New Year...New Adventures

2015 is only a few hours away.  I can't wait to see what this year holds!  The end of 2014 took a turn for the awesome and here's hoping that the momentum stays with us.

There is a lot going on already for 2015.  I mean, I am running a marathon....a FULL marathon....the day after I run a half marathon.  My baby brother is getting married like a grown up.  These things are happening a week apart....in the first 18 days of 2015.

I have the opportunity to sing at Lincoln Center in New York City.  I am going to a week long workshop for children's choir directors this summer.  

There are a couple of things that in the "maybe" stages right now. Any change to the yes column could change the entire course of 2015....for the better and for the exciting.  It's going to be an exciting month of January around these parts.

As usual, the new year is a chance to start over.  It's a chance to make changes for the better.  I am not going to make resolutions.  I am going to set goals, so here goes nothing.

1.  I am going to run a marathon.  (A gimme, I know!)
2.  My family will eat clean 5 out of 7 days every week.  
3.  I will drink at least 60 ounces of water every day.  (Ideally, I will drink half of my body weight in water.  I am shooting for that, but I will be happy with 60 ounces.)
4.  I will continue to run at least 3 days a week.
5.  I will PR the 5K.  (Hey....a goal should stretch you, right??)
6.  I will budget to pay off the van early.

Don't worry....I'll make plenty of mistakes!!   

Happy 2015!!

Closing Time

What a year!!  There have been some great things this year....and there have been some not so great things.  I took a minute to look back at the goals that I set for myself.  I did some things really well and I missed some things.

Looking back:

1)  I will run at least 1 half marathon every month in 2014.

      - I missed December.  Overall, I ran 16 half marathons in 2014.  I didn't do one in December because I was training....for a full marathon.  I'm counting it.

2)  I will incorporate the 100 Days of Real Food mini challenges.

     - Epic fail on this one.  I did a 6 week clean eating challenge in October and November, which was pretty awesome, but I didn't do this at all.

3)  I will diligently write my monthly budget and use cash to keep our family on track.

     - Sure did!!  Not only did I write the budget, I kept the ledger and checked it against the budget.  Dave Ramsey would have been proud of me!!  We didn't get through any more of the steps, but we kept accountable with our finances every month.

4)  I will go to the gym for weights and cross training at least 2 days every week.

   - Yeah...about that....there's always next year.

5)  I will run 3 days a week.  (2 short runs during the week and 1 long run on the weekends)

     - This one got a slow start (like, 6 months...) but I hit a groove come July!  I was even running 4 days a week!  That makes up for the 6 months that I missed, right?

6)  I will tell my husband and children that I love them EVERY SINGLE DAY.

     - Every day. My family heard that I love them no less than 365 times this year.  Love for the win!

7)  I will start a New Year Jar with my family to remind us that there is a little bit of good in every single day!

     - Nope.  Not even once.  I did the 30 Days of Thankful in November.  That was as good as it got.

Here's a quick Year in Review!

January

Rang in the new year with a trail race in West Virginia.  It was an adventure.  Not my favorite race ever, but it checked WV off the bucket list!

February

Took a mid-winter trip to Myrtle Beach, SC.  Again, not my favorite race, but it checked the box.

March

Two races this month!  The first was to Charlotte, NC to run on the race track and the other was Shamrock, right here at home.  I cheered for my BRF as she finished her first full marathon.  

April

Ran on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ.  LOVED the ocean views....hated Atlantic City.  My baby boy celebrated his third birthday!  Went to the dark side and registered for my first full marathon.

May

Ventured up to Frederick, MD for my first challenge....5K on Friday, half on Saturday.  I was hooked!  This was also the first time that my inlaws came to a race.  Ended the "dream" job that turned out to be a nightmare.

June

Back to Williamsburg for the Run for the Dream.  Helped my high school frenemy (turned great friend!   One of the best reasons to get out of high school!) through her first half marathon.  My big boys turned 7.  Celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary with my amazing husband with a magical cruise to Alaska.

July

Another year at the Virginia PTA conference.  Learned who Trey Songz is.  Celebrated my birthday.  Amazing adventure with the running girls to hilly Pennsylvania.  Got matched with my AMAZING running buddy, Sophie.  Started training with a running coach.

August

My babies went to summer camp for the first time!  Relaxed at the beach.  Ran the Rock and Roll Half Marathon for the first and last time.  Ran a mile on the sand for the first and last time.

September

My big boys went to 2nd grade.  Wondered how that got big enough to do that.  Started my reign as trophy wife.  Ran amazing (but hot and very, very slow) race in Amish Country.  (Can't wait to go back!)  Went back to sing with the Virginia Symphony Chorus.

October

Finally saw faster running times!!  Celebrated my husband's birthday.  Ran a race adventure at Dover Speedway in Delaware.  Sang Carmina Burana with Virginia Symphony and Richmond Ballet.

