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!

2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon

2:45 am.....it's early, but so worth it.  Our Team was supposed to meet in the hotel lobby at 3:15 am to walk over to the start corrals.  I was walking with Edna and Michelle- we were all in corral C, so we dropped our stuff off and then made a surprisingly quick stop at the porta potties and then made our way to our corral.  It was a little chilly waiting, but I had my sweatshirt and gloves and I was pretty comfortable while waiting for the start time.   Before we knew it the national anthem was being sung and shortly after that corral A was on their way and then corral B and then it was our turn!

My plan was to follow at 2 min run/1 min walk ratio for this race.  I started off down the road and then turned to enter California Adventure and made our way through the park and got to see parts of the new Cars Land (which was so much fun to visit later that day!) and they had the the colorful fountains from the World of Color show on for us as we ran by, and I stopped to take a quick picture.  When it was time to leave California Adventure, I received my first update text from runDisney about my 5k split. I realized that the timing was off for that split, so I sent a quick text to my husband to let him know that during one of my walk breaks.  That split said my pace was 17:54 and I knew that was not possible.  I had been checking my pace every now and then and the pace on my watch was showing an average of 13:11.  I felt good, I was not too worried about falling off my pace, though I did feel like I may be going a little too fast, but I didn't intentionally slow down.            

Next up was Disneyland!  It was really nice to run through the park since I wasn't planning on visiting the park during this trip.  I love seeing the parks at night, and since it was still dark out, I was able to see the castle all lit up.  Again, I happened to be at a walk break right at the castle, so I stopped to take a quick picture before moving along.

After leaving Disneyland, the course took us through Downtown Disney and then we rounded the corner near the Disneyland Hotel and there were the Red Hat ladies!  These by far, these ladies are the best cheering section of the race.  Possibly even the best cheering section of any race.  Shortly after that,  I got my 10k split text from runDisney saying that my 10k time was 1:25:03, with my pace being 13:41.  Definitely an improvement over the 5k split (they must have fixed whatever the original timing was).  I was still feeling great, and I was surprised to see how quickly this race seemed to be going by.  

I kept up with my 2:1 ratio plan and it was going great.  Most of this race is through the city after finishing with the parks.  runDisney does a great job of lining up schools to have groups out on the course to cheer us on, so going through the city isn't that bad.  Plus, there are some mountains out in the distance that are really pretty to look at along the way.  

Soon I received my 15k split (time 2:07:07, pace 13:38).  Still really feeling good.  I was really surprised to find that I was not hitting that wall that I usually do around mile 8-10.  It was also then that I was surprised to find out that finishing this half marathon under 3 hours was a real possibility.  I decided then that I was going to make it under 3 hours, and I knew if I stuck with my plan, I would be able to do just that.  

Many times along the way, I was met with TNT coaches that checked in on me, most yelling "go Team!" and me giving the thumbs up in response.  A couple coaches caught me on a walk break and I was able to talk with them and tell them that I was doing fine.  I met up with one around mile 12 and she asked how I was doing and my response was "great, this should be my fastest time yet!"  She congratulated me and I went along my way.  I crossed the finish line with an official time of 2:58:29- my newest PR- by 16 minutes!  And that is also a 31 minute improvement over last years time!

Immediately after crossing the finish line, my phone rang.  It was my husband calling to congratulate me.  It was so great to hear from him and all of my monkeys cheering me on from home.   I got my medal, water and my snack box and then went over to check in with my TNT Flex team.  I stayed for a couple minutes, checked in with a couple people and then I decided to head back to my room.  It was a great way to cool down from this race and I don't think anyone could wipe the smile off my face.  

