Race Recap: Tinker Bell Half Marathon 2015

Continuing my posts on Disneyland to counteract my FOMO... my Tinker Bell Half Marathon race recap!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon
May 10, 2015

State: Repeat (California)
Lifetime: #54

As with the 10K, this recap might be missing some details, but I am going to do my best to remember everything!  If not, there will still be pretty pictures =)

Another early morning for this race, I was exhausted and in bed pretty early, so it wasn't too hard to get up for this one.  I was running as Tinker Bell and was pretty excited to wear my costume!

#flatsarah ready to go

I made the shirt myself using an iron-on from Miranda at DesignsbyMK on Etsy.  I thought I might see some other people in the same iron-on (since it wasn't custom), but I didn't see any others!  People really seemed to like it - I got a lot of 'Go Pixie Power!" throughout the course which was really nice.

I headed to the start area a little early, as there were a bunch of fellow Oiselle Flock / Volee were there and we had planned a group photo. 

Fly style!

After the photo, I went to meet Abby, Adrienne and Michelle to head to the start!

After our group photo, it was off to the start line.  I was in corral A again, so I made my way up to the front.  We did not have a lot of time to kill before the race started, so it was only a couple of minutes from when I arrived until the start.  Before I knew it, we were off!

The half starts the same direction as the 10K, rounding around the exterior of Disneyland on the highway before heading into the parks.  Unlike the 10K, the half heads into California Adventure first.  If I am remembering correctly, you enter near Cars Land and head towards Paradise Pier.  The official runDisney photographer captured a great shot of me in Cars Land that ended up in the race Facebook album.  It's definitely one of my favorites from race!

via the runDisney Facebook page

I can't remember exactly on this loop it was, but the first character I ran into was Buzz Lightyear!

In the middle of Paradise Pier, Silvermist was there for photo's and a little later on (after making the full loop around Paradise Pier, before you headed back down towards the front of the park), Vidia was there as well.  I had a photo with both of them from the 10K, but since I was Tink today, I had to take another!

From there, the course makes the short trek across to Disneyland Park.  Disneyland was all decorated for the 60th Anniversary and I have to say, I really loved it.  Disneyland always looks great (in my opinion), but I really loved it decorated for the anniversary.

Chip and Dale were out on Main Street again, joined this time by Goofy!  They were dressed differently and there was only like 2 people waiting, so I stopped for a photo.

We headed straight into the Castle them (running through it the opposite way we do in the DLH), but before the castle, they had a spot off to the right you could stop for a photo in the castle.

After castle, we headed around the Matterhorn and back towards the entrance to Tomorrowland.  This is where Tink was!  You know I was stopping for a photo, line be damned.  This was definitely the longest line I stood in all race and it wasn't that bad.  I would estimate 10-15 people in front of me?  I am sure the line got worse as the race went on, but I was lucky.

After Tink, we rounded around back towards the Castle and headed into Tomorrowland.  In Tomorrowland, they had some Storm Troopers out.  My nieces (both of them) are obsessed with Star Wars, so I had to stop for a photo with them.  The line wasn't horrible, probably like 5 or so in front of me.

After Tomorrowland, we headed through Fantasyland and hit a couple more characters.  The lines were starting to get longer, but nothing unmanageable!  Iridessa (again, I think) and Rosetta were hanging out together.

From there, it was Donald and Pluto out as we headed into ToonTown.  You can't tell from the photo, but Pluto kept playing with my wings.  He would tap them and then start laughing.  It was tough to get him to stop for a photo!

After ToonTown, it was time to head out of the parks.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I feel like you get more park time in Tinker Bell then during the Disneyland Half.  The part in the Parks was definitely different then the first time I ran it (I remember specifically running through DL first, probably because Cars Land was under construction at the time).

I don't mind all the time out of the park though.  You know I like to zone out when I run, so this allows me to do that.  They had some bands and dance teams out to keep it interesting.  I also like the Tink non-park portions better then the DLH non-park portions (except for Angels stadium... I love the part with Angels stadium).

You run around Anaheim and personally, I really enjoy it.  I don't know if I feel partial to it because Tinker Bell was my first Disneyland race ever; who knows?

Either way, there isn't much to tell about this section.  I did lost one of my shoe pom-poms during this point, which made me pretty sad, but at least all the photo's were done (I did find a lost pink one near mile 12 which I actually stopped to pick up - so now I have 1 white and 1 pink).

