Run Disney

42 posts

RunDisney Terms you need to know!

It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned runner, or new to the sport. RunDisney is a whole new world of terms to learn. I’ll never forget my first RunDisney 5k, and Half Marathon, I had no clue what to expect. I learned so many amazing things during and just after my first RunDisney race and today I wanted to share some of my knowledge with all of you.

RunDisney Terms

There are in no particular order, but the following terms will give you a little insight as you plan for your upcoming Disney Race!

“POT”

Proof of Time

A few months before a race you will see the internet buzzing with the term POT. This is because if you don’t submit a proof of time, you might be placed in the very last corral of a Disney race.  You want to be in one of the faster corrals because it means fewer people on the course in front of you and fewer people to weave in and out of while you are running.

Corral

If you are thinking of cattle, chances are you are thinking the right thing. A Corral is the system RunDisney (and many big races) use to organize runners by start time.

Waiver

The document you need to print and sign in order to receive your racing bib and shirt.

The Galloway

Olympian Jeff Galloway is the RunDisney expert and running coach. He has developed a method of running called the Run/Walk. This method uses intervals to help get you from the start to the finish line with a smile on your face!

I personally love the 30/30 intervals (30 seconds running and 30 seconds walking). Don’t worry, you don’t have to count 30 seconds over and over, you can purchase a Gymboss and have a little buzzer remind you when to walk and run. This is the one I use and love

.

Expo

The Expo is where you will have to go in order to get your racing bib and other race items. It is also where you can meet with vendors and purchase race specific merchandise.

Here is a guest post from oilswithDana on what to expect at a RunDisney expo.

“Parade Bus”

As you run your race, you might notice several buses lined up along the course labeled “Parade Bus” this is not characters preparing for a parade, this is a bus you absolutely don’t want to be on. This is the bus that RunDisney cast members load runners who have not met the 16-minute pace per mile requirement or have become injured during the race.

Sweeper

RunDisney cast members who stop you from racing and ask you to wait for the aforementioned “Parade Bus” This only happens if you have not met the 16-minute pace per mile requirement.

Pacer

Incredible people who follow Jeff Galloway Run/Walk intervals. They literally hold a stick for the entire race and shout “RUN” … “WALK” to keep people on track with their pace goals. These people are heroes and should be thanked and treated with so much love as they work very hard to keep a consistent pace and encourage everyone in their group to meet your goal.

Without the 7 hour pacer at the Walt Disney World Marathon, I’m 100% positive that I’d have been on the “Parade Bus”

Read about the 2018 WDW Marathon here! 

Balloon Ladies

Stephanie, after completing the 2018 WDW Marathon!

Amazing women who start at the very end of the race and maintain a 16-minute mile while wearing balloons around their waist.

Yes, that’s actually a thing.

These amazing women maintain a 16-minute pace per mile which is the pace you must maintain to complete a RunDisey race. The theory is, that if you stay in front of the balloon ladies you won’t be swept off the course.

Goofy Challenge

This happens during the WDW Marathon every year. It is when you run the Half Marathon on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles. I ran this challenge in 2015 when I was pregnant with my second daughter, it was such a rewarding experience!

Read about the 2015 Goofy Challenge here! 

Dopey Challenge

Also during the WDW Marathon weekend is the Dopey Challenge. This challenge, has runners participate in all the available races from the weekend. 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Full Marathon.

Darkside Challenge

During the Star Wars Darkside weekend, this challenge has runners completing the 10k and Half Marathon on consecutive days.

Fairytale Challenge

This challenge takes place during the Princess Half Marathon weekend. Runners complete the 10k and Half Marathon on consecutive days.

Two-Course Challenge

As you may have guessed, this challenge takes place during the Wine and Dine weekend. Runners complete the 10k and Half Marathon on consecutive days.

There you have it! a few RunDisney terms you might come across as you are researching for your upcoming race at Walt Disney World!

The Question of the Day: When is your next RunDisney Race?  

My Running Story.

“RUNNING IS THE WORST” 

You’ve said it, you’ve heard it, but do you really believe that running is the worst?
I used to believe that.
In fact, I spent most of my life believe that.
This is me before I ran, and then again while training for my second Marathon!
A post shared by Erin ✨ (@storybookerin) on

 

So how does someone go from the girl on the left, 
to the girl on the right? 
How does one go from absolutely hating running
to obsessing over running? 
 

It started with a walk

…that turned into a run.

In the year 2012, my husband and I decided we’d lived our unhealthy lifestyle for long enough, and we were going to walk each morning before work. So, at 5:30 a.m. each day we got up and went for a walk around a nearby golf course. We started to lose some weight, and then one cool March morning an older large man ran by us.
I was so humiliated and inspired at the same time, so I took off running and I haven’t stopped since. I went to work and told a co-worker that I’d run a little bit that morning and didn’t hate it. So, what did she do? Encouraged me to sign up for the Everest Challenge at Disney! (Read all about it here)
After the Everest Challenge, I got serious about learning to run and the research began. I’d like to say that I figured our running pretty quickly, but the truth is, I didn’t. When I first started running, I would run, run, run until I just couldn’t run anymore and then I’d walk really slow trying to catch my breath. It worked and helped motivate me to keep training and through it all, I continued to lose weight!
In February of 2013, I ran my first half marathon than in April I ran my second and fully solidified my love of running!
5 years later, I’ve run 11 half marathons, 2 marathons, 2 10ks and countless 5k’s! Many of these races I’ve run while pregnant with one of our three girls and I’ve learned SO many things!
So, here are the things I tell people who have seen my love of running develop and how I encourage them on their journey.
 

HOW TO START YOUR RUNNING LOVE-STORY

Before you begin your running journey, I think it is important to set some goals.  Is your goal to run a 5k, run a mile? Maybe you want to run a Full Marathon! Set that goal, write it down and put it somewhere you will see it.
When I first started running, I had the numbers 26.2 written on a post-it in my office, I’d look at it every single day, and then in January of 2015 I hit that goal and it was awesome!
The second thing I tell people is to look into the Run-Walk-Run method of running. Developed by Olympian Jeff Galloway, the Run-Walk method is perfect for any level runner. – Find out more about the Run-Walk Method on this post.
Lastly, find accountability!  If you don’t have someone physically with you to run, try reaching out online. The running community online is so supportive! Track your fitness with apps and get social! I’ve found some amazing friends in the running community on instagram and twitter and i’d love to connect with you too!!
My Favorite apps for tracking fitness include:
PIN FOR LATER

 

How to stay warm before a race at Disney

Marathon Weekend 2018 was once again a very cold one at Walt Disney World, and my sweet friend spent the week before the race running around grabbing the most epic layers to keep us warm before the race.

So how does one dress when it is in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s at the start of the race?

Layers.
Beautiful, crazy layers! 

Being a Miami girl, I was pretty cold for more of the race, so I kept almost all my layers for 14 miles and then eventually had to ditch them.

Where to buy layers?
We found all our layers at Walmart for less than $10.00, and let me tell you, it was worth every penny!
What happens to the layers after you toss them?
RunDisney gathers the layers and donates them to local charities.  
Do you toss all your layers? 
No, I always keep my hat and gloves. 
I stuff them into an elastic on my running belt and keep them for the next race. 

Are you a Disney Mom or Disney Blogger?

PIN FOR LATER!


More RunDisney Posts

Did I meet my goal at the 2018 Disney Marathon?

If you’ve been on Instagram for 1/2 a second, you most likely saw too many a few photos from the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon! Today, I’m going to share photos from all along the course.
**SPOILER ALERT** I had so much fun at the WDW Marathon, and can’t wait to run it again!

The Course! 

Bundled up at the Start! 

Twinning is Winning! 

Miles 1-3

The first 5k really seemed to fly by, I started the race with my friend Stephanie and we were sticking to a run-walk interval of 30/30.

Stephanie and I parted ways just after the ticket and transportation center (between mile 3 and 4) because she needed to use the bathroom. 

Miles 4-7
Here is where we enter into the Magic Kingdom, I wanted to run with my friend and I was doing pretty well with my timing so when I saw some short lines of characters, I decided to get some fun photos! 

Running from the sweepers! 

The third *evil* step sister 😉 

 Miles 7-12

I saw my chEAR squad at the Grand Floridian, got a hug from my husband and kept on running. I had take my sweet time through the Magic Kingdom and knew I needed to make up some time while the weather was still cool and I was feeling good.

My daughters have recently been obsessed with Mary Poppins, so a photo with the Penguins was a MUST DO for me!

I actually kind of enjoyed this section of the course and even had negative splits! Around mile 8 I saw my friend Stephanie, and felt relieved that she was still in this! 
Miles 13-14
Animal Kingdom, … I started to get emotional at this point in the race. I had been feeling SO great during the first half of the race, but now I was getting nervous. I hadn’t heard from my friend in a while, I was starting to get nervous for her sake. I didn’t want her to get swept, I didn’t want to get swept. 
Another hug from my husband and a tissue from my sister and I was on my way to ESPN, Wide World of Sports! 
It was in Animal Kingdom that I had to finally ditch my blanket. I used the restroom and just couldn’t get it tied back on me comfortably, so on trashcan just outside of the Finding Nemo Show, I left my fabulous tie dye blanket. 

Miles 14-18

After a clif bar and a hug, I was ready to head back out to Osceola Parkway for the long stretch to ESPN, Wide World of Sports.

Miles 18-20

ESPN… Oh, ESPN… I didn’t remember it being this awful. Perhaps its because in 2015 when I ran the Goofy Challenge my sisters were chEARing for me in the parking lot… perhaps it is because there was a huge crowd of people, I don’t know but RunDisney… You NEED to get some more support on this section of the course. – Seriously, hear our plea…

When I made it to ESPN, it was pretty evident that I was towards the back of the pack. I hadn’t heard from Stephanie in a LONG time, and the sun was out and the winds were up. I was a weird combination of hot, cold and just plain miserable. With views of construction, direct sun, high winds and essentially zero cheering zones, I was one hot mess.

 Miles 20-23

Just leaving ESPN, I found myself amidst the 7-hour pace group. The Walt Disney Marathon has a time limit and you are required to maintain a 16-minute mile, or else you are at risk of being swept. So, when I saw that Jeff Galloway Pacer holding a 7-hour sign, I latched onto the group and with everything I had in me stuck with the intervals.

At one point I confirmed with another runner when we were safe from being swept because I was so scared I was going to end up on the “Parade Bus”.

I didn’t take photos during this time, I was focused on sticking to the intervals and not getting swept.

Mile 23-24

Finally made it into Hollywood Studios, where we were handed Halloween Candy… (Um, seriously RunDisney? Candy Corn M&M’s?  – No thanks). I stuffed the Candy Corn M&M’s in my bra and grabbed plain M&M’s down a little further and tried to relax a bit since I was almost beyond all the sweeper busses!

“There you are”

I hear from the crowd at Mile 24, I look up and see Chris searching the crowd desperate to find me. I smiled a little brighter after seeing him there and started to make my way towards the finish line. I knew he’d never make it to the finish line to see me, so I made the decision to soak everything in. 
I would stop for any photo I wanted, and venture off course to find a snack to eat at the finish line. I worked hard for this moment, and I wanted to enjoy it! 

Miles 24-26.2


THANK YOU RUNDISNEY VOLUNTEERS!
26.2 Magical Miles! 


 So what’s next for me? 
I promised my husband, NO more Full Marathons until after all our girls start school. Therefore, I’m going to focus on improving my time on the 10K, and Half Marathon before taking another 26.2-mile journey.

Thank you so much for all the love and support during this journey. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and ability to participate and complete the 2018 Walt Disney Marathon!

Finally, thank you to my number one fan, the man who sacrificed so many Saturday mornings of sleeping to watch our girls so I could complete my training runs. I wouldn’t have made it to the finish line without the many people who took a turn watching the girls so I could run.

Sharing is caring!

P.S. I friend Stephanie DID finish the race! 😉 

My outfit for the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon

Happy Walt Disney World Wednesday!

We are just a few days away from the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon, those who are running the 5K, or Dopey Challenge are already en-route to the Happiest Place on Earth, but some of us won’t be heading towards Orlando until later in the week.

I’m not going to lie, my Instagram feed is full of amazing pictures of people soaking in the fun at the parks before the craziness of RunDisney weekend sets in, and I’m slightly jealous. So, to combat my fear of missing out I’m going to share my costume for the Marathon!

Originally, I was going to be someone very Shiney… 😉

I even bought a shell to spray paint for my Moana Crab (Tamatoa) costume. However, as the race approached I didn’t feel like I’d do the costume justice and genuinely felt like the shell would annoy me. So, I ditched that idea and started over. 
Training with three kids, ages 3 and under proved to be much harder than I thought it’d be. Throw in an exclusively breastfed infant who refused a bottle for most of her life, and you’ve got my reality.

