Beauty and the Beast Royal Family 5k

After a very busy weekend I am finally able to update following this "race"!! This wasn't truly a race. In all reality, it was a fun run. The 5k was not given a timing chip so once we started, we went until we finished, without any age group finish or awards.

The 5k was definitely not the main reason for the trip but it was definitely a great add-on to the trip. It wasn't an accurate gauge of where my training is for White Lake on Mother's day either. The field was so packed that my plan went out the window very quickly. I knew going in that I was going to have fun with it and whatever time came out of it, I was going to be happy with due to the health issues and new meds that I was still acclimating my body to, but it was something fun for me and also something that was healthy and would impact anyone else on the trip and be a good influence for the kids as well.

Friday night was the packet pickup and Fit for a Princess expo at the Josten's Center at Walt Disney World Resort. The traffic wasn't too bad for the expo, but it started at 10 am and went until 7 pm. I arrived around 4 pm and had planned to go in, get my stuff and leave. When I got there and realized the full scope of the event, I realized I needed to take in the full experience and decided to stay and walk through the expo.

Jeff Galloway was there doing a presentation when I arrived. I was more interested in walking around and seeing the various products that were being offered by the different vendors. There were some pretty cool ones and I actually bought one or two. I also bought a head band to wear to keep the shorter parts of my hair out of my face while running. It bothers me to have to mess with my hair while I am running. The unfortunate part is that it was branded with the half marathon logo. There was no 5k merchandise. I guess the good thing is, the head band was SO SPARKLY that you can read the half marathon logo. The second product I bought was Yurbuds. If you run or exercise with iPod headphones, you know they like to fall out of your ears while jogging or moving around too much. I fight them while working, working out or jogging. They had a group sizing athletes and letting you try a pair during the expo and despite the price, I bought a pair, used them during the 5k and I am SOLD!!!! I never once worried about my buds, could hear the people around me AND could hear the people cheering around me. Pretty cool. Also, I could turn the volume down and still hear my music.

I contemplated replacing my polar HRM while at the expo, but decided against it at this point. I still have my REI dividend coming soon and I am hoping to use part of that to get my new garmin HRM with GPS integrated. We'll see, I'm still looking at all my options.

Now, to the race. I got up early for the race as we all had to be there by 6:15 am. Not entirely possible with the shear amount of traffic into Epcot that morning. My mom dropped me off and had planned to head back to the hotel and geet the rest of the family and return, but when she saw the amount of traffic, we both decided that it would be better to let the kids sleep and I'd catch the monorail back to the Polynesian and then walk from the Poly to Shades of Green. It's a short walk. My mom was concerned about me being tired after the 5k and then walking back to the hotel, but I figured that if I could do a 5k, I could walk the 1 mile max back to the hotel.

During the 45 minute lead up to the run, I was walking around and seeing some of the costumes and shirts and different outfits people were wearing for the 5k. Some were hysterical, some were funny, some were scary, some were sweet, some were just right. I saw for women in ball gowns, I saw a guy dressed as Snow White, I saw an older couple and he had a shirt that said, It's my 50th birthday and my wife is making me do THIS!!, but on the back it said I married MY princess!! aaaaawwww!!! One woman dressed up as Chatsworth, the clock from Beauty and the Beast. One couple were in black shirts, red tutu's black shorts and socks with their running shoes. It was all too much.

We were all dancing up to the Star Spangled Banner. After that, rather than the typical on your mark, get set, go, we were set on our way BE! OUR! GUEST!!!! I can't believe the number of people that were doing the 5k. I never did hear a final tally on the numbers, but it really didn't open up until around the 1 mile mark. I had gone into it with the plan to jog until I got my heart rate up and then walk 1 minute, jog 1 minute and keep going until the end. I haven't been doing much training, but I've been on the bike and figured that fitness could carry me through and it did. The funny thing is, once I got it through my thick head that this was a fun run and I needed to just have fun, I did. The 1 mile mark was still outside of Epcot, at the guard shack backstage. We then entered backstage behind test track. turned left and around toward Mexico. As we entered Mexico, we were greeted with WELCOME TO MEXICO!!! I returned with WHERE'S MY TEQUILA!?!?!?!? Hehehehehe. Had to have a little fun with it. Right after Mexico is China and our first "Princess." I use apostrophes for that one because in the Disney pantheon of princesses, Mulan is not technically a princess. As far as our kids are concerned, she is. I didn't think to open up the camera on my iphone and get a picture. I stopped, said hello for me and the girls and headed on. I kept jogging past Snow White and Dopey and a couple of other, but stopped in America to get a picture with Pocahontas. I waited for a period of time for that picture. It was worth it and I had fun talking with the ladies around me. After the picture, I took off again, stopping at the top of a bridge to take a beautiful sunrise picture, then took off once again. One more picture in front of Spaceship Earth with me in front and then off to the finish. Final time was 53:00 flat. My time at the 5k in January was 44:00 plus, but about half of the race was uphill. I know the 5k at my tri will be flat.