I did get a cool shadow picture during this point.

We re-enter the DL area around Mile 12, heading to the backstage area of California Adventure (right behind Cars Land.  From there, it was a quick run to the finish!  I can't remember 100%, but I feel like the finish section was different then the first time I ran the race.

Who doesn't love a Mickey hi-five!

runDisney got another photo of me finishing on the Facebook album.   You can't see me great, but I love the silhouette in front of Mickey's Fun Wheel!

via the runDisney Facebook page

After finishing, I collected my medals - Half, Pixie Dust and pink Coast to Coast (!) before meeting up with my mom.

They didn't have the snack boxes, but they had taken them all apart and gave you a back to collect the items (I guess to remove the expired applesauce?).  It was nice to have treat after the race!

After taking my requisite finisher photo, we headed back to the hotel.  We made a stop at Earl of Sandwich because I was STARVING and needed real food.  It was delicious and hit the spot.

Overall, I loved this race.  In my opinion, the course is better then the Disneyland Half (in total, certain sections of the DL course are better.. ahem, Angels stadium).  It never got too hot for, I lucked out with no really long lines for the characters and I earned my pink Coast to Coast.  I will definitely be back at some point for Tinker Bell again!

Results
Official: 13.1 miles, 2:00:32, 9:12 pace
Garmin: 13.36 miles, 2:00:33, 9:01 pace

Who else ran the Tink half?  How'd it go for you?

#runalltheraces #allthemedals

Tinker Bell 2015 Expo Goodies!

This post is so overdue, but I really liked my goodies from the Tink expo so I wanted to share what I got.  I definitely didn't exercise as much self control as I had originally hoped to be, but since I ended up not purchasing any of the Dooney bags, I had a little extra in my budget.

Heading into the expo!

We decided to head straight to merchandise and then go pick up our numbers.  It was a good thing, because even though the expo had only been open a couple of hours, things were already on the road to selling out.  The Sweaty Bands were almost completely gone - I managed to find a Glass Slipper Challenge one, but it was literally the last one left.

Other than that, I was able to get everything I had hoped too.  But I know people who couldn't go until Friday, did not have such luck.  I've talked about it before, but I don't understand why they don't make more merchandise.  runDisney fans love their merch, so it would sell.  I just find it ridiculous that they don't have more.  It's really not far to those who can't get there on Day 1.  Okay, rant over.

So, let's get to the purchases!

I was really excited to get one of the Pixie Dust Challenge Jackets.  I loved the logo and the color!  I also picked up on of the challenge 'I Did It' shirts.  Same color as the jacket which made me happy.

I also added to my (ever-growing) drink wear collection.  I needed none of these, but I loved them so much, I had to have them.  They make me happy every time I drink from them.

And lastly, I picked up some magnets (my fridge is overflowing with them, I should probably stop buying more...), a Sweaty Band for both the Half and the Challenge (which, as I said above, I just barely got - they were already so picked over) and my traditional mini medal pin.  

That's it!  It actually seems like a lot less when I group it like that =)

From there, we headed into number pick up and then to get our shirts.  I really liked race shirts this year.  The color scheme was awesome and I liked all the designs this year.

5K and 10K shirts

Half and Challenge shirts

And you know I can't resist a photo opp!

What did you get at the expo this year?

Training recap week of 5/4 & 5/11 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 18 & Recovery Week)

Hi!  I'm alive.  Sorry for the bit of radio silence, came back from Tink last week and got crazy caught up in work.  Sometimes I wonder if vacation is worth it?  Just kidding, vacation is always worth it! 

Since I am a bit behind, let's do two weeks in one?  Tink went really well!  I actually managed to set a PR in the 10K which makes me very happy (it even included photo stops).  My 10K PR was pretty old and not reflective of my current speed.  Hoping to maybe find another 10K I can actually race and see what happens.  I'm hoping to get all my race recaps up in the next 2 weeks (fingers crossed!). 

The week after Tink basically became a recovery week.  I wasn't planning on it, but my body was clearly calling for it, so I decided to listen.  Especially since I have another half this weekend!

In terms of cross training, I did not do so well.  Hoping to get back on the cross training bus this week!