Training for this race was harder than I anticipated, 
but I got it done! 
Around the time I was trying to find a new costume inspiration, my daughters had been requesting to watch Peter Pan on repeat, and I’m glad they did. 
For the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon, 
my costume is inspired by the Movie Peter Pan! 

If I have time, I plan to add a red feather to my visor, and white pom poms to my shoes.  We will see if I can make it out to a craft store for the supplies.
Costume Details! 
  • Shirt: Raw Threads, get yours here.
    • sign up for their newsletter, they always have amazing sales! 
  • Shorts: Under Armour Compression Shorts
    • These shorts are my favorite! They even work well during pregnancy. 

  • Skirt: Sparkle Athletic
    • sign up for their newsletter, they also have amazing sales! 
  • Timer: Gymboss
    • I plan to do 30/30 Run Walk Intervals for the Marathon, I felt it gives me a nice and comfortable pace. One that I can maintain for all 26.2 miles!  
  • Watch: Garmin Forerunner 220
    • Love this watch, it’s super simple to use and has very limited bells and whistles. It’s an older model watch, but it’s perfect for what I need. 
  • Costume Inspiration, Peter Pan! 
Who is your favorite Character in Neverland? 
Pin for later… 


15 no fuss costumes for RunDisney

The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend is less than a week away! Have you figured out your costumes yet?  Don’t be like me at my first RunDisney race, I had NO idea that we could (and should) dress up for the run!

2012 Everest Challenge 

Some people really go all out and make the most beautiful and elaborate costumes. Check out this Instagram account for inspiration. Personally, I start thinking up grand ideas for costumes, but when it comes time to put them together, I usually end up doing a more simple costume. 

So, to inspire those of us who just aren’t as crafty as others I wanted to share 15 of the costumes I put together with just a few basic articles of clothing. 
I used a skirt from Sparkle Athletic in all of my costumes, you can order them from Amazon.com or the Sparkle Athletic website! Right now if you order one from their website, you can pick it up at the WDW Marathon Expo!

Under my skirt, I wear these Under Armour Shorts, and I LOVE them!

Dressing up for the races is one of the most fun parts of the whole experience, but you don’t have to be elaborate in your costuming, here are 15 of my favorite Disney inspired looks!


1. Orange Bird 

  • Orange Running Shirt
  • Orange Sparkle Skirt
  • Green Visor 
2. Aladdin
  • White Sparkle Skirt
  • Purple Running Tank
3. Princess Aurora 
  • Blue Sparkle Skirt
  • Pink Running Tank 
4. Princess Anna
  • Green Sparkle Skirt
  • Black Tank
  • Hair in Braids
5. Mad Madam Mim
  • Purple Shirt
  • Pink Sparkle Skirt
6. Donald Duck
  • Blue Shirt
  • White Sparkle Skirt
7. Star Wars – Darkside
  • Star Wars Shirt from Rawthreads; or 
  • Star Wars Shirt from Sparkle Athletic
  • Grey Sparkle Skirt
8. Kim Possible
  • Black Tank Top
  • Green Sparkle Skirt
9. Marie 
  • White Tank
  • White Skirt
  • 2 Pink Bows 
10. Candice
  • White Sparkle Skirt 
  • Pink Shirt
11. Gretchen
  • Glasses
  • Blue Shirt
  • White or Blue Sparkle Skirt 
12. Princess Leia 
  1. White Shirt
  2. White Sparkle Skirt
  3. Silver Belt
  4. Hair in Buns 
13. Bellwether
  • White Tank
  • Black Jacket
  • Orange Sparkle Skirt
  • Hair in large poof on top of head
14. Benjamin Clawhauser
  • Cheetah Ears 
  • Blue Shirt
  • Orange Skirt 
15. Ariel
  • Purple Shirt
  • Green Skirt 
  

From the Archives: My Experience at the 2015 Marathon

Hiya Pals!

Happy Throwback Thursday, as I prepare for the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon I can’t help but reminsce about the first time I ran a Marathon!

My desire to run the Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge started after my first 5K, That’s right before I even ran the Princess Half  I had decided that I wanted to run the biggest, baddest, RunDisney race (at the time) of them all!!

Goofy’s Race & a Half Challenge! 

Of course, since then RunDisney has added the Dopey Challenge – so Goofy isn’t as highly recognized as being a big deal… but… Mr. Goof’ I think your race is pretty sweet, and to be honest… Even just part of the Goofy Challenge is pretty tough – and something you have to train for.

But … enough babble – let me actually talk about the race.

The Night Before
The night before the race we had dinner with our families (yep.. OUR families) So, my Mother, Father, Sister, and Brother in law. Along with my Mom, Dad, Grandma, Sister, Sister, Brother in Law & Niece all got together at the Olive Garden for some dinner.

Of course, Little Lady and Little Miss stole the show with their cuteness and I could barely eat. I just didn’t feel good, and nothing on the menu seemed appetizing so… I picked at my food and shared with Little Lady.

We got back to the hotel room, organized our things for the race in the morning and went to bed as early as possible.

The Middle of the Night
Little Lady had gotten cold in the middle of the night, and so I snuggled with her until the alarm went off and it was time to get ready to go!

Little Lady was snuggled warmly on our bed, and we began to get ready to go. I felt really stiff so I grabbed my headphones and my iPhone and went through a Yoga Sequence (Yoga with Adrienne).

Pre- Race
We were in Corral O, which is pretty much the last corral to start. I mentioned that there was whining before the half, and honestly… what’s the deal?  To block out the noise around my I put some music on and tried to get my nerves in check before the race.

Miles 1-5 
Just like the half, these miles seemed to FLY by. We didn’t really go FAST, in fact, I was a little dehydrated, so I had to drink a little more water than I wanted to in order to avoid a cramp. So, an extra bathroom stop became necessary – which made our time a little slower. My sisters and niece had decided to follow us along the course – it was a HUGE surprise to see them when we turned onto Main Street. I almost cried, because… there it was… The castle, and my sisters cheering me on!
I defiantly had an “is this real life” moment.

Miles 6-12
A blur… I stayed so focused on my 1 min walk / 1 min run ratio, and was determined NOT to get swept, I just buckled down and ran. I will say, I do remember this being a really boring section of the course. A special thank you to the employee in the Animal Kingdom the words “course to the left, bathrooms to the right” sounded so beautiful to this preggo.

At mile 12 I ate a Clif Bar and treated the second half of the course like “just another half marathon”. I think breaking it down like that really helped me.

13.1
As we crossed the Half Marathon mark I heard a lady say her friend was swept at mile 10. I got scared… Truly – it lit a fire under me because I was NOT ready to be swept. I’d trained too long and hard for this, I WOULD finish.

13.1 – 17
So,  this was another really boring part of the course. My husband saw Little John from REALLY far back and ran ahead to get in line. Robin Hood is his FAVORITE Disney movie, and he’d never seen Friar Tuck out for pictures. So, we waited in line.

He didn’t know about what I overheard, and how terrified I was of getting swept.

Also during this stretch, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said “I know you”, at first I was a little surprised because I was so focused on my intervals I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me, but it was pretty neat to be recognized.

Mile 17.
Is there anything as disheartening as seeing the mile marker for mile 17, then a BUNCH of people turning into the road that leads to MGM at Mile 21 right next to you? Yeah, don’t think so.  I’d noticed it but didn’t want to think about it. Until some total stranger taps me on the shoulder and says “THAT’S MILE 21, AND WE ARE ONLY JUST AFTER MILE 17” … I could see ESPN Wide World of Sports, and I knew it’d probably be a scenic 5 miles, but … now all I could think about was how many miles we had left and how much I had to use the bathroom (again!).

ESPN Wide World of Sports
We made it. The Wide World of Sports, full of interesting things to look at, a banana fuel station, a cold wet towel, lots of people cheering you on – it was a dream. I (sadly) had to pee SO badly. Our time suffered greatly because we waited about 5 minutes for a bathroom. Annoyed almost to the brink of tears, I held it together. During the WWOS we also ran the track that we’d just run for the kid’s races, so naturally, I started thinking about Little Lady about how much I missed her, and how someday I’d get to tell her and the little love bug inside of me all about our first Marathon. The two of them were such a big part of it – I guess mile 19 brought out the sentimental side of me?  We saw my sisters again, and got some more hugs and were on our way.

I’d saved a FunSize Hershey bar for mile 20 celebration. I knew if I made it to Mile 20 without being swept, I could do it!

Mile 21 – 24
We finally made it to MGM and the volunteers never looked more fabulous with buckets full of chocolate for us back of the pack runners. (One of the fuel stations was empty before we got there) We moved pretty quickly around the park and before we knew it, were on our way to the Board Walk. As soon as I saw the boardwalk I got so emotional.

Why?
1) I just ran a WHOLE lot of miles with a 25-week baby bump – I’m allowed to get emotional.
2) The crowd on the boardwalk was vibrant! So many runners with their medals, and families, and people with “way to go” signs.
3) We were almost “safe”

Mile 24-26.2


As soon as we turned the corner into the World Showcase of Epcot, I could NOT stop the tears. I’d made it. Only 2 more miles until I was given the title of “Marathoner”. I’m not talking pretty tears, I’m talking big ugly tears. Through the rain, humidity, and COLD we followed the Galloway Run/Walk, and we had done it. About the same time we made it to Epcot I noticed my watch had died, so we just did what felt good for the end. 

We soaked in the energy from the crowd, high-fived small children, and waved to people on the sidelines, and then as we approached the finish line we smiled and waved at our families and I blew some kisses to my dear friend Lena who came to cheer me on.

A hug from Minnie Mouse, and we crossed the finish line.

Goofy Challenge Finishers.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I would be running a Marathon. Never would I have imagined I’d run a Marathon at 25 weeks pregnant, but sometimes dreams change.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to complete the Goofy Challenge without anything more than bruised and ugly toenails.  My husband was my constant beacon of love and support, I knew he believed in me and together we could cross both finish lines for the goofy challenge. 

I’m also thankful for our families who supported us, watched little lady for us during long training runs, fed us when I was too tired to cook, and came and cheered us all the way to the finish line. 
Purchase your Minnie inspired tutu here!*

We are truly blessed. 
Now, to focus on havin’ this baby in just about 13 more weeks… 
*This post contains affiliate links, this costs nothing extra for you but your support of StorybookErin.com is greatly appreciated. 😉

How #HurricaneIrma affected my Marathon Training

Marathon Monday   Thursday!

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time you are probably aware that I am located in South Florida, and I have three of the most amazing kiddos in the world! I, like EVERYONE in Florida watched Hurricane Irma grow in strength and uncertainty for several days, and began to prepare.

Between organizing a baby shower for my niece (coming this fall), and preparing my house for Irma, I haven’t had any spare energy or time to get out the door for my training runs but here is what I have been doing.

I purchased comfort items, such as non-perishable chocolate milk so my three year old would be able to sleep a little easier when the power went out.

I purchased lots of fun snacks, packed puzzles, NEW crayons and little toys for our evacuation to Abuela’s house.

I practiced putting a baby carrier on in a hurry in case we had to run to a closet if we were in the path of a tornado, or other extreme weather.

I got down on my knees and prayed for wisdom and guidance as we watched Irma.

I taught my girls a memory verse to recite to themselves when they were afraid, but if i’m being honest… it was really me who was afraid.

A post shared by Erin ✨ (@storybookerin) on

I gave my girls jobs to help them feel a part of the preparation, and took the time to talk to them about Hurricanes.

A post shared by Erin ✨ (@storybookerin) on

and once the storm passed, and we were among the first to have power we opened our home to family and friends who needed a place to cool off, take a shower, charge their phones or just relax.

I’ve never been afraid of a hurricane like I was for Irma, but I am so thankful for the many people who reached out to let me know my girls were in their prayers. Your kindness gave me such peace, I could never express how much your kindness meant to me.

A post shared by Erin ✨ (@storybookerin) on

To the many in Florida and beyond still without power, and working hard to find “normal” after the storm, you are in my prayers. 
Have Courage & Be Kind.

DIY Disney: Vanellope Von Schweetz Costume

Hello everyone! I am Dana, Storybook Erin’s sister. I ran the 2017 Goofy Challenge, with our older sister and had an adorable costume inspired by Wreck-it Ralph so, I was asked to share how I completed the look while sticking to a very small budget!

Character Inspirations

  • Vanellope von Shweetz
  •  Taffyta Muttonfudge

After hours of searching the Internet for easy costume ideas and only finding 2 tutorials, (Both were outside my current skill level, and more effort than I wanted to put into a costume). I realized that I could just paint on the details!

  My solution for the shirt was simple and cost less than $5.

The Shirt

My local Salvation Army sells all clothing for 50% off on Wednesdays, so two Wednesday in a row I went and scoured the racks. I found a short sleeve shirt with a v neck design similar to a hoodie. Next, I purchased fabric paint and polymer clay from Michael’s, so I could put the finishing details on the shirt.

