Disney's Enchanted 10K

1. The Race:Saturday was the enchanted 10K. This is actually the first race as part of the Glass Slipper Challenge ( the 5K was not included in the challenge). Even thought the weather was suppose to be a little warmer, we still wore our leggings. I hate being cold at the start. I even wore my Princess race jacket from last year but shed it after the first mile when it started to warm up. I carried it for a while and then my lovely sister said she would carry it for me the rest of the way.  Since my sister and I were both in corral "A", we decided we would stick together. ( yup, this is the first time I've ever been in corral "A" with my sister in anything other than a 5K...lol.  My mom was in the same corral too, but was running a little faster than we were. Since my sister and I were both having knee issues, we wanted to be a little more conservative with this race.

2. The Course:We both really like this course. The start is in the Epcot parking lot (same as the 5k). It goes up on the highway and loops around to the back road before you enter Epcot (like it does for the 5K). But unlike the 5K, the 10K crosses the International Gateway in Epcot and then goes around the Boardwalk area, passes the Swan and Dolphin, and Yacht and Beach Club resorts before entering Epcot again and then finishing in the same spot as the 5K. At one point I actually felt "normal" and pain free as I was running. It has been SO long since I have ben able to run without any pinching in my leg. I actually felt so "free". But that feeling didn't last long.

3.Pictures:Although we like the course, We feel that this race is lacking in characters.  We always skip the first character stop because it's just way too dark at that time and the pictures don't turn out clear, making it a waste of time for us to even stop.

We did find some friends to take pictures with though: Baseball Donald and Christine from We Run Disney who just happened to PR this race.   Also we want to give a shout out to everyone who saw us this day and came up to us to say "Hi" ( Marcy, Jenny Lou, Courtney, etc)  

4. Time:We weren't running this race for time, but in the end we ended up coming in several minutes earlier than we did last year which was a fun surprise!

5: Bling:The medal is the same basic design as last year except it is silver instead of gold. Also there is a snowflake on it instead of the Cinderella carriage that was on it last year. Of course the ribbon is different as well.

Check out our Disney Frozen 5K from the day before HERE.

Disney's Wish Came True with a Frozen 5K

The first race of the Princess Race weekend is the 5K. It use to be called the Royal Family 5K but it looks like it has since changed its name to just the Princess 5K and this year it was the Frozen 5K, literally.

I never ended up showing our race day outfits for the 5K before we left for Florida, so here they are.

Snow White and Pocahontas. Our mom ran with us and she was Belle.  Now of course this is what we "Planned" on wearing. But the weather on Friday morning was freezing ( and I'm not exaggerating), so these outfits called for a few more layers. I had a base layer long sleeve PLUS my throwaway jacket with a hood underneath my Snow White shirt and I had fleece leggings AND Tights on under my skirt. Lacey and mom also had a base layer, long sleeves and leggings on under their outfits as well. My mom loved her new Rock City Skirt!  Notice the bow in my hair? That was made by my lovely friend Kim. She also gave my mom a "Belle inspired" bow to wear.

These bows are made of quality material and Kim can make them with a barrette clip or an alligator clip. She can really make any design you would like. Aren't they fabulous?  She sells them on Etsy. Be sure to check out her Facebook Page All Things Disney Bows and her instagram @AllthingsDisneybows

You may remember me saying from earlier this week that my flight was delayed by 7.5 hours so I never made it to the expo on Thursday evening to pick up my bib. Well, I had no idea that we were able to pick them up on race day, so this was such a relief and a great option!  The only problem was that when we got to the runner relations tent to pick them up that morning, there was such a long line Even though my sister already had her bib ( she was able to make it to the expo because her plane was NOT delayed), she waited in line with me. We ended up missing our corral and had to jump in a further one. This really wasn't a big deal since it was just a fun run anyway but since we were further back, we ended up waiting longer in line for character pictures.

We were so excited to see that the classic Disney characters, Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy were on the course because we rarely see them during a 5K.  However, Since it IS the Princess 5K, we thought that it was odd that there were no princesses on the course (or characters from Princess movies). I thought that perhaps since it was SO cold that morning that maybe a switch was made at the last minute. Maybe Disney didn't want "Face" characters on the course for that long and thought these "costumed" characters would be able to stay warmer for the length of the race.

We were glad to see that in the center of Epcot there was of course a stage with Frozen characters up on it, for Display purposes only. You couldn't get pictures with them. Could you imagine how long those lines would be?

                                        A few characters we found after the finish line.

I have to say that I believe this was actually one of the coldest races I've ran. I kept my gloves on during the race and only took them off for pictures. During those few seconds I could feel my fingers becoming numb. I wonder if this is really what Disney had in mind when they named it the Frozen 5K?