Week of 5/4 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 18)

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: 21 Day Fix - Lower Body Fix

Tuesday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.07 mi, 28:46, 9:22 pace
Cross Training: 21 Day Fix - 10 Minute Fix for Abs

Wednesday
Scheduled: 2 miles easy
Actual: 2.03 mi, 18:31, 9:07 pace
Cross Training: 21 Day Fix - 10 Minute Fix for Abs

Thursday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Friday
Scheduled: Neverland 5K
Actual: 3.12 mi, 27:02, 8:40 pace

Saturday
Scheduled: Tinker Bell 10K
Actual: 6.30 mi, 51:48, 8:13 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: Tinker Bell Half Marathon
Actual: 13.36 mi, 2:00:33, 9:01 pace

Total miles: 27.88

Total May miles: 32.92

Miles until goal (1,250): 835.25
Cross Training: 3/4

Week of 5/11 (Pixie Dust Challenge Recovery Week)

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Tuesday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Wednesday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Thursday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.02 mi, 39:05, 9:43 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: 8 miles long run
Actual: 8.16 mi, 1:20:06, 9:49 pace

Total miles: 12.19

Total May miles: 45.11

Miles until goal (1,250): 823.06
Cross Training: 0/4

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Race Costumes

Happy Tinker Bell half weekend!  I did this race the very first year and loved it, so I am excited to do it again.  When I ran it the first time, I did not dress up.  I wore a sequined lime green headband and called it a day.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know that I spent many, many hours making my Donald shirt.  I didn't really talk about how long it took me, but trust me, it took way longer then I wanted it too.  There were several times during the process that I wanted to throw something.  In the end, it was worth it, but man was it frustrating.

After that, I decided costumes should be easy.  For right now, the most I am willing to commit to is doing an iron-on.  And yes, I continued that commitment for these costumes, so they were quick and easy to pull together!

Since I am going all three races, I needed three costumes ideas.  Tinker Bell has always been one of my favorite characters (and Peter Pan one of my favorite movies), so I decided to do all costumes from Peter Pan.  Given the theme of this race weekend, I am sure I will not be the only one in any of these costumes!

Let's start with the Neverland 5K!  I'm going as Smee!

Fortunately, I already owned the tank (I picked it up a couple of years ago from Gap Body) and the Sparkle Athletic skirt from a previous costume.  The only item I needed to pick up was the red hat, which I got from Amazon for a couple of bucks.

For the Tinker Bell 10K, I decided to go with the man himself - Peter Pan.

Unfortunately for this one, I owned nothing.  I was worried about finding the shirt, but I was able to get one from Amazon for like $7.  It's technical too!  I'm pairing it with a kelly green Sparkle Athletic skirt and red feather.  I also ordered a matching sparkle visor, but decided to get it too late for it to be delivered in time.  I'll be picking that up at the expo.

And of course, the main event - the Tinker Bell Half Marathon.  I think it should be no surprise to anyone that I am going as Tinker Bell!  She is my favorite after all :)

I ordered the wings and lime green skirt from Sparkle Athletic.  For the shirt, I ordered the tank on Amazon and did an iron-on from Etsy show DesignsbyMKC (same person who did my Anna and TOT iron-ons).  The tank and skirt colors do match - it just seemed to photograph weird.  I order the bow on Etsy as well - they are from miniPanda (a fellow runDisney fan and blogger).  I also ordered some white pom poms from Sparklet Athletic for my sneakers that I am picking up at the expo.

So those are my costumes for Tinker Bell weekend!  I am a little nervous about the wings, but I am sure it will be fine.

What is everyone else dressing up as for Tinker Bell weekend?  Share your costumes in the comments below!

Training recap week of 4/20 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 16)

I am at a little bit of a loss at what to do with my training schedule - at least in regards to speed work (I still need to do my progression runs).  I had it build around Tinker Bell, even though I wasn't planning on racing it.  But then I went and PR'd during Raleigh which has thrown me off.

I don't think I need to do as intense speed work as I was originally planning for these last couple of weeks.  I don't want to burn out before marathon training starts as I am starting to think I will try and race it (nothing is set in stone though).  I still want to do some as I don't want to lose the speed... but I probably don't need to do it.

So this week, I decreased my planned speed and didn't push the pace quite as much.  Felt good though, which is always nice!

This week also included my final progression run before the Pixie Dust Challenge and it went really well.  The 12 mile run on Sunday started a little rough - I was tight and stiff for the first two miles, but once I loosened up, felt really strong.  Think I am ready for Tink weekend!

