It’s been a bit busy (read: at the beach) here in Miami, but I wanted to post a few pictures from our adventures so far!
Rachelle, me and Emily at packet pick-up!
There was so much going on at the expo!
And we saw Ryan Hall! *inspired*
It was a great start to our race experience in Miami! And the weather has been phenomenal! Upper 70′s? Yes please!
More to come later!
-daph
I’m one of those people who can just eat, and eat, and eat, and eat alllllll afternoon. So, in an attempt to curb my inner-fat kid, I’ve decided to plan for healthy & filling snacks. That way, when 3pm rolls around, I’m not just reaching for the animal crackers and popcorn in the kitchen. For my mid-afternoon snack today, this is what I had:
A PRO Bar, candy cane and applesauce. Yum 
I’ve gotten really into PRO Bars. They’re delicious, full of yummy (and real!) ingredients, AND they keep me full. I’m also obviously into the candy canes. Since we’re in the post-Christmas season, all holiday items are 75% off. That means boxes of candy canes for $0.42! FORTY-TWO CENTS!
I’m clearly not going to say no to that!
42-cent candy canes! How could I say no?
…but I may have gone a little bit overboard. Whoops!
Two more sleeps until I arrive in warm & sunny Miami! (i should totally start packing now)
-daph
I could start off complaining how looooong yesterday was, but that’s mostly false. You see, the federal govt had a 2 hr delay, and thus my office did too ( I dont work for the fed, but we follow their weather closings). My day started at 9am, when i begrudgingly rolled out of bed. I will say, that I think I was a better person yesterday because of it! I’m all for 2-hr-delays EVERYDAY!
I actually did a good amount of work yesterday (but never can accomplish enough), so I’m pretty pleased with that. Around 630pm, I shut down my computer and headed down to the gym in my office building. This gym is creepy beyond belief, but it’s still a free gym with a treadmills, ellipticals, a bike, stair steppers and free weights. Daphne can’t say no to free!
The plan was to get a good 5 miles in on the treadmill. I decided to use the treadmill for 2 reasons : 1) so when my knee starts to hurt, I can hop off immediately without worrying about having to walk home in the cold/dark 2) to get my body used to running in warmer temperatures. The second reason seems legit, if I was in full-on racing condition. Which I’m not. I’m just mostly in denial that I cant run more than 5 miles. Life is so hard.
Anyhow, I hopped on the treadmill, and only managed to make it 2 miles before I had to stop because of tightness in my shin/calf area. I stretched (well tried to, that area is sort of hard to get) and tried hopping on the other treadmill. I figure that maybe it was banked or something (because those treadmills are ooooold) so the next one would be better. But it wasn’t. 
I was only able to go for about 5 more minutes before I called it quits. I already have one problem I’m fighting, not ready to deal with another. So I finished up with 25 minutes on the elliptical. Not my ideal workout.
Has anyone else experienced tightness on the side of the shin? What did you do for it?
Not the best workout ever. Also, not the best picture of me either.
I trudged home, disappointed and hungry, and quickly warmed up dinner. It was leftover pasta with tempeh. (too hungry for a picture, sorry!) I will admit, I was hesitant to try the tempeh, but I really ended up liking it. The one I bought was already seasoned, but I’ve heard that it takes seasoning well. Then, because I still felt bad for myself, I had 4 oreos and milk. I like to think that the oreos are cancelled out by the goodness of consuming milk.
While I’m dining, I get this picture text from sister JoAnn-y.
Joey keeps checking to see if it's snowing
Apparently Joey (my nephew) is obsessed with snow (from our recent 1inch snow fall) and keeps checking the window for “no” (snow). Oh Joey, so silly you are.
And now, Lindsay from Running The Windy City tagged in me in her 11 Random Things Post!
The Rules
1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set out for you in the post you were tagged in
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer in a post
5. Tell the people you tagged them on their blog
6. You have to tag 11 people, not just tag the people reading this…
11 Random Things About Me
Lindsay’s Questions
1. What is your current food obsession? Oatmeal and tempeh! But not together!
2. What is your favorite movie? Should I be embarrassed to say Bring It On?
3. How do you like to spend your free time? Happy hour?
4. Why do you blog? To hold myself accountable for running and sticking to my training plans! And to get more involved in the running/healthy living community
5. Do you have any pets? Not with me in DC, but at home i have a cray dog named Sasha
6. Sweet or savory? SWEET, for sure!
7. What is your favorite place that you’ve traveled and why? Haiti, because my family is from there, and there’s so much more to the country than what the media shows you.
8. If you could have lunch with any celebrity who would it be and where would you eat? Shalane Flanagan and we’d go to a burger joint (#runnerd)
9. What is one thing you can’t go a day without eating? Candy!
10. What is your favorite t.v. show? How I Met Your Mother
11. What was your favorite thing to do as a child? Climb the tree in the front yard
My Questions
And now I tag…
Stacie @ Racy Stacie
Jessica @ Sushi and Sit-Ups
Julia @ C’est La Vie
Carly @ Carly Bananas
Hope you had a SUPER Monday, and your Tuesday is going even better! 3 days until I go to MIAMI!!
