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.  

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!

Slim Down Challenge

Good Morning!! I wanted to give a quick reminder that our Slim Down Challenge starts in just two days!!! I am so happy with how many people have contacted me to be a part of it and know that this is going to be such a great new event in the new year for the P+K community!!! In case you missed it, here are the details below :)

Oh, and this picture? I just love it! And, we can use it as a reminder that spring is right around the corner. Houses are not the only things that need a good cleaning, sometimes our bodies' do as well!

The Challenge

The goal of the Slim Down challenge is to help give our bodies a restart after the holidays and possibly, days, weeks, months, or years of eating less than healthy. This is a six week challenge that will start next Thursday, January 15th and end the first of March. In order to complete the challenge you will need to:

Buddies

Every challenge participant will be paired with a buddy. If you have a friend who would like to do this with you, they can be your buddy. If not, we can pair a buddy for you! Either way, let me know so we can count you as participating.

You will check in with your buddy each day. It does not have to be much, just a quick idea for a workout or something that might encourage them. The buddies are meant to be quick encouragers, nothing more :)

Eating

Eat 5 small meals per day. Two of these meals should be a meal bar or meal replacement shake. These are the bars and shakes that I take and what I STRONGLY recommend you taking yourself since they are filled with all the right proteins, low in carbs and fat, and high in vitamins and nutrients. All the vitamins in these are organic (something no other brand can boast!). If you, however, would prefer to take your own, that is no problem.

Drinking

Drink 128 oz of water per day (If you weigh less than 140 pounds, you can drop those ounces down to something closer to 100 per day if you like)

Vitamins

A big part of this challenge is making sure you get all the proper nutrients. For this, you must be taking a multivitamin each day.

Again, I highly, highly recommend these vitamins since they are 100% organic, all parts are grown instead of synthesized, and this company handles every part of the product from growth to packaging. These are simply the best vitamins I have ever seen. They have never had a recall on any product and boast an absorption rate 3x higher than any other vitamin on the market.

Exercise

Simply enough, increase your physical activity. This could be anything from trying a new workout or running a bit farther than you usually do. We will be having weekly challenges on the blog to help with this part of the challenge so as long as you are doing the challenges, you will be set for exercise!

Side note: I would recommend increasing your average daily steps as part of this challenge. Walking more is so good for our joints and helps decrease the dreaded bloat!

Get Started

1. There are one or two simple steps to get started on this challenge. The first would be to e-mail me at PandK.contact@gmail.com and let me know you are wanting in! Also let me know if you have a buddy already or if you need one. I will add you to our Facebook group and make sure you are in for all the prizes- this is what you will get for simply following the program for the six weeks!
2. Next, you will either need to order the products, or make sure that you have your own in stock. I can say from experience that these products will make a difference in your results. But, again, purchase of anything is not necessary. Here is everything you may need:

• Multivitamin $85.90 for a 30-day supply
• Glucosamine for joints $63.80 for a 2-month supply
• Meal Replacement Shakes $51.48 for twelve
• Meal Replacement Bars $40.15 for fifteen bars

1. Start encouraging your buddy! Again, the challenge goes from January 15th to March 1st. In this time you should loose weight, gain muscle, and feel refreshed and renewed by the end!

Bench Taps

First off, I would like to apologize for not having a post out on Thursday, again. Something seems off with my Thursdays, but I promise to get it together :) To make up for it, I will be doing another post on Sunday! It is still up in the air whether the post will be a This Week in Workouts, or something completely different. Either way, I hope you enjoy it and have an absolutely wonderful weekend!

This weekend the hubs and I are going to see The Hunger Games and I can seriously not wait! Ahh, there is so much excitement in me that I just want to shake a table!!! Who is team Peta+Katniss? I am!!

Before the movie we are going to one of my favorite restaurants downtown that I have not been to in about a year. I honestly did not think we could get in since we are going with a large group of friends, but they were able to take us at the right time when all other places had NOTHING available. Yes, season has definitely struck our little vacation town.

My plan right now is to do about 500 of this bench tap challenge before we go to dinner since they have ridiculously good lobster mac n' cheese. I am sure half the portion is more fat than one should eat in a week, and let's not even start on those carbs. Bench taps are so, so great for the core, the upper thighs, and the bum- pretty much every area us ladies like to work on the most. They are also a massive cardio and plyometric workout. Seriously. My goal today is to complete, at least, 50 reps per leg (100 total) after my morning jog. It will be intense, but so is that lobster mac n' cheese ;)

If you are not sure how to complete a bench tap, this has a great illustration. Pretty much, it is just knee-ups but you stand in front of a bench and tap the elevated foot on the bench top. Simple, not easy!

How many can you do?