Happy Haunted 5k Recap

So even though I'm not much of a runner, I am a runner, and now I'm the kind of runner with 2 races under her belt! Saturday the 5th I completed my 2nd 5k race with RunDisney at the Happy Haunted 5k trail run. My previous (first) race was the Royal Family 5k back in February during the PHM weekend. This was much different! This race started a little later, so since I'm local, we only had to get up and out by 5:45am. We arrived at the Wide World of Sports around 7am, giving me plenty of time to take a potty break in the real restrooms & get a few photos before I turned into a sweaty mess.

I made my way to my corral (signed up so late for this race so I was dreading my start in D) & waited. We had entertainment & I heard Mickey & Goofy were there but I was at the very back of my corral so I couldn't see all the festivities. We did get to see an awesome hot air balloon lift-off though!

The Headless Horseman also made his way to the stage, bringing a message to stay on the trail!

Apparently Headless Horsemen do not go over well with 2 year olds, I don't believe she even saw him but I guess since the DJ's were making a big deal out of it, my husband texted me that our 2 year old was trying to climb out of her stroller in holy terror! We Facetime'd for a minute so I could blow her a few kisses (too noisy to hear what she was saying!) & the race started!! I was so happy with how the corrals moved, and I really hope this is a trend with Disney, I've been hearing they are adding more corrals and shorter wait times. In D, I started at 13:30 so about a 3 1/2 minute gap in between. We rounded the field and were in the woods! This being my first trail race, I didn't know exactly what to expect. Well, now I know -- trail! 

We ran the majority of the race in the woods around the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Very cool part of this race, and I believe a hot selling point for any Disney fan -- lots of rare characters on the race path! The only one I skipped was the first character stop, which was the Big Bad Wolf, I got in the line and there seemed to be some sort of camera malfunction at the beginning so I stepped out and moved on. Next stop was Prince John & the Sherriff of Nottingham -- rare to see these guys and I do love Robin Hood!

Then we rounded a corner only to come upon an oversized swarm of buzzy bugs, complete with sound effects.

Right around the water stop with AWESOME volunteers was Briar Bear and Briar Fox, and then not much longer and we were literally out of the woods!

I totally dug the next character stop, The Haunted House Gravediggers! These guys didn't crack a smile the whole time I was waiting, but they added some awesome poses to all their photos.

 We ran around the track, which was a nice change from the dirt all over the back of my ankles, and came across some football and viking zombies -- can anyone tell me if they were part of RunDisney? I couldn't decide!!

After that it was around the corner and FINISH LINE!

I believe my actual finish time was 49 minutes, but I did spend about 10 minutes in character lines. That was the one thing I promised myself after the Royal Family 5k -- no PR's during Disney races! I want to stop for all the characters & have lots of fun!! All in all, I love all Disney races & think this one was fabulously executed. I personally probably won't run it again now that I have the medal because I didn't love getting my pretty Brooks all dirty! But I did like that it didn't seem to be as crowded, whether that was new RunDisney cut off regulations or the fact that it wasn't a huge race weekend, I'm not sure. Kids races & ToT Expo will be coming soon!

Important to Remember...

So I am trying desperately to start a healthy eating kick again, as well as maintain some sort of exercise routine. But in light of this new "beginning", I feel like this is something really important to read & share. I know my husband shared it on Facebook thinking of me, and I know at least a hundred women that need to read this. Having 2 little girls, this is something I probably need to revisit on a weekly basis. Not only do I teach them to read & write, to say please & thank you, but I teach them how to look in the mirror. How I define beauty, or happiness; and therefore give them guidelines in how they also should define their own beauty & happiness.

I will never be that woman that skips a meal, or doesn't have a piece (or two) of cake because I just love food too much!! But when my 6 year old gets her hair cut short to look like me & donate her hair because I did it, I need to remember she is also watching when I step on the scale, or "pinch an inch" on my waistline. Please read, share, retweet & comment! 

When Your Mother Says She's Fat

What do you do to share a healthy image with your children? 

