2015 Goal Update with TOTR

The gals from TOTR had a great topic for today: 2015 Goal Update. Since the first half of 2015 is coming to an end, we though this topic was fitting.


I never imagined this year would go by so fast. I was just reading some posts from last year at this time to see what we had been up to. I was of course just coming off an injury but was able to run 4 pain free miles by this time. Looks like I was better off last year than I am this year. So where do I go from here?

Goals for the rest of 2015:

I am currently going to the PT workout center 3-4 days a week. I will continue to do that. In addition, starting in July I am going to try to go twice a day.

I got a massage last week and the lady I'm working with has been really good with her techniques and doing research to see how she can better help me. I have scheduled a massage with her once a week for the next three weeks and will continue to get them
once a week until I feel I am back to normal.

I am still planning on running VA Beach in September, whether or not it's the half marathon or the 5K is yet to be determined. I kind of feel bad that I even mentioned running the 5K because one of our friends will be running with us ( his first half) and now he thinks he wants to do the 5K if I do it. He is not injured. He needs to run the half....lol. He is just nervous about running 13.1 miles but I know he can do it ( YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE...lol)

I'd like to run our local Harvest Festival 5K this year with my dad. I didn't do it last year because I was already in marathon training mode and was training for longer distances.

If all goes well, I will spend the rest of the fall training for the WDW marathon again. If I'm still injured then I will just sit down with a box of markers and some poster board and make the best dang disney signs to cheer on the rest of you who are running!

As far as Lacey's 2015 goals: Her next race is also VA beach. She will definitely be running the half marathon (with a friend so it won't be a goal race). She may pick up a fall race too depending on what her schedule is like.

What are you working on for the rest of 2015?



Day In The Life Of A Flight Attendant Part 2

I had  a week off of work last week so I decided to spend some time  at VA Beach.  During my time there I went on a 14 mile run with a good friend Saturday morning. We had a lot of catching up to do so it made the miles go by fast.  
 
 
The following week I had to go back to being a flight attendant. This was probably one of the most trying weeks I've had in a long time. It was suppose to be an easy day with a show time of 12:45 pm.  I was to start in Philadelphia go Cincinnati then back to Philadelphia.  We then would have a 3 and a half hour sit before our next flight to Watertown NY, so plenty of time to get food. On our way back from Cincinnati there was weather coming into the Philadelphia area and we didn't have enough fuel to remain in a holding pattern so we had to divert to Norfolk VA to refuel and wait out the storm. We arrived at 7 pm. The passengers deplaned and I went inside to try and get some food. Because now there would be no time for food later. Of course the only place to get food quickly was closed. Guess I'm not eating tonight. And the weather never got better either. We didn't end up leaving Norfork until 12:30 am. 

What normally takes 40 mins to Philadelphia because of the weather took an hour and a half so we didn't make it in until after 2 am. Can you believe our company still wanted us to fly one more flight to Watertown NY? Luckily my Captain refused and said we are all fatigue we need a hotel.  It took our company another hour and half to find a hotel for us.  They said that the closest one was in Dover DE.  Really? Another hour and a half away. So we didn't get to a hotel until 5 am.  (That is not a typo). And we had to be up and back at it by 2 pm.  

Luckily we only had one flight to do so we were done by 7 pm. But the next day we had a 5 am van and worked all day. It just doesn't make sense. Get done at 5 am one day and the next day start at 5 am. 

We actually were on time that day so I got to the hotel around 1:30. I slept all day until 6 pm.  Woke up and ate dinner and still fell back to sleep by 8:30. Yes, I was exhausted. Had to get a good night sleep because our van ride to the airport the next morning was 4:30 am.

The next day we started in Rochester NY and fly to Philadelphia. Then we are suppose to do a St. Louis turn and be done for the day. We arrive in St. Louis with a maintenance problem and the flight cancels outbound.  We then have to ferry it (fly plane with no passengers because our restrictions are lower) to get it fixed to Milwaukee.  Luckily they didn't need a flight attendant to do this so I was able to take the next flight to Philadelphia.

Needless to say this work week has been very exhausting. With all these circumstances this has been the first time I can even remember going a week with out running/working out and I am not even injured. How long have you gone without working out?    -L

10 years ago

My how time has flown. I think we can all agree that time is going by way too fast. I thought it would be fun to take a look back at what everyone was doing 10 years ago and how things have changed (or stayed the same). I will admit that running a marathon or even a 5k wasn't even on my radar ten years ago!

10 years ago was of course 2005. Lets take a look back and see what we were up to back then.

1) In 2005 I was teaching Writing and Reading to High School kids. I never would have thought that 10 years later I would continue to be a teacher and have my own newspaper column and be a news correspondent.

2) In 2005 Scott and I spent a weeks vacation at Disney at the Grand Floridian resort. I remember debating whether or not I wanted to split our stay with a less expensive resort but I am SO glad I bit the bullet and we stayed there all week. It was
fabulous!

3) In 2005 My girl Baylee was born. She was born in November but we didn't get her until January 20th of 2006 (so that counts, right?). I couldn't imagine our lives without her! ( I should note that Baylee is our Labrador).

