Coast 2 Coast - runDisney

Click here to view this photo book larger

Part of my favorite thing after returning from a trip (yes, yes I know this one got WAYYYYY delayed) is creating the photobook. Here is from my runDisney Coast 2 Coast challenge. I ran the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Walt Disney World! LOVED IT!

Now to anxiously await the arrival of my photobook.

What do you do with your pictures after a trip?
Do you make a yearly photobook?

Walt Disney World - Epcot

Today we are going to play it real easy - we were uncertain of how we would feel after last nights most excellent race! I can't wait to type a serious review of it and my reactions plus the after party. The short of it is - SOOOOOO WONDERFUL, seriously. Everyone should run the Wine and Dine and earn their Coast to Coast medal at some point. More on all of this when I get home and can lace a post with 12,000 pictures. Check this off my bucket list!

Today we have reservations to eat at Chip N' Dale's Harvest Feast Dinner. I am excited about this one, really let's be honest I am excited about all of these, I have eaten here before but it has been several years. A couple of people in our party have not ever eaten here, so it will be fun to have a new experience for them. Plus the food is sooooooooooooooooo yummy.

We also have fast passes reserved at:

• Test Track (LOVE the updates to it)
• the character meet and greet spot (yes, I will be hauling my medals around the park so I can have pictures taken with my medals and the characters around the park - yes, I did haul my Tinkerbell medal from January down here with me so that I can have pictures taken with all three medals - yes they do weigh a ton - yes, it is worth it - yes, you will be stuck seeing all the pictures)
• Soarin (can't go wrong here). 

Also you can guarantee that I will ride the land at least two or three times. LOVE IT!

I am feeling pretty good after last night's race, thank God for adrenaline. Seriously, I am not a night owl, however for a runDisney race I can fake it for a night :)

Five Months as a Mrs.

We celebrate five months with Marc in Minnesota and I am in Florida.

The Wonderful Things:

• WE SOLD OUR HOUSE
• REJOICE, we got an offer we could accept and we jumped on it. WHOOP WHOOP and we couldn't be more excited -- we close hopefully November 21 - however there is a chance it will be pushed back a week
• The house has lots of memories and is the first house I have ever owned and there are lots of things I love about that house - note to self - take a ton of photos before you move out
• I love that it is only five minutes from work
• WE BOUGHT A HOUSE
• we offered and they ACCEPTED it without countering! 
• seriously overjoyed and can't wait to show you pictures
• best part: we close November 21 -- however if our current house gets pushed back a week so will this house - we managed to pull off a simultaneous close
• I can't wait to finish the basement and paint and have 2.5 acres of land that butts up to a state park. GLORIOUS.
• We will now be driving 15 minutes to work 
• We will be in the new house by Christmas - I can't wait to show our families the new house
• I am totally getting chickens ASAP (I fear they won't ship them to Minnesota in the dead of winter)
• It has an attached garage which is much bigger and more stable than our current garage that I have been praying that the neighbors large tree would fall on

The Things No One Warns You About:

• Potlucks at the other person's work are lame - Marc's work loves potlucks and they do them all the time which is awesome for him - not so awesome for me who ends up preparing food and never getting to eat it
• we also have begun a 72 hour warning required for all potlucks if you want to bring something other than doritos or whatever I can pull out of the cupboards - I don't make brownies on a Wednesday night after getting home from a long day 
• Moving is stressful and takes ridiculous amounts of communication - don't accidentally pack something up that you shouldn't (like assuming that all playstation 3 remotes are created equal - there is a beloved remote - and if you leave one out and assume it is the same as the others and it is the wrong one - you will get to dig to the back of the storage unit to find the beloved remote)

The Miscellaneous Things:

• I am in Walt Disney World currently (Whoop Whoop) and jazzed about running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon to earn my Coast to Coast medal.
• Marc is at home working (and hopefully finishing packing)
• I am caught up on my shutterfly books other than our wedding (and this trip obviously, I am only taking about 12,000 photos an hour)
• I LOVE fall and all things pumpkin flavored, I have already started stashing cans of libbies pumpkin stuff so I can eat pumpkin flavored stuff all year - such delights shouldn't be limited to a month or two out of the year

One Month Until the Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Be prepared that this coming month and probably for many a day following my trip there will be LOTS of Disney and runDisney talk on my blog. Today we are exactly one month from the Wine and Dine half marathon - which will be the second half of my Coast to Coast medal!

I am beyond jazzed for sure.
Our hotel reservations are made.
Our dinner reservations are made.

