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

Slow Cooker Black Bean Chicken Tacos

This meal was maybe the biggest hit so far.  It was super easy and full of flavor.  I didn't even start the crock pot until 2:30 and dinner was still ready by 6.  The rotel and black beans were combined and put on the bottom of the crock pot and the chicken seasoned and laid on top of the beans and rotel.  It cooks up very quickly, then you shred the chicken and add it back in for a little longer.  While we were at gymnastics, my husband made some brown rice and broccoli that was ready for us when we got home. The kids had their meal taco style in whole wheat tortillas with a little cheese and avocado.  They had rice and broccoli on the side- everyone cleaned their plates- and two of the four even had a second taco!  My husband liked it even more than the soup we had last week.  I had mine minus the tortilla- so rice, chicken, a little cheese and avocado.  Very yummy and will definitely go on our list to have again.

Today was a little different.  My plan today was to get up early and run because my littlest had a doctor appointment.  The problem with that always is that I don't want to wake anyone up any earlier than they need to be woken up.  So, after some thought, I decided to wait until after her appointment- I thought I'd have plenty of time between the appointment and when it was time to pick up our monkey from preschool.  Well, the appointment took a lot longer than I thought it would and as I was driving home, I was really having a mind battle- trying to talk myself out of doing the run.  I did have about an hour and a half so I did have enough time to do it, I really think I just didn't really have the desire to do it.  I hate when my mind gets in the way like that.  But, despite that, when we got home, I got the littlest settled in with a show and some milk and got on the treadmill.  I had a 45 minuted run scheduled for today, still following the 2 min run:1 min walk ratio and ended up averaging a 12:20 pace- very exciting!  So, my time is improving, and I'm anxious to see what my time looks like at the Tinker Bell half next weekend.

After tucking the kiddos in bed this evening, I also did JMBR workout 4.  Lots of squats and lunges in that one....always fun after putting my legs through that run just a few hours earlier....

Thank you! Thank you!

So today I took all of the medals for The Great Pumpkin Race and the Mini Pumpkin Mile to the post office and mailed them out.  That means that I was able to make the donation to my TNT goal as well.  Thanks to all of the participants for this virtual race, the donation total is $1500 so far (there may be a little more later on)!  This has put my fundraising total so far at $4615, already passing my initial goal!  This would never be possible without your participation, so thank you so much!

More blogs coming soon- especially photos of my Great Pumpkin 5k and my kiddos' Mini Pumpkin Miles :)

The Last Couple Weeks

Wow!  It has been so busy around here!  I kind of thought that when school started and we were in a routine that things would be a little more calmer.  A little more sane....well, nope!

I started my Jillian Michaels over again....ready for another 90 days of this challenge.  I'm loving that while doing the first couple weeks I feel so much stronger than the first time I did this challenge.  I love how much stronger I am feeling.  I really do like this program. So much that this is the third time I have done this program.  But the really nice thing about it (besides the fact that it is just 30 minutes a day) is the variety.  I have not been doing the cardio workouts because I have been running, so I just have the strength workouts, which I really like.  I will be doing a full 90 day before and after of inches and pounds lost.

I've been running 4 times a week, following the plan laid out for me by my TNT coach.  She's been great at working with me to meet my goals for the Tinker Bell half marathon in January, while also taking into account the half marathons that I have planned for this fall.

Speaking of half marathons this fall, I have two more coming up.  The first one is in less than two weeks!  I'm very excited to be running in the Inaugural Crawlin Crab Half Marathon on October 7.  I'm loving the cool, fall weather that we are starting to have in Virginia.  I am hoping that we are in for a great race in a couple weeks.  Next up will be Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  I'm really looking forward to being back at Disney to run, and this will be my first nighttime race.

I've been back to meal planning, which has been so helpful with helping me keep a little more balance in our busy schedule.  So far we've been pretty good at following a plan.  I have to say- I love how much easier our evenings seem to be when we have a plan.  And I am finding that my crock pot has become a permanent addition to my countertop- I've been using that most- I love being able to fix it and forget it!  Last nights Crock Pot Chicken and Rice was another big success.  I'm really lucky, my kiddos love broccoli, so I can pretty much make that our side vegetable every night and they'll eat it up. But, when I try out new ways to cook chicken, it can go either way.  This one they liked- the littlest one especially loved the rice part!