-daph
Ahh, so Monday morning has arrived again. Hopefully we can all say that we had a great weekend. I can certainly say that I did! Quick recap:
Friday:
Sadly, I wasn’t terribly exciting. The Capital Weather Gang kept tweeting about the impending winter weather. The DC area was to expect a mix of snow, sleet and some freezing rain. At first, I was determined to go out anyway. I mean, I’m young, vibrant, so a little sleet can’t stop me! But as the evening wore on, I realized how warm and comfy I was at home. So eventually, I made the decision to stay home, and avoid the sleet, ice, snow. Plus, I’m clumsy enough after a few drinks. Throw some ice in the mix, and its a disaster waiting to happen. PLUS, I decided it was a great time to get some laundry done. So all in all, Friday night was a good productive night at home.
View from my window of the winter weather
Saturday:
Got up bright and early to make it to my parent’s home, and then up to Baltimore. For some reason, I always forget that Metro is NOT a good option on the weekends. I walked to the Eastern Market station, only to be greeted by a 15 min wait for the next train. I’m not the most patient person, so this annoyed me right away. I got even more annoyed when I finally arrived at Metro Center to transfer to the red line, only to realize I had to wait 10 min for a train. Doesn’t Metro know I hate waiting?!
FINALLY arrived home, said hello to Marie and Joe (mother and father), JoAnn and Joey (sister and nephew), and Sasha (crazy, crazy dog). Then headed to Bmore (why be less?!). Kevin’s brother and his wife (his sister-in-law?) just had a new baby girl, so we were going to peep into the hospital and say hello to baby Raygan Lynn.
She is so adorable! She slept the entire time we were there, just laying there swaddled in her blankets. Made me jealous, considering how cold and icy it was outside! We couldn’t stay for very long, because Kevin had to meet some friends for dinner. So we said our goodbye’s and headed back to his house in Baltimore. While he went to dinner, I stayed in with the intent on doing some work. Instead, I napped. For like 2 hours. It was great!
The rest of Saturday night we just hung out with some of Kevin’s friends. It was very relaxed and chill, the perfect end to a pretty stressful, back-and-forth day.
Sunday:
The day begin mentally prepping for the Ravens vs. Patriots game. I’m mostly a Redskins fan, but since their season usually ends early, I gladly support Kevin and the Ravens. A few friends came up to Baltimore, and we headed to Federal Hill to find a place to watch the game. We eventually settled in at the Cross Street Market with tons of other Ravens fans. The energy inside that place was great! Not to mention the 32oz beers for only $6! It was a great place to watch, and the Ravens def played a really good game. Sadly, the game did not end the way we wanted (and maybe tomorrow I won’t be as disappointed in Billy Cundiff), and we all packed up and headed back to DC.
The rest of my evening involved more football (49ers vs Giants) and the following items:
Oreos, "The Stick", and my resistance band
I did my normal hip & leg exercises and some ab work, followed by stretching, then massage stick. The stick was painful (as per usj) on my IT band, but I soothed it with thoughts of the oreos and milk to come. Also, the news of today’s 2 hour delay (courtesy of the Fed Govt) helped!
I will return to running this evening, for somewhere between 4 and 5. And I think I’m going to pick up that knee strap and test it out too. So desperate to not be broken anymore!
I hope everyone had a great weekend too! Did you enjoy Sunday’s football games? Did your team win?
-daph
Always the famous last words, right? Well, after being roped into going to happy hour yesterday, I told myself, “just one drink.”
The original plan was to leave work around 5:30, go home and change, and then head to the run with the Striders. A day of minimal productivity changed that plan to: leave work around 6:30 or 7, go home and run on The Mall. Then the persistence of my co-workers changed my plan to: go to happy hour for just one drink, 1 hr max, and then go home and run. Peer pressure, gets me every time.
So we get to happy hour, and as I’m preparing to order a beer, a Manhattan is immediately handed to me. Apparently someone ordered it, and decided it was too strong. So obviously the next thing to do is to force Daphne to drink it. Pressure from co-workers and your boss can do a lot of damage when it comes to drinking. At that point, everyone figured my PM running plans were out the window (I kinda did too). Eventually I finished it (yes, I was starting to feel tipsy), and at that point it was 8:30. I seriously spent like 15 min deciding if i should stay and hang out with them, or go home and run like a good little runner. Meanwhile, I was chomping down on the calamari, fries and other goodies that were being passed around. Finally around 9:00, I made the decision. Going home to run! So I hopped on the Metro, and got home as quickly as possible.
Upon arrival chez moi, I quickly applied KT Tape, changed, and prepared to head out the door. I will admit, there was def some hesitation because of the cold and the current time.
