January 31 - 9.5 miles

The Fab 5 post-9.5 miles: Rachel, Blythe, Kelly, Caron, Laura

The Fab 5 @ Metro Diner: Kelly's first grits, Caron and Blythe tackle the 10-inch pancake (and prove it can be done), Rachel enjoys coffee.

Last night I went to an event and had snacky foods for dinner (taco dip, enough Tostitos' scoops to feed a small nation, spinach artichoke dip, apples and dip, etc.). Got up this morning after about 7 hours of sleep to 39 degrees with 52% humidity. I overdressed in a horribly mismatched wardrobe of black tights, magenta shorts, gloves, blue singlet and lightweight orange fleece and hat - by mile 4 I was burning up. According to schedule we were to run 7 miles, but the "Fab 5" decided we'd do 7 and then continue on for 3 more to total 10. The run went well - up and over both bridges (ran up both of them entirely! I remember back when that wasn't doable.). During our last three miles we were heading back and got stopped by a train. It completely ruined our fun and all we could focus on was breakfast. So, we did 9.5 miles instead. Afterwards we all went to Metro Diner...and it was great! We planned our races for the next two months and who needed to sign up for what. Kelly tried grits for the first time ("sort of like steel cut oatmeal...with cheese"), and Rachael loaded up on her favorite post-run treat: coffee. Blythe and I split a huge chocolate chip pancake and I added cheese grits and french vanilla coffee to mine. We need to replenish those 950 calories we burnt, right? Right.

January 29 - 4 miles + confirmation!

It's here, it's here!

The day started out dreary - grey and rainy - and with me sleeping 8 hours and bypassing the gym for yet another morning. (I did go yesterday - 30 min. on the elliptical/30 on the bike) I had an 8:30 meeting and brought my oatmeal and water, and was busy up until lunch so I skipped my mid-morning snack (usually a daily staple!) so after I ate lunch at my desk, I proceeded to eat anything in sight...baked Lays, goji berries, a bag of pretzels, candy, chocolate, M&Ms. If it wasn't nailed down, I ate it. I grew tired as the busy day went on and talks about the economy continued to surface. While I wanted to go home, crawl under the covers and not resurface for a week or so, I knew I should drag myself off to the gym. I did just that. Four miles in 40 minutes (HR to 169 max, and max speed 6.6 mph) and stopped to walk 4 times. I felt fine, but bored, and the left front of my shin (towards the inside) felt like it was bumped or bruised. I got home and finally checked the mail after a few days of forgetting, and my 26.2 With Donna race card confirmation arrived - so I guess this means it's almost go time! How exciting!

January 27 - 5 miles & Chatty McGee

Did not want to get up for another morning workout so I went after work (I must say I still prefer mornings). Though I ran yesterday outside, my favorite treadmill was open so I knew it was a sign that we should unite. The lady to my right was engaged in a gradual uphill climb and would jog every now and again. That's great. What's not so great is the phone call she received from her husband, or "dear," considering I am about 9 inches away from her and also wearing headphones (forgive me, I watched Oprah today). I've never understood why people carry their cell phones, blackberry — whatever it may be — on the treadmill/elliptical/bike. It's a gym! You're probably going to work out 30 minutes, or maybe 60 if you're overzealous like me. But a call can't wait until after? My phone's in the car, and whatever goes on during my hour of "me" time is sacred...including no calls. And I can hear everything you're saying! Ugh. But, despite the poor treadmill etiquette (in my humble opinion anyways) I cranked out 5 miles in about 50 minutes with about 5 walk breaks. HR got up to 172. Wore the 1223s sans arch support and felt fine. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical after for good measure.

January 26 - 5 miles & one holler

I'll admit, I keep skipping my morning workouts and opting for the evening ones. Oh well. I just did a little more than 5 miles after work and it was a cool 72 degrees (65% humidity) and breezy. Took about 5 walk breaks total. I received one holler by a man in a Saturn. I haven't been hollered at in awhile. I can't say I'm exactly flattered either.

