Tower of Terror 2013 Final Race Instructions

Final race instructions for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler are now available!  My sister and I have been waiting patiently for this information to be released.  This is her first runDisney race and my first time running the ToT 10 miler.   We are both really looking forward to the race and the weekend away, and getting the final race instructions means that it is getting close!

All information for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler can be found here:  runDisney Tower of Terror 10 Miler

Print waivers and find your bib number here!  I am bib 5042 and my sister is 5043....kind of crazy how that worked out!

Corral assignments can be found here.  There are a total of 10 corrals this year along with the elite corral.  We will be in corral G, so look for the Sea Witch and Scar if you are in that corral and say hi!

For more information about the rest of the events that weekend, you can also check the Official Race Program.  In the program you will find information on the weekend itinerary, speaker series, expo vendors, course maps, spectator information and more.

Now that I have all of this information, I am getting more and more excited about this trip and can't wait to experience this race!  

Are you running the Tower of Terror 10 Miler?  Or one of the other races that weekend?

Wednesday's Reads 8/21 The Glass Slipper Confessions

I haven't kept up with my blog as well as I had planned to over the summer.  It's always a little different around here when it comes to summer schedules.  We are still very much in summer vacation mode at our house- school doesn't start for another week and a half and I have to say- I'm not really ready for school to start back just yet.  We've had such a busy summer that it has just flown by!  I really need to sit down and figure out our school year schedule because it will definitely take some coordinating and scheduling to get everything in!  But for now I am going to just choose to enjoy the last little bit of the lazy days of summer.   

That being said, I didn't want to miss the chance to draw some attention to a fairly new blog that I am really enjoying!  The Glass Slipper Confessions  is a blog that came online about 2 weeks ago and she has been great about posting fun, informative posts.  She also has a very active Facebook page that is also fun to follow.   I have particularly enjoyed all of her runDisney races and can't wait to follow her as she completes the Dumbo Double Dare (10k on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday) next weekend!   Please be sure to check her out!

Purchase my Playlist! (A Team in Training Fundraiser)

I will be running the 2014 Tinker Bell half marathon with Team in Training for the second year.  I'm very excited to be able to run this half marathon again while also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  My commitment to raise $2925 is over halfway complete (thanks to the supporters of my Virtual Runs Fundraisers!)  

I am starting a new fundraiser called Purchase my Playlist.  It's a pretty simple fundraiser.  For every $10 donation you make, you can choose a song for me to make up my playlist for the Tinker Bell half marathon.  

It is pretty simple, here's how you can help:

1.  Go to my Team in Training Fundraising Page

2.  Make a $10 (or more!) donation

3.  Leave a comment telling me what song it is you have chosen for me to add to my playlist

4. Don't forget to print a reciept of your donation- it is tax deductible!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the virtual races and if you aren't into running but still want to help, here is a great chance!  I hope to have an all new playlist ready in January!

Tower of Terror 2013

I am so excited!  I was the winner of the Tower of Terror (ToT) 10 Miler entry from Life in the Twin Lane!  I was not able to participate in this race last year, it was too close to when my husband was to be coming home from his deployment.  I did enjoy reading some of the blog recaps as well as following friends who posted their experience on Facebook.

Description from the runDisney website:

Beware of the Disney villains as you set out on your thrilling The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ 10-Miler nighttime run along streets haunted by Disney's most frightening villains and characters! But don't be afraid! There are plenty of "not so scary" thrills for daytime runners in the Disney Happy Haunted 5K Trail Run. And that's just the start of the weekend excitement. runDisney Kids races, a nighttime Disney Villain Hollywood Bash, plenty of on course Disney entertainment, and exclusive access to select rides in Disney's Hollywood Studios make it a towering weekend of fun!

Last year the Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon was my first nighttime race.  It is definitely a different experience.  I paid closer attention to what I ate during the day and I also found it hard to try to relax- I was at Disney and wanted to play and have fun!  Saving energy was a little difficult :)  In the end, the excitement of the race carried me through and then the excitement of finishing the race carried me through the after party, which was great!

ToT has an after party as well, but this one is at one of my favorite parks- Disney's Hollywood Studios.      Some of my favorite rides will be open and I'm hoping to be able to ride a few while enjoying just finishing the 10 miler!  I have been chatting with my sister (the one who hasn't run a 1/2 marathon with me) about coming with me on this quick trip.  I told her not to worry, the race is sold out, she won't have to run :)  But I thought it would be a nice trip for us to take together- and maybe, just maybe she'll catch the running bug ;)  There are still spectator tickets available for the Villains Bash, so she will be able to experience the after party with me.  

I can't wait to see how this race compares to the other runDisney events I have participated in!

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's.......

SUPER CUPCAKE!

Registration is now open for our latest cupcake virtual run!  It's hard to believe that a year ago I partnered with Run Find your Happy Pace to bring the first cupcake virtual to reality and here we are a year later!  The cupcake virtual races (and the pumpkin virtual)  have raised over $11,000 for Team in Training!  That is an amazing amount and I thank all of you that have participated or shared our events!