                       

Minnie really liked our "medals".

What was the coldest race you've ever run? For those of you who ran the 5K during marathon weekend, was this one colder?

We ran Disney's Enchanted 10K the next day. You can read about that HERE.

What we ate- Disney Edition

Since it is Wednesday, we thought we would do a "What we ate Wednesday", Disney Edition. One of the most fun things about Disney is eating at their unique restaurants.  Although most Disney visitors make their dinning reservations 180 days in advance, we usually just "Wing it". So far that method has worked out okay for us because we have been able to get in to every place we wanted to. There have been a few times we've made reservations once we arrive at Disney and that has worked out for us too.  Here are just a few dishes that we remembered to take pictures of. Please don't be offended if you see meals that have already had bites taken out of them.

Trying to run disney

We just finished three great races at Disney World this weekend as part of the Princess Half Marathon weekend. It didn't start off that great though. Lacey arrived at Disney bright and early on Thursday morning but I on the other hand had my flight delayed by 7.5 hours!!!! Not what you want to hear when you are going to Disney. It wasn't even a weather issue either, it was a maintenance issue. Of course I want to be safe, but they could have called in another aircraft or something. This delay caused me to miss the race expo on Thursday, so I was unable to pick my bib up for the race on Friday morning. This was a bit annoying but wasn't a huge deal because I was able to pick it up at the race the morning of. Which reminds me that I never did post a picture of our final 5K outfit. I'll get on that later this week.

So, remember on Thursday we wrote that we wanted to try some new stuff during this trip? Well, we've been here for 5 days already and have not done anything new yet! Hopefully we will work on that in the coming days.

How was your weekend? Did you try anything new?

5 Races to run in 2015

 Happy Friday Folks!

Today's theme for the Friday 5 is Five Races to run in 2015.  We will be completing our 3rd, 4th and 5th races of the year this weekend while we are at Disney. Today is the Royal Family 5K, Tomorrow is the Enchanted 10K and Sunday is the Princess Half Marathon.

So what else do we have on the schedule this year? Well, as you know, we both have been struggling this year with injuries so we aren't loading up our race calendars. We think it's time we really taking resting more seriously.  But in the meantime, here is what we have "planned"

1. April Fools Race:  (April)We've done this race for the past two years.  The weekend consists of a 7K, 11K, and half marathon. Although last year's race wasn't as fabulous as the year before, it is still worth participating in, especially since it's a weekend spent at the beach and we got a free entry.  It use to be put on by the Revel resort but since that closed I am anxious to see how the race will be handled.

2. Tinkerbell Half Marathon: (May) This will be the first Disneyland race for both of us. As you can suspect, we are very excitedly looking forward to it.  We will be doing the Pixie Dust Challenge which consist of a 5K, a 10K, and Half Marathon.

3. Rock n Roll Virginia Beach:  (September)This race is probably the reason we will never get to run the Disneyland half marathon. Both of these races are held on Labor Day weekend and by far is one of our favorite races!  This will be the 4th year we will be participating in this event.

4. Rock n Roll Philadelphia: (TBD)This race probably wouldn't have been on our radar again this year but since we have an RnR tour pass to use, we are putting it on the list. Registration hasn't opened yet since a date has not been set.

5. To round out our RnR tour pass, we are considering RnR Savannah (November).  We were considering Nashville but really don't want to add anymore races this spring since we are trying keep longer periods of recovery between races. But really a third RnR race is still up in the air. We're taking suggestions!

What races are you looking forward to this year? Which RnR race would you suggest?

Thinking Out Loud Thursday

Happy Thursday folks!  We thought today would be a god day to do another random thinking out loud post, so here goes!

We are at Disney and the Health and Fitness Expo is on the agenda today!

Since the day we booked this trip, we have switched our reservation to three different resorts.  We were all set to try a new resort, but then an old favorite opened up at the last minute and we couldn't resist.  We like being at monorail resorts because of the easy access to things. We plan to try a new resort on a future visit but a race weekend is not the time we want to try something new (at least resort wise).

Speaking of trying something new, we will look to do at least three new things (hopefully) that we have not done before. The great thing about Disney is that no matter how many times you go, you can always have a different experience.  One thing we are looking forward to is relaxing at Typhoon Lagoon after the race on Sunday. We hadn't been here in about 15 years. I hope the weather cooperates.

I have no expectations for any of these races this weekend. I am of course not real worried about the 5K but I will say that I feel like I am in worse shape now than I was when I ran the marathon last month. For the 10K and Half, I will admit I am worried!  -M

I have been consistently applying Tiger Balm to my leg and I think it's working. I can actually run now!  But to be fair, I don't know if it is the Tiger Balm or the fact that I have been resting it. I hope I am healed, but I guess I'll find out soon enough! -L


When you go on vacation do you like to visit the same restaurants and resorts (because you know you already enjoy them) or do you make a point to always try something new?

