181: 26.2 Glitterati

Caitrin's jacket (of course) and my new necklace. Let the flaunting begin!

177: 26.2 Flying Pig 2011

The final stretch!

And... check! One marathon down. More to go (I'm addicted now!). 

176: Flying Pig Expo

What more can be said? I love Cincinnati. ha ha

175: Mama and duckies on my last run...

Thus marks my last training run before the Flying Pig on Sunday. Such an adorable crew. The mother hissed at me, but what could she do, really? No one can fly yet!

174: More trees across our bike trail

This photo is from our last group run which occurred on Saturday too. But I didn't have any more Saturday space so.... here it is on Thursday, a day I forgot to take a photo. That's Elizabeth and Patrice.

145: The view from my shoes

First 20 miler on the bike trail.

128: 13.1 is NOTHING to 17.2

My longest run to date: 17.2. Only 9 miles short of marathon length. I ran 10 alone and then Patrice joined me for the last 7.2. Our feet pay homage to that short race—the half marathon (13.1)—as I blow by with longer and longer distances each week. So exhilarating! Ya gotta try it!

126: The scene of the accident

Photo quality marginal as this comes from my cell phone. However, check out the scale of this fallen tree! No wonder poor Elizabeth slipped as we tried to get past the broken trunk. See it sticking out in front of Patrice? Two shots so you can see how we climbed our way through the tangle. Unfortunately, we wound up in the ER for treatment for the near lung puncture suffered by E.

102: Eden Park 15

At the top of the world.

Cell phone photo.

97: The perfect running photo

I posted a "97" yesterday, but this picture was trapped in a camera and I couldn't access it when my computer went down. This is THE running photo I've been trying to take for months now. I love everything about it—the snow tracks, the early morning light, the winter branches, and the two friends jogging ahead of me. (I had to sprint to catch up.) So you get 2 for day 97 and I'll decide later which wins the spot in my final count.

81: 12.0

After we run, Patrice tells us to lie on our backs and let the (some body juice) go back down our legs to keep from cramping. I was in such a hurry to get the photo before one of them stopped me, it's blurry. Rats! Still love it though. These are my marathon partners: Elizabeth (in the middle/back), and Pam on the left and Patrice on the right. We're heading into distances I've never run before starting next week.

78: Accountability

I didn't want to run on Sunday. But I did just so I could enter the mileage in my running journal: 7.0 miles. Marathon training continues. (At least it was sunny, even if cold!)

62: Running waters

Snowfall over night, great view for our morning run at Sharon Woods. I love the way the ice melts and refreezes and melts again, causing the rush over the little waterfalls.

Used the dusk/dawn setting on the camera. Still deciding if I like this effect. What do you think?

60: Flying Pig (marathon) Training Starts!

And we're off! Week one of training started yesterday. The Cincinnati marathon is called the "Flying Pig" for reasons I still need to discover. Ran our customary 6-7 miles. 

The little "flying pig" below is from beadedhope.org given to me by Joules Evans, breast cancer survivor and marathon running supporter! This particular organization supports women in South Africa who have been been impacted by HIV/AIDS.

32: Frosticle Lashicles

Running in 10 degrees makes me look like a character out of "Where the Wild Things Are" or alternatively, ready to go clubbing with my fake eyelashes!

(Guest Photo Credits: Pam Flere—Thanks Pam!)

31: A creek runs through it

and I run by it. The Miami Erie Canal Path off of Symmes. Gorgeous 4.8 run-camera-shoot yesterday. Temps: 27 degrees.

I like the way the earth looks like a brownie with powdered sugar.

27: Footing

After seven days of not running, I dragged myself to the bike trail to slow-jog with my partners-in-distance. Having a hard time this week getting my feet under me. Patrice, Pam and Amy help.

14: Follow the yellow-curved line

This is my view, mile after mile. I like it.

Note: Legs are about all I see of on-coming runners too.

7: Therapy

Tying the knot helps me untie the knot.