2012 Recap (3/3): A year in pictures

Last but not least, a year in pictures, some of them never published before. Isn't this exciting?? (everyone clap now :-)). I realize that I don't talk about my life outside running, biking, swimming and other fitness related activities here, but as I said in the first post when I re-opened this blog for everyone to read, I have been around the blogosphere for a long, long time... 10 years more precisely, and I've ridden this rollercoaster a few times before. It doesn't make me feel any younger, but what else is new?

Since I've started working out, it seems that the clock no longer ticks so loud. I have found peace and happiness and I am having a blast, every single day that I let those endorphins run free. These pictures are proof that there is a way out.

January

Happy New Year 2012!

New haircut, a bit of hair color, feeling damn good. Wearing burgundy. Resolutions: keep up the pace, stay healthy and happy (spoiler alert, they are pretty much the same this year). Kept this image as an avatar for a while.

Icy baths trigger my Raynaud's. D'uh!

At the same time, I learn to live with Raynaud's, I eat a lot of broccoli and spinach, I still count my calories. I go to the physio therapist, my neck and back bother me, I pulled something in my shoulder. Not a big deal, but I hate the nagging, burning ache. It goes away eventually (acupuncture helped).

February

I love running tights, oh the freedom!

I buy my first pair of running tights. I still love my cat hat which I bought in Montreal. It makes me feel strong and agile. I fall in love with purple. I buy two more pairs of Adidas shoes from Ebay because they are soooo comfy ($35/each, a bargain!).

Then we get snow!! It's a miracle, so I go snowboarding with my older son after a 5yr interruption and I don't break any bones or get a concussion, another miracle!

I look much better than I board

My pet fish Chloe is getting big. Look how gorgeous she is.

Chloe in her element

March

Winning!!

I keep on running, there is a race coming up. I really start to enjoy winning free coffee.
I start swimming regularly, discover a few pools around Brampton, big and small. I try Total Immersion, but find my groove with Swim Smooth. I watch a LOT of swimming videos on You Tube, I make a few of myself as well. I really look like a turd in the pool.

I finish the month conquering Heartbreak Hill at Around the Bay relay race with hubbs.

On the way to the top

April

I go rollerblading for fun. I still can't believe how great that day was, we need to go back! Once a year is definitely not enough.

Roller skating old skool

I run my first marathon, totally out of the blue - because I was in Paris by friggin' chance and I had nothing else better to do :-)

At my mom's home in Paris

I also visit London for the first time and do my "active recovery" by walking along the Thames and going up and down countless stairs.

Riri call home

May

The travels continue, I go to Los Angeles for work and visit my favorite spot, Santa Monica pier. Too bad it was pretty cold, because I could have jumped in the ocean.

Santa Monica Pier

Usually during those travels, I try to walk everywhere and run as often as I can. I didn't run that time though, I was tapering for the Mississauga Marathon. Coming back home though, I felt like running again and I remember those skies when we dropped my sons to sport camps and we went out for a run. I love me some dramatic skies.

Scary

A week later, I run the Mississaga Marathon - y'all know by now how that went. Below is a pic from when people could still be seen around.

Running Mississauga - it's a beautiful day!

My pet fish Chloe dies unexpectedly, and we welcome Calypso. She is tiny but feisty!

Calypso is in the house!

I also welcome Neo, my Cervelo One tri bike and I have my first (and only) professional bike fit done. Neo is also tiny, 650c wheels, 50" high, but it fits my 5'3" frame perfectly. We've been happy together so far.

Riri meet Neo, Neo meet Riri

June

June was rainy and hot. I met my friend Troy's dog Max. Puppy butt.

Did I just say puppy butt?

Dork face after a run in the rain. 

Does this wet tshirt make me look hot?

I receive my first ever wetsuit, an XTerra Vortex and it fits like a glove. I definitely feel hot in this. Long live rubber.

Full body flotation device

My husband buys me THE triathlon watch, the mighty Garmin 910XT. And I go nuts.

