Firework Cupcake Medals Are In!

I think they look great!  We still have a few spots open, but now that pictures of the actual medal are out, I expect them to go fast!  PayPal link is 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!

Magic Mile Monday 6/17

It's the first MMM of summer vacation! I had a little bit of a hard time getting out of bed this morning- we don't have anywhere to be until around lunchtime and I didn't have to get anyone up for school!  Plus, it's a little cloudy/rainy outside, making it a little harder even. But, once all the monkeys were up and eating breakfast, I got started. Shaved just a few seconds off this week, but it's an improvement and that's what counts!

Family Fun Friday!

Well, today is the last day of school for my big boys, yesterday was the last day of preschool summer camp for my younger two, so it is officially summer time at our house!  We've got a few fun things planned for this summer, but I am just ready for a break from the every morning alarm clock!

In April this year, my family and I participated in our first Color Mania run in Raleigh.  We were joined by my parents, both my sisters, my brother in law and my niece.  I've been told by many that most color type runs are crowded and should be approached as a fun run (and mostly walk).  This was definitely the case- we had a lot of fun, but it is a not a race that should be taken too seriously.

You start off nice and clean:

And end up looking something like this:

At the end of the run, there is a color celebration toss, where participants are given a packet of color to throw- just in case you didn't get enough color on your run!

A fun cloud of color:

The next color run my family will participate in is the Sparkle Me Wild 5k on September 2!  If you are local to the area or will be in town for the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon, we'd love for you to join us!  I've created a team for this event, so if you'd like to join our team, please do, at the end of your registration it will give you the option to join an existing team, and you simply select 'Color in Sanity'.  I am hoping to have a team tshirt option up for team members to order in the next couple weeks!

The charity that Sparkle Me Wild supports:

From the Sparkle Me Wild website: "While we throughly love to spread the sparkle in the towns in which we hold our events we also sink a portion of every race into a children's national non-profit very near and dear to our heart, GO FAR or Go Out For A Run.  This program reaches out to children across the nation to educate them on nutrition, good character, being active and living a healthy life!  GO FAR is creating happy, healthy little runners and walkers all across the country and we love being able to spread the good word!"

Please consider joining us for a fun morning!  Register here:  Sparkle Me Wild!

Wednesday's Reads

I really enjoy reading other  people's blogs.  Some I read are running or other fitness related, some are family and friend blogs, and some are cooking (especially cupcakes or cakes!).  I want to start sharing blogs here because there are a lot of really great blogs out there.  I'm starting with one of my favorites over the past year:  We Run Disney .  This is a mother/daughter blog, and I've really enjoyed following all of their adventures in running and especially their running adventures at Disney.  They are great about regular blog posts as well as Facebook and Twitter posts as well.  I'm continuing to follow them as they train for several races over the next year including the Dopey at WDW in January.

Do you write a blog?  I'd love to start following you, leave a comment :)

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!

Virtual Race Medal Closeout!

Whenever we order medals for our virtual races, we order extras to make sure we have enough in case medals are lost or damaged in the mail.  Well, we still have some left from previous races, so if you missed out on any of these great medals, here is your chance!  

Top Row- The Great Pumpkin Race, The Great Pumpkin Mini Mile, 5 Mile March for Babies, The Sweet Cupcake 5k, The Sweet Cupcake 10k

Bottom Row- Frosty's Great Cupcake Race 1 Mile, Frosty's Great Cupcake Race 5k, Frosty's Great Cupcake Race 10k

The money raised from the sale of these medals will go to Team in Training, except the 5 Mile March for Babies- money from those medals go to the March of Dimes.

Please use the PayPal box to purchase the medal of your choice!  All medals will be shipped within 3 business days.  Thank you for your support and participation!

Magic Mile Monday 6/10

Today's MMM was successful because I was able to beat last week's time by 12 seconds :) 

I am pleased with this improvement this week- now I just have to work on the other 12.1 miles ;)

Family Fun!

Last weekend all of my boys (and friends of theirs) participated in America's Kids Run here on our base.  I am very proud of all of them, every one of them finished their race.  

Stretching before the run:

The little guy finishing his 1/2 mile:

Garett and his friend Hailey after their run:

 The Tyler and Kaden starting their 1/2 mile:

Tyler completing his first lap:

Kaden going strong:

Tyler coming in for the finish:

Caleb and Lilly starting off:

Caleb finishing his mile:

Karlie running her 2 mile run: 

All the kiddos (and their smaller cheerleaders):

That evening we had a fun evening with neighbors and friends.  We roasted marshmallows for s'mores and enjoyed an outdoor movie.  We are looking forward to more fun summer evenings when school finally gets out next week!

Life in the Twin Lane Raffle

I found out about this raffle on Facebook, and wanted to share it here!  Great prizes and a great cause, ends in just a couple weeks!   Life in the Twin Lane:  Raffle to Remember

Magic Mile Monday 6/3

Today I did my first magic mile Monday (MMM). My goal is to improve my mile time a little bit at a time and I wanted to start keeping a record of Monday mile times. Today's time was 10:49, so I feel like I'm off to a good start!