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? 

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 weeks topic is favorite race run. I have run over races and 14 this year (15 and 16 will be this weekend!). I've decided to split the post into my favorite race in each distance and then my overall winner.

5k: 2015 Santa Anita Derby
I have only run 5ks but this one stands out for sure. It was cheap (35 bucks I think) and it had a gorgeous course, easy bib pickup at the mall, free parking, great tech shirt and great perk of going to the Derby after. And the medal was a bottle opener!
This will definitely be a yearly race for me as its only a 15 min drive from my house.

10k: Great Race and Santa Monica (TIE)
The great race is very hilly but insanely gorgeous and the after party is a blast. Santa Monica Christmas run is flat and in December so it's easy to get a PR on and it's Christmas themed!!
So it's definitely a tie and these are on my list every year as well

Half: wine and dine half marathon
I think it speaks volumes that I ran this race wearing a poncho in a downpour and had the worst sciatica of my life and it's still the top. If I had to pick one Disney half to run forever this would be it. It's a night race and running through animal kingdom is gorgeous but nothing compares to the jaw dropping beauty of running through the Osborne Lights! And then I can party while eating and drinking until 4am? YES!!! I can't wait to do this race again

Full: WDW Marathon
The race I have dreamed of since before I was even running. What more could I want than running through all 4 theme parks and having the time of my life? Truly nothing.
This race will always be special as it was also the culmination of doing dopey. I've never cried so hard in life-seriously especially because it was happy tears. Tears of complete joy that I was running a marathon and completing 48.6 miles. Words cannot describe the emotions (I'm even tearing up typing this!)

Overall:WDW Marathon
I rode a roller coaster and had a margarita in the middle of the race! And took epic graveyard digging pictures and got fabulous character shots. I don't think any race could ever top this!
This is a bucket list race for sure. The most fun and magic I ever have and will ever have!

So how about you? What are your favorite races you have run?

This one was my favorite from the Dopey challenge weekend and I wore it during the WDW half. Since it was Donald's race, we knew we wanted to go as him. 

My grandmother loves to help with costumes so she jumped at the chance with her best friend to take over this costume fully. 

Overall, it was pretty easy to put together once we figured it all out. 

DONALD COSTUME

1. Blue shirt (you can add buttons to it but I like to keep my shirts so I can reuse them for other costumes)

2. Blue collar
Measure blue fabric around your head to make sure it will fit over. Pack safety pins to attach it to your shirt so it would fly away (I put one in the bow and it was fine. You may need some for the back side too) 
Add yellow ribbon to the trim if you want. 

3. Red bow
My grandma stuffed it with plastic but there's no need to do that. You can just tie red ribbon there 

4. Bottoms should be white
I used my tutu from my Bacchus costume during wine and dine. Here is the tutorial for that. 
You can also do white shorts or skirt but it can be hard to find! 

5. The hat
This is the most elaborate part of the costume. She took a white hat and paint the bill of it orange and cut out the eyes out of felt and glued it to the hat. From there she outlined the eyes. She then added a black ribbon to the top.
Feel free to have a blue hat with black ribbon as well. 

To make it suitable for winter, add a white shirt under your blue shirt and. Pants under your bottoms

I forgot to pack my yellow tights but they would really cap off the costume. 

And that's it! It's a bit more involved but I love the costume and will be able to use it in the future. 

2015 Dopey Challenge Recaps: Expo, 5K, 10K, HALF, and Marathon part 1, Part 2

Many people in America don't know who Shellie may is. Well it's Duffys girlfriend over in Japan. 

Devin had decided to go as Duffy for the WDW 10K so we decided to be in theme together (and it does fit with the theme as Minnie made Duffy and it is her race). 

My costume was pretty easy to put together as Shellie May's signature color is pink!

Shelley May:
1. Pink top
2. Pink bottoms (or brown since she doesn't wear pants but that's hard to find)
3. Headband. I had a pink headband so I cut out ears from brown felt and just glued them on 
4. Pants underneath since it was cold
5. Long sleeve shirt underneath since it was cold 

To add a bit more, I would have loved to find a shell necklace since that's where her name is from but I didn't think about it until later. 

