Training Day 12: Wild Women of Wongo

So today was a big day for me... The anticipation and build up of running 12 miles was a big goal for me throughout this training so far.  It is absolutely amazing that every week I continue to surprise myself with what I am willing and able to put my body through.  Never would I thought that I would be capable of doing anything distance related at allllll!  But here I am 12 days into my training and running 12 miles with relative ease.  It was not until about mile 9 where my knees start to get tired.  And let me say that tired is different than hurt.  Ever since my first knee surgery I have been trained to listen to my body and determine if pain is good or bad or if my body just simply needs to rest.  And at times I wish I could say it was a bad hurt so I could stop lol but today nobody is pushing me but myself this goal of completing a marathon is a goal of mine.

Today is a HUGE celebration of my first big mile marker as well as it being NYE!! The tradition continues with my Wild Women of Wongo joining in festivities.  And now with me having run 12 miles today I can truly relax and sit back and enjoy ringing in this new year with my girls and new friends out here in Cali.  Happy New Years everyone! I hope you are going to have the best year yet and are able to find something to truly make your goals achievable this year!  Welp this girl is out... time to start partying :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Training Day 12: 12miles!!!!! route: Washington Blvd- Malibu (actually the guard stand where Baywatch was filmed :)) and back!! AHHH IM DONE!

Training Day 11: Welp

"Welp" it was def one of those days... could not focus to SAVE MY LIFE!! I ran today at lunch because one of the Wild Women of Wongo was about to arrive!!! So work was slow, aaaaannnnddd i had to sit through the anticipation of waiting for MAAARRRIIAAA to get here!!

So my run was not good... I had to run on a treadmill because I had a very short amount of time, however I ran 8:30 miles for 3miles so it was in and out quickly... this is going to be a short blog because im sitting sippin on some wine in my robe hanging with MARRIAAAA MUSSSCCCCAAARRRAAA!!! Good night everyone and HAPPY BDAY STEVENS!

Training Day 11: Welp its over thats all I've got :) 12miles Sat... HERE I COME!!!

Training Day 10: "Never Say Never"

"I will never say never! I will fight till forever!" Nazipooo that is for you :) Anyways, so during my run today I was thinking how crazy it is that I am training not only for a marathon but a half marathon to warm up to the full lol. I can tell you that many many times I have said I would NEVER IN MY LIFE even attempt to run a marathon.  It was mainly because I did not believe that my body would be able to withstand the pounding, partially because I think running is dumb and the last little bit was I was scared.  Now today, 10 days into training; 81 days out form the LA Marathon here I am blogging about my 5mile run.  Not only did I think running 26.2 miles was silly, I did not believe in doing anything over a 100m and even that was a stretch for me hahaha. So today was a little harder than the others.  My knees are a little stiff, maybe from sitting down all day aaaannnd its so hard to stay focused when all I can think about is NYE.  The only thing standing in between me and the party festivities is a 3m and a womping 12MILE run ahhhhhhh... NBD just running a half marathon this weekend lol.  But gosh it feels SO FREAKING GOOD to be able to go to sleep every night knowing that I am doing something I NEVER in a million years thought that I would be able to do.  I challenge everyone reading this to do something each day that challenges you beyond your comfort zone... see where it takes you... and who knows you may find out something about yourself that you never would have known :) Happy Wednesday!! Training Day 10 down for the count! 5miles 43min Route: Along the ocean on Venice Beach into Santa Monica then back.  I LOVE THIS LOOP (minus the amount of weed I intake on mile 3 and 5 lol)

Training Day 9: Talk About Motivation

So today after work I had to go get my NYE dress altered (Priorities people!) and then Mom and I had to run some errands to basically what Im saying is that I didnt get to actually run untli 4:30.  Right now my parents are staying in Marina del Rey right south of Venice so my run routes are down the Venice Boardwalk to Santa Monica then back.  However, thank goodness for winter solstice being a few days ago because this time last week it would have already been dark.

But with my 3mile run starting a bit past 4:30pm you can understand my nervousness about running past all the crazies on the Venice Boardwalk past dark.  That was my motivation today while running: run fast and dont stop at all because I NEEEEED to be home before the sun sets!!!  Looks like i made it just in time too! As I was walking up into the house the sun had passed behind the sand and away into the ocean...

