am racing on Saturday (10K) and my best friend from Quebec will be in San Diego for a medical seminar and we are headed there to meet her! I cannot wait!  I have never been to the city of San Diego, I have been to the San Diego Zoo, that's it. 

Now time to go park my behind in front of the TV.  Loved the games yesterday! We have a true Cinderella in the tournament! VCU!  The look on the VCU coach's face says it all:

Yes EMZ I will be cheering for U fo A.

I am still leading my pool, even with Ohio loosing. That is crazy.

I still have a chance to win this thing, I need the CATS to take UConn OUT.

If I win, I will make another donation for EMZ's crazy 24h hour run on a treadmill.  You read that correctly.  If you don't already know about this go here: 

 http://royalpitatoias.blogspot.com/2011/02/dirty-little-secret-all-american.html

GO CATS!

No, really I am fine

For those of you who don't get this one: Read post below and visit the Arizona Wonder Woman's blog! She is as happy as I am sad today....boooooohoooooohoooooo

CONGRATS TO THE CATS

This picture says it all.
This guy: Williams,  came out to play and he did.
Am I sad my beloved Duke lost? Yes of course I am. It sucks.
The worst part is not just that they lost it is HOW they lost. 
They did not deserve to win.  The GAVE up in the second half and watched the Williams show.   That guy alone wanted to win more then all the Devils together.   What a shame.
I LOVE this game.  I always have since I am a kid.  This was painful to watch. 
As a player and mostly as a coach I hated loosing but I have never been a sore looser.

So my hat's off to the U of A.
CONGRATS TO THE CATS! and their fans: EMZ, BDD, Jess
We were all on twitter tonight, it was fun...for the most part...I was the only one rooting for Duke so I got some crap, it is OK I can take it!!

Chris K's Aztecs also lost.  Bummer.

Those Aztecs and Cats made my bracket explode.  I am still leading the pool but after the Elite 8 I am pretty sure I won't be.  Now here is some irony for you: for me to win the jackpot OF $700 guess who needs to win the whole thing?

YEP: those darn CATS!
Tonight though they played like LIONS!!!
ROAR ROAR!!!!!

Butler over Wisconsin, I like that.
Florida winning I also like that.

Tomorrow is another day. 
My Duke will be back.









 

Speedwork and little kittens

Today: Speedwork at the gym.  I did 8x400.  It is supposed to be at 5k pace, so for me 9:60.  I did first 3 repeats at 9:13 and the last 5 repeats at 8:57 with 90 sec rest in between.  Last 2 were hard..on the last one I felt the Special K coming up...yikes...
5 miles total.  My quads feel like mash potatoes now.  I stepped on the scale, minus 2 lbs again.  Took the kids for a smoothie after that workout, extra vitamins for me!

Tomorrow rest day and I had the genius idea to make dentist appointments for BOTH my sons.  Fun morning for mommy!  I am prepared to use blackmail, TARGET is across the street from the dentist! 

IS IT 6:45 PM yet????????????
I cannot wait for this to happen:

Meow..meow...meow....meow.......poor little cats are going DOWN in Anaheim!  Just 30 minutes away from me....how I wish I could be there in person!

Please make sure to send sympathy messages to EMZ later tonight, she will be in mourning and she will need a lot of support to get through this.

So I am already prepared for you see:

YOU ARE SO WELCOME!!!!
WHAT?
YOU WANT TO SEE MY SWEATSHIRT? SURE!
HERE IT IS:

GO DUKE!!!!!!

Oh I almost forgot.....Chris K you are next!!!!!

Half way

I am at the half point of my training plan.  This is is going by faster then the first time.
I had a pretty good week.  I am improving on pace and I ran a tempo run outside and it turned out to be easier then doing it on the treadmill.  I ran  8 miles for my long run.  Last time I did 8 miles was when I trained for my 1st half so it was in January.  Saturday I ran my 8 miles 9 minutes faster then I did in January.  That makes me feel really good about my training.  Also I tried a new fuel and it works for me.  So I am optimistic that my second half marathon will be better then my first and not just in terms of time.