OMG OMG OMG!!!

Oh, and did I mention that I start biking a lot?

Breaking the Velominati's Rules.

July

I feel the happiest that I've been in my life. This triathlon training did the trick! I needed to capture the moment, so I took a pic, which became my new avatar.

I can't believe this feeling

I keep on swimming and I fall in love with Professor's Lake where I do 2-3 loops every Thursday with the Brampton FMCT Tri Club.

Crystal clean Professor's Lake

I still love my bike and I buy an aero drink bottle so I stop falling on my face while trying to reach for the other bottles while I ride. Look, ma, no hands! I also ride in the rain and I feel confident that I can do this!

I'm legit, bitches.

I even conquer Horseshoe Hill multiple times for fun. Ok, not really for fun, but because coach Dave said so.

Horseshoe Hill, complete with sunshine and deer flies.

Eventually, it all leads to this. I become a triathlete. Hell yeah!!

I'm still standing

And then I relax in Algonquin. We hike a lot, we swim, bike, run a little. 

Coffee, compression socks and sandals.

We geocache wherever we go because it makes it even more fun.

Geohikeswimming

We even jump from bridges into the water with our clothes on because we'd be fools not to.

August

I buy myself a new swimsuit because all the previous ones turned into parachutes. Not sure what else we do aside from the usual. It seems like a blur. It must have involved some running though, since I prepare for the Toronto Scotiabank Marathon.

Blue whale

I vaguely remember rollercoasters too.

Spinning round and round high above ground

September

I meet Chrissie Wellington and I get inspired to keep on triathloning.

Chrissie and I, all smiles

Then I do the immersive experience, volunteering as a "catcher" at Ironman Muskoka 70.3. I have a blast, I get to meet the "stars" such as Rachel Joyce and Tom Lowe and witness some very dramatic situations. This is definitely harder than it looks!

I promise myself to go down this chute the following year.

So I bike some more...

and I run some more...

And mornings are hard... do I really need to go out at 5:30 am??

Who turned on the light?!

Thankfully there are protein bars to keep me going because it's way too early to prepare breakfast.

Guess my favorite

And the long runs become really long, like the 32k one I did in France (again!) on the Coulee Verte du Sud Parisien...

... plus a "recovery walk" the same day to visit a castle and smell the flowers (and munch on apples) with my friend Frederique.

Castles are everywhere

October

Continued my European visit with another trip to London for work and came back with an ingrown nail thanks to running too much on heels between trains and meetings. It hurt. A LOT.

I was supposed to run here, dammit!

To add to my stupidity, I also buy my first pair of minimalist shoes, the New Balance Minimus WR00 and I overdo it, that is I run 1h40 the first time I wear them because they feel so good, like running barefoot. Oh well, I keep on learning from my mistakes. A week before the Toronto Marathon, oops.

Anyway, I take on a good dose of painkillers and line up for the marathon anyway, with hubbs nonetheless.

Show time!

My third, his first, and we both cross the finish line with a smile on our face. Mission accomplished, we can now put a seal on this season, but not before...

November

We sign up for Ironman Muskoka 70.3 and celebrate with Muskoka beer, wheee!

Hiccup

And coach starts giving me treadmill and indoor bike workouts, which really hurt.

Intervals, intervals, intervals.

I do a last outdoor ride that almost makes my teeth fall out.

Frozen smile

December

But then in December, I start spinning again and I have a blast. 

Spin, baby, spin!

And find new trails around the office, which keep me sane... most of the time.

Let the sunshine in

As well as a new gym, which I start frequenting on my lunch breaks.

When the weather permits, I put my Ninja on, my purple sweater and my tights and I go out and run again... The loop is looped. Another year awaits, the warrior in me is ready to fight.

This is my life, this is who I am now. An athlete, a mom, wife, cubicle slave and business traveler. I could not be here without the support of my family, my friends and the online blogging community, as well as Facebook, Runkeeper, Twitter and Fitocracy. Many thanks to all my friends, near and far, I feel that together we can move mountains. 

