Tinker Bell Half Marathon Expo

runDisney Health and Wellness Expo

What a great event! Very busy! Lots of energy! and PACKED! 
My biggest point of advice here if you are running a runDisney race, is to get to the Expos early and with plenty of time to kill. There is so much to see and so much offered, that I really felt pressed for time to take in everything. As we were walking out, I realized I hadn't taken a single photo! Oh well. Also getting to the Expo early will better your chances of getting the items you may have your heart set on. By the time we got there Friday afternoon, all the Dooney's were gone, and the Track Jacket I kinda wanted was gone.  I also heard some people talking about the New Balance Disney shoes being picked over, so be sure to plan to go the day they open if you MUST HAVE something. 

My other piece of advice- If you can avoid it, don't take the kids. Unless you are comfortable with your kids not having anything to do. I had my two in tow in our sit-n-ride stroller, and it was so difficult to navigate around people. Especially in the Race Gear area. People randomly stop in front of you- I swear I think I shin checked a few people because they short-stopped me. So if you can, leave the kids at home. 

My biggest mistake was going straight there after a 5 hour drive. And there were just way too many people to let them run free like they wanted. But still, I think my kids would still have been stir crazy. And let's face it- this piece of the weekend just isn't geared towards the kiddos.

The Expo has a lot of really great vendors.  We did end up going on Saturday again, after the Kids Races and they were a bit better behaved. But I still felt rushed.  We were able to stop at a few other vendors that we hadn't seen yet. The Team Sparkle booth was super busy- but what a perfect way to add a bit of bling at the last minute. 
I also really loved the Raw Threads vendor.  They had a ton of super cute and unique shirts. I grabbed the "Mermaid" one with the tail on the back, and also the "Thirteen Point One" shirt with Tink wings on the back. I love them both! If you are going to a runDisney Expo, make sure to check them out. 

 

















I also got to ogle the race bling. Makes me want to set an outrageous goal to get ALL OF THEM! Lots to do and lots to see. So be sure to take it all in.   

Stay tuned... I'll be posting about the Kids Races and my experience with the Half as well! :) 

Preparation for the Race

I have to apologize... I really can't get the race out of my head. So since that is on my mind- you get the read about it. 

I have been getting over my cough and sinus infection, and still nursing my hip pain, and my confidence was waning regarding actually running the race, and even finishing.

On Monday, I forced myself to the gym to run, and not even at the 1 mile marker, I had to stop. My hip was screaming at me, and when I tried to run, I couldn't breathe. That did very little for my confidence. I ended up stretching while Dustin ran for an hour and got in about 4.5 miles. After all that stretching my hip did feel better, so I started an ibuprofen regimen and decided I would stay on that and stretch gratuitously every day until the Race. 

On Wednesday, I decided my hip was feeling up to it and I wasn't coughing as much, so off to the gym we went again for round 2.  Before we left, I had D put RockTape on my right leg- down my entire leg to try to help alleviate the pain in my hip. My chiro thinks it might have to do with sciatica pain so I looked up how to tape for that: place the tape on whichever side is bothering you (my right) in the middle of the leg to just above the butt. And then a 5-inch strip horizontal over the area of pain. I might be crazy, but I feel it helped.  I decided that I would mainly walk, but I set the treadmill at 4.3-4.5 and walked as fast as my legs would allow.  When I felt good and warm, I did a tentative run for 30 seconds, and went back to walking, and it felt good. So I ran for 1 min increments, and walked for 2-3 minutes for the whole hour. I was really happy when I got over the 4 mile point, and my runkeeper app told me that I maintained, even with all the walking, 15 minutes per mile, and did a total of 4.25 miles. I felt a bit of my confidence come back. This was also the first time that my hour run went by pretty fast! I started running, and before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and I was almost done. 

I also went to my chiropractor one last time before the race to get adjusted and have him work out the hip pain. I told him I was still feeling tightness in my hip and upper butt, so he did a little extra to try to help out. I know I’ll be seeing him the moment I get home.

That brings us to yesterday, Saturday.  This was my LAST chance to get in a long run. Again, I wasn't so confident that I could do it- I hate running on the treadmill for more than an hour, and the weather has been so cold and snowy, I didn't want to risk running outside and possibly catch an icy patch and injure myself further! So I talked to a few running friends and they suggested that I break up the run. Right- its not the same as running the mileage in one go- but even with a few hour break, it will still help condition my muscles.  So I figured I would go as long as my brain would allow on the treadmill, and then come back later. So we got to the gym, checked the kids into the day care and started out. The gym's daycare closes early on Saturday, so I had that looming as well. The first hour I did 4.25, and then I took a little break from the treadmill and walked outside to get some fresh cool air- it felt SO good to be outside. then I came back in a ran about 25 minutes until I had to get the kids agin. That brought me to just over 6 miles- pretty decent for 80 minutes. D hung back and got his full 2 hours on the treadmill, and then worked out further. I headed back around 4:00 PM and finished out my run. I got to 4 miles, and that brought my total to 10.09 miles for the day!! Made me feel really good. This morning I'm really feeling it, and I imagine this will be how I feel the day after the race. I felt pretty satisfied with myself and I'm happy I got the mileage in!!  I also practiced using some positive reinforcement phrases to help me through. I used a Forrest Gump one: “One day I decided to go for a little run…”  And “Leave it all on the road” and really just simply counting my steps “1,2. 1,2. 1,2.” Or the simple “1 more minute”. Something else that helped was thinking about the countless others that have made this journey and lived to tell the tale, and telling myself- if they can do it, I can do it. I can’t say enough of positivity.  If I doubt myself and tell myself I can’t, or I have to stop, then of course I do. But if you push forward in positivity and even run with a smile- it does a lot!