I am nervous about the late night run.
I am in bed normally by 10.
I am nervous about the different time of day.

I will over pack because I will question the weather.
I will carry on my beloved shoes and my hopeful running clothes.
I will pack copious amounts of  memory cards for the photos I will take.

I will continue to log the miles in the days to come.
I am running the Fargo Mini-Marathon the 19th of October.
I am running the Crosslake Monsterdash the 26th of October.

I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED!



Do you have any races coming up that you are over the top excited about?
Do you get to run outside in the winter months or are you suck on a treadmill too?

Wine and Dine Training

This week has been a marvelous week of training and the weather has really cooperated! Makes a huge difference in terms of my runs (or so it feels when I am not over the top hot). I am contemplating adding some strength training into my workouts/adding them at another point in the day a couple days a week. I also would love to move to five days of running a week, but my knees argue otherwise and remind me that running 5 days a week isn't an option.

These August and September days I am relishing in the glory of being outside, I know these days are numbered for sure, fingers crossed we don't get snow until at least mid-October. (Oh the joys of living up north)

August 30: 65 minute run
                 35 minute bike ride
August 31: rest
September 1: 45 minute swim
September 2: Long run - 12 miles
September 3: 60 minute swim
September 4: 45 minute run
September 5: 75 minute run



Do you do strength training?
How many days a week do you run?
What are your favorite types of cross training?

5 Months to runDisney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon

Photo Credit: runDisney Facebook Page

5 Months from today I will earn my Coast to Coast medal by completing the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon. I. AM. EXCITED.

I am not actually training yet, next month I will begin my actual training plan. I am going to use one of the Jeff Galloway training plans from the runDisney website. I am still running about five times a week or so, depending on how my knees are doing but I am not necessarily massively focused on getting ready for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. Currently I am just working on getting miles under my belt and doing a bit of cross training here and there.

I have packed my running shoes (two pairs of course - a girl needs options) for these next few days while we are in northern Wisconsin, with the hopes of at least getting in a couple of short runs, we'll see if that actually happens or if I can twist Marc's arm into joining me for a run.

Tinkerbell Half Marathon Review

The first leg of my coast to coast challenge medal is done! I ran with the flu, it was the most awful feeling in the world however, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I didn't even come close to achieving the time that I had hoped for but I finished and there were moments I even questioned that. I am thankful I finished. I am thankful that my tinkerbell medal will proudly hang on my wall and I will remember this race.

I LOVE RunDisney events. Yes, I know they are more expensive than other races but they are worth it, every single penny. I would run them all if I lived closer to Disneyland or Disney World. Seriously, I love the characters along the path, I love the chance to run through the parks and backstage of things that I otherwise wouldn't get to see and experience. I love the magic that is involved. I love the chance to explore the parks after the race and all the people wandering around with their medals. I LOVE RunDisney events.

I have a goal of getting a complete set of RunDisney half marathon medals. I want to earn one of each of them in my lifetime. They are so wonderful.

The Tinkerbell Half marathon was an interesting one because you ran half of the race through Disneyland Park and California Adventure and half through the streets of Anaheim. The Disney portion was my favorite part, but the run through Anaheim was nice as well. There was plenty of water/gatorade stations along the way and I saw plenty of medical tents (thankful I didn't need one), there also seemed to be an overabundance of port-a-potties. You finish the race in a back parking lot, which was nice because there was so much space for everyone to spread out a bit.

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and I would highly recommend staying near or on property the night before the race because we saw lots of people arriving after the race had begun and heard them complaining that they had to park over a half hour away and had to walk much further than they anticipated. It was amazing to be able to roll out of bed and walk downstairs in our hotel and nearly be at the start of the race and then when the race was done to only have to walk a few hundred feet to be at our hotel and be close to a shower before heading to the parks. It  was fabulous to not have to wait for a bus or anything to come get us and take us to our hotel.

We did wait in line to get our pictures taken with Tinkerbell at the parks, we waited a couple days because Sunday and Monday Tinkerbell's line was crazy long. The challenge with getting these photos is that Tink is in pixie hollow at Disneyland park and there are always two fairies in the hallow however you aren't guaranteed to get Tinkerbell, so it was kind of a timing game. There were lots of half marathoners waiting for Tink when we went through, it sort of made us all laugh.

