Princess Half Marathon

The big day finally arrived!  Sunday, February 24th I dragged my family out of bed at 2:45am to get ready to head out to the gathering area of the Princess Half Marathon.  Thank you to my sister Erin for getting up even earlier to come and pick us all up for the race!  Matt and I were in our lovely costumes for the day and Gabe and Maggie were ready to go and join the Chear Squad with Aunt Erin!  This is us just before Matt and I headed off to the Bag Check and then to find our spot in the corrals.

I was fortunate to be in Corral A thanks to my 2:12 finish of the Kalamazoo Half Marathon in May 2012, and thank goodness!  I was able to head right out at 5:35am when the first set of fireworks went off and the Fairy Godmother told us to go!  I didn't have to deal with long lines at the characters, or thousands of people that aren't aware of proper race etiquette (like not to do the Galloway run/walk think in lines of 4-6 across).  Matt was in Corral E and not quite so lucky.

Took a quick break over by the Speedway to get my picture taken with Lightning McQueen.  Do my bangs tell the story of how humid it was or what!  Definitely should have grabbed a sweaty band that day!

Need to see if my sister has pictures from when I ran through the Magic Kingdom - she and the kids were right in front of the castle when I stopped there to have my picture professionally taken.  Haven't seen that one yet.  I'm sure it is just LOVELY (not)!  The humidity was crazy on race day - I think it caused my poor wings to droop!

Caught up with Lilo and Stitch somewhere around mile 8 or 9...

I finally finished at 2:39:28.  Not a PR by any means, but I did stop several times for pictures and to deal with the fact that I was drinking WAY more water than I normally do in a race like this.

I absolutely LOVE the medal - and the kids  got Matt and I these lovely finishers roses.

Matt finished maybe 30-45 minutes behind me.  Very impressed that he kept his tutu on the whole way.  He kept saying it would make it just a couple of miles before he tossed it. 

Also participating in the race were my Kappa Delta sisters Melissa (on the right) and Sandy (in the middle).  So proud of both of them for completing their first half marathons!  We took this picture at the end, but Sandy had us a little backward with the KD sign!

 

Already thinking ahead to my next Disney race - maybe I can convince some more KD's that we should meet up for the Tinkerbell at Disneyland in January 2014!  And then maybe Wine and Dine in October 2014 so that I can get my Coast to Coast medal from Disney!

Royal Family 5k at Walt Disney World

The weekend my family has been waiting for has finally arrived!  We are at Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon weekend.

I dragged my kids out of bed at 3:45am on Saturday and we headed over to the Royal Family 5k at Epcot.  We were there with plenty of time to spare thanks to the Disney bus system, so we hopped in a HUGE line to have our pictures taken with Disney's royal family.  We made it to the front of the line just in time!  With all the music and dancing and excitement the wait time flew right on by.  :)

The race started in the Epcot parking lot, and took us around to where the cast members generally park before entering the park behind the Test Track building.  Soon we were making our way around World Showcase. 

A blurry picture of Gabe and Maggie working hard - they did a great job and I am so proud of how hard they worked. 

When we got back to the Beach Club we found Matt sitting eating breakfast (he is fighting a cold this weekend so we decided he should skip the 5k festivities and get some rest before the Half Marathon tomorrow).  He was excited to see our medals! 

Well, I'm signed up again for another challenge from Run To The Finish.  This one starts in March and is called the Spring Bootie Buster Challenge (just LOVE that name)!  Looking forward to getting my lock laces for signing up - tired of needing to triple know my shoe laces when I go running so they aren't hitting my other leg!

Here are just a few basics on the SBBC:

Who: Everyone who wants some added motivation for a Spring Shape Up!
When: CHALLENGE STARTS ON Mar 4 - Apr 21
How: Register by clicking the button above
Cost: $10 - $45 depending on options selected
- $10: Group support, weekly emails, expert Q&A, receive basic training plan - no prizes (except Lock Laces)
- $22: Group support, weekly emails, expert Q&A, receive basic training plan - eligible for prizes
- $47: All of the above, plus additional support to reach goals faster (more details here)
Why: Group support and rewards for sticking to healthy habits…plus rocking that swimsuit this summer.
CHALLENGE BASICS

• Earn 1 point per 10 minutes of activity
• Earn points for eating 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies
• Free group forum
• Meet other like minded folks to help you stay on track.
• Receive a half marathon training
• Receive a basic strength training plan
• Win prizes!!
• Get answers from experts in nutrition, running, cross fit, yoga and more.
  • Michelle Lovitt - Celebrity trainer
  • Susan Becraft - Fitness expert
  • Thomas Taulbee - Holistic health coach and yoga instructor
  • Mary Baum - Running coach
  • Vanessa Scotto - Life Coach with 15 years experience

This 7 week health & fitness challenge is meant to help everyone get a jump start on feeling great for swimsuit season or stay on track to meet fitness goals. It’s a friendly competition to exercise, eat healthy and even do a little soul work. There are different fitness levels, so everybody can compete & a multitude of ways to earn points.

Interested in registering?  Visit http://www.runtothefinish.com/2013/02/spring-bootie-buster-challenge.html and sign up - and I'd appreciate it if you'd mention me when asked about how you learned about the challenge!

5 By the 5th

Wow - I have been terrible about posting anything since the end of the HBBC Challenge.  I'd really like to make more time to do this, but what a wild month of January I had!

I did manage to do the second installment of "5 By The 5th" this morning.  I logged 5 miles in just over 53 minutes and added it to the spreadsheet.  Bummed to see that my January results were missing - I swear I logged them in.  Oh well - I know I kept up the challenge even if I have less than stellar posting results.

I feel like I'm in the home stretch to the Disney Princess Half Marathon now - only 7 more training runs between now and race day.  Can't wait!