Fairytales and Fitness: 2019

I am a Lab Mommy Again!

Hi Everyone!

If you've seen my IG posts over the last few days, you would notice that I have a new four legged family member!

It has been 6 months

Sleigh Run

Last weekend, after the Running of the Elves 5K race, we participated in the Santa Sleigh Run.

This was the first year for the Santa Sleigh Run in our community. The objective was to get a team of 3 to 5 people, dress in costumes, and build a sleigh out of something (but it could not have a motor on it). The sleigh had to be able to hold one of the participants, who was dressed as Santa, or any other holiday character.

At first,

Running of the Elves 5k (with some reindeer)

Last weekend my Mom and I ran the Running of the Elves 5k. It was a local Christmas race close to our hometown. We ran this a few years ago and enjoyed it so decided to run it again. We lucked out and had a very nice day for it.

Shortly after starting the race,

Let's Chat about the holidays....

Have the holiday events started for you already? Has your town done their tree lighting? Are you participating in a Secret Santa at work or church? Do you have holiday parties planned? I feel so grateful to have so many things to participate in during this time of year. My calendar is filling up way too fast, but I am thankful.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K

Every year we have this local 5k Turkey Trot. I usually don't run this because I always say the way I eat I need to run more than a 5k. Plus this race is usually just a fun run and it's just for bragging rights if you beat the turkey.

This fall has actually been going well for me. I've been lucky enough to have the retrievers to keep me busy and we had fun picking out pumpkins, going to fall festivals, and just hanging out! The first half of the season I was training for the Hershey Half Marathon and since then till now I've been enjoying other things.

Disney's Sea Side Sprint at the Boardwalk

The last week in October, my mom and I were in Disney for the Food and Wine Festival. While we were there, we decided to run another Disney fun run. This time it was the SeaSide Sprint at the Boardwalk. We originally were not planning on running this race, but we brought costumes for Mickey's not so scary Halloween party, so we thought we might as well dress up and run a race!

We had to Uber there in the morning. Not sure how long that would take so we arrived in plenty of time.

New York City Marathon

I will try not to make this super long but there is so much to say about this iconic race. If you don't want to read what happened prior to the race, feel free to skip down to Race Morning.

When I first found out I got into the marathon, I was excited but already stressed about the logistics of it. Huge city, expensive, how to get around, etc.

Runners World 10k Race

After running the Chicago Marathon, my plan was to just take it easy for the next week.

However, the next day I got an email for volunteers wanted at the Honey Stingers booth for the Runner's World Festival. It was on my day off so I thought why not? I responded with a yes, but quickly got an email back that said they did not need my help anymore. I looked up the events and saw they were putting on a 5k and 10k that Saturday morning. The 10k was later in the morning so I decided to sign up for that.

Hershey Half Marathon and Relay

As you may know, this year was not a good running year for me. It’s hard to run when you have a broken heart. However, I did one race in the Spring (The Run through the vineyard), one race in the summer ( Disney’s Southern Most Point Race), So I thought that it was only fitting that I find a fall race. I wanted it to be something a little more substantial than a small town 5k race, yet something that was low pressure.

The Hershey Half Marathon has been on my “Running List” for quite some time. I wasn’t sure that I was up for running a half marathon quite yet, but I remembered that this race also offered a relay option as well. I knew my mom was also looking for a fall race, so together we decided that we would run as a team!

Originally I thought about using my Chicago Marathon as a training run for my upcoming NYC marathon. But I was feeling good and we were suppose to have nice weather so why not just go for it I thought? And that is just what I did.

I shouldn't have been bragging...

You may have seen my post the other week on Instagram about finding the deal of the year.

I went shopping on a layover

Neptune 8K Race

Last weekend while I was visiting friends in Virginia Beach, I also ran an 8k race. It is part of the Neptune Festival where there are pretty amazing sand sculptures to see.

I never ran this race so I didn't really know what to expect, except I knew it was going to be a flat course because we were running at the oceanfront.

Another Harvest Festival 5K Race

Every year I run our local 5k race. Last year I actually won first female overall. So needless to say I felt a little pressure this year.

It is super close to where I live

Finding Gratitude in the Summer that was a Bummer

As our summer "officially" comes to a close this weekend, I felt it was a good time to reflect on the past few months.

As you know,

Are Cookbooks Still Relevant?

I will be the first to admit, I love cookbooks. Give me a cookbook with big glossy photographs of food and I will read it from front to back. Whether or not I ever make a recipe out of it is questionable. Perhaps I just like looking at well photographed food?

I will also admit,

Measuring a Marathon Course

If you have been following my IG journey you know that I spent that last week in Maui. Some of you have asked if I was there for work or just for fun.

The truth is, a little bit of both. No, I did not work a flight there, but I did some work while I was there. I have a friend that is a Race Director and he was asked to measure the Maui Marathon course.

