Just Plodding Along

Tomorrow I am off to run the Scottsboro half marathon in Alabama. I am going with one of my best running friends Nicole. We are truly insane. Run all the races!!!! I have not run since Sunday's marathon. Though I have gone to the pool twice to pool run and swim laps. Swimming is so exhausting. I can run for an hour no problems. Try to swim for an hour and I am exhausted, hangry and in need of a nap. My tendinitis is feeling better so I am hopeful that I will be back to 100% soon.   Another thing that makes me exhausted...working retail four days in a row. I really like my job and it is fun to nerd out on running stuff but for some reason this week I have had my fair share of extra demanding/ crazy people. I seriously do not know how I worked a full time job before. I guess to be fair it wasn't in retail but still. It is funny what we get used to.   I have been walking longer with my best dog friend Max since I have a lot of free time in the morning now...

The Georgia marathon was a ton of fun. I got to go with two runner friends, Nicole, this was her first marathon, and Kelcey, who had just run the weekend before at the Shamrock marathon, and then there was me of course with my bum tendon. We were not really sure how the marathon would go but we all figured we get to the finish line at some point.  On Saturday afternoon we struck out from Columbus and made our way to Atlanta and went directly to the expo. The expo was a decent size. Bigger than the Birmingham expo, a lot smaller that the Chicago one sooo maybe average size. After picking up our numbers we wandered around to see what goods we could find and free samples to try. We spent about an hour and a half there, probably the perfect amount of time. Afterwards we checked into our hotel, the Quality Inn whose quality was questionable (no air conditioner, elevator was scary) but was on the cheaper side and the only available option by the time I booked and it ended up only be...

This weekend is I am very excited to run this because I get to run it with two very amazing and fun runner friends! It is sure to be an amazing time. Now since I have this going on a little posterior tibial tendinitis from my flat foot/ need to run all the miles coupled with this  holy hills I am thinking this race will be a bit on the slower side. Way back when I registered for this race I was like I will PR at this race. Dumb. Then I found Albany and PR'd because normal people do not pick the most hilly marathon ever to try and PR on. Besides a 26 mile tour of Atlanta with awesome peeps I have decided this marathon will be a great opportunity to try out the items I want to wear/ drink/ eat when I run the 50K in the beginning of May. So packing the Hokas....they might need their own bag since they are the size of a small vehicle. Trying some calf sleeves and compression shorts. Gonna give Cerasport in my hand held a try. Of course I need a sparkly visor. And ...

This weekend was super fun! I got to pace my friend Amanda to a 5K PR by like a whole minute or something crazy like that. She is pretty tough and hung in there even though I am sure she was contemplating how to trip me or shove me off the bridge for part of the time because I would not ease up. But I know she is super awesome so bam goal obtained there! It always feels so good to see other people reach their goals. In other exciting news she signed up for her first half marathon in June! I know she is gonna rock the training and the race. My awesome running friend Nicole also got a new PR and placed in her age group. Whoop! Whoop! Fantastic race all around. I love being surrounded by all this running greatness! This Sunday I am running the Georgia marathon with Nicole and our friend Kelcey who ran the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon yesterday. We are some crazy marathon fools. I have decided that I don't have any real goals for this marathon (I mean finish is always a goal). I ...

Exciting news! I was interviewed by the Lifestyle Accountability Show  about healthy living. To hear what I have to say or if you have ever wondered what I sound like...go check it out ! There are many awesome podcasts interviewing all kinds of healthy living people...including people who actually know what they are talking about so check out the site! In other news I have hurt my foot and have not run since Wednesday..... and it is really starting to make me mad and frustrated. Just freakin feel better foot. I ran 100s of miles to get ready for the marathon. Go out for seven miles and bam this happens. I am not amused. But on the upside it finally motivated me to go get a massage. And it was the best massage of my life!!! If you are in the Columbus area and need a massage go see Marlena . She is at Elements. Trust me you will feel a million times better about life. Instead of running I have been doing pilates, lifting weights and doing yoga so at least I have not thrown in ...

I present to you the final member of our awesome Smoky Mountain Relay team Good Girls Gone Trail. Hi! I'm Dana. I'm way super excited to be a part of this team! Running is pretty new to me, or at least the consistency and sport of it. I never ran in high school unless it was some sort of punishment for missing notes or steps in Marching band. I was inspired by a friend a few years ago as she was training for the NY Marathon. She came to visit me from California and had a 9-mile run planned while she was here. I was 8 months pregnant at the time, and once I gave birth and had clearance to exercise again, I decided to give running a try. During my first planned run, I barely ran for 30-second before feeling as if my heart was gonna beat out of my chest. I thought about giving up, and had that moment that many people that I know have. "Running just isn't for me." However, I couldn't seem to let it go. I kept at it, and soon found myself being able...

It is always weird after a marathon. I am always a little lost. One because I like to take several days off after. Some people can just jump right back into it but I am too injury prone for that. So this gives me a weird amount of time to get into trouble. I mean I could cross train I guess but instead I just eat a lot and catch up on books and TV and act like my legs don't work. So after training for weeks and weeks, in the rain, at 5a.m. with the singular focus on this one race when it is over it feels a little empty.  Luckily I won't be lost for too long because one I have another marathon coming up on the 23rd. With Albany I was all set to go out and run hard and excited to see what I could do. With Publix I am all set to go out and have a great time running with friends up and down the hills of Atlanta. No real goal with that one....well to finish. It is still 26.2 very long miles. And it is time to start training for the Smoky Mountain Relay . My excitement level fo...

First things first....NEW PR. Yeah Baby. A double digit PR at that. I will take it. Official time 4:28:59. Not my A goal but I am proud of what I did that day and feel I gave everything I had to give on that day. I thought I might wake up the day after or today and feel like I could have done more. But nope still super excited about my new PR!  When I crossed the finish line the first words out of my mouth as I stood hunched over with my hands on my knees was "God I hate marathons". I do. I really, really do. But I also love them. I think because, using the words of first time marathoner Patrice, it never fails to serve up a nice big piece of humble pie at some point. 26.2 miles is a long freaking way and I don't think running a marathon will ever be a walk in the park for me. I always have a point somewhere along the course where I regret the very poor life choice I made to run a marathon. But then I finish and there is really nothing like the feeling of finishing a...