On Saturday I ran the Rosemead 5K. This race was about a 20 minute drive from my house and it was very easy to get to. It was a very small race (and by far the smallest race I have ever run) as they were only letting about 400 people sign up, however it had 181 finishers. 

The great thing about this race was it was cheap(I got a special email paying $17 with processing fees) so I figured why not run on the Fourth of July, have a good time, and get a shirt instead of just running around my neighborhood for a good workout???

The final race instructions were not sent out until the day before and it noted that the streets we will be running on will close at 6 as well as check-in starting at 6. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out where to park since I would need to cross the blocked off street to get to the parking they suggested. I made the decision to park north of the course by a school so I can easily get out when I was done. 

So I decided to get up at 5:30 and head out around 6 and hopefully get there to park by 625 and getting my stuff and make it back for the start of the race promptly at 7. The plan worked! I got down there really fast (15 minutes!), but it also took a long time to get all checked in: almost 20 minutes. One thing I would highly recommend for the future is to have a small registration the day before even if just for a few hours: it would allow for people to get their bibs, shirts, and bags and sleep an extra 30 minutes, which is always helpful!  

I got my goodie bag and shirt and bib and headed back to my car to put up myself, get my bib on and get myself ready. I made it back to the start area around 6:45. I did a quick potty break, some stretching, quick 3 minute warm up (I think I need a longer warmup in the future), and more stretching. We did the National Anthem and the firemen sent us off right at 7am. 

The course was very flat, and a bit boring as it was all residential. However, I had never actually been to Rosemead before so it was a new experience wanting. While running, the sun was out in full force and it was very humid and I totally forgot my hat! Next year, I would definitely recommend wearing a hat and also carrying water because I could feel my body overheating a bit. They did have one water stop half way through which was very helpful.

Right before the halfway mark is where I had the biggest issue of the whole run. I started off very strong and felt great (8:56 average pace) but then I had a huge falter. I finally figured out how for my Garmin to give me intervals and also mile splits (which I will write a post about tomorrow!) when I felt the vibrate for the 1 mile, I stopped to walk. Not until 30 seconds later when I got the walk interval, I knew I had walked too early! That extra 30 second walk break is most likely what cost me a PR. I definitely learned to stay abreast on what the vibrate is (and will keep monitoring to see if I can change how it vibrates for mile check ins). 

Mile 2 was 9:55 pace (the slow down from my unexpected walk break and also the water break. I slowed down a bit to ensure I was taking in water). I knew the end was getting near so I kept pushing and ran 9:21 pace for Mile 3. For the final .03 I ran it at a 6:57 pace!

This is the issue. The course was .07 short! I am not sure if it was my garmin or if we were short or if I really just ran the tangents. There were one turnaround at the end so I wonder if that was shorter than it needed to be. 

Anyways I finished in 28:25 and finished 71/181 and 5/25 in my age group! (one minute off of 3rd place). 

I am overall happy with my performance. I wish I had not walked that extra bit. In the future, I would probably shorten my walk breaks by 2-5 seconds because that little bit can definitely add up and it is always good to push yourself! 

Even though my runs have sucked lately, I definitely think I am getting stronger as I definitely was hot and tired but did not feel as bad as I did during my PR (it was also way more crowded). I enjoyed running in a small field as there was never course crowding or anyone in my way. 

Afterwards, I went home, made breakfast, showered and did schoolwork before I went out for lunch and to celebrate the 4th. 

Anyone else run on July 4th? When was your last run? 

Last year we went to Disneyland on the morning of the 4th to ride the new Alice ride and were shocked at how small the crowds were. I decided then I was going to Disneyland the next year. 

Why were the crowds low? I think the main issue is all of the passes are blocked out minus premium. Many people that were there were tourists with park hoppers except at night, APs descended en masse for fireworks. 

In the morning, I ran the Rosemead 5k, did some homework, met a high school friend that was in town for lunch, and then we headed down to Disneyland. 

We got there around 3(no traffic!) and went shopping at Downtown Disney where my boyfriend got a new watch and a new sweater and I got a 60th anniversary jacket I've been eyeing. We did not wait to park, get on team, nor anywhere in Downtown Disney. 

We headed into California Adventure, got a fastpass for Soarin, and rode Swings, little mermaid and saw the AntMan preview (which I will talk about next week!) and then did Soarin before heading into Disneyland. We tried to do Haunted Mansion but it broke right before we went into the stretching room. We waited for dinner at 6:50. 