I am really happy to have found this passion for running and triathlons, which turned into a lifestyle that keeps on shaping me inside and out every day. I am also deeply humbled by all your efforts and seeing you giving your all in races and personal challenges. You are my inspiration and I hope to be able to inspire you in return.

In Memoriam : Ron Gehring

Ron was one of my reasons to get out of bed every day. He was a great friend, always kind and supportive of my efforts and even if we never met, it felt like I'd known him forever. He was an avid cyclist and trail runner and he was looking forward to A Bigger New Year. We motivated each other to finish our first marathons last year and we even had a friendly competition between us to do an Ironman first.

Ron was in a bike accident on Wednesday and he suffered extensive brain injuries. He left this world last night at 6pm. RIP Ron and heartfelt condolences to his family, wife Debra and son Ashton. I will keep on racing you, Ron!

2012 Recap (2/3): A year in races

This should be quick as I am not a serial racer, for a few reasons, first being that I cannot afford spending so much in race fees, and second, because I am trying hard not to injure myself, even though there have been some exceptions to this rule as you will see below (generally I try not to run more than a race a month).

The season started with Around the Bay 15k relay with hubbs, which was also his first race as an adult runner (those high-school meets don't count, sorry dud). The previous year I had run it with my friend Carol, but because of an Achilles injury she had to bail out and hubbs volunteered to be the second "Geeky Chick" this time around. It was also a great way for me to discover the second part of the course, a lot hillier, but scenic route, complete with Heartbreak Hill, a gospel choir and grim reapers.

We finished the race happy to have found a common hobby that takes us outside of the house and keeps us in shape (geocaching is a close second), a lifestyle that we can strive to instill into our children.

A new partnership

A few weeks later, while I was preparing for my first marathon, I found myself travelling for business to Europe and just like that, decided to take a chance and run the Paris Marathon with only 23km under the belt as the longest run of the season. It was the best decision that I could have made. I had a blast and set a PR that still stands as of today, despite two more marathons run afterwards. I am extremely happy to have been able to share this experience with my mom and my best friend Frederique. I was able to complete this marathon without stopping, not longer than the time of a big squeeshy hug anyway. It was also the best organized (despite the complete lack of portapotties), most crowded (35k marathon runners, oy!), with best/most real food (bananas, raisins, oranges, sugar cubes) instead of gels/sport drinks and overall incredible energy throughout. Not a single quiet spot along the road, I wish all races were like this.

Jetlagged much?

A week later, I was due to run the Toronto Yonge St. 10k, which surprisingly enough, gave me another PR. I will just blame the negative incline on this one, or the endorphins from the week before which may have been lingering in my legs... we'll never know.

New race, new bling

Two more weeks went by and the Mississauga Marathon, for which I was training for in first place, knocked on my door. I was feeling great, so I decided to run it, even though I had already met my season goal of conquering the 42.2k distance. A risky move, and a test for my legs. Running this marathon ended being a test for the mind instead, as I battled with the decision to start walking around km 25 when the crowds, participants and food almost disappeared. In my stubborn mind, walking equaled "failure" to remain constant in my effort and you know, HTFU and all that jazz. Eventually, I believe that making this decision was a small victory in itself. I accepted the fact that no two races are the same and while there are days with, there are most certainly days without.

Flying to the finish line

I chose to enjoy the day instead of trying to convince myself that I was unbreakable. I am only human afterall. Besides, I felt like I had nothing else to prove to this distance after running the Paris Marathon three weeks prior. If the photo above doesn't say it all, then I don't know...

After this race, I switched gears, so to speak, and started thinking triathlon. I decided to participate in the Ride for Heart 50k Road Race which was going to be a rehearsal for the upcoming 45k bike segment of the Olympic triathlon one month later. After buying my first tri bike via a Kijiji ad, I took Neo, my new two-wheeled boyfriend on the Toronto highways and enjoyed the company of 20,000 other cyclists in this celebration of health and beating heart disease. Needless to say, I had a blast.

