Back at it… Break is over.

Yeah it’s time to get back in the routine. My Christmas break of no running is over. It’s time…

Tonight was a treadmill training. Here is my summary:

Distance:	2.35 km
Time:	24:01
Avg Pace:	10:10 min/km
Calories:	171 C

Avg HR:147 bpm
Max HR:182 bpm

I did get some running gifts this Christmas. Now I just need a winter running jacket and I’ll be all set to do so running outside. I’m shopping for one right now. Hope to get one soon.

I certainly hope you are all having a great festive seasons. I know I am with my family and friends.

As for my fundraising goal, I’m currently at 19% of my goal. I still need all your help. Please share and donate… There are different ways to do so. It is for a good cause: the Canadian Diabetes Association. They are getting closer to find a cure/better treatment for diabetes. The money is going toward that research. To find out how to donate, just click here: http://erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes. Everything is explained there in both English and French.

If you have any questions, you can send them my way either here or at the website above.

Thank you everyone!!!

Take care!
Erika xox

Need your help!

I’m asking for your help again. It’s for my fundraising. I have to reach at least $2500 between now and the beginning of January. Please share this with your friends and family.

You can find more information at http://erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes.

It’s already December 9. I hope I will get to my first goal. I’m getting there but I’m not there yet. Don’t forget, you can email me with any questions about it at belangerep@gmail.com.

My training for the half-marathon is going great. I’m starting my 4th week tomorrow. I’m already seeing the changes in my clothes. I bought new jeans a few weeks ago and I see the difference already. It’s fun to see the changes too. It’s weird though… I can run but going up the stairs at work is putting me out of breath. I guess it’s because it’s not working the same muscles. 🙂

Tonight I did more mail outs to companies for their help. Tomorrow and Wednesday, myself and my mom will be at the Bathurst Sobeys. I will also have new fundraising activities in the new year. At work, with all the Christmas fundraisers going on, it’s more difficult right now.

That’s is for tonight… Time for bed.

Thank you for reading.

Take care…
Erika xox

December starts tomorrow…

Wow! I can’t believe it will already be December tomorrow. The time does fly by too fast. Chirstmas is coming… Christmas is coming… Christmas is coming… Do you know that I LOVE Christmas? HoHoHo! It’s a time to be with family and friends. You can also take time to think over the year and of course look toward the next one. Some people make a list of goals to achieve. Others make a board to look at like to know where they want to go. By now, you all know mine. 🙂 I want to run a half-marathon in Edinburgh, Scotland next May. And to do that, my other goal is to raise at least $6100 to get to go. As of June 2014, I’m not sure yet.

Anyway, these are my main goals for 2014. I do hope I will achieve both of them. For the training, I’m following one with Endomondo Premium. As for the fundraising, I’m almost at my first $1000. November is a month with a few causes. We heard a lot about Movember but it’s also the Diabetes’ month. All the causes are good. Now, with Christmas coming, a lot of requests for donations are coming from everywhere. I will try to get some money out of it too. I will be at the Bathurst Sobeys on December 9 and 10 to collect money and sell tickets. I hope I will have a good turn out. I can’t thank my mom enough for all her help with my fundraisings.

Today was a day for relaxing, decorations and training. I started by going to my fabulous hairdresser Peggy this morning. Of course, she did my roots but I wanted some change. She knows me by now and she knows  Well my bangs are back. It’s easier to manage them during the winter months since it’s not as humid outside. The attach picture was taken with my ipad this afternoon. The color is not that good because my hair color is more a light red/auburn than on the picture.

My training tonight was done on the treadmill. Here are the results…

• DISTANCE=2.54 km
• DURATION=24m:01s
• AVG. SPEED=9:27 min/km
• CALORIES=356 kcal
• AVG HR=143 bpm
• MAX HR=190 bpm
• warm up at speed 3.5, running at speed 5, walking intervals at speed 3.5, cool down at speed 3 (the treadmill is miles/hour)

It’s almost 10 pm already. I guess we are getting some snow tomorrow. It’s a good thing we did put the outside decorations today although my toes and my nose were not too happy. Brr it was cold but it’s now done. The inside of the house will get its decorations tomorrow. The Christmas music will be played for the first time too for this season. I have to put some on my iPhone again. 🙂

I hope you also like this time of year like I do. It’s not too much about the religion anymore. It’s more about being with the people you love. It is a personal choice. For myself, you believe in what you want to. As long that you are a good person, I will like you or at least like your character. Note: It’s impossible for someone to like everyone 🙂

To donate:
erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes
https://ocp.diabetes.ca/Pledge/csPledge.asp?prId=td&tId=20600&oId=16719347

Take care of you and of everyone you love!
Believe in yourself!
Erika xox

A new training program!

Well I did it… I did buy the Endomondo pro app for my iphone. This way, I can use their training plan to go to my goal. Oh yes… run a half-marathon on May 25, 2014.

