20 miles - and still running strong!

Hello and Merry Christmas! It's hard to believe I've been at this running thing for six months now. Whew - how the time has flown! I have done quite a bit of running since I returned from Italy. On Thanksgiving morning I ran the "10K Turkey Chase" in Edgewater, MD. What a blast it was ... we ran on nature trails, up gravel hills (lotsmore than we have in Florida), down grassy knolls, around the water and by a small cheering section. What a way to start off the biggest eating day of the year.

We also had our big Girls on the Run 5K Jingle Jog. What an amazing time that was ... the girls did great! They all wore their personalized jingle bell bracelets (which we put together at the end of each lesson) and we laughed and ran the entire 3.1 miles. Their parents were so proud of them ... and so was I.

Then the following night my running friends and I ran the "Festival of Lights" 5K in San Marco. It was just gorgeous. There were carolers, spectators, a candle-lit course and Santa even stopped by to say hello. Despite the dogs, strollers, children and walkers we did fairly well and crossed the finish line uninjured!

And just a few days ago we had our longest run yet ... a 20 miler. Surprisingly, that run felt better and was easier than the 16 or 18 miler. We chatted the entire time, laughed a lot and ate an amazing breakfast at Metro Diner afterwards. I swear I do all this running for the breakfast. In fact, I began talking about what I was going to eat at mile seven. For the next two weekends we have shorter runs (5 and 7 miles respectively) ... then right after Christmas we run 23. Deck the halls with lots of running, fa la la la la, la lala la!

Below are some pictures from the Festival of Lights 5k ... enjoy!

From left to right: Kristie, me and Val

Kristie's family - Mike, her husband and their two twins - Connor and Hannah

Val and her husband Marc - so cute!

Back from Italy

Ciao! I'm back from Italy ... did you miss me? I had a phenomenal trip with my mom (and eight other mothers and daughters). We ate, drank, drove through the mountains, cooked with a professional chef and took more pictures than we know what to do with. I even got three runs in - hooray! Check out my pictures below ...

Here I am in Cortona - the town in which the book/movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" actually took place. The woman still lives there with her Italian husband.

Here's a picture of my mom making cheese with a man who I swear looks exactly like "Mario" from Super Mario Brothers.

Here I am poking the fire ... later that evening we grilled our pork chops over it. Yummmmmmm!

Now that I'm home, it's time to get back to business ... with an 18 mile run. Since it's been over a week since I last ran (due to traveling and a nasty cold) this one was particularly difficult. According to our group leader, I have lost approximately 10% of my running ability - which I could certainly feel. But thanks to my friends and their encouragement, I was able to get through it! Next week I will be home in Maryland for Thanksgiving and will be sure to get my runs in. Maybe I'll even convince my boyfriend to join me ... although I think that might be wishful thinking!! Gobble Gobble.

16 tough miles

So I guess it's fair to say we all have off days. Unfortunately for me, that day was yesterday. My 16 mile run was very difficult.

A few of us decided not to run with our Galloway group because the location was over 45 minutes away. Instead, we mapped out a route at the beach. Val, Hillary, Tracy, Sonya and I met at 6am and began our 3 hour 40 minute journey ... over the Atlantic Blvd. bridge (twice) and through the rain. To make the run fun, everyone was given a "role" ... assigned of course by me. I played the role of mascot/jester, Hillary was our guest speaker (topic of the day: interesting running health/fitness facts), Val was our inspiration, Sonya kept the perps away and Tracey was our cheerleader. But despite my role, which could have been a ton of fun, I turned into the resident old man ... I couldn't stop talking about my aches and pains. From the get-go, my body didn't feel right. At mile 3 my feet were already hurting and by mile 9, I had terrible pain in my left shin - which only got worse with every step. Needless to say, I was thrilled when the run was behind us! No worries though, I'm feeling better today and will run again on Tuesday. Hopefully the old man syndrome will be gone ... otherwise my friends may just kick me out of the group!