Instructions

  1. Lay the shirt on the table and use a sheet of paper to help with placement and sizing
  2.  Fold a corner of the paper down to choose the angle of the pocket
  3.  Folded the paper in half and cut the angle. 
    • Now you have a pocket stencil!
  4. Put a piece of cardboard or paper bag inside the shirt 
    • This prevents the Sharpie from bleeding through
  5. Unfold your newly made custom stencil and place on the shirt
  6. Draw a line around the stencil with Sharpie
    • PRO TIP: To prevent the sharpie from catching on the fabric, try to stipple the line on. 
  7. Paint on additional details with pink fabric paint and let dry! 

I have continued to use my Vanellope shirt for several training runs and the paint is holding up well, even with an accidental trip through the dryer!

The Hair Accessories

I used polymer clay to make the hair candy according to the direction on the clay packaging and super glued the pieces on to clips. The super glue did not hold well. I had enough usable pieces on race day, but I do not recommend using super glue for the accessories. A glue gun may have worked better, but I did not have access to a glue gun while crafting my hair pieces.

Another option I thought of for the hair pieces would have been to sew buttons onto a sweat band and use two red pipe cleaners twisted together for the look of red licorice.

Supplies Needed w/ Cost!

  • Shirt ($2.00)
    • Thrifted
  • Pink Fabric Paint ($1.39)
    • Michaels 
      • Don’t forget to grab a coupon from their website!
  • Hair Clips ($3.50)
    • Walgreens
  • Polymer Clay x 3 ($5.07)
    • Michaels
  • Red Pipe Cleaners (FREE)
    • Personal Craft Supplies 
  • Sharpie (FREE)
    • Personal Craft Supplies
  • Brown Sparkle Skirt ($25.00)
  • Silver Sleeves ($22.00)
  • Visor ($25.00)
  • SockWell Compression Socks ($25.00)
    • Amazon.com


Shirt and Craft Supplies Total 
11.24 + tax


COSTUME TOTAL 83.94 + tax

Total I spent almost $100 on my outfit. However, when you remove items purchased from Sparkle Athletic, the total cost was less than $12.00.  

Sparkle Skirts, Socks, Sleeves and Visors are absolutely reusable, and the quality of Sparkle Athletic items is excellent! Be sure to subscribe to their mailing list to be alerted of any sales or new products, I purchased my first sparkle gear during a Christmas in July sale.

I hope this post inspired you to think creatively when putting together a costume, I’d love to see your creations! So please tag my sister’s Instagram if you decide to make this costume!

Shop the Look*


PIN FOR LATER 

Running Tips from Jeff Galloway – Motivation

MOTIVATE YOUR WAY OUT THE DOOR.

There is a point where every runner needs a little motivation to head out the door. Here is a proven strategy to get moving on the tough days.The method has also been helpful in dealing with other challenges.

Mentally Rehearse: The following is a mental exercise that you can do throughout the day to prepare for this situation, as you are sitting around at the end of the day, driving, or commuting home. Don’t focus on the workout. Instead, break down the experience into a series of small steps which are easy to do. As you rehearse the sequence of these, over and over, you become more likely to follow the same pattern when you need to do so. Prepare by putting on comfortable shoes and clothes, and having your exercise equipment handy. You’re not thinking about exerting yourself – just getting out of work clothes and into clothes that are comfortable but could be used for your workout.

1. Coffee? As you are dressing, brew some coffee, tea, or have a diet drink, etc. Caffeine (if you have no problems with it) will wake up the central nervous system, making exercise feel better.

 2. Eat a snack. Low blood sugar is the most common reason for low motivation in the afternoon. An easy-to-digest snack will raise the level so that you feel good and will reduce the negative messages received from the stress-monitoring part of the brain (the left brain).

 3. Weather? Just walk out the front door to see what the weather is like.

 4. If you are using exercise equipment in a health club, check the availability and walk around the equipment until the user has finished his or her workout.

 5. If outside, walk to the end of the block to get your bearings. Once you have walked 100 steps you are almost certain to continue. If using a treadmill, commit to walking 100 steps, then commit to running 100 steps.

 Have a reward afterward, such as a snack, a beverage, or a massage – you earned it!

 There is a principle of lazy physics here:

A body on the couch wants to stay on the couch. But once a body is in motion it wants to stay in motion.

See ya at the finish line! 

*I am a blogger for Jeff Galloway, as such I receive great tips and resources to share with my readers. Enjoy!

Running Tips from Jeff Galloway: Fast Lane 101

Content provided by Jeff Galloway, with the intent to share with all of you lovely readers. 

Neighborhood tracks are the most convenient place to run for most.  Whether you’re taking your first steps or wanting to improve your time, it’s easy to check your pace by timing each lap. Because I’ve spoken to many runners who mistakenly feel that they are not fast enough to run at the local oval, here are a few simple guidelines:
 
  • What is the distance of a lap?  Standard distance is 400 meters (@ .25 mile).
  • In which direction should I run?   In most cases, run counterclockwise.  A few tracks alternate direction from day to day,  so follow the direction of the other runners.
  • What lane should I use when running slow or walking?  The inside 3 lanes are reserved for faster runners and those doing speed workouts.  Most runners should use the 2 outside lanes.
  • How do I pass slower runners? Assuming a normal, counterclockwise pattern, move to the right to pass, with a smile.
  • Is it OK for kids to ride bikes and skate on the track? This is not a good idea.  Try to find another place near the track for these activities.
  • Do I have to pay to use a track?  Most tracks are free, but the hours of use may be restricted by the school.
  • Can I run on the track with an iPod? This is up to you but be aware of your surroundings and possible threats or faster runners coming up behind you.  Keep one ear uncovered.
  • Do I need special shoes?  No—you can use the same shoe for road, track or fitness trail—unless you are a competitor doing very fast speedwork.
  • Are there any times that I should not use the track?  If there is a track meet or organized track practice by the local team, find another running area.  Some track teams allow recreational runners to use the outside lane during their workouts.  
Say What?
Repeats—These are the fast segments during a speed workout.  Each repeat (usually about 3-5% of the distance of the goal event) is run slightly faster than goal race pace, followed by a rest interval of  walking or slow jogging.  Through a series of workouts, the number of repetitions gradually increases.

The Fix
I always lose count of how many times I’ve run around the track! How can I keep track of it better?  Office supply stores sell “counters” that keep track of the number of laps as you click each time you finish a lap.  Another method: time yourself for the first 2 laps, for two laps in the middle and 2 laps at the end.  Compute an average of the lap times.  You can compute the number of laps by dividing the total time run by the average time per lap.

The Excuse
There are lots of fast-looking people at my track; I’m scared I’ll get in their way. 
 The inside lanes are for faster runners.  If you run in the outside lane, you will not get in their way.

 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to complete the First Annual Double G! 

The first 400 participants who register for the Double G will receive a JG-branded puffer vest! If you are one of the lucky 400, you will be able to pick up your vest at the Expo.

The Double G includes:

  • Barb’s 5K (Saturday, December 10, 2016)
  • JG 13.1 (Sunday, December 11, 2016)
  • 3rd medal for completing both races

* The Double G is only for those who participate in the actual races in Atlanta. It does not apply to the virtual option.

Register at jeffgalloway131.com/onlineregistration/#.V-mcO_ArKUk

Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon – RECAP!

The (Innagural) Star Wars Half Marathon

I was so excited to be able to participate in the Inaugural Darkside Star Wars Half Marathon. We had a busy day prior to arriving at the race Expo, and we were anxious to get there and talk to runner relations because there was a glitch in the system and my husband’s proof of time wasn’t read.  Thankfully he had put all the information in a notes section of Active and  RunDisney was able to (within seconds) place him in the appropriate corral! He moved from Corral J all the way up to Corral D [insert happy dance].

Since I am expecting, and had zero intention of stopping for anything except maybe a bathroom we agreed that he should run in his corral and I would run in mine (Corral G).

Pre-Race

Prior to the start of the race, we took several pictures with some star wars characters and just had a lovely time enjoying the pre-race vibe.  My sister was also running the half but was in a different corral. I also advised her to run her own race and have a good time, because I knew I wouldn’t be pushing myself (at all) for the race. My only goal was to finish before the sweepers.

The Race Begins

The race started and I moved as far over to the right side as I possibly could and began my 30/30 intervals. I’d decided it would be short enough intervals to keep me distracted, and I wouldn’t get my heart rate up too high too quickly. On Friday I took a one-hour glucose test at the doctor to test for gestational diabetes and was still feeling “off” so I really just wanted to do my own thing.

My sister must have passed me around mile 2 because I received a text message with her 5k split a few minutes before I made it to the 5k mark myself. I never saw my sister, but that’s alright, we were all running our own race and having as much fun as possible.

Running Through Epcot

Let’s talk about the start of the race, we were in Epcot and IT.WAS.AWESOME!  We entered Epcot from the back (like think underneath test track) and ran around World Showcase for a bit. Since it was still quite dark when we ran through it, all of the buildings had white lights around the top, and there was Star Wars music BLASTING through all the speakers. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, but whatever nerdy ounce I have in my body was thrilled.

Running through Epcot while the sounds epic light saber battles are all around you?

Best start to a race EVER!

Running through the Boardwalk

After Epcot, we entered onto the boardwalk area and ran the path that connects Epcot with Hollywood Studios. The course was quite narrow at this point, and as annoying as I was to all those around me, I continued to stick all the way to the right hand side and run 30/30 intervals.

Running through Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was also pretty Epic. There was a large stage in front of the Chinese Theater with Kylo Ren and some storm troopers, you know encouraging you to “move along”.  I had every intention of taking a picture, but … I didn’t. I got distracted by the ambiance, and just kept moving.

Running through Osceola Parkway

After HWS we entered the first long (and boring) stretch of Osceola Parkway. One thing they did, that I wish they’d do more of during other half marathons is they played movies every mile or so on the long boring stretches! I mean, it’s not like meeting Jedi Mickey (Who was no where to be found) but it’s pretty cool and distracting!

Running Through Animal Kingdom

Before I knew it I was entering the Animal Kingdom. I got a little emotional during this part of the course, mostly because I was having deja vu from when I ran the Marathon (pregnant with Baby 2). The sun was rising, and everything just looked so pretty!  I had a good time running though the Animal Kingdom and took advantage of a REAL bathroom and sink to wash my hands.

Running on Osceola Parkways (again)

After the Animal Kingdom, we entered the final stretches of Osceola Parkway. I’d started to slow down at this part, but was still well above the 16 min mile requirement so I was comfortable with my slowing pace.

Running through ESPN Wide World of Sports

Before I knew it I was turning a corner into the woods and running on a dirt path entering EPSN Wide World of Sports. The crowd was vibrant was we entered ESPN and it was here that the tears just fell. I’d done it… My knees still felt great, and I was approaching the finish line.

My dad and younger sister had come to chEAR us on with signs, so I blew some kisses to them and then headed for the finish line. Where my older sister had waited for me so we could take a picture together!

This was not my fastest half marathon, in fact, it can go on the list as one of my slowest. However, it was the most fun I’ve had running a half marathon. I loved this race so much, and think it’s a great addition to the RunDisney races! 

Finish: 3:19:21
Pace: 15 minutes per mile
Pregnancy: 14 Weeks (Second Trimester)

The Question of the day, who would you dress up as for a Star Wars themed race?  

RunDisney Princess Half Marathon Recap

Happy Wednesday Disney Fans!

We’ve (finally) made it to the recap of the Princess Half Marathon. I won’t lie, I have been struggling to write this post. The fact is,… I don’t really want to re-live it. (Yes, it was that bad) but… My Princess Half weekend posts would be incomplete if I didn’t talk about the biggest race of the weekend, so bear with me – I had a pretty rough run. 
Before I went to sleep I decided to set 2 alarms, I just had a feeling I wasn’t going to wake up. I was absolutely exhausted from the previous two days and a little nervous about missing the race. It’s a good thing I set two alarms because in my sleep I turned off the first one and almost missed the second one. 
Actually it wasn’t the alarm that woke me up, it was our friend who was staying with us getting settled onto the bed in the living room that woke me up. 

I got up and zoomed around getting ready as fast as possible, and fast walked over to the bus. I was the last person on the first bus before they headed over to Epcot.  Once on the bus I texted my sister to let her know I was on my way! 

She responded that she would be leaving soon, so I got in line right away to meet some princesses. After I had met two different princesses, I got a text that she had locked her shoes in her room and didn’t have  key! 

Sooooo, I just kept hanging around with the Princesses waiting for her to arrive. 
When she arrived, I was almost next in line to Meet Mulan (again) so we snapped a quick picture and then had to head over to the corrals because they had already done “last call” announcements! 