This costume was very easy to put together which was great! 

2015 Dopey Challenge Recaps: Expo, 5K, 10K, HALF, and Marathon part 1, Part 2

Out of all of my costumes, the Anna costume is one of my favorites. I have worn it 3 different times: Inaugural Enchanted 10k, at the 24-hour Disney Day, and the 2014 Santa Monica-Venice Christmas Run 10k. 

Since there was a good size group of us running for the WDW 5k, we decided to do Frozen and have Olaf, Kristoff, Anna, Elsa and a troll. 

I have already written here about how to make an Anna costume, so this post is more about turning it into a winter Anna costume since the 5k had a wind chill of 25! 

Anna costume

1. Black shirt with the design on it and gold ribbon
2. Blue skirt with floral decoration 
3. Hair in braids (I like to add a pink headband) 

Now for winter:

1. A blue or green long sleeve shirt
2. A pink cape or wrap
3. Gloves (I just used the blue ones I had) 
4. Pants to go under the skirt 

And that's it! Anyone else ever run in a winter version of the Anna outfit? 

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 week's topic is 5 things about me. So here you go!

1. I'm the oldest of 5 kids
My moms bday is Monday and my little bro and sis is the following Monday but I am the oldest of 5! I'm 28, my bro is 22, sis is 7 and bro and sis are almost 4. 

2. I've been to Walt Disney World 22 times since 1996 with 3 more trips planned for the end of the year!
My favorite place ever and with all of the races-I'm there a lot! We're going with my family for 10 days in June and I will do a quick 2-3 day trip in sept after a business trip and also another trip for wine and dine (booked my hotel today!!) 

Now for Disneyland-well since I live here and have for 6 years, it's a lot. Probably close to 200 times?

3. I now have a Universal AP
I haven't written much about it yet (gotta get through race recaps and then I promise it's coming!) but Diagon Alley is amazing and you need to go immediately! I'm trying to figure out how to get to Universal on my next trips.

4. I'm highly allergic to mushrooms
I have to avoid shittake mushrooms and actually am allergic to uncooked ones as there's a chemical I can't handle. I'm nervous it'll happen with regular mushrooms so I avoid them all. 

5. My Christmas tree is still up
I haven't had time to take it down! Maybe this weekend? It needs to happen soon! All the other decorations are down though.

It's been very crazy since getting back from Dopey on the 13th and wrapping up Star Wars and dealing with work and school. But it's at the top of my priority list for the weekend.  

Very random list but I love being random. What is a random fact about yourself? 

Expo 

This was my first time getting to an expo on the first day when it opens.

We got up at 6 and just stretched and caught up on life before getting ready and going to breakfast at 8. The food court was pippin! We got done at 850 and took a cab over to wide world of sports from pop century that cost 10 bucks with tip. 

We got there right at 9 and took a ton of pics with the posters with no wait and got in line in the cold and wind. We were hoping they would open at 915 but didn't open until 930. 

We had our waivers and went to pick up our bibs and get our pic taken with our bib. This is what they are doing instead of wristbands and I guess they will just check them at the end? It was not explained but that's out best guess.

Before getting shirts, we went to the official expo where I got 4 sweaty bands, 2 magnets (one for the fridge and one decal for my car), and a mug. I was so happy I was able to get that stuff and it was very uncrowded. I got my shirts (5k was a youth large as the smalls were unisex) and headed to the main expo. I also stopped to see if they had the new Meb Skechers and ended up trying in the run 4 that just came out. I don't need any new shoes now, but I may buy a racing marathon shoe. I will see how my current shoes hold up. 

On the way to the merchandise, we noticed KT line was super short so we both got taped up! I've never used the tape but it feels good so far. 

The merchandise area was a zoo! I could barely even walk down the dopey aisle. I got an I did it (which was sized super tiny as I had to get a large to hope it won't shrink since its 100% cotton) shirt and a coast to coast shirt. 

