Race Recap: Princess Frozen 5K

Another Princess Half Marathon Weekend is in the books folks! It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since I was in Walt Disney World with my BRFs for our annual Princess girls’ trip. This year instead of doing the Glass Slipper Challenge, we created our own Run Disney challenge by doing both the Princess 5K and 10K races. In true Run Disney fashion, magical miles were had by all and more magical memories to count were made!

A Royal Greeting at the Princess Expo!

Princess Race Swag!

To kick off the race weekend, we went to the Fit For a Princess Expo and got our race swag! This year's race shirts were so much better than last year! Very colorful and much more "princessy." I especially loved the purple Enchanted 10K shirt! I also purchased a FlipBelt at the expo. I love it, so expect a review here soon! We later hit up Hollywood Studios for a little bit of park time and Fantasmic. Before we knew it, we were off to our room at Disney's Port Orleans Resort-Riverside for an early bedtime, because when you run Disney you not only get magical miles, you also receive super early wake-up calls!

For phase one of our race weekend, we participated in the Princess 5K, which was appropriately themed the Frozen 5K this year. One of the great things about Run Disney is their dedication to event theming. Themes and Disney go together like peanut butter and jelly. That being said, I didn’t realize when I registered for the Frozen 5K last summer just how close to the theme that race would be! Of course, I’m sure not even Run Disney officials could have guessed the Frozen theme would be taken to another level by Mother Nature herself. While I normally anticipate overly hot and humid temperatures for my Run Disney Florida races, imagine my surprise when the morning of the 5K my weather app read 30 degrees. THIRTY DEGREES people. I guess that’s what happens when you put Elsa in charge of the race. I mean we all know the cold never bothered her anyway!

We had fun visiting with Jasmine at the Princess Expo! 

I know Run Disney sent out a weather reminder that it could be chilly the morning of the 5K, but I assumed it would be “Florida cold” and nothing major to worry about. Anything seemed better than the sub-zero temperatures and snow that I left behind in West Virginia. Still, being the overly cautious and always prepared runner that I am I managed to pack a few long sleeve options that could work with my race costume. That being said, I found myself wishing that I had packed even more layers. Normally at home a 30 degree run would be no biggie with my proper attire and such. However, I was in Florida and this type of race weather was just totally unexpected! Again, thanks for that Elsa.

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather!!!

While slightly annoyed at the weather, which was more so because we would be standing in it for a while before the race actually started, I knew I needed to LET IT GO (do you see what I did there?) and enjoy another Run Disney experience that I was blessed to be able to do! So I put my “fairy” best attitude on and got into my costume, which was the Flora part of our Sleeping Beauty fairy trio! Seeing my BRFs in their Fauna and Merryweather costumes to complete our fairy theme raised my spirits even more! As soon as our tutus were on and glowing (that’s right they had lights in them!), the Run Disney magic had officially taken hold of me!

Flora Fairy ready to go!

It wasn't easy getting off the warm bus, but the energy before the 5K was contagious. I loved seeing everyone's costumes, but I especially loved how other runners were geeking out of our fairy outfits! Cailyn, who designed our beautiful light-up tutus, hats and wands, deserves all the credit! She did such a great job! Be sure to check out her blog here. On a not so humblebrag, I think we stood out as one of the best group costumes I saw before the race. You know you are rocking a great costume when strangers are asking to take your picture as well as take pictures with you!

Eventually, it was finally time to start the race. By this point the weather hadn't warmed up at all and it was still cold. Again, thanks Elsa! We were soon off and moving though and that helped warm us up! We planned to stay together the whole time and to take the race super easy. We also wanted to take as many character pictures as possible since this was the first Run Disney race that all three of us would be together the whole time! The first part of the course is the typical Epcot Run Disney parking lot tour, but soon we saw our first character: Minnie Mouse in her special blue snowflake dress! She looked super cute! I will have to wait until I purchase the official race picture to show y'all because the photographer clearly was rushing people as fast as possible and I wasn't even looking at the camera since they literally snapped the picture as soon as we got next to Minnie! I guess that's why the picture stop lines that were pretty long went by so fast! Lesson learned!

