I have two races on Thanksgiving just like last year, the 5k and 10k. Logistics should be interesting as I need to pick up my bib before the race as well as be prepped to run 9.3 miles. One other thing, it should be cold! I'm so excited to run in cool weather with the race in the 49s-50s. 
 The 5k is at 8:00 and the 10k at 8:30 and hopefully they'll start on time this year! 

Last year I ran a 31:22 for the 5k and 59:21 for the 10k. This course is very hilly so it'll be good training for the New Years Race and of course the LA Marathon. 

My goals are basically to see what I can do. I would love to get course records but it'll depend on course crowding for sure. The weather is actually going to cooperate and should be in the mid 40s at start time. 

I'm also going to work on my intervals. I've been doing 60/30 for my marathon interval with great success so since this distance is shorter I'm going to bump it up to 75/30 or 90/30 and see what I can do! 

I won't be doing much of a warmup because the area is not conducive to that. I will use the 5k as a warmup and then really let it fly on the 10k. I want to work on being uncomfortable during shorter distances as I usually don't like it.

Anyone else doing any Turkey Trots on Thanksgiving? 

One of the highlights of my adventures in NYC was the Pasta Party. Now this pasta party was pretty expensive (35 each) but I wanted to do one official marathon activity so this was what I chose. It was at the Marathon Pavillion which was exactly a 10 block walk from my friends apartment. 
Originally we were planning to go at  5:30 but our tickets were stamped 6:45 so we didn't want to get turned away. We walked right up and presented our ticket and they let us in with no issues. 
They had a great menu: bread, salad, lasagna, pasta and of course apples. They had about 4 lines opened and you basically walked up and got food.

As I wanted gluten free, I had to ask a few people where to go and they sent me to a tent where they gave me a tray of gluten free pasta. It was MASSIVE! I only ate half of it and was stuffed! As you can see from the picture above, everything was put in to go boxes and was biodegradable. 

The biggest issue was seating. Since it was not just runners but also their families, the place was packed as people were just relaxing. They kept sending us in there until I made it upstream and asked for help at the door. Well they said the overflow was in Tavern on the Green! YES we want to eat there!! I was so excited for the opportunity so we are outside and then toured the inside. To exit, they sent us in circles (there were no signs) but we found our way out. We walked up the final .2 miles and to buy some macarons and some angry orchards and then back to Josh's where we relaxed and watched some tv before I finally fell asleep around 11 (I couldn't sleep!). I couldn't believe I was about to run the NYC MARATHON! 

Overall, I enjoyed myself and glad we did the dinner. My food was delicious and Ralph really enjoyed his. I probably wouldn't do it again as it was 70 bucks for both of us to eat when we could have made food at my friends place for probably 10 bucks total but I'm glad I got the experience. 

Anyone ever participate in the official pre-carbload meal before the race? 

EAT WELL
Last week I feel I did pretty good on the eating until this weekend. I was having issues with dehydration but as the weather got warmer, I got better. 
Since the temps are supposed to drop this week, I will need to stay on top of my hydration to prepare for my thanksgiving turkey trots. 
SLEEP WELL
I did very well on the sleep last week averaging almost 8.5 hours a night but this weekend I definitely fell off with so much homework piling up.
My goal for this week to try and get as close to 8 hours as I can. I know it'll help me deal with stress better as well as help me be prepared for my races. 

EXERCISE WELL
Last week:
Monday: Rest day 
Tuesday: run with acceleration and cadence drills-about 2.7 miles 
Wednesday: Running Strength DVD
Thursday: speed work- 6 x 400 (2:06,2:10,2:10,2:02,2:06,1:38)
Friday: Rest Day 
Saturday: Blacklight Run and walking around Disneyland 
Sunday: walking around Disneyland 

This week: 
Monday: rest day 
Tuesday: run with 4x400 aiming for 2:06
Wednesday: yoga 
Thursday: LA Turkey Trot 5k and 10k
Friday: yoga
Saturday: 4 mile run
Sunday: Rest day 

BE WELL
I definitely had a great weekend with the Blacklight Run and experiencing Seasons of the Force at Disneyland. However from that fun, I slacked on my projects and I'm feeling the pressure! Today at work, I'm going to sit down and break up my assignments to try and get rough drafts done by Tuesday so I can spend Wednesdayediting them. I want to be able to relax on Thanksgiving and not feel stressed. 
I am also hoping to get a new car this week! I haven't talked about it much on here, but after my accident before the Long Beach Marathon there was a lot of drama and basically my car was deemed a total loss so their insurance paid me out. Now that I have the money, I've been shopping cars more seriously and have narrowed it down to 3. I'm going to test drive them tomorrow and pick one. As you can tell, I'm not much of a car person so I'm very basic in what I want: 4-door sedan, Bluetooth capability, maybe a rear facing camera, maybe navigation, a nice trunk, automatic door locks. 
Finally having a car after 7 weeks will be a Godsend! It is so much harder to run errands and go grocery shopping! 
Other than that, I'm excited for the Thanksgiving holiday but I am a bit sad I'm not going home to see my family. But with all of the homework I have, I would be so stressed! 

