RunDisney Lovers, This Will Make You Laugh!

Hehehehehe, I found this while trolling Instagram and immediately began uncontrollably laughing in the middle of a waiting room. It was rather embarrassing, yes, but totally worth it.  One of the recent Mickey Miles Podcasts talked about some of the issues people had with signing up for the Wine and Dine a few weeks ago. Many of my friends ran into the same error screen after putting in their payment information (did this happen to you?) and are out of the race- quite literally. 

This got me to thinking how hilarious it is that 1) runDisney races are the price that they are and 2) that we will take off work, wake up at odd hours, and have the internet equivalent of Thunderdome battles to give runDisney our money. And you know what? I don't even mind!

Maybe that is the crazier part, we all find it laughable, but we will all keep doing it. Because it is a group of people going for the same goal together with some of the most iconic characters of our childhood, nay the world's childhood, at the happiest place on earth. I would say that is a darn good reason- plus the race after party, let's not forget that. 

Yep, I have not even run my first runDisney race but am already planning my second and third. In fact, the chances are pretty high that I will have signed up for another 2016 Florida race and a 2016 California race before even running the Wine and Dine. Sounds a bit crazy right? What if I hate this whole running thing? What if it is about the worst thing I have ever done and I have visions of burning my running shoes in an runDisney fueled hatred of how awful this event is? Well, thankfully, there is no one who can make this race amazing or terrible except myself and what mental attitude I have. Even better, I have made a personal guarantee to myself not to let negativity creep in and to listen to my body for guidance. I will not push past my physical capabilities, but I have every intention of pushing past as many mental ones as humanly possible.

Goodness, we went from Fry yelling to some pretty deep stuff. So true though, our mental fortitude is what will guide our success or failure in most parts of life. Running, yoga, kickboxing, whatever physical activity you do that pushes you past where you are comfortable and into the unknown, it is not just making your body stronger, it is strengthening your mind. And, that is one of the greatest reasons to workout that I have yet found. 

Now, runDisney, shut up and take my money.  

Last Week in Workouts: The Longest Run

Last week, at 2:00 in the afternoon with a cloudless sky and 82 degree heat, I ran my longest run yet. It was hot, It was sunny, but it was also incredible. I keep doing the math and checking on my run keeper apps and Google maps to see that I actually ran that far, because my ody just does not feel like it usually does after a 3+ mile run. 

Maybe it was the heat that helped lubricate my joints and loosen my muscles. Maybe it was the incredible views of running next to the bay and by the beach. Maybe it was the run-walk-run time that I was using, but something was definitely different from the prior week's 5-miler from hell, and I am so happy for that!! 

Other than running this week, I did a wee bit of yoga and walked. That was it. I know, should have done more. But, with Easter, work, and just not wanting to, I just did not want to. So here is my workout sum-up and a hope that next week your will see a bit more yoga on my list! 

Oh, and the picture above, that was taken while on the six-mile run. With that view, running really cannot be too bad! 

Monday: 5-mile long run. This was definitely the hardest run yet. My pace slowed to an 11:33 average and my knees and ankles hurt like nothing else. There were also plenty of side stitches and lots of exhaustion when done. Yuck. 

Tuesday: Rest day. Still in pain from Monday. But, have been using this, and it makes everything better! 

Wednesday: 30-minute run using the 3/1 Run-Walk ration. Ended up doing a bit over 3 miles! 

Thursday: This new yoga sequence from Candace! 

Friday: 6-mile long run. This week I only fit in one 30-minute run since I was still catching up from last week. But, this run was incredible and my pace ended up being 11:16. Getting better!!

Saturday: Some nice walking :)

Sunday: I cooked a lot, but as far as a workout goes, that's about it. 

Happy Monday! Do you have any fun workouts planned for this week? 

April Book Club: The Run-Walk-Run Method

Happy Thursday! I hope your April Fools Day was good and there were only funny pranks involved ;) Every year the hubs plays some kind of April Fool's prank on me, and this year my phone was the weapon of choice. As a joke, he made the home screen a picture only and moved all the other icons to different pages. I feel so ridiculous saying it now, but I seriously thought my phone was broken. None of my apps would open and when I tried to change pages, they all just overlapped onto each other.

After showing said trickster and him not being able to fix it (ha!) I resigned to visiting the Apple store for help. Thankfully, the hubs let me know it was a joke before I drove over got talking to a Genius about my wallpaper issues.

But, today is a new day and there should be no pranks involved, fingers crossed! Last night I started reading a new book to get a better understanding on running, and thought some of you may like to read it as well. So, for April, we will resurrect the book club for Jeff Galloway's book, The Run-Walk-Run Method.

This book goes into further detail about Galloway's run-walk-run method and how it can work for newbie runners and veterans alike. Although I am interested in all the perks of this method, the main reason I am reading it is to better understand this Magic Mile and the interval time I should be using.

If you have not read the book yet, or even if you have, you can read it along with me in hard copy or kindle version, found here. Then, we will have a nice review of the book, the insights, and all the little details towards the end of April. So far, it is a very easy read and seems quite short, so it should not take long at all!

Last Week in Workouts- Week 3 of Half Training

Yes, I know! We are starting up the workout sum-ups, again! The reason for this is two-fold and mildly selfish. First, these are some of my favorite posts on other blogs because it helps you see 1) people are doing what they write and 2) it gives me inspiration to workout and ideas on how. Seeing someone else go through the sweat hours makes it so much easier to do myself! And, secondly, I want a catalog of what I do during this whole half marathon training experience. What works, and what are the worst things that I could ever do and want to never do again.

I know that the half is almost two full training segments away, but really want to feel over-prepared for it, especially considering running fast and far is not usually my favorite thing. Well, that was, before I got a goal. Let that be a lesson to myself and the eyes reading this, goals change things in a BIG way. In fact, you will probably hear me talking about that a lot in the near future.

But, back to my week. It was not as workout centric as I wanted it to be. Actually, I have not gone on my long run yet. Yesterday was an unusually busy and cold day for me (and Florida), so, with my running attire on and my headphones in hand, I procrastinated. I did not go on my long run and by the time that it was too late to get out and get my everything else done for the day, I decided to run tomorrow. This has become a bit of a pattern with me- when my running buddy is not available on Sunday, I tend to push my run back to Monday. So, here is my, somewhat, lack-luster 3rd week of training!

Monday: My long run of 4 miles. I did this on the treadmill, but did not hate it as much as I planned. I have started running more outside, which means running on the treadmill is the literal worst. This run, however, was not too bad!

Tuesday: Rest Day!!

Wednesday: 30-minute run. This was the first time doing the Galloway run/walk system outside. Man, it is so much easier/better outside than on a treadmill. I don't think I will ever do intervals on a treadmill again! It was also great to look back at the Nike+ Running app and see that when I wanted to keep my runs the same pace, I did. And, when I wanted to increase or decrease my pace, I did that as well. My energy excursion matched my performance and that is not something that exactly happens every day here!

Thursday: Hot Yoga! It was my first time back in a while and my run buddy came with me! Great class and the substitute instructor told me I did well a lot. Not the worst thing in the world ;)

Friday: 30-minute run. This one I did around a nearby park that I love. It is actually the day that the picture above was taken. The sky's were stormy, the wind was (ummm) windy (?) and it rained a whole lot. But, I finished the run because, let's face it, there is no gaurantee that the Wine and Dine will have beautiful 65 degree weather for our run. Best be prepared.

Saturday: Bridge walk on this super pretty, tall bridge we have in our hometown. This was a great post run workout and my quads are still feeling it a bit!

Sunday: I think I did some laundry, maybe?