Pluto with his winter antlers so cute!

From there we soon were entering the gorgeous Epcot World Showcase area, where Let it Go was appropriately playing for all to hear. I absolutely love running through World Showcase. It's so beautiful! Our Minnie character stop was by far the longest line, but during this time we actually made friends with another group of girls who we kept meeting along the course. That's the beauty of Run Disney - you get to connect with so many awesome people who share your love of running and Disney! They even saved us a spot in line as if we were part of their group for the next character stop, Pluto, who looked extra cute in his winter antlers! After our brief Pluto visit, we took in the sights of World Showcase and continued forward. Let it Go continued to play, and this was the point where we realized the song was being played in a different language. This would continue through the entirety of World Showcase. I love me some Frozen and the ever-popular Let it Go and enjoyed hearing it in different languages, but it was even a little redundant FOR ME. I can't imagine how some of the moms and dads running that hear this song daily anyway felt LOL!

Fairies with Goofy, wearing his winter finest!

The next character stop was Mickey in his winter sweater. His line was pretty long, so we decided to skip our pal and keep going. In hindsight, we probably should have stopped since our next character stop, Goofy, would be our last as well as the only remaining character picture stop of the race! We caught Goofy, who was also wearing his winter sweater, before we left World Showcase. We fully expected to see Donald eventually, since at this point we realized the only characters they were utilizing for this race were members of the Fab Five. However, Donald was no where to be found. Womp womp. So there were only FOUR characters total! That was a disappointment, I'm not going to lie. I've read other Run Disney 5K recaps that had more than four characters. Even the Castaway Cay race on an island had more than four characters. I'm not sure if the cold had something to do with it or what? Did anyone see Donald? Maybe he was gone when we ran by, but we didn't see any place where there would have been a stop. Oh well, I had my best girls with me so we still had a blast even without as many of our Disney friends to see along the way!

With some Frozen Dudes after the race!

Eventually we made our way back into Epcot on the future world side, which was utilizing basically the same route I know well by now as a seasoned Run Disney runner. To perhaps make up for the lack of character picture stops as well as highlight the race's theme, we did see Anna, Elsa and Kristoff from Frozen! They were on a stage-like set-up and not available for photo-ops, but we did get some pics with them in the background! They were hilarious as usual as they joked with us and shouted words of encouragement. It wasn't too long after this that we were running down the finish shoot! We made sure to hold our fairy wands high, smile and take in every magical moment of crossing the finish line together! I've crossed many finish lines in my running career, but it was super fun to do so with my BRFs!

Love me some Run Disney bling!

We immediately got our bling and were given mylar blankets, which were a much needed addition to the usual Run Disney post-race accompaniments. They really helped keep us warmer as it was still quite cold! We also grabbed our Run Disney snack boxes, which also were a nice upgrade. I've received a snack box for every Run Disney event I've done, but the boxes for Princess Weekend were better than usual! Our medallions are so cute. They are rubber, unlike the metal ones you get for longer races, but are still really nice!

Before leaving the race area, we did enjoy some post-race pictures with the guys from Frozen and some cute snowflakes! Instead of going back to our hotel like we usually do, we stayed in costume and hopped on the monorail to Magic Kingdom! This was mainly done so we could get our picture with Princess Aurora since she wasn't on the race course! It was worth staying in costume because of that as well as we seemed to be entertaining other Disney patrons! We got more photo requests, even from official Disney photographers! That's when you know you have a pretty great costume theme going for you!

Princess Aurora with her fairy friends! Make it pink! Make it blue!

Overall cold and all it was a great race experience! It was fun being with my BRFs, and I think that's what made the Princess 5K most enjoyable. Did you run the 5K? If so, what did you enjoy most?

Princess Frozen 5K fairy fun and magical memories!

Stay tuned for my Princess Enchanted 10K Race Recap coming soon!

Run Princesses, Run!