January 25 - 14 miles & medals

The self-proclaimed "Dream Team" - Kelly, Caron, Rachel, Laura and Blythe

Posing with our favorite meteorologist, Tim Deegan!
Me and Blythe testing the Yuengling keg post-run - cheers...
Me, Donna Deegan and Blythe

Ugh, I forgot what it's like to be up at 4:45 a.m. for a Saturday morning run! And I went to bed at 11. A few of us marathon girls decided to meet with the half marathoners and do 14 miles instead of our scheduled 7, but that meant the start time was an hour earlier...6 a.m. Last night I had spiral pasta with spray butter, parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, salad and kettle honey dijon chips, and a coconut water ("more electrolytes than a banana"). Banana, and a piece of toast with cashew butter (hey, PB is recalled...I don't want samonella!) and some water at 5 a.m. The weather was brisk this morning - 44 degrees but fairly foggy. I arrived in the dark (after a gas station pit stop) to be greeted by Rachel, who handed me a huge box of Powerbar vanilla gels. No complaints there. The course was a 7-mile down and back, and we completed it twice (boring!) but it sure beat the mundane Rail Trail. Jetsetter Blythe filled us in about her high-paced week...Monday she was in Orlando for a Stein Mart commercial casting call and Tuesday she decided to buy a ticket and fly to D.C. for the day to attend the inauguration. Rachel and Laura discussed details about the Disney marathon a few weeks ago while Kelly gave updates on her wedding planning with Brad. Around mile 7 I had a strawberry banana GU. Blythe was hungry and hadn't eaten or brought food so Rachel bummed a fig newtown off a lady at a water stop, and also shared a GU with her. Later in the run Blythe and I discovered our secret love of Barbara's Puffins cereal - me, the cinnamon variety, and her the peanut butter variety. She shrieked so loudly when I mentioned Puffins that the group leader, amongst others, turned to see what the big deal was. Just cereal, no worries. The run went well and our make-shift pace leader, Betsy, had us a bit faster than usual (around 9:40-10:15 pace). We finished, received Galloway medals, and indulged in the feast that was jambalaya, a mini keg of Yuengling, bagels, Starbucks coffee, and chocolate Endurox. Rachel received a complimentary foot massage from a nice lady in another pace group who was brave enough to touch her sweaty foot.

January 21 - 6 miles

After a busy day at work — back-to-back-to-back-to...you-get-the-point meetings — I dragged myself to the gym at 5:15. It was packed. My favorite treadmill somehow opened up and I secured it, running next to someone else who was running (the best!) for the first two miles without stopping (6.3 mph). Walked 1 min., then ran another 15 minutes, walked 1 min., completing 6 miles in 58:12 in new 1223s sans inserts. Felt good. The Ted's Montana Grill for dinner went down smoothly (chili & salad) afterward in the 28-degree weather.

January 20 - 6 miles

Burrr...it was cold this morning! I went to bed at 10:30 last night, got up at 5:40 (after one snooze - I was on the brink of seeing snow for the first time ever - even if it was in a dream, ugh!), off to the gym and on the treadmill a bit past 6 a.m. (after stopping to say hi and catch up with Lisa, who'd wondered where I'd been lately, and waving to Kim and Katie upstairs) and hoped to log 5 miles. When I was near 4.5, Lisa joined me and so I did an extra mile, rounding it out at 6 miles in 59:25 with about 5 walk breaks total. I felt good, heart rate was low overall, and maxed around 180. Last night my friend concocted her famous secret family recipe meat sauce and I had wheat pasta with the spaghetti sauce, salad, and tons of garlic bread. So that extra mile helped me burn off one of the many pieces I consumed. Oh, and did I mention ice cream for dessert? Ahh, I love running.

January 19 - 3 (walked) miles

Know what can be harder than running 20 miles? Walking 3 miles. It was a gorgeous day again so I went for a walk, but it was torture. I wanted to jog - run - sprint - anything other than walk! To walk 3 miles in 46 minutes when I could have run more than 4 miles in that time was killing me. But it's a cross-train day, not a running day, so I made myself walk (then went and rode the bike and did the elliptical...truth be told, I feasted well last night on a low-country boil with crab legs, huge shrimp, sausage, onion, corn on the cob, hush puppies and corn bread. And ice cream. Yikes!).

January 18 - 5 miles

About to test out my final pair of 1223s!

My ice burn one week later...healing nicely?

