I Need to Log Off and Go Run

After completing a full marathon and half marathon in January, and then a half marathon, 10k, and 5k, in February all while having severe ITBS and Tendonitis (along with greater trochanter pain), I decided that I was going to rest the entire month of March.  I continued my stretches and rode the bike a few times (although not as much as I should have).  As you can tell from the blog, I did some updating  (and some things you probably can't tell from looking at the blog are all the photos that I re-sized to help the pages load faster).  All this work took a LOT of time. Add this to some work projects that I've been doing and that means a LOT of time being on a computer.

April is going to be my time to Log Off, Shut Down, and Go Run!   Tomorrow is the last day to submit miles for the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Virtual run, so I plan to do that. If you haven't done that yet, get on it. You get some cool swag! Also, Lacey and I have been invited to do the Log Off Shut Down Go Run Virtual 10K race with Gone For A Run!  Who wants to run that with us?


Here's how it works.

Register by April 14th
The race will take place April 24-26.
Since it is Virtual, you can run it anywhere of course. 
Your registration Fee will include a race tank or tee, a bib, a finishers medal, and a cool car magnet.
After you completed the race, post on social media for your chance to win more great prizes from Gone For A Run.

Interested? For more info check it out at HERE.



I figure this will motivate me to get some more miles in  before the Tinkerbell  half Marathon in May!

Do you ever use virtual runs as motivation for training runs?  -M

                                             We are linking up with the gals from TOTR.

Sign Me Up Please

 

 

 I know many people come up with a training schedule and plan out which races they want to do several months in advance. If you want to run a Disney race, that's a MUST, since they seem to sell out right away. As much as I love Disney races it is a major commitment signing up that far ahead of time. The only reason I can sign up for these races are because I

Running Fuel : New Spring Flavors to Look For

I am SO happy that Spring is upon us now! I can actually go outside in short sleeves with OUT a jacket, Hallelujah!  Another sign that winter has come to an end is that I have ONE Iced Gingerbread Clif bar left. Remember that case I bought last year? I am actually surprised they lasted this long, but to be honest, I hadn't been running, so I hadn't been eating them. I think Scott had been eating them for breakfast on the go!

So now I must be on the look out for some new Spring flavored running fuels.

1. Clif Bars: The new Clif bar flavors for Spring are Berry Pomegranate Chia and Nuts and Seed.  I also saw that they have an Apricot  flavored one out too that I want to try.

  In addition to the bars, Clif also has some new

10 Blog Post ideas for when you are feeling un-inspired

Earlier this week we talked about our thoughts on blogging. Between the two of us we generally don't have a problem with coming up with content. We like to talk.  If you've ever met either of us in person, you would probably agree.  Also, with two of us working on the blog, we always have at least one race on the calendar we are training for, which also makes it easier for us to come up with content.  However, we do understand that sometimes coming up with content can be a challenge, especially if you are not training for anything but still want to keep your blog fitness related.
Here are a few ideas for those of you who want to keep a consistent blogging schedule but sometimes struggle with ideas.    

1. We recently jumped on the bandwagon and have done a few

The Life Span of a blog

 We are now heading into our third year of blogging. Sometimes we wonder how long we can actually sustain this blog. We often wonder if we will ever run out of things to blog about. We wonder if what we write is relevant, are we interesting, and are we helping people?  As you can see, we always have a LOT to say so running out of content is something we probably don't have to worry about anytime soon. Now whether or not you find our content relevant  to you, is up to you.

Today we wanted to share with you some of our blogging thoughts.

1. We often wonder, just what IS the life span of a blog? We engaged with some bloggers who started blogs around the same time we did but

A Peek in Our Week and a little questionnaire

 

Happy Monday good friends!  How did you celebrate the first weekend of Spring? Did you race? I can't wait to hear about all the folks that ran the Shamrock 8k, half marathon, and marathon in Virginia Beach this weekend. As you may know, Lacey usually runs the Shamrock marathon. The weather during that race has not been very pleasant the last few years so she opted not to run this weekend. Instead, she was soaking up some Florida sunshine.  I got a call from her the other day and she was on her way to the beach!   I on the other hand

A Runner's Anticipation of Spring

As usual, we are participating in the Friday 5 where the topic is "Spring".  How timely! Here are a few things that have had me anticipating Spring this week.

Copy Cat Races?

When we were running one of the Rock n Roll races last year, we overheard someone say "These races are trying to be like Disney race", meaning that they are now giving out medals that have decorative lanyards and offering more "Challenge" races.  As you know, we love Disney races so we didn't take any offense to this comment at all. Please, we wish more races would follow Disney's concept! Good Job Rock n Roll!

Race medal for 2013 vs 2014. The medals themselves have always been fabulous but RnR has really stepped it up with the lanyards.




Just like Disney has the, Goofy Challenge, Glass Slipper, Pixie Dust, and Dopey Challenges, Rock n Roll has their Re-mix challenges (doing multiple race distances in one weekend) and Double Downs ( running two neighboring RnR races on different weekend).