November

Remembered how much I have to be thankful for.  Ran 4, yep, that says 4, half marathons.  Ran another race in Disney World!  Started actually training for the full marathon. 

December

Ran some big miles.  Big miles.  Sang Messiah with the Virginia Symphony.  Amazing husband screened for command at sea.  Celebrated the miracle of Christmas with my family and my church family.  Enjoyed much needed family time with my husband and kids. 

Can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!!

Getting Put Back Together

I'm not injured.  I do not have an injury.  I just have something that hurts a little bit.  It's an irritation.  It's nothing new.  I fought with it when I was training for my first half.  The doctor told me to put some ice on it.  It wouldn't kill me.  (He was right..it didn't kill me.)  I have been nursing it for about 4 months.  It comes and goes.  As I sit here, 1 long run away from my taper, it's here.  

So, I went to see my new favorite person - Jim.  Jim practices Active Release Therapy.  That means he pushes on the part that hurts, makes it hurt more, and then it stops hurting.  It's magic, really.  

If you haven't heard of it, check it out!!!

It always seems impossible until it's done!

 

I remember when I was training for my first half.  I thought that 10 miles was a ridiculous distance and I had no earthly idea how I was going to go 3.1 miles further.  Then I did my first 10 mile run (just over 2 years ago...it was Thanksgiving weekend of 2012), I felt like a total rock star.  It was amazing.  I knew that I would be able to finish a half marathon.

Then I had the bright idea to run a full marathon and a new impossible was born.

To run 26.2 miles, you have to run farther than 13.1 miles.  In fact, you have to run 20 miles.  20 miles.  I mean, who does that?  Isn't that why the cavemen discovered the wheel?  Isn't that why Henry Ford made the Model T?  Why run when you can drive?  20 miles is a LONG way and I was scared to death of it.

So, I did what any normal person would do and I asked my friends for help.  I didn't care if they could only run 2 miles with me.  If 10 friends come and run 2 miles, that's 20.  It's all about who you ask....so I asked my MRTT friends.

My crazy friends met me at 6am at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on a cold Saturday morning.  One is running Dopey the same weekend I am running Goofy, so she needed the miles.  One is my BRF and has been right beside me for every single mile over 13.1.  Another one only needed 12 miles this morning, so she met us an hour later and joined us for the end.  Two started at the other end of the beach and passed us on the boardwalk to provide enthusiasm and encouragement.  I think is it important to note that every single one of these girls is 3-5 minutes per mile faster than me.  These girls can run SO fast and they spent their entire mornings with ploddy, slow me.

I ran 8 miles yesterday and the wheels started to fall off at about 10k (6.2 miles).  Everything started to hurt.  I went to bed and woke up a little nervous about what 20 would bring.  I got up, made my bagel, and started the trek to the Oceanfront.  I met the girls and we headed south on a big road for 2.5 (which was actually 2.75) miles.  There was not much to look at and it was still dark for most of it.  But we got the boring out of the way and ran past the cars when we still had some energy.  We picked up our 4th musketeer and headed to the Oceanfront.

Of course, we stopped for a little picture.  No run is complete without it.

We stopped for the bathroom too and I hope that I do NOT have to do that on race day.  Once you undo compression, it never goes back the same way.

The run itself was okay.  I really had nothing to worry about.  We took it very, very slow.  I was talking in complete sentences for the whole day.  We did 1/1 run/walk intervals.  I took fuel at 60 minutes and then every 45 after that, alternating between Motts fruit snacks and Salted Caramel Gu.  It worked and I had no tummy issues.  I had some electrolyte tabs to take at 13, but it was a Gu time and I was worried about overdosing on electrolytes, so I didn't do it.  It worked out.

At about mile 10, my knee started to ache.  It ached for about 5 miles and then it gave up because it realized that I wasn't stopping.  The only other part that hurt was the bottoms of my feet from the pounding.

I didn't listen to any music today because we were chatting.  Chatting makes the miles fly by, even at the slow pace.  I love long run conversation and I so appreciate all of the support that I have.  These girls pick me up when I am down and push me when I want to stop.  They celebrate my miles right along with me!  They make me a better person.

I stopped the intervals at mile 19.5 to give myself a 1/2 mile cool down before i got in the car and drive for 40 minutes to get home.  That 1/2 mile cool down ended up being 1 mile because I miscalculated the mileage back to the car.  Either way, I finished in 5 hours and 20 minutes.  That gives me 1 hour and 40 minutes for the last 10k of the marathon.  It's going to be cutting it close to the 7 hour time limit, but it's still under.  I know that I run faster on race day, when I run alone, and when I have my music.  I will probably make some friends at the end of the race to help get me through it, but I am going to need to bank some time on the front side.

I came home and immediately got into the ice bath.  (Nothing like freezing cold water after a freezing cold run...)

Now, I am a little tight, a little sore, a little hungry, and a LOT tired!  But, I know that I can finish a marathon.  It might not be pretty and it will not break any speed records, but I can do it.