Now, how can you earn the latest adorable cupcake medal????

We will be following the same honor system that we've had in place for all of our virtual races.  This means that you register for our race and then run your race when you have the time.  We will have an 'official' race day of August 31, 2013.  But, you are welcome to do the race any time before or after!  You choose your distance, place, time of day, all of it!

The SuperCupcake medal will be a 2 1/2" diecut medal and the yellow will have glitter.   This is the final design for the medal, it has been approved by our medal production company.  There will be a limited quantity available for this medal, and registration will remain open until capacity is reached.  There will be updates placed on my Running in Sanity Facebook page and also the  Cupcake Virtual Runs for Charity Facebook page.

Because this is a diecut medal, it does take time to get it produced from our production company.  Medals will not be mailed until approximately August 21.  But, do not delay in registering- the only way to guarantee your spot is to register early!

To register you must have a PayPal account, and use the PayPal link to the top right of this page.  Registration will be $20 for United States participants and $25 for international participants.

All funds raised from the SuperCupcake virtual race will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training.  Thank you for helping me reach my fundraising goal for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon!

If you have any questions, please email run.in.sanity@gmail.com

***If you are viewing this post on a mobile device, you will need to scroll to the bottom and click "view web version" to be able to see the register button on the top right***

Disney Wine and Dine 2013....

....Here I come!  This race has been sold out for about a month now.   I'll admit, I was a little sad when this one sold out and I wasn't registered.  My husband revealed to me on my birthday that he was planning on registering both of us for the race but it sold out quicker than expected and he didn't get to it in time.  Well, Sunday afternoon another opportunity to do this race presented itself.  So, we will be doing this race again this year and I'm very excited.

If you missed out on the registration for this race, here is a chance:

The race is 9 Nov.
The cost is: $220.00, which would include ½ Marathon Race registration, Commemorative pin and a 1 Day/1 Park Ticket.

If you chose to make a donation (I won't make it mandatory) the funds will go to the Christopher DeRemer Memorial Fund. My fiancé passed away 9 Apr 11 after a 10 month battle with cancer.
He was an Operation Iraqi Freedom vet and the funds aid other military members and their families impacted by illness and/or injury. They injury/illness doesn't have to be war related.

If you need any additional information pls let me know. I asked the race coordinator for time to come up with the 20 runners. I am asking to have a commitment by 1 Jul since I need to come up with the $ for all 20 runners by then.

her email is: efassold@gmail.com

Check out the recap of Wine and Dine 2012!

Princess Half Marathon 2013

Today is the day that registration opens for Princess Half Marathon 2014!  If you are thinking of registering for the Glass Slipper Challenge- don't take too long in making your decision, this event is expected to sell out (and possibly quickly, judging by the time it took for the Dumbo Double Dare and the Dopey Challenge to sell out).  If you are going to be registering today, here is the link:  RunDisney Princess 2014.  Registration opens at noon EST today.

So because registration opens today, I decided to finally do my recap of the Princess 2013 half marathon.  Better late than never :)  2013 was my second year running the PHM.  I traveled back to Caribbean Beach with my three fellow princesses, but we did things a little differently this time around. First change was that we flew in on Friday (much better than the 12+ hour drive from 2012!).  We all flew into the Orlando airport around the same time and went to catch the shuttle from the airport to the resort.  We also bought park tickets for this trip, so after checking in, we decided to go to Animal Kingdom and then Disney Hollywood Studios.  Friday was a really long day, but a fun one.  We got back to the hotel and headed to bed.

Saturday morning we headed to the expo after breakfast at the resort.  This year the expo was moved from EPSN Wide World of Sports to Coronado Springs resort.  Having the expo at the resort was definitely different and much more crowded than at WWS, but we managed to make it through and get the important stuff- our bibs, shirts and other princess swag.  Our next stop was the RunDisney official merchandise booth.  This was easily the longest line we waited it, but it really moved fast.  Disney is pretty experienced at moving large numbers of people.  There we picked up our "I Did It" shirts and a couple extras.  After that we moved on to the rest of the expo- checking out the vendors.  A fun additional to the weekend- the names of all of the runners was on a large wall, so we did take the time to each find our names:  

Running Happy at the expo:

  

2013 Princesses:

After we finished at the expo, we went back to the resort to drop our stuff off and then headed over to Downtown Disney to do a little more shopping and to have dinner.  Last year we ate at Rainforest Cafe and we had made our dinner reservations there again this year.  Last year we were able to get our chicken fajitas (our pre-race favorite), but this year we discovered that they had changed their menu and they were no longer available.  We made the best of it though and had a very good meal and then headed back to the room to get everything organized for our insanely early Sunday morning.  One thing I always do is to lay out all of my race stuff the night before so that I am not scrambling around and looking for something on race morning (especially since at Disney you have to get up around 2:30 am to get to the bus on time!).