I think this race qualifies for coolest race bib ever and favorite medal ever. Have fun with the pics, I had fun running.

NEW RACE!!!

Well, it has been decided that we are heading to Florida to see one of the final shuttle launches this week and I was looking around the disney site and noticed that the Princess Half-Marathon was part of the weekend we would be there. I also noticed that they had a 5k the day before the marathon.

The Beauty and the Beast 5k at Epcot will be run on February 26, (my sister's b-day) and I signed up. I believe I actually claimed the final spot. I noticed that the race was 99% full when I registered and when I returned to the info page it had updated to read sold out. The course is a relatively flat course aside from the parts I don't know from being "backstage" portions of Epcot. I am excited for this one because it is a travel race, we are already there and my nephew, niece, mom and dad will all be there. My parents will see me finish my first race since high school!!! COOL!!!!! My daughter is already packed for the trip and has included 2 cowbells for cheering and her running shoes as she wants to run the last 100 yards with me and has already told me so.

If you know me really well, fashion has never been a priority for me and likely never will be. I am a jeans and comfy shirt kind of girl, but for this race, it will be different. I am wearing a PINK running skirt by skirt sports. I received this skirt a couple years ago for volunteering at the skirt chaser 5k here in Raleigh.

now a brief health update. I finally have an answer on the health front and am not comfortable at this time sharing the diagnosis. I will say this, it is tied to my migraines, but it is an additional piece. I have already started medication and I am feeling better every day, but it is also something that is need to know and when I am more comfortable with this information myself, I may share. Until that time, know this, I do not have MS or a brain tumor, I have not had a stroke and what I do have can be treated and is being treated by taking a single medication. I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as they are truly the only way I have made it through the last 9 months. They have been trying, but to have an answer despite it being one I am still absorbing, is truly a prayer answered. Thank you all.

2nd Ride of 2011

Great route for yesterday's ride.

I rode yesterday and the question was, should I?? I worked 11 hours on saturday and got up sunday morning and had one more hour to work. By the time 2pm rolled around, I was exhausted and completely lacked any form of energy.

At 12 miles in, I wanted to stop and call my mom to bring my van and come pick me up out on the road. I wanted to quit riding so many times, but I didn't. That is one thing I learned the first year I started cycling. If I quit, then I'll be mad at myself and beat myself up for not pushing through it.

So final ride total after riding back to mom's to pick up my van, was 22.72 miles with an average speed of 13.00 mph. Max speed of 29.8 mph which I know was on a descent because I hit full tuck and was doing my best to maximize speed on the down to stay in contact with my group on the up.

In last 8 days I have ridden 45 miles and have felt great afterwards. Last year I rode about 315 miles last year, which was pretty respectable considering 2 knee surgeries last year. I have a fairly high goal for mileage ridden this year, but I am keeping that goal to myself and I am getting there quicker than I ever thought possible. Let's hope I keep going forward!!

First ride of 2011

On sunday, I did my first ride of 2011. In the process of doing this ride, I set several new personal "records."

This is the earliest ride I have ever done. My previous earliest ride was in late February 2 years ago. Also it was in Savannah, GA, a little further south and a tad bit warmer.

This was also the furthest ride I have done for my first ride of the season. At around 20 miles, that doubles my furthest ride for the first ride of the year.

Fastest ride - Typically my first ride of the year is a slow ride to acclimate to being back on the bike and on the road.

I truly enjoyed the ride. I had a great ride buddy and despite the minor detour, the route was great. I am hoping to ride again this coming sunday. Unfortunately, my picture won't upload, but we'll try again later.