So training day #9 success, I made it without stopping in 24 minutes making it back home before sunset :) Happy Tuesday Funday!!

Training Day 8: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

MERRY ALMOST CHRISTMAAAASSS!!! What a run I had this morning! Each Saturday I am pushing myself to a limit that I have never known myself to be able to do.  Last week's long run was 6miles today's long run... get this people.. 8 FREAKING MILES! Would you have ever imagined Dana McCreary, the girl who refused to do anything over a 50 or run anything further than the length of a field would not only say, but put into writing that I ran 8miles (all at once!) Well I can tell you this is one of the most exciting moments to date.  Today I truly thought for the first time that this half marathon coming up in February is something that not only I can do, but can do well.  I have been running sub 10min miles... so for me to keep that up for 8miles is HUGE!

I realized that as long as I keep running or moving or as Harrison suggested, skipping lol, than I will not have a problem.  The moment I stop moving is the moment I am done and done.  This is such an amazing journey that I have embarked on and I am learning/relearning things about myself.  I forgot how much I love the feeling of not wanting to move because of pure exhaustion and how it feels to feel that pain in my body, acknowledge it, and push through it. AHH I LOVE IT!

It was not the same without my running buddies today but I am stayin strong for them :) miss you girls!! Cant wait til after the holidays so we can really start to crush these long runs together.  Well I can tell you that I am quite excited to have the next few days off from running- my body needs it thats for sure!!  Merry Christmas... Happy Holidays... I thank you all for your support and courage while I make my way through the next 85 days :)

Training Day 8: 9th st.- San Vincente- 14th-Ocean-Pier-Venice Boardwalk-Pier- Ocean- Washington-Home... Long Ass 8 miles but I made it!!!

Training Day 7: Lasagna Was a Bad Choice

So note to self- never eat a massage piece of lasagna prior to running any sort of distance!  This was by far my hardest day of training so far.  And the worst part is that it should have been an easy day!  It was only a 3 mile run but I left it to the end of the day and had not properly fueled myself throughout the day so by the time I had to run I still needed to eat and the only thing around was lasagna.  So of course I chose to eat it.... I mean what was I supposed to do... not eat?! Yea Right lol.  So I was full (too full) of yummy carbs on top of being extremely sleepy. So lets just end it there lol tough day of training ... but I MADE IT :) Day 7 down for the count.  Bring it on 8Miler :)

Day 7: 3 miles

Fantastic 5

Brittany came up with the idea of creating names for all of the runs... 6mile Susie, Fantastic 5, etc... So our first 5miler together me Lora, Britt, Mary Lynn and Buddy (Britt's puppy dog!) headed out for our 5mile adventure.  Each day as I wait for the end of the day to come I get so pumped up to take on the next challenge of the day.

To be honest I have not felt this excited about training for something since the last time I trained for Lifesaving Worlds.  Lifesaving, although most of you are not familiar with the sport, was and still is one of my biggest accomplishments.  I have been to 3 world championships now and a handful of other events all over the world from Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, and most recently Egypt.  After each of my world events something significant happened in my life.  After my first one, I moved to a new city. After my second one, I tore my right ACL and after my third one I tore my left ACL, MCL and meniscus. So each one although extremely rewarding in one aspect was also very challenging in a physical way for me.  Yet for some reason, maybe the travels, the people or just my drive to overcome adversity I decided to keep going after it.

Now I have a new challenge to overcome-26.2 miles.  Who would have thought the girl who talked her way out of swimming the 500m for 18 years and the girl who never ran more than a mile at one given time would decide that running 26.2 is the next challenge?!  What I see this as is another test.  After my second ACL surgery I was ready for something new so I took up Triathlons (sprints of course :) ) but out here in Cali I don't have a pool or a wetsuit and the ocean lets be honest you all know I'm terrified of it lol. Sooo my thinking is hey why not.