4) In 2005 I took my first trip to Seattle. I went with my parents to watch my cousin who was playing in the little league world series. I got to visit the Space Needle, the Underground, and Pike Place Market. I thought for sure this was a once in a lifetime trip but I ended up returning 6 years later when we visited for a few days before our Alaskan cruise.


5) Also in 2005 I took my first cruise with my sister. Regardless of how that trip started out and ended up, it was fabulous and has got me hooked on cruising.  We mentioned this cruise a few Fridays ago in our post "'A trip gone so wrong". If you missed that post, you should really take a moment and read it. I guarantee it will make you laugh and by the end you will be glad you weren't traveling with us...lol. I have since been on several cruises and will be going on another one in just a few days!

Oh, and a little background on this picture:  The day we arrived in Mexico we had big plans! We had on our straw hats and cute sun dresses. As soon as we walked off the boat it started to pour, I mean a tropical storm. We weren't going to let that ruin our day so we changed clothes and made our own fun. We had the best guacamole at a little restaurant, found a shop where we created our own jewelry, and of course ran into this photographer who convinced us to take this picture. You can't tell but I was scared to death. Birds aren't really my thing!  I am so glad that we have this photo from this day because it brings back so many fun memories!

What were YOU doing 10 years ago? -M


It's Friday, so that means we're linking up with the Friday 5 gals!

Disneyland Paris Half Marathon

If you are a Run Disney fan then you probably already got the e-mail or heard about the exciting event going on in Paris in 2016.


We've heard speculation of this event for some time now but we didn't hear the official announcement from Disney until we were standing in the corrals during Princess this year.


I have always wanted to go to Disneyland Paris and running there sounds like a great opportunity but I'm still not sold quite yet.  Of course the distance thing gets to me. I'm very nervous about long flights, not to mention I don't speak a lick of French nor do I understand it. My sister has already done the Disneyland Paris thing and said it was only  so so and has no desire to go back. Well, there goes my run Disney companion!

For those of you who are not on the fence about it, here are the details:

Event dates :
 September 23-25, 2016

Events:
Sept 23: Expo starts
Sept 24: 5K race through Disneyland Park and Disney Studios, Kids race, Pasta Party
Sept 25: Half Marathon

Run Disney Packages will be available for booking THIS October!  (October 6, 2015), If I do make the leap to DL Paris this is the way I will go. DL Paris has several "Disney" Hotels.   Disneyland Hotel, Disney Hotel New York, Disney's Newport Bay Club, Disney's Sequoia Lodge, Disney's Hotel Cheyenne, Disney's Hotel Santa Fe, and Disney's Davey Crockett Ranch. They all look amazing with really fun themes! You can check them out HERE.  Of course there are some "Partner" or Good neighbor hotels too.

Actual race registration opens January 12, 2016. (hmm, I think I will be in WDW for Marathon weekend then).   Speaking of Marathon weekend. I hear there is going to be an additional medal given for folks who run a WDW half and the DL Paris half in the same calendar year!  I'm sure that will be a coveted medal and quite a beauty (seeing as it will be at Sleeping Beauty's Castle...hmmm)

If you want to keep up with the latest news about the DLP Half Marathon you can sign up HERE.

So now I want to know, Do you have or do you know anyone who has experience with any of the DLP hotels?  I am intrigued with at least that aspect of it!   -M

It's an Enigma!

I mentioned earlier on the blog that I wanted to start experimenting with different running shoes because I believed that it may have been the zero drop shoes that I have been wearing that were contributing to my injuries.  Last year I was given a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 18's to try out and I really liked them so I thought I would stick with the Mizuno brand. After talking with a brand rep on what I really liked in a shoe (a neutral shoe that had cushioning), she suggested the Wave Enigma to me. Now at this time, all the Wave Enigma 4 's were sold out on the Mizuno website and the Enigma 5's were not released yet.  I scoured the internet up and down looking for a pair of these Enigma's in my size. I had no luck. I was told only certain "specialty" running stores would carry the Enigmas, so I check the stores near me. None carried them.

Now here is where things get interesting and things in the universe just sort of align. About a week after I searched all my avenues looking for these shoes, I got an email asking me to test out and review no other than the Enigma 5's!!!! I could not have been more excited!
From the Mizuno Instagram

After seeing Mizuno's Instagram post about all the new colorful shoes that would be released soon, I got even more excited and had hopes of receiving some bright pink, purple, or orange shoes!

nuetral running shoes with cushion


Instead, I got the silver and blue pair, which I admit I DO like and remembered that I have been wanting a pair of blue running shoes for a while now.

Even thought these are cushiony shoes, my feet feel very supported. I did learn previously that wearing too cushiony of a shoe can have a negative impact on your joints. I think that may have been my problem in the other shoes I was wearing (they were too much cushion and not enough support). 

I felt that the toe box was wide enough as well. I get my running shoes one size larger than my normal shoes so that may help.  I've been wanting to wear these shoes ALL the time. I don't normally wear my Running Shoes for anything other than running, so this is becoming a problem...lol.  I've been wearing them to the gym lately, for walking, and for everyday errands.  I need to keep reminding myself that I need to save them for when I start doing my longer runs.  In the meantime, I'm going to pick up an additional pair of shoes just for the gym and for errands.  When I starting putting in those long miles again I'll come back and let you know how they handle!