Cyclists take over the city highways

Then on July 22, I became a triathlete at the Toronto Triathlon Festival. The morning of the race I was sick with the flu and a total nervous wreck, but motivated to finish the race no matter what. I had spent countless hours in the pool, on the bike and on the road not to line up for the start of this inaugural race and again, the beginning of new adventures and fitness challenges. The day went by in a blur, with my cough and heart rate unable to settle down, but in the end I crossed the finish line with a huge smile, even though the last km was a complete torture.

I am a triathlete!

I continued the season training for the last marathon of the year, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which I had set to do as redemption from the year before when everything went down to hell in the month preceding the race, my dad's passing from cancer, my gallbladder surgery and a pulled calf all at once. I did all my runs with hubbs, hoping that he would join me in this journey. I surprised him with a race entry, knowing that secretly he was eager to celebrate his hard work and putting up with my whining and murderous mood during our long runs.

Toronto marathoners

Hubbs ended up having the perfect race, while I hurt my insides with too much drinking at the aid stations and had to take walking breaks once again for the worst performance of the year. However I managed a strong finish accompanied by a great feeling of relief. For weeks afterwards I was glowing with pride for hubbs' achievement, which got to be the perfect ending to a season that started modestly, but confirmed our new partnership in distance running and triathloning.

I am now looking forward to another year of races, fun filled workouts and limits pushed. We are both signed up for Ironman Muskoka 70.3, our 2013 A-race, which I had the chance to experience last year as "catcher". Let the sufferfest begin! :-)

2012 Recap (1/3) : A year in numbers

You thought I was dead, didn't you? Well, not this time, I survived the Mayan Apocalypse (complete and utter fail, by the way), our family trip to Disney World and Philadelphia, and a business week in Las Vegas. Not too shabby, and I am back with numbers, photos, stories and resolutions (just a few, I promise), which I am going to spread over a few posts because, let's face it, too much of it at once hurts. And because everything that happened over these past weeks has already been too much for me to even sit down and write any type of intelligible sentences, I chose to start off with numbers as they are mostly speaking for themselves. 3... 2... 1... Go! (thank you Runkeeper for crunching the numbers for me and to the Prt Sc key and IrfanView for allowing me to make them visual).

Overall

(this includes Running, Walking, Hiking, Cycling, Swimming, Elliptical, Snowboarding, Skating, Rowing and Yoga). I can't believe I did all that, but if I could sum it up in a few words, this year has been fucking fantastic! (sorry, me bad).

The different colored segments represent each sport, but I haven't figured out which one is which, so let's move on... (I suspect blue is cycling, green is running, red is walking and purple is swimming). No surprises here, the overall peak was just before my Olympic Triathlon in July, with most of the running happening before my 3 marathons in April/May and October.

Not sure whether I want to set an overall target in 2013, but it would be nice if I could reach 5000km. Take notes, you may want to check back on those and see how far off I was next year at the same time.

Running

The bars got significantly taller before the marathons thanks to all the Sunday long runs that took me passed the finish line, every single time. According to the numbers above, the longest race in distance was the Paris Marathon, the fastest race was the Toronto Street 10k (a week after the Paris marathon, go figure) and the longest (and most painful) in time was the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon. It also looks like the fastest most consistent month was April, but after that I started training for the triathlon and coach turned on the HR training at MAF and all records went down from there... If there is ONE resolution that I would like to keep this year is NOT to get so damn stressed out because of slow numbers. There IS a reason to this madness, but I think I will only see it once I finish my first Ironman. Until then, I need to keep fighting the urge to go faster, to want to beat personal records and keep up with hubbs (that's probably the hardest one). 

Oh and I reached my 1000km goal in September after running my longest training run ever, in Paris, nonetheless, so I gave myself a 1000miles (1609km) goal for 2013. Go me!!