I did my first tried at it today. Since it was snowing outside and the road was not cleared, I decided to do it on the treadmill. It went well. You can set up the program to give information along the way. I just forgot to put the app on treadmill at the beginning. The data was a bit wrong because of it but I was able to take the data from my Garmin watch and change it.

• DISTANCE: 2.35 km
• DURATION: 24m:00s
• AVG. SPEED: 10:13 min/km
• MAX. SPEED: 5:44 min/km
• CALORIES: 210 kcal
• HYDRATION: 0.09L
• AVG. HEART RATE: 151
• MAX. HEART RATE: 188
• WEATHER: Flurries
• WIND: 3.0 km/h ↖
• TEMPERATURE: 0°C
• HUMIDITY: 83%
  Weather data provided by AccuWeather.com

I decided to do my training with this program 4 times per week. It will give me rest days and time to do other things. 🙂 I might start doing some pilates and yoga on those days. I used to do them a while back. 

Hope you are having a great Saturday. Mine started pretty well. Now, time for lunch before some grocery later today. 

Ciao!
Erika xox

Hey gang!

It’s been a while since my last post. I did start to work more toward my fundraising for Team Diabetes (Canadian Diabetes Association). I made a wreath and I’m selling tickets for it right now. I will post a picture of it soon. I’m also going to Bowlarama next week and at Sobeys in early December. I also started to contact some of my dad’s clients and created a letter for other businesses in northern New Brunswick. Other fundraising will be coming soon.

My running is going good. I did it a few times but without my Garmin watch. For some reason, I was always forgetting to recharge it. Tonigh, I did a quick treadmill run. I started to late to do a longer one so after walking for 3 minutes, I decided to do a faster speed than usual. I did it a few times to get to 1 km on my treadmill. I did it in 10 minutes.

If you want some information on how to pledge for my fundraising, you can go at this website: erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes. The information is on that page. I also did add a Sponsor’s link.

Hope I can count on y’all! Please share my wix website with all your contacts. It’s in the numbers that I will be able to achieve my goal for my fundraiser.

Thanks a bunch and if anyone have questions about this, you can email me directly at belangerep@gmail.com or send it via the question box on my wix website.

Erika xox

New gadget…

I bought myself a new running “friend” tonight. It’s a Coleman light. I put it on my arm so cars coming both ways can see me and I also see where I’m going between two street lights. I did try it tonight and it works great for me. I’ll have someone in a car test that part sometime soon. Hope it works well that way too.

Tonight, I’m almost at 4k. Getting there. 🙂 I can’t wait to do my first 5k without walking. Here are the intervals that I did tonight base on my Couch to 5K:

– warm up 5 mins walk
– run 20 mins
– walk 3 mins
– run 5 mins
– cool down 5 mins walk

I did 3.75k. My average heart rate was 142 bpm and with a maximum heart rate at 179 bpm.

Now coming back home, it’s time to do some laundry while watching tv and working on my fundraising activities coming up. For people around Bathurst, I will be at the Winter Wonderland Bazaar at the KC Irving this Saturday.

Earlier this evening, I did some running around. I had to go pay for my table on Saturday, buy my Coleman light, get my contact lenses, run to Staples to get my poster I had printed and stop at Subway for my supper.

Wishing you all a good night!

Erika xox

Relaxing weekend for me… and yours?

Hey everyone…

I had a relaxing weekend. It’s fun to have one once in a while. It gives you time to energize yourself and think. 🙂

Saturday morning, was my monthly visit to the hairdresser. I love going to see Peggy. I always feel good getting out of there after it’s all done. This time, she only did my roots. I then did some grocery after having lunch at Mai’s. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant in Bathurst. I just love going there. They are also learning French on top of talking English and Vietnamese. Their cuisine is very good and past the test every time. The rest of my Saturday was spent watching a bit of tv and some reading.

It was also time to change the time this weekend. It would be fun our body and mind would know it could sleep one hour extra. Nope… was awake at 5h30 Sunday morning. After breakfast, I decided to try making bread for the first time. It’s not perfect but with something on it like jam or molasses, it’s ok. Next time, I’ll let it rest more and I’ll use butter to grease the pan instead of Pam. The crust might have a better taste. However, the crust itself was crisp.

 

In the afternoon, myself, my mom and my grandmother went to visit my my mom’s aunt in her new apartment. Then back home for supper. It was steak, homemade onion rings and creamy spinach. It’s a recipe found on a French tv show.  You can find the recipe here (it’s in French). I’m also putting I took of my plate tonight.

 

To top it all, I went running tonight. It’s my first time running outside when it’s dark. I loved the feeling. It was also very quiet. I’ll have to buy a light so I can see where I’m going in between the street lights. I could not see the ground if a car was coming my way. I was afraid of running into a bump or a whole on the side of the street. I did use my flashlight on my cell a little but it was closing when I was getting close to a street light. I’ll try to get one tomorrow evening.