The Mizuno Wave Enigma will be available in July ( and p.s I got a sneak peek of the other colors and there is a cool Purple pair)!

Have you ever went crazy trying to find a specific pair of shoes? M

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mizuno. I love the shoes and all opinions are my own!

Things you'll want to know about the Disneyland Hotel

host hotel for run disney tinkerbell half marathon
When we went to California for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon you may have seen us mention several times that we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel.  This was one of the best decisions that we made and I would not hesitate staying there again if we should decide to do another race weekend. Unlike Disneyworld, Disneyland only has three on property Disney resorts, The Disneyland Hotel, The Grand Californian, and Paradise Pier.  All are with in walking distance to the parks and to the race start and finish.

Transportation:
Also unlike Disney World, Disneyland resorts do not offer the magical Express. You have to arrange your own way to and from the airport. My mom and I flew into Sana Ana (John Wayne) airport which is actually the closest airports to Disney and when we arrived at Ground Transportation the Disney Express was already there waiting for passengers. We did not have to purchase tickets ahead of time. Tickets were $20 per passenger and the Disneyland Hotel was the first stop. The ride took about 20 minutes.  Lacey flew into LAX ( Los Angeles ) airport and she took Prime Time Shuttle which cost about $18.

Hotel/Room:
We arrived around 10:30 am and we figured our room wouldn't be ready yet and we were prepared to just check our luggage and go to the expo.  There were no rooms available yet, but as luck would have it the cast member worked his magic and found one. As we walked away, he whispered to me that he had upgraded us to a premium room.  This was our view!

The Disneyland hotel is divided into three towers. The Fantasia Tower (the tower straight ahead in this picture)which is the main building where the lobby, check-in and the gift shops are, the Frontier Tower (The tower we were in and where this picture was taken from),and the Jungle Tower (which would have been to the right of this picture).  Straight ahead and to the left would be the convention center where the race expo took place. In the middle is the swimming pool area with waterslides and a hot tub.
run disney host hotel
Isn't the Minnie Mouse shaped hot tub so cute? We also loved looking down at the Mickey as Daniel Boone (or perhaps Davey Crocket?) landscaping. I wonder if we can try to do that at home with our landscaping?

light up headboard
A peek inside our room. Even the carpet had hidden Mickey's on it.  The headboards had a castle carved in it.  The room was actually a lot larger than what is pictured. We also had a nice big closet and a desk area that we did not photograph.
light up headboard

And then of course with a flip of a switch the fireworks lit up and a lullaby could be played.  I hate to admit that we were so tired each night of our stay that we only remembered to turn the headboard on the last night to enjoy it.
There were even some Mickey touches in the bathroom.  We weren't loving that we only had one sink when most Disney World hotels usually have a double vanity, but for what it's worth the bathroom was nice.

Restaurants:
The eating options ate the Disneyland Hotel are excellent.  For sit down dinners there is Goofy's Kitchen  which is a character meal and Steakhouse 55 and Lounge.  There is a Coffee shop that was open during race mornings but the only real food they had were muffins (and a few power bars). Our favorite spot to eat was Tangaroa Terrace which was kind of like a quick service restaurant. Everything on that menu looked so good. I could have ate here everyday!  If for some reason you didn't care for any of the restaurants at the resort, you are only a short walk ( just across the walkway) to Down Town Disney  where you will immediately see Earl of Sandwich and Rainforest Café (and then many other restaurants).  FYI: Although there is a entrance to DTD from the Grand Californian, the Disneyland Hotel is actually closer to DTD then Paradise Pier.

                                                  Below are maps that you may find helpful.

restaurants at Disneyland hotel


This map shows the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel and where things are located.  We stayed in the Frontier Tower which is the most convenient location to the race staging area and finish line.  The brown hut near the middle of the map is Tangaroa Terrace

Anaheim California adventure map

This map shows the proximity of each hotel to the Downtown Disney Area and theme parks. The darker blue boxes in the upper right hand corner are the Disneyland Hotel, the peach boxes are Paradise Pier, and the Green boxes are the Grand Californian!

The start line for the Pixie Dust Challenge races  was just north of that yellow section on the map, which is actually an overpass over Disneyland Drive.  In this instance, all three of these hotels have easy access to the start line.

I really like the convenience of where everything was located to the Disneyland Hotel. It saved us a ton of time getting around. Also, it made it easy to go back to the park  real quick if we forgot something (like we did twice).

Tell us what you look for in a Hotel? Is it convenience? Location? Theming? Something else?


Do You Want to Run a Race Challenge?



Over the past year or so our race calendar has revolved around race challenges.  We've done Disney's Glass Slipper Challenge twice, the Virginia Beach Remix Challenge, the Las Vegas Remix Challenge, Disney's Goofy Challenge, and Disney's Tinkerbell Challenge!  That's a lot of races.

To be honest, for me, running the challenge races wasn't so much of a personal challenge as it was a matter of convenience.  Yes, I wanted to run, and I was going to be there anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone so to speak and earn the additional bling?  So really it wasn't suppose to be about "challenging" my body although for most of these races I ended up being injured, so yea, I guess it was kind of a challenge if you think of it that way...lol!

So now we plan our race calendar all over again and all those challenge races, well, I'm over it.  I kind of have the been there done that feeling about it.  And to be honest, with my current state of injury I really can't even see my running future past the races I've already signed up for. I am no longer setting lofty goals.