I saw the princess medals!!! And then got to meet and talk to Jeff Galloway and his advice for doing dopey and rebel was to take it easy which we plan on doing. 

After we wandered around the expo and of course visited the clif booth and bought extra fuel since it was a good deal from fit2run. Then I visited sweaty bands to buy some headbands for some other costumes (Ariel, Elsa, Cinderella, Anna and Iridessa) and then we were done and headed to the outside expo. We got some free sunscreen and I tried on arm sleeves at sparkle athletic. I plan on buying a white/silver pair at the Star Wars expo to start bringing with me to wear as something to warm me up. 

Overall the expo was great and I was glad we waited for it to open because it was so uncrowded. When we left, it was very busy!

The transportation was easy from our hotel but since we didn't take the bus there, it was a bit confusing but we figured it out. 

How did you like the Expo? 

EAT WELL

LAST WEEK:
I was completely off of the rails the last few weeks and don’t feel bad about it all. Not a bit. I indulged in ice cream sundaes, homemade hot chocolate, a lot of candy and more. I don’t think I gained much weight but I feel sluggish. I had some great Christmas food and got some family recipes I have been meaning to get for awhile. Now if only I can adapt them for gluten free!

One week until Florida and I want to get back to eating decent so I don’t get sick. I bought some veggies already and need to buy some more fruits! I also need to buy a few things for my run: portable peanut butter, smoothie packs, hot cereal and bananas (which I will buy Saturday night). If I can stick to pretty gluten free and eat decent, I will feel so much better heading to Florida

THIS WEEK:
At Universal and Disney, my main goal is to eat as healthy as possible, avoid gluten and make sure to carbload properly! I am very excited about all of the good food we have lined up!

SLEEP WELL
LAST WEEK:
It has been freezing so I have not been sleeping the best. I only slept 4 hours the night I landed with the delays of my flight and I feel like I have been trying to change up which is hard with my little siblings always waking me up!

I have been having issues with sleeping and only getting 7 hours of sleep :/ Not sure what it is but it has been frustrating. I think some of it is nerves.

THIS WEEK:
I am going to aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night in Florida! Those 3:30 AM wake up calls will be here before I know it!

EXERCISE WELL:
LAST WEEK:
MON: Rest Day because I had to be at work early
TUES: 3.1 miles in 39:06 (12:36 pace)-legs were not feeling it!
WEDS: Rest Day as we had Christmas
THURS: 4 mile in 51:14 (12:49 pace)-still recovery and I was running through random streets so I had to slow down
FRI: 1 mile with the siblings (around 18 minutes) and 8.5 miles (13:04)-I had to walk the last mile-I was feeling so sick!  
SAT: Rest Day
SUN: Rest Day
MON: Piyo Alignment
TUES: Rest Day
WEDS: 3 miles at 12:34 pace (rain-blaaah! and my shins were not happy)
THURS: Rest Day-I wanted to do the New Years run but it was cold and POURING. I knew there was no way I could run in a park which is sad!
FRI: 3 miles at 12:04 pace (not happy shins and legs. so BLAH)
SAT: Rest Day but I stretched a total of over an hour (no joke!)
SUN:  Flying to Orlando!!! Walk around Universal

THIS WEEK:
MON: Walking around Universal
TUES: walking around Universal and MK
WEDS: walking around the Expo and Epcot
THURS: 5k + walking around MK
FRI: 10k+ walking around Studios
SAT: Half + walking around AK  
SUN:  Full marathon + walking around MK

BE WELL
LAST WEEKS:

• TEXAS TEXAS TEXAS!
• Christmas was great!
• Seeing my family
• Family recipes
• So much Blue Bell ice cream
• Did a Rebel Challenge simulation-4 miles and 10 miles! I feel ready for Dopey and Rebel!  
• Final training runs for Dopey! 
  

THIS WEEK:

• Universal and Harry Potter!
• WDW
• Dopey!
• #runalltheraces
  

So for you, how was your week???

I have to give props to RunDisney for actually putting up a few sneak peeks on things for Marathon weekend: this way people can start deciding what they want to buy!

