SPLAT!

Today, I should have been on Day #10 of the training system P90X, but unfortunately, I am only on strong pain meds and anti-inflammatories ...

WHY?

Fracture of the greater tuberosity of the left humerus. Can you see it?

If not, let me help you out a bit ...

HOW?

Innocuous fall forward while on my snowboard onto my outstretched left arm that *tried* to catch me.

SPLAT!

Pretty embarrassing that I was only coming down off the chair lift. I didn't want to hit the "loiterers" straight ahead of me so had to stop quickly but I must have hit a rut. Wish I had a better story to tell you all, like ... "I wiped out on a Double Black run and did a triple somersault before striking the ground!"

The pain was so intense, I couldn't breathe, so the Ski Patrol had to give me oxygen during the transport. Pretty incredible how they manouvered me on that stretcher from the top of the mountain all the way down, considering all the moguls they had to go around!

I only WISH I'd passed out from the pain, it was horrible. Thank God I was not alone!

RB and my son TMH rushed me to the closest hospital 20 min. away, Granby Hospital, where it took less than five minutes to get treated ... I guess the loud crying helped. The triage nurse sent me into the examination room right away. My loud scream in pain when she tried to take the glove off my injured limb prompted her quick decision.

Nurse: "Go straight through to the back and they will undress you there."

(RB told me later she rated my pain 10/10 when he went to give her my medical info.)

Two injections of phentanyl, lots of shivering from shock, x-rays, another injection of a longer-acting pain-killer, extreme nausea and dizziness ...

Doctor: "Well, I've got good news ... It's NOT dislocated!"

My mind raced ... if it wasn't dislocated, then what the hell was causing all this f*cking pain?!?! Why couldn't my shoulder just be popped back into place and then the pain go away? I felt desperate.

Doctor: "It's broken but non-displaced. If the bone doesn't move, the healing will be straight-forward and you'll have no future problems. With dislocations, one will always have problems."

SS: "How long will it take to heal?"

Doctor: "Your snowboarding season is over."

I broke my shoulder ... I can't believe I broke my shoulder!!

RB brought my son and I home and I promptly vomited but at least I finally got rid of the nausea.

***********************************************

So now, post-accident 10 days, I am still immobilized and still in great pain. As explained to me, the rotator cuff muscles attach onto that piece of broken bone. My pharmacist told me that the pain-killers that I was taking were between morphine and heroin ... crap, I can still feel the pain.

Had another set of x-rays done in Montreal and saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. I'm healing well and the bone fragment remains non-displaced. YAY!

SS: "When will the intense pain go away?"

Doctor: (looking me right in the eyes) "YOU BROKE A BONE!"

(Dang, the ER doctor at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital said the exact same thing in the exact same way two days after my accident ... yes, I unfortunately had to pass though Emergency again to get a consult appointment with the specialist.)

I then explained my predicament (Ironman and my need to return to training) and the doc said he'd release me early from my sling if all went well ...

March 1 will hopefully be my "release date"! Cross your fingers for me!

Ottawa Fall Colours 5k, Oct. 11: My only race this year!

The past year certainly has been fraught with injury.

Hip pain = no running = no marathons = no triathlons

Sigh ... I'd even taken a good three months completely off running which helped a bit, then started running again lightly in late July hoping to be able to enjoy some part of the racing season before it was over.

Thought I'd race a Half Ironman in Ottawa in August, then thought I'd settle for the Sprint Tri because of my lack of training and the fact that my bum hip was still fragile. Nope, didn't end up racing at all ... As the Gods would have it, I had a film shoot the day before race day AND my friend's baby came early, meaning that staying at his house would have been pandemonium!

Then I thought about running the Ottawa Fall Colours 5k and encouraged my friend RB to do his very first race ever at the same time. I hate 5k's but for a friend, I was willing to tough it out.

We drove up bright and early to Ottawa from Montreal. My kids weren't too happy when I woke them at 5am, well, when I *tried* to wake them up that is. (I wasn't happy getting up at 4:50am either.) I told them they could sleep in the car. And sleep they did. We let them continue sleeping in the car in the parking lot as we went to pick up our race kits and I registered my youngest son for his race.

It was a beautiful day, a little cloudy but sunny nonetheless. But boy was it frigid! BRRRR! The morning temperature was down close to freezing and the sharp wind pierced our many layers of clothing. We were happy to get back into the car and await the start of the race.