Correcting Bad Behavior

Nope, not talking about my kiddos this time!! I was the one with bad behavior. I really, really need to focus on my eating habits. Part of my reason to run is so that I can have "cheat" days and not feel bad when I want a brownie (or a pan of brownies. I don't judge here, folks.). However, when I haven't been running & I still eat the junk, I can tell. I feel sluggish, the numbers on the scale go the direction I tell them not to, & then of course I always feel mad at myself afterwards. Today at work was a great example. I had a granola bar in the car this morning on my way in with a glass of water. Then we had a morning meeting where they brought in trays of unexpected food. Mostly the not good kind that you really want...bagels & muffins! And these muffins had cinnamon sugar on top! Aren't you proud of me for not taking one?! There was an entire platter of fruit, so I grabbed a bunch of that -- strawberries, pineapple (only 3 chunks) and some red grapes. So far, so good! Then around 10:45 I was hungry. I knew I didn't want to do lunch that early, so I sat down at the computer to work on the schedule & grabbed some pretzels. Finished those off and grabbed a few more. Hit lunch around 11:45 and was too full for my mostly healthy salad I brought from home, so I grabbed a Heath bar while I gathered my Shopkick points & checked Facebook. 

UGH!!

Dinner I can't always get around, when hubby is at work I have to make something both kids are going to eat which is a tough one unless you break out the PB&J. Tonight we made mini-pizzas & while I wish I could've used something better for the crust (we use Pillsbury Flaky biscuits) I did put cheese, bacon, pineapple & red & yellow peppers on it. Now that the girls are in bed, for my snack I tried a new Pinterest pin I've been eying -- chopped up banana, drizzled with honey & sprinkled with cinnamon. It was really good!! Even for my sugary sweet tooth. Definitely will be trying that one again.

Oops -- will have to try for the before picture next time! ;)

So now I ask -- what are your go-to snacks or quick meals? Do you have a tip or trick to stop from grabbing the easy junk food?

Running Disney - The Prequel

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks ago, but...2 weeks ago I ran my first 5k! Being the huge Disney fanatic I am, of course I had to sign up for a Disney race to be my first. Another good motivator was the cost, as Disney races don't come cheap. I know local 5k's in my area are around $25, while the Disney 5k was $50. Totally motivated me to train and be prepared to run -- I was going to finish this thing in a decent time! I signed up back in like August of last year or so, I'd have to look at my checkbook to give you an actual date. I started with the Couch 2 5k program and loved it! I definitely recommend it to anyone that is starting running & in good health or given the go-ahead from their doctor. I was a true Couch 2 5k'er, (is that a real phrase? If not, I just invented it!) seeing as how I have hated running my whole life. But I was ready to start something -- get moving, get healthy, show my kids how to set and accomplish a goal! So I ran.

Now let me just break here to point out that if I found time to run, you can. No excuses. I have 2 kids, 6 and 2. My husband and I both work full time, and we do not have daycare. So if one of us is at work, the other is home with one or both kids. We have one car, so I had to run near home, not on any cool running trails. And yes, I have sidewalks near my neighborhood but I live in the country where the speed limit on the main road is 40 and consists mostly of thru traffic & semi trucks.

We would get home from work and I would go out and run before dinner, or I would run in the morning before work. On Thursdays & Fridays when I am home in the morning, I walk my daughter to school & then take my 2 year old on a run with me. We use a stroller I got on a local for sale group, not a fancy jogging stroller but one that is about to bite the dust. I probably don't run as fast as I could with the stroller but point is that I run. Tracking your run is so important in the beginning -- you can see your accomplishments from day 1! I know we all got really sick in November, my husband got pneumonia & I had bronchitis, then Sophie got RSV & Delaney got an ear infection. I could hardly wait for that month to be over!! I think I ran maybe twice in November. I don't think I ever officially finished the C25k program, I started using RunKeeper to track my distance but I wish it would let me shuffle my songs! I ran my first full 3.1 miles 2 weeks before the Disney 5k, and I did it pushing the stroller in 40 minutes. I know 40 minutes isn't the best time, but I wasn't running for the best time. I was running because I could.

 

 

Running Disney - Race Day coming soon!