What I Ate Wednesday and Some Coupons

Since we knew we would be heading on vacation this week, we've tried to be really conscientious as to what we ate in the days prior ( meaning we tried to limited the junk food and sweets). We figured we would be splurging a little at Disney so we might as well eat "good" on the days leading up to our departure.

 

Scott was feeling under the weather this week so I tried my hand at making home made chicken noodle soup.

Where in the World to get race merchandise engraved and embroidered

If you are looking to have some race items personalized in an effort to commemorate your race, there are actually several ways you can do that around Disney World.

1.The first and most obvious way to commemorate a race is to have your medal engraved.
Lasting Commemoratives is the company that does it at Disney Races and they have a tent set up after the finish line. I have never done this but my friend Heather has so the information here is from her. It's $20 to get the engraving done and they prefer cash (but may accept credit cards too).

You can actually pre-pay at the expo if you don't want to carry cash on you during the race. They will actually engrave any medals not just the Disney ones. So if you have medals from other races that you wish you would have got engraved, you can bring them here and they'll do it!  When you get to the tent you will fill out a form with your name and bib number. It gets put in a line and there is someone there with a computer and engraver that does it right there. The wait is usually 5-15 minutes depending on how many people are in front of you in line.

If you miss the engraving tent at the race or change your mind about the engraving on the days following the race don't worry. There are still a few places in the world you can get your medal engraved.

2. Arribas Brothers in Downtown Disney is a crystal gift/jewelry shop and has an artist on hand that will engrave your medal.  Ironically enough I wanted to get a necklace engraved there and they wouldn't do that.

3. Disney's Wonderful World of Memories at Downtown Disney will also do engraving on medals. This one actually surprised me. I knew they embroidered Mickey ears but didn't know about the medals until the cast member had told me.


So what other things can you personalize?

What about getting your race jacket embroidered?  I did that with a run Disney jacket I bought earlier this year. I wasn't crazy about the "official" marathon jacket so I just bought a run Disney jacket and had WDW Marathon embroidered on it.

4. At Disney you can get race jackets (and other items) embroidered at Adrian and Edith's Head to Toe shop at Hollywood Studios.  You can even bring in non-Disney items and they will embroider them too.  I hear it is a pretty reasonable price at around $10 an item. You can get things engraved here too!

5. Getting Christmas ornaments personalized with a race and date seems to be a popular thing to do. When we were at Disney for marathon weekend we saw the artists painting several Dopey Challenge  ornaments. The cost for personalizing was about $12 plus the cost of the ornament.
Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe at Magic Kingdom and Disney's Days of Christmas in Downtown Disney both personalize ornaments.  Do this earlier in the day in case it takes a few hours to complete. Know that during a race weekend it may even take a day or two.

6. Glaskunst in Germany ( in Epcot) is an outdoor store that sells glass items that you can get engraved. How cool would it be to get a personalized wine glass with  your name, race and a PR? Hmm, I think I might do this if I ever PR at Wine n Dine!  They do beer steins too!

7. If you missed getting a T-shirt at the race expo, you can design your own. There is a Design a Tee in Downtown Disney that allows you to choose from hundreds of Disney images and then you can add your own words to it. I'm thinking this might be a great way to create your own unique "I Did It" shirt!

8. Also at Arribas Brothers you can get a picture frame engraved with the name of your race and date on it ( or anything that you want engraved on it of course).

Of course there are other places around the "world" to get cool personalized items to commemorate your race but these are just the ones that we were able to think of right away.

What is the most unique thing that you've done to commemorate a race?

The Check List

Hello Readers! Did you all have a happy Valentines day weekend? It was cold here and it flurried. Did I mention it was cold?  I looked up the weather for Florida this week and gasped when I saw that it was going to be 54 degrees one day during our trip. This made me want to re-think some of the things I was going to pack.

Since I didn't go anywhere this weekend, I got a start on my packing for Disney. If you know me, you know that I thrive on organization and I love lists. I intend to carry-on my luggage so it is very important that everything is organized. I decided to put a list together to help me visually see what all I needed and how I would pack it.  Since I put the list together, I figured I'd share it in hopes it would help someone else who is packing for a race-cation.

I have to divide my stuff up in separate categories and then each category gets put in its own gallon ziplock bag.

