Running the Dark Side

Last weekend (April 15 - 17) was the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon - The Dark Side at Disney World. Besides the fact that I (once again) wasn't physically ready for it, I was excited to see what kind of characters this race brought out.

I wasn't disappointed.

My mom decided to sign up Lydia for the 5k, along with her normal Kids Races. Since that race was Friday, they spent Thursday night over at Disney to be ready for the 4:30am wake-up call. They basically walked the whole way, but they had fun. And, really, who expects a 7 year old to run 3 miles? Not us. They got some SUPER cute pictures along the way.

Apparently, toward the end, my mom told Lydia that she needed to run at least a little bit of it. At which point, Lydia bartered running for being able to use my mom's phone to record and take pictures. THAT was entertainment in itself.

They finished in about an hour. Again, pretty decent for walking. Lydia was so proud of herself and her new medal that she took this unprompted selfie..... which I think is the most adorable thing in the world......

That evening, I drove over and met up with them at Magic Kingdom. They'd been there for several hours (after resting up at the hotel) and were having a blast, though my mom's poor ankle was killing her. We hung out for a bit and decided to head back to the hotel to grab dinner.

Before we left, Lydia cashed in on my mom's promise to get her a balloon. It's funny.... we're at Disney so often that we rarely get souvenirs. Usually, it's a stuffed character to add to the collection - all the kids in our life actually do sleep with them and will carry them around to love on. About once a year, she will BEG for a balloon. This time she desperately wanted a "BB-A" balloon, despite the amount of times we tried to convince her that it's BB-8. Regardless, she got the balloon and was happy.

The next morning was the Kids Races. For the first time, Irelynn and Carter were participating. Seriously, the Kid Races are the cutest thing ever. Mom got them all little outfits and prizes.

Irelynn was convinced that she needed to "WIN THE RACE." We told her it was all about having fun and doing her best, but Little Miss Perfectionist was determined. She did, in fact, cross the finish line before anyone in her heat.

Carter just ran to have fun. He really didn't know what was going on, but he was having a blast.

After the races, I picked up my packet. The one thing I was disappointed in was the lack of shirts to swap out. We sign up for these races 6+ months in advance. And, for some reason, the sizing always ends up different. These shirts seemed a little tight, so while there were plenty of smalls to be found, you couldn't size up.

The rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing. Most of the halfs start at 5:30am, so that's what I assumed. However, I learned (thanks to a text from my friend Brianne) that this one was at 5am. That doesn't sound like a lot, but at 2:45am it feels like a lot. We had to be on the buses by 3:30am. Craziness.

When I woke up at the dreaded 2:45, my first thought was, "I really don't feel like doing this, today." I almost just rolled over and went back to sleep. However, it was the very first one, it was expensive, and I don't like the concept of not trying.

The bus took about 45 minutes to get there, so I got a nap in, which was wonderful and helped pep me up a little. I met up with Brianne, who made friends with this guy named Evan on her bus, and they got me a bit excited, too. We stood in line to take a picture with this guy........

By the time we were done (it was a long line), they were about to start the race and we needed to get to our corrals. I will say that they really made it special. Stormtroopers came out to deliver our mission....

We were still walking out when the first few corrals stepped off. The fireworks display was REALLY cool. Brianne and I were in different corrals, so we bid each other good luck and split up.

Again, the feel of this was different than other races. It really was fun. The played clips of the movies in between corrals. They played Star Wars music along with the fireworks. It was just neat.

My corral stepped off at about 5:40am. This was a totally different route than other races, so it was neat to have the change-up. There were a lot of hills. And, once you got on the Osceola Parkway (to and from Animal Kingdom), it was a long stretch of boring road. But, overall I liked it. The only thing I wasn't fond of was finishing at ESPN. It was just too cramped and congested. Plus, the entire way to ESPN and then through it you were facing the sun, which was rough.

I got a PR....... for the worst time I've ever done. It was bad. I wasn't prepared. I'm not in shape. And, I just wasn't in the mood to go anywhere on foot for 13+ miles. However, I did finish, so there's that. From what I understand, A LOT of people got swept, so at least I wasn't alone in being unprepared.

The rest of the day was spent showering, changing, packing, and then walking around Magic Kingdom. We ate at the new restaurant, Skipper's Jungle Canteen (or something like that). I *really* enjoyed it and would recommend it.

It's only been a week since the race and I'm already working harder to prepare for Wine and Dine in November. Not only do I want to do better in these races, I need to lose weight, get stronger, be healthier. Hopefully, this time next year, I'll be WAY better off and can take the Dark Side with no problem.

Tower of Terror 10-Miler 2014

So last weekend (October 3-5) was the Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend at Disney. If you will recall, last year's was my first big race ever. Before I talk about my race, I have to brag on some others.

