Disney Princess Weekend recap!

Wow, I checked my blog and realized I have not posted one thing for 2016!  I am going to recap one of my favorite race weekends of ALL time.. Disney Princess weekend February 18-22!  It is really neat how I ended up getting to go!  I've been following @roadrunnergirl aka Mindy Bobe on IG for at least 2 years now and she happens to live in Daphne, Alabama, only an hour away from me.  I also met an Instafriend named Jenny or aka @jennyfren on IG and she also lived in Daphne.  I saw in July that they were both registering for Disney Princess weekend and I left a comment that I wished I could go.  Long story short, they invited me to go with them on this amazing trip!  The Glass Slipper Challenge was sold out so I signed up for the Disney Princess 5k and Half Marathon!  I was over the moon excited!  I met Jenny and Mindy in person finally in January before our big trip.  We had a 3 hour late lunch at Jason's Deli in Mobile and got to know each other better.  The three of us seemed to hit it off immediately which made me even more excited about the trip!

We decided to leave Wednesday February 17 and drive most of the way to Orlando that day and night so we could be at the expo on Thursday when it opened.  I drove to Mindy's house in Daphne and we loaded up Jenny's rental car with our bags and my Keurig coffee maker!!  We are all coffee addicts!  We drove all the way to Gainesville Florida and spent the first night at a hotel there.  We got up early the next morning and drove straight to Disney World!!  We made it to the expo right when it opened at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  

Jenny, Mindy, and I met up with Tracy our roommate and Brittney, our travel agent who planned our special trip.  Brittney did so many nice things in preparing our group for the trip and even made all of us several care packages.  Most of the ladies in our group were from the Alabama area.  Back to the expo!  We went straight to the Run Disney items first and let me tell you it was a mad house.  People were grabbing, pushing, and breaking things.  I just happened to get the Cinderella's Castle tank I wanted thanks to a lady who grabbed an arm load for me and my friends.  I am not the type of person to jump in a crowd and fight over a shirt.  I was pretty overwhelmed at all the people and we had to wait in a long line to check out.  I picked up my Sparkle Athletic visor I ordered online and the other ladies did some shopping.  I also got to meet Mary or "Grand Mary" as we called her.  She was Brittney and Kristin's (Bamagirlruns) mom and she made our cute princess t-shirts.  We decided to grab something to eat.  I ordered a hamburger and barely ate any of it.  My nerves were completely shot from all the people!  We still had to go over to a different building and pick up our packets.  We ended up being at the expo for over FOUR hours.  I would say that was the worst part of the trip.

 By the time we checked in at Pop Century and unloaded the car, I was in desperate need of some down time.  I stayed in the room while Tracy, Jenny, and Mindy went to Downtown Disney.  Crowds make me so nervous indoors, but outdoors at races, I am completely fine being surrounded by people.  My roommates came back around 9 and we went to bed since we had a 330 AM wake up.

330 AM came quickly and the 4 of us got up to get ready.  We had a big group of ladies and we all had mermaid leggings to wear with different colored tank tops.  I was in all green!  Talk about cute, cute, cute!!  Everybody looked so good!!

 We had so many people ask us where we got our leggings (Amazon for $10!).  We headed down to the bus around 4 or 430.  It was a little chilly, but not too bad.  We took lots of pictures waiting for the bus and headed over to Epcot where the 5k would be starting.  We took more pictures waiting for the race to start and it was still dark outside.  

I was in corral B by myself and the race started at 6:00 AM.  It seems like a long time to wait, but the time goes by so fast!  

It was time for our corral to start and I remember the first part of the 5k was pretty boring. It was really hard to run in those leggings and hard trying to get around all the people.  I gave up trying to run a decent pace and just enjoyed myself.  I'm not very familiar with Epcot, but running through the park at sunrise was just beautiful.

 I had to stop and use the restroom too and took a lot of pictures.  The race was over in a flash and I received my awesome Ariel medal.  I loved it!

 I found Mindy and Jenny and we waited in a long line to take a picture with Ariel and Prince Eric.

 Ariel disappeared for a few minutes, but I was determined to get a picture with my favorite princess.  