Next up:  Mock Goofy weekend on Thursday and Friday and then the taper starts.  OMG....this thing is getting real.  My Magic Bands even came today!!  We are 4 weeks away from being done with this thing.

And then.....

It's About to Get Real

32 days from today, I will embark on a 39.3 mile adventure through Disney World.   Today, bib numbers and corral assignments came out through Run Disney.  This is the moment that Disney runners wait for.   It's like Christmas.  It's also one of the scariest days of the year.

Of course, waivers and bib numbers came out first.  Mine is a really big, scary number.  All of the Goofy runners have really big numbers (like 30000 and higher).  So, I opened my waiver and saw my number.  Then I looked up the corrals from 2014 and I started to hyperventilate.  I was looking at the 3rd to last corral.  I got a pit in my stomach and just wanted to cry.  I worked so hard and I had just lost my time buffer.

But then, the corral assignments were released and the numbers were different.  I wasn't in the last corral anymore.  I could breathe again.  I still have a buffer.  It's not as much as I would have liked.  It's not as much as I had a Princess, but I think it will be enough.  I am going to have to change my race plan.  I don't think I will be able to stop and ride Everest in Animal Kingdom, but there is still more than enough time to get my margarita!

I celebrated my buffer by finding some motivation to do my Fartlek ladder today.

I even did it on the treadmill and it wasn't awful.  :)  60 minute ladder.  Maybe Coach will let me run ladders for the whole marathon!!!  

Rest day tomorrow and then the build up to 20 this weekend.  (I mean, who runs 20 miles...)

Will Run for Pie

At mile 9.5 of a half marathon.  Best race food EVER!!

This weekend was the Inaugural Harbor Lights race weekend (5K and Half Marathon) by J&A Racing in Norfolk, Virginia.  It was also my 16th (and LAST!) half marathon of 2014.  The weekend offered a 5K/Half challenge, so, of course, I took it!

I loaded up the monkeys on Friday afternoon and headed downtown to packet pick up.   Note to self - just do race day pick up for Norfolk races.  We made it downtown with no problems.  As soon as we drove into the parking garage, I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.  The cars were already backed up 3 levels.

We ran into the packet pick-up/expo and got my bibs.  It was a little, tiny expo, but I didn't really need any running gear, so I just needed my bib.  They had some pretty cool gear in the official race store, but I have a thing about buying a finisher item before I actually finish.  We also ran though the Dickens Village that was set up in the bottom of the Cruise Terminal.  (It is a new bit of holiday fun in Norfolk.  The boys liked it!)  When we got back to the car, the traffic was backed up to level 6.  It took 15 minutes to even get out of the parking spot and it took an hour to get out of the lot.  It was CRAZY!!!   Thank goodness for cooperative boys or I may have lost my mind!!

On Saturday morning, my mom and I came back downtown for the 5K.  I needed to grab 3 miles before the race, so I dropped her off in the cruise terminal so she could keep warm (it was a balmy 27 degrees at race time) and went off for my extra miles.  Since she recently had back surgery, we walked the 5K.  Miles are miles.  The 5K course was nice until about mile 1.5 when the course went through cobblestone streets.  I didn't love that.  All in all, it was a great race, as usual.

Our family headed back downtown that evening for the city's Grand Illumination Parade.  We decided to stay at a hotel near the race start, so we walked to the hotel after the parade and settled in for the evening.

I slept great!  I love sleeping that close to the starting line.  I didn't have to drive or park or worry about it.  I got up, ate my breakfast in the dark, got dressed, and headed out.   I had to leave early enough to get my extra credit miles in, meet my friends for a picture, and then hit the porta potty.

It was still dark when I started my 3 mile warm up.  Yesterday's run took me to the other side of the tracks, literally.  I wasn't feeling brave today, so I ran two laps of the baseball stadium/train station parking lot.  No use getting mugged or kidnapped before the race even started.  (Disclaimer....I do not believe that the wonderful residents of Norfolk are thieves or kidnappers.  I just don't love being alone, in the dark, in an unfamiliar place.)  The sun made a short appearance during that quiet time alone.

Photo credit to J&A Racing

I headed back to the starting line to meet my people!

Photo credit to Kristobel McNamee

I lined up in my corral and the gun went off.  I was 13.1 miles away from my 16 mile goal.

I felt good at the beginning.  I knew that it was a training run and I still had a long way to go, so I took it easy.  I wanted to stay in front of the 2:45 pacer for as long as possible....that wasn't very long.  :)

The race course took me right past the hotel, where my family was warm and snug, waiting until it was time to head to the finish to see me.  As I was passing, my phone rang.  My husband was calling to tell me that they watched me pass from the room on the 14th floor.  Then all of the kids had to talk.  I should have ignored the phone because the pace group passed me and I never saw them again!  Falling off pace while getting love from my family is okay by me.