As we walked my sister commented on how long the walk was! It’s nothing like the 10k where you start right in the parking lot. 
As soon as our corral left we started our run/walk intervals of 1:30 / 45. The course was really crowded, and a lot of people were trying to run in large groups so we did quite a bit of weaving.  Between mile 1 – 5 we cheered as the elite runners ran by us.  It’s kind of a blur as to the entertainment on the course, so I’m going to link you to Mindy’s blog – she stopped for all the characters with her friend Jenny! 
When I started the race I was feeling a little dehydrated so I had a slight cramp, but I pressed on. 
Once we made it into The Magic Kingdom I remember there being a TON of characters, and large crowds of people. We took a bathroom break just before mile 6 and kept on running. We did take a couple of selfies by the castle. 

Everything was going FABULOUS until mile 8. At Mile 8 I just wanted to cry… My cramp had gotten more severe and now my knees started hurting. 
WHAT?  My Knees??? 
I’ve never had a problem with my knees, so I was pretty discouraged. My sister kept dragging me along and then, (finally) we made it back to Epcot. 
I wish I remembered more about the last part of the course but all I remember was being in tears all the way through Epcot, and then feeling like my knees were going to shatter. 
I saw Donald Duck and decided to grab a selfie with him before the finish – he is my daughters favorite! 

We finished the race, I grabbed ice for both knees right away and headed back to my hotel. I didn’t stop for pictures, I didn’t look for people, I just went to my bus. In fact, I lost my sister in the crowd and just texted her from the bus – it was that bad. 

After some food and a shower I was feeling better, but my knees were still in pain and I still had that pesky side cramp. 
Our time was 2:57:08 
I was in a lot of pain but was still super proud of breaking 3 hours for the half. 

Question of the day: who is your favorite disney Prince? 

Run Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – 10K Recap

Happy Wednesday friends!!

We are still working our way through my Princess half weekend recaps and today I am so excited to actually talk about the running.

I was pretty excited about the 10K mostly because we my sisters and I had pretty epic costumes, and it was the first RunDisney race for both of them! (See about our costumes here)

My husband arrived to Disney around 9:30 on Friday night and took over baby holding duty. The girls and I arrived on Thursday so I could be there for packet pick up and the kids races on Friday. As a result, our girls were missing Daddy and were both quite clingy.

Once both girls were sound asleep, I finally got my chance to go to sleep. I continued to wake up every hour until 1:00 a.m.. At 1:00 a.m., my husband was looking around the kitchen area, because the poor guy was starving. He didn’t eat dinner, he opted to just drive straight from work to Disney and only had a cup of coffee and a granola bar.

So, at 1:00 I just got up with him.

I took my sweet time getting my hair fixed, and putting on make-up, putting my wings on just trying to get my nerves in check. I have run several races, many of them at Disney – why do I still get super nervous EVERY time?

I was on the first bus over to the race, and quickly got in line to meet some princesses!  Since we were dressed as the Three Good Fairies, I knew we needed to get a picture with Aurora!

After our picture we headed over to our corral and waited for our turn to start.  When we finally got going my younger sister TOOK OFF! She was SO excited that she just went. I’m more of a slow and steady, run-walk-run type of girl so I just stuck to the interval we’d agreed on (2/1) and let them go their own thing.

The 10k seemed to fly by. Honestly, it was so much fun. I think it might be my favorite race distance to run at Disney.

After the race we stretched and headed back to our rooms to take a nap and then head out to Magic Kingdom (More on that in another post).

Question of the day: What is your favorite race distance?

Princess Half Marathon Kids Races

Happy Wednesday my friends!

I’m (slowly) making my way through the Princess Half Marathon weekend with all of you. Today I wanted to share some pictures and highlights from the Kids Races.

The theme for the whole weekend was The Little Mermaid, and the kids races medals were absolutely adorable (and if I could find where my kids hid it, I would have taken a picture).

This time the kids races had a huge area for the kids to play before or after their races. The area included:

  • Color your own crown
  • obstacle course 
  • music 
As done in previous kids races, they start with the 1-3 year olds and do all the “dashes” and then once all of the age groups have gone (just before the “Mickey Mile) they do the diaper dashes.  Since our group had two in the 1-3 age group and one in the 0-1 group we were out there pretty much all morning.  We packed lunches and while we waited for our turn enjoyed a pic-nic and played around in the field. It was such a beautiful day! 
I’ve mentioned this before, and I’ll say it again. The kids races are SO.MUCH.FUN. for your toddlers! (3 reasons to love Kids Races). 
The next opportunity to sign up for kids races (or RunDisney races) is Tuesday, March 29th at noon. This will be for the Wine and Dine weekend in November. We aren’t running the W&D this year, but are considering registering our girls for the kids races. (Stay tuned to RunDisney for information)
Question of the day: Do your kids love the same activities as you? 

Tips from Jeff Galloway – Fast and Fun – Its a state of mind

Good morning friends, I’ve received another set of tips from Jeff Galloway to share with all of you!  This time it’s all about speed! Who wants tips on how to improve your speed without increasing your risk of injury? 

_ _ _ 

FAST AND FUN—It’s a state of mind 

Why is running faster a good thing?  Short and fast segments not only help you run faster in races.  If you run a few faster segments each week you can improve your running efficiency while receiving a better attitude boost.

How long should you be running before you add some faster running in? After 2-3 months of regular running some short accelerations can be added with minimal risk of aches and pains. 

Is it possible that running fast can actually be fun?  Yes.  The secret is be creative and limit the length of the fast segment at first. 

How often should you run fast? Playful speed can be done once or twice a week.

Four Faster, Fun Workouts
1. Speed play that you can do on your own. ACCELERATE AND GLIDE.  After an easy 10 minute warmup of slow running, pick up the pace for 10 steps, then coast off the momentum for 10-20 steps.  Don’t be obsessed about the number of steps as this is just a guideline.  Don’t sprint–be playful.  Gradually pick up the pace, and then glide back down to a jog.  Repeat 2-3 times on your first attempt, and take a one minute walk break.  Each week you could increase the number of accelerations as you wish, with a recommended walk break of 1-2 minutes between each.

2. Speed play you can do with one friend—CHASE game.  After an easy 5 minute jog together, one person takes the lead.  As the leader changes the pace (speeding up, then slowing down, speeding up) the follower tries to stay close but not pass.  After 3-5 minutes, take a 1-2 minute walk break and repeat with the other runner leading.  Repeat as many times as desired.

3. Speed play you can do with two friends—SURPRISE game. Following the same format as game 1, the follower tries to surprise the leader by passing gently but quickly.  While there should be no sprinting, it is OK to run fast for 10-30 steps to pass.

4. A speed play workout you can do with three or more friends—INDIAN RUNNING.  The group is running single file for a minute or two at an easy pace.  Then, the last runner, passes all of the other runners and takes the lead for a minute or two.  The current leader sets the pace, and takes a walk break.  When the running resumes, the last runner starts to move to the front.  Each runner gets to take the lead at least once in this game.

_ _ _

I’m excited to try some of these tips on my next run! 

Question of the day: What pace are you working towards? I’m working on getting to an 11 min mile pace for distance. Right now I’m at about 12:30; so I have some work to do! 

Guest Post: My First RunDisney Expo

Happy Wednesday Friends! 


I have a little secret… I never actually went to the expo for Princess half. Yep… I skipped it.  My race packet and shirts were all in the same room as the Kids Races packets and since there had been tales of chaos over in the actual expo, I opted to keep my girls out of that mess. Honestly, there wasn’t anything I absolutely needed to purchase so it was the best decision. I am sad I missed it, but my sisters and niece went on Thursday evening. They seemed to have a great time, so I asked my little sister to share about her first ever RunDisney Expo and Packet pick up experience! 

Met Princess Minnie during packet pick up. 
Hello! My name is Dana and I am Erin’s younger sister.The Enchanted 10k was my first Disney race and my sister asked me to talk a little about my experience with the exposition and packet pick up!
I arrived in Orlando early Thursday afternoon with our other sister Ruth, so we could settle into our hotel rooms, pick up our packets and visit the exposition. The plan worked out for us because we didn’t have to rush to the Kids Races on Friday. Ruth kept Junebug (1.5 years)  in the carrier for most of our trip to the expo, so we wouldn’t have to worry about her running around.

Packet Pick-up: Quick and easy! In the downstairs hallway, there were computers and printers for people to print their own waiver. We printed our waivers ahead of time, so we skipped past that crowd. The main room was full of booths and each was clearly marked with the bib numbers that could be picked up there. Bib numbers are printed on the waivers and we were able to go straight to our assigned booths. 

After I picked up my packet, I found Ruth at the front of her line and she had already picked up Junebug’s packet. Since she was running the Glass Slipper challenge, she had to take a quick picture with her bib. 

There were 2 spots for character pictures, but no characters were out at this time.  We did get to do a Snow White themed photo opportunity! In honor of Snow White being released there was a green screen and 4 or 5 Snow White backgrounds to choose from. They printed out the photos for you AND they emailed you a digital copy! There were also free buttons on the table! 
Exposition: We had to go to another building for the Expo and this one was much more crowded! As soon as I looked down on the crowd I was ready to leave. 

I had to get over it for 3 reasons: 
  1. My shirt was on the far side of the room. Ruth and Junebug’s shirts were in the bag with their bibs because Ruth was a challenger and Junebug is a kid. 5k and 10k racers had to get shirts at the expo. Since there was nothing to do except pick up a shirt, that corner of the room was not crowded. If you needed a different size shirt, you had the opportunity to exchange it.
  2.  My sisters ordered from Rawthreads and Ruth needed to pick-up their shirts. 
  3. Ruth still had not purchased a running belt for herself and was also considering buying compression socks. 

By the time 1 and 2 were done I had made my peace with the crowd and started to enjoy the event. I was surprised by the amount of free stuff given away. We picked up a lot of samples throughout the expo and we took pictures at the GoodSense booth. GoodSense had a green screen and we could choose our 1 of 3 backgrounds and they emailed us a digital copy of our photo. They also had a prize wheel to spin and I won a sample pack. Junebug won a high five and looked so cute holding up her hand for her high five, she was also given a cowbell. Although it didn’t look too busy when I peeked in,  I never made it into the area where the “I did it” shirts were sold; but that’s okay because I really liked the 10k shirt that RunDisney provided with my registration.

_ _ _
Dana rocked her first RunDisney race and is *thinking* about doing another one next year after she accomplishes some swimming goals! 
Anyway, if you enjoyed hearing from Dana you can check out her FB page. She shares a lot of motivational posts and healthy recipes.  
For more about the Princess weekend, check back on the next couple of Wednesdays or here (10K costume) and here (half marathon costume). 

Disney Princess Half Marathon Outfit Reveal!

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Last Wednesday I revealed our costume for the 10K. It was a LOT of fun to fun in costume, and receive compliments on our totally awesome costumes – BUT, I was pretty excited to NOT be running with wings for the Princess Half.

Last June my sister and I decided we would be the Eels from the Little Mermaid, Yes… JUNE (before we knew the theme!). So, when it was 3 weeks before the race and the only thing we had was a green visor an no outfit inspiration for these Eel costumes, we turned to Raw Threads.

We decided to purchase the ‘I’m with the Villains” wear our green visors and a black Sparkle Athletic skirt. We decided to put a yellow eye on the visor to be more inspired by the eels and last minute I traced a little mermaid onto each eye.

Overall I was very happy with our costumes, because they were SUPER comfy, easy to run in and I felt we looked adorable!

DIY Little Mermaid Eye

  1. Pull up a picture of the mermaid on your phone
  2. Put the yellow paper onto your phone
  3. trace the mermaid 
  4. cut into a circle
Costume Pieces
  • Sparkle Athletic visor 
  • Sparkle Athletic Skirt
  • Compression Shorts
  • Raw Threads Villains shirt 
  • Pro Compression Socks 
Question of the day: Who is your favorite Disney Villain?

Disney Princess Half Marathon Outfit Reveal!

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Last Wednesday I revealed our costume for the 10K. It was a LOT of fun to fun in costume, and receive compliments on our totally awesome costumes – BUT, I was pretty excited to NOT be running with wings for the Princess Half.

Last June my sister and I decided we would be the Eels from the Little Mermaid, Yes… JUNE (before we knew the theme!). So, when it was 3 weeks before the race and the only thing we had was a green visor an no outfit inspiration for these Eel costumes, we turned to Raw Threads.

We decided to purchase the ‘I’m with the Villains” wear our green visors and a black Sparkle Athletic skirt. We decided to put a yellow eye on the visor to be more inspired by the eels and last minute I traced a little mermaid onto each eye.

Overall I was very happy with our costumes, because they were SUPER comfy, easy to run in and I felt we looked adorable!