I've really been slacking on cross training these past couple of weeks.  I gave myself permission the week after Raleigh, but I had no excuse this week.  I know all the core work I did helped with the PR so I need to get back into it.

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Tone It Up Beach Bombshell , Sleek Arms Day 15

Tuesday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.18 mi, 41:57, 10:03 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: Speedwork - 4 x 0.5 miles @ 10K pace (with 0.5 mi recovery) + WU and CD
Total miles: 5.61
Paces: 8:05, 8:09, 7:59, 8:08

Thursday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Refine Method

Friday
Scheduled: 2 miles easy
Actual: 2.00, 19:34, 9;46 pace

Saturday
Scheduled: 5 miles easy
Actual: 5.01 mi, 47:16, 9:26 pace 

Sunday
Scheduled: 12 miles long run
Actual: 12.05, 1:52:16, 9:19 pace

Total miles: 28.84

Total April miles: 101.97

Miles until goal (1,250): 879.90
Cross Training: 2/4

Training recap week of 4/6 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 14)

Let's just say that this week's training recap is not at all what I thought it was going to be about.  I thought it was going to be about a pretty normal training week with a half marathon thrown in.  Which I used as part of a Pixie Dust Challenge progression training build (Friday, Saturday and Sunday runs).  But, if you follow me on Instagram, you already know that was not quite what happened - I got an unexpected, pretty big, PR!

I'm still a bit in shock - PR'ing was in my goals for the year, but I did not think it would happen yesterday.  I wasn't planning on it and spent several hours on Saturday tasting my way around Raleigh's breweries and eating lots of barbeque.  I didn't get enough sleep Saturday night.  The course was hilly (oh so hilly).  But somehow, it still happened (maybe Tinker Bell visited me while I slept and gave me some Pixie Dust?).

I'll have a full recap of RnR Raleigh soon (and I promise, I want to write it while I still remember everything!), but it was just one of those days were everything comes together.  It was magical.  It made me so appreciate the times I dragged myself out to do runs in snow, sleet, freezing temps, etc.  It definitely would not have been possible if I hadn't put in the work, that much I know.  More to come in my recap this week!

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: :45 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 6

Tuesday
Scheduled: 5 miles easy
Actual: 4 mi, 38:54, 9:43 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up Bikini Arms, :50 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 7

Wednesday
Scheduled: 7 miles easy
Total miles: 7.06 mi, 1:07:04, 9;30 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up Mali Booty, :55 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 8

Thursday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: New Balance Girls Night Out - The Sports Barre, 1:00 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 9

Tonight was the first Girls Night Out of 2015!  It was another fun time and challenging workout!

Friday
Scheduled: 1 mile easy
Actual: 1.00, 9:30, 9:30 pace
Cross Training: 1:01 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 10

Saturday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.1 mi, 29:27, 9:30 pace 
Cross Training: 1:02 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 11

Sunday
Scheduled: Rock and Roll Raleigh Half Marathon
Actual: 13.19 mi, 1:47:39, 8:10 pace (based on my Garmin)
Cross Training: 1:03 second plank, Sleek Arms Day 12

Total miles: 28.35

Total April miles: 49.93

Miles until goal (1,250): 931.94
Cross Training: 3/4

Training recap week of 3/23 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 12)

 

Another week of training done and we are officially 2/3 of the way to the Pixie Dust Challenge! Only 6 weeks to go -  get excited!

This week took a slight down turn in mileage as I was fighting a bit of cold early in the week.  I never got fully sick, thankfully, but it did kill my energy levels.  I didn't do my speedwork on Wednesday and just did an easy run.  Although, won't lie, there was part of me that still wanted to do it, but I knew that it would just delay my recovery.  I was feeling better by the weekend for my long run, so that was good!

Got in a solid amount of cross training and strength workouts, so that was good.    