We ate at Big Thunder ranch with my cousin and her mom which I definitely need to write about at some point. We were seated quickly and our food came out in about 5 minutes! We had coleslaw, corn, beans, cornbread (which I didn't have!), ribs, chicken and sausage and iced tea. SO YUMMY!! 

It was almost 8 when we were done and the park was a complete zoo. People had started camping out around 5 for the 850 paint the night parade. We decided to grab a spot on Main St and wait. We chatted with people around us including a group of teenagers from Denver whom met some girls from Norway in line for Starbucks (best line: a blonde Norwegian girl got a frapp and said it was too cold. One of the guys said-but Elsa, the cold doesn't bother you anyway! Haha). 

Paint the Night is just fantastic. It seriously gets better every time I see it. We made a beeline to the street for fireworks. Disneyland Forever also gets better with each viewing. I've finally got to where I can stop just staring at the projections and really take it all in. 

The reason we came started right after: patriotic firework show! They played Grand Ole Flag, Stars and Stripes Forever and the Star Spangled Banner with red, white and blue fireworks. It was exactly what I wanted to see on the 4th and basically how I have always wanted to spend the 4th! 

After the fireworks, we Beelined to World of Color and made it was literally two minutes to spear before the patriotic preshow. It was the same music from the fireworks but they made great use of the space and the had fireworks too! World of Color: Celebrate has definitely grown on me more since the last time I saw it a month ago. 

We headed out after that with tons of people and had bumper to bumper traffic the whole way home. Fireworks were being shot off basically every 1-2 minutes on the drive which was fun to see. The almost hour and a half drive was not! 

I would totally do Disneyland again on the 4th. It was so patriotic and the fireworks were awesome!

What did you do for 4th?

We went to check in to our fabulous hotel and grab a quick brunch. We ordered and got our food in less than 10 minutes. We were in and out so fast: 30 minutes from start to finish.

We decided to play mini golf (I lost horribly) but each of the holes were themed to the island which was fun to learn the history.

We then took a walk around the town and went over to take a tour of the Casino and Island Museum which was so awesome. They talked about the relationship to Hollywood and how all of the classic movie star loved to come to the island to party hard away from the mainland. We walked around some more, grab a happy hour drink and went back to the hotel to relax. Ralph napped while I went to a massage which was heavenly (I had Princess the next weekend and needed a massage!). After we decided to cancel our dinner reservation to order Chinese food to eat in the room and go to bed early.

Well we ordered Chinese food and they totally messed up our order (we actually got more food) but didn't deal with it as we didn't want to walk back over there. We watched the all star game and then passed out.

We got up early to see the sunrise and did a run along the water which was great! We went back to shower and grab brunch(pizza-yay gluten free) before heading to catch our boat back. One hilarious story: our hotel has breakfast and we went on the balcony to eat it. A seagull came and almost attacked us and I GOT LEFT OUTSIDE! Ralph ran inside and left me out there! He flew away but came back and chilled on our balcony for 15 minutes so I had to get a picture of him staring at us through the window. Maybe he thought my hair was a nest!?!? 

The boat was much clearer going back but I spent most of my time inside (it was cold outside) finishing my audiobook.

We loved our stay on Catalina. The town is adorable, we had great food and a relaxing time. However, it is very expensive. The boat ride itself is 75 dollars each (and this was off season), hotel rooms to see the harbor are at least 200 a night and all of the extras do add up. I would recommend it to anyone but would suggest going in off season. I can't imagine how crowded it would be in the summer. One thing of note: if it is your birthday, you can take the boat for free!

Have you ever been to Catalina?

In honor of AP signups yesterday for the Princess Half marathon, here is one of the costumes I wore: New live action Cinderella.

Missed the recaps for the 2015 Princess Half marathon weekend? Here they are: Princess Frozen 5k, Glass Slipper Challenge (10k +Half). 

The new live action Cinderella came together because I figured not many people would have it or know who I was and that seemed like fun!

My mom loves making butterflies so she made my top for me. I sent her a blue shirt and she added the ribbon and sewed the butterflies on as well. 

The skirt was pretty easy and she made me a blue sheer one. It's great because I can definitely reuse it. 

I would suggest if you do this costume to do a lighter blue than I used. Not many prints had been made at the time and we were going off of grainy internet photos. I had a light turquoise shirt so we went for it. 



