Disney Princess Half-Marathon: Part I (Expo and the Start!)

This winter has not really been the best for me, health-wise.  I posted a while back about being sick and falling behind training, but on top of that, I got sick right after Valentine's Day and skipped a TON of classes because I was so ill right before the half.  I was a nervous wreck I wouldn't be able to even WALK the thing, let alone run it.  Despite everything, I went home a little earlier, slept a ton, and caught a  Friday late-night plane to Orlando to race.

I had paid the entrance fee, after all.  I might as well go to Disney World, one of my favorite places ever.  The whole reason I signed up for this race in the first place, to be my first half-marathon, was because 1) I wanted to be a princess 2) Since I never ran the distance before, I wouldn't be self-conscious about my time, and 3) Running through the Magic Kingdom--can it get any more awesome than that?!

So I tried to dispel my worries and went to the Expo (see above).  I still wasn't feeling well simply walking around, and the race was TOMORROW.  I was more than a tad worried, and kept praying I would at least be able to walk it and not be picked up by the 16-min-per-mile pacers, something I had NEVER worried about while training.

I got some freebies (LUNA bars!  Yogurt!) and gear, including an I DID IT! shirt.  I was dying to wear it.  I knew I had to earn it.  I could only hope that I would.

There was even an awesome running "glass slipper" on display.  I can only say, wow, Disney is so great with attention to detail....

I had to sit down because I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy.  This, in turn, made me freak out even more.  And did I mention I still had a DEEP chest cough?  Nowhere near ready to run the next day.  


Even then, as I was feeling pretty crappy, I couldn't resist posing with Gaston and my "muscled bod."

 After a 3:30 pm dinner (I kid you not, I went to bed at 5 pm...but didn't fall asleep until 7) at the All Star Movies Resort, my parents and I went to bed.  


I have never, ever been in bed that early before.  Even though I was exhausted from the previous week, I tossed and turned (and coughed).  I freaked out around ten pm when I woke up coughing.  Thank goodness I had my inhaler, and that seemed to help the coughing.


With one very early wake-up call, we boarded the buses and headed to the Epcot parking lot!  


But not without a few fiascos.  I have read OVER and OVER not to do anything differently from training on the morning before the race.  So I brought peanut butter to eat, and some crackers.  Great.  It was three am--I forced a spoonful down and had to be satisfied that that was all my body would accept, and I counted on the fact that I had eaten well the day before.


Additionally, packing for the race, I planned to wear shorts, a tutu, and a wicking tank top.


It was only about 35 degrees out at 3 am, and would be in the 40s to low 50s all day.


Tank top?  I don't think so.


Luckily, I had thrown in a shirt I had just bought and still had the tags on at the last second into my suitcase.  Relieved, I went to put it on...and the security tag was still on.  You know, those bulky, ink-filled plastic things cashiers sometimes forget to remove with their handy-dandy machine?


Need I remind you, it was three am on the day of the race.  I certainly wasn't going back to the store.


Thank goodness that Disney always has places open.  My mom ran to the hotel store and they used their machine--backwards--on my shirt, and it came off after a little finagling.  If they hadn't, I would've frozen!


Now, I had done a lot of reading about what the beginning of this race was like.  With about 19,000 runners, most of them women, things can get a little crazy.  The lines for the Port-A-Potties appeared ridiculous, but I headed toward the back and only waited two minutes.


Aaah, the little things in life.


I was still coughing, but not as much.  It helped that the weather was warmer.


Here I am, all bundled up in my throwaway hoodie (...I still really liked that hoodie, but I was ready to admit it doesn't fit me anymore).  After the LONG walk (it really was about 15-20 minutes) from the Port-A-Potties, backstage, past MORE Port-A-Potties (if they had come to life, the runners would have had absolutely no chance of escaping the Port-A-Potty army), and finally, I arrived at Corral C.


My mom sneaked in and took a pic while I waited nervously for the start.  I felt very alone and with a bunch of older runners.  There were, oddly enough, quite a few guys in my area, many running with their own princesses.  Awww. 

 Eventually, my mom left me, and I stretched a little and tried to keep warm.  After the wheelchair start (and each start had fireworks!  How cool was that?!), it was soon time to go.  I expected a crowd, and I thought running the Rock 'n' Roll 10k had prepared me for a decent crowd, but nothing like this!  Here's the crowd right before the starting line:

I started way too fast.  I did my best to keep to the side and let runners pass me, but the crowd swept me up.  I think I covered about an 11:40-12:15 mile pace at first.  Now, that's plenty normal for me while I was training, but I kept in mind that I was still sick and I wanted to go as slow as possible in the beginning, at least for the first half of the race.

I wanted to badly to finish.