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Total Body Cardio Fix (21 Day Fix) 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 5 miles easy
Actual: 4.58 mi, 46:01, 10:03 pace
Cross Training: Upper Fix (21 Day Fix)  

Wednesday
Scheduled: Speedwork - 3 x 1 mile @ Half Marathon Pace, 90 second recovery (plus warm up and cool down)
Total miles: 3.01 mi, 30:02, 9:59 pace 

Thursday
Scheduled: 5 miles easy
Actual: 5.51 mi, 54:37, 9:55 pace
Cross Training: Lower Fix (21 Day Fix) 

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Pilates Fix (21 Day Fix) 

Saturday
Scheduled: 12 miles long run pace
Actual: 12.02 mi, 1:54:22, 9:31 pace 

Sunday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Cardio Fix (21 Day Fix) 

Total miles: 25.11

Total March miles: 97.86

Miles until goal (1,250): 986.37
Cross Training: 5/4

Tink Updates

Yay!  We are only 6 short weeks from the start of Tinker Bell race weekend (or long weeks depending on how you look at it!).  I know I cannot wait for this weekend to come!  So, I thought I would share some Tink items that I've been ruminating on for a while.

1. The Medals

I've been meaning to write a post on this since I came home from Princess.  But time got away from me, so let's do it now (yes, my Princess Half recap is coming... it's about halfway done.  My goal is to finish it this weekend!).  Anyway, on to the shiny stuff.

I love, love, love the 10K and Half medals.  First off, it makes me so happy that the half medal hasn't changed a whole ton since I did this race back in 2012.  I love that spinner so much!  I like the addition of the pearl/silver foil that makes the wings iridescent.  Love!  I am not as big of a fan of the Pixie Dust Challenge Medal.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, I just don't love it like I do the 10K and the Half.  I wish it tied slightly more into the styling of the other medals and included Wings.  I also really like the 5K medal with the Lost Boys on it.  Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it.

2. Tink Dooney & Bourke Bags

The first year I ran Tink, I remember loving the Dooney & Bourke bags.  Unfortunately, I didn't get one that time around (I didn't know about the pre-order and the one I would have wanted was sold out by the time I got to the expo).  I was hoping to rectify that this time around.

They released the designs yesterday and pre-order started.  Of course, the bag style I liked last time (a tote bag) is not included in this years design.

Source: runDisney

Whomp, whomp.  I am also not as in love with the design as I was before (it's cute, but for me, it's not 'can't live without it' and given the price, it has to be 'can't live without it', you know?).

I think the main sticking point (for me) is that it doesn't actually mention the race on it.  It says it's a unique runDisney design and while that may be true, it looks like a Disney bag you could get normally.  Personally, I was hoping it would at least say the race weekend.

Fortunately, my wallet is safe this time around (okay, more money to spend at the expo on other items)!  Although, I reserve the right to change my mind at anytime on this point.

3. Costumes

Of course, what is a runDisney race without the costumes!  I am starting to work on mine and will share once they are finalized.  I've got 3 to plan this time around (5K, 10K and Half).  Again, I'm trying to keep it simple (no sewing or cutting apart shirts for me... again).  And given the theme of race, I am thinking one costume will be a fairy (I mean, I gotta, right?).  So here are today's question for you all...

Have you ever run in wings before?  Sparkle Athletic has some, but I am worried about actually running in them.  I see a lot of people wearing them, but don't actually know if they are comfortable.

If you've run them before, please let me know how it went!

Since they aren't finalized, I'm still taking costume suggestions.  Share your favorite costumes with me!

Training recap week of 3/16 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 11)

Another week of training in the books! This past week was a busy one (hence the lack of posts) between work, training and going home for my niece's birthday.  It was a great time, but when all combined, a crazy week!

I also must have jinxed myself with the weather because after the nice weather the week before, it turned cold again and has been in the 30's!  And to top it all of we got 3 inches of snow on Friday.  Happy first day of Spring, right?  I am definitely ready for some more moderate temperatures!

I didn't do as great with cross training this week, only getting 3 days in.  But, I did get a nice set of progression runs in.  My legs were definitely feeling it by Day 3 so I need to make sure to keep doing these heading into Tinker Bell.  Only 7 weeks to go!

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Twist and Shout (Tone it up)

Tuesday
Scheduled: 5 miles easy
Actual: 5.05, 47:48, 9:27 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: 6 miles easy
Total miles: 6.00 mi, 58:04, 9:41 pace

Thursday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross Training: Bikini Abs (Tone it up)

Friday
Scheduled: 1.5 miles easy
Actual: 1.53 mi, 14:31, 9:31 pace
Cross Training: 21 Day Fix 10 Minute Fix Abs

Saturday
Scheduled: 3.5 miles long run
Actual: 3.5 mi, 33:49, 9:40 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: 10 miles long run
Actual: 10.00 mi, 1:35:48, 9:35 pace
Cross Training: Yoga Shred Day 14

Total miles: 26.09

Total March miles: 72.75

Miles until goal (1,250): 1,011.49
Cross Training: 3/4

Training recap week of 2/2 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 5)

The brutal cold continues here in the northeast.  Although, compared to Boston, we are definitely getting off easier.