SUPPLIES NEEDED

• light blue shirt
• butterflies (my mom made mine out of fabric and pipecleaners)
• A way to attach butterflies to it (I used ribbon). After that, they were sewn to the shirt (you could also pin them if you want to reuse the shirt again)
• A light blue bottom. Mine was a skirt made with elastic and sheer blue fabric
• Glass slippers! I just used my rundisney Cinderella shoes
  
• blue sweatyband
• bottoms-i wanted to wear shorts but it was still cold (about 45 when we started) so I opted for capris
• I packed a long sleeve shirt but ended up just using a throwaway coat

Have you ever run as Cinderella? 

Another Tuesday, another Tuesday on the Run hosted by our favorites: 
April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and Patty from No-Guilt Life. This week's topic is 2015 Resolutions: midyear updates!

I wrote a post  wrapping up my 2014 resolutions back in January and feel I did pretty well. Now to go review my 2015 Resolutions in Detail!

HEALTH RELATED
1. Become more gluten free B-
I have definitely learned more but have also slipped into non-gluten habits because it is "easier" sometimes. I definitely pay for it in terms of feeling like crap and being bloated for 3-4 days. I need to recommit myself to the lifestyle for sure because it works better for me

2. Limit social drinking to 1-2 times/month B+
As I stated originally, this has not been a problem but just to limit myself and I have mostly stuck to it. I will have a glass of wine at home every now and then but going out for drinks has been about 1-2 times/month. I have been going out after class with my classmates mainly because it is summer but once school starts again in the Fall, we will definitely cut back

3. Examine food scripts D
Never got to this. I still think about it from time to time but not enough to really blog about it. 
 
4.  Get my blog out there B-
I have added to more linkups since I love writing the posts and reading other peoples but I have not applied for any additional ambassadorships besides Fit2Run which I have loved. Definitely something to work on for the second half of the year (SweatPink is definitely on the docket)


5. Consistently Cross- train 3x a week, core and stretch every day B
I am definitely much better at this but don't do core and stretch every day-more like 5 times a week which seems to be a good balance for me. As I get back into running higher mileage, those will be a must! 

RUNNING RELATED
1. finish all of my races healthy/work on Chi Running techniques B
Definitely had a few injuries flare up and realized it was the lack of core workouts-. Once I added those back in, it has been much better! I have re-read the Chi running techniques but want to read them again as I have been experiencing shin pain lately. 

2. increase my interval to a strong 3 minutes running/30 sec walking B+
After talking to Jeff Galloway at Princess, he said that I should knock it down to either 1:30 or 2 min and 30 sec walking. The 1:30 was a bit too stop and go for me but I have definitely found my sweet spot with 2 min: 30 sec and will be sticking with it for a long time. 

3. time goals: sub 5:00 marathon, sub 2:10 half, sub :58 10k, sub 28 min 5k, run a 5k straight C
Sub 5:00 marathon-still hurt about the crash and burn at the LAM because of the weather
Sub 2:10 half-I got a new PR at the Sunset Strip half and definitely think I could have gone sub 2:10 if it had been flat (my running segments were 2:10:50)
sub :58 10k-not yet but this is definitely my goal for the Christmas Run in 2015 as I got so close in 2014. 
sub 28 5k- so close at the Angels 5k
run a 5k straight-DID IT at Santa Anita 5k but I am faster with intervals so I will stick with that! 

4. run more local races A+
So far this year I have run Old Agoura 10k-Great Race (course PR-1:02:22), 2015 Santa Anita Derby 5k (old PR-:29:43), 2015 Angels Foundation 5k (new PR- :28:05) and 2015 Sunset Strip Half Marathon (new PR- 2:13:14). I am running a 5k on Saturday(it was TEN DOLLARS! that is unheard of in LA) and also the pasadena 80s run in 2 weeks. I love local races! 

5. travel for a race that is not Disney related A+ 
All in for the NYC Marathon and then continuing the crazy for the Wine and Dine half marathon! 

6. 15 races in 2015 A+ 
I have already run 16 races this year (not counting virtual races!) I will definitely get close to 30. 

What were some of your 2015 goals and how have you done on them so far? 

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

I have been pretty busy with school work (wrapped up one class on Wednesday, turned in a rewrite and final paper on Friday and have a new class starting Weds with 100+ pages of reading and a quiz!) but I wanted to do an overview post on what all we did on my trip I just took with my family earlier this month. Many of these things will be future posts for this linkup and other posts as well!