Cycling

If you've followed me this year, the summer months were spent mostly on the bike in preparation for my first ever triathlon, the Toronto Triathlon Festival (Olympic). On the opposite, I completely snubbed the bike the months when I raced marathons (May/October). I suspect that 2013 is going to change all this since I'll be focusing on triathlons and so far, the longest running race that I'm being signed for is Around the Bay 30k in March, but my A-race will be Ironman Muskoka 70.3 in September.

As for the records, the farthest I've been on my bike was 75km in August, in a group ride with the Falcons, which was also the longest ride to date, but not the fastest. I am planning to do at least one Century ride in 2013, so stay tuned for that ;-).

Swimming

Slow but steady has been my mantra in swimming. I only started this year, trying to teach myself proper technique and still going through the frustrating phase of not being able to go long without the pull-buoy aka my water boyfriend or the wetsuit aka my full-body protection. Good news is that I can make the cut off times and I am not afraid of making contact with other swimmers, ducks, algae or fish. The long swims I did in 2012 with the Falcons at the Professor's Lake in Brampton were the best ever!! I feel totally at peace when I put my head down in the clear, peaceful waters of this lake and go in loops until the time is out. Is summer here yet?

I may not be ready for Masters yet, but at least I am looking forward to the time spent in the water.  To much more in 2013, the year when I will master the bow wave and not drink half of the pool while trying to breathe with a goggle in.

Last but not least...

Weight

With all those calories burned, I hoped I'd get down to 130, but I will take sub-135 too. The lowest I reached was 131, just around my triathlon, if not the day of (July 22), after which I started to put some weight back on, of course, by removing the bike volume from the equation. Despite what others may tell you, running only will not make you lose weight, at least not those pesky last 10 pounds, but biking does help a lot. This year my goal is to go down to 125, which means 12lb less than today. I am starting tomorrow! (no kidding). As to the body fat, I am not sure whether I trust my Withings scale with those numbers, but as a reference, I'll make a point of staying sub-20 if possible.

Alright, first recap post out of three is done and my head is about to explode. Will follow up with "A year in races" and "A year in photos" (ideas stolen from Katie, thank you!), sometime this week, if I find some computer-me-time. In the meantime, keep track of those goals as I'm gonna do a quiz at the end and you may even win something! *wink wink*

Happy New Year!!

Last one for the road

Yesterday, -2C but with 3 warm layers, it was actually pretty enjoyable. I had to do it, I needed it. Armed with the warrior attitude, I set foot on the road for another 2h long run, which slowly but surely is becoming my favorite distance. It's long enough to be challenging for both body and mind, yet not too long to be exhausting.

I ran the first 5k with hubbs, who is still nursing an ITB injury, but continued on my own afterwards, with the goal of reaching the Etobicoke trail and doing one or more loops around the Loafers' Lake or the adjacent open field that the city recently reshaped in fitness bootcamp and playground. For those curious to see what it means, here are some pictures of the contraptions they scattered around.

I didn't try any of them because well, they do look cold and uninviting to touch, but also because I was on a mission. Funny thing, if you look closely, you will notice that they are all branded "Paris". I wonder where that is coming from...

Running wise, I did pretty good me thinks, managed to run 18k, but got mad at my Garmin HRM strap that is becoming more and more a lying piece of  sh*t. Anyway, I think I am going to take DC Rainmaker's advice and buy myself a Polar WearLink strap and do a brain transplant with Garmin's ANT+ transmitter.

That's all folks! Over and out!

I need a break

Some days are better than others... So I am going to start with the highlight of this week, which was actually a week ago. My long run, thanks to an intermezzo in the non-stop rain programme, and this photo, which I hope shows how great it made me feel.

Then a new workweek started and every day the panic grew bigger and bigger until I totally broke down on Friday when I almost got in an accident, twice, and cried in the car with two of my coworkers. I seriously need a break.