I kept coughing.  I knew I could only use my inhaler twice during the race, so I wanted to wait and use it sparingly.

I was feeling bad at mile 2 and unsure if I would make it.  I decided to take a ton of walk breaks and persist with a slow jog.  

It's worth mentioning all the mile markers were storybook scenes, and very nicely designed.  I enjoyed passing them, and they made each mile more special (after mile 8, every one after that was a new distance PR!).  I also decided to keep my hoodie as long as possible (when I'm warm, I cough less).
 

Here's what began my time lapse.  Now, I knew going into this race that I was going to take a ton of pictures (why wear a tutu, after all, if you're not going to be in photos with it?!).  So, I stopped at the first character stop--Jack Sparrow and a giant pirate ship.

I waited about ten-fifteen minutes in line, and the photo's still dark because the sun is still not up (My corral start? Approximately 5:57 am). 

 I also read that this race is all highway. If you are reading this, thinking about doing the Disney Princess Half or the Regular Half, it is!  Still, I entertained myself looking at other people's costumes, and I'm such a huge Disney geek that I loved running behind the scenes, or  "backstage," in Disney lingo.

I loved that I have driven this same route a zillion times in my life.

 This next photo stop was COMPLETELY worth the wait.  All the princes?  The "smolder" of Flynn Rider?  I was so there.  Did I really have to keep running after this?

Well, yes, I did.  I wasn't even halfway finished.  But here is one of my favorite, unexpected parts of the race:
 

That would be running through the Magic Kingdom toll booths.  Really.  I run through TWO theme parks and pass a ton of awesome characters, and one of my favorite parts was a toll booth?  

Well, yeah.  The operators (I assume?) were out there, directing people and cheering people on.  As I passed the speed bump, I thought, I am not a car, and that thought kept me amused for a very long time.  Hey, it was only six am, okay?  I am easily amused.

Unexpected moments during a race can be good (tollbooths!)...or bad (I certainly didn't expect to be sick).  Have you had any unexpected moments in your life lately?
 Non-running related, I ran into my boyfriend the other day in one of the strangest places in an academic building on campus.  Unexpected, but it totally made my day!


I'm on spring break right now!  Woohoo!  If you could take a vacation RIGHT NOW, where would you go?
Well, I'm currently in a beautiful place, so I think I'll stay right here.  =D
 

Super Bowl Sunday Shenanigans

Saturday night, I ended up chatting with one of my friends about half-marathons, so I didn't fall asleep till past two am...but long run at 10 am the next day we did! Huge thanks to L for accompanying me on the beautiful trail even when he was exhausted. We took a few stretching breaks and did our best to ignore our rumbling stomachs. We hit six miles at 1:17...at the entrance of the dining hall. Perfect timing!

Sandwiched between L and Mel. Yes, we are THOSE people that ran straight to the dining hall instead of showering...yikes. The BF isn't pictured...but he showed up to enjoy my sweaty company, anyway. What a trooper.

After a relaxaing afternoon, we all piled into the lounge to watch the game on the projector. Go Giants! Wooo!

(Cheering the team on after stuffing ourselves with pizza and chicken wings!)

Yup, just some college students having fun. But I've gotta say...Mel is a big fan of creepy photos.

(Like this one. Girl knows how to capture my beauty, let me tell ya.)

I'm still recovering from my food coma, phew.

Did you watch the game?!

It's Monday. I'm exhausted and swimming in homework. Any concentration tips?

Go Long!

The past two Sundays, I've been going long. 7 and 8 miles, both new distances for me! (1:38 and 1:40 respectively). It was pretty eye-opening to see how much faster I run outside rather than on the treadmill.

I was so proud of my 8-miler that I took a photo:

(Yaaaaay! 8 miles!)

It was a nice, relaxing run. I love Sunday long runs. They give me time to meditate, ruminate, and, I admit, belt out some Flight of the Conchords alongside Taylor Swift. (Yep, I've got quite an eclectic mix of music.)

I've been trying more gym classes--I tried a dance class yesterday and Zumba'd it up today! On top of that, I ran a quick three miles with a friend. Half-marathon training and socializing has never been so exhausting!

My roomie, Mel, smuggled me back a s'mores bar from the cafeteria:

(These are addicting. Oooh, my.)

Anyway, I'm running five miles tomorrow with a bud! YAY for half-marathon training! Time for bed...schoolwork + social life + training is exhausting.

What's your latest food addiction?

I was talking with a friend yesterday, and while I thought about running as a love and an addiction, she thought about it like a love/hate relationship...what do you think?

How NOT to Run, and the Amazing Blogger Award!

Wisdom is doing something and going, "Oh, dangit, now I know!" Workout-wise, the past few days were...interesting.