I got my picture taken with her and we headed back to the bus since we were cold.  I really enjoyed this 5k so much.  We got ready and went to spend the day at Animal Kingdom.  We had so much fun!!  

We ate a late lunch at Tusker House and pretty much had the characters all to ourselves!  

We ate and got on a bus for Epcot.  I was so tired, I only stayed at Epcot a few minutes to take some pictures and headed back to the room to shower.  It was such a fun day though.

The next morning, my roommates were running the 10k so I woke up while they got ready, but when they left, I turned the lights off and went back to sleep until about 6:30.  I got some good sleep!  I got ready while they were gone because we were spending the day at Magic Kingdom!  Jenny and Mindy came in and they had a great race.  They drank coffee and started getting ready and Tracy came in.  We decided to go over to Hollywood Studios and eat lunch and we got to see the Star Wars exhibit and got to meet Chewy!!  

We headed over to Magic Kingdom after that and spent the rest of the afternoon there.  

We met the sweetest cleaning lady named Curlie.  We actually met her in the ladies room off of the Main Street area and she told us she had been working at Magic Kingdom since it opened over 40 years ago!  She had the sweetest memorabilia in her storage closet.  Over 40 years of items she had collected and pictures on her walls.  She was so precious and it was a great moment for all of us to be able to meet her.  Jenny actually mailed her this picture of us with a sweet note.

After that we went to Starbucks on Main Street and visited with a few other ladies in our group and I got a picture with Kristin aka @bamagirlruns!  She is super nice and so funny!  

We went shopping after the parade and I bought a few souvenirs for my children.  

I left Magic Kingdom around 4:30 to go back to the room and do my prehydration ritual that I do before every race.  I drink 4 twenty ounce half water half Gatorade drinks so I don't get dehydrated during a race.  My roommates and I ate pizza at the resort so we could go to bed early.  We had a 2:30 AM wake up for the half marathon the next morning!!

The next thing I knew it was 2:30 AM and time to get up and get ready for the Disney Princess Half Marathon!  I was so excited!  All for of us were up, dressed, and out the door by 3 AM to catch the bus.  

The half marathon started at 5:30 so we caught the bus to Epcot at the same place the 5k.

 Our group took pictures and we danced and had such a fun time even though it was 4 in the morning and dark outside!!  I walked with Jenny, Mindy, and Leigh to the corrals.  It was a LONG walk to get there and I was in corral E which was really close to the starting line.  Once the first groups started going through, it was only a few minutes before I got to start!  

BOOM!  Fireworks and we were off.  I did have to stop and go potty after the first mile.  We ran into Magic Kingdom after about 4 miles and I stopped for a picture with Jasmine.

 I ran under the Run Disney sign and around the Contemporary Resort into Magic Kingdom!  

I ran on Main Street and someone was nice enough to stop and take a picture of me in front of the castle!  

I can't say enough about how nice people were at Disney.  I took a picture with Buzz Lightyear and my FAVORITE pictures are of me, the Stepmother and stepsisters from Cinderella.  I had a blast with all of them!  

I took a picture with Woody and Jessie and waited in a 15 minute line for a picture with Belle and Beast since she is my daughter's favorite Disney princess.  

After 6 and a half miles, I was outside of Magic Kingdom and the rest of the half went by pretty fast.  I didn't stop and take a picture with Mary Poppins and I should have.  I did stop at mile 10 for a Bambi selfie.

I remember running over a bridge and it was getting hot at this point.  I was ready to be DONE.  I feel like I ran all over Epcot before finally making the last couple of turns to the finish line.  I took a selfie with the gospel choir and mile 13!

 They say whoever is on the banner at mile 13 will be the theme of the next year's Princess weekend.  Snow White it is!!  

When I crossed the finish line, it almost felt like the first time I had ever finished a half marathon.  It felt amazing!!

 I had so much fun at this race and took my time.  There was no pressure or competition, just fun!!  I found Jenny and Mindy after the race and we took pictures and hung out for a few minutes before I got on the bus to get out of the sun.

 We had such a fun afternoon taking pictures as a group in front of the castle in our cute shirts Grand Mary made for us and eating at Ohana!  