1. Documents: This includes Race Waivers, Magic bands, airline boarding passes, resort reservation information, tickets, etc. (I actually forgot to pack my park ticket last month when I visited WDW)

2. Snack Bags: In this bag I pack my Honey Stingers and any other race fuel I need ( remember GU's are considered a liquid and need to be in a separate ziplock bag. I also pack packs of oatmeal and some Clif bars so I can eat them for breakfast before the race. Food courts will not be open at 3am.

3. Race Day outfits: I'm sure you've heard this one before, but I've packed each outfit for each race in its own ziplock bag. EVERYTHING that will go on for that race including the tank, shorts, skirt, sports bra, undies, socks, sweatyband, arm sleeves, compression sleeves, and hair ties. There is one bag for each race.

4. Running essentials. There are a few things I won't be able to get by without. Tiger balm and IBprofen  are two of them. You may need KT tape, biofreeze, or a few other things. Also my hand held water bottle will be packed in this bag. Be sure to check out this list of items to bring with you to the start of the race.

5.  Cosmetics and personal items.

6. Electronics. Runners have a LOT of stuff to plug in ( Garmin, Ipod, Phone, Camera, etc). I keep all my cords together in a ziplock bag so I can easily find them.

Of course I then throw in the rest of the clothes I plan to wear during the week.  Since this crazy weather has come into play, I'm still struggling on how many cold weather items I want to bring.

If you are unsure what you might need for a race-cation, check out this list of 7 things you might not think to bring but would be very helpful.

I Also wrote a post last year called "What I'm packing and NOT packing" which might be helpful if you are carrying on and trying to save some space too. There are a few things that you just wont need to bother bringing.

5 Valentines For My Sweetheart

Happy Friday Folks!  How many of you have something special planned tonight in anticipation of Valentines day? And how many of you have a scary movie planned because ya know it IS Friday the 13th?  Since the Friday 5 topic is about Love, I don't plan on talking about anything scary here!

We are not huge into Valentines day, but I do like that it allows us to be creative. I love anytime to have a little photo shoot with my gal and what better way than to make Valentines for our friends.

I know I showed some of these before, but I thought it was the perfect time to show them again.

Our Valentine Card Collection throughout the years.

1. This is our Valentine for this year. I was a little lacking in inspiration this year but since it has been so cold lately I thought it was fitting.

 

 2. This one was from a few years back and was the most fun one to create. It always amazes me how patient this dog is and how well she behaves. I literally had no trouble having her stay in that box till I could take the picture. 

3. This was last year's Valentine. This one is near and dear to my heart. I think my parents love it too because this Valentine is still hanging up on their back door.

 

4. This is one of the very first Valentine cards that the dogs helped create! They were so co-operative even with the tie and ruffle. I almost feel sorry for these dogs for all the other sill outfits I've put them in over the years. You DID see the Christmas post, right?

 

 

 

5. This Valentine is for YOU.  Use it as a virtual Valentine from us or maybe you need to send a valentine for someone and you don't have time to make one yourself. Feel free to cut and paste this one. We don't mind. We won't even try to take credit for it!

 

 

Have a Good one friends!   Are you doing something exciting this weekend?

 

The Runner's Room

 

After spending some time in my dressing room working on my race wall, I decided I wanted to start a little spring cleaning. I can't believe how many running shirts I've accumulated over the years. I've found some that I never even wore yet. It made me think that maybe I should  consider having a race blanket made.

 I previously had my running clothes in one of the sweater organizers but recently added a second one. I feel this lets me organize them easier ( all tank tops are together, all short sleeve are together, all long sleeve are together, etc).  I am considering replacing the sweater organizer on the left with one that is the same type like on the right. The zippered front on it can make it tricky to get the clothes in and out.

 I love when my dressing room is organized. I put loose items, like running socks, in those pink bins to the right. This lets me easily grab them. l did something that is HUGE for me. I am not a pack rat by any means but I tend to hold on to certain items because I feel bad getting rid of them. I finally realized that it was okay to get rid of old college t-shirts and sweatshirts that I hadn't worn in years and I probably will not wear in the future. And it seems as though I have t-shirts from not only every race I've run, but every school I attended, every place I've worked, every vacation I've gone on, every sports team I've followed, and the list could go on and on. I have learned that I do NOT need to buy another t-shirt.  I am really going to try to stick to this when I go on my next Disney trip.

My husband has been after me to get an actual shoe rack.  It sounds like it would be a good idea but I know that I wouldn't take the time to put the shoes properly back on the rack each time I'm done wearing them, (I'm just being honest here)!

Some of this stuff has been re-organized since I took this picture.  I actually have a few bags to take to the Good Will store. 

I definitely learned that sometimes less really is more!

What would you learn by cleaning out YOUR closet? Is there something you admit to have too much of?

The Great Race Project

The other day I posted on Instagram that I had a little project brewing. It looked a little like this.

