No Matter How You Slice It, 3:15 is Early!

We set various phone alarms and requested a wake up call for 3:05-3:15 AM. I anticipated being able to wake up due to the excitement of the race. I was more worried about later. We turned off the light at 9:30, but I didn't fall asleep until closer to 10:30.  True to form I woke up at 2:30 AM, I was able to snooze a little bit until the alarms started ringing. Laura jumped out of bed and started getting ready. I was a little slower on the draw, but pulled together my Tiana outfit. I had everything laid out, so it was easy to get ready.  Somehow in the space of 3 feet I lost my hairband. Figured it would show up afterwards, but it never did. :(

Soon we were in line for the bus and ready to go! It was crazy once we got off the bus. People everywhere.

We passed over what felt like a red carpet and between panes of stained glass. I am sure they would have made for cute pictures, but it was DARK and crowded. There were several team tents and a series of tents labeled with letters for post race meet ups. Almost immediately after we went through the reception area they were calling for corrals to line up.

I walked through the tents to the corral line up with Laura and Sandie. Laura was in corral B and Sandie in E, I was alone in F. I walked with Laura for quite awhile and then the road split. I knew I would see them at the finish, but we still had quite a bit of time to wait.

There was lots of time to sit, but it was plenty warm and so much more comfortable then so many races I have been at. There were corrals A-H. A-E were in the first lane of the road and then the 2nd lane held F and beyond. They had big screens playing the live broadcast from the start line. The folks did a great job keeping things upbeat.

I got teary listening to some of the interviews, including one from the woman who crossed the finish line last at the Tinkerbell Half. She was back to run this race and was clearly a little nervous, but confident. We sang the national anthem, and the Fairy Godmother started the celebration.

Each corral received a countdown and fireworks! We left 5-10 minutes after the one prior.

Photo courtesy of Run Disney

About 6:30 my corral was off. More tomorrow.

The Day We Played Like Kids

Saturday we woke up nice and early to head over to the Magic Kingdom.

We arrived just as they were opening the park. It was fun to be there when the doors opened and Sandie caught her first glimpse of her favorite character, Stitch.

We headed right for Space Mountain. Turns out we didn't need to be so concerned. The park was basically empty and we got onto every ride we wanted to ride in 5-10 minutes. I was a whirlwind of roller coasters and a few favorites such as It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean. We tried out the new Ariel ride and visited Buzz Lightyear. In the end we were there for 3.5 hours and had done everything we wanted! Its amazing how fast you can move without kids and lines.

As someone who grew up on Disneyland, it was a little disconcerting to have things in the "wrong" places.

Before we left the park we grabbed lunch in Tomorrowland within view of the castle. I insisted we eat outside in order to grab every minute of the warmth.

We decided to head back to the expo to actually get a chance to check out the vendors. We had fun walking around and checking out the merchandise. I headed over and met the Mother Runners Sarah and Dimity. Super sweet and I am sorry I missed their presentations on the stage. (pictures to come)

Found my name on the wall of runners

I picked up a mother runner shirt "Finishing=Winning" and a pretty necklace. No official merchandise for me though.

We headed back to the hotel to relax before heading down to Downtown Disney. Laura and I hung outside the room after dragging our desk chairs outside. It was nice and peaceful and fun to relax.

We ate at Wolfgang Puck's for dinner and headed home to get our sleep. I laid everything out took a quick shower and we were in bed by 9:30. Our alarms were set for 3:15 - Yikes!

Tomorrow - the big day.

What takes you back to your childhood?

Day 1 - Heading to Disney

Friday I went to boot camp as planned. I knew waking up early to work out would be good for me, but also would help me sleep Friday night. I knew we had an early wake up call on Sunday AM and I don't typically sleep well the night before a race. That made Friday night all that more important.

I headed up to BWI in the morning, tiara packed and ready to go. I managed to get in a work call despite all my excitement and arrived at the airport in perfect timing for my noon flight. Unfortunately, Airtran had other plans and we were delayed. I got some lunch and hung out at the terminal.