59 degrees, 58% humidity, winds 14 miles per hour, 0 clouds in the sky - PERFECT running weather. Shorts, t-shirt, visor, and a huge smile. I decided to break in my final pair of New Balance 1223s in on a brisk run. It went well. Did 5 miles with about 5 one-minute walk breaks in 48:45. Oh and I'm also happy because I have a massage today at 4. Finally, it's been weeks. My IT band will be thankful.

January 17 - Sleeping in

I finally was able to sleep in - until 8:30 too! - today instead of waking up at 4:40 a.m. to eat breakfast and hydrate, then rush off to join the group at the Rail Trail at 6. Weather.com says it's 37 degrees "feels like 29" as of 8:25 a.m. I can't imagine just how chilly it was when the team embarked in the dark middle-of-nowhere Rail Trail 2+ hours ago. However, I do commend those people who showed up and wish them the best today as they tackle 26 long miles. What an accomplishment! After already completing two 20 milers and one 23 miler, seriously, I am so ready for Feb. 15 to be here already and this marathon to be run!

January 16 - Solo 20 miles

Weather for the start of my 20 mile run...

That's right - 20 miles in 3:46:27 ... in 39 degree weather.

Last night I attended Jacksonville Magazine's "Best of Jacksonville" party and chowed down on the area's top cuisine. Not exactly healthy and not exactly small quanities. Since I was invited last minute I had to nix my planned 5 mile run, meaning I hadn't run since Tuesday (5 mi) and that was my only run of the week. Bad. So today at work I realized that it'd be very chilly for tomorrow morning's 26-mile run. Everyone's told me not to do the full 26 prior to the marathon anyways but I've been going back and forth on how many miles I should do this weekend, since it's 4 weeks out. I decided I'd run this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning, so it'd be slightly warmer and it'd be over with. Breakfast was coffee, cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries and a yogurt, and lunch was cinnamon Puffins cereal, a banana with lots of peanut butter - and two bottles of water. I took off in running tights, shorts (with Hammerfuel pinned to each side), long sleeve dri-fit shirt, hat, and trusty gloves and wore my older New Balance 1223s with inserts that were giving me issues a few weeks ago. The goal was to do 18-20 miles, if possible. I told myself I "had" to do at least 10. Around mile 4 I found a new park and ran in to check it out and use the water fountain. For about 13 miles I ran in an upscale neighborhood (with water fountain) and made my own loops and course. At miles 9 and 14 I had a Hammergel - first the banana then a raspberry, and since it was so cold it was very hard to squeeze them and they were more like thick toothpaste than maple syrup in consistency. As I trekked through the neighborhood that reminded me of Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane, I stopped a lady to ask how to get out of the neighborhood when I got lost - all the houses and streets started looking the same. When leaving the neighborhood I was at 16 miles, and was about a mile or so from home. I ran past home, grabbed the orange Gatorade (at this point the Gatorade was like pure bliss on my lips - it beat out the feeling of consuming a delicious dessert, it was just SO good at 17 miles) I put out for myself 3+ hours ago, and finished the 20 miles - in agony. My left IT band HURT badly. It was hard, and extremely sensitive to the touch. The pain arrived in full force around mile 15  and I felt stiff. And the outer part of my left foot was tender/sore again. Overall, I stretched well after but we'll see if I can move tomorrow..should be interesting. Despite the pain, I had a wonderful ice bath, hot shower and delicious dinner out - garlic bread, Greek salad and pizza (green pepper, mushrooms and eggplant, if you must know!). Mmmm.

January 13 - 5 miles & a "sweet" treadmill neighbor

My alarm clock went off this morning, and I got up. It was dark, rainy and dreary outside, and I'd much rather be in bed than on a treadmill, so I went back to sleep. (this happened yesterday too since I was still sore, and I never went to the gym after work either) When I got up I was stiff so I iced my calves and IT band and popped two Aleve for good measure. Today I followed through, heading to the gym after work (unlike yesterday, oops!), and completed five miles in slightly less than 51 minutes on the treadmill. The first mile I still felt that my calves were still tight, as were the sides of my shin. I stayed around 6 mph for the most part, and my HR stayed around 150-160, before I gradually increased speed to 6.6 mph. I felt good and was moving right along. When I got on the treadmill I noticed a heavy mothball smell radiating from one of my two treadmill neighbors, but it quickly disappeared as one of them departed. The other had what appeared to be a candy (yes, candy) wrapper on the treadmill. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, hoping it was a coughdrop or something. I didn't want to be too nosy and stare. After a few minutes went by, she unwrapped another wrapper and shortly thereafter the smell of cinnamon wafted through the air. Cinnamon discs -- on a treadmill!? Isn't that a choking hazard anyways? That was a first. So, aside from the first 3 minutes of walking, I stopped every 10 minutes to walk. HR got to 172 max. I made sure to stretch well after.