Packing-pa-looza

I leave THIS WEEK Thursday for California! SOOOOO excited (as if you couldn't tell) anyways. I have begun the packing-pa-looza. This is sort of a complicated trip to pack for due to several factors:

• I am running Tinkerbell Half Marathon
• I am optimistic about the weather being super warm but concerned that I am not packing warm enough clothes, so I then in turn want to throw in a whole bunch of warm clothes
• I am attending a conference for work after running Tinkerbell - this doesn't require work clothes but it does require more than sweats
• It is ten days - I don't want to over-pack but under-packing sucks once you get there

It is always a challenge to pack, I always try to pack as simplistically as possible but when there is so much going on it is a challenge for sure. I am a believer of the roll your clothes method and put things in your shoes. 

I also have my backpack to pack as well. For me I will be carrying on my running shoes (everything else can technically be replaced if they have to but it is impossible to get a well worn pair of running shoes), my ipad, my phone, some yarn (I need something to do on the plane), my running watch, and a snack or two (I hate buying expensive airport food). I probably will throw some other stuff in my backpack, I just haven't gotten to that stage yet.

Anyone have any tips for packing light?

Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with packing?

What are your necessities in your carry on bag?

Race day around the corner

I am over the top excited to run Tinkerbell, seriously, I can't wait. I can hardly believe it is this month and I get to run my first leg of the coast to coast challenge. (I honestly don't think I ever thought I would complete this.) I am SUPER EXCITED. OVER THE TOP. I am already beginning to test out different outfits to decide which one I want to run in (I am a firm believer in the never run a race in an outfit you haven't run in before.) I got a sweet new blue long sleeve that I think is going to win for the top, we'll see. I'll keep you posted, I know you all are on edge wondering what will win (weather is clearly the complicating factor). 

I am having  a hard time getting my runs in due to weather outside and people's renewed commitment to fitness and their desire to also be in the cardio room at the ymca. They have a semi-strict policy on how one person should not be on any given machine for more than 30 minutes to make things fair, and blah blah blah. I am finding that I am having to go run at odd hours when normal people aren't at the gym. Which is okay too I suppose, however I am realizing that evening runs are not my favorite, I am then too wired to go to sleep, I am getting lots done however since I am not sleeping.

Anyone else training for a winter race while not living in amazing weather to run outside?

What shoes to do you like to run outside in during the winter months?

One Month Until Tinkerbell Half Marathon

This is from our Disney World trip a year ago, but it just seemed
wrong to not have a wonderful photo with today's post.
Plus who doesn't love having their photo with all 7 dwarfs?!

I have seriously been counting down for months until the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. I am over the top excited. I actually get to fly to California on the 17th (whoop whoop for a few days of vacation), this will allow for several things, a couple of runs at sea level, a guaranteeing that the weather won't keep me from running, and some time to relax before the run. I will be heading out to California with my parents (yay mom & dad) and my friend Suzi (she is actually running as well & will be earning her coast to coast medal in 2013).

I haven't been to Disneyland since band tour five years ago and I am excited to get back, without a bus full of people and without the obligations of playing my instrument all over southern California with a dash of Disneyland on the side. I am excited to see California Adventure and the new Cars area. It should be marvelous.

We have some meal reservations made, it seemed much easier than in Disney World, we got into all our first choice places at the time we wanted. Glorious. I am jazzed to try some new places and eat deliciousness. Should be great.

I have begun to think about what I will need to wear on race day. The weather is always the wild card. I also forget what it is like to run at those temps coming from up north where I have to put on hats and mittens and all the winter gear to run currently. Bring on southern California.


Anyone have any Tinkerbell Half Marathon tips?
Did anyone run Tinkerbell last year?

Training Plan

There is something utopic about planning for future races, there are the things I hope for (much fast times and personal records), the plan that seems totally do-able at the start (clearly not considering life, the weather, or any injury that will inevitably happen), and there is the excitement of upcoming races. I think I have most of my races planned out for the summer and into the fall. I need to fill in a few more races in September, November, and December, but I am excited to say that I am finally going to earn my coast to coast medal in 2013.  Ever since I heard of this medal I have wanted to earn it. I signed up for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon this coming January.

I just sat down and mapped out my training plan up through this race. I worked my schedule so that it easily fits the other races that I am registered for. It will take dedication to be committed to my training schedule, particularly since I have a couple mission trips this summer.

Note to self:

• you will miss some of the training runs and cross trainings that you have planned - it'll be okay
• keep dreaming big - keep challenging yourself - keep working hard
• update your ipod - stop being lazy - you know you are sick of the music on there
• this is a challenge between you and yourself - don't compare yourself to others - you are unique and you will have great victories and great challenges - embrace them - grow from them
• update your ipod - seriously - get it done