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- 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?

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!

My First runDisney Experience: Expedition Everest

Let's talk the Expedition Everest 5k Obstacle Course Scavenger Hunt. First off, what a name. Second, it was fantastic! Everything started Friday, the day before the event, when you went to pick-up all your goodie bags and race gear. This is when we got our awesome shirts, our race bibs, and some other fun stuff in the race bag.

Everything had to be picked up from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and man was that place busy! Some advice to anyone who is planning on doing their first runDisney event would be to pick up their goods the day prior to the race. We had to go both Friday and Saturday because the person at the pick-up counter did not give the hubs his license back. Between the massive cheering event (which I think they plan on runDisney event weekends) and the massive morning races going on, the place was a mad house.

Fast forward to that evening and it was super fun. Again, everything was more crowded than I have ever seen Disney so getting into restaurants without a 40-minute wait was near impossible, but we were able to get a table pretty quick at Splitsville and have some yummy sushi a few hours before the run. runDisney recommended that we get to the Animal Kingdom by 8:30- about 2-hours before the race. 

We were able to get to the parking lot by about 8:15 and decided to stay in the car for a bit since there was a legitimate cold front going through and it was raining as well. Once we got into the run area everything was laid out super easy. Dropped off the bag, found our corral, then hit the pre-race party without any hold backs. 

The pre-race part was super fun with a massive aerobic dance workout lead by the nicest evil dance master ever. Seriously, it was a workout... but a fun one! We stayed at the front dance party area for a while, took some pictures at the photo-op areas, then headed to our "E" corral about an hour before the race started. The group dancing, also known as my favorite part, continued there! 

Then, they started the races. Each corral was set to depart 6-minutes after the previous one. We were in corral "E" so we did not start the race until a little after 11:00 pm. It was still raining and still quite cold, but that ended up being the best thing ever with all the running and dancing and obstacle coursing. 

{via}

First up on the obstacle course was the hay bales where some of our part got separated. Next, we ran through the park and got to see the most incredible view of Everest ever. Really, it looked like this. Of course, there were also characters throughout the run area and places to take pictures, but we did not do any of that for reasons I still do not understand. 

The next obstacle was the tires, followed by the optional army crawl area. I did both and managed to stay up-right in the tires, even after a kind lady completely fell on me. Simple victories :) The hubs and I also met up during the run and were able to take a pretty awesome picture next to timed fire balls. It was pretty great, but I cannot find the picture anywhere on the runDisney photo section. Too bad. 

After the army crawl, there was a short bit left, then the finish line where they handed out Cliff bars and bananas. Then came the scavenger hunt! This was the hardest. scavenger hunt. ever. Really. We had five clues, total, and needed help on four of them. But, once we answered our questions we ran across the finish one more time, got our finisher medals (which are the coolest things ever... working compasses!), and hit the post race party. 

The party had singing and dancing and light beer and was held in Dinoland USA. It was pretty fun! We were able to do some more dancing, look at race products, ride Dinosaur, and go home. Overall, the race was incredible and just makes me want to do another runDisney event as soon as possible! Look out Wine and Dine 2015, I'm coming for you!