I'm going to Miami! And then running to Key West!

One week from today I will be running.

From Miami to Key West. Yup. I'm doing Ragnar Florida Keys and we start bright (dark?) and early at 6 a.m. Florida time one week from today.

I'm. So. Excited.

It all started way back in August. I was in the starting corral at the Madison Mini waiting for the race to begin. Standing with me were my friends Erica and Aaron. And before the anthem was sung and the starting gun sounded, Erica turned to me and said, "You totally want to run Ragnar Florida Keys with me."

I smiled. Laughed. Said it sounded like it would be fun and I'd let her not. Not completely intending to even really consider it.

But I did. A lot. And eventually I fired off an email to Erica that simply said, "I'm in."

 None of my legs run over the 7 Mile Bridge, but I'll be driving over it!

I decided to do it for a couple of reasons.

It's Ragnar Florida Keys. I've never been to the Keys and what better way to see it than by foot?

• Of the 11 other people I'm running with, I know a handful of them. But they're cool people. And those that I don't know? Well, I'm pretty sure I'll get to know them better by the time we hit Key West!
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• When I decided to do this in September, little did I know what this Wisconsin winter would have in store. But it turns out that this was a pretty perfect year to schedule a mid-winter vacation.

I'm runner No. 5, so I get legs 5, 17 and 29. I don't know a ton about each leg but I do know:

• Leg 5 is 3.6 miles through what looks like a Miami neighborhood. If we run our legs according to our estimated paces, I should be running this at about 9 a.m.
• Leg 17 is my night leg. It's 7.1 miles along US Highway 1 through Key Largo. It actually looks like I run a substantial portion of Key Largo. If all goes to plan, I should be starting this leg around 8:30 p.m.
• Leg 29 is a 5.2 mile leg that takes me across bridges! According to the map, I start on Ramrod Key, I get to cross a bridge over to Summerland Key and then cross another bridge over to Cudjoe Key. I end my leg on Blimp Road, where I'll apparently be greeted by something called the Fat Albert Blimp. If all goes to plan, I'll start this leg sometime around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
• Once all my runs are done, I'll have run 15.9 miles over the course of 24 hours.

I haven't even thought about packing yet, but I do know I'll be taking the GoPro camera that I bought with some Christmas money I got. I haven't gotten to play around with it too much yet, but I'm hoping to test it out this weekend. Because I want to get some cool video footage on my runs and during our cheering and of course during the rest of my Key West vacation!

That's right. In planning my trip, I decided to stick around Key West for a couple of days after we finish Ragnar, to relax, have fun and enjoy myself. I know a few of us are planning a jet ski adventure and I'd love to try stand up paddle boarding or some kayaking adventure while there.

Now, once I get back I'm pretty sure I'll have multiple blog posts to share. But if you want to follow along on the adventure in real time, you can always catch me on Twitter, @BadgerJen2002. Or for all of my team's shenanigans, you can stalk our team #whale at @TridentKillaz.

Can't wait!