How was your week? 

It is Monday so we are linking up with another Magical Mickey with John at run.geek.rundisney and Katie from Adventures by Katie.

​Hi all! I just spent a great Saturday night and Sunday checking out all that Season of the Force has to offer. Here is an overview: 

• new menu at Galactic Grill (formally Tomorrowland Terrace)
• Hyperspace Mountain
• updated scenes from Star Tours
• Path of a Jedi
• Launch Bay
• Shopping
• SuperHero HQ! 

Let's hop in! 

Above is the breakfast menu. The people in our group got the Darth Tamale, Bantha Blue Milk (basically french toast with blue swirls), and the Lars Family Breakfast platter. Everyone enjoyed their food! They have a separate lunch menu also redone in theme. You can also get the Chewie mug and the Han in carbonite lunch box here. 

Next up is Hyperspace Mountain. This ride is just everything Disney could do right-I mean look at our faces!!! We were very systematic. We did rope drop, got fastpasses, and rode with a 5 minute ride and then rode it with our fastpasses about an hour later waiting about 10 minutes. 

I don't want to give too much away from the ride but basically you are put on a mission from Admiral Ackbar to go to Jakuu and it puts you in the middle of a battle (see the top of the picture). It brings together effects, projections and music that makes an amazing experience. Not going to lie-when I rode it during the soft previews over Avengers, I may have cried. It was just so overwhelming. It definitely has repeatablility and I can't wait to ride it again! This will definitely be around for a long time to come! 

They also updated some of the scenes in Star tours. SPOILER ALERT (SKIP TO THE NEXT SECTION TO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENS). we saw: darth vader opening with boba fett added, the new scene on Jakuu that everyone will see featuring Finn, BB8 asking us to assist with rebels, and Naboo but instead of the guy breaking the viewport, he just throws paint on us. The scene in Jakuu was great and I can't wait to see it again!

​Another attraction added was the Path of Jedi. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would and it is basically using scenes from episode 1-6 to show where we have been, with Anakin/Darth, Luke, and Leia using the force and where we are going. It was a great pump up for the movie! 

Launch Bay is on the bottom level of Invoventions and basically has photo opportunities with Darth Vader and Chewbacca as well as unique shopping opportunities. It has many props that have also been out at Star wars Celebration, comic con and D23 so it may not be new to you. They also had a photo opp in a cantina! we want the real one! 

There is ton of new merchandise in Star traders as well as around the parks. The biggest item was the make your own nametags! I got one made (you can see it in the Hyperspace mountain pic above), with my name in Aurebesh and it says Jedi Master! haha! So much fun and still vary affortable. 

Superhero HQ still has the meet n greet for Thor, the suit of armor, but now you can meet Spiderman! He was great character interaction and I can't wait to see who else they bring! 

Overall, I had an amazing time at the Seasons of the Force and it pumps me up to see the movie in less than a month! I think it came together nicely and I definitely see this all staying around for a year, if not more. I highly suggest getting up early and doing rope drop so you can see everything. We got to see everything before 11AM without having to wait in line. However, make sure to pack your patience. The area will be VERY crowded and busy, especially during Star wars: light side race weekend. 

Anyone else have an opportunity to participate in Seasons of the force yet? What were your thoughts? 

Hi all! Linkup Friday!! Thanks to our amazing hostesses: the DC Trifecta Bloggers (Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Mar from Mar on the Run, and Cynthia from You Signed Up For What?!). This weeks Friday Five is on favorite drinks. Since a cold front finally came through LA earlier this week (I ran in 43 degree weather
On tues!)  and will come back for Thanksgiving, (my turkey trots will hopefully in the low 40s!) let's talk favorite drinks to keep you warm! 

