Woman's 4 Miler Training Program

Registration is up and running for the Charlottesville Women's 4 miler training program. Click here to go to the website and click on ONLINE REGISTRATION!

Fee is $20 which includes the summer of AWESOMENESS! The Workout Booklet and Other fun prizes. (There are raffle prizes every single week)

*The W4MTP fee is not the race fee itself. That is separate.*

1st day of training begins on June 14th at 7:00am! Yes, it is early, yes, you want it to be early. It can get very hot very fast and we want to be out running before it gets too bad.

Questions about the program?:
I'm not a runner I can't do a 4 mile run. 
You do not have to be a runner. Anyone is welcome. A non walker, a strutter, a new mommy, a walker, a wogger, jogger, a slow runner, and a sprinter. IF you fit any of these  categories please come out to join us. This program is for EVERYONE! We want to help you get new friends, an outlet for exercise and just to have fun. And you will have fun every week! I still talk to my friends from last summer by the way! Hey VAL!

I can't go every week.
That's ok! Come as often as you can. I can't go ever week either. My hubs has military weekend one weekend a month so I won't be there the first weekend of July or August for sure. It's ok. Come as often as you can.

I don't have the time for the mid week training. 
We encourage you to exercise as much as possible. The training program recommends 2 "running" days a week. (I do Tuesday and Thursday) Get outside and walk. Take a friend with you. Or your dog. Your dog will thank you. Just be safe in the heat of the summer that you go out early and drink plenty of water.

I promise you that you will love this program. It seriously changed my life and the way I look at running and at myself. Last year I went through my miscarriage. I was tired of feeling sorry for myself and being "fat". I signed up for my first 5k. That 5k I met a pink lady, Janet, from the training program and we walked together the whole time. She kept telling me about the training program and that I should totally do it. By the end of the 5k she convinced me to "look into it." That next day, I contacted her on FB and told her I signed up. Every week I said hi to her and she was so interest in my progress and super happy I was there. I was in the second running group and made many friends. We all encouraged each other and pushed each other. And accomplish so many great goals last summer. I couldn't wait for the next summer because I loved it so much! Because of the W4MTP I am a runner.

Please if you are in the area think about this program and the race itself. It is for a great cause, the charity is the UVA Breast Cancer Care Program. Last year over $370,000 was raised for this charity. Click Here for the website for the race itself and more info on the charity work. It is a limited number of participants and registration will open and close in just a few short hours on sign up day, June 21! Hope to see you this summer!

Did you sign up! Let me know so I can look for you at the track on June 14!!!

Wearing Pink

Looks like this summer, early on Saturday mornings if you wanna find me, look for me in PINK! Got the email asking if I still wanted to volunteer to help with the training program this summer and, yep I sure do! Just hope they don't mind me bringing a boy along. At least he will be super cute and a babe magnet!

In the area and want to join the training program? Check out the registration info at the website: Women's 4 Miler Training Program. Program begins Saturday, June 14th at 7am!

Want to run in the race? Saturday, August 30th at 8am. register here June 21 early, early, early morning because they only allow a limited number of participants and it fills up quickly!

Hope to see you there!

Springtime = Races, Races, Races!

With the welcoming of spring comes the new season of Races! Spring is the start time for most races in central VA. As it is finally starting to warm up a bit and the chance of snow is way less, however this coming Tuesday weather.com is saying that we are supposed to expect to see more snow! (I am ok with this snow because it is delaying the nasty humid summer from beginning too early and the blooming of the spring flowers and trees when my allergies go NUTS!)

Where To Find Races: There are so many races coming up near where I live and I am sure there are where you live too. (AZ and FL races tend to happen early in the year as it is just getting too warm to safely run races now.) You can go to runnersworld.com to find races near you. I put in my info and within 100 miles from my house there are 306 races between today, 3/22 and 4/22. They even list healthy kid runs too! There also could be local races that aren't registered with runners world so check your local newspaper or running shop to find out when and where!

http://www.cvilletenmiler.com

How To Pick Races: Go through your list and figure out what distance you want to do. And determine how far you would like to travel in that day. A ton of races are up in DC for us and going to DC a ton just doesn't do it for us. That place is a parking disaster so I would. I know that next year I will run in the C-ville 10 miler, (been wanting to do that 2 years in a row but too far pregnant this year.) But I would also love to run in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC. (there is a 5k there too) So pick wisely.

http://www.cherryblossom.org

Listen To Your Body: Don't overdo it. I know it is such an amazing feeling to finally run outside comfortably after such a long and cold winter, but don't schedule a race every weekend unless you are used to doing so. For me, (if I weren't pregnant) that would still be insane. My body would be so mad at me. It likes its recovery time. We need it. (that is another problem with the spring race circuit.) Every race is jammed packed in there every weekend. The C-ville 10miler is on March 29. The C-ville marathon, 1/2 and 10k is on April 5. The Cherry Blossom 10 miler and 5k are on April 6. Know your body and what it can handle.