Speedwork on Wednesday didn't quite go as planned (pace-wise), but I was still happy with them.  I didn't have the completely dead feeling the next day as I did last week, so that is a definite improvement.

This weekend's long run was a challenge.  The team (I volunteer as a pace leader for long runs for Team in Training in case you didn't know), was supposed to run over the GW Bridge into Palisades Park.  After making it one way over the GWB in brutal wind (totally exposed on the bridge), we found out that the park was still too snowy and icy to be safe for running.  So back over the bridge to Manhattan it was.  We ended up doing the rest of the run on the West Side Highway in a surprise snow storm (seriously, it was not in the weather report!).  The run wasn't ideal, but we got it done!

I did good again this week with cross training.  I can really feel the difference it's making!

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Bikini Abs (Tone It Up)

Tuesday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.01 miles, 30:28, 10:07 pace
Cross training: Bikini Series Yoga (Tone It Up)

Wednesday
Scheduled: Hill Repeats - 4x Harlem Hill @ 10K pace
Actual: 4.07 miles total
Paces: 8:26, 8:08, 8:04, 8:27
Cross training: Love Your Booty (Tone It Up)

Thursday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.00 miles, 29:29, 9:49 pace
Cross training: Love Your Arms & Abs (Tone It Up)

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Love Your Total Body (Tone It Up)

Saturday
Scheduled: 10 mile long run
Actual: 9.94 miles, 1:42:46, 10:20 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.12 miles, 39:24, 9:34 pace

Total miles: 24.14

Total February miles: 24.14

Miles until goal (1,250): 1,148.82
Cross Training: 5/4

How did your workouts go this week?  

Training recap week of 1/26 (Pixie Dust Challenge Week 4)

Happy Monday!  Did you all have good weekends?  Mine was incredibly productive - solid running, took a Refine class, cleaned (including laundry) and did meal prep for the week.  It felt so good to be productive - but I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off, it was a relaxed productivity which I like even better!

Who watched the Super Bowl?  I did... but mainly for the commercials.  Neither team is my team (honestly, I'm not a big football fan in general), but I was rooting for Seattle.  You know what I was a fan of?  The half time show.  I love Katy Perry and I thought it was a great show.

Anyway, this weeks workouts went well.  I got all my runs in despite snow on Tuesday and some freezing temperatures on Saturday.  Haven't really started to ramp my mileage up yet, but this week's schedule called for my first tempo run (starting slow, just 3 miles plus warmup/cooldown).  Honestly, I had no idea how this would go, so figured if I could keep them at 9:00/pace, I'd be happy.  My 3 miles ended up faster than 9:00/pace and the average for the whole run was 9:00/pace.

I was pretty happy with that until Thursday, when my easy run felt horrible. My legs felt like bricks and it was pretty slow.  Win some, lose some, right?

I also got my 4 cross training workouts in.  I think I can actually see some abs coming in!

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Love Your Legs and Booty (Tone It Up)

Tuesday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.05 miles, 29:01, 9:31 pace
Cross training: Summer Arms (Beach Babe 1 DVD) and 3 Moves for a Sexy Upper Back (Tone It Up)

Wednesday
Scheduled: 5 miles total, 3 miles tempo pace
Actual: 5.06 miles total, 45:25, 8:58 pace
Tempo Paces: 9:07, 8:24, 8:01

Thursday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.00 miles, 31:41, 10:33 pace

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Tone It Up in 30:00 Workout (Tone It Up)

Saturday
Scheduled: 8 mile long run
Actual: 8.00 miles, 1:17:48, 9:43 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: Rest (Cross Training)
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Refine Method class

Total miles: 19.12

Total January miles: 77.04

Miles until goal (1,250): 1,172.96
Cross Training: 4/4

How did your workouts go this week?  

Training recap week of 1/5 (Disney Half Week 7 / Tink Week 1)

This week was not great running wise as the cold kept me inside and I ended up skipping two runs.  The temperature was just too cold!  I focused on cross training though, so that was good!