Currently I am signed up for the RNR Virginia Beach half ( no challenge). At this rate I think I may even drop down to run the 5K and if that happens, I won't be sad. That would give me a full collection of all the VA Beach medals. In the past I have done the mile, the half relay, and the half marathon. I have not done the 5K yet, so I might need this medal!

 *And don't forget, if you want to run any of the Rock n Roll races, use our code FAIRYTALESNFIT for a Discount!

The second race I am signed up for is the WDW Marathon 2016. I will be running the Marathon Only, not any of the challenges. Lacey will be doing the Goofy Challenge again because she will be running  the half with a friend for his first Disney race and then running with me again for the marathon.  I signed up for the marathon because I thought I would for sure be healthy again by next January! But at the rate I'm going, I may miss half my training which is not a good thing. If I am not 100% I will not run. I will come to cheer on everyone else, but I am not going to attempt the 26.2 miles if I am feeling the least bit of pain. My reasoning for signing up for the marathon again was to do better! I know, I know, it's not all about the time, it's the experience, but if I'm going to put the effort in to another marathon, I want to know that I ran it at the best of my ability! Overall, I am not disappointed in my 2015 marathon time, I just know that I would have been able to run it better un-injured.

So this brings us to the Disney Princess race! Last year after running the Goofy Challenge, and then the Glass Slipper Challenge (including the 5k), I was really left exhausted.  I told myself that I would not be doing BOTH races next year ( yes, I'm sure that had something to do with my injury too).  Since I already signed up for the marathon for 2016, I know its not smart to do Princess, but part of me thinks I should just do one of the races even if it's only the 10K! We've been doing the Princess races for 5 years now. I'd hate to miss that weekend. But then my voice of reason kicks in and tells me not to sign up for anything else until I'm back on track with my training and am injury free. Yes, that is the smart thing to do!


Why do you do the Challenges?  If you were me, would you sign up for Princess?  -M

Thank you to the lovely ladies at TOTR for picking this topic of Challenges this week.



*Some exclusions apply.

Peek in our Week

We were all enjoying this beautiful summer weather so we didn't get to do a "Peek in our Week" yesterday.

So let's see.What have we been up too? Well, Lacey has been soaking up the sun and sand in Virginia Beach for the past 5 days. I know she got some great runs in. I can't wait to hear about the rest of her trip when she returns.

While I was home, I had a little fun as well.  I got a few fun packages this week.

A little package from Run Disney is always fun, no?
disney marathon jacket

I had some kind of stain on the Run Disney Jacket that I purchased during Marathon weekend this year. I have no idea what it was and it didn't seem to come out so I wanted to get another one. It may be the only Marathon jacket I have, so I didn't want it to be stained! I will of course take this one to get embroidered like I did the previous one.  I had seen the Pink run Disney tech tee while at the expo this year when I went for Marathon, Princess, and Tink, and thought it was cute but talked myself out of it because I have SO many running tees. Well, there was free shipping and I had a weak moment so now it showed up on my door step this week!


Oh, that's not the only fun Disney item I received.  I got a little surprise this week.
wish upon a charm

A dear friend sent me this bracelet. It is from  Wish upon a Charm. They are all hand made clay charms. The note attached said  "To inspire you for the good runs and the not so good runs".  She is hoping that it inspires me for my next Disney 26.2. We will see!

If you follow me on IG, you know this went down this week.
From this picture she doesn't look all that different but in real life she much whiter in the "after" photo and she looks more "puppy -like"!

Yup, I shaved Miss Baylee. Hopefully this will keep her cooler this summer and help my pool filter from not getting as much dog hair stuck in it. Win-Win!


Oh, one more thing. On Friday I talked about a few of the jobs I have as a writer, and one of those was writing for a Fashion catalog. Well, I wanted to share that on Friday afternoon we got to see the finished product.


When we looked closer, we noticed that most of the models had tattoos! What??? If you don't remember, we sent some clothing to NYC to be photographed on professional models. The clothing photographed beautifully, but we were shock to see that they did not photoshop out the tattoos. On one model alone, we counted 8 different tattoos. We called the agency to ask about this situation and they told us that particular model was their best seller! Yikes, we shall see!


So what have you been up to lately? Do you ever shave your dog? -M

Trading in Running for this.....

Are you the type of person that takes advantage of the opportunities given to you? Do you like to do things just for the experience? If so, you are a lot like me. I admit I am a people pleaser and have a hard time saying "no" when someone approaches me with an opportunity, but since my running has been put on hiatus I've found other ways to use my time during summer break that has kept me very busy.

I could never decided what I wanted to be when I grew up so I ended up leaving college with multiple degrees/certificates and I've always felt like I needed to use them all. So here is a peek at what I have been up to lately sans running.


1. I mentioned before on the blog that I have been doing some fashion writing. I love this. I'm putting a site together for a retailer. I got to send the clothing to the photographer in NYC and then describe the clothing in the catalog! I then photograph some of the other clothes and merchandise and post them on the store website with descriptions. Such fun!

polka dot vintage dress for Kentuck derby
Here is an example of the kind of work I've done. I put this together. Don't you just love the description?  I love the dress and I am happy how the whole thing turned out. I wish I could share all of the ones I've done. I came up with some pretty clever descriptions!