http://www.active.com/fort-belvoir-va/running/distance-running-races/spring-into-spring-5k-hereos-vs-villains-edition-2014

HAVE FUN! Whatever you do decide to do, have fun! This is a race but the only person you are trying to beat is yourself. I try to PR every time I run because that is what this is all about. We train to better ourselves and every time we race/run we will get better. If you don't PR, that is ok too. You finish that race as best as you can. Make mental notes and still have fun. You are running in a race instead of sitting on your butt eating bon-bons! You are taking care of your body and trying to help yourself live longer! YOU ARE AMAZING!

(These races listed are the 3 I would pick to be in for the spring, doing a 5k for the Cherry Blossom race. Sadly they are every weekend. Not sure if my body could handle that but something to train for, for next year!)

Proper Running Shoes

Hey fellow readers! I know I have been kind of MIA but I have actually been doing research on a couple of upcoming blog posts. And well, just haven't written them yet, but they are coming!

~My current shoes, Brooks Adrenaline- GTS 13~

I learned a lot on my 1/2 marathon. Not just about me but about other runners too. When I run, I tend to watch the person in front of me and try to pace them or just think about their shirt, often I will call someone by their shirt, (a lady in my training program last summer was wearing a Cinderella the Musical shirt and I called her Cinderella for 3 miles as I was pacing her) or just anything that will keep my mind off of what I am actually doing. Running is hard and we need to focus on other things to keep going.

Well, I watched a ton of women's feet for their pacing and tried to match my pace to theirs on the 1/2. I often look down since I am pregnant just to make sure I don't trip or anything. One thing that I noticed were the improper running shoes some ladies were wearing. I broke my heart seeing them in some shoes that we not made for running knowing that they had a grueling 13.1 miles in front of them.

These are the 3 that really stuck in my mind:
Mile 2 I was behind a lady when she stepped she was actually stepping on the side of the shoe and not the actual base of the shoe. And she had to pull her shoe back into place about every 10 steps because it was sliding off her feet. AT MILE 2!

Other ladies, many ladies, were wearing their BRAND NEW New Balance Cinderella shoes, with the ribbons. Yes they were brand new because they were spotless on the sole of the shoe.

Another lady around mile 11 or so I passed had bloodied bandaids on both heels of her feet and the back of her shoes were just covered in blood. I felt so bad for her.

Please, please, please! GET PROPER RUNNING SHOES when doing 3 miles, or 6 miles especially 13.1 miles. These are shoes that you can find at a local running store or shoe store where they check your running stride, and foot fall and ones that you have been TRAINING IN! Break in your shoes by using them on training runs. Every time you run so that you know where rubbing happens or where you need to tape up your feet to avoid sores or bloodied heels. (I felt so bad for that lady) You will know how you feet feel after pounding the pavement at 3 miles, 6 miles and 10 miles. You will know if you need more support and have time to get it before the race.

Using brand new shoes is a no, no too because again you don't know how your feet are going to feel after such a long distance. And the shoes are so stiff and not broken in. Yes New Balance did make a brand of running shoes with the Disney theme in mind. They are cute and they have fun ribbon laces that will be totally trashed or damaged by the end of the race but again, knowing how the shoe and your foot work together is so important. Here is a Runner's World article on common shoe questions.

Running is a sport. Injuries happen. Toe nails are lost, and bleeding will incur. Runners may not have the best looking feet but we know that our feet can carry us many, many miles! But I felt so bad and my heel just ached after seeing the lady's heel. I know someday it might happen to me, but I have finally learned taping up certain parts of my foot is ok to add extra protection. If you start to get a blister on a test run, or a shorter distance run you know what your tendencies are for longer runs now. (E, I'm talking to you!) I taped around the ball of both feet to protect the bunion area and the callus on the bottom of my feet during my runs. They helped but, I taped too high (like 2 cm) on my left foot and got 3 tiny little blisters from the irritation caused by my shoes. I will chalk it up to being super excited and nervous oh and sleep deprived for my misplacement of my tape.

So there we have it! Running shoes, properly fitted, and worn by you, running shoes really are a necessity. I hope these 3 ladies and all the others that participated in the race had a happy and safe race and they were able to accomplish what they set out to do. Take care of your feet because they will take you place if you show them a little love! 

Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

Here I go! So excited to recap my first Disney race, hopefully of many. It's kind of long. Hope you enjoy! (And not everything is positive. Sorry Disney, but there is always room for improvement.)
Feel free to read the full recap, but you can also check out all of my tips to enjoy your Disney Princess Race Weekend:

Princess Half Marathon: Costume Ideas
Princess Half Marathon: What to Expect At the Expo
Princess Half Marathon: What to Expect Race Morning
Princess Half Marathon: 1/2 Marathon

~My sole sister Kat. This picture was retweeted by Run Disney on my account!~

It all starts with a super early wake up call! Disney likes to have a nice early morning race before the parks open so that not too much traffic is affected. My friend Kat and I stayed in an on resort hotel, Shades of Green (the military hotel), which offered transportation to the race entry point. Not corrals, it seriously is a super long walk from the bus drop off to the corrals. We, meaning Kat set the alarm for 2:30 am so we wouldn't be late. Her wake up song happened to be Eye of the tiger which made me laugh!

~My shirt front~

~Back, adding pregnant to it post race. Didn't make it here in time~

We left our room by 3:15 and boarded our bus with a ton of other prince and princesses. Many took notice of my shirt and were impressed that I was attempting to do a 1/2 while pregnant. That was the main comment I received during the morning.

We arrived at the Epcot and started the walk to the waiting area where we used the bathrooms, port-a-potties, where a DJ was playing and interacting with all the racers. The atmosphere was pretty energetic. Everyone was super excited to get the race started. Once they opened the gate it was the walk to the corrals we go. Where I used the bathroom again before getting in our corrals.

My corral, M, was schedule to start at 6:15. We arrived in our corral at 5am. It was a longish cold hour ahead of us. The morning was super humid and foggy but had a bit of a chill to it. Hoped it lasted as long as possible as my doc was super concerned about me overheating. As we waited and waited we saw others jumping the corrals to the bathrooms to go one last time. Kat debated on it but decided against it. I got a comment from another racer, asking what was wrong with me for running while pregnant. She said it quite nasty too and I just shrugged it off and said, "I'm being healthy for me and my baby." She then regaled me with experiences of her pregnancy.

We finally were set to go and were off. Poor Kat had to go to the bathroom so badly at this point. (We heard that one lady just went off the side of the road within the first 80 feet of the start and had her friends blocking her go. We also saw men run to the shrubs under the monorail and just go there.) It was a long wait where we downed water. It was chill so our bodies wanted to get rid of the water and not sweat it out. So a ton of people had to go.

~As we passed this mile marker a cop on a motorcycle used his speaker and said, keep running it is just a picture with a number on it!~ 

I started out at a slow warm-up pace. I told Kat that at about 1.5 miles I will pick up but wanted a good solid warm up. Kat jumped in line at the potties at about 1 mile in and I kept going for her to catch up with me. She had to pretty much sprint to catch up because I had made it a good solid 3/4 miles without her. Just doing my intervals. I felt super strong, and the tape on my belly was helping as was my new support belt helping so that I didn't have round ligament pain as I ran. She caught up with me just after the kites flying overhead at our first overpass. I felt so empowered because I was passing so many people and keeping a good solid pace. But it wasn't as fast as what Kat thought and she tried to hold my hand to pull me. I said, "I will not be pulled." I had to use the bathroom and had already made the plan to stop every 3 miles if needed. I wanted to wait till Magic Kingdom for my first bathroom break but I couldn't. I was keeping a solid 14:38 pace up until mile 3 where I made my first potty break.

The lines were awful. 14 potties and 7 lines. As I was staining in line I noticed a couple of other obvious pregnant ladies, who I would see at every potty line from here on out. Some racers started yelling at the potties, "Hurry up! This is a race." It was at least a 5 min potty stop and at this point, I knew that I was in trouble. If all stops were 5 min and I was planning on doing 4 and I am doing a solid 15 min mile pace then I would be over the time by 5 minutes. Disney advised on their site to train for a 15 min pace. This might include 2-3 potty breaks but it would not include us to take any pictures on the course. At all. I knew going into the race that all the lines for the characters would be long and that I wasn't going to take any, unless I saw the alligator from Princess and the Frog. (I love alligators) But still that takes away some of the fun of the race, not being able to take any pictures because the lines are so long and if you did stop, then you would be stressed about taking a faster pace and burn out before the end of the race. Plus being in the back the concern is all about the Blue Balloon Carrying Sweepers!