DIY Little Mermaid Eye

  1. Pull up a picture of the mermaid on your phone
  2. Put the yellow paper onto your phone
  3. trace the mermaid 
  4. cut into a circle
Costume Pieces
  • Sparkle Athletic visor 
  • Sparkle Athletic Skirt
  • Compression Shorts
  • Raw Threads Villains shirt 
  • Pro Compression Socks 
Question of the day: Who is your favorite Disney Villain?

Budget-Friendly RunDisney Costume: Three Good Fairies!

This post may contain affiliate links. 

On Saturday we ran the first part of the Glass Slipper Challenge at Walt Disney World. I plan to do a full re-cap of the race with pictures, but I’m still waiting on a few things before that so in the meantime, here are our costumes!

I ran with my two sisters, and we decided to be the fairies from Sleeping Beauty. My younger sister was SO excited about this, because her all-time favorite Princess is Aurora.

We got a lot of compliments on our costumes, and had a lot of fun during the race.

Costume Pieces 

My costume:

I already owned the pink skirt, shorts and shirt so really the only money I spent on this costume was the wings for the three of us. So, if you already have basic colored clothing it is pretty easy to make an adorable costume for just a few dollars and a trip to the Dollar Tree!

The question of the day: Do you run in costume?


PIN FOR LATER 

Training Update – RunDisney Glass Slipper Challenge!

*Calling all Princesses!*

The Princess Half Waivers and Corrals have been posted, so go check it out!

I was literally jumping up and down when these posted, I was just SUPER excited!! To be honest with you, it wasn’t until this week that I really got excited. A few weeks ago, all our plans kind of fell apart when my husband wasn’t able to get Friday off. Thankfully everything is sorted out now, and my dear friend is going to come with me to help with the girls at the kids races and packet pick up until my husband comes on Friday evening.

::Hallelujah::

The corrals are posted and I’m not in the last corral (and neither is my sister) sooo…

::Hallelujah::

Come on Princess Half!!!!!!! (but remember).

Now, lets talk Training.

Ever since my PR at the #miamifamous half Marathon, I have been SO motivated and excited to run. I’ve been hitting the treadmill after the girls are in bed and really enjoying my runs. So, I’m ready!

On Friday I will be running 5 miles and then Saturday I’ll attempt 14 miles. We will see how it goes on the treadmill for 14 miles. It’s supposed to rain on Saturday, so I just going to go straight to the gym, get some movies ready to go on my phone and RUN!

I’m strangely excited about it too. …

Next week is time to taper, HOORAY!!!

Question of the day: What’s your favorite ride at Walt Disney World?

RunDisney Glass Slipper Challenge Training

In 5 weeks I get to run through the streets of Walt Disney World with both my sisters and I couldn’t be more excited! Unfortunately, I haven’t exactly done much training since November. My reason  excuse is the holidays mixed in with disney passes (a.k.a. Disney almost every weekend) and a sick husband and babies.

My girls have been passing a cold back and forth, and then when they are both better the weather goes from SUPER hot to cold and rainy – it’s so annoying! Anyway… here is my updated training plan for the next 5 weeks.

Tuesdays and Thursdays after the baby is in bed, I will sneak away to the treadmill and get some miles in while my husband is home to watch the girls. My husband does his long run on Saturday so I will get up before church on Sunday and get a longer run in.

I don’t like the idea of so many treadmill runs, but it’s got to happen. My older daughter (2 years old) has decided to drop naps. Therefore, as SOON as we put her in the jogger in the evening she goes to sleep and then… it’s next to impossible to get her down for the night. So, in order to avoid that I either have to run with them during the day or run on the treadmill at night when my husband is home.

I *might* be able to get the double jogger out the door on my own during the day every once in a while, but it’s not easy because of the set up of our apartment and the fact that it doesn’t fit through the door without taking the wheels off.

Sigh…

So, there you have it. My plan to get me to the finish line with a smile on my face.

Question of the day: How do you keep focused on a treadmill?

Favorite Products for Running + Training Run Recap, Fall 2015

Outfit of the Day! 
*this post contains affiliate links*

How I felt during the run: 
This was a very comfortable outfit for my 8 mile run. The visor helped keep the sweat out of my eyes, and the shirt was a mesh back so I was able to keep cool that way too.

I was having a little trouble with the sparkle skirt and the running belt today, for some reason the skirt just wasn’t sitting right on my hips and I felt like I was pulling it down the whole run.

Overall it was pretty comfortable and the compression socks help keep my legs feeling strong for those miles.

Question of the day: Do you run with a running belt?

Tips from Jeff Galloway – Do I Need a Training Plan?

Since I am part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program, I get tips and motivation from Jeff himself to share with all of you! This information came at a great time for me as I am about to start seriously training for an upcoming Half Marathon! 

Enjoy!

THE TRAINING PLAN
 

WHY SHOULD I HAVE A TRAINING PLAN?  When using a proven strategy, a runner gains control over fatigue while improving motivation.  Those who follow the right training plan, for the individual,  tend to improve more, with less injury risk.

WOULD BEGINNERS BENEFIT MORE FROM A PLAN  Unfortunately, most beginners “run as they feel” or follow conflicting advice.  This leads to confusion and more aches and pains.   The right schedule will systematically increase the type of running needed for a goal, with strategic rest for rebuilding.
 
KEY TRAINING ELEMENTS:

1)       A longer run builds endurance, 2) a hilly run builds strength, 3) Scenic or social runs insert fun and keep you coming back for more.

WHAT IS ADDED TO A PLAN IF THE GOAL IS TO RUN FASTER?  The right training plan will gradually increase the speed repetitions needed for the individual goal.  Easier days and rest days must be inserted before and after speed workouts.  To avoid injury, the pace and the increase must be realistic for the individual.   

EVERY OTHER DAY!  Most runners—especially beginners—run best when they run every other day.  This allows for the “weak links” to heal.  The very slow long run is usually on the weekend, when there is more time available.  Hills and fun days can be run on the short runs during the week (for example, Tuesday and Thursday)

SHOULD I EXERCISE ON NON-RUNNING DAYS? While you don’t have to exert yourself on non running days to improve your running, exercise will energize your mind, and improve your attitude and vitality—while burning some fat.  So I recommend any exercise that does not fatigue the calf muscle, such as recreational walking. 

DOES VARIETY HELP?  Changing things a bit can improve motivation.   You don’t have to change the “mission” on specific days, but alternating some of the courses or running with different groups can make each day more interesting.

WHAT ARE VARIOUS MISSIONS, FOR VARIOUS DAYS? Each type of run bestows a different benefit.  Hill runs build strength.  Drills that work on cadence, gentle acceleration and gliding will improve your running form.  Long runs produce stamina and endurance. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO THE DAY BEFORE AND THE DAY AFTER LONG OR FASTER RUNS?  Take it easy on these days.  Do little or no exercise, don’t over-eat, drink 8 glasses of water/sports drinks, and focus on how you will enjoy the next run.

SHOULD I SKIP THE REST DAYS—TO IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY.  Not Recommended!  It is during the days off from running that the running body rebuilds and improves.  While some runners can get away with running short and slow runs on rest days for a while, these “junk miles” can compromise recovery and lead to injuries. 
 

IF I DON’T LIKE A WORKOUT CAN I SUBSTITUTE? Following a consistent plan is more likely to lead to success and improve motivation.  Those who pick various elements from different schedules experience  more burnout and injury.  
_ _ _
NEW Jeff Galloway’s Customized Training Plan!

Let Jeff customize a plan that allows you to “have a life” while achieving your goals!  Your 6 month plan includes:
  • customized training schedule
  • daily email reminders for your workouts
  • drills to improve your running form and efficiency
For for runners of all levels, from beginning to ultra, with busy schedules or without a local Galloway training program.

Learn more now!
Jeff’s proven method has helped hundreds of thousands to achieve their goals, injury-free. Whether you’re a beginner or a Boston Qualifier, let us customize a plan that allows you to “have a life” while achieving your goals.Your 6-month Custom Training Plan includes –

  • A customized training schedule to your target race over the next season
  • Daily email reminders of upcoming workouts
  • Based upon your current conditioning
  • Drills to improve running form, efficiency, and speed
  • For runners at every fitness level, from beginning runners to ultra-runners
  • Perfect for those without a local Galloway Program or with busy schedules 
Register now for the Jeff Galloway 13.1 Half Marathon weekend from December 11-13th

  • Jeff Galloway 13.1 – Sunday, Dec. 13th
  • Barb’s 5K Presented by BeeCause – Saturday, Dec. 12th
  • NEW Fit Kids Run/Walk – Saturday, Dec. 12th

Register now!

Running Tips from Jeff Galloway

As you know, I am a blogger for Jeff Galloway. As such, I get tips directly from Jeff to share with my readers! 

Hope you enjoy his tips on training through the heat, I know in Florida it’s always a struggle to start a training plan for a fall or winter race because you have to begin in the hottest part of the year! 
Enjoy!

Dealing With the Heat

Training through the summer can not only be grueling, but down right dangerous.  Here are some tips to train safely and as comfortable as possible in the hot summer months.

Slow down by 30 sec/mile (20 sec/km) for every 5F temperature increase above 55-60F ( every 2.5C above 14C)
When the temperature is over 70F (21C) you may take a 5 minute “cold shower break” every 25-30 minutes to keep cool.
Try to complete your run before the sun rises above the horizon.
More frequent walk breaks during hot weather can lower body temperature increase.  If you used to run 3 minutes between walk breaks, run only 90 seconds (walk 30 seconds) at 70F (21C) and at 80F (26C) drop to 60 sec run/30 sec walk or 30/30
When you start to heat up more than normal, take a longer walk in a mall or indoor AC building
Pick shady courses on hot days.
Don’t wear a hat!  Pour water over your head
Have an indoor alternative—treadmill, etc
Run in the deep end of the pool, using a flotation belt
– – –
ANOTHER AMAZING LAKE TAHOE RETREAT!

We stay at the beautiful and comfortable Squaw Valley Lodge. Lodge amenities include indoor and outdoor hot tubs, swimming, tennis, sauna and fitness room. Week camp began Thursday, July 23th.  Weekend camp began Friday, July 24th at 5PM. Both camps began with an easy run to get acquainted.  The morning breakfasts were followed by clinics by Jeff and his guests. Seminar topics include Running Injury Free, Nutrition, Speed work, Goal setting, Shoe selection, Pool running, and Running form / analysis.
After lunch, our guests shopped, went sightseeing, sunned by the pool, or joined the group for a scenic hike, T-shirt swap, bike ride, river raft ride, etc. The group gathered again in the evenings for dinner onsite or at one of the nearby restaurants and after-dinner relaxing.

You can learn more about the various Jeff Galloway Retreats at http://www.jeffgalloway.com/retreats/.

– – –

MAKE YOUR NOMINATION FOR THE MARATHON FOTO/ROAD RACE MANAGEMENT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Make your nomination today!

In conjunction with the Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting, Road Race Management and MarathonFoto will again honor an individual who has made a major difference in the sport with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award is for contributions to the sport of long distance running over the course of a lifetime. Nominees, who may be either living or deceased, should have made major contributions to the sport in more than one area, for example as an administrator, elite athlete, promoter of the sport, or innovator as an event director or vendor.

“We are seeking to honor a ‘sport changer’…a person who really made a difference,” says Phil Stewart, RRM editor and publisher.
Nominations from the public are being solicited and will close on August 31, 2015.

A ten-person committee will choose the winner to be announced November 6 at the Race Race Management Race Directors’ Keynote dinner in Hollywood, FL.

A day in the life – RunDisney Registration Day!

Now that I’m a full-time stay at home mom, I thought it’d be fun to share a day in my life. Unfortunately, every time I think about writing one, or filming one, … I realize my life is pretty routine and slightly boring.

But, if you are interested in a “normal” day, let me know. I’ll be happy to share!

So, here we go!

Our day, RunDisney Princess 1/2 Registration Day!!

As you know I’ve been excited nervous about registration day for a while. My sisters and I are going to be running at the Princess weekend, and registering for these races is getting more and more competitive. So,… I had to be ready!

If you don’t know, I have two beautiful daughters. My oldest is 18 months, and my youngest is 3 months next week.

4:00 a.m. – Baby 2 wakes up for a snack.

5:00 a.m. – Baby 2 wakes up for a snack again.

6:30 a.m. – My husband gets up and gets ready for work.

7:45 a.m. – Both babies wake up for the day.

8:00 a.m. – My husband leaves for work.

From 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. – My oldest will have breakfast and a snack during this time. We also spend some time with the baby on her tummy and read lots of stories.

11:00 a.m. – Boot up the lap top to get ready for registration. Change diapers, prepare snacks and try not to freak out about registration.

11:30 a.m. – Baby wakes up from her nap extremely fussy.

11:35 a.m. – Start the Little Mermaid.