WEEK 6
Mon: 4 miles: 4 miles
Tue: stretch and strength + XT: 30 min elliptical and 15 min bike.  Core workout.
Wed: 3 miles: 3 miles tempo
Thu: Speedwork: tempo 40 min yikes!: Speedwork 7x400m: 5 miles total.
Fri: REST: REST
Sat: XT or 3 miles: 8 miles
Sun: 8 miles: 3 miles
total: 23 miles.

WEEK 7: **Spring Break, I have to change the regular order of my workouts because kids are home, luckily Bill took Mon and Tue off so I was able to run outside! 

Mon: 3 miles: 3 miles
Tue: 4.5 miles: 4.5 miles
Wed: stretch and strength + XT:
Thu: Speedwork:  8x400m:
Fri: REST:
Sat: XT or 3 miles:
Sun: 9 miles: 

Disneyland Half Marathon is sold out already.  Good thing I signed up early.

Yesterday I got an email about THE BEACH CITIES CHALLENGE.

The Beach Cities Challenge is a race series that includes three Southern California marathons – the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, the Orange County Marathon, and the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. Runners who complete any combination of half or full marathons in all three events consecutively will receive a special Beach Cities Challenge Medal.

I am already doing the OC and Long Beach one and I had planned on doing Surf City instead of Carlsbad for 2012 so I am in for this Challenge!  A fancy medal is nice but I would prefer a discount on registration fees or a technical shirt. 

Looking forward to Thursday...

This is the shirt I wish I could be wearing:

 

THE CATS ARE GOING DOWN....and will cry like little kittens....meow, meow

GO DUKE!

2 down 4 to GO

I finished my week with 23 miles.  Today I went for 3 miles in the rain and #$#% wind.
This week is spring break for the boys and we are supposed to get rain ALL WEEK.  Yeah for me!!!  Hello treadmill at the gym.

Went to see THE LINCOLN LAWYER  today.  It is good, I recommend it. 

NCAA: Well Duke is still alive.  They almost gave me a heart attack today.  All that matters is that they won.  2 down, 4 to go.  This was Coach K's 900th win.  Next up: March 24th: Arizona Wildcats, that will be win #901.  Bring it on.   I had been leading my pool after the 1st round and today after Syracuse and ND lost I thought for sure I am out of #1, but no  still #1 after 2 rounds 37/48.  The guy who is 2nd has Texas and Pitt to the final 4 so that is good for me.  Best game so far SDSU winning over Temple in double overtime. 

This was messed up:



Was it really 5 sec? YES I think it was if I count I make it to 5 .  BUT the ref's count is what they go with and he was at 4, he did not complete to 5 before making his call and that is not OK.  He cannot say "in my head I was at 5" that is not how the game works. 

No games until Thursday, no more excuses not to clean my house and do the laundry I guess. :(

GO DUKE.

Happy!

Today I had 3 miles on the schedule but since we are getting rain this weekend and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day I decided to go for my long run today.
I waited for a break in the rain and I went out for the 8 miles I was supposed to do tomorrow.  No rain but lot's of WIND.  I would have taken rain and no wind I think.  It went pretty good.  I ran against the wind for the last 4 miles.  I kept a good pace for me. 

I decided to try this new fuel I bought:  EFS Liquid shot.

Chris K is the one who suggested I try this.  THANK YOU!
This is IT for me.
It works! No GI problems, no side pain, no cramps.  It stayed in the stomach.
No more GU or other gels for me!
I am so happy and optimistic for me next half marathon now.
Last time I did so bad at fueling during the race, I hit the wall at mile 11 and I finished completely dehydrated.  I won a pukie award but I felt like crap.

They have 2 flavors of that magic stuff, I tried berry today and next week I will try vanilla.
The only negative thing would be it is a bit sweet, but I did not drink water with it and next week I will.   It goes down very EASY.  It does not taste bad at all. It is great.
It is not cheap but for me it will be worth every penny!  I am a really low maintenance kind of gal so this will be my one crazy expense!!

