Recap: ING Miami Half Marathon

February 2, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

This Sunday I completed my second half marathon, ING Miami! I had a great time in Miami and the race was well organized. This was my very first trip to Miami and I already want to go back. I’m thinking about signing up for the half again in 2013. Or maybe I’ll get ambitious and go for the full. Who knows :) The course was almost entirely flat. Kind of like running on a treadmill for 13.1 miles for anyone who has ever done that. I haven’t. But someone may have out there…That’s what it felt like at some points.

Anyway, Sunday was race day and it seemed like everything that could go wrong actually did. First things first, I woke up and started getting ready and my hair clip that I love and always wear to run in just happened to break.

Next, while on the train ride to the starting line my headphones decided to break.

I needed new headphones anyway…

This just sucked. To top it off, the weather was humid and somewhere in the mid 70s upper 80s. So I was slightly over dressed and I got super hot after mile 3. I normally don’t get hot and sweaty until 5 miles in and I had to stop to go to the bathroom because I drank too much water before the race. All of this sucked. But you know what? I STILL ran the entire 13.1 miles (it was 13.2 according to my Garmin, odd but true). So I’m proud of myself and I learned a few things in the process.

1. Never do anything new on race day – I told myself I wouldn’t do this, but then I did. I wore a new shirt and sports bra that I didn’t train in, plus a new headband and I had a new arm band. Well, I chaffed terribly due to the sports bra and the new arm band. The headband worked out alright and kept sweat out of my face. No more new stuff the day of for me…

2. Fly in 2 days before the race – I flew in 1 day prior to the race. That wasn’t the best idea at all. Next time I’ll try to at least fly in on Friday night so that Saturday can be a rest day.

3. I CAN run an entire half with NO music – I did several practice runs without my iPod but not more than 10 miles. To get through the race I prayed, meditated and took in the sites. We ran past the Miami port, American Airlines Arena where the Miami Heat play, over several bridges and past the Miami Herald so there were lots of things to look at. Plus along the way bands, drumlines and dance teams lined the streets. I also made up motivational quotes along the way. My favorite: Spread your legs and RUN! Now I want a t-shirt with the saying. lol

4. Hydrate! – I do a terrible job at drinking enough water before races. I should have had more water the day before not an hour before the race.

5. Be careful not to overdress – I was over dressed for this race. I wish I had just worn a sports bra. Would have been MUCH cooler. The sun wasn’t even out but that heat was killer!

Me post race with my metal

Me with my running roommates

I’m looking at doing another half marathon or two this year. On my goals list (which I promise to share soon) I wrote down that I want to run 300 miles this year. So, I have to make that happen!

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My training experience with Vega Sport

January 30, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment
I just finished up the ING Miami Half Marathon this weekend. Before my training got started, I sampled some of the new Vega Sport products at Whole Foods. After tweeting about it, they reached out to me! I’m always up for trying new products so I was excited that the Vega team sent me a box to train with!
The packaging was pretty cool!
A little background on Vega Sport:
The founder Brandon Brazier is a professional triathlete and best-selling author on plant based nutrition. Vega Sport is 100% plant-based! So it’s great for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free dieters. I would not classify myself as any of those. But, I find that Vega and Vega Sport products do not have side effects that I occasionally experience with whey protein (stomach aches, mild breakouts). I like how each item was labeled Prepare – Sustain – Recover and the appropriate step was highlighted for each individual thing! Here are my favorite Vega Sport items:
Recovery Accelorator – Apple Berry Flavor
This smelled and tasted delicious after my workout. It made me think of strawberry shortcake. Maybe it was the smell? Whatever it was though, I really enjoyed it! The product has plant-based ingredients like ginseng and MacaSure. It also has devil’s claw, which is a herb used for muscle pain. Since I worked out late that day, I needed the energy boost from the Recovery Accelorator to stay up late and work.
The Berry flavored shake is pictured – I missed a photo op of the Chocolate*
Performance Protein – Chocolate Flavor
Let me start off by saying: this was my first time EVER trying a chocolate recovery shake. I’ve always purchased vanilla flavors.
I’m definitely glad that I decided to taste the chocolate one. It was much thicker and had a rich taste to it.
The Endurance Gel – Rasberry
This was one of my very favorites out of everything I tried. I saved the two endurance gels for long Saturday runs. I figured out the best timeto take the gel is 60 minutes into running. For me, that’s about 5-6 miles. I felt a nice boost of energy that really helped push me to continue running. The rasberry flavor was my favorite, but honestly, they both did what they were supposed to!
The Acai Berry bar is pictured
The Protein Bar – Chocolate Coconut
I loved this bar. There was something about the combination of flavors that made this one a hit for me. I want more of them. I really liked the bars because of the coconut. Everything about the taste was just RIGHT. It also kept me full until dinner.
I just noticed that Vega Sport is doing a sweepstakes. Take a look.
I’ll be back later this week with a recap of Miami! Have a great Monday.
*Disclosure: Vega sent me the products to try for free. The opinions are all my own.
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My First Race of 2012: ING Miami

January 27, 2012 By DanaJ 2 Comments

This weekend I am doing my first race of 2012! It’s the ING Miami Half.