2. I've also been writing for Broadcast news. This is fun as well. I admit that sometimes it's hard to concentrate because there is so much going on. In the office I work in there are TV's, radios, and police scanners all going on at the same time. It makes it hard to concentrate on writing a story. Those that have been here a while have gotten use to it. I am learning a lot about digital editing. Can you believe that it can take 2 hours of work to produce a news segment that's 2 minutes or less? I was given the option to possibly Co-Anchor, but that makes me nervous. I don't think my voice will lend itself to Broadcast news. I'm more Broadway then Broadcast!

3. I've been busy with the travel agency too. Currently I am helping plan vacations for people who want to travel to Disney (of course), a Disney Cruise, and a trip to Punta Cana.

4.Speaking of trips. I'm currently planning my own vacation too. Unfortunately since I only travel plan part time, I really don't get any "perks" like free trips or anything like some other agents do. In fact we bought a vacation package to Hawaii. Because we have an aging dog that is not well, we chose not to take the trip. The dog is a lot to handle and we feel bad leaving someone else to take care of him. Anyway, long story short, Wyndham vacations left us credit our vacation to a different location and now I will be going to Florida and then on a cruise with a friend.

5. I still write my column and for the lifestyle pages (and the magazine). I have done this job for years and something I don't think I will ever give up (even when school starts back up again).

So after all this, ( and going to PT  4 days a week) I'm kind of exhausted!  Perhaps marathon training was less work...lol.  I'm looking forward to just hanging by the pool and relaxing this weekend. Afterall, isn't that what you are suppose to be doing on Summer Break?

How are you spending your time this summer?  Do you work multiple jobs?  -M

We are linking up with the lovely ladies for the Friday 5!

Winning at Run Disney

Run disney age group award tinkerbell 10k
Back in May, I ran the Pixie Dust Challenge at Disneyland in California. The Pixie Dust Challenge set of races (and the 5k on Friday) was my first experience with run Disney events on the west coast!

I was feeling pretty good during

The Going Ons of Physical Therapy for the Young and Old

Since I have been discharged from Physical Therapy, I have been working with a personal trainer.  I go to the same location and for the first few sessions the therapist/trainer was working with me teaching me what to do.
I now am able to go in whenever I want and work on the equipment and do the exercises I was taught, they call this the community program. I usually go in the afternoon. There seem to be less people there at that time and although I know what I am doing, I get to have more one on one time with the therapist. It's nice because I've got to know the other therapist who often come over to me to check in on my progress.

The other day was a bit different though. I went in the early morning. There was such a different vibe that day because it was very busy. I looked around and saw I was the only one there under age 75!  I was told before that the "older" crowd comes in the morning, so I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised.  What surprised me though was the interaction they all had with each other.  It was like they all knew one another. I kept quiet and did my exercises as I just watched them.

This is what I observed.....

These men and women have there own inside jokes!

They were hollering random words to one another and then giggling about it.

Yes, there was some flirting going on.

Norm sings "Home on the Range"

Doris just went on a cruise.  (And she stood by the elliptical for 20 minutes telling Mary all about it while she worked on the machine).

This older crowd knows exactly what they are doing and knows their routine. I didn't see anyone require any assistance the entire time I was there.

I think this is great that so many "older folks" come out here and make the effort to stay in shape.

When I go to therapy during the afternoon, it's usually the younger to middle age folks that are there and you can tell that we are all there due to some injury. I think that is why the therapist seem to pay more attention to us.  I believe the older crowd is just there for their overall well being and of course to socialize.

Being here watching these older folks made me kind of wish that my grandparents would come here to exercise. They may enjoy it!



For the most part, I am really enjoying my time there and I have been trying to go 4 times a week. One thing I noticed is that I should probably change up the order that I do some of my exercises. I usually start on the bike which is a good warm up, then I use the machines, then I do some balancing exercises and box jumps. I have realized that I am so exhausted after working on the machines that my body can not properly do the balancing exercises. During my last session I ended up sitting down taking a few breaks just to rest. I've never done that before.


Do you grandparents exercise?  Do you see a lot of older folks at your gym?


GIVEAWAYS and a Winner

Hi guys!

First off we want to thank EVERYONE who participated in the Summer Giveaway hop that we participated in that was hosted by the wonderful Kristy from Runaway Bridal Planner.   We were really excited about the Mist n Sip giveaway because we definitely think who ever won it would certainly get their use out of it this summer.

We had some really dedicated

Run With Me



Now that summer is here I'm sure we are all excited to finally be outside in the warmer weather (especially after what felt like such a long winter)).  I believe that people as a whole are more active in the summer because of all the activities you can do when it's nice outside such as hiking, biking, and of course running.
 
 I was recently talking to a friend about this and she said that summer was harder for her. After giving her

Unique ways to get around Disney


Disney california adventure

During any given visit to Disney you have the opportunity to ride several modes of transportation, probably even more than you realize.  It's pretty guaranteed that we will be on a bus, a monorail, and depending on which resort we are staying at or visiting, perhaps even a boat.