That really hit the spot!!  We went back to Magic Kingdom and a few of us took more pictures and rode a couple rides.  

My favorite part was meeting Ariel again!

 We watched the fireworks and wishes at the castle.  My roommates and I crawled into bed at around 11:30!  What a wonderful day and weekend it had been!!

Jenny, Mindy, and I got on the road around 11 or 10 Central time.  We were all ready to see our families and had a safe trip home.  Thank you Jenny for driving us!  I can't say enough about this trip.  It had been literally years since I had gone any where with a group of women.  This was just what my spirit needed and I am so thankful for all the new friends I made!  I love my family but I think it's important to have friendships and find people you have things in common with.  These women were all so welcoming and loving.  They love the Lord and they love to run!!  I cannot wait to go back next year!!

Marathon Training Week One Recap

Well, I made it through week one of marathon training!  Woo hoo!!  My new coach has me training by time on the road and heart rate.  Luckily, I had my old Garmin heart rate monitor and just ordered a new strap which made it to my house by Tuesday.  I also have my TomTom Cardio watch, which I thought wasn't very accurate because it always says my heart rate is so high.  Turns out, it may not have been so inaccurate after all.

Monday morning, I woke up at 5 AM to run on my treadmill.  My coach emailed me how to do some warm up lunges before running.  I read my devotion and got started at around 5:30.  I set my timer and did my warm up lunges then walked on my treadmill for a few minutes before beginning my 45 minute heart rate run.  I was supposed to keep my heart rate under 150 and that was a struggle.  I wore my TomTom and it said my HR was already at 160.  I was only running at 5.8 mph on the treadmill which is supposed to be around 10:30 pace.  I was a little irritated with my watch reading so I pretty much ran how I felt.  My average HR ended up being 157 which was too high.

 I was in a hurry and had to get all three children up and ready for school.  I took my son to preschool, came home to shower, and head up to the elementary school to watch my middle child's Christmas program  The program started at 9 and I managed to slide into my seat at 9:02.  I was just in time!  Whew!  It was a super busy day!

Tuesday was a little more relaxed and not so rushed.  My schedule called for 20 minute core and lower body workout plus 30 minutes of cycling.  My son is home on Tuesdays so I did my 20 minute workout downstairs in our play room.  Squats, lunges, side lunges, sit ups, side leg kickouts, plus much more all on my Bosu ball.  I focused a lot on my hips because they are pretty weak.  I make up my own workouts.  Sometimes I follow a workout on Pinterest, but I mostly just make it up and repeat each circuit 3 times.  

Ouch.  My legs were pretty shaky when I finished then my son and I headed up to the lake where my husband was working so I could ride my bike.  The weather was so beautiful that day and I really enjoyed riding my bike.  My husband and I bought bikes last year, but we haven't been riding them much at all.  I forgot how much I enjoyed it!  I thought it would be so hard bike riding at the lake because of all the hills, but it wasn't as bad as running.  I rode 5.3 miles in 30 minutes and my legs felt like jello when I finished.  I did great work on Tuesday and enjoyed the change in my routine.

Wednesday was another early morning. I had to get up and make bacon for Cayne's preschool class Christmas party.  The class was planning on eating breakfast then opening their presents.  While I made the bacon, I drank my morning coffee.  

My husband got Cayne ready for school so I could go ahead and get my run in before heading to his Christmas party.  The schedule for this day called for a 5 minute warm up and 4 mile MAF test.  MAF stands for Maximum Aerobic Function.  

I was supposed to keep my HR under 150 again and it was a struggle.  I used my new Garmin HR strap plus my TomTom watch to see if they matched.  They were actually pretty close to reading the same heart rate. It was very frustrating and I had to walk a lot to get my HR back down.  My coach said if my HR got up to 152 to start walking until it dropped to low 140's.  My splits were 11:09, 11:45, 12:12, and 12:08.  It seemed the longer I ran, the higher my HR.  I told  myself if every run is like this, this is going to be a long 4 months of training. At least I felt good after my run and came home to get ready for Cayne's Christmas party.  We had another full and busy day!