So back to the 5mile run.  The route we did is my absolute favorite so far, or one of them!... We ran down California Ave. to Ocean Ave and ran along the path that is lined with Palm trees overlooking the Pacific where you can see out to Catalina Island and up to the Malibu Mountains... heaven...  5 miles is a lot of running lets just lay that out on the table right now haha and it is the most rewarding feeling after the run when I realize that I ran 5miles and my knees DONT HURT!!!  Everyday I continue on and my body is letting me do this I thank everyone who had such an instrumental role in my athletic career to have help me recover and strengthen after my surgeries to even allow this moment to occur.  I have mentioned my past athletic trainers before but again Dougie Fresh, Meg, Will and Craig will forever be my lifesavers but I also want to thank Harrison.  I literally do not know what I would do without this man!  Getting me through EVERY tough transition I have been through.  From moving to DC to all of my surgeries and all of my troubles college athletics gave me I always had him to lean on.  So naturally before I even committed to running this 26.2miles the first phone call I made was to him.  Without the confidence of him and his belief that yes, I can do this I do not think I would have been able to get over the mental hurdle.  So Harrison, thank you so much for being here even when you don't know you are helping me.

Training Day 6 of 2012 LA Marathon: 5 miles Route: California to Ocean to San Vicente to 20th to 9th to Idaho :)

Tuesday Funday Has An Entirely New Meaning

Tuesday Funday has always been my absolutely favorite day of the week (Thanks to Babers, Lily, TaTa, Jbeck, and CK- LOVE YOUUUU!!)  The meaning has only slightly changed from our days back in Chapel Thrill.  It used to consist of Lily letting us crash sorority functions in our jeans, white hanes ts and baseball hats.  Now it is the first run of the week for me.  Now after the Holiday Party last night, I am exhausted and seriously dehydrated but there was nothing more getting me this day than the fact that I knew I was going to have my run this afternoon.  Now the fact those words just came out of my mouth literally makes me a little sick haha.  And the fact that not only did those words come out but that I also now think of 3 miles as pff nbd (no big deal) is CRAZYNESS to me!

So Lora, Britt and I ran right after work, it really is the best way to get it up and out of the way.  We ventured down Olympic until the grass stopped and then ran around the Water Gardens building where our office is and continued around the next block, where Lionsgate Films is conveniently located.  It was not my favorite of routes because of the congestion around this area with all the office buildings and people and cars buuuut it was nice and quick and easy.

The worst part about this day was not only did I run 3 miles, I also rode my bike home another 2 miles and then rode the beach cruisers down to the house my parents rented out another 3.5 miles... After we got to the house from riding the beach cruisers down past the Santa Monica Pier past the Venice Boardwalk we watched the amazing sunset as the sky lit up purple and orange which made me rethink about complaining of the extra exercise I was getting in.  There is always something that brings me back to reality-the fact that I am living in such an amazing city not only to train in but something so simple as being able to watch the sunset while riding my bike along the beach- helloooo is that not heaven?!

So anyways all in all my easy 3mile day because a 8.5 mile day :) Just another day in the life of a girl that continues to live the dream.

Day 5 of Training LA Marathon 2012: 3miles Route- Olympic-9th-26th-Olympic-Watergardens

TGIM

Who would have ever thought the phrase T.G.I.M. existed? Thank God Its Monday lol interesting phrase a friend of mine introduced me to.  And this Monday I was definitively thankful for! Not only was it yet another day of rest but it was conveniently the day of the Cornerstone OnDemand holiday party.  What I love about this training so far is that it is not interfering in my day to day life at all... it is merely enhancing it.  Monday made me realize that yes I can not only go out with friends, have a few drinks and also run 24 miles this week.  Talk about balance!!!!  Happy Week 2 of Training! LA Marathon 2012 HERE I COME!!!! 

I MADE IT!!!!

Let me start off by saying it does not hurt the fact that everyone up on a Saturday Morning is also either training for the marathon, playing beach volleyball or doing some sort of exercise!! Nothing like beautiful, athletic people surrounding me to run my first long run… I can tell you I certainly can get used to this J

I have been anxiously awaiting for the past week this first long run.  At first the training program we had put together had us running 9 miles the first week.  Considering I had never run more than 6 miles at one time EVER I thought this may not be the best for my body and for my race as I spoke about in my previous post.  Therefore I tailored my first long run to be specifically for me- a 6 mile cruise to see how my body will hold up.