Just like Disney has a Coast to Coast medal, Rock n Roll has what we would consider to be their version of it. It's called Heavy Medals. If you do two Rock n Roll races in a calendar year, you get the Rock Encore medal.

 If you run three race in a year you get the Triple Crown medal. You can earn up to 10 Heavy Medals in one year.

But unlike Disney (where you get your Coast to Coast medal somewhere along the finish line immediately after you've completed the race), Rock n Roll does not give your Heavy Medal to you right away. It is mailed to you.

One of the bloggers we read made a comment last year that getting her Heavy Medal almost felt like a "Gift with Purchase" to her and that it didn't seem special.   We couldn't imagine not feeling that the medal was "special". Afterall, you DID earn it.  BUT after we actually received our Heavy Medals in the mail, we surprisingly kind of felt the same way. It was exciting getting it in the mail (because lets face it it's always exciting to get a package in the mail). But then the next day, we hang it on the wall with the others and forget about it.  With that being said, I decided that maybe other runners might feel the same way, so I wrote this in our RnR  Rockin Bloggers Facebook group.

Has there been any thought to RnR races being able to present runners with their "Rock Encore" medal at the actual race instead of having it mailed to them weeks later? There is something really special about being able to bask in the glory of your accomplishment right then and there. I think we would be able to enjoy the medal more too instead of just receiving it at home and then hanging it up right aways. DON'T get me wrong, I appreciate the heavy medals in whatever form we get them. Any thought?

Of course my feedback was welcomed by the administrator and I was told that this is something that they have considered. In the past I believe it was a production issue that kept them from being distributed but currently there seems to be other issues that they may or may not be working on.

Here were some concerns I have found other runners to have on this issue.......

Some runners didn't like the long lines that they already had to wait in to get the re-mix medals and perhaps people wouldn't want to wait in a long line to get the Heavy Medal. A solution was to make multiple booths for medals.  

(I personally have never had to wait in a long line to get the re-mix medal but I HAVE had trouble finding the re-mix medal booth since it is rarely right at the finish line. People wait in line all the time at Disney to get their challenge medals and I don't believe it has ever been an issue. I think it is because there are multiple lines where they can pick up their medals).

Another concern was that RnR looks up a list of eligible runners on the computer to make sure you are getting the medal you deserve.  Other races of this nature will only give you a wrist band to get your challenge medal and apparently there has been issues with people "sharing" their wrist bands with other runners.

(I personally have NEVER heard of there being an issue with runners "sharing" their wristbands to get challenge medals but I suppose it could happen. I mean afterall, how many stories have we all heard about runners cheating during a race? Why would they want a medal for a race they didn't complete? Who knows!)  Oh, and P.S The computer systems aren't always that accurate. I was mailed the Triple Crown medal that I did not deserve. It's okay thought because my sister received the Rock Encore ( that should have been mine), so we just switched. She legitimately DID earn the Triple Crown but was sent the wrong one.  I should also mention that Disney DOES now look your race info up on a computer before giving you the challenge medal.

And one more comment was about the preferred method of getting the medal in the mail. Weeks after the race is said and done, receiving the medal in the mail allows you to celebrate a bit all over again ( if only in your mind).

All valid remarks and concerns I suppose. Regardless of how the medals get to us, we undoubtedly think that Rock n Roll races have some of the best looking medals. We can't wait to cross the finish line of another Rock n Roll race to earn more!

If you completed a race challenge where you would receive a medal like the heavy medals, would you want your medal right after the race, or would you prefer it to be mailed to your home at a later date? 

Don't forget, if you want to sign up for an upcoming Rock n Roll race, use our code FAIRYTALESNFIT to save some $.

Are you doing any rock n roll races this year?

A Running Costume in the Making ( and Guess what the new one will be)

It's no secret that we enjoy dressing up for Disney races. It's kind of fun to see what we can create from things we already have lying around the house or from pieces we've worn from previous races.

For instance, I created this "Snow White" inspired outfit last summer with the intentions of wearing it for Mickey's Haunted 5k Trail Run in October.  Instead, I wore something different for the race and the "Snow White" outfit for an evening at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Since I never officially wore that outfit to race in, I thought it was fair game to wear again to the Princess 5K in February so that is just what I did.   Here is a little bit of how I turned what I had around the house into a simple "Snow White" running outfit.

1. You'll need a solid blue shirt. I had a short sleeve one that I had from the previous summer. It was just a Danskin training shirt I picked up a Wal-mart for less then $10.

2. Even though this is a short sleeve shirt, I felt the sleeves were a little long so the first adjustment I made on the shirt was to hem the sleeves to make a "cap" sleeve.