This week was also the first week of Tinkerbell training.  I am doing the 5K, 10K and Half so I want to make sure I am prepared.  I only have 2 other halves before then so those will be folded into my training schedule. 

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Love Your Arms & Abs (Tone It Up)

Tuesday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.01 mi, 29:57, 9:58 pace
Cross training: Arms & Abs (Tone It Up)

Wednesday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Love Your Arms and Love Your Abs (Tone It Up)

Thursday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: Rest
Cross training: Love Your Total Body (Tone It Up)

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: Disney World Half Marathon
Actual: 13.41 mi, 2:13:02, 9:55 pace

Sunday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Total miles: 16.42

Total January miles: 27.61

Miles until goal (1,250): 1,222.39
Cross Training: 4/4

Two on Tuesday

I finally got a FitBit.  I'd been thinking about getting one for almost a year and I finally did it.  Now that I have, I love it!  I can't believe I waited so long to get one!  I am obsessed with hitting my 10,000 steps every day.  On run days, it is not a problem at all; but on none run days it does take some effort.  I go for a walk at lunch or get off the subway a stop earlier.  I am pretty active, but it's still a good reminder.

Surprisingly, most of the Tinker Bell races are still open a week later (as of writing this: Tinker Bell Half, Pixie Dust Challenge, Neverland 5K).  It's a much slower sell out than normal for Tink (or lately, any runDisney races).  I think it's a combination of things - Mother's Day Weekend, college graduations, more runDisney races in general.  It worked out well for me - I actually ended up registering for the Neverland 5K over the weekend.  Even though it's super early (5 am!) and 4 early mornings (flight, 5K, 10K, Half), I am still excited for it.  This one starts on Main Street in Disneyland and ends on Paradise Pier - which is really the whole reason I signed up.  Should be a really good time - I can't wait for May now!

Dumbo Costumes!

In just four short weeks (or long depending on how you look at it), I will be on a plane heading to LA and Disneyland.  That's right, we are only 4 weeks away from Dumbo!

This year, I am going all out (at least for me) in terms of costumes.  I've been running Disney since 2008, but have only started getting into costumes in the last 6 months.  Let's review the progression (apologies now for the picture heavy post).

We got a great shot running through the castle

Disney Half 2008 - Jenny and I were coming off of a TNT season and rocked our singlets for the race.  No theme-ing at all.

Great shot in Epcot

Disney Half 2009 - basic running outfit.  Nike tempo shorts and white tank.  Good shot in Epcot though!

I can't find any photo's from Disney World Half 2010.  It was snowing.  That's all I remember.

Turk!

Wine and Dine 2010 - Kasey and I got a little theme-y for the Inaugural Wine and Dine with shirts that said Wine O and a polka dot head band.  The shirt will make a reappearance later.

Nothing fancy for 2011.  Running skirt and white top.

Having trouble finding a photo from Disney World Half 2012, but I know it was pretty basic.

Sully!

Tinkerbell Half 2012 - broke the mold with black capri's and a white tank for the inaugural Tink.  Did rock a sparkly green headband in honor of my favorite fairy.

Chip and Dale

Remember that Wine O shirt?  It's back!  Otherwise pretty basic for Wine and Dine 2012.

Disney World Half 2013 - Outside of the fact that my shirt was basically neon pink, nothing special here... (yes, same shorts as Wine and Dine 2012)

Princess Half 2013 - First real foray into costumes.  Themed shirt (says "Who needs glass slippers, this princess wears running shoes", pink head band and tiara (and yes, same shorts again.  What can I say, they are really comfortable!).

So that brings us to Dumbo.  And yes, we are going full on costumes (for me at least!).  For the Disneyland 10K, we are going to be Minnie (both me and Pam) and for the Half I am going to be Snow White (Pam is still undecided).  We got Team Sparkle skirts, tanks and headbands.  Pam even got us Minnie spibelts to wear for the 10K!  I know it's not that elaborate, but it's big for me!

I even took the yellow skirt out for a test run during the Queens 10K and it did not bother me at all, so that's good to know!  I've been running in the 2 tanks as well to make sure they are comfortable.

Minnie and Snow White

I've already started a google doc of other (easy) costume ideas.  While I want to get into it, I still want to be able to run in it - and I think the Sparkle skirts are perfect for that!

What are some other costume ideas I should include?