Credit Card Theft, 9+ Mile Run and Foodbuzz Envy

How’s everyone’s Saturday going? Mine has had some ups and downs so far. My first down: I woke up this morning and received a strange call with a message about my credit card having fraudulent charges. I made sure to call the number on the credit card website back, rather than the number left on the voicemail. You never know if a phone call like that could be a scam. But as I was calling, I also received an email about it.

So a short 5 minutes later, the credit card rep and I had deduced that yes, someone was using my card fraudulently. Only one of the 4-5 charges had actually gone through so far, but a few were pending for a total of more than $6oo. So needless to say, that credit card has been canceled. The phone rep also said that it looks like they got my number through an internet transaction. I immediately thought back to the MegaBus ticket I purchased on Thursday. There were several issues when I put my card number into the online form to purchase the ticket. It kept denying my number and requesting my details again. SKETCHY! So my gut tells me that’s when it happened.

While I give my credit card company soo much credit for catching it early, I also thought something was fishy on Friday afternoon when I checked my pending charges and saw two minor things on there that didn’t look like mine. In fact, I called my card company right then and asked if I could block the charges. The rep told me that day that I needed to wait to see if anything actually went through. So my word of advice is to: CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT AND BANK ACCOUNT BALANCES FREQUENTLY.

And be wary of any website where things seem a little off when you’re trying to make a purchase. Warning signals were blaring while I was buying that ticket, but I brushed them away.

Anyway – all is better now. My card is canceled and I won’t actually be charged for anything they bought.

While dealing with the card drama, I was eating breakfast in preparation for a longish run. On the up side, I brought back a breakfast I haven’t had in a while…

Mmmm oatmeal with banana and peanut butter. Soo delish and just the right fuel for a longish run. I headed out to Central Park and ran the full loop and reservoir Loop. Another up for the day, passing by the NYC Marathon finish and feeling a hint of the exhilaration that all those runners will feel tomorrow! Here are my stats from the run:

Mile 1 – 9:09
Mile 2 – 8:46
Mile 3 – 8:41
Mile 4 – 8:42
Mile 5 –  8:27
Mile 6 – 8:37
Mile 7 – 8:55
Mile 8 – 8:49
Mile 9 – 9:03
.79 – 7:18

Total mileage – 9.79 in 1:26:30. Average page 8:50 minute miles.

I felt pretty good on this run. This is my longest run since the Bay State Half Marathon on October 17. I didn’t check my Garmin at all while I was running, I just ran the pace that felt right.

Big shout out to all the local bloggers I know running the NYC Marathon tomorrow: Megan, Kelly, Ashley and Jocelyn. You guys are going to rock tomorrow!!

When I got back from my run, I downed a G2 Gatorade and some water and then snacked on some peanuts and Chobani yogurt with Kashi cereal.

I got into the habit of eating Chobani after my long runs during my last round of training. It’s packed with protein and isn’t too heavy, which makes it easier to eat right after a run. Sometimes I’m ravenous after a run, but sometimes I’m not.

Another little down, I’m so jealous of all the bloggers at the Foodbuzz Festival right now. I think that next year, I need to be a part of one of these events, either Foodbuzz, Healthy Living Summit, FitBloggin or BlogHer. Any recommendations?!

The rest of my weekend will be pretty low-key. But I am soo pumped to watch the runners tackle the marathon tomorrow! That might just be me next year, since I have two races left to run to complete the NYRR 9+1 program for guaranteed entry to the NYC Marathon in 2011!

So who’s running NYC next year? 🙂 Have a great rest of the weekend!