The race course wound it's way through Norfolk.  We went from the waterfront to ODU.  We ran through Larchmont.  We came up by the zoo.  There was pie!  We hit those stupid cobblestones again.  It was a nice race course.  I wasn't a fan of the exhaust from the cars on Granby Street, but that's not the worst thing that has ever happened at a race.

Most importantly, there was pie!  It was supposed to be at mile 9, but obviously they meant along mile 9.  That was 12 miles in for me and I was counting the miles.  Finally, at about 9.5, we turned the corner by Doumar's (which was closed....or I would have stopped for a Limeade), and there, in the parking lot was a little slice (or tart) of heaven!

Photo credit to J&A Racing

It was the best 4 bites of chocolate pie that I have ever had in my life!!  I mean, how great does pie taste anyway...and then to have it just waiting for you at mile 9.5 (or 12.5).  Awesome!   They had pretzels, jelly beans, and bananas to wash it down a half a mile later.  I didn't need those snacks....I had just eaten my pie!

As I came around by the Battleship Wisconsin and headed back to the main road just before mile 12, I could see my family waiting for me!  It was so wonderful to get hugs and kisses when I was so tired and so sore!!  I came back along the seawall and into the park to the finish.  (I made a friend in the last 1/2 mile or so.  She started her run to the finish a little earlier than I was ready to.  Don't worry....I got past her on the homestretch!)

 I got my medals and my finisher glass and then we headed to the car to come home.

Photo credit to J&A Racing.  Thank you for NOT giving us another hat.

There were great volunteers along the way.  Huge props to the Norfolk Police Department.  They had a long weekend with the 5K and the parade yesterday and then the half today.  They were on every single street corner and were so supportive!

All in all, it was a good training run.  16 miles in 3:50.  I took the first 3 easy...I mean E.A.S.Y.  My time for the last 13.1 was 3:01:57.   Pace was 13:53.  I need to shave about 30 seconds a mile off that pace to see a 6 hour full.  Mostly, I just need to get the miles in.  It wasn't a half PR, but I wasn't out there for that.  Coach told me always ask how my choices are going to help me in the marathon.  Today, it was LSD (Long, Slow Distance) that just happened to have a clock...and pie.  :)

Things I did well:

• Fueling.  I took Swedish Fish at 60 minutes in (mile 2 of the actual race), Gu 45 minutes after that, more Swedish fish 45 minutes later, and then the pie!  The Gu gave me some stomach pains for about 15 minutes, but they passed.  I liked the Swedish Fish.
• Intervals.  I kept 2/1 intervals until about mile 6 (mile 3 of the actual race) and then I switched to 1/1.  I think that I was supposed to play around with the intervals, but once I hit 1/1, I wanted to stay there.  My running intervals felt strong, even at the end.

Things that didn't go so well:

• Pre-race fueling.  We ate at a buffet on Saturday night.  The choices weren't the best.  I need to work harder on pre-race fueling, especially since I am going to be eating out for all of the meals before the races.
• Clothing.  I wore short sleeves.  I should have wore long sleeves.  I got hot, so I dropped my jacket.  Then I got cold and I wanted it.  I took my gloves off and then put them back on and then took them off again.   It happens.  I would rather be a little cold than too hot.
• Pacing.   My walking intervals were too slow, especially late in the race when I got tired.  The running intervals were on pace.
• Running Mojo.  I was tired.  I had a headache.  I was pretty scared of the distance.  I was fighting with my race plan....did I want to go for it or did I want to stick to the plan?  Could I even try to go for it with 3 miles on the legs before I even started?  In the end, I just turned on my music and got the miles done.
• Rest.  I started tired and I ended tired and I was tired in between.  Coach wants me to learn how to run with a tired body and tired legs and this is the season for that.  My goal this week is to sleep more.

Things that hurt:

• Left IT band, especially after the 3 mile warm up, while I was waiting to start the 13.1 finish.
• Walking, starting at about mile 12 (mile 9 of the actual race).  It got to the point that stopping to walk hurt more than running, but I was afraid to just run because I still had a long way yo go!
• Feet.  Yep, nothing new here.
• Legs feel like they just ran 16 miles, but they don't hurt.  I have been on the floor to build a train track.  I am moving slowly, but I am not feeling soreness or pain.

Moving forward:

• Monday is a rest day, thank goodness!  I might try to get to Zumba because I feel better on weeks that I do Zumba, but I might sit on the couch.  We'll see.
• Tuesday is a shakeout.  
• Thursday is a Turkey Trot 10K, which will be used for work.  (More work = more pie!)
• 8 and 17 back to back this weekend!  No race, no medal, no course support.  Back to training.

Hair of the Dog that Bit You

Stop me if you have heard this one....

One day, a girl decided that it would be a good idea to sign up for a full, 26.2 mile, marathon.  That same girl thought that it would be a better idea to run a half, 13.1 mile, marathon the day before.