12:02 – I’m registered!!!!! (oh, I was able to calm the baby down during registration)

12:30 p.m. – FaceTime with my sisters, relieved that we MADE it into the Disney Princess weekend!!

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. – More play time and tummy time with the girls

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Singing time and nap time for my oldest and more tummy time and play time for my youngest.

Have you noticed that the baby only takes small cat naps? … yeah.

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. – playtime until Daddy comes home.

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  – Chick Fil A Cow Appreciation Dinner. We dressed like a cow and got free meals at Chick Fil A then went to the park to play for a bit.

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. – I went to the store and did the dishes from the day while my husband did bath time routine and played with the girls.

9:30 p.m. – Bedtime Routine for my oldest, and one last feed for the baby.

10:00 p.m. – both babies are asleep for the night.

Yep. We play all day and I try to do most cleaning and housework when my husband is home to play with the girls.

So, that was our day!

How was yours?

Running Announcement: RunDisney Glass Slipper Challenge

Friends, I’m in!

I’m officially registered for the 2016 Princess Glass Slipper Challenge!

Any other princesses out there?

I’m looking forward to sharing with all of you my training. Now that I’m a mom of 2 under 2, and my husband is marathon training, and we just recently moved to a new city and so many new things I know it will be a challenge but I can’t wait to share my journey with you!

Tips from Jeff Galloway – The *new* Run/Walk/Run

As you know, I am a Jeff Galloway blogger and as such I receive tips from Jeff to share with all of you. The latest tip introduces a new way to complete the Run-Walk-Run method. When I was pregnant, and Marathon Training I used 1 minute ratios.

See the latest from Jeff on the best ratio for increasing speed below.

Jeff Introduces a New Run/Walk Strategy
 The 30-second Walk Break

Jeff Galloway‘s Run/Walk/Run method was revolutionary for three reasons: 
1 – Run/Walk/Runners felt better throughout the long run.
2 – Run/Walk/Runners recovered faster and got injured less often.
3 – Run/Walk/Runners went faster with the breaks than without. 
Since his introduction of walk breaks in 1974, Jeff he has received feedback from hundreds of thousands of runners, allowing him to fine tune Run/Walk/Run to keep people feeling better, staying healthy, and running faster. 
The greatest benefit of the walk break comes in the first 30 sec. 
Our heart rates come down, the running muscles relax, we catch our breaths, and the fatigue melts away. 
After 30 seconds of walking, we tend to slow down. 
Here is a typical example of what happens with a 1-minute walk break: 
A run/walk/runner averaging 10-minute pace in a marathon using 3 min/1min might walk at a 15-minute mile pace for the first part of the race.
As fatigue sets in, that walk gets slower, and by halfway, the runner may be walking at 18 min/mi. 
This means faster running is needed to stay on pace, which creates more fatigue at the end of each running segment, so the walk will get slower, and so goes the downward spiral at the end of the race. 
Avoiding the Slow-down 
Compared to running constantly, the 1-minute walk break still results in runners feeling better, staying healthier, and going faster, but it can get even better! Limiting walk breaks to 30 seconds, or in some cases even less, while cutting the run time accordingly, gives all the same benefits, with even less fatigue and even faster times. 
The Bottom Line 
If you are in already using a 30-second walk break or less, you don’t need to adjust. If you are using an interval that takes a 1-minute walk break, keep the same ratio but cut your walk and run times in half. For example, a 1-minute/1-minute interval now becomes a 30-sec./30-sec. interval. It’s that simple.

Do you run-walk-run, what’s your preferred ratio?

Running with Friends – The Galloway Training Group

Do you run with a group, or do you prefer the time all alone? I’ve only ever run with my husband and on occasion my sister and her friend. However, I’m so curious to see what training and running with a group is like.

Jeff Galloway has several training groups all over the U.S.  sadly, there isn’t one in my area but maybe there is one in yours!

THE POWER OF THE GROUP

The fun of running with a group pulled me into the sport 57 years ago.  Running and training with my friends Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter Bill Rodgers, brought out the best of running in me—while we became good friends, and Olympians.  As I travel the US this season, for our Galloway training program kickoffs, I see the same fun, support and friendship development.  I hope to see many of you at our free clinics.  Here are the ways I’ve observed runners of all abilities improve more and have more fun when in the right group.
1. Great friendships
2. The miles go by quicker—telling stories, sharing life experiences
3. Guidance in running with the right group for you, with the appropriate run walk run strategy
4. Because the group is waiting for you, you will stay motivated and get out there more often
5. You’ll learn about some interesting races, places to run, fun running experiences
6. On the really tough workouts and races, the group will pull you through
7. Access to tools for management of nutrition, fluids, motivation, aches/pains
8. The right group leadership can fine-tune the pace of each workout, avoiding injury/exhaustion
9. Helping others who are struggling bestows an amazing sense of achievement
10. Sharing the empowerment of finishing a long run can change your life
Most groups, like our Galloway programs allow runners to try them out for free.  Together we can celebrate fitness and inspire others to improve the quality of their lives.

Highlights of this year’s Galloway Training Programs:

  • Discount on the Jeff Galloway 13.1 and Barb’s 5K LINK
  • 50% discount of Jeff Galloway’s Running Schools and Blue MT Beach Retreats
  • Discounts on Phidippides products – Jeff’s store and the original running specialty store LINK
  • Discounts on ElliptiGO, my favorite way to cross train outside
  • Discounts on Pacific Health Products Accelerade & Endurox
  • Discounts on Cooper Complete vitaminsLink
  • Galloway Alumni hat available just for those who have been a part of our team before
  • Newly redesigned Galloway Training medal to celebrate completion of this year’s program

 

Question: Would you consider training with a group? 

Why do we get injured? – Jeff Galloway Tips for Running

I hope you’ve been enjoying all these tips on running from Jeff Galloway, I know that I have.

Motivational Tips.  More Tips.

On Injury. 

When following a training plan its important to know your body. Here are a couple tips from Jeff Galloway on just why we get injured.

1. Be aware of the irritation of weak links.

The key weak links are body parts where my runners tend to experience injuries are these:

  • knees
  • feet
  • calf
  • achilles
  • hip
  • glute
The body parts that YOU need to be aware of are the sites where you are injured or suffer more aches and pains. 
So, if you’re sensitive to the first indication or irritation in these areas and take immediate action its possible to avoid injury. 
2. Stress build up due to the way we train. 
  • Training schedule is too intense-not enough rest between stress. 
  • Adverse training components – speed is too fast or has too much, too soon. 
  • Running form – too long a stride, forward lean, bouncing too high off the ground. 
So staying focused on the way one runs and following these guidelines, can often allow runners to maintain a manageable increase without injury. 
_ _ _ 
Top 5 Ways to avoid Stress Buildup and avoid injuries
  1. Take walk breaks more frequently and run shorter run segments
  2. Form: shorter stride, feet low to the ground
  3. Slower long runs, with more walk breaks
  4. Avoid Stretching
  5. Be careful when running speed sessions 

Tips from Jeff Galloway on Injury

I’m back from our family zoo tour, and am excited to re-cap our adventures for all of you. BUT! Before I do that, I wanted to bring you some tips about injury from Jeff Galloway.

From Jeff Galloway

  • Most injuries experienced by my runners are due to 1) pacing long runs too fast, 2) increasing the weekly mileage too quickly, 3) lengthening stride and 4) stretching. 
  • The principal in staying injuring free is to balance gentle stress with the right recovery periods – allowing for rebuilding. – Check out the book Running Injuries by Jeff Galloway for more info. 
  • Finding the right Run Walk Run strategy from the beginning of a run has been the best way I’ve found to stay injury free, come back from an injury and in some cases, continue to run while the injury heels. 
I agree with finding the right Run Walk Run strategy at the beginning, when I ran my first Marathon at 25 weeks pregnant, I knew I could keep up with the Disney Pacing requirements if I just stuck with 1 minute of running and 1 minute of walking for all 26.2 miles. That pace and strategy helped me to focus on the moment, and not the mile – it carried me to the finish line! 
More from Jeff Galloway
  • Are you concerned that running will damage joints, and other body parts? I was told this regularly, from my first week of running over 50 years ago but the research shows the opposite result: Runners have healthier joins, etc. than non runners as the decades go by. 
  • While researching for my book RUNNING UNTIL YOU ARE 100, I have reviewed dozens of studies and could not find one showing that running harms legs, feet, joints, etc. 
  • It may surprise you to know that many studies show runners have fewer orthopedic issues compared with non-runnersas the years go by. 
  • A respectful and large population study out of Stanford following thousands of runners over 50 who had run for more than 20 years concluded that runners had less than 25% of orthopedic issues compared to runners of the same age. 
As long as you stay below the threshold of irritation you can often continue to run while the injury heels – Jeff Galloway 

Question: Have you ever considered what it’d be like to run at 100? 

WDW Marathon Weekend – Half Marathon Race Recap

Welcome to part 2 of my WDW Marathon Weekend Recaps!!

In case you missed part one, here’s a link!  WDW Marathon Weekend – Kids Races & Expo

Now, onto the WDW Half Marathon Recap!!!

The night before the race we had a dinner at Chef Mickey’s,  and spent some time organizing our outfits and getting ready. I was pretty nervous, but I was in good company. My husband also had a little bit of nerves to deal with.  I hadn’t really thought about the distance we were going to be running over the next two days, I was just focused on finishing.

The alarm went off bright and early at 2:40 a.m., and suddenly… our daughter began to cry.  Not a simple sleepy whimper, but .. like actual giant tears. My husband and I took turns getting ready and holding her, trying to soothe her tears – but her diaper had leaked so we had to get her cleaned up and back into some dry clothes. As you can imagine, she was NOT impressed.

My husband takes over the diaper duty while I go grab a bottle of milk, hoping a little milk will save the day (nope, I was wrong). About the time I was going to grab milk my Mother in Law knocked on our door and offered to take her. So, while little lady was screaming we continued to get ready for Part 1 of the Goofy Challenge.

Oh, is it here that I should mention I was well aware of my pregnancy as Braxton Hicks joined the party?

goodness – what a morning!

I drank some water, took some deep breathes and we made it out the door and loaded onto the bus around 3:15 a.m.

Still dealing with nerves and Braxton Hicks my husband and I took some photos and skipped out on the meet ups with various RunDisney fan groups. Around 4:20 we started the long walk to the corrals, and there we sat for about 2 hours until our turn to start.

I had packed a pair of old sweats to wear until the start and then toss, but it was SO cold that I ended up wearing them the entire race. – This was new for me, I’ve NEVER in my life run in sweats, in fact… I even had on two layers of shirts and I never once felt the desire to take one off. 40’s is much colder than I’m used too..

In the corral there was a LOT of complaining around me. People whining about the weather, and whining about the announcers, and this and that and … basically everything. So, I put on my headphones and got myself into “the zone”.

So, around 6:30 a.m. it was finally our turn to start and I was ready!  I popped out my headphones to soak in the fireworks, and then…we were off.

My fingers were FROZEN. It was so bad I looked around on the ground for a pair of gloves. I couldn’t believe how cold I was – even though we were running!!! Anyway

Since I was 25 weeks pregnant, it was a big deal to keep myself fed, hydrated and my heart rate stable. It’s important to remember that whatever your heart rate is, the baby’s is faster. So, with that in mind I’d trained with a 1:00 / 1:00 ratio of running and walking.  It was how I trained and I was ready to go all 39.3 miles that way. Determined to finish!

The first 5 miles seemed to fly by! I was surprised because our time didn’t indicate that at all. I blame the long lines for the porta-potties.

**Sigh** Preggo Problems, always have to pee…

We approached Cinderella’s Castle and were greeted by Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. I was hoping this would be our chance to actually RUN through the castle… but… nope. Every single person decided to STOP and WALK SLOWLY through the castle and down the ramp.

*Tear*

It was so annoying.

We were finally able to get running again and I still felt pretty strong.

The next miles were also a blur, I was focused on my 1:00/ 1:00 run-walk so I don’t really remember much about it. When we approached Epcot my heart began to leap for joy.

We were almost done with Part 1 of the goofy challenge, and did NOT get swept by the “balloon ladies”

Since we were IN the park and not going to be swept, we stopped to say hey to our good friends Phinea’s and Ferb, Of course we asked “Whatcha doin’??” snapped a photo and continued on our way.

Hooray, the finish line!! We did it!!!!

Time: 3:17:35

Question: Do you ever get so focused on your run that you lose sight of how far you’ve gone, or how much you have left to run?

Motivation & Tips from Jeff Galloway!

If you missed my first post, you can read it here. I was selected to be a part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program! So,  stay turned to my Facebook page & blog for tips and motivation from Jeff Galloway!

As always, you can check out Jeff Galloway’s tips and motivation on his page www.runinjuryfree.com.