We flew in on a red eye and did a great overview of Harry Potter and Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific in a newly renovated room. 

We had a great time with my siblings and I will definitely be blogging about traveling with children as it was very eye opening. 

Another Tuesday, another Tuesday on the Run hosted by our favorites: 
April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and Patty from No-Guilt Life. This week's topic is about Challenge races: running races back to back. 


Challenge races are my BRF (Best Running Friend)! No really- Challenges are close to my heart especially the rundisney ones. I love the challenge of them and most importantly: the BLING!! I have been in since the first Dumbo was announced in 2013. 

Since then I have run:

• 3 Dumbos and signed up for a 4th (2012,2013,2014)
  
• 2 Glass Slipper Challenges (2014,2015)
  
• 1 Dopey/Goofy
  
• 1 Rebel Challenge and signed up for another (2016)
  
• 1 Pixie Dust Challenge and will sign up for another
  
• Signed up for the unofficial challenge of running the wine and dine 5k in the morning and half at night
• Signed up for 1 Infinity Gauntlet challenge
  
• Did the LA Turkey trot 5k/10k (back to back) and signed up to do it again 
• signed up for the 2016 New Years race (non-rundisney and it will be a 10k followed by a half an hour later)
• signed up for the 2016 All Day Carlsbad 20k where I will run 4 5ks back to back (Master's Men, Master's Women, under 29, 30-39)

So 10 total with 6 currently signed up for and 1 more I will sign up for next month (Pixie Dust!!!). 


I LOVE challenges and enjoy training for them (yes, I'm a weirdo). Since 2013, I have learned A LOT about challenges and how best to prepare so you can enjoy yourself. 

WHAT I PERSONALLY DO
In all of my race recaps, I do a full recap of what I did the day before and after. This is important for me to go back and read after the fact to see what I can tweak for next time. I also have a running journal where I write out my plan before, during and after and make notes right after for what I learned/ can improve upon. 

BALANCE 
One of the main things I have a hard time balancing is being at Disney for challenge races. For me, this is much easier at Disneyland as I live 40 min away and can go whenever. For WDW, this can be harder but that is why I like to plan a few vacation days after the race to help with recovery and also get more park time in. You can't burn the candles at both ends-you will end up miserable and tired. 

PLAN MEALS 
Personally, I plan all of my meals first. I start with dinners. I like to have dinner around 5 preferably at a sit down location so that its reserved and will allow me to hopefully get back to my hotel room by 7. 

BEDTIME ROUTINE
From there, I double check I have everything I need set out, double check my alarm and plan for the morning and try to get in bed by 8.

SLEEP
For DL races, that will allow me close to 8 hours before I have to get up. For WDW, that will allow me 7 hours before I need to get up. I don't believe it is just luck that the races I've gotten the most sleep before (Tink 2014 and 2015) are the races I've felt very strong at. 

DURING THE RACE
During the race, I like to hold back for the first race (or series of races). The important thing is to get through the longest race well. The best way to do that is to hold back and take your time in the first ones. This is easier said than done because people FLY at the start. Stick to your plan and you will be fine. 

FUELING 
Make sure you are fueling properly during the race. I usually increase my fueling to include more shots or bloks before I will need it (yes, you have seen me taking clif shots during a 5k and 10k-gotta restock that sugar and glycogen). You are trying to hold glycogen in your muscles so the sooner you restock the sugars lost, the better. 

EAT EAT EAT 
After the race, you need to eat immediately to restock carbs. I always eat the box of food given at the finish and try and have a recovery meal within an hour. I usually head straight to food whether it is a meal or a food court stop. 

REST AND STRETCH AND ROLL
Once in the hotel, I shower, stretch and roll and relax. I want to give my muscles a chance to recharge. I also lay out all of my clothes, accessories and food I need for the next day and charge all electronics. 

I try not to rest more than an hour and usually don't nap. I head back out to the parks and grab lunch or a large snack around noon. 

PARK TIME 
Walking around the parks is great recovery. It keeps the lactic acid at bay but keep it easy. You will want to stretch when you can and keep moving and hydrating. 

HYDRATE
Water is the key. You want to drink as much water as possible so you are well hydrated. I always carry a water bottle with me. 