Lesson learned....

Ow.

Owwwwww.

After my 16 mile run yesterday I iced my left leg, near my knee and IT band. I know I'm supposed to keep the cover on the ice pack but it just didn't feel that it was cold enough or helping, so I removed it then crossed my leg under my other leg and was typing away, not keeping track of time. I got up to get the phone (probably 30 minutes later) and had to peel the ice pack off my leg. Where it was attached was hard, and bright red and puffy. I've never seen snow so I don't know how frostbite works, and I certainly had no idea you could get "burned" from ICE. That just seems backwards. But it hurts. Well, the proof is in the pictures, apparently...

January 10 - Solo 16 Miles

About to embark on my solo running conquest...

Finished! Loved the watch. 16.04 miles in 2:55:49.

Was supposed to do 7 with the group this morning but it was across town and last week's 8 dragged on, so when the alarm went off, I went back and forth for a few before finally going back to sleep for another hour and a half. This was my first group run I've set out to attend and then not gone to. I got up, had some toast w/ cashew butter, and hit the door around 8:15 a.m. (44 degrees, 90% humidity). Hid a Gatorade in the bushes for later, turned the Garmin on and took off.  I glanced down to see I was running way too fast - 9 minute pace - when the group is supposed to be at 10:15 or so. So I tried to slow down and tried to walk every 3 1/2 minutes or so for a minute. I ran to the Town Center, past all of the stores, into Panera Bread around mile 4 for a quick cup of ice water, then ran past my friends' Amanda and Coler's apartment (just wanted to see if they were up walking the dog, but they weren't), then decided to continue on to UNF where I went to college. Had a bag of Luna Moons around mile 6. On the way, in running past PetsMart, I saw my old college math professor. Very random! I headed towards UNF where my co-workers, Kostas and Jin, would be playing tennis so I ran to say hi and to grab a water or Gatorade. Kostas said if I stayed to play tennis he'd drive me home after. I explained I had run 7 miles already and wasn't finished. I kept going, back out of UNF, through the town center (I had done about 9.3 miles - the equivalent to the Gate River Run 15k - in 1:42) and headed towards home. Around mile 8 I tried the vanilla Hammergel and it was pretty good, like warm runny cake icing. I stopped in the Daily's gas station for water, then knew I was ready for the homestretch. I ran by my house, grabbed the Gatorade which tasted like pure deliciousness  by this point at mile 14, and kept going. I ran a loop in a neighborhood then came back, finishing 16 miles in 2 hours, 55 minutes. My new shoes were fairly comfortable but left hamstring towards knee was super stiff again.  I did an ice bath though the water was too warm, and showered and ate. I then iced my left knee/IT band for too long and with the big ice pack directly on my skin (apparently a no-no), earning myself frostbite for the first time ever. OUCH!

Unveiling the Garmin & missing a shot at fame?

Finally opening my Xmas present: Garmin Forerunner 405!

Where to begin -- seriously?

Tonight was the night. I finally set up the Garmin GPS running watch after it sat in its shiny new box begging for me to use it for a month. Technology can be so overwhelming to me sometimes. (it's happily charging as I write this) The goal is to try it out tomorrow morning. It's a clunker and will definitely take over my wrist, but I'm excited to know my pace and distance. Despite being horrendous at math I love data and statistics. Anything to keep my mind off the fact that I really have to run 26.2 miles in a month.

When I got home tonight I had a message on my home answering machine. It was from a reporter at the local newspaper who was collecting stories from people like me for the 26.2 With Donna Race. How cool. She wants to feature me! However, my smile fell when I heard "please call me back as soon as you can - my deadline is today." Too bad I haven't been home all day and I didn't get the message until 8:50 p.m.  I was a reporter in the past and know how deadlines are, so I'm sure that story is done and on the presses. Darn it. But my fantastic little project/"first time marathon" blog did make it onto the 26.2 With Donna Web site!

