One Magic Mile Down

{via}

Jeff Galloway has created something called the "Magic Mile" as part of his run training programs. What a Magic Mile is meant to do is give you a reasonable expectation of how quickly you can run a 10k, half marathon, or marathon. For a half marathon, you follow a simple formula after getting a few Magic Miles under your belt. 

Jeff has this mile during a 3-4 mile run and places it right in the middle. The goal is to push yourself as hard as you can without huffing and puffing or running in a way that may cause injury. After a few MM's are done, you average that number and multiply it by 1.2. But, in true cart-ahead-of-horse style, I thought I would tell you what my first MM was and what that could mean for the race. OK! 

I ran yesterday in 82 degree muggy heat with a terribly bad stomach ache (note to self, eating strawberry shortcake 2 hours before a run is a BAD idea) but, a determined mindset. I had a goal of running the whole mile and making it a pretty good pace to boot. Well, it was a push and the mile following my MM was not a super fun happy time of magic and rainbows and unicorns cheering me on as I ran, arms open, while singing "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music", but I did it. 

My first mile out of the three was decidedly slow at a 10:31 average pace and a 3:1 walk/run rate. Then, the MM came and I ran the whole deal (plus three minutes) and made it a 9:30 pace!! My pace got as quick as 8:30 and as slow as 10:00. Thankfully though, it averaged out to something that I can be proud of. The third mile, however, was not. That guy ended up being a crawl at 11:14. Ha! 

So, if my average stays around 9:30, my push-pace come race day will be an 11:24 per mile pace. Not too bad! I am hoping to have a 12 min/mile pace come race day with being able to do some character pictures. Also, finishing under 2:30 would be a dream!!!

So, have you done the MM before? And, was it close to your race pace?

Did She Get It?? And Lessons from My first runDisney Registration

Yesterday, as many of you know, the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon registration opened. I had about nine friends, including myself, trying to get registered when 12 pm EST struck. Three of us got in right away- the two that had refreshed their pages at 11:59 and clicked the registration button early. The rest, well the page froze, nothing would load, and when it finally did, there was a 15-22 minute line before registration. Sadly, those with the long wait times got all the way to payment, but the payment would not process.

So, which group was I in? Well, let's just say that I will be running my first half marathon in November and it will be the WINE AND DINE HALF!!!!! Ahhhhh, I am so excited to make this happen, and strange as it may be, the three people who got registered were the three original who planned on running. We will be two teacups and a sleepy mouse running across that finish line in the wee hours of the morning on November 8th.

To make it even better, a few of those who were not able to register will be coming to cheer us on and celebrate at the after party with us. We will have sign making parties filled with glitter and encouragement and two great photographers along the race route taking plenty of pictures. As sad as I am that some of my dearest friends and family will not be running with me, I am also so happy to be running with the two amazing people/friends/family that will be at my side.

This has also spurred on my running bug since, obviously, we will try to register together again for the Princess Half! Then, my cousin in California and I have plans of running a runDisney race together out there and getting me my Coast to Coast medal in 2016!! What incredible goals these are, and they are things I would have never imagined doing two years ago!

So, what wisdom can I share from that registration process?? First off, it sells out FAST. However fast you are thinking, cut that in half.

Be Ready- Early

The entire half and 5k were completely sold out within 40-minutes. That is crazy! If you want to get in, be prepared and clicking ahead of time. My friend got on right before me and had no wait time, I got on at 11:59 and had a 2-minute wait with 100 people ahead of me. Those that got on at 12:05 had a 22-minute wait and some never even got to the registration page before it sold out.

For runDisney races, the early bird definitely gets that worm.

Be Actively Prepared

Second nugget of wisdom, have an active account already. Everything is filled out for you and you can speed through the process, thus ensuring you get a spot. Also, have your account information handy. I swear by 1Password for all my passwords and it saved me again for this.

Prepare to Feel Rushed- You Are!

And third, get ready to feel rushed. My super calm cousin who I have never seen stressed EVER (not even at her twin brother's wedding that she planned while being 6-months pregnant) told me how stressful that experience was. That thing sells out fast and you should be prepared to input all your information at lightning speed. I have not found that written anywhere and think it is important to know. Move fast to make sure you get in.

