So much has happened in the past few months- I did a lot of training and feel I am becoming a MUCH stronger runner. Multiple times I managed to run 3 miles without having to stop and walk- that's a major achievement!
As you may or may not have known- a few weeks ago, I took an 11 day vacation to Orlando. My boyfriend and I spent two days at Disney's All Star Music resort, then hopped on the Disney Dream cruise ship for 5 days! It was amazing! I was still in training for the Disny Princess Half marathon so the first thing I did was check out the spa area where the fitness center was. I was super excited to do a run on the treadmills overlooking the ocean. But, when I went the next day all the treadmills were taken! So, I went to my back up plan which was the out door running deck on level 4 of the ship. It's 2.5 laps for one mile- so I did 5 quick laps and called it a day. I enjoyed the rest of the cruise- the relaxation, the Aqua duck water coaster, Castaway Cay island, Pirate night and fireworks! If you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend a Disney cruise- they're phenomenal (even if you don't have kids)!
After we returned from the cruise, we headed to Disney's Caribbean Beach resort. Absolutely stunning resort (plus a pirate themed pool)! I did my last run before the race at the resort. The humidity knocked me for a loop and slowed me down, but I powered through it. I have to say, that was my only issue with my training for this race. I did my runs in the New England winter, mostly cold days and lots of trips to the gym to go on the treadmill because of the 3.5 feet of snow and ice outside. My body wasn't truly ready for the Florida humidity. Live and learn though, right?
On race day, we got up at 2:30am to catch the shuttle to the race area. I made my boyfriend go with me even though he wasn't running- he did cheer me on throughout the course though. The race officially started at 5:30am and my corral took off at 6:27am. By mile 1, I was already a disgusting sweaty mess, but I kept up with my 3 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking ratios. Soon, the miles were flying by and I was having fun looking at everyone's costumes (some pieces of which littered the race course).
I have to say, Disney definitely is the best race I have ever done. They had water and Powerade at every mile marker. And every few miles they had medic tents with gallon pump bottles of BioFreeze. My legs held up pretty well, I only stopped around mile 10 to slather some BioFreeze onto my calves. I managed to keep trotting along, all the way across the finish line! My official time was 3:34:45. Not as good as I had hoped, but I finished and that was my main goal. If I do do another Disney race, I will try and start one corral up from where I was. I was having difficulty doing my jogging portions every now and again because I had to continuously weave in and out of all the walkers. Don't get me wrong, I definitely had many times when I walked, but I made sure I went to one edge or the other of the course. I was slightly disappointed about being able to run through the castle. I was really looking forward to doing that but once I hit the back of the castle, I came to a dead stop because there were SO many people going through the castle at the same time (a total of 26,000 runners!). We kind of herded our way through and then once we got past the castle a bit I was able to run again.
All in all, it was the BEST race ever! The 13.1 miles went by pretty fast compared to my last half marathon. Perhaps I was in a better mindset because I stuck with my training and felt stronger overall? Maybe it was just being swept up in the Disney magic? I don't know but I loved it!
My boyfriend and I after the race with some pretty sweet Disney bling!
There is another part to this story though! It turns out that my Princess medal is not the only shiny and sparkly thing I came home with! While on the cruise, my boyfriend proposed to me (on the grand staircase, in front of tons of people!) and I, happily, said yes!
February 18, 2013
We haven't set a date yet. In fact, we are planning on at least a 2 year engagement in order to save up money. In lieu of all of this amazingness, I have decided to step up my healthy eating and living. I have come SO far in my weight loss, but I still have a ways to go in order to be where I want to be. I am challenging myself to lose another 50 pounds in the next two years so I am ready for my wedding and honeymoon (I would really like to be able to wear a bikini and not feel self conscious on my honeymoon). My goal is to get back into blogging. I am starting off slow, because it is the most hectic time of the year at work, and aiming to post twice a week. I still plan on running 2 times a week, and am going to add in 3 times a week of 30 Day Shred. I am begging you to please keep me honest with this. I often get overwhelmed by work and life in general, but this is a totally do-able weekly goal! I may just need a kick in the pants every now and again!
What do you say? Who has their kicking boots on?