The next time you visit Disney, look around you. There are so many ways people are getting from here to there.


disney old fashion car
We first got to ride the WDW Jitney after the WDW Marathon in 2013. I can't believe I never noticed this ride before.  The Jitney can be found in Magic Kingdom. It takes you from the hub on Main Street to Cinderella's Castle. We were among the first people at the castle and the driver even asked if we wanted him to take a picture of us with it!



The horse drawn trolley is the one thing I have always wanted to ride but have never seen it during my visit at Disney World. I finally got to ride it last month during our visit to Disneyland. It picks riders up at the hub on Main Street and drops them off in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.


california adventure

I would have loved to rode this Cable Car at Disney's California Adventure but I didn't get a chance. I'm pretty sure this vehicle makes a loop through the hub on Buena Vista Street to Hollywood land and back.


cinderella coach for disney fairytale wedding
 
Now this may be the most luxurious ride in all of Disney World. Cinderella's Glass Carriage only comes out for special occasions, like for weddings. This was probably my favorite mode of Disney transportation. You can see the glass carriage  en route from the Grand Floridian to the wedding pavilion. They use to allow it on the Boardwalk for weddings but I don't know if they do that any more. If you are lucky enough to be a guest at a ceremony inside the Magic Kingdom, you may see it there too!


What is your favorite mode of transportation at Disney?
We are linking up with Deb from Focused on the Magic.


Don't struggle with these things this Summer (And a GIVEAWAY)

When it comes to running in the heat, there is not much that we (or any other runner) could probably tell you that you don't already know or that is not already common sense, like wear light weight clothes, put on sunscreen, wear a hat/visor, stay hydrated, run during the coolest part of the day, yada, yada, yada,!

It's summer, and it's just plain hot!  Most days, we have to get up and be on the road (or trails) before 7 am in order to get a cool run in, but it's summer and who wants to get up that early? Not me! So yes, some of my runs (when I was running) happened a little bit later.  My best tip about running in the heat in this instance would be to pick your route accordingly. We've talked extensively in our previous posts about finding SAFE routes that actually provide an adequate amount of shade. Sadly my favorite trail in the fall, becomes way to hot to run in the summer so I have to look elsewhere.
Some other places I've found that offer some shade during the day include:

College Campuses: I am fortunate enough to have one right down the road from me. Luckily it is lined with big shade trees, but unfortunately the campus is pretty hilly.

Campgrounds: There is also a campground near me as well. These are great places to run. They aren't very busy ( traffic heavy) mid morning/afternoon and shade is plentiful.

Cemetery: I know I've mentioned this route before and was met with varying opinions about it, but hey, it's safe ( no traffic) and most cemeteries are well manicure with nice big shade trees.


In addition to having a "Shade" issue on my runs, I usually have a hydration issue. Last summer when I was regularly doing 13 mile training runs, I would always run out of water at mile 9!  I never run by my house, so stopping for a drink or putting an extra bottle in the mail box was out of the questions. 

We recently received these O2COOL misting bottles that hold 20 ounces, so now I can be sure I have plenty of water and can mist myself when I'm feeling too warm. Win Win!

Speaking of Win, we are giving away one of these misting water bottles. Have you entered the giveaway?

You can enter the Giveaway HERE.

We are linking up with TOTR.

a 5K and Why I couldnt hold the sign

One of our dear friends, who will be joining us at RnR this year and running his first Disney race in 2016, decided to do a local 5k this weekend. I was asked to run too, but I thought it better to sit it out and just be a spectator instead.

This is the same friend that was going to do the Bad Ass Virtual Race with Lacey last month but as you may remember, they were not able to run together. In any case, he decided to wear the Bad Ass  shirt for this official 5K race.  If you don't remember why we call him "Bad Ass", you can read about that HERE .

Anyway, we should share that the reason he could not run the virtual race last month was because he had unexpectedly had surgery on his jaw and had his mouth wired shut for two weeks. Yes, he could not eat solid foods for two weeks, so to say his nutrition was probably suffering was an understatement.

Anyway, he wanted to do the local 5K and I said I would go cheer him on. My neighbor was also running so I wanted to cheer for her too!

I told him that I would make a sign for him. I wasn't sure just what I wanted to say, so after doing a little Googling of race signs, I came up with something to write.

At the last minute, Scott decided that he wanted to go to the race too. He took one look at the sign that I made and promptly reminded me that the race started in front of an elementary school and that it wasn't appropriate for me to be holding the sign that I made.  I totally forgot about that. Perhaps he was right.

Pretty soon the runners were off and we waited near the finish line. we figured our friend would come in around 25 or 26 minutes. He had ran 5K's before and that around what his time usually was.

We were starting to get worried when we didn't see him. A few of our other friends had finished and had told us that the hill on the course was a killer.  I thought perhaps he was just feeling drained due to lack of nutrition, but Scott had to make a joke and say that maybe he got pulled off the course because his shirt was inappropriate! Funny!

He did finish strong and we were proud of him for running the race.

And since he was already wearing an "inappropriate" race shirt, I made him hold my sign for a picture ( after the race), since I didn't get to hold it on the side lines...lol

It was definitely a beautiful day for a race and I'm really sorry that I didn't get to run, although I'm sure my knees are glad!  There are several other local 5K's coming up this summer and I am SO hoping that I can be strong enough to do one of them .