Other news- my great pal at Run Find your Happy Pace and I decided to start our own business Running Happy.  We make non-slip headbands and also extremely adorable runner decals!  Stay tuned for more....and if there is something you'd like to see us carry, suggestions are welcome :)

So, the kiddos and I are finding our balance again amidst school schedules, after school activities, homework, running, JMBR, and meal planning.  I am still working on what seems to be my best weekly schedule so that I can use my time wisely and not end up just wasting it....those 12 hours to myself a week really go by fast!

Just another Friday!

It's hard to believe that we are already towards the later part of August! My next half is sneaking up on me quite quickly. It's been a little harder to keep up with training over the summer than I had expected. But it'll all be ok- I'm really looking forward to a fun weekend with family and friends!

Things are really coming together for The Great Cupcake Race! 60 people are now registered and we have our final artwork for the center of the medal! If you haven't registered, you have until August 3o to do that. Only 40 more people and I will run in a cupcake costume!  If you haven't registered yet, details are here and you can register using the dropbox to the right at the top of the page! 

I'm starting to work with my coach from TNT for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. She has been really great about communicating with me about the half marathons that I have scheduled for the fall and how to get the most out of both my training and my scheduled races. My training schedule officially kicks off tomorrow!

I am anxious for the Rock and Roll half....it should be my last half before my husband comes home. Even though I did decide to change up my original goal of a half marathon every month, I am still very happy with what I did accomplish this year so far. I have a ways to go before I meet my ultimate goals, but I am very happy with how things have gone so far. Running half marathons and blogging about my experience have really taken me out of my comfort zone and I could not be happier that I decided to take this chance! I thank you all for your support!

2012 Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Not sure where to start with this one. Not because it was bad, but because it was so great! I was well rested, even woke up before my alarm went off. We could hear the music from the pre-race party from our room (I'm glad we were in the race, I would not have been happy if I was a guest at the hotel and got woken up at 3:30 in the morning!). Because our hotel was literally right at the start line, I was able to walk down and get right into my corral. I got down there around 4:45 am, and was able to be right at the front of my corral, which is where I wanted to be. Waited for a while, met some other single runners, chatted and then finally it was time for the first corral to start!

View of the start/finish line from my hotel

Check out all the runners (12,000 total)

At the start line waiting for them to send off my corral

We took off down the street and then entered into Disneyland. Ran down mainstreet towards Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

After running through Disneyland, we headed back out and down through Downtown Disney. It was so nice to see people cheering everyone on. There were signs everywhere and people clapping, cheering, cow bells, everything. Most of the signs were for a certain person, but there were some that were for everyone. My favorite sign of the race- "Worst Parade Ever" it just made me laugh- and with many more miles to go, I did need to laugh! Not long after the parade sign as we left Downtown Disney and ran past the Disneyland Hotel, we were met by the Red Hat Ladies cheering us on. These ladies were amazing! There were so many of them and they were easily the best cheering section on the race! Lots more running around the streets and finally we entered into California Adventure- this would have been about mile 11.

Sorry about the finger, hard to walk fast and get a good picture :)

Leaving California Adventure meant it was almost over. I was almost there! Rounded a few more corners and there was the finish line. I'd made it :) I'll admit it, I cried a little- I wasn't hurt, but I was so proud. I finished the first half of my deployment challenge to myself. I hadn't been swept off the course, I had made it- finished in 3:31:03- average pace 16:06. That is a number I am happy with- for now. Next month, new race, new PR goal!

Getting this was important to me:

Most important to me though was finishing and the pride I felt in myself.

My Mile Times:

Mile 1 ~ 15:04

Mile 2 ~ 15:33

Mile 3 ~ 15:08

Mile 4 ~ 15:20

Mile 5 ~ 15:15

Mile 6 ~ 15:48

Mile 7 ~ 15:39

Mile 8 ~ 15:31

Mile 9 ~ 16:05

Mile 10 ~ 16:42

Mile 11 ~ 16:27

Mile 12 ~ 16:25

Mile 13 ~ 16:28

My plan was to go out fast (not as fast as I could, but just faster at first) to allow myself a cushion for later on. I wanted to make sure I was under the pace. I didn't care if I was the last one to finish as long as I was able to finish, and I was. Next up- Princess Half Marathon!