My goal for this run was to not stop.  Keep a cadence going no matter how fast I was going I just want my legs to get used to running for an extended length.  I could not help but think back to the conversation I had with my sales rep Keith Friday morning at work.  We were discussing our strategy for 2012 and how the most important thing is to keep up a steady cadence, do not become complacent and to just keep on chugging along.  So throughout this run all I could think about was to keep going at a constant speed until I reached back home.  I was not trying to run fast, I was just trying to keep a steady constant pace.

And here I am no 1 full week of training under my belt and with each day of training I get more and more excited because I know that this goal is going to be one of my most accomplished ones yet.  

Day 5: 6 Miles Route: Beach Path from Washington Blvd to past the Santa Monica Pier then back to Washington Blvd.

Who ever said I couldn’t relax?!

So here I am Friday December 16, 2011.  The best part about today was that my mom and sister and her friends came for the holidays!  The SECOND best part about today was that it was the first “rest” day of training.  People (including myself) always say I don’t know how to relax, but you know I will tell you I do not hate these days off. 

The best part about today is that I am in the middle of training but I did not have to feel bad about not running today to be with my family and friends.  This is a new training schedule that is actually doable for me and I love it! Sunday is a cross training day where I am going to do yoga or cycle or hike or any other amazing adventure that Southern California has to offer.  Then Tuesday through Thursday are shorter runs anywhere from 3-7 miles with the Long run being Saturday.  The fact that I am able to have my Fridays to relax is incredible!

I am really looking forward towards my first long run tomorrow!! I will be going for a 6mile run along the beaches of Santa Monica- I know I know what a tough life I lead. As I like to say welcome to the Fabulous Life of Dana McCreary because at the age of 24 I find it hard that it will get much better than it is right now!

Today I leave you with this… “There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.”  Thank you all for following me and supporting me along this journey to accomplish such an amazing feat. 

Day 3: Running Solo

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIRST 15 EMPLOYEES TO SIGN UP FOR THE CSOD LA MARATHON TEAM!!

What does this COMMITMENT mean?

Runners commit to:

o   Cornerstone and WEARING the CSOD Team T-SHIRT during the race

o   GROUP RUNS when possible

o   Internal/External AWARENESS ACTIVITIES (we will provide additional insight/materials/fundraising events as we get the plan ironed out)

o   Making this race YOUR OWN! Whether you are running for a Personal Record or walking/jogging to share this experience with the team, we want you to commit to yourself, to the team and to the overall mission to generate awareness for Cornerstone  J

We want you to run and share this team experience, but please know there are some strong maybes that would love to share this opportunity too! Let me know and I hope you are all having a wonderful day so far!  

Thanks,

BLove

Today was my 3rd day of Marathon Training and this was the email Britt send out to those who have fully committed themselves to running the 2012 LA Marathon!!! What am amazing email and what I want to take away from this is that each runner needs to make his or her race her very own and run it for their own reasons.  I read something today that one of the biggest mistakes marathon runners is relying on someone else to be a "running buddy."  At first this confused me because I always find running with a group is much more enjoyable and actually makes the run feel much easier.  But after my run today I realized what they meant by this.  Today Britt, Mary Lynn, and Lora had other commitments so we chose to do our 3mile run on our own.  I went into this run extremely confident after the 4m run yesterday I thought this was going to be a breeze!  However, once I started running put on my ipod (obvi david guetta pandora station haha) and go going I realized that this was going to be more challenging.  Perhaps because it was day 3 of straight running, perhaps not enough stretching, but maybe because I was so used to having someone else next to me to chat with or to distract me while doing it.  That was the moment where I thought back to the mistake most runners make, relying on someone else to be there at all times.  When I go to run this marathon on March 18th I may or may not be surrounded by my training partners but what I have to remember is that this is MY race.  I am the one who is going to be running the 26.2 miles and I am going to be the one who is in control of my destiny.  Today was an extremely successful day in my learning how to run and pace myself and to do it on my own.  Now granted I miss my training partners dearly... but I think today is good for all of us to grow as individuals and as runners to continue to gain confidence in our own race.