So fun to hang out in the rockers at BWI

I was bummed out about the delay, not just because I wanted to be someplace warm, but because we had a tight schedule to get to the hotel, the expo and then the Pasta in the Park dinner. Once the plane arrived, we loaded up quickly and were on our way.

Finally made it to Orlando. Mickey is ready to give me a high five. 

I ended up landing within minutes of Laura, my running buddy from Ohio. We found the Magic Express and made our way to the Pop Century hotel.

We had fun with all the cool things they had at the hotel representing the various decades. We were in the 70's building, which was perfect as we both have great memories of the toys. The hotel was really cute and we had a room at the end of a hall, which looked over a very pretty lake. So peaceful and it was WARM.

The first thing I did was change out of the long pants I had on. We gathered up Sandie, who had flown in from CA on Thursday and headed to the expo.

I was a little worried as I had been reading poor reviews of the expo on facebook during the afternoon. In the end the I thought it was pretty typical of an expo. The bib pick up was easy peasy and the tshirts as well. The rows of vendors were fairly packed and we only had 30 minutes before the expo closed. Plus we had a date with dinner, so only a quick run through was in the cards. Laura and I had bought tickets for the Pasta in the Park party. Sandie had hooked up with a runner in St. Louis who had an extra ticket. The runner was delayed due to the snow in the Midwest, but had the ticket transferred and waiting for Sandie at will call. Not the last time the weather would play a part in the weekend!

We headed to Epcot after a lot of walking, both to the buses and then to get into the park.

We arrived about 7:30 and there was plenty of food to go around. It was pretty typical hotel pasta, tasted fine after a long day of traveling, but nothing too exciting. The DJ had the dance floor going and there were lots of kids there with their running moms.

After dinner and a glass of wine, I caught sight of some princesses. We headed over and got pictures with Tiana and Aurora.

Then we headed outside for the Illumination show. It was ok. I would have preferred to walk around and see what Epcot had to offer, since I have never been there. After the show, we headed back to the hotel. We had plans for Magic Kingdom on Saturday, so wanted to get our sleep on.

Come back to hear more about our weekend and the race!

Back to Reality

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise. Getting back to being a mom and worker bee today.

Just a few pictures and I will be writing full recap posts in the coming days!

Shopping and Bib Pickup

Fun in the Sun - It was so warm!

And we are off!

The reward at the end. Isn't it pretty? 

Run Up to Disney

So the three of us were chatting on FB today and getting our plans for the Princess Half all ironed out. Sandie is leaving from CA tomorrow and Laura and I head down from our respective cities on Friday.

Here are some of the stats for the race.

More than 26,000 mostly women runners – nearly 20,000 more than the inaugural year in 2009 - are set to run the 5th anniversary Disney’s Princess Half Marathon on Sunday. The 13.1-mile course starts just outside Epcot and takes runners through the Magic Kingdom and Cinderella Castle before finishing back at Epcot. All runDisney races typically feature colorful runner costumes, Disney entertainment and characters. Runners completing the half marathon will receive a commemorative 5th anniversary tiara medal.

Isn't she pretty? 

Race Facts:

• More than 26,000 runners in the half; 8,000 in the 5K and 1,700 in Kids Races; many from throughout Central Florida
• The half marathon includes more than 24,500 female runners and 1,700 male runners
• Runners represent all 50 states and 32 countries
• Youngest participants are 14; the oldest woman is 78
• 324 runners have run all 5 races ("Prefect Princesses" according to the FB page)

Its going to be very busy there! 

I ran two miles today in my bra and shirt I will be wearing on Sunday and planning my packing list in my head. I wanted to go three miles, but pickup duty called. Considering how yucky I felt last night, I consider today a major victory. Now if I could only keep these sweets out of my hands. I am going to gain that two pounds back in 24 hours if I don't watch it! I think perhaps a bag of popcorn is called for while I catch up on my water. 

Tomorrow is the big Pinewood Derby, so I am going to have to put my 24-7 racing brain on hold for a little bit and be the mom/race manager's wife. 