That girl is CRAZY.....Goofy even.

So, here's the thing.  In order to run 39.3 miles in two days, every weekend that rolls over your head has back to back runs on the calendar.  Usually, the long run is on the first day and the longer run is on the second day.  Usually....

Because the Richmond Half/15 mile fun run was on Saturday, this weekend had the good fortune to be flip flopped.  After going 15 miles yesterday, I had to put my shoes on and do 8 more today.

My shoes broke up with me about 4 miles in today.  They told me that it wasn't them...it was me and that they needed some space.  I am going to kiss and make up with them on Tuesday.

I have never, ever put my on my running shoes on the day after a race.  I broke that streak today.

There was not a lot of good in today's miles.

This was my mantra today.  The goal was to get the miles in.  I wasn't going for speed.  I was just going to finish.  I walked the first mile to try and convince my feet that this was okay.  For the next mile, coach had me try 2/1 intervals.  The third mile was 1/1 intervals to see which I liked better.  Umm....I like NOT running the day after 15 miles better.  

For the first couple of miles, 2/1 felt okay.  It was almost easier than 1/1....almost.  At mile 4, just about everything from the hips down started to hurt.  I had a sharp pain in the joint of my big toe.  I crossed the street, felt a pop, and the pain went away.  My toe didn't hurt for the rest of the run.  I switched to strictly 1/1 intervals at mile 5.  I noticed that my walking intervals kept getting slower...and slower...and slower.  At mile 7, I decided to walk the last one too.  Hey, 6 miles of work isn't too bad.

The thought of putting another packet of Gu in my mouth made me gag a little, so I did not fuel for the entire time.  It actually worked.  I am not going to make a habit of it, but it worked for today.  

Surprisingly, I feel okay.  My hips are still tight, but they were tight yesterday.  My hamstring is still okay, but my knee is achy again.  I am tired and rungry.

So, I ran 23 miles this weekend....still 3 away from the full and 16 from the Goofy challenge.  It took me 5 hours.  I will be able to finish the full in under 6 hours at that rate.  My Garmin made it through all 23 miles....maybe it won't die down in Disney!

Tomorrow is a rest day.  I get to go on a field trip to Jamestown with my second graders!  There will be walking....lots of walking.  No rest for the Goofy.  

America's Friendliest Marathon

There is something about running in a big race, in a big (ish....) city that makes running fun again!  For the third half of November (there will be 4 total), I made the trek to Richmond, Virginia for the Richmond Half.  They think pretty highly of themselves up there in Richmond.

I mean, friendliEST?  That means MORE friendly than any other marathon in America.  That's a pretty tall order.  With the 13.1 miles of the half being the tail end of my 15 mile training run....which is now my longest run to date.....I was looking forward to some friendly.  I have also been running races with sparse course support, so anything would be welcome.

Let's back up.  Before we can get to America's Friendliest Marathon, we need to get through the Expo.

My wonderful Race Support and kiddos hopped in the car at 3:00....on a Friday....in Hampton Roads....to cross the tunnel to make the 2 hour journey to Richmond.  As soon as we started, we saw a sign that the tunnel was blocked.  We hopped over to the James River Bridge and only lost about 10 minutes.  Miraculously, we made it to our hotel just at 5:00.  We checked in, took our stuff to the room, and went to find some dinner before venturing downtown to the Expo.

[Non running aside....we went to Roma's in Sandston.  It was AMAZING!!  I mean, AMAZING!!  Homemade rolls, noodles, pizza dough...everything!  The chef made frequent trips to the dining room.  Really, it was a great meal that we found by accident.  If you are in the Richmond area and you need to carb-load, check it out!]

After dinner, we drove to the Expo.  This was a bit of an adventure.  We found the parking lot because of the line of cars going the other direction.  Packet pick up was pretty well-organized, but the shirts were are the total opposite side of the building.  The Expo was crowded, which made navigation with three kids a little treacherous.  There were some neat things to do (a money machine, lots of wheels of chance), but pretty much the same kinds of things.  It was a little hectic.  Packet pick up and shirt lines were easy, short, and well organized, but the Expo itself was  little overwhelming.  Amazingly, on the way out, we randomly ran into BRF.  We made our plans for the morning and went our separate ways.

We headed back to the hotel.  [Note about the hotel....you get what you pay for.  I got so very excited to see a $60 rate.  I really, really hope that there are no bedbugs in our suitcases.  The Microtel was clean, but it wasn't the best kept....or best smelling place I have ever been.]  Race Support and I got the munchkins to bed and went to bed ourselves.  My wake up call would be at 4:45.  Needless to say, I slept pretty poorly.

The alarm went off at 4:45 and I snuck off to the bathroom to get dressed and eat my breakfast.  I met BRF and another running friend who stayed at the much classier Holiday Inn and kindly came to the other side of the tracks to pick me up!  We drove about 15-20 minutes into downtown Richmond and found some parking.  It was early...really early for a 7:30 start, but we had NO problems with traffic and found seats in the warm lobby of the Richmond Marriott, which was right near the start.

