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? 

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