So, my mom had so much fun watching Megan and I last year that she got amped up and decided to participate. She and my stepdad signed up for the 5K during Princess Weekend. Then, she signed them up for it this weekend AND signed Lydia up for the kids' races. Mom and Jeff really can't run it, because of some former injuries, so they walk. They just like to participate.

This was Lydia's first race and she *can* run. The first race was her age group. Depending on the age group, the kids run either 100, 200, 300, or 400 meters. Lydia ran 200. The 100 group was hysterical to watch. They are all aged 1-3. Some of them LOVED it and others weren't having it at all.

The winner went to Baby Aladdin who got about twenty feet from the Finish Line and refused to go any further. His parents refused to pick him up to walk him across the finish (a lot of parents were carrying their kids, lol). Even the media people got into it.

 Eventually, Baby A won. The RunDisney people needed them off the track to let the next racers (age 4-6) start. Parent - 0, Kid - 1. I took a ton of pictures during the 15 minute sage (there were several heats), but managed to get an internet friendly one (ie, no faces of the kid).......

Lydia rocked her 200-meter dash and even convinced Jeff to join her. Next up was a timed 1-Mile race. For that one, she wanted me to run with her. I was wearing flip-flops, so that wasn't happening. I walked near the path for the first half, so that she could see me. At that point, she was comfortable running the rest of the way with the group. Disney security is really tight, especially for the kid races. They don't let anyone leave the race area without a tag that matches the child's bib, so I told her that I would meet her at the Finish Line.

In her words, the race was "HORRIBLE. It was a long and awful race!" But, she liked her medal, lol.

After their races were over (I was getting Lydia ready while Mom and Jeff were doing their race, so no pics of them), I headed back to the hotel to nap and rest up for mine later that night.

Here's where I get real.......... I have *REALLY* let myself go. Like, I weigh more than I have in 5 years. Not a fact I'm proud of, but it's the truth. Not only have I gained 20 lbs since last year's race, but I plain didn't train. I mean, I'd run a few miles a couple times a week, but that doesn't prepare you for something like this. So, I was nervous. I knew I'd finish, but I figured it would take me about 20-30 minutes longer than last year.

On top of that, Megan is preggers and due with the-best-niece-in-the-world on Oct 19th. Homegirl wasn't about to attempt 10 miles at 38 weeks pregnant. My other race buddies also weren't doing this one for various reasons. So, I was solo. SCARY.

We always run by ourselves, but we usually hang in the corrals and start together. You get in your corrals at 9:15/9:30. The race starts at 10pm and my corral started at 10:20pm. So, I was basically chilling by myself for an hour. Heidi came up to hang with me until corral time and to see me finish, but it was still a bit intimidating to just stand there in a crowd of 9500 people and not know a soul.

But, I did it. I tried and I completed it.

As I was trudging along and miserable, I would just try to pep myself up. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous. Last year was hot and humid. This year, it was the first cool night we've had. 50's and little-to-no humidity. So, I tried to tell myself that at least I was getting to enjoy the weather. Also, when I was in the last three miles and could only jog about 1-2 minutes at a time before having to walk, I really had to give myself a chat.......... 

"Jess. You are trying. You've completed 7-8-9 miles and you are still trying to jog. THAT is an accomplishment."

It was not easy. In fact, it was REALLY hard. I wanted to quit. There were times when I told myself that I just didn't care what my time was, anymore. There were times when I felt really bad that Heidi was waiting for me and I was taking so long (turns out, she was having a blast with the other spectators). But, I kept going.

Eventually, I did finish! And, I was completely right...... 21 minutes behind my time from last year.

Heidi was super proud and supportive. I was really thankful to have someone at the end.

Ironically, I wasn't nearly as sore as I was last year. I mean, I was sore. But, it didn't last as long or as bad as last year.

As it stands, I have TWO half-marathons scheduled at the beginning of the year. One at the beginning of January and another in mid-February. Yep, I'm insane.

How am I going to keep myself from going down that nasty 'Wingin It' rabbit hole? Well, it does help that these races are close enough to have something to work for, but far enough that I can train reasonably. I'm doing a HIIT Running app three days a week (started Week 1, Day 1 today) and then one longer run (starting at 4 miles and working my way up). Plus, I'm throwing in T25 for strength, speed, and agility.

I *know* I can do this. With the exception of my longer runs, I shouldn't be working out more than 1 1/2 hours a day. Back in my glory days, I was working out double that some days.

I'm also trying not to stress about my weight, right now. Of course, I need to work on my diet (those french fries and sweets have snuck their way back into my habits) and I definitely want to lose weight, but I'm trying not to focus as much on that. Right now, my main concern needs to be getting fitter.... faster.... stronger... more endurance. I feel like if I'm mildly conscience of my eating during this time, some of the weight should come off. Once the holidays and these races are over, I can really focus on the weight.

That's the plan. To keep myself accountable, I'll be posting my workouts and progress toward my goals at least every two weeks.

Here goes................