3. Since I originally made this outfit to run the 5k in, I wasn't sure how I would feel about the high collar up on my neck so I made the decision to make the collar lay flat.  To make the collar I took a piece of thicker paper (like as thick as a postcard) and made a collar pattern out of it. I actually made two of these. I then traced the pattern on to a piece of white fabric (double the fabric) and leave 1/2 inch around the outside of the pattern so you can sew the 2 pieces of white fabric together.  Since you will have 2 collars. you will do this process twice.  Sew the collar inside out half way, and then flip it right side in. You will then slip in the paper pattern that you made for the collar. This makes the collar more sturdy. The sew the rest of the collar up.

4. Attach the collar to the front collar of the blue shirt. The blue shirt was actually a V-neck shirt but now you can't tell because of how the two white collars are sewn on.

5. Get Blue and Red Ribbon. I had blue and red ribbon at my home already but I was worried because the ribbons were two different widths. It turned out that it didn't really matter. You do want thick ribbon though, not real thin stuff.  NOTE: The shorter your sleeves are on your blue shirt, the "poofier" your ribbons on your sleeves are going to look. You WANT  "Poof". That is the reason I made my sleeves shorter.  I have seen some people make the Snow White top with a tank top ( no sleeves) but that would require having to attach a band or some ribbon around you arm and I didn't know how that would turn out.

6. After attaching the ribbon to the sleeves,  I sewed on this yellow ribbon down the middle. That is not necessary to complete the look, but I thought my shirt needed a little something else.

7. Now to complete the outfit, Pair it with a yellow Rock City Skirt. You can have just a basic yellow (which is great if you plan to use the skirt again for another outfit), or you can get a yellow sequence skirt that has a little tulle overlay on it, which would be perfect if you want to wear it again for another "princess" outfit.

8. Other accessories: When I wore this outfit to the Halloween party, I wore it with blue ballet flats. of course when I wore it to race in I wore my running shoes. I also had this cute bow which was made by All Things Disney Bows.

In 50 Days I will be off to another Disney race, so I am going reconfigure this costume into something else.
I'll give you a hint, I'm keeping the blue shirt.   Any ideas what you think this costume might turn into for the next race?

Do you use pieces of old race costumes to make new ones?  -M

What a Charming Idea: Finding Good Luck Charms for Race day

Today's Tuesdays on The Run theme is "Good Luck Charms or Race Superstitions".  Some people make sure they eat the same exact thing before every race, or they wear a certain pair of socks, or some other thing that they think if they do exactly like their last race that they will have good luck.  We aren't that superstitious.  We don't even have good luck charms. I say that hesitantly because I found something that I really wanted to become a "Good luck" charm but to tell you the truth, I kind of forgot about it.

Before my very first half marathon ( at Disney of course), I was gifted with this cute shoe charm.

I wore it during the whole weekend of races. I finished  the races in an upright position, so I guess it was lucky!   I had wanted to wear it to every single Disney race I ran since then (including the Marathon and this year's Glass Slipper Challenge),but that didn't happen. I guess when I stopped wearing these shoes, I just forgot about the charm that was on them. I even remember thinking to myself while packing for Disney " I need to get my Magical Miles Charm off my pink shoes", yet it never happened.

The charm pictured is from Gone for a Run (I love that site). Another site, Bee Cause Charms has a great selection of shoe charms from  Disney Inspired charms to City charms. I have been tempted to order from here but because I know someone who had a bad experience with their customer service, I am trying to resist.  (See, Customer Service is everything so it really pays to be nice to people).  One other site I have found that sells these cute shoe charms is Called ShoeFrosting.com.  I just think that is such a cute name! They have a few running charms and some distances but they also have occupation charms and other activity charms too.

I had been wanting to get a charm for every city that I've ran in but I realize that would cover up most of my shoes and perhaps look a little silly. I'd probably forget to put them on my shoes anyway!

Do you have any shoe charms? Do you have any good luck charms?

Oh, Don't forget to check out our Giveaway. It will be great if you are running Wine n Dine!

Spring into Fitness Giveaway ( Great for Wine & Dine)

Happy Monday Folks! Today we are linking up with Kristy at Runaway Bridal Planner for her Spring into Fitness Giveaway. Kristy has been a great blogging friend and hosts these awesome giveaway hops a few times a year. If you are a blogger, it's a great way to connect with other bloggers, and if you are a reader, it's a great way for you to win some cool prizes ( You can win prizes if you are a blogger too).

Our giveaway is kind of related to another event that is going on this week, an event that runners have been waiting for for approximately oh, 128 days!  If you guessed the registration for Disney's Wine & Dine Half marathon, you would be correct!

In honor of the upcoming registration, we are giving away this Bondi Band.  We wish it said "Will Run For Wine"  instead, but this one is just as good, right?

 

At this point we are both uncertain if we will be signing up for Wine & Dine this year or not. We are leaning towards it, but we still have some other events we want to participate in this fall, so we shall see! The one thing I dislike about Disney races is that you have to register SO many months in advance!

 

Will you be running Disney's Wine & Dine race this year?

 

Please use the rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. The winner will be announced on our facebook page and on this blog post when the giveaway has ended.

 

A Peek in Our Week

Happy Sunday Folks!