Look for some exciting updates in mid-November when I get back from Italy. I will be sure to include pictures from the trip, delicious recipes and also tell you what it was like running there ... which I'm sure will be amazing. Until then, ciao!

Race for the Cure

Yesterday I participated in my second official race ... the Race for the Cure. And so did my mom, dad, hundreds of my co-workers, Donna Hicken's marathon training team and thousands of other people from around Jacksonville. What a great day and great race it was! I began in the middle of the pack with my running partners Hillary, Kristie and Val. Then about ten minutes later I asked the girls a question and realized I was no longer with them. Guess I got in the zone and took off! I finished with a great time (nearly a five minute improvement from my first race, in fact).

Here are my stats
Class place: 37 out of 159
Overall place: 273 out of 1040
Chip time: 27:16
Average pace: 9:18

Below are some pictures from our fun day ... enjoy!

Here I am at mile 1.5 ... still running strong!

This picture is from after the race. From left to right - Kristie, Hillary, Val and me (what's going on with my face?!?)

This is my Blue Cross team ... my mom is on the far left in the pink shirt and my dad is behind the camera lens.

Okay - this is obviously not from the race. It's from a few nights before at a casino night for a non-profit I sit on the board of. My friend Sheila is on the far left, I'm on the far right and Reggie Hayward, a Defensive End for the Jaguars is in the middle. Wish you could have seen the bling he was wearing!

14 miles later

4:25 am Saturday my alarm went off. I was semi-asleep but knew it was time to eat breakfast in preparation for my long run. So, I ventured downstairs. However, I must have though there were two less stairs than the day before, because I fell. Landing on my knees was an interesting way to start the day. Fortunately I was okay (although today I see some funky looking bruises forming!)

An english muffin and PowerBar later I was ready to go. I was out the door by 5:25 am with water, chocolate milk and my fanny pack in hand (how nerdy for me to actually admit that I run with a fanny pack!) Because of my Magic Mile time, I graduated to a faster running group ... actually, the third fastest running group - scary! However, I didn't want to test out a whole new group leader and pace for my longest run ever. So I stuck with the Renegades (my group's name). I felt good for most of the run. It wasn't until mile 11ish that my legs started getting fairly tired and sore. By the end of the run my body had enough ... but I completed the run (and only complained a little bit) which is all that matters! 14 very long miles. As for next week, we are running the Race for the Cure. My mom and dad will be in town visiting and will also be participating. My mom is a breast cancer survivor, which makes this event even more special.

Still running, and running and running ...

Last Saturday I ran 12 miles - can you believe it?!?! I was nervous the week leading up to the run, but once we took off I felt good, strong and up for the challenge. The only problem was that I was familiar with the route, so I knew how much further we had to go. I prefer ignorance ... it makes the runs (mentally) easier! This week we only had a six mile run with our magic mile in the middle. The magic mile is a timed mile that allows our leaders to place us in the appropriate pace group. I did well - very well. Below are my three magic mile times:

August 4 - 9:20
August 25 - 8:57 (23 second improvement)
October 6 - 8:25 (32 second improvement)

Not to bad for a wanna-be runner, is it. This Saturday we will be running 14 miles ... wish me luck, I may need it!

Yet another good run

We only ran five miles today. That's right, I used the word "only." Compared to last weeks run, today's was a piece of cake! We even ran over two bridges - the Acosta and the Main Street. Unfortunately, my Ipod froze the moment we began our run - so I wasn't able to capture my data. I suppose it's better that it happened this week and not next week, when we run 12 miles. No worries though, I went to the Apple store at the mall and one of their resident geeks (oh - BTW - I heart geeks) fixed it. Woo hoo!

Bring it on!