This cosy little race was well-organised and very friendly. The 10k racers completed a loop around the field before heading out of the park and then it was our turn to line up. Where was the start line? RB and I just went with it and stood anywhere. I bid farewell to my son GMH whose race start would come up after we finished running our loop in the park.

The thing I hate about 5k races is the fast start, and then unfortunately, it usually only gets faster.

RB was pumped with adrenalin, this being his first race and all, and sped ahead of me, though I think he thought he was running beside me. I, on the other hand, had absolutely no surge of adrenalin coursing through my body but only wished I did, since I think it would have helped me to overcome the sudden tightness in my lungs due to the cold air rushing in quickly. Damn asthma!

I've never been good at fast starts and tend to get faster only after a few kilometers of warming up, then I'm usually good to go for another 15 or more km! Ha ha!

Nope, 5k races are not my favourite ... Don't let the smile on my face fool you. I'm only posting the good pic, the pic where I'm aware of the photographer, not the candid pics caught of me grimacing from not being able to breathe.

I told RB to go ahead, since clearly his legs and lungs were ready to take him much faster than I. Great, more pressure on me to keep up. Course was quite pretty as it wound through the quiet neighbourhood and semi-countryside. Two good little hills which I creeped up slowly ... Are we almost done? Geez, I don't remember marathon runs being this arduous. Then back into the park we went for the last loop, and lo and behold, finally, the Finish Line! Yay!

My results:

Gun time 29:42
Pace 5:57
Category place 5/23
Gender place 44/188
Overall place 127/315

RB's results:

Gun time 29:42
Pace 5:57
Category place 9/13
Gender place 83/127
Overall place 126/315

Hmmm ... There must have been some walkers since we weren't running that quickly.

My younger son decided to run the 3k, though when he was 7, he ran the 5k with me in 37:16 totally untrained. I was able to convince him to run this time since there was a medal at the end :-D Like mother, like son! GMH didn't want to wear run-specific clothes though so he ran it with his clunky sneakers, big jacket and jeans. Oh, and of course, my race gloves since he got cold waiting for the race to start. What can a Mom do?

GMH's results:

Gun time 17:03
Gender placement 28/37
Overall placement 28/63



Of course, we had to celebrate with food afterwards ... yummy Italian in the Byward Market. Ottawa is truly a beautiful little city!

Sick of being sick

I'm sick. Again.

This is the fourth time this winter. At least I didn't lose my voice again, like the other times, but I did have a fever, albeit only for a day (thank goodness). And now my inflamed lungs are annoying the heck out of me. Damned cough! I feel like I'm on the verge of wheezing. Sigh. Great ... cold-induced asthma.

Last week was March Break for the kiddies so with the cold and no break from the kids, training possibilities were diminished. Uber short runs and short swims. And a great snowboarding day. Went through a little trail through the trees called "Sentier des toutous" (Teddy Bear Trail) where whole bunches of stuffed animals were strung up along cords spanning the entire way. Adorable and super cool. My youngest son, who gave up his teddy bear a while ago insisted on going through it three times. Ha ha!

Training highlight of the week was running with my oldest son who now towers over me. His long lanky body would make him a great runner if he built up some endurance.

I'm a proud mommy!

Just another dull boring week

Last week was more than a little *C*R*A*Z*Y*. I suppose my friends who know me would say it's "just a normal week" for me. And the thing is, I think they're right. I might just have to resign myself to the fact that my life always moves at a million miles per hour ... sigh ...

This is my past week:

- 4-day migraine
- caught my youngest son's cold with appropriately annoying cough, much to my chagrin
- snowboarding with the kids
- I am presently in workshop with a new play Import/Export as we were offered a residency at Usine C, a cool performing arts complex in Montreal (I'm a lead!)
- I also have a day job that I barely squeezed in ... argh

- getting ready for my big blast of a b-day party this weekend

- and oh yes, most importantly, getting ready for the launch of the website of "Operation Triumph", a new charity my friends and I created to help fight against cancer. Check out the preview at www.operationtriumph.com ... official launch is coming up soon!

Needless to say, yet once again, um ... no official Ironman training.

I did get in a short albeit almost usless swim on Saturday. Between playing with the kids and trying to swim around the woman who insisted on using the only free lane to do some pool walking, all I can really say is that I still have a good sense of water and am still feeling confident that I won't drown.