This week has been a tough one for me. The weather has finally got warmer and everywhere I drove this week I would see runners. They were running in town, running across the bridge, and running on the road in front of my house.  This really gave me the itch to put my running shoes on and get out there. I resisted though because I know that it is still not my time yet! If I have any chance of making a full recover from this knee pain, I need to NOT RUN until I feel I am healed.

I have been continuing with my stretches that I learned from PT last year and have been wondering if I should even go back to PT for a few weeks. I suspect I will just get the same set of stretches to do, so I should just continue to do them on my own ( for free)!

I amped up my mileage on the bike this week. Last week I did 10, this week I did 16.6. I suppose I should aim for 20 this coming week.

My social media feeds were blowing up this weekend with all the folks going to the premiere of the Cinderella film. I was planning on going but to tell you the truth, I was just exhausted on Friday and just wanted to spend my evening on the couch watching Amazing Race ( exciting I know..lol)!
I think I might try to sneak in a matinee one day this week.  Yea, I will be the adult in the movie theatre by myself and I'm okay with that. I've never actually done that before, but I think it will be fine. FYI:  When I was a child, Cinderella was the first movie I ever saw in the theater.  -M

How did your week go? Have you ever gone to a movie by yourself? Do you remember the first movie you ever went to the theater to see?

A Day in the Life of a Flight Attendent

I was so excited about the topic this week. I'd love to share with you all what a day in the life of a Flight Attendant is. It is not like an everyday Mon - Fri 9-5 job. And it surely isn't the glamorous job it was back In the 60s

Now since my schedule changes every day and week this is just an example of a day I can experience. 

1. My show time for work is 4:30 am for a 5:15 am flight.  I would get up at 3am to get ready, then drive to airport. This is probably the worse day of the trip. I have to get up so early to drive to the airport just to find a parking spot. After you found a spot you have to walk to one of the bus stops to get picked up then dropped off at the airport. I can only dream of being able to park  right in front of the building I work at. 

2. After arriving at the airplane, I do all my safety checks then it is time to board the flight. Boarding is always a hassle. I work on a smaller aircraft where there is a no carry on policy. Which means all the bigger roller board bags need to get gate checked and picked up after arriving at destination. Passengers come on and say "well it fit on the last flight" or "I have a tight connection, I can't wait for my bag". I make my boarding announcement about stowing all carry on and personal items. Including all bags and purses in the bulk head (1st row) must be in the overhead. As I am seeing a lady holding her purse in the first row. I remind her the bag has to go up.  She explains" But this is my purse".  Ok miss, all bags have to go up and a purse is a bag.  Finally boarding is complete! 

3. We arrive at Rochester NY. Of course it is snowing there so that means we have to de-ice to make sure there is no snow that accumulates on the aircraft. This is always a process having to wait in line to get de-iced.  After it is complete we are good to go. We depart a few minutes behind schedule so of course passengers are worried about missing their connections and ask if I can call ahead to let them know they are coming. Sure, let me get out my imaginary computer that is right beside my jump seat and ensure that they will hold your flight because YOU are the only one that has a connection, even though it is a full flight. 

4. We arrive back to Philadelphia and now we are running late and the gate agent asks me if I am ready to board the next flight. Looks like no food or bathroom break for me. After I pick up all the trash that is left on the aircraft from the passengers from he previous flight and cross the seat belts, it's time to put another smile on my face and do it all over again.

5. We do another turn (which is two flights) Philadelphia PA - Columbia,  SC and back to Philadelphia. We finally get back on schedule.  And we have a 2 hr sit before our next flight that goes into our overnight.  We like to call this airport appreciate. Hanging out at the airport before your next flight. Well at least this will give me a break to eat some food. Oh and did I mention during the sit we will be switching aircrafts for the next flight. Why don't we just keep the same aircraft you ask? Well we would like to know that too. And of course the aircraft is late coming into Philadelphia which means we will be leaving late.

We get to our overnight, which is Newark NJ this particular night. Some overnights are fun when you have a long one and are in a fun city and can go out. Sometimes I am lucky enough to meet up with friends who live in or near the city I am staying out for the day/evening.   As you can tell alot of days are busy and you are just too exhausted to want to go out. On days like this I just have time to get some food, get ready for bed, and do it all over again the next day. One nice thing is that we always stay at nice hotels and most of them have gyms that I can use so at least I am sure to get a run in! Sometimes when the weather is nice, I'll take my run outdoors. It's always nice to explore a new city that way.

This job definitely has its ups and downs (and a little turbulence). It does stink working nights, weekends, and holidays. However because it is not like a normal job, you can swap your schedule around get a significant amount of time off and not even use a vacation day. The end of the month I will have 10 days straight off that I plan on soaking up some Florida sunshine. It's times like that which reminds me why I do this job

 

 

 

Saying Good-Bye to Runner's World and Seeing Our Story Published

Welcome to another edition of Thursday Thoughts. Today I have Runner's World on my mind.