Back to the Way it Was

Let's see - where were we? Ah yes, good bootcamp work out. We stretched quite a bit, which was just what I needed. She keeps telling us to stretch at home and I am getting better at making the time. I did some rolling on Monday and it felt good. I know stretching is super important, one because I feel better when I do it, but also because we have back problems in my family tree. Thanks Dad! He has a set of stretches he does regularly so his back is nice to him. Hubby needs to take a page from that book as well. It makes me feel old when he is hobbling around because he has tweaked his back. I am not doing all this working out, just to feel old!

Excitement about Disney is growing! Chatted with my Ohio running buddy and my yet to be new friend. We are all in the same sorority (different schools), but I haven't met the woman coming in from CA yet. I am certain we will be fast friends on our little weekend adventure. Just another reason why this weekend is already scoring high points in my book. What isn't scoring such high points? This annoying cold I have contracted. I have this symptom where when I get sick my eyes water. There is nothing like sitting and having your nosing running like a faucet and eyes looking like you just broke up with your boyfriend of 5 years. That was pretty much the second half of the day. I didn't want to take sudefed because anything after 2pm would keep me up way too late. (plus with no caffeine base since I have dropped diet coke - who knows what would happen!) and it was too early for a nighttime medicine. Laura's foot and my head still have lots of time to recover, so its not world ending. Annoying for sure though!

Despite my cold I managed to make a great dinner! Fish and edamana salad. I am totally not that fancy but a few months ago I went to a school fundraiser at one of those make it ahead places.

We had a fun girls night out and I ended up taking a deal where I got several sides. To be honest, this is where the money was worth it for me. The main meals were good, but the sides rocked the house. We had an exotic grain mix with roasted veggies to die for. I almost ran over and picked more up for Thanksgiving dinner.

this looked much prettier in the bowl I made it in for dinner. 

This salad was the beans (is that what they are? legumes?), cranberries, feta and walnuts with a little dressing. I never would have bought these ingredients at the store, but it exposed my husband and I to another healthy choice. I am sure my son would have eaten it as well, but I made mixed veggies for Miss Picky and gave some to him as well. I am kind of glad, because now there is more for me!

In other news, dropped two pounds as predicted. I am back to where I was in January when the holiday bloat started to dissipate  The question is will I keep losing this week. I think so, as I have workouts planned, my appetite has returned to normal and there will be a lot of walking and little/no alcohol this weekend with the race. Perfect conditions to have my body keep going in the right direction. My goal is to lose 6 lbs this year, so slow and steady wins this race.

Why Am I so Mean?

You might think it was my kids that accused me of that. But no, its me. I have been disrespecting myself this past week or so. I am just eating beyond belief and can't seem to stop the snacks. A few candy corns here, a few chocolate peanuts there. And the Girl Scout cookies haven't even hit the house in earnest yet! Usually when we have treats in the house I can take my small taste right before I go to bed and be satisfied because I am upstairs with my teeth brushed in no time.

I have the usual monthly ups and downs, but this month it started way to early and hasn't abated. I could blame the long runs I have had for my upcoming half. The truth is I haven't been thinking ahead and preparing my kitchen and my head to use good food.

I am super lucky in that my husband does the meal planning and grocery shopping for the house. I very much appreciate this effort because the weeks I have to plan, I struggle to come up with meals! We have lots of cookbooks in the house and, of course, some favorites, but it is hard to do week after week.

What I need to do is figure out by Saturday night what I want him to bring home. We always have bananas and apples in the house. I take blueberries in my lunch. I find that roasting a spaghetti squash or having some extra veggies available allows me to beef up my dinner plate without increasing my calorie intake.

My self control has been low lately (since the end of the dietbet....hrm) and the scale has told the tale for sure. I need to get myself back under control and finding some yummy goodies to fill my stomach. This time of year is always a little hard. The fall veggies are getting a little boring, but the summer bounty of fruit hasn't arrived yet. That isn't an excuse, it is just a call for me to focus.

Based on my cycle and the fact that I will be going to FL (and away from the snacks!), I am sure I will lose some weight this week. What I need to do is take that edge and keep after it.

I am watching the Biggest Loser as I write this and love the Body Peace Pledge. Think I could use these reminders on a daily basis!!

By the way - still no soda since October! That is a habit I feel I can honestly say I have kicked.

What have your struggles been lately? How do you stop where you are and change the direction?