I did the week 6, day 3 of the Couch to 5K on my iPhone. I did a total of 3k in 30 minutes.

– warmup of 5 mins walk
– run 20 mins
– cool down of 5 mins walk

I wasn’t sure I could complete it but I did push through it. I’m proud of myself for not stopping. It’s getting easier every time. I wonder what distance I’ll be able to do in May 2014. I feel so great after completing my run. On my day off, I have to continue working out. I’m trying to include strength training in those days but I sometime let it go. I have to commit to it more like I’m doing now with my running.

While writing these lines, I’m doing some laundry and watching tv before going to bed.

I hope you all had a great weekend… I know mine was relaxing but still fun.

NOTE:
Don’t forget to donate to Team Diabetes by sponsoring my training. You can also share this information with your contacts. Together, we can fight diabetes and find a cure. We need to help the research. Thank you everyone!

Erika xox 🙂

Another milestone done

Hey everyone…

I did complete another milestone today. From now till May 2014, I will hopefully complete more milestones on every run. I would never have thought of this a few years, even a few months ago. I was able to complete two 10 minutes run tonight. Fun Fun Fun

Went better than I thought it would tonight.
Warm up of 5 mins walk
run 10 mins
walk 3 mins
run 10 mins
cool down 5 mins walk

I did that run in 33 minutes, 3.19 km.

Next time… 20 mins straight of running. Yikes!

I hope to complete that 20 minutes run this Saturday. I’ll post the result once I do complete it.

I never thought I would love running again like I do. It’s a great way to clear my mind and get back into shape at the same time. When I run, I don’t think of nothing else than putting a foot in front of the other. I’m afraid of getting hurt so my mind is always going there so I do place my feet correctly on the ground.

Hope you are having a great week. It’s actually over my normal bed time so it’s time for me to go.

Good night!

Erika xox
erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes

Anything is possible!

Who would have known a few months ago I would do two 5K at the end of this year?

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE when you work for it.

My goal is still far away but I’m going toward it. My next goal is to do a 5K without walking. I’m sure I’ll get to it. The question is when?

Running is helping me clear my mind. I can keep my sanity this way. 🙂 I’m a positive person to start with but now I think I’m a more happier person than before.

Sunday was a rainy and cold day. I did dress for the occasion. I had my cap on and my rain/sport coat made by Speedo. haha It did keep me warm and dry for the race. I’m not making excuses… but I think the combination of my recent flu and the lack of training because of it did not help me beat my time from my first race in Bathurst.

I had a time of 44:21 in Bathurst on September 15 and I did 45:39 yesterday in Moncton. I’m happy with one minute extra. At the start, my goals were to be close to my previous time and to finish it.

With all of this said, I think I’m hooked to running. It’s a good thing since I’m training to get to the Edinburgh marathon. I know I won’t do the marathon there. It would be fun that i could get ready for the half-marathon but at least now I’m sure I can be ready for the 10K.

Remember… you can visit erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes for more information and to help me get there. 

Legs for Literacy is a well organized event. The volunteers along the way are all so nice even if they were freezing, the crowd at the start/finish line gave the last push we needed to finish strong and everyone sending me good vibes were in my thoughts. Thanks to everyone…

Ok my friends… hope you will have a great week.

Talk to you soon!

Erika xox

A nice and relaxing weekend, you?

What is a nice and relaxing weekend for you? I was fortunate enough to have one this weekend.

Yesterday, I didn’t do that much. I went out to buy coffee and do a quick run to “CCBN-Bathurst” to put posters on cars for my fundraising. They were doing a graduate reunion this weekend. Some people did give so it was worth it. My parents were part of the reunion so people could bring their money to them. I also continued working on a letter I want to send to my dad’s clients. To finish the day, I did grab my supper at St-Hubert and watched tv.

Today, I also did relax this morning. I did play a little with my dog. He is going to be 15 in a few months.

 

Then, this afternoon, it was preparing the meals for this week and grocery shopping. And tonight, another treadmill run. I could complete my Week 5, Day 2 from the Couch to 5K application. It took me 28 minutes and I did about 2.6 kms (treadmill distance). Here are the intervals:

– 5 mins warm-up walk
– run 6 mins
– walk 1 min
– run 4 mins
– walk 1 min
– run 6 mins
– cooldown 5mins walk

I’m registered to do the Legs for Literacy this coming Sunday. I’m happy my coughing is really less that it was a few days ago. I was getting worried. I’ll make sure to bring my couch lozenges, my gum, my kleenex and my water.

For the rest of the evening, a little more tv and get ready for a work week.

Erika 🙂
Don’t forget… you can still sponsor me: erikabelanger.wix.com/teamdiabetes