Today it snowed, so obviously, it took me an hour and a half to travel the 15km back home. Yup, that's Montreal snow removal services.

So when I got home tonight, I made sure to laze around in front of the television for an hour tonight and do nothing, absolutely nothing ...

And it felt goooood.

Wow, I can't believe I'm already back to work ...

I hope you all had a fabulous time bringing in the New Year. I surely did ... bubbly, great company, games, a fun flick, great food and lots of hugs. Here's our supper, one of mine and my children's favourites: braised beef with potatoes and carrots, caesar salad. Dessert was CHOCOLATE. Yes, more festively plump fixings.

Then a short visit to my mother who is regaining her strength and looking much better than the last time I saw her before Christmas. It was so nice to see her laughing again. We played Jenga, a hilarious game suited for all ages. We got as high as 32 levels before my son knocked it down accidentally with a bad move. Pretty cool ... it was a new record!

Spent time snowboarding this week too ... it wise fun to enjoy the powder that fell the other day, not so fun to drive in it ... now we're headed into a warm spell ... goodbye snow. It'll make running a little easier though!

When the pace of life becomes too fast ...

Wow.

Simply ... wow.

I just realised how much time has transpired since the last time I blogged. My apologies to everyone. It's not that I didn't feel inspired to write, since I always have good ideas and stories and love to share, but frankly ...

Where did the time go?

I've been able to keep up a minimum training schedule though ... short 5 k runs, rides of 20-34 k, 30-45 minutes in the pool doing laps from time to time ... all of which has been difficult enough to do what with work, my acting career, the kids, my commitment to the dance community and a new charity team that I am creating.

So what can one do to slow down the pace of life?

1) Eat a good breakfast.

- sauteed potatoes
- grilled tomatoes
- organic pears from my mother's backyard sauteed in butter and brown sugar
- scrambled eggs with green onions, Italian sausage, and cheddar cheese
- a hot cup of Tetley tea

2) Go for a bike ride on the north shore.

Montreal is *amazing* for its bike paths. Besides, crisp autumn days call for getting outdoors and enjoying the amazing colours and fresh air.

3) Stop off at the park.

I remember taking my kids to this park when they could both fit in the bike trailer together. It's about 17 km away from our house and was our turn-around point. Our reward for cycling out this distance was a picnic and playing, such as we did again here in these pics but this time, I had no trailer to pull!

4) Invite a friend over for supper.

This is LifeAny. She's a member of the Montreal Coolrunners, like me. She used to never run but decided to do the couch-2-5k program and this year, she did her first 5 k race, followed soon after by another 5 k hilly race on a super hot day (she's crazy) and we're so proud of her.

On the menu:

- tofu in oyster sauce with BBQ pork and broccoli
- snow pea leaves sauteed with garlic
- white Jasmine rice

5) Finish off the day with hugs and cuddles from all those you love ...

Have a wonderful rest of the week! Don't forget, no matter what difficulty you're going through in life, everything is transitory ... xoxo

Wish I may, wish I might ...

Frankly, training has been HORRIBLE, what with my ever-failing adaptation to long corporate overtime work hours. My romantic artist soul feels imprisoned in a colourless, claustrophobic cacophony of can't do this', musn't do that's, and we-are-watching-you's.

I'm sinking ... sinking ... sinking ... oh too fast ... much too fast.

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
Wish I may, wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight.

I auditioned for two car commercials today, one a callback (yay). Quite the feat to do considering I also had to fit in a full day at work too. I was a chicken with my head cut off. Lots of driving, what with going back and forth from the airport to downtown twice in the same day.

Weekend update:
I'm so proud of my oldest son, T ... he cycled 47 km with JC and I on Saturday. Wish I had brought my camera. (Sorry, folks.) We stopped for a picnic by the scenic north shore of Rivière-des-Prairies ... very pretty and very relaxing. JC immensely enjoyed the rustling of the leaves as slumber carried him off. I walked out onto the rocks in the river but one can only travel so far with cleats. Had to stop T who would have crossed the river if he had found enough rocks, irregardless of safe footing.

Took both sons out for a shorter cycle of 14 km on Sunday. Wish it had been longer but alas, my youngest doesn't yet have the fortitude of the eldest and magically developed a headache and sore throat just a few kilometres into the ride. Sigh.

But we got to eat some tasty Chinese desserts! Wintermelon biscuits and sweet sticky noodles, two of my childhood favourites.