Do you have any local 5K's coming up that you will be running or spectating at? -M

Congrats! And a Peek in Our Week

Do you remember when we talked about running the April Fools race on the Atlantic City Boardwalk back in April? Well after the race we gathered at Margaritaville with some other runners and watched the awards ceremony. Neither of us thought we would win anything but we were there early enough and had a good seat so decided to just stick around and watch. After we left the beach that day, I didn't really even given that race a second thought, until I got this unexpected package in the mail the other day.

 I anxiously tore it open and ripped this nice letter that explained that I had won an age group award and I was sent a sovenier. What a great surprise that was. -L

I stopped going to physical therapy and started my personal training sessions this week. It's kind of funny because my personal trainer is actually my therapist and we use the equipment at the gym where I took therapy.

 I don't know why I did not learn these moves during therapy, but regardless, I am enjoying it and I am learning a lot. I went only 3 days this week but each day I learn something new. I had to skip the last 2 days because I unexpectedly had to get stitches in my abdoman and didn't think lifting weights and stretching would be a good idea. Yes, I find it funny that I have been waiting for Baylee to heal from the stitches on her tummy so we could go swimming, and now I'm the one with stitches on mine! I guess we'll just have to wait another 10 days!  -M

We both took Baylee and Belle for some walks this week. Walking with my dog is sometimes the favorite part of my day.

We met some friends at the park this week. Can you believe that one guy walks all four of these Golden Retrievers every day? Sometimes he even has five retrievers!

Tell us something that you did this weekend?

Why I didn't always want my running partner

I know that the title of this post might sound cruel, but let me explain. It's true, I didn't always want my running partner. In fact, in the beginning, I didn't want her at all. She was always eager to go for a run but we rarely ran at the same pace, she was always making detours, and at times I thought she was going to cause an accident ( for both of us). To tell you the truth, she's really more of a swimmer anyway, but that's NOT why I didn't want her.


I'm sure by now, you know I am not talking about 
mom, my sister, or my bff. I'm talking about my sweet girl Baylee, my beautiful bundle of yellow fur. And yes, there was a time when I didn't want her ( Gasp) and my husband reminds me of this all the time.

1.You see, when my sister and I lived at home with our parents, we had the BEST Yellow lab in the world. Her name was Reed.  We loved this dog so much. When I married Scott, he wanted to give me my own yellow lab (because he knew how much I loved Reed and he wanted us to be able to have a lab at our house
 too). I refused the gesture for several years. It just
didn't seem right. How could I love another dog? It would feel like I was cheating on my sweetie Reedy. I know this sounds silly now, but back then it all seemed logical in my mind. I couldn't dare have another dog!

2.Until the day came. I remember it so clearly. It was Friday January 20th and I was at an in-service with some other teachers. While at lunch, I got a call from Scott saying that we were going to go "look" at some lab puppies that one of his co-workers had.  I actually
 was so excited that for the rest of the day my co-
workers and I were thinking up names (and probably not paying attention to whatever it was that we were suppose to be doing).

3.Later that evening we pulled into a farm house. When we walked in,  a yellow lab with a red collar came bolting over to me and wanted to play. I thought "this is the one", except I was promptly informed that that pup was already promised to someone else. Then sitting over in the corner was a little pup that had a leopard print collar on. That was the one we took home. Seeing that I love leopard print, Scott said it was fate.
lab puppy

4.We brought her home and introduced her to our weimaraner. We actually went a few days with out naming her. We didn't know what to call her and her name had to pass the "Holler test". Would we feel comfortable standing on our back porch hollering this name?   So we named her Baylee and the rest is pretty much history.  As you probably can tell from this blog, I am SO in love with this dog! I can't believe there was ever a time where I didn't want her. She has enriched our lives in so many ways. 

5.There are so many reasons that I am thankful for Baylee but one of them is the company that she provides for me when I'm out on the trail.  Since I have been injured I haven't been running, but she doesn't care. She is just as happy to be by my side as we "only" walk, like we did on National Running day! In fact, she looks forward to it. I also like that I feel safer when she's with me.  I can't believe there was ever a time that I did not want her because now I never want to walk without her.

Tell me, who is your favorite running or walking partner? -M

Don't forget about our Summer Giveaway. You can enter it HERE.

We are linking up with the gals from the Friday 5.

The post I didn't want to have to write

Okay, so that is an odd title for a blog post, but it's true. This is one post I didn't want to have to write but I AM writing it because we have always believed in being upfront, honest, and transparent on our blog.
Altra shoe rep

In 2013 I had my first experience with Altra shoes. I heard the head of the company speak about how they were made and how they were different from the normal running shoe. I loved the wide toe box the Altras had and the concept behind the zero drop made perfect sense. This was a product I could definitely get behind so shortly after running in my Altra's I was brought on board as one of their ambassadors.  These were the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn! I will NEVER deny that. And for being an ambassador I got lots of shoes for free. Totally not a bad deal, right?

If you are transitioning from a traditional running shoe to a zero drop shoe then you know that you have to ease into the switch. Go for smaller runs in the zero drop and alternate with your traditional running shoes until things feel comfortable. If you don't you may experience calf pain because your legs are depending on muscle they haven't had to use before in the traditional shoes.  I did the transitioning just fine and I never felt the calf pain. It is when I started running in the Altras more often that I have felt the worst leg pain in my entire life. I had a first hand experience as to what ITBS really felt like mixed in with Greater Trochataric pain, lateral tendonitis in the knee and hip bursitis.