WOW! I am sure you all are just bursting with one major question: "Where the heck have you been, Hope?!" I am truly sorry for my hiatus and my lack of Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up posts for the month of July! Last month flew by in a flash and I've just been quite the busy bee! Instead of a traditional wrap-up post today, we are going to talk the 2015 Run Disney Princess Half Weekend! I've actually had this post written and ready to go since registration opened a few weeks ago. However, a case of a bad migraine and then losing myself to another type of marathon, as in a binge watching marathon session of seasons 1 and 2 of Orange is the New Black (amazing show), made me delay posting this. I've also been in full-training mode for the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Upping my training and adding back scheduled long runs has made me a tired gal! Then of course life has been hectic with some weekend trips, my summer yard sale, and the normal work-flow! Enough excuses though, I'm back and really hope to get in a regular posting groove again! I am sure you all have missed me! If not, well, oh well! Virtual high-fives all around for getting back to blogging!

With my bling after the Glass Slipper Challenge!

Frankly, I can't believe it's already August! I am ecstatic that it's August too. This means I am closer to my favorite season, fall, as well as my Disney vacation and the Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Be sure to let me know if you are planning to run into the Twilight Zone with me this October! I've never done this villain themed night race (or a night race in general!), but am VERY excited as I love Halloween and have always had a special place in my heart for those naughty Disney villains! But, more on the Tower of Terror 10-Miler later, because now it's time to discuss Run Disney's shiniest event! Unless you are a Run Disney fan living under a rock (or just a normal, everyday non-Disney crazed civilian), you should know that registration opened for the Princess Half Weekend last month and all races sold out within a few days (not sure on how quick the 5K sold, but I know it went very fast as well)!

The Princess Half Weekend is generally the most coveted Run Disney event. It’s pretty much the crown jewel on top of the Run Disney tiara. Having participated in my first Princess Half Weekend last year by completing the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which included both the Enchanted 10K and Princess Half races, I can see why this Run Disney event is such a hit. With the usual Disney charm included, the women’s focused weekend is just spectacular from everything to the race expo to the races themselves. The husband stayed at home last year and I did the Glass Slipper Challenge as part of a girl’s trip runcation. I’m sure he was cool with missing out on the overwhelming amount of estrogen and wannabe Disney princesses that lurked everywhere! Completing the Glass Slipper Challenge and earning three amazing medals with it (I’m all about the bling!) along with all the other race swag was a wonderful experience. It was also a mentally and physically exhausting experience. I even shed a tear or two when I crossed the finish line after the Princess Half last year because the Glass Slipper Challenge was such an emotional event for me. While it had the Disney thrills and fun, the CHALLENGE part of the race was certainly true. In the future, I hope to have a post on here re-capping my 2014 Glass Slipper Challenge so I can explain all my thoughts in more detail!

Duck-facing with Pluto & my GSC medal
at our celebratory dinner last year!

After talking it over with my BRFs (Best Runner Friends), I am happy to report that I will be returning for the 2015 Princess Half Weekend! However, we decided as a group to not do the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is probably a good thing because it sold out in less than two hours the day registration opened, I believe! Cost effectiveness was a major role in our decision to not do the challenge this year. Run Disney is awesome, but expensive! I mean I want to run ALL the races, but I have to do it EVENTUALLY since well, money doesn’t grow on trees lol! I’m not sure I enjoyed the back to back race experience with my mental psyche either. It was quite intimidating post 10K to know that I would need to run an additional 13.1 miles the next morning. Maybe if the races were reversed that wouldn't have bothered me as much. Even though it would be the same distance, I think getting the half out of the way first would have made me feel a lot better! Dopey Challenge will never be for me! But all you Dopey runners rock! I love running and adore Run Disney, but that’s just not my cup of tea both mentally and physically. Someday I’d love to do the Glass Slipper Challenge again or another challenge like the Dumbo Double Dare/Rebel Challenge events in Disneyland, but that’s all for another year! Instead, this year for Princess weekend, I will be running the Enchanted 10K again as well as doing my first Run Disney 5K! The girls and I typically start in different corrals and the 5K will be the perfect option for us all to finally start and finish a race together! After running solo for both the 2014 races, I am very excited that I will get the chance to do this race with my BRFs! Having someone by your side, especially when it comes to Run Disney, makes the experience even better!