At this point in training, we start to tapper off the mileage, and just do a couple of maintenance runs, and I’ve already warned D that we won’t be running a full hour on Monday and Wednesday. The main thing to focus on this week is great sleep and hydration.  The night of the race, I will be lucky to get a few solid hours of sleep, so we gotta get our “sleep cache” up.

Trip preparation:
I have been racking my brain of all the little things I have left to do. Finish my costume. Put finishing touches on D's. The Disney Store had all their Halloween costumes out and on sale, and there was one left of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. So I nabbed it.  I had resigned to making a vest for Lucas, but I wasn't happy with it. So when I saw this- I knew it would be perfect and Luke would be happy that he got a costume like the rest of us.

There’s a meme I found on Pinterest that says “You know you’re a runner when you plan your vacations around runs.” Ain’t that the truth!! Not only are we going to Cali for the races, but we are also going for a vacation as well! I’m really excited to let myself get wrapped up in the events and get excited with my kids. My in-laws are coming as well to help cheer us on and tend the kids during the race, and it will be their first time to the DisneyLand Resort, so I also have thoughts of how to make this a great experience for them, too.

D has started to bring things out that we need to take. We'll be visiting the DisneyLand parks the day after, so that requires all our DL gear too. Our Ears are hanging on a mirror right now- can't forget those!
My awesome sister and brother in-law made D and I a “runners kit” for Christmas- SO thoughtful! I was really touched that they put so much thought and effort into it. They included Rocktape, freeze gel, Advil, Bodyglide, Epsom Salt, and a big chunk of chocolate. These will definitely be accompanying us on the trip.

What are your “must have’s” for a race? Anything else you would suggest?

Running?!?

I never thought that I would be a runner- NEVER! 

But being a family with 2 young kids, we have fallen in love with Disney. In Love! 

We took Lucas to Disney Land for his 5 birthday- Gianna was 18 months- and from then on, we couldn't get enough.  

Since then, we have gone to Disney every 6 months.  We even went, just Dustin and I, for our our big 1-0 anniversary. 

So a co-worker was in my office for a mentoring session and she saw my Mickey snow globe and she told me she had just gotten back from the Tinker Bell Half Marathon .  What What!? 

I had to know more.  I went to the site, looked up blogs, looked on Pinterest, and read everything I could. Jeff Galloway, former Olympian, is the "official" trainer for runDisney and he created a training schedule for all the races runDisney does. I studied those. Looked up costume ideas. Fell in love with the bling. 

Inaugural 2011 Medal

That night, I looked at Dustin and said "I think I want to run a half marathon." Words that have never even crossed my mind. 

I told Dustin all about it, and he simply said "Ok! Let's do it!" 

Thus begins our journey to 13.1 miles!! After posting about in on Facebook, my cousin texted me and told me she wanted to do it to!! Bonus! Now there's no turning back.

We had already joined a gym- WITH babysitting. So we quickly started adding more time to our Elliptical runs.  A little bit later, I started insisting that we needed to cross over to the treadmill. Elliptical and treadmill are SO different. You cannot train for any type of run on an Elliptical.  Sorry... 

20 minutes, mostly walking, turned into 20 minutes of run/walk intervals, and now we are running, barely walking, for 60 minutes, at least three times a week.  I can no longer say that I am not a runner. I AM a runner.  

So July came around and it was time to commit to the race- registering.  Even though I dropped more money then I care to admit, I signed all of our fab four up for the races that weekend. Dustin and I for the half marathon; Lucas and Gianna for the Kids Races. I did it the day they opened registration- and a good thing too! The race sold out within 48 hours. 

I don't know what fate has in store for me, but I swear, the second I registered us, the cosmos were out to get me. Lucas starts a new school, and from that moment on- we are all sick for never ending weeks! You know how it goes. Luke comes home, is the first to come down with something, and we all pass it around 10 times over. This is STILL happening! You can't take sick kids to the gym. So Dustin and I tried to stagger our runs. But that doesn't work out so hot when you get sick, too. 

At one point, in October, I came down with walking pneumonia and slept for an entire week. It took me another week to recover before I kicked my trash and got back to the gym.  Then Dustin got sick. All the while, the kids are passing something back and forth too. Poor G has a horrid cough that keeps me up at nigh most nights. 

So we are finally feeling good and healthy (with exception to G's cough). And we are back to our routine of running 3 or 4 days a week, and up to 4-5 miles each time. Saturday we have to push ourselves and get over 6 miles. As far as our training is concerned, that's practically out the window. We were supposed to run 11.5 miles last Saturday. Eeek! My goal is to do at least 10 miles before the race. And THAT is doable, right?!

Another problem on my mind, I don't have my running costume finalized. I know I'm going to be a fairy- duh. I have devoted a Pinterest board specifically for gathering costume ideas. My problem: I can't decide on a color. Tink green? Videa purple? Periwinkle blue? Rosetta pink? Ugh...
And my other problem: I'm shopping for capris and tanks in WINTER! I should have bought my stuff in the summer, but apparently I was thinking I had plenty of time. 

Here are pieces that I'm using as my muse: 

Yeah... I'm leaning towards green as you can tell. I want it to POP! 

So stay tuned and find out how the next 35 days go! I want to use this space to journal how it goes for us, and possibly influence someone else to take the plunge. :) 

Run safe! 

Here are some favorite photos that have helped my journey. 

July 2013 

July 2013 

July 2013

First 5K!! June 2013