A Week at the updated Coronado Springs

Before summer slips away, we thought we would do a review of the updated Coronado Springs resort at Disney World since we had the opportunity to stay there this summer.

As I mentioned before, I am on a quest to stay at all the Disney world resorts. This isn't as easy as it sounds because 1) We find our favorites and we like to go back more than once, I'm looking at you Polynesian Village, and 2) Disney keeps adding more resorts.

We booked our most recent Disney trip sort of at the last minute, so of course availability was limited to only a few resorts but when we saw Coronado Springs was one of them, we decided we wanted to try it!

The Grand Tea at Disney's Grand Floridian

During our Disney vacation, we like to take at least one day away from the parks and do something at one of the Disney resort hotels. Last year we did horseback riding at Fort Wilderness. You can read about that HERE.

This year we decided to do the Grand Tea at Disney's Grand Floridian.

Disney's Old Key West Fun Run

After doing all the official Run Disney races, my sister and I have made a point to start running the Disney Resort races. These Resort Fun Runs are fairly new and started just at the right time ( a time when we were over getting up at 3 am for a race).

The Resort Races are definitely not

Weekend in Virginia Beach

Last weekend I visited my friends in Virginia Beach.

The main purpose of heading down that weekend

I'm sure most of you have seen this picture of Baylee before, but I thought it was quite appropriate for this post today.

4th of July 5k

Yesterday I ran a 4th of July 5k race. The only thing patriotic about it was that it was on the 4th and the Star Spangled Banner was sung.

When I arrived at the race

Anchorage Marathon Race Recap

Last Saturday a friend and I ran the Anchorage Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. We woke up the morning of the race and of course it was daylight out. It was actually daylight everyday from 5am until about 2am. This race was fairly small, less than 700 runners. We drove to a parking lot to ride the bus to the start. There was no problem parking or getting on the bus as one came by every 15 minutes. When we arrived at the start there was barely any lines for the porta potty. That's one indication you know it's a small race.

Soon it was time

My Alaskan Journey started in Boston....

So as you are reading this I am currently making my way to Anchorage Alaska. But my journey to get here started a few days ago.

First I flew up to Boston to meet my friend for the day before flying to Seattle (well that was the plan anyways).

My next adventure

If you saw my IG story the other day, I asked what Marathon you think I would be running next?

If you guessed ......

Happy June! I realize I missed the official Coffee Talk Link up withe Deborah and Coco but I'm feeling quite chatty so I thought I would share some thoughts anyway. If we were having Coffee here are the 5 things I would mention.

Join our Summer Challenge!

A very long time ago I found a $10 bill while out on a run. It was laying on the sidewalk of a route I had never run before. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to pick it up and when I did I felt a little guilty that I took something that did not belong to me. Had it been in front of someone's house or driveway I would have taken it to that person's house. Since this was just randomly laying on the sidewalk, chances are it could have belonged to anyone, and anyone was just as likely to pick it up, so why shouldn't I treat myself for a run that I didn't really feel like doing in the first place, right? Makes sense!

Since then,

Reflecting on the first half of the year.

I can't believe we are almost approaching the middle of the year already. I know I say this every year, but where has the time gone?

For me, it seems as if the first half of the year goes so slowly and the second half seems to go faster. Until of course

5 Highlights from The Lodge at Woodloch

This year I really wanted to do something special for my mom and my nana for their birthdays since they both help me out so much with Baylee. Their Birthdays are both actually on the same day, so that made planning easy. I wanted to go someplace we could get to by car and something that would be suitable and safe for the elderly. I Googled best Resort and Spas on the East Coast and The Lodge at Woodloch kept coming up as the number one option.

This sounded perfect! The Lodge at Woodloch is

Running through the Vineyard

Last weekend my Mom, Sister, and I ran a 5k race at a local winery. This was a "new to us" race.

When we woke up that morning

Big Sur #3

This past weekend I ran the Big Sur Marathon. It was my third time running this race. Last time I ran it in 2014 I told myself that I would never run it again due to it being very challenging. But never say never right? When I qualified for Boston I knew I wanted to run Big Sur again to complete the Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge. This would be my second B2B(I ran B2B in 2013).

I helped out at the

Tales from the Trails

Since the weather has been nice, and I've found a way to get out and run with Baylee, I've been hitting the trails more often! For that reason, I think it may be time to start sharing some of my crazy stories from my runs. Should I call them "Tales from the Trails"?

Here is an interesting story from my run this week

What I thought I knew about Running Clothes

If you were to ask me a year ago what my favorite race shirt was, I would tell you they were my shirts from the Disney races I've done. Those who know me, would understand. Those shirts are tech shirts ( which runners are suppose to wear), are always colorful, have Disney characters on them, and represent a fun race ran with family. Also, getting a Disney race shirt eliminates the need to purchase an additional Disney souvenir shirt during our trip.

However, I noticed this past year

Monday I ran the 2019 Boston Marathon!

Boston Bound

I got my news kicks and I am ready to run Boston....or am I?