I ran 10.1 miles on Saturday ... my longest run ever! It's hard to believe that just three short months ago I began this journey, essentially on a whim. And what a great whim it was! I feel stronger, fitter and even sleep better. Although the mileage is intimidating at times (like at 5:55 am on Saturdays right before we begin our runs), I now know it's possible. Bring it on ... oh - then let me go back to bed for three or four hours afterwards - sleep is important too!

100 miles stronger!

Things are going well ... very well! I have been running and cross-training consistently. And, last Saturday I ran 8 miles. Okay - so the first two miles was sheer torture, but I finished (and finished strong). My mom and dad, who are in town visiting, even got up in the morning with me, did some running themselves and took pictures of our jaunt. The picture of me below is at the four mile mark. And today I just pushed my total mileage since beginning running to 100 miles! This Saturday we are running 10 miles. Although I'm somewhat nervous, I have no doubt that I will finish, a little sweaty, a lot tired, but finish. Wish me luck!

The picture below is of mom and me, at 6am before the run.

And, although it's difficult to see, the picture below shows us running across the bridge - whew - what a climb!

Still a wanna-be runner

I'm thinking about chocolate, lounging on the couch and getting ready to watch the Biggest Loser on TV. But don't worry - I've been running (7.03 miles on Saturday, woo hoo) and cross-training. I am officially committed to my commitments! Tomorrow morning I'll rise and shine an hour before the sun does just so I can pound the pavement before work. You may not think I'm a wanna-be runner anymore ... but I am. Because waking up early, sweating through my sports bra and you know, that whole running thing, just aren't that fun ... yet!

Committed ... at least this week!

After my run on Saturday I became somewhat nervous ... I didn't feel strong, fast or energized. Perhaps it was due to the food poisoning. Or, perhaps I haven't been as committed to my training as I should be. So, early Sunday morning my alarm went off, I threw on my shoes and went for a run - my normal route. To my surprise, I ran the entire 3.17 miles without stopping! Then Monday rolled around and I did core training. And this morning I woke up, drove to the beach, met my running partner and ran 3.25 miles. Long story short, I'm finally on the right track and committed to the training program. My plan? Keep it up, stay focused and have a great group run on Saturday - feeling strong, fast and energized!

Longest Run Ever

Guess what? I ran 7.01 miles today ... my longest run ever! It's a huge accomplishment for me, a wanna-be runner. We also did our timed mile. Mine was 8:57 and just two weeks ago is was 9:20 - so I'm getting stronger and faster. I'm pretty exhausted, though. Yesterday I had food poisoning - so every step I took was a difficult one. So, for the remainder of the day today I'm going to relax, drink lots of water and watch some good movies on TV. Hooray for Saturdays!

I'm here!

Although I haven't updated the blog in a while, i'm still here and still running ... had ya worried, didn't I! I ran my first 5k last month and did better than expected. Finished in 32:07, ran over two bridges (whew) and finished 28th in my class out of 71. All bragging aside, my real marathon training began recently. It's a ton of fun - I swear. I think running with other people keeps me motivated - and the early mornings keep me out of trouble Friday nights :) I also signed up to be a "Girls on the Run" coach. I'll be coaching a team of 8 - 12 year olds twice a week to run a 5k in December. So, other than all this running stuff, my life is pretty dull ... just kidding!

Goal accomplished

I did it! Since last Sunday I ran a total of 10.68 miles. In addition to that accomplishment, I helped a friend and former co-worker out by "acting" in his corporate video. I played the role of a doctor (insert laughter here) who enjoyed running in her off-time (again - laughter). So, I threw my clothes on and ran for the camera. Then I was ready for my close-up. My line: "I want a challenging job in a fast-paced city." I crushed it ... I'm pretty sure I'm going to get acting gigs all over the place now. Hollywood, here I come! Anyway, back to the real running - not the fake, run for the camera and look like a doctor running. Tonight I ran a respectable 2.67 miles in 88 degree weather. And, it felt good. I didn't even think about how much I hated running - seriously - it didn't cross my mind once. Even better, I didn't feel that burning/painful sensation in my chest after I finished - you know, like something may well explode ... does that mean I'm getting better at this whole running thing? Let's hope so - because I have my very first 5k in two weeks! This weeks goal: Run 11.5 miles between 07/09 and 07/15.