I don't usually have trouble falling asleep before a race at Disney- I think because I'm so tired, and this was no exception.  We all got up and got ready to go out to meet the bus.  We like to be on the first bus so that we don't have to be worried about not getting to the start corrals on time.  We did get on to one of the first busses and soon were dropped off at the EPCOT parking lot.  

The Cupcake Princesses by one of the window backdrop:

We got over to the pre-race area in plenty of time (even found an entire row of empty porta potties!).  After waiting a little bit, we started the walk over to the start corral area.  This is a bit of a walk, so we wanted to get over there early.  When we got to the corral area, we got into another porta potty line, and when the corrals looked like they were starting to fill up, we went to wait in our corral.  And then we waited.....

The Fairy Godmother was there to send us off:

Start line:

The sea of princesses, no picture can ever do this justice:

Waiting in our corral:

Finally it was our turn!  My plan was to follow the 2:1 run:walk ratio that I had used at Tinker Bell.  I started off well, but once I started running I noticed how warm and humid it was.  I tried to keep my pace steady and to stick with my plan.  It was working great, but I did end up walking a little longer than planned after the halfway point.  When I got to mile 11ish, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and it was one of my fellow princesses :)  We were able to head into EPCOT together and then make our way to the finish!  Best part of the race :)  

Princess 2013 and Coast to Coast 2013 medals:

Once we were all reunited at the finish line, we rested for a few moments and then got in line to catch the bus back to the resort.  Kelly and I headed for a quick jump into the pool- it was very refreshing after the hot, humid race!  After we had all showered and relaxed for a bit, we walked around the resort for a little while before headed over to the Contemporary resort for our reservation at Chef Mickey's for our celebration dinner.

PHM 2013 was a great trip filled with fun memories!  If you are considering signing up for this year, you'll have a wonderful time!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Expo

Today was my travel day!  I woke up really early on east coast time and made my way to the airport, made it onto the airplane and then we sat.  We've had some pretty chilly weather lately and the plane had to be de-iced.  Unfortunately for us, the de-icer truck broke down and we had to wait for the company to send a new truck.  So we waited.....about an hour.  I was a little nervous because I had about an hour and a half layover in Dallas, and this was eating into that time.  But, we finally got on our way and I was able to make my flight with a little time to spare and then we landed safely in California.  I made my way to the hotel and was able to relax for a little bit before meeting up with some of my TNT teammates for a trip to the expo.

runDisney expos do not disappoint.  The vendors are wonderful and there is no shortage of great merchandise to browse and purchase!  When you arrive at the expo, you are directed to first pick up your bib.  Once the business part is taken care of, you are directed upstairs for goody bag and shirt pick up and then on to the shopping!  This year, tink participants were given a long sleeve shirt and a mesh bag.  

My next stop was the official runDisney merchandise.  I love to look at all the stuff that they have, and the "I Did It" shirt is a must have for me:

The other purchase I made was one of the new runDisney vinylmation and the Tinker Bell medal (I'm planning on getting the princess medal in February to mark my next race:

Some of the other great merchandise:

And who can forget the wings?  I didn't personally run in wings, but I did see a lot of wings on the course Sunday morning!

I then wandered around the expo a little more, browsed a little at the raw threads booth:

I also took a few minutes to check out the exclusive New Balance runDisney shoes:

                                     

I stopped by to meet Leah of Sparkle Skirts.  I was lucky enough to be able to work a few hours on Saturday morning in the Sparkles Skirts booth, helping lots of ladies (and a few gentlemen) find the perfect skirt for race day.  

I had a great time at the expo and I am really looking forward to the next runDisney event- Princess weekend!

Next up:  The Day Before Tink- working, resting, celebrating TNT

Somewhat on Track :)

Meals cooked at home are on track so far!  We had the Spinach Lasagna Rolls which were better this time than last time I made them.  The only thing I did differently was that I used the steam fresh spinach and since I'd forgotten to thaw the spinach, I was able to cook the spinach in the bag using the microwave.  I think that may have made the spinach a little softer and made it mix better with the ricotta and parmesan mixture that is in the noodles.  But the best part......clean plates all around!

I had a plan for todays run.  My run that was scheduled was a one mile for time improvement, and then a 4 mile run.  My plan was to do the warm up, the 5 minute warm up run and the mile for time all on the treadmill and then switch up and do the 4 mile run outside- after all, it was a beautiful day!  Well, I go through the warm up and the mile for time and my legs were just not having it today.  I kept trying to talk myself into it, but it just wasn't happening today.  I managed to get a little more than 2 miles in and I was done.  It's ok- I just switched my planned mileage days (I had a short 2 miler planned later this week), but I do wish I'd been able to push through.

Today is my rest day from JMBR as well, so there isn't anything to report from there :)For some fun news..... runDisney announced today that New Balance is the official running shoe of runDisney.  They have even released a new limited edition New Balance men's and women's running shoe, the 860v3 runDisney edition- in special Mickey and Minnie colors.  I've been running in New Balance minimus zeros for as long as I've been running, and I've loved them.  I'm actually now looking for a new pair to replace my current ones- which means a new color maybe....these are my current ones:   

What are your current shoes?