AGAIN AGAIN 
Like I said, dinner is early and then back to repeat the cycle! After the final race, I do like a quick nap (an hour or so) before heading out to celebrate. 

Oh and make sure to wear your medals around the park!


That should do it for tips. As always, check out my recaps from past races and feel free to contact me if you ever need help with training for challenges! 


Anyone else like challenges as much as I do? 

Missed the recaps for the 2015 Princess Half marathon weekend? Here they are: Princess Frozen 5k, Glass Slipper Challenge (10k +Half). 

The Ariel costume I wore is more Disney bounding then costume. The only thing I would have done differently would be to add shells to the shirt. 

Originally I was planning on running in a sports bra since Princess the past 2 years has been so hot and humid. Well it was freezing this time so I opted to wear the purple shirt I packed as precautionary measures since it was cold. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED

purple sports bra and/or top

Green bottoms

Red hat or headband (or a wig if you're brave!)

I also had an Ariel bow I got from hot topic 

My grandma made my skirt and picked it because it reminded her of sparkly water. Just be warned wearing something with glitter because it gets EVERYWHERE. I found it still in the bottom of the bag I packed my costumes in.

Have you ever dressed as Ariel?

I am in Walt Disney World with the family until June 14th. Want to follow me along in the fun? I will be on Social Media  :) Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest 


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




Over Memorial Day weekend, I ate at Carthay Circle twice to use their World of Color dining package. The first time I was so hungry I didn't take any pics of the food but the second time I did! 

Carthay circle offers lunch and dinner packages where it's a 3 course meal and you get a world of color ticket for a show. The Lunch is 39/person and Dinner is 61/person. 

The menu at Carthay is seasonal so it's always changing but they usually offer 2 appetizers, 6 or so entrees and 2 desserts for your choosing. 

Since I'm gluten free, they also gave me an allergy menu and I was able to cross reference what I could have. They are one of the most accommodating restaurants as they are willing to modify almost anything which is great. 

The service is top notch and we all enjoyed the meal. I highly recommend it to anyone seeing world of color. That way you don't stress about getting a fastpass and the viewing area is dead center and not crowded. 

Anyone else ever done the dining package before? Any eaten at Carthay? 

I am in Walt Disney World with the family until June 14th. Want to follow me along in the fun? I will be on Social Media  :) Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest 

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?!). In honor of National Running Day that passed on Wednesday, I am going to talk about what running means to me and has given me. 


WHAT RUNNING MEANS TO ME

Reflecting back on running, it means the world to me. It is my personal time and without it, I get stressed and cranky. As I have gotten busier with going back to school and starting a new job, my running has always been there for me: the constant when so much has been new. It has gone towards the top of the must do list and I definitely think it has worked out for the better. 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

I have accomplished so much more than I ever thought I physically could. Challenge races-running races back to back-are what I love. Finishing Dopey which years ago would have sounded insane to me is now the greatest set of races I've ever done. 48.6 miles over 4 days and then doubling down and going home

To do 19.3 the next weekend? Insane but I've done it and am a stronger runner because of it and would do it again in a heartbeat. No questions asked! 


THE PAST 

I've never been physically strong or athletic so running has become my way to show I am both physically strong (and working on increasing my strength!) and also athletic with my running. So I'm the girl that hated the mile run in elementary school and only once broke a 10 min mile can now run multiple miles in a row at a sub 10 min pace and feel great afterwards! 


CHANGED OUTLOOK WITH 4WellRules

It has changed the way I operate and it shows even in my blog name. The 4 well rules: 

• Eat Well (I've completely overhauled my eating to be more whole and real foods, no processed foods and with a Primal bent by going gluten free). 
• Sleep Well (I try to get between 7-8 hours of sleep so my body is well rested and won't need to rely on caffeine to keep moving)
• Exercise Well (running and strength training and stretching to stay in shape)
• Be Well (doing what I love and making self care a core part of who I am. Those Disney days, movie nights, vacations and time with friends are so important to my well being. They can't be sacrificed). 
  

THIS YEAR ALONE 

I track my running: how many races I do, my times, my PRs etc so imagine my surprise when I realized the Tinkerbell Half I've done 40 races total and 25 Disney races. It was also my 16th race of the year, my 11th rundisney race of the year and my 21st medal of the year (16th rundisney). Such great numbers

To be hitting in early May! I have a much needed break now and will have a crazy Fall/Winter but I'm ready for it! 




What has running given you? What have you been able to accomplish?