 I am the first to say that I LOVE Runner's World. I have got some wonderful opportunities because of them including being invited to their headquarters, participating in their blogger events, free products, and opportunities to get paid for my writing.  I love the magazine and even loved seeing my little picture in it, (in this issue).  But as we approach spring (hopefully), I really need to do some de-cluttering.  I am ashamed to admit this, but I haven't read the last few issues of my Runner's World magazines. It's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that it's been so hard for me to find the time lately. With that being said, I did not renew my subscription. Sorry Rodale Press :(   I have discovered that my library is now offering free downloads of magazines for mobile devices so if I ever get some free time, I may take a look at that.

I have also had to unsubscribe to all the Runner's World emails I have been getting. I get like 10 emails a day JUST from Runner's World on how to lose weight, get faster, train better, etc.  I just can't keep up with them.  Apparently I am on the mailing list for Running Times too so sadly I had to unsubscribe to that as well. Apparently both of these un-subscriptions have not really kicked in yet because I am still getting emails.

I also subscribe to Women's Health magazine which I have not read in FOREVER, so I am sure that subscription will stop shortly too.

Speaking of Magazines, it was great to see our story published in this one. I know there are plenty of people out there that have heartfelt stories about the Boston Marathon bombing so we were so grateful  and honored to have had ours published.

Maybe I need to organize my day better so I can have a little reading time or something because lately I feel like I am just spinning my wheels trying to get things done.  I think this is because I have been spending all my time on a work project and the results yield little rewards so of course I spend a lot of time on it yet feel like I am getting no where.   -M

What magazines do you subscribe to?  When do you find time to relax and read?

What's on my menu....

Normally since I am always on the go for work I don't have home cooked meals while I am working. It is usually whatever I packed in my cooler. But this week  of course the weather played a part in our schedule so I did have some sit down meals.

On Wednesday I had this salad at a local restaurant in Cincinnati.  It may have been a chain ( I just never heard of it and don't remember what it was). This salad had marinated artichokes on it.  That's something I never had on a salad but somehow it worked. It came with a tasty crosscient roll with a glaze on it.  I had to splurge with blue cheese dressing on the side.

 

That night we got stuck in Norfolk Virginia.  I called one of my friend's that lived there to see if they wanted to meet at IHOP for breakfast the next morning. Egg scrambler with avocado, cheese, and salsa with hash browns. It came with a side of pancakes. I had never seen this as an option here. I wonder if it's new or a limited time?

On my one day off this week I went to the store to make several meals so I didn't have to subject myself to airport food during my next trip.

I made homemade broccoli cheddar soup when I got home. There was plenty of extra so the rest got put it the freezer for later in the week.

 

                                         That evening for my snack I made guacamole. 

 

The next day for lunch I made this pizza. Can you believe it was only $4.50? I ate a few pieces then wrapped the rest up for work the next day. 

 

For dinner it was pasta with veggies in a creamy tomato sauce. I made extra to make sure I had some to pack for work.

This week I made sure I wasn't going to spend money on expensive airport food or eat another peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my bag. 

How do you usually eat on the go? -L

Snacking with Tuesdays on the Run and a Giveaway

This week's topic for Tuesday's on the Run is Weight Loss or Maintenance while distance running. My sister and I are conscientious of what we eat and our workouts but we admittedly do it for over all health purposes and to feel good and not so much to try to loose weight.  We will admit, we DO like to eat. We no doubtedly have our snacks after dinner while we are watching our evening shows. Sometimes we have a bit too many snacks or that extra bowl of ice cream that we probably shouldn't have!

We were asked to try out these MealEnders (the antidote to overeating).  Last Wednesday night, my sister and I had an evening planned. We were going to have dinner together and then eat some popcorn while watching our Wednesday night shows.  The funny thing was, when we got the MealEnders, we felt obligated to try them after our dinner. But we decided that we would wait till later because we actually WANTED a snack after dinner. We WANTED to be hungry enough to have our popcorn!

The MealEnder are little lozenges a bit smaller than a cough drop. They come in 4 distinct flavors, Mocha, Chocolate Mint, Citrus, and Cinnamon.  For our first try, I had the chocolate mint and Lacey had the Mocha.  What we thought was unique was that each of the meal ender had like a creamy chocolate coating on it which was quite tasty and then the center was like a hard candy.  They call this their two components: a sweet outer reward and then a cool/tingling center.  The center engages the trigeminal nerve ( the nerve that senses taste sensation) to cue the end of eating and to clear the palate.
Honestly, I think this same concept could be achieved with an after dinner mint or simply brushing your teeth.  Brushing my teeth makes me curb my appetite quite quickly because I can't really think of eating anything else after I have that toothpaste taste in my mouth.

I will say this, the good thing about the MealEnders is that each piece only contains 2 grams of sugar and 15 calories.  They make a great alternative to picking up a candy bar or a cookie when you are craving something sweet. Especially for people who are watching their sugar intake like me.