Below are all of the pictures in the slideshow so make sure to check them out. 

Here is what I plan on buying:

• 2015 Coast to Coast shirt
  
• Dopey-I Did It shirt
  
• Dopey sweatyband
  
• Goofy headband (since i will run this too!)
  
• Dopey magnet
  
• maybe the 2015 rundisney general shirt (it looks like it may be a regular t-shirt-I will only get it if it is dri fit)
  
• If the Eat-Run-Sleep-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat headband is on a shirt, I will get one. 
  
• I am sad I don't like the champion jacket :/ but they may have other ones
  
• I may get a wine glass if they have them
  

What do you plan on getting? 

I ran many miles in the past few days and have lived to tell the tale! 

Overall, it went well and I feel prepared for Dopey. I can't believe I am in Tapertown right now-it is great to know there are no more 14+ hour running weeks in my future for a long time!

I am going to break it down by each run and say what I did and what I learned

TUESDAY: 3 MILES at 11:08 pace
This was my regular route and I did just fine. I ran in my new Saucony and it started raining during my run pretty hard. They dried out well but it made my run pretty miserable as my raincoat made me feel very warm. 

I showered, and headed to work and carbloaded all day. 

WEDNESDAY: 3.5 MILES at 11:38
oh weather-so it poured Tues night (thunder in LA!) and when I got up it was pitch black. This was supposed to be 5 miles but with the crazy weather, it was only 3.5. Usually it is bright enough to run outside by 615 but since it stormed all night, it wasn't until 640 I felt safe venturing out by myself. I decided 3.5 miles is better than none and still had enough time to shower and get to work on time. 

THURSDAY: 12.5 MILES at 12:07 pace
I had a half day at work so I got up bright and early and headed out in the 47 degree weather for a new 12 mile loop. Well I messed up my garmin but I think I did about a mile before I got it working correctly. 

Even better the night before I loaded all of my audible books on my iPod so I was ready to go. I listened to the final episode of Serial and also the entire Snow Queen (which is a lot more weird and strange than I thought it would be) and half of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It helped pass the time which was great because I didn't realize the way I picked was a lot of hills! 

I headed back to home and got in a few running segments under 10 minutes right at the end and felt great. I got ready and headed to work in compression gear and rolled every 2 hours at work. I was ready to tackle the 26 miler

FRIDAY: 26.2 MILES with a 1 mile cool down
I got a lot of sleep and felt prepared however my legs were feeling iffy from the surprise hill workouts i did the day before. When I started at 7 am, it 46 degrees and my legs went numb and I could see my breath. After one lap, I loosened up and felt much better and actually left my long sleeve shirt on until mile 9.

I had my typical mental issues and mini-freak outs but was able to keep myself calm. I really need to work on my mental game more! I listened to Unbroken which is an amazing book-I can't wait to finish it over break! 

My issues were more with boredom with what was around me since I did the run at the rose bowl. I had some slow miles, some fast ones but I definitely needed more fuel (more carb loading) and another clif shot. 

I was able to line up my fuel and bathroom breaks with where I will be during the marathon and they all worked well! My only concern is 2 clif stations less than 5 miles apart. I think I will save the 2nd clif shot for mile 20 as a final push. 

I showered and relaxed and ate a ton of recovery food. I also tried the vega recovery and I definitely think it helped. I'm going to buy a few travel packs to bring with me to Wdw marathon and see how I like them. 

Learned:

• Have food ready for when you get back from long runs (leftover from the half and crockpot food for the full)
  
• Rolling and stretching is clutch in between. I should have done more after the half
  
• Sleep!!
  
• Make sure to test shoes and outfits 
  

now what? 
Well I need to simulate Rebel Challenge so I will be running 4 miles on Thursday (Merry Christmas to me!) and 10 miles on Friday. 
After that I plan on focusing on core work and PiYo (3 days a week), 1 full rest day and 2-3 days running. My running days will be just 3 miles maintence and 1 final 6-7 mile run. 

How did your final runs for WDW marathon weekend go?