Run or Rest with your Valentine!

 

Are you someone's Valentine this year? Do you like the traditional gifts of flowers and candy? I'm a candy gal for sure so that is one of my "go to" little treats on Valentines day. It's actually the gift I love to hate, or is it the gift I hate to love?   Anyway, if you do not share in my loves of all things candy, you may prefer little treats like the ones below.

 

 

 

 

With the exception of the running skirt from Rock City Skirts, all these items came from Gone For A Run. I'm loving the Candy heart T-shirt.  Hmm, a shirt with Candy on it!  If I was confident that I would be at the finish line of my next race, I would get that ( All joking a side, I WILL get to the finish line). Those shirts come in a few other colors and sayings too.  The 13.1 heart in the corner is actually a shoe charm. Every runner needs a shoe charm!

 

 

Since I am currently a Runner at rest, perhaps these goodies would be more suitable.

 

 I think those candy heart compression socks are just adorable  (there I go again with the candy)!
-M


Do you exchange Valentines gifts with anyone? If so what types of gifts do you deem suitable for Valentines day?

                                                      

It's Just What I wanted

Happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.   Previously during a Peek in our Week I mentioned that I found a really great ice pack.  I wanted to tell you a little bit about this ice pack (because it's so fabulous)!

When I would ice my legs, I would often use the large ice packs that we would keep in our freezer. I'm sure they were probably suppose to be ice packs for putting in coolers and keeping stuff cold, but  I didn't really think that much about them. I would just pull them out when I needed ice.  They would start off being a frozen block and it was really hard to wrap it around my leg in the places I wanted it until it thawed out about 35 minutes later!   

I also had some really great round ice packs ( about the size of your cheek), that were from the Oral Surgeon that worked great on the sides of my knees. The problem here was that I had to hold the ice pack in place the entire time.

Since I was icing more often, I realized that I needed to find a solution ASAP. I decided that I would get one of the Dr. Cool Wraps, which is an ice pack that wraps nicely around which ever area you want. Even though Dr. Cool Wrap was having a sale, I didn't have time to order it off the website. I saw online that Dick's Sporting Goods had the Dr. Cool Wrap online as well so I thought maybe I could pick one up at my local Dick's Sporting Goods. Turns out, they didn't sell them in the store.

I had a coupon for CVS (our local drug store), so I thought I would look there. Turns out, they have a ton of different ice wraps.  The main things I was looking for was 1) Did it have an ice pack that would conform to my leg and 2) did it have some way of securing it to my leg  (like Velcro).

They had some compression sleeves in which the ice packs would slide in and out of the sleeve, but the ice pack that went with it looked a lot like the ice pack I already had at home. The packaging said it would conform to the body, but I wasn't sure if it would be as flexible as I wanted it to be.

I then found the Peas hot or cold therapy pack.  This is like a gel pack. It can be frozen or microwaved ( I haven't used it in the microwave yet).  They come in many different styles, but I chose the one that goes around the knee.  This looks like a donut, and of course you are suppose to put it around your knee cap, but since that is not really where my pain is I decided to use it differently. I tightly velcroed it to the side of my knee. Now I can finally ice the side and the back of my knee at the same time and the best part is, I don't have to hold it!

I learned a little tip from my friend Lois who use to work in Sports Medicine, only ice for 15 minutes at a time. I did not know this and I would just keep the ice or ice pack on my leg until it melted. Now I ice one leg for 15 minutes and the Peas ice pack is still frozen enough that I can then transfer it over to the other knee and ice for another 15 minutes!

I am assuming that this Peas ice pack is actually the store brand (because it has CVS printed on it). It cost only $10.99 ( but I had a coupon so it cost me less).  If you are not familiar with CVS, you could probably pick up something similar at your own local drug store.   I'm really loving this little ice pack and hope I can pack it with me when I go to Disney next week!   -M

What kind of ice pack do you use?

Disneyland Half Marathon 10th Anniversary Party

Will you be registering for the Disneyland Half Marathon or the Dumbo Double Dare, (or any other race that takes place at Disneyland resort that weekend)?  If so, you will likely know that this year the Disneyland Half marathon will be celebrating it's 10th anniversary as well as Disneyland Resorts 60th.  How fun!  To commemorate this event, runners will now have the opportunity to go to the "Run Disney Anniversary Party".
I had a few folks ask me already about this event (and how to get tickets), so I thought I would share what little bit that I know.

Registration for this event will take place tomorrow (Feb 10th).

Tickets to the Anniversary party will be selected as an "add on" after you had registered for the race. (Similar to adding on Pasta in the Parks or commemorative race merchandise).

Tickets will be $99.