Also want to say good luck to my pals running in the Disney Marathon in Orlando on Sunday - I am SO proud of you...WOW! Laura especially, my running buddy, as it's her first. I am very proud of my co-worker and friend (and fellow Galloway girl) Audra, who will also tackle her first marathon at Disney with her soon-to-be-hubby, Andy. And Rachel, the old pro, my running advisor - you're a champ and will do just fine!

January 7 - 5 miles

After taking yesterday off, I couldn't decide if I wanted to pull myself out of bed this morning or not and last night I had Cheesecake Factory for dinner, yum. I deliberated, then got up around 5:40 a.m. for my first early morning run of the new year, and headed to the gym. Swiping my gym card, I noticed the "SORRY" sign. Apparently the air conditioning was broken. How fun, considering it's already a very humid morning since we're supposed to get a lot of rain later. But, somehow, someway my beloved treadmill was open -- some sort of sign that I needed to run. So, with new shoes on for test run #2, I hopped on and did 5 miles in 49:24. My heart rate saw 186 for the first time in awhile. I walked every mile at least once. I felt good. Got up to 7.6 mph.

January 5 - 7.75 miles

Self portrait, post 7.75 miles!

Testing 0ut the new kicks -- New Balance 767s

I didn't wake up for the gym this morning so I ate lunch (water, deer sausage, string cheese, carrots, and a Reese's peanut butter cup) at my desk and decided to run after work since it'd still be light out. Since I hadn't run outside by myself in ages, I wasn't sure which route I'd take - I had a few options, depending how I felt. I did the .8 mile loop on the way out, and then could choose between the 4.5 mile, the 7 mile, or the 3 mile. The 4.5 would have me cross traffic, the 3 seemed too short, so I went with the longest. Around the 3 mile mark I saw a quarter on the ground, and decided I'd pick it up on the way back if it was still there. (it wasn't) The run went surprisingly well and I only stopped to walk a few times, but ran the majority of the way. At the 4.3 mile mark I stopped into Tropical Smoothie for a cup of ice water, then continued on. Overall I did about 7.75 miles in 80 minutes. It was 73 degrees, 55% humidity. I tested out my new New Balance shoes (I had only logged 1 mile in them thus far) and they felt good, my left foot didn't hurt. Hard to believe I've been training since July and I'm already in my third pair of running shoes!

January 3, 2009 - 100th Blog Post & 8 mile run

On the scavenger hunt - group 3 "Crazy Soles"

Kelly and Blythe are on the left, Rachel's front left in blue, I'm in the middle in blue, Jennifer's up front in pink and Laura's hiding in the back right

The first run of the new year went okay. Last night had sushi with friends for dinner (seaweed salad, salad w/ ginger dressing, volcano roll, green dragon roll, some gyoza, and some sweet potato tempura) coupled with three freshly baked and gooey chocolate chip cookies with rock road ice cream later for dessert. In bed at 11:30, up at 5:50 and did not want to go run, could have slept forever. Oh well. Didn't leave much time to get to the beach by 7. Quickly ate a piece of peanut butter toast and a few sips of water. Wasn't able to "go" which I hoped wouldn't be an issue. Decided to try out the new Nike compression knee-length pants. Was not a fan. Also wore my new Under Armour t-shirt, but it was very misty and humid (about 60 or 65 degrees but so misty). Today the groups embarked on an 8 mile run but there was a twist. We'd be participating in a scavenger hunt. Some groups dressed up in funky clothes, and one's group members had pink sports bras and big lacy pink bras over their clothes. Our group leader had red, white and blue shorts, knee socks, and a Rocky t-shirt. Donna was dressed as a schoolgirl. I ran with group 3 (my old group) but we were constantly stopping and starting and we had only gone 3 miles in about an hour. The weather, and last week's super long run, made a lot of us cranky and just wanting to get the 8 over with. By the halfway mark, Rachel, Laura, Kelly, Blythe, George and I decided to bypass the bathroom break with the group, along with the scavenger hunt/picture taking, and keep going (we continued to do our 3 1/2 to 1 run/walk ratio).