Hands down the latest I've ever left for a run! (except for Ragnar & HTC)
But, I just decided to go out and only “commit” to 20 minutes. If I felt cold (or still boozy) then I could turn around after 10 minutes. I’m happy to say, I finished the entire 4.35 mile run! I did learn a few things along the way:
By the time I got back, stretched and rolled out the necessary spots, it was basically 11:00pm and i was huuuuuungry. 11:00pm is a scary time for a hungry person for 2 reasons : 1- everything has just closed (goodbye Good Stuff Eatery, goodbye SweetGreen), and 2- it’s waaaaay too late to begin thinking of dinner ideas. I needed something PRONTO.
What's more instant than breakfast?
Enter oatmeal, apples and greek yogurt (for a little added protein). All finished off with a Mango Tango smoothie. And what’s even better, is that my roommate came home, and had a bowl of cereal for dinner! GMTA!
All in all a great day. And just in case you’re wondering, no verdict yet on the KT Tape. I tried one taping method, but will try out another on my run this weekend. Still staying positive!
-daph
In the past 3 weeks, I have come to realize the the knee pain I’ve been feeling for the past 3 MONTHS is in fact due to my IT Band. I’m not a doctor, so I”ll let Runner’s World explain to you exactly what’s going on. So, yeah, that’s happening, and it sucks.
Typically, the best thing to do for ITBS is to rest, ice, rest, and not prepare for a half marathon in a few weeks. But I’m not typical (and I have a half marathon in less than 2 weeks now!). The inter-webs have been my best friend as I search over and over for fixes (quick and slow, but mostly quick) to this ITBS drama. So far I’ve come up with 3 good options : foam roller, knee strap, KT Tape.
It’s actually really hard to follow the videos, but this was only attempt numero uno. So there’s hope that I’ll get better. I’m excited to test it out on my run tonight! Fingers crossed that it works/helps! All I know is that i MUST make it to the finish line of the ING Miami Half Marathon! The medals are supposed to be super cool this year!
Since I also experience some pain in my right foot from Plantar Fasciitis, I used the KT Tape for that too. Much, much easier to apply to the foot, and I certainly felt the tension right away. Very excited about the possibilities with KT Tape/ my future at the Olympics!
Go Team USA!
On a very random note, while writing this post I heard this song by a one Bruno Mars. Which obviously reminded me of a certain 2-year-old nephew that loves to sing it in the car. He’s so funny!
Yeah, I was trying to give him a nice solid fro
-daph
Tonight was my first night back at the City Sports Run Club in over a month. So, you can imagine my shock and surprise when I arrive and there are about 30 people all ready to run! I saw many, many familiar faces, so I was still excited to be back and ready to run (sort of…). We stepped outside for the obligatory CS group picture, which obviously took a while with such a large group. That was when I realized this run was not going to be easy. The wind was blowing. HARD. When it’s super windy, I usually opt to stay indoors and do a comparable workout like a 20 2 minute ab workout, stretching and double-fisting beers. But, peer pressure convinces me to run quite often, and it didn’t fail this time.
I will say, I am glad I ran. Aside from the wind, the weather was great – it was around the mid-50′s (crazy, i know!) and clear. Lovely night. AND, we ran around the Washington Monument, past the WWII Memorial and past the White House. It was one of those runs that make me glad to live in DC. Plus, I didn’t have to knock down dodge any tourists coming up 15th street!
Run Club group shot during the warmer days of summer
This run was also great because IT WAS COMPLETELY PAIN FREE! I’ve been struggling with some IT Band pain, and with the ING Miami Half Marathon quickly approaching, I’ve been in sort of a panic. I know this is terrible, and I should slapped on the wrist for this, but I just need a quick fix. I need something to get me through those 13.1 miles, and then after that I will take the appropriate time to heal. Which is perfect, because after Miami, the race calendar is empty! (read: please offer race suggestions that are not sold out)
*Fingers crossed* that my next run is pain free too!
Welcome, welcome to the CandyCoatedRunner! I’m brand new to the blogging world, but I’m hoping to share some of my experiences, and hear all about yours! I love running, and usually have an upcoming race on the calendar. In addition to my minor interests in running and candy, I’m also passionate about international development, traveling, seriously good food, and even better drinks (okay, the drinks don’t have to be that good to get my attention).
Currently, I’m training for the ING Miami Half Marathon in Miami (in 2 weeks!). Super pumped to do my first half in OVER TWO YEARS, but even more pumped to be in MIAMI BEACH with an awesome group of friends. Fingers are crossed that my body does not reject my current 2 week training plan…
Miami Beach? Oh yeah, I'll see you in 2 weeks!
In the meantime, I’ll continue my “training” and candy chomping (obviously with a little bit of ab work thrown in)!
Just a girl that loves candy and running. Sometimes equally, but most times candy wins.