When I was training for my first Marathon, I used the Run Walk Run method. I really felt that it helped me avoid the “exhaustion wall” because I knew it was an interval and it helped me focus and stay in the moment!

In researching my book MENTAL TRAINING I discovered that running turns on brain circuits for a better attitude more vitality and empowerment better than other activities studied – Jeff Galloway.

Yes. So much yes!

In college, I went to the gym a lot – I never seemed to lose weight (and keep it off) and I never got that “feel good” buzz from working out. Finding running was truly a game-changer for me.

How about you, does running improve your attitude more than just working out?

7 Training & Motivational Tips from Jeff Galloway

I am SO excited to announce that I have been selected to participate in Jeff Galloway’s blogger program. I was first introduced to Jeff during the WDW Everest Challenge at Disney. It was my first 5K, and I loosely followed one of his training plans. 

I then followed his training plan to complete my first ever Half Marathon in February of 2013 (Princess Half) Of course, when it was time to train for the WDW Goofy Challenge, Jeff Galloway was my go-to-guy for training plans! (You can read about it here)

Now that I’ve established, I’m pretty much the number 1 fan. You might still be wondering WHO IS JEFF GALLOWAY??? 

1972 U.S. Olympian, Jeff Galloway can be referred to as “America’s Coach”, he has helped thousands of people (just like me) train and accomplish running goals with his proven Run-Walk-Run method. Check out his website for additional information. 

On a personal note, he and his wife were among the first two people to know about Baby #2 (sorry mom!) My husband and I were at the Expo for Disney’s Tower of Terror 10-miler, and we happened to see the Jeff was there talking to runners, giving tips, taking photos, etc… So, we stopped by, said hello and then got to talking about training for the Goofy Challenge. Our conversation was just started when I mentioned I’d be running the Goofy Challenge at 25 weeks pregnant and would LOVE any tips. Immediately he referred me to his (totally adorable) wife, and we talked for a good 20+ minutes about running pregnant, and following the run/walk method. 

So, I’m VERY excited to be a part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program. Not only because his run/walk method has gotten me to the finish line with a smile on my face EVERY single time I’ve used it, but because I truly believe his advice is helpful and want to share it with all of you! 

So, here we go! 

7 Tips for Jeff Galloway himself! 

  • When paced correctly, running delivers the best attitude boost you can get. Sustain this by pacing yourself gently during the first mile or three.
  • A well-paced run enhances vitality for the rest of the day.  Start each run at least 30 seconds a mile slower than you will run at the end.
  • If you have a Run Walk Run strategy that is right for you on that day, it’s possible to feel good after every run-even the marathon.
  • Running is the best stress reliever I’ve found. Research shows that running tends to activate the conscious brain which over-rides the emotional subconscious brain and manages the negative and anxiety hormones during and after the run.
  • Research shows that as runners get faster, their stride length shortens.  A quicker cadence is the mechanical key to faster running.
  • The finishing of a run that is longer than you’ve run in the last 3 weeks can bestow a sense of achievement that is unique and empowering-due to positive brain circuits that are turned on.
  • You can’t run a long run too slowly or take too many walk breaks.  You’ll get the same endurance based upon the distance covered.

Why Goofy During Pregnancy?

If you are new to my blog, and only reading about my Marathon Weekend Adventures (Parts 1, 2, & 3) You might think I’m a little crazy and you know what, that’s okay.

So, here I am. Answering the question that I’ve gotten already a few times, and if someone has actually asked me – chances are there are people who are thinking it, but not asking.

So, why goofy?  Why accept the challenge to run 39.3 miles at 25 weeks pregnant?

Medical Clearance.
Let’s start here. My Doctor said I could… Now, I am NOT a medical professional, I am a mom-blogger who loves to run. My doctor cleared me to continue training and to run the Goofy Challenge. I reviewed all my fuels with her, my run/walk intervals and I promised that if at any time I were to get a cramp, felt weak, dizzy or any other symptoms of an injury or dehydration I would stop.   I was very open and honest with my doctor about my training – and very grateful for her support.

January 2013
Take a walk down memory lane with me for a moment. It was here that I first decided to run the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World. I’d successfully made it through an entire year of changing my lifestyle and getting healthy, I was AT Disney World during Marathon Weekend, surrounded by hundreds (or thousands) of people who LOVED running and many of them were about to complete the Goofy Challenge themselves.

I was so inspired.

I was set to run my first half Marathon in about a month (the Princess Half) and completely hooked on running. I’d decided that in 2014, I WOULD run the Goofy Challenge, and I WOULD have a blast doing so.

April came along, and we registered. Around the time we registered, or a little before… I even posted about how we would be training for the next 9 months and compared it to another 9 month life changing experience … (post here)

Isn’t it ironic that instead of the 9 months of Marathon Training I thought I was going to have, I ended up spending the next 9 months preparing for motherhood? … Crazy – I know.

Our family was growing, and I was due the weekend after Marathon Weekend. Goofy would have to wait… I was able to run until 38 weeks pregnant (all with medical clearance from my doctor), and continued to eat healthy and make plans for crossing the finish line for the Goofy Challenge.

January 2014, we welcomed Little Lady into our lives, and it was beautiful. Our little family of 2 had now grown to 3 and honestly… I hardly remember life without her (that’s a lie, we slept more).

In late February i’d received medical clearance to run and resume all forms of exercise. I actually didn’t start much more than walking until March of 2014.

From March – June I focused on my core doing yoga and programs such as PIYO, with the intent to begin training for the Goofy Challenge on July 1.

July 1 – day one of training.

YAY!!!! I’m finally training for the Goofy Challenge, it was AWESOME!! Our little lady was big enough to handle being in a jogger, and we were ready to train.

Around September I found myself in bed (or hugging a toilet) for 3 days. I thought I had been over training, or perhaps doing too much. I had recently returned to work, I was still trying to breastfeed, I was not sleeping more than about 5-6 hours a night and honestly I just thought I was tired.

On day 3 of not holding anything down, feeling weak and overly emotional I called my husband at work and asked him to take me to urgent care. I just wanted to feel better, I wanted to feel better so I could start running again. I HAD to cross that finish line…

While at Urgent Care they asked my permission to test for pregnancy. I honestly didn’t think much of it and when the doctor came in evaluated me and told me he wasn’t sure what was wrong other than severe dehydration i’d gone back to my original thought that I was over-doing it – and there was not a baby on the way.

When he ran back in and told me he “solved the mystery” I was a little stunned (mostly at how excited he was) – he says “You’re pregnant!”

I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it… Pregnant,… again? Will I ever get to Run the Goofy Challenge? He put me on an IV with fluids, gave me some anti-nausea medication and told me to take a nap.

So, I napped.

When I got home, I called my OB and scheduled an appointment.

During my first appointment she sent me right away to have an ultrasound to see how far along I was and when I came back, her first question “Are we Marathon Training again?”

… she knows me so well.

Since I was only 7 weeks along, and at the time of the Goofy Challenge I’d still be in my second trimester, she agreed to let me train with the intent of running the challenge. We had many long conversations about fueling, and hydrating and hydrating, and hydrating… and through all the crazy morning sickness (that I still have) I was able to maintain 16 minute miles (with bathroom breaks etc…) so I felt confident I could complete the challenge.

It was an honor to run with my husband and my bump. I was very focused during the challenge. I was focused on hydrating, and staying in-tune with my body. I made sure I knew what type of turf we were running on so not to trip. I made sure I kept my blood sugars stable by eating constantly, and I made sure to stay away from the middle of the course so that there would be less chance of being in the way of a runner.

Final thoughts.

Training for a Marathon with an infant, a pregnancy (with crazy morning sickness), a full time job and a husband was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. BUT – my husband was also committed, and we have such a supportive family that knew of our commitment so it was totally doable.

Would I do it again?

Yes.

Would I do it again pregnant?

I’d have to review the situation, it totally depends on the pregnancy.

Question of the Day: Who is in your circle of support for training, or big life commitments?

WDW Marathon Weekend: Kids Races and Expo Fun!

Welcome to Recap 1 of one of the most exciting weekends EVER!!

My husband and I started our health Journey in January of 2012. We began by simply tracking our calories on MyFitnessPal , walking and drinking more water. I started running one morning when I was embarrassed that an older larger man could run and I couldn’t. So, I took off and ran too. Surprisingly… I didn’t hate it!

So excited about my new found form of exercise I told a co-worker who then encouraged me to run the Everest Challenge!  We ran the challenge in May of 2012 and from the moment we were hooked on running   crossing finish lines.

January 2013 we attended the WDW Marathon Weekend (ran the 5K). Marathon Weekend is so inspiring, I hadn’t even run a 1/2 Marathon yet and I told my husband (and announced on Social Media) that in 2014 I was going to run the Goofy Challenge.

Obviously, the Lord had other plans and instead of running the Goofy Challenge in January of 2014, I was deferring the challenge to welcome our Little Lady into the World.

So, here we are… Two years later. Recapping the weekend I’ve been thinking about since the last time I was in Disney for Marathon Weekend!

Thursday, January 8
3:20 a.m. – The alarm goes off, and our daughter begins to go into hysterics. … A bottle of milk saves the day and we make it out the door by around 3:45ish. Head over to CVS to pick up some last minute items and make it to my husband’s parents house by 4:15.

Everything gets loaded into the car and we are on our way by 5:00 a.m.

Around 9:30 we make it to O-town and stop for Breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

10:30 it’s EXPO time!!!


I’d done a bit of planning so I knew exactly what building we needed to go to in order to grab Little Lady’s packet. There was NO line for her bib OR our Goofy Bib’s so we went ahead and grabbed the bibs, snapped our “goofy challenge” picture and headed out to the field for Little Lady’s race.

Unfortunately, it was about 40 degrees with a windchill so our little Miami lady was NOT willing to leave our arms for the race. We put her in about 3 different heats of the Diaper Dash and she flat out refused to move for either one.

**sigh**

Oh well,… another time.

After the kids races we went back through the Expo to pick up our shirts and check out the Merchandise. I was pleasantly surprised at how much official merchandise there was and how smooth everything seemed to be flowing at the Expo.

I purchased an “I did it” shirt for the Goofy Challenge and the Marathon, and promptly put them at the bottom of my drawer in the hotel. I was NOT going to even THINK about them as part of my wardrobe until I’d actually accomplished the Goofy Challenge!

Other than the official merchandise, we really didn’t spend too much time at the Expo looking around. I was quite tired and getting hungry so we opted to head over to our hotel to check in and have some lunch.

It was great to run into my friend Lena from The Beginners Runner Blog and catch up.

Run Disney Goofy Challenge Training.

I am just days away from officially beginning goofy training!

excuse me for 1 tiny second.  GOOFY?

Yes. Goofy!

I feel like I talk about Goofy like its a common knowledge, and I understand that for those in the RunDisney world it is. However, for those regular Disney fans who when they think “Goofy”, they picture this guy… I will explain the challenge.

May 2013, Before we knew about Little Lady… 🙂
The Goofy Challenge is hosted by RunDisney each January during Marathon Weekend. It consists of running 39.3 miles over 2 days. 
On the first day, you run 13.1 miles (Half Marathon hosted by Donald Duck)
On the second day you run 26.2 miles (Full Marathon hosted by Mickey Mouse)
At the end of the two races, you have officially run 39.3 miles, and through all 4 parks (some of them twice)! As a reward you get 3 fabulous medals and of course the satisfaction of knowing that YOU have run a Marathon!!! 
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Goofy Challenge so there is a special medal and everything! 
I’m SUPER excited, and SUPER nervous! 

You can read more about the challenge on the RunDisney website.  
QOTD: Do you RunDisney? – What’s your favorite race? 

What it’s like to Volunteer for a RunDisney Race!

It may or may not be a life long dream of mine to be a Disney Princess. I may never get to be a Disney Princess, but I did get to volunteer for the Mouse last Saturday and this is my experience. Full disclosure, I am a RunDisney / Disney fan, I have not other affiliations to the Walt Disney Company. The opinions posted are my very own. 🙂

To Volunteer is to freely offer to take part in an enterprise or task. Our first task? Run Disney Kids Races. I have always wondered what the Kids Races were like. Since we don’t have children, I always felt it might seem a little strange to go watch. So, how can I get in on the excitement of the Kids Races? Volunteer of course!

To be honest, our original intent was not to work the Everest Weekend. On the first Saturday in May of 2012, I laced up my sneakers and ran my very first 5K. The Everest Challenge. I had been begging Prince Charming to let us register but the event sold out before we could register. So, we opted to volunteer. A perk of volunteering is that you can earn hours or points towards a free ticket to Disney. Since we plan to run the Goofy Challenge in January, we are trying to cut costs here and there soooo earning a ticket, AND being at the event that changed my life one year ago,… it was a win win!