Later in the week I did try the other two flavors (Citrus and Cinnamon). After knowing that the Mocha and Chocolate Mint had those chocolaty type outer coating on them, I wondered if the Citrus and Cinnamon ones would have any kind of outer coating (I couldn't imagine those flavors having a chocolate coating).  Sure enough they each had their own coating. The Cinnamon one was kind of like a cream and it kind of tasted like a Snickerdoodle cookie, and the Citrus one had an outer coating that was creamy as well and tasted a bit like key lime pie. I was putting off trying these two flavors but in the end, they were both quite tasty!  The MealEnder did not curb my appetite all night long, but I think they are worth throwing a few in your desk drawer or in your pocket and having one when you feel the urge to snack between meals.  These MealEnder flavors are so good that after a while I started to crave them. That's okay though because they are only 15 calories each and each lozenge last a long time ( that way I can savor the flavor)!

Would you like to try some MealEnders of your own?  In the comments tell us your secret to curbing your appetite and then enter via the Rafflecopter.  If you enter the Giveaway, please be sure to follow our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/fairytalesandfitness    We will announce the winner there on Friday.

Oh, and if you are in the market for a sparkly running skirt, we are partnering with Rock City Skirts for a Giveaway on Instagram. You can check that out HERE

Please use this Rafflecopter to enter the MealEnders Giveaway.

Run Disney History and Discontinued Races

The more Disney races that we run, the more we've become intrigued about all the races that run Disney has put on in the past. We thought that if we were curious, that others might be as well. Let's do a quick run down. 

Run Disney was not always called "Run Disney". It started out as Disney Endurance Series. There is SO much information out there about these event (and some of it we've found to be conflicting) that  this is not intended to be a complete time line, just some fun facts. The text in red indicates events that have been eliminated.

Peek in our week and some new products from Voxbox

Wow, what a week it has been! We can't believe that the first week of March is over already. It will be Spring in only a few days so I certainly hope the weather starts reflecting it!

So what did we do this week? I for one really made an effort to stick to a schedule of working out and stretching. I even got Scott to work out with me 2 nights last week (which seemed to be the highlights of my evening). He travels a lot for work which makes it hard for us to work out together. I'm hoping we can increase the workouts to 3 nights this week.  In addition, I stuck to a schedule with my bike as well. I got in 10.5 miles this week. It's not great, but I made the effort to ride a little bit every other day and it's a start. -M

I love when I get unexpected packages in the mail and this week I got several! One of them was this VoxBox. I  love VoxBoxes because of all the random goodies that are inside. This box consisted of some John Frieda hair products, some Colgate Optic White products, some Skinfix hand repair cream (much needed during this time of year), and probably the best gift I could get this week was the bag of Tide Pods!  If you happen to see one of my Instagram posts this week you noticed that I've been having trouble with my High Efficiency washer. I threw my stain free marathon shirt in and when I pulled it out, it had mystery stains all over it! I was not happy! I have never tried Pods before so hopefully I will get better laundry results! -M

I got quite a few things sent to me this week to review for my column for work.  I'm not quite sure that those products are related to what I like to write about for my column, but they would have more of a direct correlation to the blog, so you may see some of them showing up on here over the next couple of weeks. Maybe even a few giveaways too!  -M

What did you do this weekend? Have you tried any new products lately?

5 Favorite Running Books

 It's going to be Spring in just a few days yet this winter seems to be hanging on so tightly.  The doldrums of winter weather sometimes lead to a lack of motivation for some people. Since today's Friday 5 themes was "Favorites" we thought we would share with you our 5 Favorite Running Books. These are sure to motive and inspire anyone who seems to be in a winter running rut.

 Plus, if you see more snow in your upcoming forecast, that will be a good time to curl up with one of these books.

Run by Dean Karnazes 

I have read this several times and each time I read it I think about signing up for an Ultra. The book is so Inspirational. I love reading all his crazy stories and how he began running. Running 30 miles to celebrate his 30th birthday and ordering a pizza during a run are just a few.

 

 

My Life on the run by Bart Yasso

Bart has run on every continent. He brings humor while talking about all his races and experiences he's encounter, one being chased by a rhino. It wasn't until after reading his book I fully understood what the Yasso 800 is and how he came up with it. In the back of the book he also breaks down different training plans for newbies, seasoned, and hard core runners.

 

 

Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley
Alexandra is a British author who documents how she went from non-runner to training for the London Marathon. She tells her comedic anecdotes in a Bridget Jones like fashion. She goes through things we all go through as runners and wonders about things that most people would never say out loud. She answers plenty of questions that are helpful to new and seasoned runners. We have a full review of this book HERE.

 

The Big book of Running for Beginners by Runners World
Even though this book says it is for beginners I think everyone at any level of running could learn something from this book. some of the best runners share their stories and tips. You can see our complete review of this book HERE.

The Runner's World Cookbook
This book is such a phenomenal cookbook and a great resource to keep in the kitchen.  We've shared a few recipes from this book on the blog already. You can read our complete review HERE.