I ran back to Kat and adjusted my tutu back down and in place and we took off. Before I knew it we were running under the fogged out Magic Kingdom sign. As we were entering the transpiration area to MK another lady was already saying that she couldn't do this. AT ALL. We told her, she could and she was doing great. Just wait for Main street and the crowd and cheers and she will get the buzz in energy she needs to finish! I also at this point passed the lady who made the comment to me earlier of what was wrong with me. I ended up staying in front of her for the remainder of the race. (made me feel pretty good knowing that I was passing people) We went under the overpass with the guy dancing with the HUGE Mickey hands having fun. There were so many people crammed in this area. The course narrows quite a bit and it felt like quite a squeeze to get through. We were going down though and I told Kat, go! And we just ran down avoiding people as best as possible. As we were backstage I knew where we were from the Keys to the Kingdom and I started to get teary eyed because I was about to do the one area I was looking forward to the most. Running through the Magic Kingdom. I had seen so many pictures from other bloggers about the crowd cheering you on, space and being able to run through the castle.

Before we entered the MK we had quite a few bottleneck have to walk areas because there was such a large crowd. As we started to round the corner onto Main Street, we came to a halt! WHAT! It was so tight and packed with people that it was walking speed only down Main Street. Kat and I jumped up to the sidewalk so that I could run through Main Street. We stopped for a second to take our pictures in front of the castle. Then continued. We stopped in tomorrow land to use the bathroom which this stop was the fastest of all. The mens restroom was being used by women but there aren't as many stalls so their line was slower. We joined the mostly walking pack and made our way to Fantasyland where we rounded the turn and came to a halt again. My dream of running through the castle crushed. There were so many people that we were cramped and slowing waddling our way to and through the castle. The trumpeters welcomed us to the castle with their fanfares. I remember thinking, I hope they don't empty their spit valve on us as we pass under. (Ah the things a musician thinks of) And we slowly made our way through the castle. SADLY walking. As we exited, Kat and I knew we had to go, so we tried to run as best as possible down the ramp and out tomorrow land.

~Tons of Prince and Princesses!~

We made our way past Splash Mountain where my feet were starting to feel loose in my shoes. At the corner getting onto the 6 mile stretch of highway I stopped to tighten my shoes. BAD IDEA! I tightened them too much and the tops of my feet hurt so much for the remained for the race. We passed mile 7 with the anthem of Let It Go by Frozen which totally didn't fit the race at all. It's a good song but it doesn't fit the idea of running. I wish that I were freezing. At this point the sun was burning away the fog and it was starting to heat up and get more humid. Kat had me drink water and power aid at every stop. It also felt like they had more water stops along the way, I felt like I was always drinking. Two days before the race, Disney advised of the heat, so maybe Disney set up more water stops for that reason.

About mile 8 I started to notice people on the sides like flies. More and more were stopping for various reason. My feet were hurting, between my legs were chaffing but darn it I wasn't going to stop. I passed by all the medic tents watching other ladies getting the x mark of death, in my mind, not wanting to get singled out or stopped since my face gets so red when I run and just kept going. Mile 9 I stopped again for a potty break. The lines were still long. The bathrooms stunk and with my super sensitive pregnancy nose I gagged the whole time, about to puke in the restroom from the smell. (no offense to Disney when you gotta go you gotta go, I get that)

~Where we walked and walked through the castle.~

Mile 9 we passed a med tent where we noticed a girl wrapped in a blanket laying on a lawn chair and others stopping on the side of the road. My body was starting to check out at this point. I got my cliff shot and took my time eating it. Easier to eat than my energy jelly beans. And I hadn't used any of my gu that I brought. Next came the c curve to the overpass and then the 2 overpasses onto Epcot. We were at the hill area. My feet hurt so badly at this point. I was hot, sweaty, and just felt done. As we were on the overpass, looking at all the people we were in front of, yea me, Kat said, "Look there are the sweepers." I never saw them. I think that I was just not able to focus that far at this point. My body hurt. I just wanted to be done. Kat grabbed my hand and we walked hand and hand from here until the end of the race with her pulling me to stay ahead of the sweepers. (remember I had said I won't be pulled, well I was ok with being pulled.)

~The view coming out of the castle looking down Main Street. Super foggy.~

I did not want to be pulled from the course. Medics were on bikes passing us. Again anytime they passed me I threw a smile on my face and acted that everything was fine. I just could not stop. That was my mantra, DON'T STOP! I told Kat that I hurt, and I had to keep going and I couldn't go any fast at this point. She said I had to and kept pulling me. I looked at my clock. I should have been done by this point keeping my 15 min mile pace. I was bummed. I wanted to be done, finished with the race, I was going to finish it though. We entered the parking lot area and I started to lose it. I could not stop crying. I was so excited that I had done this. I knew I was going to make it. I hurt everywhere. I was having Braxton Hicks contractions and had to slow my pace down. We were passing potties again and I had to go. Mile 12 and I had to go. I was almost done but I stopped. No lines though which was nice, but my body was so sweaty and my clothing was so stuck to me it took forever to get the shorts on and off.