I need to interject that winter has arrived in Virginia.  It was a balmy 26 degrees as we made our way from the parking garage to the Marriott.

We hung out in the warm lobby until about 6:45 and then headed back out.  I needed to do my 2 mile warm up.  (I waited until it was light and there were more people downtown.  It was a good call, I think.)  No warm up could happen until we took our pre race "ussie".

Two half marathoners and our amazing marathoning friend!

With no real plan, I just wandered around for two miles, making sure I knew how to get back to the start.  I took them slow and easy....really slow....and really easy.  (Richmond is hilly people....I didn't want to wear myself out with 13.1 to go!)   

Then I made my way back to the start, tried to hit the porta potty (which didn't happen because everyone in Richmond had the same idea at the same time), and went back to my corral.  I realized that I was pretty hungry (even with my typical pre-race meal) and took a Gu before the gun.  Then I had to find a trash can.  I finally made it to the starting line and started the end of my run.  (Notice I did not say the race.  This was a training run for me.  The minute I start calling it a race, I get all worried about my time.  Don't all training runs have thousands of people, water stops, bands, signs, and medals??  No?)

I was taking it easy and started my intervals early in the race.  I dropped my fashionable thrift store hoodie at mile 1 (mile 3 of 15 for me).  I took off my awesome neon yellow hat at mile 2 (mile 4 of 15).  The gloves stayed on until mile 6 (8 of 15).

There is not much exciting to report about the actual race.  We ran through Richmond.  At about mile 6, we ran downhill into a park.  We ran uphill and downhill and uphill in the park for a mile and a half.  We ran uphill out of the park.  We ran through a neighborhood.  We made a turn towards the finish line that took us downhill.  Said hill was so steep, it was like repelling down the side of a mountain...facing out.  That hill was no joke.  I threw down a 10 minute mile at mile 14.5 of 15 on that hill.  Then the race ended.  Nothing too exciting.

But, Richmond spectators are really amazing.  I thought we had it good in Virginia Beach.  Richmond is better.

I think that the longest that I went without seeing someone with a sign or a cowbell or just clapping or even just standing there was about 50 yards.  That's it.  There were spectators for 13.1 miles.  It was amazing.  They yelled.  They clapped.  They had great signs.  (My favorites:  "I just want to cross the street." and "Slow down!  I'm trying to count people.")  They had fire pits in their front yards.  They had boxes of donuts.  At one house, the little kids were giving out their Halloween candy, I think.  One family had a bourbon stop.  Seriously.  They had little cups of Jim Beam.  They cheered when I took a cup.  [FYI - Bourbon is probably NOT the best fueling choice during a run.  However, it most definitely warmed up my insides for a mile or two!]  There was a beer stop about 1/4 mile later.  [After the bourbon, I did NOT think it would be a good choice to take the beer.]  At mile 9, a friendly face from home who just finished her first marathon last week was there with a sign.

Thanks Renee!

That's what I am going to remember about Richmond.  Not the hills, not the cold, not the hills....the people.  It was my first experience with a "big city" race and it was awesome!!!

Most importantly, I ran 15.1 miles today.  I am 11.1 miles away from the 26.2 needed to finish the marathon.  I kept 2/1 intervals for 10 miles.  (My 10 miles, not 10 race miles.)  I maintained 1/1 for the last 5.  I was passing people at the end.  I had enough energy to get down the mountain at the end.  My hamstring didn't talk to me.  (My knee did, but that's new....).  My feet hurt, but no blisters.  I might have had another mile or 2 in me today.   (1 or 2 is not 11.1.....I know....)  I posted 15 miles in 3:33!  Official "race" time was 3:02.  Not bad.

Now that I am home, my legs are tight, but not so bad that I can't walk or take care of my kiddos.  My left knee and calf are a bit swollen.

Biggest lesson of the day - I need to figure out a fueling option other than Gu.  I tried a Honey Stinger, which did not make me sick, but I didn't want to put any more Gu into my mouth.

Next up:  Harbor Lights Get Lit Challenge next weekend!  6 miles on 5K day and 16 on Half day!!

Just Keep Swimming

Once upon a time....way back during New Year's Resolution time.....I made a goal to run 14 half marathons in 2014.  This weekend, I got to meet that goal in the place where it all began - Walt Disney World.

I may have mentioned that my brother is getting married in Orlando on the Saturday after I run the marathon in January.  Well, people who are getting married tend to have Bridal Showers, and, as the groom's family, my mom and I got the nod to come down to Orlando to participate in the festivities.  It just so happened that the shower just happened to fall on Disney Wine and Dine Weekend.  And it just so happened that a bib just happened to become available.  (Really...it was a legal transfer and everything!)  It's fate folks.  When life hands you a bib, you take it and you run.