I only managed to squeeze in my treadmill workout, which I failed again for skipping one of the intervals. Don't get me wrong, I am not too hard on myself because I do like a challenge and this is a perfect one. I know that I am pushing my body to the limit and I know I will be able to complete this workout one day, it's just that I'm not there yet. This is what it looks like:

Warm up 10 min. @6.0 mph
6.0 mph incline 2% = 2 min
7.0 mph 0 % = 2 min
6.0 mph 0% = 2 min
7.0 mph 4% =2 min
8.0 mph 0%= 1 min
6.0 mph 0% =1 min
7.0 mph 6% = 2min
8.0 mph 1 %= 1min
6.0 mph 0%=1 min
9.0 mph 0%= 1min
6.0 mph X 10 min cool down

Twice that I tried so far, I failed to run 1min at 8mph/1% incline after the 7mph/6% interval. Because I feel like passing out, I go to 6mph/0% for 2 minutes before doing the last sprint at 9mph. I'm working on it... everything shall come to those who know how to wait.

I will go for my 2h long run tomorrow if the weather cooperates, because there is no way that I'll be running that long on the treadmill. There are limits to my dedication, especially in weeks like these when my patience has run thin.

As to the bike workouts, skipped both of them. No time, no energy, nothing left in the mind to get me out of bed and into the gym at times when I could spend quality time with my family and friends instead. I did not regret at all, not this time. I spent one night playing board games with the boys, one day birthday partying with my older son, another night at a basketball game (Toronto Raptors beat Dallas Mavericks, yay!), one night having dinner with friends, and a day of shopping with my mom and felt great.

I also went to the pool twice, on Tuesday to coach hubbs, and on Thursday with the Falcons, and it was relaxing, rewarding and exactly what I needed - a mean to focus on something that required skill in order to push the stress out of my brain. Both times I slept like a baby afterwards, thank goodness, because the other nights were a nightmare, literally.

There isn't much more left to say, the fun times are almost here and I am going to enjoy this break because life is short and there is immense joy in celebrating those who matter the most. Fitness, getting back in tip top shape and PRs can wait.

Full gear ahead, with a touch of Instagram

I survived the week in the new workplace!! I also managed to do all my workouts this week, with a lot of "suck it up, buttercup" self-talk. Long days, lots of driving, but I don't feel too exhausted right now, so the amount must have been just right.

Last Saturday (yes, my blogging weeks start with the weekend) I went to my first spin class in almost a year. Because I went to bed pretty late the night before, I decided that the 9:15am class was going to be early enough. Drove to my regular gym and found this very cheerful crowd and the teacher who seemed to know all the people in the room, so she picked up on me right away and said "good luck, you're going to need it". Oh she knew what I was in for! 55 minutes later, I was drowning in a puddle of sweat, I had lost my voice and my legs were burning. So much fun, it hurt!

What I also loved was wearing my biking shoes for the first time ever in a spin class. What a difference hard soles make!

The rest of the day was a blur... so fast forward to the next day, a few folks from my tri club were going to meet in Inglewood (about 15min drive from home) for a hilly long run. I had never run there before, but I was familiar with the place for having driven there a few times to check out the local bike shop. That is actually where hubbs bought his bike and I bought my tri top as well. Anyway, despite going to bed really late again, I managed to leave the house on time. Alas the road looked really really wet and I didn't doubt that I was going to get drenched too.

But I had promised that I'd join the fun, so didn't want to bail out at the last minute. Once I arrived in Inglewood, only 2 other folks (and a dog) showed up though, so without thinking twice about the rain, off we went. It was damn challenging, so many hills, all I could tell myself was: "you signed up for Muskoka - 70.3 worth of hills, so shut up and keep moving". Thankfully, once we hit km 6, it was time to turn around, and I started feeling hopeful that I was going to make it back to the car after all.