~I didn't get a picture with the alligator but I got one of him.~

~Now at mile 12. Finally~

Got back in the pack and one lady said the sweepers were right behind us. I knew I was a good mile in front of them and didn't really believe her but I pushed and did little sprints in with my walks. We passed through the crowded Epcot with lots of cheers and made the turn just in front of the lake. One of the pregnant ladies that I saw at every potty break was running next to us and then she passed me. GO HER!

~So close!~

We passed by the choir, I didn't really hear them though because I just wanted to be done, I was almost done. Then we made the next turn and there it was. The finish line. I was a mess inside. I was almost done. I was balling. I can't believe that I actually did this. I did this! I ran right past Mickey, I had planned on stopping to get a hug but I wanted to be done! I totally dissed Mickey though. Bad Becky. Finally we crossed the finish line hand in hand. I was upright and balling my eyes out! I finally could slow down my walk and the Braxton Hicks finally went away, thank you. They handed us this cool cloth that Kat put on my neck. I wanted to see my family. We made our way back to the family reunion area, but first I got my medal. (Never got a post race pix of me all sweaty and my medal.) I saw Matt and ran into his arms crying my eyes out so thankful to see him and know that I survived. I did it. He didn't know if I was doing a good or a bad cry. He was so confused but so happy and proud of me. Mace was kind of asleep but then woke up and wanted to give me a hug too. I picked him up and carried him for a little bit. Kat and I couldn't celebrate much longer because we had to get checked out of our room cause check out was 11 and it was like 10:30 already. The busses were thankfully parked very close to where the reunion area was. I WAS SO THANKFUL! We got back to our hotel and changed and showered and the boys met us to pick us up. I kind of rested for a little bit and took off my shoes. My feet hurt so bad. No blisters that I could see.

~The only post race pix I have of me. Wish Kat told me she was taking the pix I would have attempted a smile!~

Later that day was kind of a blur. I took a bath to soak my legs in, fell asleep in there. Went to my bed and slept as Matt and Kat checked in on me every now and then to see how I was doing. Kat and her hubs brought me a burger and I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took my first bite of fries and I in-hailed the burger. Then slept for pretty much the rest of the day. No parks for me.

My observations for the day:

~DO NOT SHAVE YOUR INNER THIGHS the morning of the race. I not only had chaffing but it turned into a razor burn chaffing. I used vaseline and body glide there too but the razor burn with the chaffing, not good! I also had a little chaffing from my support belt but that was ok.

~I did have 3 little blisters on my feet just where the tape line ended. Maybe 2 layers of tape a little thicker on my feet would have been better.

~Disney needs more port-a-potties. Either more at every stop or along the way. There were too many of us and the lines were far too long which affected my official completion time. I was actually upset for the first few days after because I feel like I failed. But in all honesty I was keeping a solid under 15 min mile pace up until mile 10.5. Then I slowed because my body couldn't go faster.

~Do not tighten your shoes mid race. Unless they untie themselves don't touch your shoes! My feet hurt because I over tightened them.

~For those of us in the back of the race we need more space on the course. There were so many bottle neck areas that we had to come to a standstill and just slowly walk through areas. That affects time. But this gives me more incentive to get my running better to make it into a faster corral next time to avoid the overcrowding.

I had a great experience with my first 1/2 marathon and at Disney. It was great! During the race I was miserable and hot and I hurt. But that's not Disney's fault. I was 29 weeks pregnant. I was pushing myself physically and mentally. The last 3 miles of the race is all mental!

Will I run a 1/2 again. Yes, but never while pregnant, ever! Right now I am thinking about the Wine and Dine in 2015. I actually have wanted to run that race for awhile! And eventual I would like to train for the Goofy challenge. That is my overall goal but not for awhile. I have a long way to go before that point!

WHEW! Did you make it to the end! I told you it was long!

GO!!!!!

Here I go, by this point I will be, oh, around mile 7 or so, hoping that my song of choice is the 7 mile anthem. Katy Perry's Roar. It goes perfectly with my "running story". I just can't believe that I am actually doing this! I AM EARNING MY TIARA while 29 weeks pregnant! ROCKSTAR!

Get Set...

We are all set to go here. I packed all I could last night and left the rest to this morning. I am taking an extra bag I wasn't thinking of taking, but considering that we only have one medium/large sized bag for both Matt and I that is pretty good. Plus the extra bag will have all my marathon stuff in it so that I can just grab that bag Saturday night and that is it.

This morning I am off to get my belly taped for the weekend! Hoping it stays on and doesn't cause too many issues between now and Sunday.