So, on Friday morning, I said goodbye to my family and got on a plane to sunny Florida.  They were going to have a boys' weekend and I was going to smile at the shower and then run 13.1 miles.  It was a win-win.  There was some rain in the forecast, but I can handle a little rain.  I packed my trash bag just in case.  

We went right to the Expo from the airport.  I picked up my bib and my packet and then went to check out the vendors.  My beloved Sparkle Skirts had a booth.  The booth had a really cute skirt with wine bottles and grapes on it.  The booth had one less skirt when I left.  Of course, then I needed a new shirt.  Luckily, Raw Threads was right there.  I got myself a new shirt too.  I had planned to wear a Sparkle Skirt and Raw Threads shirt for the race anyway, so it wasn't something new on race day....it was just a different combination.  

(In other news...I also had some new bling for my shoes from my buddy, Sophie!!!

We checked into Port Orleans - Riverside...the same place we stayed 2 years ago for Princess and the same place we are going to stay for Marathon weekend.

This was our view every morning.

This was a daily option at breakfast.  (Yes, it was an option that I took.  Every day is better when it starts with a Mickey waffle!)

Race day was a little different than I am used to.  I woke up, ate my Mickey waffle.  (Yep, you read that right....)  I got pretty and went to the Bridal Shower.  Please notice that I haven't done any running yet.  I got back from the shower at about 3:30pm...in the afternoon...still no running...and tried to take a little nap.  If I thought last week's race was bad when it started at 4pm, NOTHING could prepare me for a 10pm start.  

After my nap attempt, I got race ready.  I ate my bagel and my banana.  I finished hydrating.  I got dressed and headed to the bus that would take me to the starting line.  Remember how I said that the race started at 10pm....well, the buses start at 7.  Normally, I am all over that very first bus, but this time I met some girls and we got on the bust at 8.  I was starting to get a little nervous when it was 8:45 and we were sitting in a line of traffic trying to get to the drop off point.  I could see my corral, but I was stuck on the bus.  (Okay, so you are probably wondering why I am in a panic when there is still over an hour until the gun and I have some extra time since I am pretty far back.  Here's the thing.  Disney opens the corrals at 9:15.  They have a pretty serious pace requirement.  The front of the corral is a happy to place to be.)  

The bus got there.  I hit the rather short porta potty line and then it was time to get into the corrals.  I found my way to Corral I and settled in for a nice wait.  The people around me were sitting and chatting, so I joined in.  At about 9:30, it started to rain.  Then it started to rain some more.  I put on my fashionable trash bag, covered my legs with the extra bags that I brought, and sat there in the rain.  When the first round of fireworks went off, it was time to stand up.  I lost the bags for my legs, but held onto the Hefty bag for a little while longer.

Usually Disney puts about 5 minutes between corrals to try and spread people out a little.  (A little math lesson....Corral I is the 9th corral.  5 minutes between corrals means about 45 minutes of standing around and waiting.)  This time, they took some pity on us all and played Hurry Up Racing and shortened the time to just about 2 minutes.  I guess they figured the faster we got through the start, the faster we would finish. Just before the send off, I ditched the Hefty bag and took my chances with Mother Nature.  (Spoiler alert....Mother Nature won...)

Even with the rain, Disney knows how to do a starting line!  Every single corral got a countdown and every single corral got fireworks.  It's pretty awesome!

Now, I am not going to talk about the 13.1 miles of rain.  You get it.  It rained....the whole time.  No need to beat a dead horse.  However, the conditions made pictures a little difficult, so you've been warned!

The start of the race took us out of Wild World of Sports (where some "sportsy" music was playing!) and onto a really, really long road....the road to Animal Kingdom.  It's like road to nowhere.  It goes pretty much forever.  There was a little bit of entertainment....some characters....as few water stops...the people who were 4 miles ahead of me coming back up the road. There were some "hills" in the form of overpasses, but they were more of an irritation than a hill.

First character stop of the evening!

I passed the first mile marker pretty quickly!  All of the mile markers were of a country that would be represented at the Food and Wine Festival in Epcot.  They were pretty cool!!

Disregard the clocks on these pictures.....

Just after the first water stop, I came across some porta potties with NO line.  I don't generally need these during a race, but after hydrating all day and then waiting in my corral for over an hour, I adopted the "better to be safe than sorry" mantra and took a quick stop.  Amazingly, I caught back up to the pack I had been running with a little while later.  Then it was time for another character stop!

And some more miles ticked by....

This will be the last one for a while....I was wet and they were always on the other side of the road

Finally, we saw the gates for Animal Kingdom.  And we ran all the way through the parking lot to get to the entrance.  There were some floats to light the way!

We dodged some pretty serious lakes puddles in this section.  But, Disney had some people on hand to shine a light on the puddle and tell us to move.  (This theme would be repeated throughout the evening.  There were lots of volunteers who stood in the rain to show us massive puddles!)