Now, I am NOT saying that the Altras caused all this pain because I will admit that there are many factors that could have contributed to all this pain and one of them was the increase in mileage I was doing over that time frame. As you know, I was in Physical Therapy for 7 months (January thru July 2014) before I started to see any relief. I had a few good races in the fall of 2014 but then shortly afterwards fell victim to the same pain. I was continuing running in the Altras, along with running more miles. I will say that I NEVER had a problem when I wore my old running shoes. 

Again, I don't want to pass blame on the shoes, but I do want to be able to explore my options and see if there is something different out there that will work better for my body. I really believe the concept behind the Altras is great but perhaps it is not for me.  I tell you all this because I have decided to put my ambassadorship on hiatus.  I will never deny that they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn in my life, but  I don't want to go through another 7 months of therapy to only follow the same pattern of going back to these shoes and becoming injured again.  If the injuries continue even after trying different shoes, then I will know that perhaps it wasn't the Altras.  I know its so hard to tell what is giving me the problems because there are so many variables involved, but for now I need to take one variable out of the equation and see if that makes a difference.  Don't get me wrong, I love the free shoes and the free gear, but I can not keep accepting it if I don't feel comfortable using it.

I tell you this because over the next few months I will be trying out some new shoes, and I don't want anyone to think that I am being disloyal to my Altras which I have said that I loved so much.

Sadly it is true, sometimes you can love shoes, but they just might not love you back!

Have you ever had to switch out of a brand ( of anything) that you really liked because it wasn't working for you? -M

Tape Tips

I've tried kinesiology tape many times before and I can honestly say that I've never felt any better because of it. I've got taped by the KT tape people before every Disney race I've done while injured, and I still got no relief from pain while I ran. I will admit that my problem is bigger than what KT Tape or any kinesiology tape could probably help.

I often get asked to review products for the column I write in the newspaper. I especially like when those products are fitness related and I can share them here with you too. One of the products I was asked to review this year was Rock Tape. Rock Tape is another brand of kinesiology tape.  I kept putting off and putting off the review because to tell you the truth I was certain it wouldn't work for the injury I had. KT tape never worked, so why would Rock Tape?  I did however get to try some of the Rock Sauce they sent me and I did enjoy that. Rock sauce is similar to Bio Freeze or Marathon Cream.  Anyway, back to the Rock Tape.  About a week before I left for the Tinkerbell half marathon, I was getting some pain around my knee in addition to the IT band pain I usually have.  I decided to take a look at this Rock Tape and see how they say to apply it for said knee pain.

how to apply tape to knees
This Rock Tape was on for 7 days and went through several hot showers and it still looks great.

I taped this way and I was happy to say I got in 5 pain free miles. I needed to stop after 5 because I could feel that if I pushed anymore the pain would come back. but at least that was 5 miles more than what I was able to do the day before! I do not mean to speak negatively of KT tape but I will honestly say that it has never stayed put for me. Even when I have the KT tape people themselves apply it ( and use their fancy adhesive spray), it always starts to curl up and fall off.  Rock Tape on the other hand has stayed put for DAYS. Even through hot showers, it still sticks.

Here are some things that I have found out about tapes.

Rock Tape is made from a cotton material while KT tape is made from a synthetic material. The KT Tape  rep actually told me this. He said that's why KT tape stays on longer than other brands. I just had to smile and shake my head because I believe that is why it DOES NOT stay on as long as other brands. I think the cotton is where its at.

When applying tape, make sure that you apply to a clean yet DRY leg. Be sure to remove any left over tape residue from past tape jobs. Do not apply lotion to your legs before taping.

If you are taping yourself. Make sure you apply the correct amount of "stretch" to the tape. If you have IT band pain, you will probably want to tape to "Inhibit" that muscle.

When taping you want to criss cross pieces of tape on the point of pain ( if you have one particular spot that is giving you pressing pain).

This next tip is a BIG one. When you overlap pieces of tape, make sure that the ends of each piece of tape are on your skin. Do not end one piece of tape over top of another.  This is the main reason you may have trouble with your tape not sticking.


I have found that my Rock Tape stays on just fine when I am in the shower but if you are worried about it getting wet or you are using a different brand of tape, my quick tip to you is put a bread bag around your leg while you are in the shower. This is crazy and you are probably wondering how I know this. Well, during Disney marathon weekend, I had my knee taped at the expo. I took a shower after the half marathon and wanted to preserve my KT Tape, or what was left of it anyway.  The only thing we had available to wrap around my leg was a plastic bag that we had bagels in. I cut a whole in the bottom of the bag and slipped my leg in.  I won't have to do that again now that I am using the Rock Tape, but it is a quick tip in case you are in a pinch.

The Rock Tape does not heal my injury but I have noticed that it does control the pain even when I wear it around the house. As you know, I won't be running for a while because I really need to give my injury a rest but when I do feel like I am okay to go for a run I will probably use this Rock Tape for a little bit of support for a while.   -M

What kind of kinesiology tape do you like and why? What is your best tape tip?  -M

We are linking up with April, patty, and Erika at TOTR.