1. Mulled wine-it's basically heated wine with spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. It sounds gross burnt is amazing and so soothing! 
2. Hot apple cider-I haven't had this yet this year but I love apple cider, especially with sticks of cinnamon 
3. Peppermint tea-I drink hot tea all year around at work but this time of year I love peppermint tea, it's so refreshing! 
4. Starbucks holiday drinks-I had to lump them all together because I love them! The new chestnut praline is super rich and buttery and the caramel brûlée tastes just like you think it should 
5. Adult beverages-oh spiked drinks! Whether it is spiked egg nog, spiked cider or anything else, it's delicious! 

So how about you? What hot drinks do you enjoy when the weather gets chilly? 

Finally going to start recapping all of the adventures I have just been apart of! Let's start with the NYCM Expo! 

So we took a red eye on Thursday and got to NYC around 8am on Friday. We made our way into the city during rush hour and went to my friend Josh's to drop off our bags. We weren't tired so off we went! We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and got some coffee and a small breakfast and headed to Central Park. We got to see one of the kids dashes walking towards the Marathon store. Not going to lie, walking into the park and see everything set up, was super overwhelming for me. I basically felt like I could not breathe and at the same time wanted to cry. I  run all the time and rarely get nervous anymore-this whole thing had my stomach in knots. Ralph could tell I was a bit overwhelmed walking towards the finish line so he tried to calm me down. I basically just walked slow and visualized how I would be feeling on Sunday. So incredible! 

The kids dash we saw was adorable and even better, all of the Elites were there! We went to the marathon store where I bought my headband and Finisher jacket and ralph got a pair of gloves (not going to lie, now looking back, I wish I would have gotten the gloves) and then in the back was Kathrin Switzer! Having already been overwhelmed with everything and then to see her, crazy! I am so glad we came here to buy things because the Expo was a zoo!

We headed back to drop off our stuff that we bought and made our way over to Herald Square. Ralph had never seen the old escalators before so we went to see those and then started the walk to the Expo. We knew we were heading the right way as runners were coming back with their shirts and purchases! 

The walk was about 15 minutes, which was longer than I would have liked but we finally made it! 
​

This was hands down the biggest Expo I had ever been to. I was also overwhelmed walking into the building with so many people and things and everything. We picked up our pasta in the park party tickets and somehow were assigned 6:45, which bummed me out a bit. I was hoping to head there early so we could get back and relax. Turns out, you could go whatever time but I guess they do not want to tell everyone that! 

I picked up my bib and I was told by a volunteer after telling her I was about to run my 5th marathon, "well, you never have truly run one until you run NYC". Interesting but I think my body would disagree after 3 LA Marathons, a marathon as the end of dopey and in the middle of Dopey Rebel and a PR 3 weeks before after getting in a car accident heading to the race. I got my race shirt where they were definitely not size right. I ended up going up to a Medium and I am still concerned it may shrink. The volunteers were telling everyone to size up. 

Now onto the Expo! The Asics store was awesome but the line was insane! it snaked around the entire store and ended up outside in another long line. It was about 5x the size of the line I stood in while I ran Dopey. crazy! and I am so glad we went to the Marathon store that morning! 

We walked the rest of the expo. Anyone and everyone was there, which was awesome! I ended up buying some more Nuun and a super cute NYC themed water bottle that came with my purchase and also a new pair of the GoMeb Speed3 NYC special edition Skechers. It is the shoe Meb ran in! I let the guy know that we were both running the LAM and super excited for Skeechers to be the title sponsor now and he gave us a discount code to use to buy shoes! I know I will want to be the special edition LA shoes so I may use them to buy a pair of GoRide3 I have been eyeing for awhile. 

I also stopped by Rundisney to check out the awesome Wine and Dine and Avengers medals i would be earning. While looking at the medals, I learned that someone had stolen the marathon medal the day before! People are crazy! That is why at wine and dine the medals were back in a corner and why at Avengers they were behind a case. it really sucks that you can't touch them and really see them now because of some idiot that stole one! 

One thing I really enjoyed was that every major shoe company was there and everyone had special edition shoes, which means everyone could find something. Once we got past the merchandise and shoes, it was the same as any other expo. 

After that, we took an uber back uptown and grabbed lunch at Indikitch was awesome. We then went to take a nap before our adventure that night. 

Overall, the expo was really amazing and I definitely loved how big it was. I did not buy much but I do love my shoes and I have been using Nuun constantly. 

Are you usually a big fan of Expos? 

 I was given this book free of charge by Runner's World so I could review it. I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own.

Meals on the Run is a fabulous book with amazing recipes and pictures on meals that can fuel your runs.