Good news ... I slipped in a 5k this morning after going over lines and before heading to work.

My friend, Turtleboy, chided me tonight for my most recent tactic of only training for the last 5k of the marathon. He said I must have it down pat by now. So funny since he's actually not that far off ... When I ran this morning (while running lines in my head), I visualized the start, middle and finish of the marathon. I told myself, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if the whole marathon could be run this easy-breezy (i.e. like before fatigue set in at kilometre six)?" The silly thing is this visualization tactic can work wonders ... gotta train the mind you know, 'cause that's what'll take you to that finish line. That or the sheer stupid belief that one can run a marathon without any training. Ugh.

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
Wish I may, wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight.

----------------------------------------------
Dear Universe,

I wish that I will land both car commercials and then have that horrible task of deciding which one to choose! Hmm ... I choose BOTH!!

Thank you,

Silly Sally
----------------------------------------------

Of course, getting my wish would most likely nix my marathon plans for this weekend since it coincides with the possible shoot dates.

Dang. :-)

Time to kick some a$$!!

This past weekend, I decided I needed to kick some a$$ ... MINE, of course!

One thing about training is that it is too easy to fall out of routine. In fact, I fell out of my routine last year, right after Ironman. And now, miserably "out of shape" with a growing little Buddha Belly pushing the limits of my waistbands, I am truly missing it.

Sure, there have been a few haphazard short-lived frenetic spurts of training but I think they were more so due to "sloth guilt" and definitely not at all to discipline and determination.

(Hmm, well, I can't say I've completely faltered on the determination part since, looking back, I was able to complete a marathon with almost nil training ... guess that takes some sort of guts ... on second though, maybe that was plain old stupidity.)

This makes me think ...

Interesting how perception plays such a large part in things. I remember my first marathon, for which I was the best-trained of all my 12 marathons ... I feared that I wouldn't be able to finish it.

Fear of the unknown. It can break us if we let it.

There have been countless times that I could no longer endure the pain and fatigue while running a marathon but I always seem to get through it, because *I believe*. I'd be cursing at myself, once even incredibly angry at myself that I had elected to piggy-back marathons, when I ran Niagara after Hartford, only two weeks later. Ouch! No ... OUCH!!!

In that memorable race, my quad had seized up right after the half-way mark and it would not let go. I hated to have to take walk breaks but I needed the 30 or so seconds (okay, maybe longer) to try to massage out the cramp, working the muscle so hard I left my leg black-and-blue.

After I crossed the finish line, I looked at the volunteer who had put my finisher's medal around my neck with big eyes and asked her to *hug me*. And I then proceeded to shed loud tears of anguish and relief as my frustration and anger from the pain and my stupidity finally found its cathartic ending.

This weekend, I decided to give myself a kick-start to a new training regimen.

1) Saturday evening - ran 5 k in the icky hot and humid weather, tough but I got through it somehow

2) Sunday morning - ran 10 k in the cooler humid weather ... thought I was gonna d-i-e, I am sooo out of shape

3) Sunday afternoon - cycled 21 k with the kiddies, not super fast but it was still good to be on my bike again after this long training hiatus

4) Signed up for a marathon. Nothing like a race to motivate my lazy a$$ ... well, that didn't really work for Ottawa, but heck, it has in the past ... Yes, yes, I know the race is just a month away ... that's the challenge.

5) Sunday evening - cycled another 22 k, this time without the kiddies

6) Monday morning - cycled 22 k again before heading to work. I felt the weekend's furious kick-start in my legs. Ouch, lactic acid!

Now, let's see if I can keep up with this pace. I just have to figure out a way to train around the 10-12 hour work days I've been encountering ...

Birthday Story in Pictures

I couldn't handle the "need-to-move" itchy feeling in my legs any more, and knowing I'm not allowed to train, I went for a walk up and down the mountain. 8 km. It sure takes a lot more energy to walk that distance instead of run it. Grabbed some yummy Indian food from Park Ext. afterwards and was ready to fall asleep in my plate by the time I had finished it.

Here are some fun pics from my sons' birthday party. They're both summer babies so I threw one big bash inbetween their dates. How many parties will they get this year? Three from me and two from their dad. Lucky kids, but I'm a very lucky mom!

Thank you, Mr. Jonathan Clark for the amazing shots. I am always impressed by your talent.