I am so excited to be running this and could not stop dancing/running around my house like a crazy person/clapping uncontrollably after realizing I had made it and so had some of my friends. If you are a Disney fan, you should definitely plan on doing a Disney race at some point. I have heard so many things about these and cannot wait to experience it for myself!! 

Side note- if you are super tired of all this runDisney stuff, tomorrow will be totally runDisney free. Actually, it will be pretty fitness free but something I think all of you will enjoy!

runDisney Running Guides

{via}

First off, I am sorry for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. There have been some very exciting, but very time consuming changes/projects over here, and sadly, the blog has taken the biggest hit. My hope, however, is to start back up on the whole writing thing and slowly return back to normal, weekday articles. It may take some time, but my plan is to get 3-5 articles out weekly for the next few weeks. Then, resume all as normal!

Now, for the more exciting and way more important news- today is sign-up day for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon!!!!! Oh my goodness, I can hardly contain my excitement for this. It is going to be absolutely fantastic!! Are you going to be running it?

Right now, we have a group of about twelve teacups running this together. Some are girls, some are guys, but all of us will be dressed up! My only hope is that all of us get registered in time!

As for what I have been doing to corral this excitement, well, I have been listening to massive Disney running podcasts (more about that another time) and I have been going Pin crazy. Here are a few of the articles, pictures, and items I found to be the most helpful or just plain entertaining!

A mile-by-mile rundown on what you should be doing and how you should feel for a runDisney half.

A great Wine and Dine recap!

Race recap for the Disney Princess half.

Lacing patterns for foot types.

Runspiration of the Disney sort. Do you know what song this is?

All about that foot strike.

Get mental toughness to complete your race.

What a runner's diet should look like, does look like, and what people think it looks like. Love this!

I get side stitches all. the. time. Maybe this will help!

So, are you running your first Disney race or have you run one in the past? I would absolutely love to hear what you are most excited for and what you loved best!!

TBT: The First P+K Post!

There are times when everyone would prefer to eat a big mac, fries, mac and cheese, pizza or anything else on the “no go” list rather than the salad their diets recommend. For cheat days like this along with all those other days that we would just prefer eating something absolutely delicious, I have created a list of cheats and alternatives. This is definitely not a diet list and I would not recommend using this system if you are trying to loose weight, but it will at least help curb some of those cravings without sending all of our hard earned fitness success down the drain.

Tip One, A Pizza Secret:
I am a pizza fiend. Literally. There is absolutely no difficulty for me in finishing an entire large Pizza Hut pizza in one sitting, on my own. Pizza is my kryptonite. For that reason, I was very happy to learn this little tip. If you are going through a pizza binge and have decided to eat all pizza in the world, go for the veggie. Veggie pizzas have a slightly higher nutritional content and average 1-3 grams less fat and up to 50 calories less per slice. This is because there is less cheese and none of the high fat meats.

Tip Two, Sweets:
Here is another thing I L-O-V-E, cookies. They are warm and yummy and I am drooling. There are times in my day where I could battle a fleet of ninjas for that one cookie. For me, this is usually late at night or early in the morning. Oddly though, the time that a cookie is best for me is the same time that one is more than enough to appease my craving. Afternoon, between dinner and lunch is the best time for that extra burst of sugary noms. This is the time of day when we can start getting a little sluggish and our bodies are able to digest that sweet, sweet goodness more easily.

Tip Three, Carbs:
Bread is something that oh so many people love. Starchy things are seen all over fast food menu’s and are a staple of almost every American comfort food. Too bad every health conscience person out there curses that corner of the food groupings. Oh how we love carbs and how we love to hate them even more.

Fortunately, there is a good time of day to eat them with less impact on your body. Morning is the time that our bodies are best able to process and regroup after a carb load. This energy can be used for the rest of the day and has less of a chance of being stored than that plate of spaghetti you (by you I mean me) are thinking of eating for dinner. If a starch-tastic meal is something that is happening, better to make it breakfast rather than dinner or a late-night snack. Just remember to reduce your carb intake for that day since you hit it out of the park at breakfast.

This was the first ever post on P+K way back on October 18th, 2012. It is so fun to see where a blogger (or any writer) started out compared to where they are now. An extra perk is that these tips still stand the test of time and can be super handy when those pesky cravings hit ;)

Happy Thursday and the last of our TBT series!