The things I love about this book over other cookbooks I have seen is:
1. It is super organized with everything divided by meals and put in order from breakfast through dessert
2. Has an easy explanation of what should be used pre-run and recovery
3. It has dietary restrictions for vegan, vegetarian, low calorie, and gluten free.

As someone gluten free, it is great for me! 

Not to review all of the recipes, as there are tons, I decided to give a list of the ones I am excited to try out now that I am no longer on vacation! See below: 

1. "Baked" granola apples
2. Chai pumpkin oatmeal
3. Bacon-apple-cheddar oatmeal--THIS! I can't wait to make it!
4. Oatmeal with Apple sautéed in butter and cheddar
5. Good morning sweet potato- walnuts and maple syrup in a sweet potato
6. Smoothies that are peanut butter based
7. Warm gingerbread pudding- using Teff (staple among Ethopian runners) and gingerbread seasonings and coconut milk. I have never hearf of Teff but always looking to try other grains
8. Sweet potato-pumpkin salad
9. Homemade Dressing
10. Basil-mint sugar snaps
11. Lemon caper sauce-I actually already made this. So delicious
12. Sweet n spicy chicken stir fry
13. Orange chipotle chicken thighs 

I would highly recommend this book for anyone and especially for someone that is a runner looking to shake up their cooking routine while still using food to fuel their body.

Anyone else read this book? Any thoughts?  

I was given this book free of charge by Runner's World so I could review it. I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own. 

​The Runners Brain: How to Think Smarter to Run Better by Dr. Jeff Brown is a fabulous book. Dr. Jeff Brown is the head psychologist of the Boston Marathon and was at the Finish Line in the medical tent in 2013 with the bombings. He has taken all he has learned working with athletes and created a great book about how thinking better can make you a better runner. While I read the book, I took notes and have definitely incorporated many of the strategies into my toolkit. 

Let's review what the chapters go over to give you an idea of what to expect! 

1. Runners brain. Running is good for sharpening memory, age-proof your brain, happiness/euphoria, etc. 
2. What happens to your brain-RAS (reticular activating system)-stuff it full of knowledge,hang with runners, program your self-talk, set goals,dress the part, etc.   ***this is so important to me and is something I've been working on all year! Positive self-talk really helps so much
3. Goal setting-I use SMART (Specific ,Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals often at work but this book uses GOAL (can I feel the goal in my gut/ is my goal objective and measurable/is my goal challenging yet achievable/ will my goal help me learn about my running and other abilities). I may bring this into work to see how it goes. 
4. Visualization and focus- exactly what it sounds like 
5. Association and dissociation-association with the course seems to perform better. To gain thought control-notice, analyze, and incorporate. Dissociation means not thinking about running while running. 
6. Running bliss- running high and flow. Endorphins as well as adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine while running. Endocannabinoids help reduce pain and anxiety 
7. Magic and luck-Runners are creatures of habit and luck. Helps us take control and "ward off" bad luck. I definitely do some of this
8. Clothes-enclothed cognition and symbolizing in clothing. 
9. Pack mentality-Groups can help with performance 
10. Racing-brain movement with dopamine in the limbic and PFC
11. Pre race jitters and post race blues-pre race and SNS, adrenaline and fight or flight--tips are visualizing, positive self-talk, don't overthink and be superstitious. Post race-enjoy break, reflect,set new goals and gratitude. Focusing on the pre-race jitters and using it to your advantage, can help with your performance 
12. Iconic races- Carlsbad 5k, mount Washington 7.6 miler, pikes peak, Boston. I am so excited to run Carlsbad in April! 
13. Hitting the wall-muscles and liver are out of glyocgen, or mind overrides and says too far and too fast. Interaction between insula and anterior cingulate cortex in the brain. How to overcome hitting the wall and how to prevent it. 
14. Challenges-hills, failure, boredom, life changes (babies, older, major life stressor, illness and tips on how to overcome and adjust to those. 
15. Weathering the storm- heat, cold, rain. I have been through it all and this book definitely help me put things in perspective, especially running in the heat. 
16. Treadmill-work on combating boredom. I try my hardest to not run on a treadmill. 
17. Worksheets- pre race peace of mind checklist 
18. 7 step fit brain training plan
19. From mind of the greats -Joan Benoit Samuelson, Jeff Galloway, Abby burfoot, dean karnazes, Kathrine Switzer, Francie larrieu smith, Meb,Michael Johnson. The tips and stories they tell are magic.