I cant believe Boston is coming up next weekend. You think you have so much time after you qualify to train and prepare for this big event, and then just like that it sneaks up on you.

Since there is so much time between when you qualify until race day there are many obstacles that may arise. Luckily

One of the best things about going for an outdoor run is the adventure of it. When I say “adventure” I mean the stories that come from the run and boy did I have many over the years. To tell you the truth,

I am taking part once again in "One Sentence a Day" with Knit by God's Hand. This post is a quick peek into my month. You will notice that I spend a lot of time photographing my Labrador. She is a huge part of my world, so why not? My March was better than

Runfessions and More

How do you know if someone has gone for a run? Don’t worry, they’ll be sure to post a picture on social media. Isn’t that true?

Well, if the amount of runs we do is documented on social media, then I guess the opposite is true. If there are no photos

Shamrock 8K Race....Virginia Beach

Last weekend I was in Virginia Beach and ran the Shamrock 8K. In past years I have done the full marathon, but this year I decided not to since I have two marathons in April.

The reason I was going to Virginia Beach was

A few weeks back I shared an Instagram Story about Baylee's Acupuncture appointment. If you'd like to see the video, it is still up under the " I Love Labs" Highlights. I had quite a few comments and questions about Baylee and her acupuncture so I thought I would write this post.

We knew from the beginning that

A Day in New Orleans

New Orleans has always been one of my favorite cities to visit. The city has so much to offer. Whether it's gambling you like, great restaurants, or nightlife, NOLA has it all.

I recently took my friend there for the first time to visit. It was kind of

For Several Years now I have been reading the blog Knit by God's Hand, by my friend Rebecca Jo. She's been doing a series called One Sentence a Day where she sums up one day of her month in one sentence. I've been telling her literally for years that I'm going to participate, and then I never do because I can't remember what I did every day of the month, but since this month only had 28 days, I thought maybe I could try it!

Of all months to document,

Bodyflow Training with LesMills

If you have been following me for any amount of time, you may know that in addition to my flight attendant job, I also get to teach Group Fitness classes on my "days off". For over ten years I have been teaching Lesmills Body Pump and RPM(cycle).

If you are familiar with any Lesmills programs you know they are intense. In my opinion they are more intense work outs than any free style classes( maybe I'm bias).

Years ago I told myself

Sunday, March 17 is the NYC Half Marathon, a race that I have proclaimed as my favorite! I am not writing this post to relive that experience yet again, I am writing to share with you that on this day LABRADOR RETRIEVERS will be running this race!

I wanted to do another February Favorites post, however time got away from me and I did not get to finish it.

However, since this month is Princess Half Marathon month I thought I would share our first experience with that race.

The day prior (Saturday) we had to get up early for the 5k and this day we had to get up by 3:30 am again. These were the days before the Glass Slipper Challenge and the 10K. This was my sister's first Disney Half marathon. I think I was just as excited as she was even though I was only going to be a spectator. I grabbed my “designer” sign that I made for my sister Lacey and we all headed for the “event” bus at our resort. I have since learned to make signs that are much easier to pack and transport.

I actually made this sign in three pieces and assembled it once I got to the resort. I even packed my own stapler. I was a little hesitant that I might not be able to bring a loaded stapler
on the plane, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. ( in reality, the tape dispenser that I brought with me had a sharper edge on it than the stapler).

We got off the bus and walked my sister half way through the parking lot at Epcot and then decided it was more important for us to watch her run through the Magic Kingdom than it would be for us to watch her at the starting line (which we probably wouldn’t be able to see her anyway). We waited in line for the monorail to start operating. We were amongst the first groups of people to arrive at the Magic Kingdom. We all ran in with our signs like we were the ones in the race! The cast members were happy to see us. They were waving with their white Mickey glove hands and many of them commented or gave me a thumbs up on my sign! As we entered, the castle was glowing and the music was playing. I started to get teary eyed just knowing that we were allowed in the MK in the wee hours of the morning (us and several hundred other people, but still it felt like such a secret magical experience).

I have to admit that I didn’t get as good of pictures of my sister running through the MK as I hoped I would. Fortunately, my sister is a fast runner, but unfortunately that means that when she runs through the Magic Kingdom and the castle it is still dark out. Because we were some of the first people in MK, I could have got closer to the castle, but I opted to stay on Main Street at first, just in case I missed her. They had a space roped off in front of the castle, so you couldn’t get that close, but I found that a good spot was on the bridge on the left hand side as the runners are running out of the castle.

After their runner came through the MK, many spectators went to other sighting points but we decided to go straight to the finish line and wait there. The finish line was back at Epcot, so we got back on the monorail. We signed up for Runner tracking, so this helpful in letting us know when to get our cameras ready!

Her goal was to finish in less than 2 hours .

I was so proud of her for meeting that goal!

-M

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Let's Chat about the holidays....

I wanted to do another February Favorites post, however time got away from me and I did not get to finish it.

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