Then to pick up some dry ice for the cooler. Make breakfast for all of us and off we go! I am super excited for my race and glad that everything is done, including this beauty! Here is the back and the rest, well that will be shown on Race morning!

Check me out on FB, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and plenty of pix before I come back and post them all here!

Get Ready...

Oh boy, oh boy! I have a ton of things to do today! This is my busy day that just won't let up on me! Are you ready for my list?

Do last load of laundry for whole family
Make 6 dozen cookies for trip, dough made yesterday so that helped!
Prenatal yoga
Have the hubs meet me at the gym to switch cars and pick up the kid
Go straight to my prenatal check up to get my "permission slip" to run in the race on Sunday.
Go straight to chiropractor for last race adjustment and 1 hour massage
Hurry home, teach a lesson
Feed the family dinner
Attach vinyl to shirt for race costume
PACK PACK PACK!
Sleep, whenever that happens...

Today there is no rest for the weary, unless you count the 1 hour massage. But things that are already complete:

All the dinners are made.
All the bread is made.
Jam already made.
Snacks bought for trip down and trip.
Bought cooler for said trip. (And new water bottles for the parks too)

Just need to organize some things, make master list of what is being taken so we know what to bring back with us. (Yes I am that OCD i.e. Plastic plates and cups for Mace so we don't brake the glass stuff at the hotel, but my stuff is my stuff.)

QOTD: Do you go OCD when packing for a big trip?

Last Run Before My Half

I am so excited! Today is my last 3 mile run before I run my half, and possibly my last 3 mile run while pregnant. Still haven't decided yet how much I will run beyond next week. This training has really taken a toll on my body. I am ready to just take it easy a little bit. I will still do some walking. 3 mile+ walks are definitely on the books even up until I have the baby, got to get the baby out somehow, right! And I will try to do some running every week to keep up with it until I can't but it will be no more than 2 miles at a time. So this is my plan.

On a plus side, I am glad that I have ran as long as I have because it has helped in other departments during this pregnancy! I have had no weight gain beyond what I started at, yea! I am losing fat/parts of my body are not growing as much as they did with Mason. The pants I wore when I was pregnant with Mace I am wearing now and they are a little baggy on me yea! And I passed my glucose test with flying colors. This is the one test I am so scared of because I am overweight, but I was 20 points better on this test than I was with Mason. The biggest change for all of this is that I have been running/doing more consistent exercise.

One other note! Mason moved to his big boy bed on Monday. He has slept in his new room 2 nights now and hasn't fallen out of bed and really enjoys his new room! So excited for our big boy! Now if we could only teach him that the potty is not scary!

QOTD: How do you taper your runs before a race?

Less Than 1 Week

Less than 1 week to go and I will be running in my first 1/2 marathon, (while pregnant). I seriously think I am still crazy for wanting to do this but I am proud of the fact that I am because it is a very, very, VERY hard thing to train for while pregnant! I am so excited that we are actually leaving in just a few short days! I still have a lot to do before we go but I know I will get everything done. I have to!

As far as a weekly workout recap last week was not supposed to be my taper week but it kind of turned out that way in a bad way, as in no workouts! Just didn't happen. NOT GOOD! But this week is tons of walking and tomorrow is my last run before the race. 3 miles is on the books for me! But I feel good and ready for the race. I know I can do it. It is going to be hard and I will have to push myself slightly but I can do this!

I am so excited to run my race with my best friend K! It will be such a fun experience for both of us and yeah I am a little excited, more than a little to run through the castle. This race is going to be AWESOME!

Good Days & Bad Days

I am at that point where I will often have a good running day and a bad running day thanks to this little guy I'm carrying. And they can be completely back to back. Case in point: Yesterday. BAD RUNNING DAY. The whole day my stomach just felt queasy and every time I got ready to go running I would need to postpone because it just didn't feel right. So I didn't run or walk yesterday.

Today, good running day! I felt strong and ready to get going. Mason is the one who took forever to let me get him dressed to get to the gym. I did my 3 miles with a different type of plan in mind, didn't really work and went back to my old plan but at least I tried something new. I still finished in just over my 15 min/mile requirement I have placed for myself. The first mile and a half though, wow, my round ligament doesn't like me very much but after that point it lessened up a bit and I was able to continue. But now I know that it will take me at least 2 miles to feel comfy running.

On another note, all the half marathon paperwork is up on RunDisney along with the course map. I found out what corral I am in, and it isn't the last one, YEA! But there are also 1,778 other runners with me in my corral alone! Looking at the map too, after this Saturdays run I will know I can do 11 miles and miles 12 and 13 are at Epcot so that makes me happy because once I am in Epcot I know I will almost be done! The only thing they don't list on the course map is the bathroom stops! I know that there is a "real" restroom in Tomorrow land. But reading another blogger today from her review of the marathon is that there were really long lines for that bathroom, for most of them, so a little worried there because I don't have too much time that I can slow down and stop and I will probably need at least 2 stops. Anyhew! Less than 3 weeks to go! I CAN DO THIS!