I would recommend this book to any runner, whether new or old or in between. Looking at it from a mental point of view and from a science point of view definitely help me shift my perspective.


Has anyone else read this book? Any thoughts on how you have adjusted your mindset while running? 

Time for some weekly accountability! I will recapping how I have done on the 4 Well Rules over the last week: Eat Well, Sleep Well, Exercise Well and Be Well New Linkup for Monday! I will linking up with MissSippiPiddlin and HoHo Runs to talk about my week recap! Welcome to the 4 well rules that I try to follow as I go through my week! Let's get to it!

EAT WELL
I definitely indulged and splurged at the Food and Wine festival but was able to do a quick reset with lots of fruits and veggies and was able to carbload successfully for avengers half weekend. 
This week since I don't have a real race or long run until Thanksgiving, I will be focusing on drinking lots of water (the cold weather has me a bit off and I'm feeling dehydrated more often), eating a lot of fruits and veggies and going back to my low carb eating ways. I put a roast in the crock pot before heading out. 

SLEEP WELL
I've been sleeping around 7 hours a  night but I'm still pretty jet lagged as I keep waking up before 6! I'm hoping to get back on track this week. Last night I got over 8 hours a sleep and before the avengers half, I got 7 hrs and 20 min. That's going to be my new goal for Disney races! 

EXERCISE WELL
Last week:
Monday: Rest day but walking around Epcot and MK-about 9 miles 
Tuesday: rest day but walking around MK and Epcot and airport-7 miles 
Wednesday: 5 min of weights and rest. I was so jet lagged all day! 
Thursday: cadence drill with some race paces thrown in- about 2.6 miles 
Friday: rest day but added in some yoga 
Saturday: Avengers 10k
Sunday: Avengers Half

This week: 
Monday: rest day 
Tuesday: run with acceleration drills and cadence drills about 2.7 miles 
Wednesday: trying the Running Strength video 
Thursday: 3 mile run with cadence and acceleration drills 
Friday: yoga
Saturday: Blacklight Run 
Sunday: Rest day but walking around Disneyland 

BE WELL
Getting back in the routine has been a bit more challenging than I would have liked. But now that s majority of my races are done, I feel good!
My goals for this week are to start working on my final papers due (one I already outlined before I left, so crazy I got that done!) and one is a group project. The more I can break off this weekend, the better. Also I need to put up our Christmas decorations-I miss having my tree up! 

How was your week? 

I have been so MIA but I am back! I thought I would be able to do some posts through my phone but this new app is a no go-it won't even let me open posts and keeps threatening to delete everything from the past 3 weeks. Since I was on my work computer, I did not have access to download all of my pics so I figured I would just wait until I got back. Since coming home on Tuesday, I have been tired and basically have gotten home and just passed out. Getting back and prepping for Avengers has been a lot but I feel calm and ready to run this weekend! 

Here is a short overview of my trip with full blown reports coming later!

NYC

• Amazing!
• The race was the toughest I've ever run but also such an incredible experience. I finally feel ready to write my recap as I wanted to really process everything. 
• I really left it out there on the course and there is not much more I could have physically done to go sub-5 
• Even though I did not reach my goal, I got a PR of 6 minutes (5:12:41) and also got my name in the NY Times! 
• Having some of my best friends on the course to cheer me on was an experience I'll never forget 
• Going to the One World Osbervatory and the 9/11 Museum 

ORLANDO

• I was at Universal for exactly 24 hours and had a blast. Rode everything multiple times and ate and drank more than ever and even spent time in the pool! A great and relaxing part of my vacation
• Since I have taken 5 trips to Universal of the past year, I think I am going to dedicate an entire week to all of those postings. Universal Orlando is truly a magical place
• Cabana Bay is one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in

WALT DISNEY WORLD

• I took an Uber to Pop Century and headed straight to Food and Wine 
• Food and wine was better than ever this year with booths in Future World 
• The parks were okay crowd wise but our resort was packed! 

WINE AND DINE 5k

• A very fun Christmas race with insane humidity
• I ran in one of my favorite costumes to date
• Seeing all of the characters in their Christmas attire was so fun! 
• The first 5k I've ever seen with medical catchers and wet towels at the end 
• WINE AND DINE HALF (of a half)
• Weather delay for safety and because of permits, the race was cut in half
• I stopped for every photo opportunity they offered
• The after party was PACKED with the shortened course 

That's basically it! I promise I will be back with more next week! 

How has everyone been? Anyone else run the Inaugural rundisney half of a half?