My Saturday, aka: How NOT to Run

First, decide that you're not going to run today! Nope, you are definitely not running. You are having a relaxing day at the beach. Get ready to slather on the sunscreen!

As a result of you having a nice relaxing day, have a HUGE breakfast. Lots of fiber. Grilled peanut butter and apple sandwich. With two apples. Oh yeaaah. This is the kind of breakfast you'd like to sleep off on the beach.

Ten minutes before you leave, make a snap decision! You're running! And it's going to be a long run. Oh boy.

Make sure your Garmin's not charged! Hasn't been charged in a while? EVEN BETTER.

Throw everything you think you need into your backpack. Make sure you forget your headband so your hair flops crazily all through the run! It's the latest fashion, you know.

While you're at it, leave your Body Glide at home, too.

Arrive at the beach at approximately 11 am. Decide to start your run at the hottest part of the day. Luckily, you HAVE packed sunscreen.

Run your four miles! =D

All joking aside, this run was actually awesome!! There are some days I just get the itch to run like crazy. This was my first official 4 mile run ever! Yay! I kept it slow and steady, so I had 4.03 in 49:45.

Did I learn, though? NAH! The day after, I ran two miles in the rain (24:52), effectively destroying my phone.

Bad move on my part. Darn rain. Now I know--next time, my phone's going in a plastic baggie. The run was peaceful and fun, though, so at least that was good. =D

In other news, the lovely Paola over at Sol de Luna tagged me for the Amazing Blogger Award! Thanks, Paola! Her blog is absolutely awesome, definitely check it out!

1) Favorite cartoon character?

(I love Stitch. "O'hana means family," is a sucker line for me every time. Lilo & Stitch remains one of my favorite movies.)

2) Favorite thing to photograph?

(I do enjoy photographing food, of course. Deep dish pizza in Chicago!)

(But I truly love photographing architecture while I travel. In front of the Louvre in Paris, France.)

3) Favorite thing to cook?
I do love breakfast. I rarely photograph it, because it's similar. I love egg with salsa over brown rice, or a grilled pb sandwich with an apple. YUM.

4) Favorite way to exercise?
Running, swimming, and biking! I love all three! =D They each teach me a new appreciation for what my body can do.

(I get the kookiest looks on my face when I run, though. I can't help it--I'm so happy.)

5) Favorite movies:
After Lilo & Stitch, I love Catch Me If You Can. The musical is just as awesome.

(Why hello, Leo. His Broadway counterpart, Aaron Tveit, portrays Frank Jr. fantastically.)

6) Favorite clothing:
Sundresses!

(Often layered over something else. In Chicago.)

7)Favorite flower?
Sunflowers and carnations. They tied.

8) Favorite breakfast?
Scrambled egg with cheddar inside two waffles. *swoon*
Really, I could eat breakfast food all day long. I love almost all kinds of breakfast food, it's hard to pick!

9)Favorite book?
I love many, but lately I'm loving Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz. Stop making me cry, Hannah!!



10) What is your least favorite food?
Peas. I like sugar snap peas, but regular peas...ick. I try to be an equal opportunity vegetable lover, but peas are a skip every time for me. Who knows why....

(I sure don't.)

11) What would your dream job be?
I want to be an event planner for Walt Disney World. I admire their gold standard of customer service, and I love the area of hospitality.

(But first, I would love to intern here!)

12) What is your favorite salad topper?
That's easy! Black beans!

(Though from that photo, you might think it's grapes....)

13) Do you have a running mantra?
Yes! Mine is: "Keep moving forward." No matter how slow I'm going, as long as I keep going, every step is a success. As long as I continue my exercise ventures and try new things, I'll discover things about myself and the world around me I never would have if I had sprawled on my couch.

It's a shortened version of this quote, because the short version is easier to chant:

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards very long, we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

--Walt Disney

Have you had a bad workout recently? Did you learn anything from it?

Because I'm about to go on vacation...what was one of your favorite places to visit on vacation?

The Party That Never Stops

So, since high school has finished up...I went to prom last night!

PROMPROMPROM. (Okay, I had to get that out of my system. *phew*)

Now, I am not a girly, extravagant sort of person. Yet, for some reason, prom still gives me the jitters and I get ridiculously excited. It helps that my date was absolutely wonderful.

No workouts, just dancing! A very good Friday indeed.

(Please excuse my messy living room. Painting your nails > tidying up, right?)

Anyway, I didn't get back till four am (due to traffic...yes, traffic)! For this early riser, it was super late. I didn't fall asleep till around 5:30.

I may have indulged in some fantastic ice cream cake at prom and a chocolate croissant when I got home, but hey, it's prom! Only happens once. (Okay, well, twice for me, but I'm just going to stand by that. Indulging = perfectly okay on fancy occasions. Heck, indulging is just okay overall in my mind!)