The Anniversary Party will take place on Thursday September 4th  at the Disneyland park  (sometime in the late afternoon/evening).

There will be special areas roped off for the run Disney guests, photo ops, and a few other surprises.


For more detailed information, be sure to check out the registration page tomorrow at 9 am.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE ONLY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO ME AT THE TIME THIS POST WAS PUBLISHED. WHEN REGISTRATION OPENS YOU MAY FIND THAT SOME OF THESE DETAILS ARE DIFFERENT. IF I FIND OUT THINGS ARE INACURATE I WILL UPDATE IT. IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER. THANKS

If you don't already have an Active.com account set up (which you will need to have to register for the race, it would be a good idea to create that account ahead of time).

Will you be running any of the races at Disneyland this year?

A Peek in Our Week and Last Call For Skirts

Welcome to another edition of a Peek in our Week!

I had a relaxing week/weekend visiting family. I had a doctor, dentist, and chiropractor appointment.-L

I refrained from running  all week because of my knee pain. I finally did a short run today and with a lot of Tiger Balm on my knee it went okay. -L

The most exciting thing was probably getting a friend signed up for their very first half marathon!-L

My mom, sister, and I got all our bits and pieces around for our Princess races this month. We had some skirt problems so some things got re-arranged. We hope to post some pics of the final outfit decisions once we get everything we need. -L

Speaking of Skirts........ If you want a fabulous Skirt for any of the Disney races, contact Amy from RockCitySkirts.com.  She can make any character design.  She's pretty busy right now making skirts for the Princess half marathon weekend, but if you order by tomorrow, you should still be able to get the skirt delivered to you before you leave for PHM ( of course this depends when you are leaving for the race).

But if you already have costumes planned for PHM, you can always keep these in mind for a future Disney race!

 

Oh, and one more thing. We apologize for the random blog posts this week. As I was playing around on the Polyvore website, every item I selected seem to want to publish itself to the blog right away. I'm working on trying to fix that. Also, Lacey got a new phone this week and her comments are not exactly linking back up to our blog. As you know we are not "techy" people so it may take us a while to figure these things out.   -M

We hope you all had a fabulous weekend. What did you this weekend?

Supposedly I'm too OLD!

This week's Friday 5 is "Fitness Snapshots" but since neither of us have been doing much Fitness since the marathon we are going to have to deviate from the theme a bit.

1. After today, we are both going to try NOT to talk about our pain. We don't want this blog to turn into a "poor us"  complain session each time. Everyone has had pain at one point or another so we just need to do what we can to take care of it and move on. We  ( and I mean ME) are not even going to complain about not being able to run the race I want to at Princess. (This seems to be a theme with me and Disney races so I'm not even surprised...It is what it is).

 2. I did have my Ortho appointment this week. Even after my primary care doctor told me there was nothing that would help me except for rest, she still INSISTED that I go to the Ortho.  I was to this same Ortho last July and didn't really get any different answers so I really wasn't excited about spending more time and $ to hear there is nothing more I can do.

3. Although I didn't hear any different news about my diagnosis, I did hear something that I never heard from any of the medical professionals that I've seen before. This Ortho told me I WAS TOO OLD TO BE RUNNING! Can you believe this? I am obviously not a teenager but I'm in pretty good health but yet he thinks I am too old. I hate to break it to you ladies that are older then me, but I guess we're done. Hang up your running shoes!  I pretty much told him he was a Debbie Downer and he could have been a little more encouraging! My sister was in the room with me and I LOVE that she came to my defense and asked the doctor " Are you a Runner?"  #MyProtector :)  I know she was thinking in her mind that if this doctor is not a runner, he really just doesn't get it. ( Later in the car she told me that was exactly what she was thinking) And P.S he doesn't run. He said he use to but now he just bikes.

4. The result, you guessed it. More cortisone shots. I told the doctor that I just got one on New Years Eve ( I thought you were only suppose to get them every 3 or 4 months and quite honestly I know it is not good for my body to keep getting them at all).  He told me that it was okay.  At least this time he actually gave me the shots on the side of my knee where the actual pain was ( unlike my primary care doctor who gave me the shot in my lower back).  I was glad to have my sister in there with me because I was squeezing her hand tight the entire time. I think getting the shot on the side of my knee was even more painful then getting it in the hip. The stuff they spray on your skin to numb it literally feels like your skin is being freezer burnt and it is painful (but tolerable).