The rain was falling on and off by then, roads were pretty wet, my shoes and clothes were too, but I wanted more. My workout needed to be 1h40 long, so I told my tri peeps goodbye and hopped on another trail to meet my quota. I finished the run pretty happy with my exploits even though I know that I embarrassed myself on those hills. Baby steps, baby steps.

Monday - Yoga. Nothing new to report there.
On Tuesday I needed to do the same treadmill killer workout as last week, so I went to the gym with my minimalist shoes. Tried to kill two birds with one stone, and the result was rather surprising. It took in average 5bpm LESS effort to move those feet. In the end, it didn't feel so criminal. It felt awesome! But this commuting + driving to the gym daily was starting to feel repetitive.

Indeed. On Wednesday, I went back again, this time for a bike workout. Foursquare +3 points bonus for going to the same gym 3 days in a row. Ouch. Wattage? Power intervals? Whaaaaat? I do not know how to do that... I started moving my feet, I had 10 minutes of warming up to figure it out. Thanks to Google, I found that Life Fitness bikes on Level 6 = 100 watts. Ok... so if I were to extrapolate, I needed to be on level 12 for my intervals. Oy! Decided to stay on level 4 when I wasn't pushing, and 11-12 for the rest, for a set that turned into a bunch of humps.

What you gon' do with all that junk?

All that junk inside your trunk?

I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk,

Get you love drunk off my hump.

My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,

My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps (Check it out)

I counted them - all eight of them, my lovely little lumps. I got culture, didn't you know?

Thursday I decided that it was time for a walk. Too beautiful outside, too much driving around, not enough fresh air. I went on a recon mission at lunch to find my way to the nearby trail, aka my new playground. It was wonderful. I took a bunch of pictures, listened to the birds, looked at the river and the few ponds around, said hi to the passerby's. The rest is history, in all its Instagram glory.

I drove back from work and out of the house again. I was so friggin' tired, I had to take a nap after dinner, secretly hoping that I wouldn't wake up. But hubbs makes a good alarm clock "Get up! Get out! It's pool time!". Oh well, here we go again... Drills, drills, more drills, drinking chlorine, foggy goggles, flippers, flip turns, pretending that I can make it 200m without drowning (barely, ok?).

And now here we are, it's FRIDAY!! REST DAY!! Blogging day, whatever... I am in a murderous mood for whatever reason, hormonal or not, so I am taking all my anger on the keyboard. Really, I feel like screaming out loud. Like really loud. I guess I just needed to get all this stuff out. I think I am feeling better already. Here, look at this croissant with me, it was my dinner, along with a herbal peppermint tea.

By the way, I sent it back to remove the mayo. It was pretty sexy for the photo, but that didn't need to make it inside my stomach with the extra calories. I think I am hungry again. Okay, time to go to bed, sleep cures everything. Tomorrow the cycle starts again.

Look, ma! I'm a celebrity!

Psst. Something happened this week. I got contacted by FitOrbit to be part of their Success Stories. Between Errin and I, this makes two for coach Dave. ;-)

If you ever thought of starting to work with a coach and you are on a budget, I definitely recommend FitOrbit. I am where I am thanks to having a coach myself, so I believe in the system.

You can read more about my weigh loss here.

Back to regular programming now. Did I tell you that I haz Twitter now (@IrinaSouiki)? Look on the right, you will see a widget with my latest tweets. Feel free to follow me on there if you want!

Zen Running

Did you ever have one of those moments when you felt that you reached the Zen state of mind while running? It happened to me a few weeks ago, I was so in tune with my body while running, I think it was towards the end of a 10k run - the feet quietly tapping the pavement, the arms swinging in perfect harmony, body gliding through the air, it felt so good that I had to take out my camera and immortalize it. I didn't know what it'd look like, I had never taken a video of myself while running, so apologies for the shaking, but I did watch this video a few times since and it manages to bring the same feelings back to into my mind, that of peace and happiness and freedom. I thought I'd share.

Here's the Runkeeper activity for (my own) reference.