Easter is coming up. Perhaps you might want to surprise a runner with one of these books in their Easter basket.

Do you have a favorite Running book?

We Race, We Carry On

We thought it was time for another Think Out loud Thursday post. Can you believe that I am just now finishing up my laundry from my last  Race-cation Disney trip? Seeing as I probably only do (my own) laundry about once a month, that is not hard for me to believe at all. What is hard for me to believe are the crazy prices the airlines charge for their luggage.   I know this might seem a little random for me to be bringing this up but as I was unpacking my clothes I was thinking about it.

 

Back in November, when we were flying to Las Vegas for the RnR Las Vegas Marathon and Half, I flew an airline that I have never flown before. It had good flight times there and back, was a direct flight, and it was cheap.  After I booked it I realized why it was so cheap. They were going to charge me $100 to carry on my luggage! Oh, no, this was NOT going to happen. Personal items were allowed on for free. My mission was to fit everything I needed into my "Personal Item". This meant I was layering clothes on like I was going to Alaska!


                                
 I packed one of those drawstring backpacks ( you know the ones that you sometimes get at  race day packet pickup). I folded this up and put it in my jacket pocket. When I got on the plane, I un-layered myself, put all my extra clothing in that drawstring bag and used it as a pillow for that long flight to Las Vegas!  This technique worked out well and I saved $100!  And actually that first layer paired with the gray cardigan in layer 4 actually became an outfit for one of the days I was there.  I have some very deep pockets in that jacket I wore ( layer 5) so I was able to stash more items, including my magazine for the trip.

Since it worked out so well, it now became a game with me.  When it was time to go to Disney for Marathon weekend I flew a different airline yet I happily paid for extra luggage because I had lots of "Giveaway" items for our meet-up. I was seriously surprised that all those Lara bars did not put me over the weight limit..lol.




All of this fit in my Thirty-One bag. The 3 ziplock bags have race outfits in them. As you can see, I came home with more than I left with.

But when Princess weekend came around, I didn't see any reason why I couldn't pack all my stuff in a "personal" item bag again. I got this great Thirty-One bag for Christmas and it was the perfect size!
I didn't have to do nearly as much layering as I did on the Vegas flight ( but I probably could have since it was so cold).  I can't believe how much stuff I was able to fit in this bag. I attribute it to packing all my race outfits in ziplock bags.  I don't like to wear the same shoes to the park that I will be racing in, so I slung an extra pair of shoes over my shoulder strap and no one ever said a word about it.

I certainly took advantage of every nook and cranny in that bag. Yes, I even snapped my Magic Kingdom popcorn bucket to the handle.

 

Like I said, this has become a little game for me just to see if it can be done.  I was able to  pack everything I needed but I did have a comfort in knowing that I was traveling with my sister who is a flight attendant and can pack pretty much everything we need ( for free)..lol

 

I'll be traveling cross country for my next race-cation so I have a feeling I might need a bigger bag next time.   -M

 

Where are you traveling on your next race-cation? Will you be flying?

Making Goofy

The other day we talked about some new things (and lack there of) that we tried at Disney.  This reminded me of something new that we did see when we visited Disney back in January for Marathon weekend.

If you remembered, I wasn't crazy about the marathon necklace that I pre-ordered, so I returned it. My plan was to purchase a necklace at Aribbas Brothers (a jewelry store at Downtown Disney) and have it engraved.  I found it odd that they would engrave medals but not necklaces. There goes that idea.

While we were at Aribbas Brothers, we saw something else that caught our eye. The artist inside the store was making these glass Goofy's. Since we had just completed the Goofy challenge, we were intrigued.

 This artist was amazing! He started out with just long sticks of glass. He would put them in an oven to make them plyable and then heat them over his torch as he bent them into shape.



I'm not sure how he made the color on the hat, ears, and gloves because he had those pieces all made ahead of time and then just connected them to the Goofy as he went along. After putting the pieces together, he then put the finished piece in a cooler.

Then it was time to start all over again.  We were intrigued and spent a good amount of time watching this artist.

Have you ever watched someone "create" something at Disney?

The Best Post Race Experiences from 5 different races

The Tuesday's on the Run topic this week is Post Race treats. I suppose you could talk about treats as in snacks, but we are going to talk about treats as in what we are "treating" ourselves to after a race. Some races offer some great "treats" after the race and we think this totally adds to the race experience.




Getting post race massages after the April Fools and Disney races.

 

1.One of the best post race "treats" are when races offer massages. The first year I did the April Fools race on the boardwalk they were giving out FREE massages at the finish line. There was nothing more relaxing than a post race massage while looking out over the ocean.

Every time we run at Disney we opt to get a massage right there at the finish line too. Of course these massages will charge you but at only $1 per minutes, who can pass it up!

2. When you run a race where your post race food "treat"  consist of more than a banana or bagel, you know you've found a good race! We love races that offer "real" food! The Wicked 10K in VA Beach (and other J & A races) offer warm soups in bread bowls.  We've also got sandwiches and other post race "picnic" type food at the Run for the Dream race.