Thursday was my rest and recovery day or yoga!  I was so happy to make it to this day of the week.  I was tired from the busyness of the week and training.  My legs were super sore from Tuesdays cycling and lower body workout.  I had read a couple of posts from my IG friends about Jasoyoga.  I decided to get their subscription and try out a couple videos.  I did a couple of their hip reset videos and let me tell you, it was just what my sore hips needed!!  The stretches felt amazing!!  I am going to enjoy these videos on Thursdays!

Fridays are my long run days and I had an hour and 30 minute long run on schedule with the usual 5 minute warm up.  I did my lunges and other dynamic movements before heading out early for my long run. All three kiddos spent the night at my mother-in-laws so I headed out around 7 or so.  It was COLD outside!  I had on two shirts to start.  I decided not to drink or eat anything before my run and it took me several miles to get my heart rate up to 140.  Since I thought I would be running slowly, I did not prepare for this long run like I usually do.  I didn't drink or eat enough the day before and my body could tell.  I felt like I was dragging, but I still managed a good solid pace during the entire run.  It was definitely a pretty tough run, but I made it and I was very happy with my pace and distance.  I made it 8.63 miles in an hour and 30 minutes with my heart rate finally at an average of 138.  I am guessing coffee is what is causing my HR to go up so fast.

Saturday was my short run day with a 10 minute warm up and 30 minute run on schedule.  I tried to rest this morning since we have to be at church early Sunday morning for the children's Christmas program.  I drove up to the lake for a change of scenery and it was still cold at 9:15!  I did have coffee so my HR jumped up to 140 in no time.  I had trouble keeping my HR under 150 and since I was climbing hills my HR got up in the 170's.  Oops.  I have to press buttons to see my HR screen and I really just wanted to run today.  My average HR was about 151 this morning.  So coffee AND hill climbing makes my heart rate go way up.  Now I know for sure! I came home and did a quick 20 minute core and upper body workout which was also on schedule. 

All in all, I had a great first week of training.  Heart rate training is new to me and I had to figure some things out.  I am very excited about training with a new coach and look forward to getting my new schedule tomorrow!  I am getting very close to finished with Christmas shopping too and that makes me very happy!  I'm looking forward to spending the week with my family.  Have a blessed week friends!!

St. Jude Half Marathon Race Recap

Wow, what an amazing race weekend at the St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis!  I met my $1,000 fundraising goal the day before we left for Memphis!  I was so very thankful for that.  I'd seriously started rolling change a month ago because I had so much money to raise and didn't think I would make my goal.  Then, all of a sudden, people started donating.  What a wonderful blessing for the children who are patients at St. Jude Children's Hospital.  My goal for this race was to beat my time from the year before which was 2:27:06 and I did it!!

Friday before the race, I got up at 5 AM and read my morning devotions.  I jumped on the treadmill for my holiday runstreak mile, then took a shower and started getting the kids ready for school.  I kissed my two daughters goodbye and my husband took them to school.  My mother came to pick my little boy up for preschool and get all of their clothes for the weekend.  She had given me a sweet travelling package the night before filled with candy, music, and tumblers for us.  I kissed my baby boy bye too and finished packing up my things.  We were on the road by 8 AM!  

I wanted to get to the expo earlier this year than last year because the crowd was a little overwhelming late in the evening.  We stopped for a biscuit and stopped by a gift shop in Mendenhall called Ballyhoo.  My husband bought me a new bracelet and a Fingerprint Pottery coffee mug as a prerace gift.  Aaaaaaw.  We stopped for lunch in north Mississippi and made it to Memphis Cook Convention Center by 2:30 in the afternoon!  I was so excited to be there!  We parked and headed upstairs to the expo.  I went in the main room and couldn't find my number so I told a volunteer my number and they said I was "VIP" and to pick up my packet in a different room.  Oooooh.  