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I have 3 races lined up for this year already! Amazingly, I’m doing one race per month so far from January-March. This one is the only half marathon. The other two are fun 5ks with friends. Maybe I should add “do one race per month” to my smart goal list? I’m still working on that and I promise to share when I’m done. :) The ING Miami is my second half marathon. I did the ING in Georgia in 2010. Since I’m working on setting goals more with everything I do, I have to put out there what I would like to accomplish on Sunday during the race. No, I’m not trying to PR. At all. I believe I finished around 2:23 for my first half. I walked a little (about .5 of a mile around #8) too because there was a hill and I stretched. So my goal for this weekend is simply to run the entire time. Hopefully, I won’t get all competitive and push myself to run extra fast. I’ve been training and the course is pretty flat!

For my race training I used products from  Vega Sport. I sampled them one day at Whole Foods in Sandy Springs. I swear the samples always do me in at Whole Foods. That’s how I get into new products. I’ve tried Vega products before but what I really liked about the Vega Sport is the taste! Pretty good. I tweeted about the products and they reached out to me about training with them. I’ll do a full review of my favorites on Monday.

Products from the Vega team

Well, I have a busy day today! Packing, working, writing, errands and a quick run. Do you have any big plans for the weekend?

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I Made Dumb Goals Last Year

January 4, 2012 By DanaJ 1 Comment
The year 2012 is here and everyone is talking about resolutions and changes to be made. Honestly, I started about 2 months ago reflecting on 2011. It wasn’t the best year of my life but it by far wasn’t the worst. I’d say the year falls somewhere in between the two and I’m okay with that. Overall, I learned many valuable lessons throughout the year. But one thing that I did recognize about last year was how I didn’t set goals. Okay, I did set goals but they were ambiguous, broad, they weren’t in writing (in one place) and they weren’t smart. In fact, they were pretty dumb. Dumb meaning, there wasn’t a plan to get them accomplished.
I entered into 2011 with general broad goals for the year since I really don’t do resolutions. Those things were:
1. Stay in shape
2. Find a new job
3. Move
4. Save $10,000
5. Blog more
Notice how broad those goals are? No details about how, what, where and when. Except #4 which was pretty straightforward despite the “how”. If that was a party invitation, I wouldn’t make it to the main event! I spent 2011 searching for and working towards things when I didn’t even know what I wanted. Trying to accomplish things that weren’t really in alignment with my goals or my life. Doing things in vain and wasting valuable time and money. Trust me, reading that makes me realize why I spent so much time confused. Yes, I accomplished several of those goals successfully and I’m proud of myself. The thing is I could have accomplished them ALL if I had made them more specific. For instance, with goal number 1, what does that mean? I did one 5k in 2011 compared to the plethora of 5ks, 10k and half marathon I completed in 2010. Define in shape? How come I didn’t make it more clear what I wanted to do? Going forward, I want to make goals with a plan. SMART goals.
I posted this photo on Instagram last week from the January Women’s Health Magazine. I also saw it in the January Essence Magazine and my friend Niki posted it on her blog today in an infographic. Obviously, if I keep seeing it everywhere there’s a lesson to be learned about how to effectively create goals.
I’m going to think long and hard about my SMART goals and vow to share them here on my blog. Stay tuned.
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Embracing 2011

December 31, 2011 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

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I thought about how best to end the year on my blog. I thought about listing the best and worst moments or doing a countdown. But honestly, those ideas just weren’t thrilling me. I know that this year has been a great learning experience and that’s what life is about. Instead of focusing on the small details that made up 2011 I found an affirmation that pretty much sums things up. It’s from The Daily Love. No matter what kind of day I’m having, I find inspiration reading emails from them anytime. I hope this helps you too.

I let 2011 go with joy.

I let 2011 go with gratitude.

I let 2011 go with acceptance.

I receive the learning of 2011 as Grace.


Happy New Year!

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What I Know For Sure vol. 3

October 28, 2011 By DanaJ 2 Comments

- There is nothing wrong with my heart. An EKG and ultrasound confirmed that.

- Having an ultra sound on my chest was not really how I pictured my first ultrasound.

- Taste of Atlanta is so fun. But it took about two days to recover.

- I just had the wildest idea: I should do a triathlon. Now I can’t stop thinking about it.

- Speaking of Taste of Atlanta, I have enough photos of all the wine I sampled (thanks to Maxine) to create an entire post. (Coming next)

- I ran into 3 women with 2 or more sons in Target. I said a silent prayer for them. Those kids were showing out!

- Sometimes the most rewarding relationships can’t be labeled. They just are.

- I know some incredibly supportive people.

- Not having clearly defined goals is detrimental to success. Seriously.

- I really dislike texting.

- Hearing “No.” = Something better is always waiting.