Here are my unofficial mile splits from my watch:

Mile 1:  12:55

Mile 2:  13:30

Mile 3:  12:55

Mile 4:  13:16

Mile 5:  13:56

Mile 6:  13:29

Mile 7:  13:25

Mile 8:  13:40

Mile 9:  13:35

Mile 10:  13:18

Mile 11:  13:38

Mile 12:  13:18

Mile 13:  13:28

I was so pleasantly surprised to see that most of my miles were in the 13s and two of them were 12:55! I can't wait to see what comes next :)

The Day Before Tink- Working, Resting, Celebrating TNT

Saturday morning I tried to sleep in a little, but that did not happen- I was clearly still on east coast time, and despite the long day on Friday, I was still awake way before my alarm.  I actually didn't mind this because I like staying more on east coast time so that waking up for the early morning race time doesn't seem that early.  I took my time getting ready for the day and just kind of hanging out for a while before heading over to Downtown Disney to find something for breakfast.

The weather in California was beautiful the whole weekend I was there and I really enjoyed being able to get outside and enjoy walking around and enjoying the sunshine.  I was scheduled for a morning shift at the Sparkle Skirts booth, so I wandered around the expo for a little bit to see if there was something that I missed the day before.  I really had a great time working at the booth and getting to meet all of the people who were looking forward to running the race the next day.  It was a great experience, and I do hope that I can do it again soon!

After I finished with my shift, I went to get a late lunch.  Part of my pre-race routine is usually to have fajitas the day before (usually for dinner, but I had a TNT dinner Saturday evening).  I went to Tortilla Joe's and was able to have some delicious shrimp fajitas.  I wandered around Downtown Disney a little bit more before heading back to my room to relax for a little longer.

When I got back to my room, my roommate had arrived and we met and talked a little while we both relaxed and then got ready for the TNT Inspiration dinner.  The dinner was great.  It was a buffet style with salads, pasta and sauce choices, and chicken.  We were directed to our table and then were able to talk for a little bit before the program began.   This dinner was for all of the TNT participants in the Tinker Bell half, lots of Team members and lots of energy!  The total amount of money raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society from this event was over $800,000!  I was a part of the TNT Flex team, and the members of my team alone were responsible for $200,000.

After dinner we had a short Team meeting.  I then went down to the hotel's deli to grab a bagel and some peanut butter (I didn't want to try to do it in the morning) Then it was time to turn in early- 2:45 am comes early no matter what coast you are on!  I got back to my room, made sure I had everything laid out for the race, got my check bag ready, and double and triple checked my alarm.

I didn't have much trouble falling asleep and despite a bad dream about oversleeping and missing the race, I woke up at 2:45 feeling well rested and ready to tackle this race.

Next up:  2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon!

Tinker Bell 2013

I can't believe it is almost time for this race again. The 2012 Tinker Bell half marathon was a very important race for me last year. It was the first race of my deployment challenge to myself, and completing it was the start of a whole new phase in my life.

This year is quite a different story from last year.  Last year I was so nervous, it was only my second half marathon and I was still very nervous about not being able to finish in time.  This year I feel so much better prepared and I do not have doubts about being able to finish this race within the time allowed.

This time, I am doing this race with Team in Training and I am heading out early Friday morning to California.  I will get to meet up with some of my TNT flex team on Friday.  I also plan on hitting up the expo on Friday- runDisney expos are great- so much fun stuff to check out!  Saturday I volunteered to work a shift for Sparkle Skirts, I will be there from 10 am- 2 pm, if you are there, please stop by and say hello :).    Saturday evening is the TNT inspiration dinner and then Sunday is the big day!

The race starts at 5 am- thank goodness it is on the west coast- it's so much easier to get up for those early races out there!  I plan on sticking with my 2:1 run:walk ratio for this race, I've been training at that ratio for the past couple of months so I am hoping that will help me with a new PR for this race (current PR is from the Wine and Dine in November).

In other news- I am still on track with meals cooked at home for this month and also keeping up with my Moon Jogger miles- I'm looking forward to adding those 13.1 miles to the total next week :).  In order to keep up with my goals, I am planning to meal plan for next week early so that I don't miss out on any days.  I found out last year that planning ahead is key!

So, anyone else running Tink this year?