And then it was time to run through the first park of the evening!

Things got a little tight for the next couple of miles.  It was hard to get moving and harder to stop for cool things.  I know I missed a couple of characters because I just couldn't get to them.   I got a couple though!

It's Flick from A Bug's Life

King Louie....I wanna be like you-oo-oo

Pluto and some girl I don't know.  This placement did NOT make it easy to snap a quick picture.

I stopped to get a picture in front of the Tree of Life, but it's not up on Marathon Foto yet.  I saw Everest and we ran through Dinosaur Land.  Just as soon as it started, it was over and we we back out in the parking lot.  As we ran through the gates of Animal Kingdom, the Lion King cast was there to greet us!  (They were under the awning and perfectly dry.)  I didn't notice them until it was too late to get a picture.

The next section was mostly long and boring.  We ran back up the road to nowhere, heading back to somewhere.  There weren't any characters or any entertainment because of the rain.  Between miles 7 and 8, the most significant "elevation" happened in the form of an on-ramp.  Sarge from Toy Story wasn't scared of the rain!  He was out there yelling at us to take the hill.  I didn't get a picture this time, but I got a high five.  

I found another mile marker that I liked after that!

The best thing about this race is that all of the awesome happens at the end!  I am sure there would have been more characters (I saw where Lilo and Stitch should have been) and more entertainment if the weather had been a little more magical.  But, Disney saved the best for the end.  

After the road to nowhere, we ran through Hollywood Studios. We came in by Tower of Terror - is was there in all of its glory.  Then we ran past Rock and Roll Roller Coaster and down the road.  I started to get excited a little too soon, thinking that the main event, the Osborne Family Christmas Lights would be next.  They weren't.  We did a lot of weaving through the backlots of Hollywood Studios.  There was a Disco Tunnel by the costume shop.  (Pretty cool!) We came back up by the Sorcerer's Hat and down by Toy Story (Buzz and Woody were out, but the line was pretty long).  Finally, it was time!  The rain had even stopped.  (Don't get too excited...it was temporary.)  It made those 5 minutes of the race the most magical and perfect 5 minutes of the night!  I walked the whole part so I could take it all in.

Star Tours was around the next corner as we headed out of Hollywood Studios.  I heard rumors that Darth Vader had been there in that past.  I  guess he thinks he will melt because he wasn't there this time.  But, Boba Fett was!

The course narrowed even more as we went on the path to the Boardwalk.  People were getting tired.  It was a little hard to keep my intervals from here to the end.  My race plan had been to take some chances at the end.  I was just trying not to run anyone or bust my behind on the wet wood!

There is an institution at Disney Races.  Ms. Peggy is at every single one with a sign that says "Perfect Stranger, I'm proud of you."  I saw her at Princess and, to be quite honest, I had no expectation of seeing her in the middle of a dark and rainy night.

When I saw her at 1:30 in the morning, sitting on her scooter on the Boardwalk, in the rain, I got choked up.  I didn't get a picture, but I got a high five and thanked her for being out there.  She wasn't the only one out there, which was nice.  There was a good amount of support out there in the late and cold and wet.  

Just before the turn into Epcot, Disney had another surprise.

We came into Epcot right by the Journey into Imagination and cut across FutureWorld to head to the finish line.  

As usual, the finish line is a loud, celebratory place.  I passed a number of people in the last .1 of that race.  That lifted my spirits!  :)

I crossed the line, got my medal, got my heat blanket, and made the trek to the buses to head back to the hotel.  I didn't go to the afterparty because I was wet and tired and cold.  Besides, we were heading to Epcot the next day to celebrate!

Overall, this was a great race.  The weather was miserable.  It just didn't let up.  Because of the weather, the Disney "experience" was not as magical as it could have been.  However, it was a great course.  (Better than the Princess course, I think.)  The volunteers, who were just as wet and miserable as the runners, were AMAZING!!  The water stops were frequent and plentiful.  The medal is awesome.  The shirt glows in the dark!  Running through the Osborne Family Lights was just magical!!

I didn't love the timing of the race.  I am a morning person, so it was hard for me to be awake and running at midnight....1am....2am.  I have had a hard time recovering from the weekend.  I also wish Disney would pick a side of the road for things and then stick to it.  Sometimes the entertainment (characters, mile markers) were on the left and sometimes they were on the right.  In a race with 14,000 that is always in the dark, it's hard to be safe when you are cutting across 4 lanes of people in order to get a picture.

All in all, even in the rain, every single mile at Disney is magical!  

My mom and I celebrated the next day at Epcot with Dole Whips and Grey Goose Slushies.  Way better than beer at the finish line!!

It was really that good!  Orange, Grey Goose, Grand Marnier

The first Dole Whip!  The next one would include Coconut Rum!  

Dole Whip Floats!

Can't wait for Marathon Weekend!!!