I want to leave you with this quote I found to continue on with the theme of positivity:

– Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

Day 3 Complete!!!! Run: 3 miles route- 9th st. - San Vicente- Ocean- California- 9th

94 days and counting!!!! 

Day 2: As Long As You Are Positive You Can Do Anything!

So here I am Day 2 complete!!!! I see each day as a goal in its self and with each day accomplished a goal has been reached! Today's goal of 4 miles was intimidating to me at first.  I have never run more than 6miles at one time EVERRRR!!! So considering the fact that my daily "workout" routine has been consisting of biking to work and doing the eliptical for 30min a day, you all can sense my fear in running 4 FREAKING MILES!  Today we missed Mary Lynn so much but Lora, Britt and I held down the fort and took on those 4 miles like it was nothing.

Our trail of the day was up Arizona towards 14th street which is lined with these beautiful trees (all of which Britt decided would be perfect for climbing haha) then up San Vicente towards 21st st.  Then we turned around and headed back down towards Ocean Ave.  But the BEST part about this run is when we get to 10th St. Lora goes ok so lets go left here- where Britt and I thought we were running all the way down towards Ocean Ave. Now I understand that to those of you reading this it may not mean anything but the run Britt and I thought we were doing would have been an extra 4 miles and we were so freaking ready for that! When we realized our run had been cut in half it was as if Christmas came early!!  Now I know we are sooo ready for this 6-8 mile run on saturday :)

One thing that I realized today during the run was how lucky I am.  I am living in one of the most beautiful places in the world, working at one of the most amazing companies in the world and here I am running alongside 2 amazing women who share so many of the same beliefs and values as I do.  There is not a lot that would make Day 2 better! With all the love and positivity our training group has, I have no doubt in the world that not only will we finish this 26.2 mile run, but we will take in on as our prisoner!!

Day 1: "No I Don't Want to Run a Marathon!!"

So Day 1 of training for the 2012 LA Marathon is officially complete!!

I want to start out with the fact that NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would I have ever thought that those words would ever come out of my mouth!!!

To give a little history for those of you who don't know the majority of my life has been a whirlwind! My life is not exactly predictable yet it has yet to be anything but rewarding.  After freshman year of college and tearing my ACL my next goal was to fully recover and not just recover but come back to be the fastest, strongest, and most agile athlete on the UNC women's lacrosse team.  After 14months of gruleing work thanks to my Dougie Fresh, Will and Meg I accomplished that.  Yet only a year and a half later to come back and tear my OTHER ACL, MCL and Miniscus.  To some this may have been completely detrimental yet to me... after I accepted my lacrosse career was most likely finished... decided to take on another challenge- the challenge of Triathlons.  I started out doing 5 sprints my first season and became addicted and even started helping host local triathlons and running races in Chapel Hill.

After college it was time for another challenge, and of course I was not going to do anything short of amazing.  Which is why as of a year ago just about to this day I made the choice to move to beautiful Santa Monica, California!!!  Now after being here 11 months I am completely settled, have an amazing group of friends and have even had 2 different jobs.  So now it is time for my first challenge in California.

I am now working as a Corporate Account Developer for Cornerstone OnDemand based out of Santa Monica.  The other day it was proposed to a few of us that we should do the LA Marathon.  Of course as most of you know me, I do not think I have ran more than 100meters at any given time unless of course someone was bribing me with booze or food at the end of it!!  But after a chat with my momma and of course my Harrison who both gave me the go ahead and the confidence I needed I decided to join in and start the training!

Day 1: 3 miles, course: 9th st-san vincente-ocean ave- washington-9th.  Lora, Brittany, Mary Lynn and I had a FABULOUS first day of training!!! We took a cruise down to Ocean Ave from our apts where we ran along the path and watched the sun set over the ocean... hellooo could we ask for better training weather?! As we were chatting and running we could see the malibu mountains, out to Catalina Island and the Santa Monica Pier.  By the time we had gotten back we didnt even realize we had already ran 3 miles.  What a great first day!!! Now I just have to keep remembering this feeling come a few weeks when im attempting to run 10 miles!! Keep us in your thoughts and continue to follow this amazing journey as Cornerstone OnDemand takes on the LA Marathon!!!