5. I understand that not everybody has answers for everything but one thing I HATE is when doctors use the phrase "I don't know".  I was trying to ask questions about the pain and trying to learn a little bit more. I have a really hard time believing that this particular pain I have is so uncommon that these doctors don't have any experience with it. Heck, my sister is going through the same thing ( that's sort of why she came with me to the appointment so she could see what the doctor had to say). The doctor was kind of rushing too because he had a patient he had to see that had an emergency which I totally understand, but dang it, the same thing happened to me during my last doctor's appointment on New Years Eve.  I guess it's so much easier for the doctor to just print off a page from the internet and say "read this" to learn about your problem then to actually sit down and have a conversation with you.

So that's it. That's how things are going. If you read the entire post, Thank you. I know it was a long one today  -M

Pre-Ordered Race Merchandise

I wrote this post because I was very curious about the pre-order race merchandise and I thought if I had questions about it that maybe other runners have questions about it too.

Much of this information I received right from the manager of merchandising while at the Disney race expo.

1.The pre-orders were done during the time of race registration. They were called "blind orders", because you had to order and pay for them without even seeing what they looked like until expo day.  My sister and I did a "blind order" for the Marathon jacket this year.

2.This year (2015) was the first time that a pre-order has been an option ( I was unsure of this fact but this info came right from the manager).  There was not a pre-order for Princess Half Marathon last year (2014). Some people were speculating that the White Jacket was the "pre-order" jacket, but it was not.  This white tech jacket was bought at the expo.

3.If you pre-ordered (or blind ordered) a jacket for an upcoming Disney race you will pick this up in the same building where you will go for packet pick -up ( race bib), not at the expo building.

4.Note: The pre-order jackets will not be available for purchase at the expo.  The expo will have a variety of other jackets, but not the pre-order ones.

5.If you are not pleased with your pre-ordered jacket ( or other pre-order items), you can return it. After seeing the design of the marathon jacket this year, I decided that I didn't really care for it. It wasn't a problem for me to return it. Just make sure that you have your receipt ( this will be on your registration form). Returns are made at the same place you picked it up.

6. If you are REALLY loving the pre-ordered jacket and you wished that you would have pre-ordered one too there may possibly be a chance you could get your hands on one. We were told that all the left over jackets ( or returned ones) are taken to the merchandise tent at the finish line.

Have you ever "blind ordered" anything?

Put it in Your Pocket for Princess: Items that are helpful on race day

After running the Goofy Challenge at Disney world, I realized there were a few things that were helpful to have and other things that I wish I would have brought with me during the race. When I run longer distance, I like to wear skirts that have pockets in them or I wear a running belt, like the flip belt.

I continue to be amazed at how much I can fit in my pockets of my running skirts. Not only would I carry my GU's, Honeystingers, and phone but here are a few other items I'll consider.

1. The trash bag. I talked about this once before but since I wrote the previous post on it, I have since discovered a new use for it. Not only will it be useful to sit on before you head to your corral, or to cover up with if you get a chill, but if you fold it back up and put it back in your pocket you can use it at the end of the race when you gather up all your goodies. At the end of the race you will be getting water bottles, bananas, snack boxes, etc. We used our trash bag to stash all this stuff in after the Disney World Half Marathon and we didn't have to worry about holding all those items once it was time to get some pictures done.

2. A Flash Light.  If you can bring a mini key chain flash light that will be super helpful when you want to use the port-o-potties before you get into your corral in the morning. It will be dark in there.

3. Pack a few tissues in your pocket as well. Port-o-potties have been known to run out of TP.

4. Pocket size hand sanitizer. Yup, the port-o-potties run out of this too. If the pocket size squeeze containers of sanitizers are too bulky, bring one of those packs of Wet Naps, (you know the ones that you would get with a To Go meal at a fast food restaurant).

5. Another thing that might be helpful is if you bring those really thin disposable plastic gloves, like the ones people use for food service. This way you can just slip the gloves on and off and you won't have to even worry about washing your hands. This is great for all those runners who are going for a PR but find themselves having to stop along the course to use he restroom!

6.  Bring Cash: At the end of the race there will be a massage tent. Massages are $1 per minute and generally can be bought in increments of ten minutes. In years past we would get a 20 minute massage for $20. During marathon weekend last month they were so busy that the maximum time we could get was only 10 minutes! They only accept CASH. No credit cards or magic bands will be accepted.

                                What is something you also put in your pocket during a race?

Don't forget these tips can also apply to the Tinkerbell half marathon as well.

Run All The Races and Look Pretty: Discounts Ahead!

Good news folks! There was actually a cancelation at the Ortho office this week so I get to go tomorrow instead of on the 11th! I know it's only a week earlier but hey, that's one more week before the princess half marathon that I have to hopefully get this problem under control.

