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!

Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: , , , ,

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.
Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: , , , ,

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?

Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: , , , ,

Summer Bucket List

June 8, 2011 By DanaJ 1 Comment

I’ve been tweeting about it for weeks. But I finally sat down and made a list of realistic goals for Summer 2011. Honestly, I have to admit that writing goals down is rather new for me. The best part about journals, blogs and even tweets is the measurable progress that can be made. The unofficial end of summer is Labor Day 2011 and I’ve seen that the official end is September 23rd or Autumn Equinox. So, in terms of an end date to my goals, I give myself a deadline of September 23. And the beginning of summer is Tuesday, June 21st! Which means I’m off to a head start in trying to finish everything.

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

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.

Do you have any goals for this summer? What’s on your list?

Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: , , , , ,

Life Goals

November 16, 2010 By DanaJ 5 Comments

At church right now we are going through a series where we create a list of our 100 life goals. I’ve never considered making a life goal list this long and detailed in my life. We are entering into our second week of this series. Honestly, this has been challenging for me. During the first week I avoided the notebook altogether. Out of sight, but never out of mind. I can’t stop thinking about this list. About things I have achieved that I’ve always wanted to, and about all of the things I haven’t achieved but my heart desires for my future.

I can’t stop thinking about how not making this list will really hinder me from continuing to grow. Right now I feel stuck in one place. But with some focus on my life goals I know I will be motivated to move. Not having these goals on paper in front of my face is almost it’s own form of self sabotage. To get started, I have shared 10 of my goals below, and I crossed off some that I have achieved and listed others that I desire to.

1. Run a half marathon

2. Get a passport and use it to travel at least 4 places

3. Inspire someone

4. Get married

5. Go camping

6. Graduate college

7. Get a championship ring

8. Get paid to speak

9. Reach out to my former mentor to let her know she changed my life

10. Speak at my alma mater

Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: , , , ,