Disney Princess

Well, my friends.... it has certainly been awhile, hasn't it?

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?

I'm Going to be a Princess and Give Away Winner

As of last Friday night, I am officially registered for the

2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon.

My boyfriend and I are making it a huge birthday/vacation/running extravaganza! I will be in Florida from February 16th through February 26th (the race itself is on the 24th). I'm so excited I can hardly see straight!
We booked our hotel, dining reservations, airfare, and race registration. This is REALLY happening! AHHHHHHH!!!! Any other bloggers out there going to do the same race? It would be awesome to get to meet up with some of you amazing people! Looking at our dining reservations, I just have to be very careful that I don't overeat the days leading up into the race (which is going to be so hard to do while we are on the Disney cruise!). I'm going to need all the strength I can muster... or I'm just going to have to utilize the fitness center and pools as much as possible- that sounds like a better plan.

I've decided (as was my previous plan) that I'm going to try and dress like Ariel for the run (it is a tie between her and rapunzel, but I would look horrible as a blonde!). Purple top, green sparkle skirt, green compression socks, and green shoes. I may or may not also dye my hair bright red the week before the trip (so it doesn't bleed everywhere when I'm actually running).

This means I really need to be serious about my training. I keep saying it over and over again, but life continues to get in the way. What happened to the discipline I had last year?! I miss it. Tonight I'm going to do some cross-training to get myself back into the swing of things. Then, Thursday morning I'm doing a 3 mile run. Saturday or Sunday (depending upon weather) I'm going to do an 8mile run. I should be doing a 10 mile, but since I haven't run at all this past week and a half, I don't want to jump back in too soon and hurt myself. I'm going to listen to my body and take it slow. That's really all I can do! I need y'all to help keep me on track- if you don't see me updating, please shoot me an email and make me feel guilty!

I think part of the reason I keep slacking on my training is because I'm scared of hitting double digit runs. I shouldn't be, considering I did them last year, but I think I'm psyching myself out because sometimes I have really great long runs and sometimes my body is so tired that my long run is horrible and it depresses me.. Any advice on how to stop that? I could use it.

In other news, the MDA Lock-Up fundraiser was a great success! A HUGE thanks to everyone who donated as $600 was raised. The page is still up for another month or so if anyone else would like to contribute. However, the winner of the Mystery Loot Give Away is Jessica Hill! She wins a gift certificate to Lululemon and an array of goodies that will pamper and delight!

Again, a huge thank you to everyone who particpated!

Happy last week of summer!!

Pride and Running

I am kind of proud of me, if I do say so myself. 

Source

 

And I do.

I had a very long day running programs with all ages of kids today and it was gross outside. I mean, sticky, hot, walking through a wet blanket, gross. I got home and sat down on the couch, knowing that that was the wrong thing to do because I had to get in a run today. I sat there for an hour, talking with my mom while my brother made dinner, then I got off my butt and went to the gym. (Considering how hot it was, I decided a treadmill run would be best for my sanity.) I didn't want to go, but I made myself do it anyway. Hooray for NOT giving into temptation and getting my butt in gear.

The gym was pretty packed, but I managed to snag a treadmill and started my 3.1 mile run. Instead of doing just 30min. like I have scheduled on my training plan, I decided to sneak in the Firecracker Virtual 5k I had to do. Needless to say, I finished in 46:03. Not too bad. I was hoping to stay with a 15min/mile, but considering how tired I was, anything under 47min was okay by me.

My plan of action for this week is a 30min run on Wednesday and then doing my 8miles on Friday before work or Saturday early morning (depending upon weather and such). That will put me at about 13.1 miles total for this week. I gave myself a goal of 50 miles and then I would treat myself to a massage. As of right now, I am 19miles away from that. By the end of this week, I will be 9miles away!

Also, I haven't officially registered yet (I will when I get my next paycheck), however-  

 Source

I will be doing the Princess Half in Feb 2013!!. 

My boyfriend and I put deposits down on a Disney cruise for Feb. 17-21st and the race is on Feb. 24th, so we are going to stay at the Disney Caribbean resort after we get off the ship until it's time for me to race. I'm SUPER excited! I can't wait! Only about 214 days until I get to sail away! WOOHOO!!

 Anyone have any fun runs coming up?

Vacation... In a Way

I apologize for disappearing this week. 

It's been hectic to say the least. I am leaving in about 7 hours to drive down to North Carolina for my 5 year college reunion (SOOO EXCITED!!) and trying to get everything lined up, like who to see when, etc, etc, took up most of my time this week. So, once again, my apologies!

I also ended up taking most of this week off from training. Sunday through yesterday, my right knee was super tight and bothering me. I kept heating it and stretching it and decided not to do much running so it could mend. I have another 5k race next Saturday, along with the fact that come May 1st I start my rigorous training for the half (you mean, these past few months have been easy?!), so I wanted to take the time now, while I could, to rest it up and let it heal.

Not much really to update other than, besides being busy, I had a great week at work. I started rehearsals for a gala event at a theatre (we are singing some fun songs!) and I got to spend time with my family.
Just so y'all are aware, I am not taking my computer down to North Carolina with me, so I will be gone through Sunday. I do intend on running while I'm down there though, so I will be sure to update everyone when I get back.

Happy Race Day to everyone running this weekend!

Best of luck!!