The VIP Post race party was held at Rockfish on the boardwalk

3. If you are lucky enough to experience a VIP race experience you will get a catered meal at a restaurant (like we did at RnR Va Beach), or a meal at the post race tent like the one at Big Sur. Other VIP events include post race parties. Some of these parties are open to all runners, at an additional cost. Some of the events are just meals, and others events like the one I was invited to at Big Sur will include a meal, drink vouchers, large screens that will show pictures from the race earlier that day, speakers ( usually the race director), and raffles for goodies.

4. Speaking of RnR VA Beach, What makes this race so special is the post race "treat" of a free concert!  After the race all runners are invited to the headlining act.  We've seen Train twice, Third Eye Blind once, and a bunch of smaller bands.

5. The post race "treat" I have been most impressed with was the free tickets to Busch Gardens after the Run for the Dream race in Williamsburg, VA. I have said before how generous this race was. We not only got free park tickets, but we also got a meal voucher for inside the park, free transportation, and a 2 day pass for Colonial Williamsburg.

What is the best post race "treat' you've been treated to?

Disney's Princess Half Marathon

We decided to break up during this race and each of us run in our respective corrals so each of us will tell a recap from our own race.

 Since I have been having IT band problems I didn't know how I would do. However I do know that it hurts less when I run at a consistent pace rather than doing a run walk method that I did when I ran the 10K with my sister the day before.

There were a few firsts for me this year, one was that I didn't carry a water bottle or wear a hydration belt like I usually do.  Since I wasn't going for time, I didn't care if I had to take time out to stop at water stops. Since I had my Ipod on like always do,  I can not hear what anyone says so when I got to the first water stop I grabbed some. It wasn't until I had the fluid in my mouth that I realized it was the Propel drink. Then I realized that water was always going to be at the second stop. It was still dark at the first stop so I didn't see what color the cups were. I never take an electrolyte drink during my races but I actually liked it so I did take it a few more times along the course. I did feel like it gave me a little pep in my step after taking it. I am so thankful that it sat well in my stomach.

I started in corral "A" again this year. I started in corral "A" last year and regretted not bringing my phone because there were no lines for the characters when I passed them. This year I had no goal time in mind so I was going to stop for pictures if I got there before lines started to form.  

I was glad to be able to stop for a lot of pictures. Unfortunately some ended up being blurry ( like with the Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip) or didn't turn out because it was too dark. But I did get a few good ones. I always stop for the 5k and 10k but never for the half and the half always has a lot more photo opportunities with different characters.

I did have my GPS on but honestly I did not look at it at all. I was just running on feel.  I impressed myself because even with all the picture stops, I still finished in less then two hours.  -L

My mom and I started out in the same corral so we decided to run together for a while. I didn't have any expectations for this race seeing that I have been rehabbing a bad knee. For the 10K the day before and for this race, I had been able to manage the pain a little bit better than I did for the half marathon and marathon last month. I knew just how far I was able to bend my leg before the pain got to be too much. Plus I'm sure resting helped some too. I was pretty proud of myself that I was able to stick to my run walk intervals for the most part.

My mom was really doing well and since she stayed back with me last year (because I was injured then too), I encouraged her to go on and run her own race.  After the Mary Poppins picture stop (around mile 7-ish I think), we parted ways.  After that, the weather started to warm up and I admittedly started to struggle.  I started to do a little more walking on the highway parts where the road curved because running on that angle was uncomfortable for my knee. Not only was I having some knee pain, but to tell you the truth, I was just plain exhausted. I didn't stop for anymore pictures during the last half of the race. As I was coming off the highway and into the Epcot parking lot, I heard some people call my name. I looked over and it was a family we met at the airport ( remember the 7.5 hour delay?).  I couldn't believe they remembered me and that made me feel good!

I was proud of my mom for coming in under 2:30 ( 2:28) and had she not started off running with me, I know she could have done much better.

 I'm actually pretty happy with my time too. I only came in a few minutes after her  (2:34) and I actually beat my time from last year! I know it's not my best or what I would be capable of doing on a "good" day, but with a sore knee and exhaustion kicking in, I'll take it. I guess I would call this Glass Slipper Challenge a success!

Even though my times this year for both the 10K and the half marathon were better than last year, I have to say I was exhausted running both of them. I really think that running the Goofy Challenge last month (the half marathon and full marathon) and then the 5k and 10k this weekend really left me fatigued for the half marathon.  Add to that an injury as well.   I really need to come up with a better plan next year. And I think that plan might be NOT running all the Princess races. I may just pick one.  -M



Princess half marathon shirt and medal for 2015

 We thought the shirts for this year were very cute!  Since the medals were the same design as last year (just a different lanyard), we were glad to see that they were silver this year.

Glass slipper challenge shirt and medal for 2015

You can read about the Disney Enchanted10K we ran the day before HERE.
You can read about the Disney Frozen 5K from that same weekend HERE.