QOTD: What do you do when you have a "bad" running day?

Super HUGE SHOUT OUT

To all the finishers of the WDW Marathon weekend! Today was the Full marathon and final race to the 4 day race extravaganza! And also CONGRATS to those who completed the Dopey Challenge! 5,000 people participated in the Dopey challenge. Maybe in 2016 I will try the Goofy challenge first (half and whole marathon) then the next challenge would be the Dopey. That is a long time away and a lot of running until that point. I must learn to run faster, comfortably!

Disney World Marathon Weekend

I am loving reading about all the people running in in the Disney Marathon Weekend in Orlando that starts TODAY! The 1st race of many began early this morning. The 5k. I have 6 weeks until my 1st Disney race and I am trying to learn as much as possible about the Disney races to be as prepared as possible. So this year they introduced the Dopey challenge because people are just crazy! Originally if you ran the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon you got the Goofy medal cause you were CRAZY! There is 1 race per day so that it is not all in one day! This year here are all the races for the Dopey challenge:

5k (3.1 miles)

10k (6.2 miles)

1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles)

Full Marathon (26.2 miles)

48.6 miles total

Oh my! That is just plain CRAZY amounts of mileage! Do I want to do it someday? HECK YEAH! First of all can you imagine the amount of calories you burn running that many days  plus if these people go to the park too? I think I would be sleeping as much as possible. Each day is the new race ending with the full marathon on Sunday! But the people that do complete the Dopey challenge are going to walk away with some serious Disney Bling! 6 medals total. The 5k medal, 10k medal, 1/2 marathon medal, Full marathon medal, Goofy Medal for doing 1/2 and full and the Dopey medal for doing all the races. Someday I will run the Disney marathon, that was the race that started it all. The medal I wanted when I saw it in Runner's World magazine. That is what peaked my interest in running! Someday I will run this race, but I might just start with the Goofy first cause nearly 50 miles in 4 days, that is SCARY! But sounds fun too!

Big shout out to my friends running in the Disney marathon Weekend! GO SARG T! (one of my pink ladies leaders.) Heather M. from Through Heather's Looking Glass and all the others that are running. Stay safe, hydrate and rest!

QOTD: Would you ever run in the Dopey challenge?

Workout Goals for the Week

Next week is Christmas! Can you believe it. Let me say that again, NEXT WEEK IS CHRISTMAS! It feels like it has snuck up on me this year which seems weird that Christmas would sneak up on me but it has. I have way too many things to do this week to get things done and sent out on time before it is too late.

One thing that I can no slack on this week is my exercise. I have really taken a break for the last 2 weeks from heavy cardio training due to my cold or whatever I had. I still don't have my full voice back. Everyone is asking if I am getting sick, nope getting over being sick. (The hard part about being sick while pregnant is you can't take anything to help you through it.)

I decided that today would be the day that come feeling 100% or not I was going to get my exercise done. It needs to be done. I do not want to gain excess weight with this pregnancy unless. In the last 2 weeks, when I haven't exercised, I was gaining the 1 lb a week that can happen. So at this point I am -2 from my pre-pregnancy weight for this pregnancy. Still 30 lbs over what my pre-pregnancy weight before Mason. Exercise is so important to me right now. I am using it as a tool to help me stay as healthy as possible and so that I can have a healthy as possible pregnancy for my baby. And eating right of course. But since next week is Christmas, I know that I will indulge just a little, and I did this weekend when I made my mom's yummy candy cane cookies. I might of had a couple.

Goals for this week:
Monday- 30 min elliptical, 2 miles walk-treadmill-CHECK- Totally did it today
Tuesday- 3 mile walk/run, Prenatal Pilates at home- CHECK- updated 12/17
Wednesday- 30 min elliptical, 3 mile walk-treadmill- did Pilates stretching 20 min- updated 12/18
Thursday- 2 mile walk/run, prenatal yoga
Friday- 30 min elliptical, 1 mile run
Saturday- 4.5 mile walk/run with training program

We shall see how this works. But I am determined to do better always. I am in full training mode now for my 1/2 marathon as I only have 9 weeks until race day!!!

QOTD: Do you hit it hard at the gym when you are getting back into the swing of things?

Turkey Trot Race Recap

I will get this posted! Since this doesn't require a physical voice I can do this. Mace is still asleep, thank goodness with all the coughing I have been doing, so I have a little mommy time. (He should wake up anytime now since I just said the previous statement!)