And speaking of half marathons, as you may know, we are Rock n bloggers for the Rock n Roll Race series. Besides Disney races the Rock n Roll races are our favorites! I'm sure you have read our multiple posts praising RnR VA Beach, or you may have followed us on social media as we rocked Las Vegas last year.   Our race calendar is pretty full this spring so we are looking for RnR races to do the later half of the year.  Here is our list so far:

For Sure: VA Beach

Short List : Philly

Maybes: Savannah, ST. Louis, Raleigh

But who knows, anything can change.

 If you want to run a Rock n Roll race, feel free to use our code for $15 off registration for any marathon or half marathon. Unfortunately there is no code available for Las Vegas ( there is a military/government discount available though if you are interest).

And guess what? If you want to rock a skirt at any of the Rock n  Roll races, our friend Amy from Rock City Skirts can make you a skirt suitable for any race. She is also giving Free Shipping with the code SHIPFREE. Check out some of her skirts.

 

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Will you be running a Rock n Roll race this year?

Why Can't You Find Your Race Pictures?

While most of us were glued to our television sets last night watching the super bowl ( except for me, I was working on my articles for the "How To" magazine, although I did take a brief break to watch Katy Perry at half time.), our running friend Lois was busy scrolling through the hundreds of unclaimed photos from Marathon Foto.

 Apparently some of her race photos from marathon weekend in Disney were not showing up in her account.  In any race where Marathon Foto is there taking pictures, if you have photos that are "missing" you are encouraged to look through the "unclaimed" photos file. Believe me there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of "unclaimed" photos of runners. An unclaimed photo is essentially a photo were they can not identify the runner because their race bib may not have been properly showing. This could be because another runner was in front of them ( don't you hate when that happens? Especially when you are running a Disney race and you are going for that perfect shot running through the castle and another runner cuts you off? That is frustrating.), or perhaps your bib just wasn't on straight or Marathon Foto caught you at the wrong angle. What ever the case, you are now considered "Unclaimed" .

After hours of searching through the "unclaimed" folder to see if she could find her lost race pictures  Lois had come to a few conclusions and I thought they were so funny that I asked her to share them here.  Here goes:

Because I am crabby after hours of looking at marathon photo, I have come to a couple conclusions:

 1. Jeans, no matter how cold the temps, should never be worn to a race. It is just wrong on so many levels.

 2. Never in any race should 8 or 9 people be holding hands across the race course. I don't care if you are there with a group, it just shouldn't ever happen.

 3. It was cold at the 5K, but I'm not sure it was parka cold, with a scarf and a hood..

 4. If you are going to dress as Cruella De Vil, do your research. She never got the Dalmatian coat. But if you must add the spots to your costume, make sure they are Dalmatian spots and not a cow print.

 5. If you dress as Donald Duck, orange calf sleeves are just wrong, wrong, wrong. He has yellow legs, yellow feet and a white butt. He doesn't do orange.

Thank you Lois for making us laugh while educating us on proper race attire!

A Peek in our Week

I have been doing a little  Early Spring Cleaning. I worked on a few rooms down in our basement ( a repairman was coming so that kind of gave me the nudge I needed to clean things up a bit), I worked on redecorating my bathroom, cleaning up and re-organizing my dressing room, and re-decorating my living room. You may have recalled in December that I painted the living room, well, now that marathon training is over I've been concentrating on decorating, hanging drapes, buying furnishings, etc. -M

Every night this week I have become in the habit of icing my knees before bed and then taking 2 IBuprofen right before I fall asleep. I can't say I feel great by any means but my legs are not cramping up in the middle of the night anymore. And when I say cramping up, I am using that term loosely as it really feels like there is a knot in my leg and that my leg literally locks up to where I can not move it.-M

On a brighter note I got a new icepack yesterday and it is FABULOUS! Who knew one could get so excited over an ice pack? -M

I've stopped riding my exercise bike for a while. I would ride in the evening and then my legs would hurt worse at night time. I'm going to give it a rest until I go see my Ortho and see what he has to say about it. -M

Speaking of Ortho, I've called everyday this week to see if someone had cancelled. We got some snow this week so I thought perhaps there was a little old lady out there  somewhere that wouldn't be able to make it to her appointment. Turns out, no one cancels because of a little snow.  We are suppose to get more snow tonight and into tomorrow so perhaps someone might cancel then. Fingers crossed! -M

I have SO much work to do this week that it is starting to stress me out. I'm doing work for this new magazine called "How To".  My articles are How to choose a Lawyer, How to choose the right insurance agent, and How to pick a hearing aid, all things I know nothing about. On top of that I have my articles for my regular magazine that I write for and my Fashion column is due in a few days and I don't even have a topic picked out! Ugg!.  Perhaps I should spend less time cleaning and decorating! -M

After having some leg pain, the highlight of my week was finally getting a massage! That is all. -L

What was the highlight of your week?