I thought I might be a VIP Hero, but I wasn't for sure.  We went to the VIP packet pick up room and got my number and $25 discount for clothing.  Then we went back to the main room to get my shirt and bag.  Once I was all fixed up, my husband and I went shopping!  I knew I probably wouldn't get to come back next year so I bought a St. Jude hoodie, hat, two ornaments, and a race shirt for my 8 year old.  She had asked for us to bring her running clothes home from Memphis.  Swoon.  My husband bought himself a hat too!  Then we walked over to the next room where there were plenty of other vendors with shoes and shirts, race entries and such.  I signed my name on the board and found my name on the Ford Explorer.  It was on the praying baby!

 We walked around for a little while since our check in time wasn't until 4 at the Peabody.  We headed out of the expo at around 345 and asked someone to take our picture.

 Christopher took a picture of me holding my bib number then it was off to the Peabody Hotel.  

Wow, there were so many people there!  It didn't take us long to check in and we headed up to our room on the 9th floor to rest before dinner at Texas de Brazil which was right by our hotel.  Super convenient and it was really good food.  We had to take our picture by the big Christmas tree in our hotel lobby before heading back to the room.  We checked in with the kids and then it was time to sleep!  I slept pretty well considering it was the night before a big race.

The next thing I new it was race morning!  I could hear music playing and announcer's talking through a microphone as early as 6 AM.  I looked out the window and saw runners every where and they looked cold!  I had trouble deciding between a long sleeved or short sleeved shirt underneath my singlet, but I went with short sleeved because I warm up quickly while I'm running.  I planned on meeting Debi from Girls Run the 901 and Tricia from MissSippipiddlin and the rest of the Run 365 crew in front of the Flying Saucer at 745.  I packed my snickers in my flip belt, my headphones and cell phone, kissed my husband bye and headed downstairs at about 725.  I walked out of the hotel and it was freezing.  Probably in the 30's.  I was wearing a jacket which I planned on throwing away with hand warmers in the pockets.  I headed down 2nd Street looking for the Flying Saucer.  I passed it and didn't see anyone I knew so I waited a few feet from the meeting spot for about 5 minutes and I saw Debi!  I headed straight for her and we gave each other a big hug!  I saw Cecilia from MommiesRun. and gave her a big hug and I got to meet Tara from RunningnReading!  I have been following her for a long time.  Tricia and her husband Greg walked up and gave her a hug and Greg a high five!  I saw Scott Stader and gave him a high five as well.  What a wonderful reunion!  

We all chatted a few minutes and then it was time for our group picture just like last year!  

We took several pictures as a group and it was time to say good bye.  I also got to meet Debi's friend Don.  I told her I hoped she had a good race and wished Tricia good luck before heading up to my corral.  I chose corral number 8 since the pace said 10:10-10:30 or something like that.  We sang the National Anthem and it was time for the first wave to run!  

It was so exciting when we started walking forward.  It took 45 minutes for me to start in Nashville, but only 15 minutes here at St. Jude.  I ditched my jacket at the starting line..COLD.. and it was time to run!!

I can honestly say I felt strong the entire time I ran this race.  There were no moments of struggle like last year.  I think last year I got in the corral that said 2:20 and tried to keep up with my friends and the pacers.  It seemed like they were running a little too fast plus I was not in as good of shape last year and already had a nagging knee injury.  This time, I did not start too fast and there seemed like more hills at the beginning of this course than last year's. At mile 3 we were running by the Mississippi River just like last year and we ran by the Convention Center.  There was a steep incline around mile 4.  Wow!  At Meridian two weeks ago I had to start walking the hills, but in Memphis, I ran every single hill.  I refused to stop and walk the hills at this race.  My mind was so much more focused on the reason why I was there to run in the first place and it was for those children who are patients at St. Jude Children's Hospital.  