- I’m going to make more time to blog here. It’s one of my goals :)

- I found this great fall dress last week at Lizard Thicket. I can’t wait to wear it:

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Review: Subway Oven Crisp Sandwich

October 12, 2011 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

Preview post

I received a Subway giftcard from Klout Perks to try their new Subway Oven Crisp Sandwich. I ended up getting a foot long and eating the halves for two days as a lunch entree. I am a fan of Subway, however, I would not order this sandwich again. I felt like the chicken tasted like what it was: breaded, baked chicken. The veggie options and honey mustard tasted great. I tasted the veggies more than anything but overall on a scale of 1-10 I give the sandwich a 5. I prefer the Turkey breast to this one.

Disclaimer: I received a giftcard to purchase this sandwich. However, the opinions and reviews about the product are all my own.

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My Summer Bucket List Update

October 11, 2011 By DanaJ 1 Comment

Summer is done! I’m sad but a lot of great changes happened for me over this summer. Fortunately, I left my old job as a Social Media Specialist at a PR firm where I wasn’t happy and found a new one that I really enjoy working with FiPath! I’ll blog about that more later. I will have some new posts coming soon! I promise :) I also accomplished a few of the items on my Bucket List. Not all, but a few. Here’s a recap:

1. Get a passport - I’m going to get one this summer and I plan to use it soon.

2. Look fantastic in my swimsuit - I hung my new swimsuit right beside my bedroom door so I always have to see it when I walk out of my bedroom door right near my old vision board and I see it when I wake up every morning. I have a Vegas trip coming up in August so I will definitely be rocking my new suit there!

3. Professionally: Get to 300 connections on LinkedIn and 2,500 Twitter followers. Connect with me if you haven’t already!

4. Perform on stage at Spoken Word

5. Meet at least one new person every weekend

6. Reach my big audacious savings goal: Right now I am approximately $370.34 away I did it :)

7. Say the closing prayer at my Discipleship Group: It’s hard for me to volunteer and close out group in prayer, but it’s something I definitely want to work towards. It’s such a great feeling to pray with my group each week!

8. Start a prayer journal: I’ve heard about prayer journals for a while. Even while reading The Help, I saw that prayer journals can be a powerful tool in a person’s life. I want to use it in mine. I started this, but I need to make sure to stick with doing it more regularly

Have you accomplished anything on your bucket list lately?

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Things I Learned This Week

July 22, 2011 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

1. You can’t put a deadline on God.

2. I need to take more vacations. Not staycations, but vacations.

3. “I miss you” isn’t that hard to say.

4. We are all going through changes. My happiness is not conditional to anyone elses.

5. Seemingly bad things happen. But in hindsight, they happen for the best reasons.

6. I have neglected my prayer journal. I’m going to get back to that.

7. If you are the shit, you don’t have to remind anyone. You don’t have to brag. They just know it.

8. Not writing thank you notes for gifts is rude.

9. I would like to title this period of my life “Game Changer” because that’s what it feels like.

10. This has been the best summer I’ve had in a while.

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I Lied

July 18, 2011 By DanaJ 3 Comments

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I have an apology to make. I apologize to my readers, and to myself for being dishonest. I haven’t been 100% transparent. I know a while back I wrote about my summer bucket list. I left out one huge goal I’ve had for a long time and that would be to find a new job. I didn’t put it in because I work in social media and I didn’t want to be unprofessional. I signed no contracts or non competes stating I couldn’t tweet, blog or use LinkedIn in any capacity that I so desired. But out of respect, I didn’t make a public spectacle of things. But to keep it real I have not been happy in that role since late 2009.

Fear kept me there. Security kept me there. Sometimes things got better but overall they didn’t. I’ve been on interviews and had offers that just weren’t what I wanted. I articulated my unhappiness but nothing changed. I said I was overwhelmed, and I asked for help and nothing changed. I closed up. I sought advice from others who work in social media like The BrokeSocialite and Gyant. They understood my frustrations and encouraged me to go. I got advice from mentors, friends and other professionals who also encouraged me to leave. Even my own coworkers noticed the lack of appreciation and some even spoke up on my behalf. But I kept having doubts, and again that feeling of fear. Can I do this? So last week, something did change. Thursday was my last day. It happened in such a convoluted way I don’t even know where to begin describing it. But after it happened I felt relieved. I was tired of being in limbo and waking up every day to go to a place where I could no longer be productive. I was stressed out to the point where my eyes were looking like this:

Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but they were red from being stressed out. I’m sure there are some other directions I could take with this post and direct blame at people, address the issue of passive aggression and a host of other things. But really, that’s not needed. It’s also not professional or classy and it’s just not me. I’ll just keep all of that to myself. The point is I stayed somewhere I didn’t want to be far too long to the point where it showed. That’s my fault and I couldn’t hide it any longer. I’m not a good liar and I’m not phony. I learned a lot and I reached my potential, and now it’s time for bigger and better. What exactly that bigger and better is….I’ll share it with you.

Have you ever stayed in an unproductive environment out of fear of the unknown?

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