After waking up at noon and lounging around my house, I decided I should actually DO something today and headed to the gym.

Since I felt so good with running before and there's a local 5k coming up, I decided to see if I could run one. I could! I averaged about a 12:00 pace (once tuuuuuurtle pace for me), because I didn't want to push it. I ran the 5k in 37:22. Now I think it'll be safe to run the official race on Saturday, no matter how slowly. I just hope registration isn't filled and the t-shirts aren't gone yet. I ran the same 5k about one year ago, so it'll be neat to do it again.

I also did strength training. I could only manage about 10 lbs on the shoulder press, which is sort of pitiful. I'm going to work on that. I think I'll look up similar exercises to do at home, too.

The only thing that got me through it was "Give Me Everything" playing on repeat in my head, from last night. Sometimes I love when music gets stuck in my head and distracts me. I replayed my favorite moments from last night while I worked out--it was a continued party! Hey, at least it made the workout more fun. Blech, shoulder presses.

Do you have a local race you've run more than once?

And, more importantly, what song is stuck in your head at the moment? "Give Me Everything" can't last me forever!

Couldn't Wait for Weights!

Ten past midnight--it's officially Friday!

Lots of exciting events happened this week!

Monday was my first LONG RUN in about three months (thanks, dailymile!). Granted, "long" is twenty minutes for me now (and probably under two miles...my Garmin had died.) Still, it's a HUGE improvement when I had to stop after six minute intervals (and I could only run two segments of six, so it's a big deal!). I'm really pleased.

On Tuesday, I realized that the HIKING TRIP OF DOOM I signed up for departs on August 19th. That's just about two months away, and I know my muscles have been quite comfy being wimpy lately. I headed to the gym for a vigorous ride on the wonderful Expresso bike. Nothing beats a ride outside, but my area isn't the greatest for biking...so to the gym it was!

My weights workout took me about an hour. Everything is 12 reps, three sets:

Torso Rotation (30 lbs)
Seated Leg Curl (40 lbs)
Leg Extension (35 lbs)
Glute (or as I skillfully call it, the skip/push machine!) (45 lbs)
Seated Leg Press (40 lbs)
Fly (30 lbs)
Abdominal (30 lbs)
Row/rear Deltoid (30 lbs)
Shoulder Press (15 lbs)
Chest Press (15 lbs)
Triceps Press (30 lbs)

I was keeping track, and I starred the ones I had the hardest times with.

**Leg extension - (this machine was broken today, so I didn't try it...)
**Row/Rear Deltoid - I can't imagine what it must be like to row crew! Whoa. I kinda like this one, in a struggling, tough way.
*****Shoulder Press - HOLY COW. I only lifted fifteen lbs the first time, and I was struggling to maintain perfect form by the third set. Today was MUCH better, but it's clear that these muscles (and my arms in general) are a weak point.
**Chest Press - (Okay. Tough, but manageable.)
Triceps Press - The first day, the machine was busy, and that was enough excuse for me. My muscles were so tired. Today, I tackled that machine NO PROBLEM.

Today was fine, but on Tuesday, I was like...I have to do more of this?!

YIKES.

Muscles learn so quickly, though! I'm really amazed. I'm working my way up to 40 lbs (the size of the backpack I'll be carrying) by the end of July.

Wednesday I had a picnic in Central Park with friends. It was fantastic, and afterward we walked down to Times Square and through several stores. I might have picked up several items in Forever 21 (all for the good purpose of working out my arms, of course!). Hehe.

I came equipped with a whole wheat bagel thin topped with pb and banana,


and a bento box chock full of baby carrots, blueberries, and watermelon.

(Eating something in a pink container makes it cool, right?)

Today, I felt like quite the bad-a** with the weights. I dread lifting, but I know it's so good for me. There's nothing like pushing yourself! (Plus, I get to have an ice-cold glass of milk afterward, in the name of protein and fuel.)

I had a gigantic salad for dinner with romaine, corn, black beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers, pineapple salsa, and grilled asparagus.

(Note to self: next time--more cantaloupe, fewer cucumbers! They were a little bitter.)

While I had the grill out, I grilled a banana with crushed walnuts and cinnamon, and topped it off with honey. Delish!

Here's to a great weekend!

Monday: 15 min. swim + 20 min. run.
Tuesday: 50 min. bike (9.1 miles) + 60 min. weights
Wednesday: LOTS OF WALKING
Thursday: 30 min. bike + 60 min. weights, 60 min. recumbent bike
Friday: Rest!

Week's Total: 4 hours, 55 min.

What's the toughest strength workout for you? What are your favorite machines (and the most dreaded)?