Truly, my experience at the Everest Challenge in 2012 gave me the confidence to continue running and register for the Princess Half (Recap)

So, now that you know my motivation to volunteer for this specific weekend, let me get on to the volunteer experience.

Kids Races

The Everest Challenge Weekend isn’t exactly the largest weekend Run Disney does. I’m not really sure why though, it’s REALLY fun! Prince Charming and I serve at our Youth Group on Friday nights so we couldn’t leave until either late Friday night or early Saturday morning. Since we wanted to save some money and sleep in our own bed, we opted to drive up Saturday morning. 

3:00 a.m., my alarm went off and we loaded in the car and headed to Disney! When we arrived, it was fun to see they had parking reserved for us volunteers! Since it was raining, and our spot was literally the first row before the side walk – I was pleased!

We checked in and waited for our turn to be escorted to the Kids Races! Prince Charming and I quickly realized that most of the volunteers are PROS! Seriously,… these people all know each other and have “their jobs” a.k.a. “I ALWAYS give out medals,  …” and … “I Always pass out the water!” haha Prince Charming and I waited for our team leader to ask for 2 volunteers to … (whatever, as long as we were together, we didn’t care). Our turn came, “I need 2 people to work the obstacle course!” Yess!!! We were chosen!

Our job?
1) demonstrate the obstacle course for the kids while the announcer cheered us on.
2) cheer on the athletes!

I was super excited about our job!

Although we were super stars at demonstrating the obstacle course, we were moved to parent direction. Yeah, … we had to stand in the middle of a field with signs and direct parents.

Have I mentioned it was raining?

After that job, we hung out at the medals for a bit and then were moved over to the Family Scavenger Hunt for more runner direction!

It was there I saw Rachel from Runners Tales. Okay, … when I saw her. I didn’t realize I’d seen her.  I knew she looked familiar, and I loved her team shirts – but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until I was on Instagram that I realized WHY she looked so familiar!

anyways! After our shift ended at 1, we drove to our hotel and checked in.

After a quick power nap (2.5 hours) we were back up and ready to go volunteer for the Expedition Everest 5K! I was SO excited!!

When we checked in, we were given an arm band. This was a Magical Armband! Why? it gave us 2 hours of access into Animal Kingdom after our volunteer shift was over!!!

Our shift went pretty quickly, it was our job to make sure runners were properly hydrated, and that they had plenty of garbage cans to throw cups into!

Prince Charming and I were stationed at some tables between Coral B and C. It was so much fun to see the crowd get excited, and be there for the start of all the waves. Prince Charming and I started walking up and down the corrals offering cups of water to runners inside their corrals. I know that when I take my GU I always wish I had a little sip of water to help wash it down. We also tied an extra trash bag on the outside of the fence so runners had more opportunity to throw garbage in a bin!

After all the athletes started, we moved over to the finish line where we congratulated runners and handed out water!

I felt like a hydration Diva!

There was a young boy passing out water just in front of me, so runners would go to him first and thank him for volunteering. It was cool to observe.

Overall, I’m taking the following lessons with me from my volunteer experience.

Fact:  Filling cups of water and lining them on the table is exhausting, and there are very few people that actually say “thank you”.

Lesson: Say thank you, volunteers need to hear it!

Fact: Sometimes just two hours in the park can feel like a full day and riding Everest 7 times in a short period of time can make your tummy twirl!

Lesson: No matter how tired you are, take the time to ride Everest as many times as possible. Because when you leave the park, you only have your memories you don’t get to take the rides with you.

Fact: I’m afraid of dinosaurs!

Lesson: I think I should skip the Dinosaur ride, because it makes my heart rate go up.

Would I Volunteer Again? 
Absolutely! I loved it!

Running Announcement: Goofy Challenge 2014

It’s official, I’m going Goofy.

On February 27th, 2012 there was NO way I was expecting to be thinking about running a Marathon in January of 2014. I mean, lets be honest. … training for the 5K was challenging  BUT, in less than 1 year I did run a Half Marathon and my running confidence level is kind of high right now

 So … Why not

To celebrate registering for this race, the Run/Walk method developed by Jeff Galloway and felt amazing!  Unfamiliar with what the Goofy Challenge is? Read about it here and follow my Journey to Goofy on the blog and on Instagram!

2013 Princess Half Marathon – Race Recap

Are you ready to read about the most grueling, scary, exhausting, frustrating and FUN 3 hours and 27 minutes of my entire life?  I’m not ashamed to state that it took me 3 hours and 27 minutes to complete the Princess Half Marathon. In fact, I am proud to declare that I did it!

Grab a cup of coffee, and read all about my very first half marathon!

Since we stayed off of property, we had to get up EXTRA early. My Ursula costume wasn’t working so I changed to a “Cinderella inspired” option. Upon checking the weather I realized it was probably going to rain and I didn’t really want to be wearing white if it did.

So, … I snapped a picture  and changed into a pink shirt and went with a Princess Aurora inspired look!

We left the hotel and headed to Epcot!  We may have left a little early because the roads were not blocked off all the way yet, and our gps (and the traffic directors) directed us right to the STAGE! Yep. … the stage. The bad thing is, we were IN OUR CAR!!! haha So, we got turned around (yelled at by some other traffic people) and headed to find the runner parking!


Finally at the race (about 3:30ish a.m. a.k.a. 1 hour after we left our hotel room that was literally 5 minutes away) we made our way to the stage. I really wanted to meet up with some princesses and be calm before the race but that lines were REALLY long and so I opted to stand in the potty line instead.  After a little bit of dancing, and sneaking in shots of the Princesses between pictures with the runners it was time for us to start walking to the Corrals.

Hello Nerves …

On the way to the race I had eaten my traditional handful of nuts and right when we got there I ate my apple. So, at 4 a.m. I felt great! My tummy was full, I was excited, I was in the zone.

We finally made it to the Corral (after what felt like an eternity) and I began to realize that I was about to run a half marathon. After months of training, a wisdom teeth extraction nightmare and starting my whole training plan OVER after 2 months of not running, the day was here and I was ready!

FYI – we were originally scheduled for the very last Corral (H) but with our 10K time were were able to get moved up to E!!!

Anyway – we sang along to the music, took some more pictures and before we knew it, it was our turn!

I was so thankful to have my husband there with me, he has been my coach, my cheerleader and my bestie and I couldn’t be more thankful to have him in my life (His blog. )
With the sights and sounds of fireworks, we were off.
Miles 1-5 weren’t exactly anything to blog about, a lot of smiling, a lot of happiness and a lot of running! In FACT we were running at about a 10 minute pace. For a girl who averages 13 – 14 minutes, i’d say

 that is PRETTY GOOD!

We entered the Magic Kingdom, and just about the time you’d THINK I would start to pick up the pace, my body began to crash.

Remember when I told you I ate right when we arrived (at like 4?) Well, we didn’t start running until 6. Therefore, my food was practically gone so I was relying heavily on my cliff shots, water breaks and power aide.

I held it together through the Magic Kingdom, and had fun stopping for some pictures along the way. As you can see, I was super happy and excited to be inside the Magic Kingdom. I got a little wave from Minnie, and continued on my way.

As I continued, my pace began to slow down and my body began to shut down… I needed food. That apple and those nuts were GONE.I  was dizzy, my head was pounding, my cheeks were as bright as a red rose. With rosy cheeks, and chills I refused to let it beat me! I grabbed my husbands hand and asked him to please let me walk.


As we walked and I refused to tell him what I was experiencing (because I didn’t want him to take me to the medical tent) I felt the tears begin to come. We had sacrificed so much to be at the race. Hours upon hours of training, hours upon hours of reading and researching how to be a runner. Hours of planning and budgeting. How could mile 9-12 be this hard? How could I have been so stupid not to eat enough?  Why was this happening?  All those thoughts filled my head and a few tears began to fall. Just as I was getting ready to act like a big girl, I felt someone rub my back, look me in the eye and tell me “good job!” She made sure I saw her, because she then grabbed my elbow and repeated herself. With tears in my eyes I thanked her and hoped she would move on so not to see me cry.

We finally made it to Epcot, and my darling waited in line to meet Pinocchio. After a few pictures in Epcot it was time to finish what we started. So, we took a picture at mile 13 grabbed hands and ran it in!

As we ran it in, my husband got a big high five from goofy, and I was dusted with some pixie dust! A beautiful pink, gold, glittered, Princess Half  Marathon medal was placed around my neck and the realization hit me.

We did it! 

2013 Princess Half Marathon Expo

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my career as a runner and I’m feeling a little emotional about it.

On February 27th, 2012, I laced up my sneakers, put the leash on my dog (one of my dogs) held the hand of my husband and began a journey. We had been walking each morning for a couple weeks, and were starting to see some weight loss results. Motivated to continue, we woke up at 5 a.m. and headed out the door for a walk.  If you know my story, you know that on that particular morning, a larger man ran by me and inspired ME to run.

I, Erin (former swimmer, current couch potato) began my journey. If you are new to my blog, you may not realize that this is my transformation. …

In one year, I lost an estimated 60 pounds through running, eating less, drinking water, and sleeping. That’s it. No special diets, no special pills, no schedules, just the good ol’ fashion hard work. Pictured to the left you will see my husband and I at Epcot (on Vacation) in 2012 and at Epcot at the end of the Princess Half Marathon (2013).

I began my post with this information, because I truly believe that if I can run 13.1 miles, YOU can run 13.1 miles (or walk).

This weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to meet so many of the bloggers I follow.  Meeting someone you follow on social media sites in real life is quite the experience. During the Marathon Weekend, I was only able to meet one person, so this trip I was determined to meet as many people as possible!

I met, Lena from The Beginners Runner. This girl is adorable! We first met at the TeamRunDisney ice cream social, and then I tagged along to another meet up. I LOVED talking to her about running, training, energy supplements, life, The Dumbo Challenge … Um, yeah. It was GREAT and I love reading her blog on Thursday’s when she posts the songs she’s currently jamming too!

I also met Erin from For the Love of Disney Running I have followed her since my early running days, and also LOVE her running costumes and LOVE for Disney. She and I also share the same name, so be default she’s cool and you should check out her blog!

Let’s see, I met Marcia from Travel, Run Eat actually. …I am fairly new to her blog, I just started following it in January. She was extremely kind, and i’m looking forward to reading about her traveling adventures.

Finally … I met Kat. I started following her blog after Pretty Muddy Tampa and just really never stopped. She’s a lot of fun to follow on instagram, and her blog. She even gave me a little shout out on her blog today (blush!). So, check out Sneakers and Finger paints! 

In addition to ALL those wonderfully inspiring ladies I met, I ALSO experienced the Fit for a Princess Expo! 
Oh. my. word.  was THAT an over crowded mess!!!  Due to the Baseball Season, we were not able to have the Expo at Disney’s World Wide of Sports. Therefore, we were crammed into one ballroom with packet pick up, t-shirt pick up, hundreds of vendors and of course 20+ thousand of our new best friends. 
For some reason, … we went both days. 

I was glad we did because I got the opportunity to meet Jeff Galloway (twice) and tell him about my

 blog, my running anniversary, and my weight loss story. I got a side hug and a bow from Jeff Galloway. Seriously, I think I glowed for HOURS after that – I was just THAT honored to meet the man who helped me train!!  I also got to meet Ali Vincent (First Female Biggest Loser). She was pretty inspiring to talk to, and encouraged me a LOT.

Even though it was crazy crowded, and a lady offered to buy my tiara OFF MY HEAD, and another lady tried to steal the mug (out of my hand) in the Disney Merchandise tent, I LOVED the expo. The energy, the excitement, the tempers. … Oh the magical memories.

Question: What’s your strategy for Run Disney Events, and Expos? 

WDW Marathon Weekend: Royal Family 5K Recap

The Family Fun Run 

Remember when we were young and the day after Christmas we began planning for NEXT Christmas? We couldn’t wait for the season to come around again, we looked forward to everything about it! We were on our best behavior, we dreamed about what it was going to be like.

Maybe I’m the only one…

Well, this 5K was the equivalent of Christmas morning.

 It is the event that I begged my sister in law to register for, the event I convinced my mother and father in law to attend, the event I’ve been dreaming of for the last 10 months. Those 3.1 miles of beautiful Epcot.

Daisy and Belle

3:32 on Friday morning had finally arrived and I have absolutely Z-E-R-O desire to get out of bed. My throat hurt, I didn’t sleep very well, I felt horrible. Around 4ish, I pulled myself out of bed and began to transform myself into Daisy Duck.

My husband and I led our team of Fun Runners through a series of warm ups and stretches, gave them a couple of last minute tips and then warned them that we wanted to RUN!  Belle (sister) and I all dressed up and ready to run.

The course was everything I imagined it would be, and I loved every minute of this race! The Family 5k is such much fun, absolutely perfect for people who are just starting to run and love Walt Disney World!