New day, new outlook!

Guess what? I ran twice since being cleared by the doctor (Saturday 2.66 miles, Sunday 2.68 miles) pain free! I am thrilled to be back at it. Here's my goal of the week: wake up early before work, go running, and do cross-training on my off-days. In addition, I will run a minimum of 10 miles by next Sunday. Lofty goals? Perhaps. But you know me - I like to keep things exciting! Be sure to check out my running stats - just click on the image on the right-hand side of the screen to get all the juicy details :)

Small setback

Well, after my last post I was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately when I woke up the next morning, I knew my running "career" would have to be put on hold. I was in severe pain, limping around ... essentially, I was pretty pathetic. The pain got worse and worse until I decided it was time to see an Orthopedic surgeon for an assessment. He thought that I might need surgery based on the symptoms and said "no running until we get this cleared up." I obeyed ... begrudgingly. So, one X-ray, one MRI and nearly two weeks later I got the results. Nothing! There was no visible reason for my pain. Was it all in my head? No way. Does it feel better now that I've taken two weeks off? Absolutely (although it's still clicking like crazy). So, tomorrow I will meet my running group at 7am and get back on the horse, so to speak. Wish me luck - I think I'll need it!

New week, new goals

Today I felt good, strong and ready to run. But since my knee has been bothering me for the past week, I decided to run on the treadmill, hoping that it would ease the pain. Fortunately it did ... and it was my best run to date (hooray!) 3.09 miles - not too shabby. This week I've made a few goals for myself:

1) Wake up before work and knock out my runs
2) Run a total of 10 miles by June 24 (which, for those of you who don't already have it marked on your calendars, is the day before my 28th birthday. Yikes, I'm getting old!)

I'll keep you posted on this new, personal challenge ...

Change of plans

At about mile one today, I got very religious ... vowing to whomever was listening that I would never run at 6pm in 90 degree weather again. Never. I couldn't seem to find shade anywhere and was convinced the sun was getting closer and hotter every second. Although I am not a morning person, I think it's time to become one. So, I will wake up extra early this week (ugggg) and go running before work. Wish me luck - I think I'll need it!

Summer has arrived!

It's been a few days since my last run ... eight qualifies as "a few" right? Ok - I know for a wanna-be marathoner it's an inexcusably long break. But, I'm back! I took my stilettos off, put my sneakers on and ran a solid 2.57 miles (editors note: with what felt like a hot, wet washcloth over my face). Guess I forgot that it was summertime in the sunshine state. Let the sweaty fun begin!

Longing for a treadmill

I like goals. And charts and graphs ... but that's beside the point. So, I decided that today I would run more than yesterday. Seems fair enough. Although today at mile one (sigh) I thought I might just die! Turns out, running outside is much more difficult than running on a treadmill, in a climate controlled environment, with a TV near by, and cold, delicious water just inches away. I had baby strollers, huge flying bugs, cracks in the sidewalk and sprinklers gone awry to contend with. Despite these obstacles, I made it to 2.22 miles (goal accomplished) ... now if only I could go 24 more I'd be in good shape!

I'm a wanna-be runner

I'm officially a wanna-be runner. I have the shoes, the iPod, Nike+ and a goal of running 26.2 in February. What I don't have is the stamina, the endurance, or the love of running ... yet! So you may be asking yourself, "then why does this girl want to run a marathon?" Simple ... for my health, my family, my friends and for a great cause - the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer. Check out the website for more information. Yes, I know this is an enormous undertaking - especially for a wanna-be runner. But that's what makes this so much fun. I'll upload my data so you can track my progress, keep me honest and give me the occasional swift kick when necessary. See you at the finish line!