So for the ones who have GI issues like I do (I have GERD, no gallbladder, gastritis) I am telling you: give this a try if the other stuff is not working for you.

OK off to watch the Aztecs play!
I have them winning so FOR TODAY ONLY AND BECAUSE MY BLUE DEVILS ARE NOT PLAYING TODAY:

GO AZTECS!
So far today I got all the games right and I am still leading the pool
29/34.

DUKE ALL THE WAY

1 DOWN, 5 TO GO

REST DAY.  Normally I would have been miserable but not today.  DUKE won their first game.  When it is by 42 we call that a massacre.  A basketball lesson.  Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.!!!!  Some of you have a hard time accepting that DUKE is the best team and are "trying"  to be funny for your non friendly Duke posts...yeah you miss Jess over have Blonde ponytail  and YOU EMZ with your Tide add.  It's OK. I can take it.  When you gals come to your senses I will be happy to send you a shirt like this one:

1 DOWN, 5 TO GO. 
I am 27 out of 32 so far.
#1 position in my pool

Went to the allergist. Finally I can take my meds now!  I had the skin test that is with 30 needles that they stick in your arms, not the one on the back with only scratches.  The needle one hurts a little more but after giving birth twice It takes more then 30 needles to make me go aouch!  So I am allergic to Bermuda grass and mold.   Going back Monday to get instructional protocol to deal with this lovely situation.

Some people from an LA modeling agency  came to Jonathan's school today to ask a few parents if they were interested in having their kid work as a model.  They saw that picture:

and they asked me if I would be willing to have him come downtown for a session.   Hmm NO but thank you!  Of course I think it is nice that they asked but that ends there. 

I finished this book:

I loved it.  My friends told me to read it after they all read it for their book club.  They told me they think I am a "Skeeter".   They said I would understand when I read the book.  Now that I have read it, I take this as a huge compliment!  I think I would have been a Skeeter back in those days.

Now I must decide between these for the next book, I have them all already:

If you read any of the 3 in English and you loved it let me know!! 

GO DUKE.

“Ten Ways I Break the Rules”.

You all know SUAR right? World renowned poop expert and blogger.
So today she has this post about breaking rules and ask her fan club to play along.
So why not?

First the running.  Intervals today on the treadmill.  7 x 400m. 5 miles total. I am supposed to do that at 5k pace.  But I can do them faster so I did.  7x400 at 8'20" with 90 sec in between each repeat.  On the last one, I got pretty tired and I almost fell off the machine.  It was a close call. My foot landed way too close to the edge and well I had to grab the handle for a second or else I would have ended up on the bike next to me.  I scared the crap out of the guy who was on that bike.  OOPSY.
I am happy with my progress with the speework.  I will stick to it.  I will never be super fast but I can be a faster turtle!

Do you watch Idol? Who do you like?
I love Paul, Casey, although last night not so much, and James Durbin.  The girls can all leave tonight it would be fine with me.

OK the rules game now.
I am Canadian and we are known for being rules followers.  I am like that for the most part, I cannot help it.
But I do things that I should not and don't do some I should like everyone else.

1. I don't sleep enough, 8 hours don't remember last time I slept that long.
2. I don't lock the front door when I am home and I don't lock my car either: that drives Bill my husband completely MAD.  Back home everyone does that, my mom can go to the grocery store and leave the door unlocked.  Here in California it is a big no no.
3. I drink coffee everyday even though I have GERD and my Dr says it is not good for me.
4. I don't go to the dentist every 6 mos for cleanings but I do floss.
5. I park in the red zone when I go pick Will up at school.
6. I don't separate the whites from the colors when I do my laundry.  Waste of my time, so far so good.
7. I use the treadmill for more then the 60 min limit at the gym.
8. I bring food and water in the movie theater. I use my biggest purse and voila!
9, I never rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Makes no sense to me, it is called a dishWASHER for a reason.
10, I never finish my antibiotics.  If I am fine after 7 days then I don't take the 3 days that are left.


GO DUKE.