For Thanksgiving we were going to NC to visit our closest, in distance, family members. I looked for a race in the area of where they lived and noticed that the Southpark Turkey Trot was celebrating its 25th anniversary and they mentioned a "special medal" on their website. What do I think, NEW BLING! I love getting the racing bibs, and the shirts but the medals gives it an extra little, YEA factor. I earned it. I feel powerful and it is a heavy reminder of what I accomplished to earn. The medals for Disney are what really got me interested in running in the first place. Who wouldn't want a heavy beautiful medal with Mickey on it?

Anyhew. I had been telling Matt all week that it was going to be cold. Really cold. 22 degrees cold! That morning he didn't really believe me I guess until he walked out side and turned back and said, "I don't think so! Are you crazy!?!" I said, "I already paid the fee and when we start running we will warm up anyways." He then contented to mutter how insane I was for wanting to run early in the morning, a holiday morning nonetheless, in the freezing cold. I continued to remind him that he was supporting me and he was happy to support me, but from a nice warm place. Anyhew he was cold and hungry, and grumpy. I don't blame him. IT WAS COLD!

~My first racing tutu! Thanks to Race Junkie!~

We arrived at the race location, 30 minutes early, because I thought it would take longer to arrive. We picked up our racing packet and shirt and high tailed it back to the car to stay warm. Matt didn't turn on the heater so that we would "acclimate" to the cold instead of going from super heated and warm to freezing again. I threw on my new race shirt under my running shirt as I forgot my running jacket at home and my running shirt was short sleeved. I was freezing but it was the perfect amount after I started to get warm. We watched the first race line up from our car and then it was time to head to the potty and then the starting line.

The website said that they limit the race to 11,000 people. It didn't look like that many people but there were a ton. And the was no announcement to get in the pace groups which were set super far apart. I read on another blog that there were about 10, 000 people running that day, there were various race distances. But it took us a min 15 second to get from our pace group, which wasn't even my pace because we were back in the 9 min pace group, because that is as high as it went, to cross the start line. There were a ton of people. And because we were "in a fast pace group and I am slow" I pulled Matt to the side of the street to allow people to pass us easier. People quickly passed us and we were in the back of the pack. As we rounded the first turn the first runners from our race were making the turn to the neighborhood part of the race.

Love the Back!

The race was pretty flat. Compared to Charlottesville area that I am used to running. I was wishing for more hills because that is where I tend to make my speed back. I stated thinking though that this is good practice for the FLAT Disney World race. I guess I have grown the love hills! We kept up a pretty good pace it felt like. We were walking/jogging and I was trying not to push myself too hard. the first water stop we took our water and the volunteers were saying that there was ice in it. I was wondering when it was so cold, why they added ice, but they didn't add ice. The water had iced over on the top! It was hard to get the water down but we needed to conserve the water we were carrying so down it went, burning all the way. At about 3 miles, we came to an area with evenly spaced light poles and I did my run 2 posts, walk 2. I finally felt my toes defrost by this point so I felt like I got my stride, thankfully! We ran through very pretty neighborhoods but at this point I stopped looking at the houses and focused more on making it at the time I wanted. 1:15 or faster. 1:20 was acceptable but I wanted 1:15. So we started to push more as I knew we only had about a mile left. At the entrance to the mall near the finish line we didn't know which side to run on for the median as so many people and cars were trying to leave. So that was a little frustrating. People were still trying to finish a race, don't block the course. We crossed the finish line holding hands, no pix! And I looked at my phone and I finished in 1:10! I was faster than I thought that I would be. I am still running a 14 min mile at 16 weeks pregnant. I was so happy with how I did! I couldn't believe it! I am running the same pace that I ran for the 10k in Oct and 30 second slower per mile from the 4 miler.

I am so proud of my body for doing what it did, IN THE FREEZING COLD! There were a ton of people milling around at the end. We got some more frozen water and gatorade. On the way home though we stopped by Starbucks, which was PACKED to get some hot coco to warm us up all the way. (That is when I started to feel my fingers again).

Note to self: get gloves, and long sleeved shirts! And maybe carpis that retain body heat! I WAS FREEZING!

It was a good race. I wish that the pace markers were closer together and that they included the slower paces too, like 10 min mile and above! Also for them to make an announcement at the beginning that it was about to start. Other than that it was well organized and an easy and beautiful race! Maybe again next year, if we are in town!

Mark Your Calendars, Run Disney News!!

(source)

Run Disney just announced this today! Tinker bell Marathon 1/2 Weekend has been moved to Mother's Day Weekend beginning 2015. So May 8-10, 2015 will be the Tinker bell 1/2 Marathon Weekend!

Check out this video here!