At mile 5 I could see the hospital and it was time to run through the campus... and then I saw the children were out.  I immediately started crying.  I could not catch my breath.  I passed a little girl in her wheel chair and gave so many high fives.  One little girl in particular was probably around 6 or 7 with her little beanie hat on.  She was smiling and giving high fives.  She looked so happy.  I cried harder and made sure to shake her hand.  Mercy.  I savored this moment, and took my time running through the campus.  There were so many people.  They were so glad to see us and so filled with joy.  I imagine that is what heaven will be like when we arrive.  I enjoyed every second running through the hospital.  I will never forget all of those smiling faces.  Then it was time to run out and before I knew it, the race was almost half way over.  When I ran out of the hospital and regained my composure, I remembered that it was at this point of the race last year that I started to struggle.  That really motivated me to start running a little harder!  I finished mile 6 at 10:29 and mile 7 at 10:15!  I kept thinking we would run to Overton Park again like last year, but we didn't.  Miles 8-10 I ran at 10:28, 10:34 (I stopped to eat my snickers bar lol), and 10:27.  I really thought after 10 miles that if I hustled, I would PR.  I ran 10 miles in an hour and 43 minutes and if I would finish the last 3 miles in 30 minutes and really hustled, I might possible get that personal record!  So I really tried to pick up the pace and ran up and down more hills.  There were so many people and my legs had been hurting from hill climbing again after 6 miles.  That's what happened last year, but instead of falling to pieces, I was able to push through it this year.  I ran miles 11-13 at 10:12, 10:04, and 10:09.  After mile 12, a girl came to a complete stop right in front of me and we collided.  It felt like I had been body slammed!  She apologized, but this happened a lot at this race for some reason.  Runners would stop and walk right in front of me and this happened as early as before the first mile marker.  I made it 13 miles in about 2 hours and 14 minutes, but I had not turned to go inside the Autozone Park yet.  I kept running and running as hard as I could and then it happened...a major side stitch..the kind that hurts so badly you can't catch your breath.  I was hurting so badly, I missed my husband who was right by the finish line before I turned into the park.

 Time kept ticking and I stopped my watch at 2:16:59 and the distance said 13.28 miles.  I got my medal and took my picture.  I was a little disappointed that I had worked so hard at the end of the race to not PR, but I was still so thankful for a wonderful race compared to the year before.  I was much more focused and ran with purpose for those sweet children.  I enjoyed every moment.  You cannot beat the Memphis crowd, calling me by name and cheering.  I high fived so many people and children.  It was simply amazing.  It took me a long time to make my way out of the Autozone Park.  I ended up walking around the entire thing to get out to my husband.  On the way out, I stopped and sipped some hot potato soup from McAllister's and made a bee line for the Krispy Kreme donuts and ate one glazed donut.  Yummy!  I walked and walked and heard someone call my name.  It was Jennifer from Teacher in Training and her husband!  

I was so very excited to meet her.  They helped me find out what my official finish time was and it was 2:16:53, a few seconds better than what my watch read.  We chatted for a minute and I headed toward the exit to find my husband.  I was ready to see him!  He was standing by the chocolate milk and he gave me a big hug and kiss and told me good job.  He even bought me a finisher shirt..swoon!  

I was ready to sit down at this point so we headed back to the Peabody which was right across the street from Autozone Park.  I took a long hot bath and Christopher bought me coffee and enjoyed a relaxing day and night together before heading home bright and early at 6 AM the following morning.  Our two daughters had piano recital Sunday afternoon and I had my women's church Christmas party.

Wow, I am still overjoyed and thankful I had the opportunity to run the St. Jude Half Marathon 2 years in a row.  Last year did not go so well and I suffered severe fatigue and exhaustion when we got home from Memphis.  This year, we came home to a busy schedule and a very sick little girl, but I felt just fine and ready to take care of everything.  That's what busy mothers do after all!  I went to my Surgical Oncologist Monday afternoon and he told me I did not have to come back to see him for a year!  I was so excited!  It was such an awesome weekend at St. Jude and being able to spend time with my husband.  I love being a St. Jude Hero and running for those sweet kids.  I love running for a cause and running for my buddy, Sophia.  I feel like my running has purpose and glory to God for bringing me through a tough year of running last year.  I am ending 2015 on such a happy, positive note and injury free!  I think the struggles make us strong.  It has taken a long time for everything to come together, but the main thing I did was not give up.  Last year was so hard coming home from Memphis, I ended up even going to the doctor because I was dizzy and exhausted.  I could have called it quits then, but I didn't.  I kept getting out there and running because I love it.  Running has opened so many doors for me and I've met so many wonderful people and I am so excited to see what 2016 has in store for me.  Thank you for reading!  God bless you all and Merry Christmas!