Olaf & Elsa before the 2014 Enchanted 10K!
BRFs make races better!

Now, imagine my excitement when word leaked that the theme for this year’s Princess 5K would be FROZEN! That didn’t take long for Run Disney to capitalize on the Frozen hysteria! I have to say that I am also very excited to be running the Enchanted 10K again. I like half marathons, but I find the 10K to be my favorite distance now and sadly, there seem to be very few 10K races compared to the halfs, 5Ks and even full marathons out there. I absolutely loved the Enchanted 10K course and even though it doesn’t run through the castle, which is my favorite part of the Princess Half, I’d say I like it better than the Princess/WDW Half course. The Enchanted 10K’s beginning might be a little uneventful, other than the wonderful Elsa and snow surprise we got last year, but the middle and end of the race is spectacular. I loved running through the Epcot World Showcase and Boardwalk area. The views were gorgeous! Of course running through Epcot’s future world to the finish was fun as well. I’m excited to get to run the Enchanted 10K and to not be held back by the thought that I have to run a half marathon the next day. I won’t feel the need to keep reminding myself to take it easy and like my dear Elsa, I will be able to LET IT GOOOOO if I want to!

BRFs Celebrating with Mary Poppins after the Glass Slipper Challenge last year! 

I don’t know about you all, but this running princess is looking forward to another Run Disney Princess Weekend! Who else will be there? What races do you plan to run? See all you princesses in February!

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up (June 19-25)

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!)

Hello friends! Hope you all are having a good week so far. We’ve already made it to Hump Day, which means the weekend fun is just around the corner! This past week was busy as usual followed by a pretty great weekend.

Immediately after work last Friday I planned to get a quick run in and then change in the car before heading to Huntington with the husband. Sometimes I wonder if West Virginia has been channeling its inner-Florida as of late with these random torrential downpours that occur for a few minutes followed by bright and sunny skies. I say this because my weather app indicated no change of storming/rain prior to my run Friday. While the sky did look a little overcast, I brushed it off thinking “well, it might sprinkle a little, but it should be ok.” Just in case, I grabbed my little running belt pack, aka my running fanny pack lol, and stuck my phone in there. As a precaution I put it in a sock since I didn’t have a plastic bag. Crafty! Well, I got about 400 meters into my run when the sky pretty much fell out unleashing basically a monsoon on me. I panicked because of my precious iPhone 5S, which was in just a regular case (not a protective one). I turned around and sprinted back to the car already soaking wet and my phone thankfully escaped this incident unscathed. I ended up finishing my run without my phone by doing laps at the park (boring yawn). The good news is that the rain shower distracted me from how hot it was! Always look for the silver lining folks!

WV 5K Fun!

After my shower, I mean run, we were on our way to Huntington to pick up our race bibs and swag for the West Virginia 5K Championship. We explored the race expo and then decided to have a quick dinner date at Olive Garden. I love Olive Garden salad and breadsticks. What I don’t love is them continually changing their menu as of late. They recently took my favorite dish off the menu and now the husband’s favorite is gone as well. For shame, Olive Garden, for shame. Don’t you just hate when restaurants take away your go-to order? First world problems indeed! It was still a great meal and a fun evening out. Saturday we woke up entirely too early for a non-work day for the race. You can read my full West Virginia 5K Race Recap here. Other than me badly rolling my ankle, which made the race itself not so great, it was a fun morning.

Blonder hair for summer plus a new
Run Disney Mickey for my desk! 

We continued our weekend fun by sticking around Huntington after the 5K to get some things done. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks (my favorite!) before heading our separate ways for the rest of the morning. I had a much needed hair appointment for a color and a trim. I love getting some hair TLC and I always feel fresh and renewed after a color touch up. It takes a while, but getting my hair done is super relaxing. It’s nice to be pampered! For the summer season my hair stylist made my hair a bit blonder, which I really like. It felt nice to get my layers and bangs trimmed as well. Bangs that have grown to be too long are one of the most annoying things. I’m sure many ladies can attest to that! After my much-needed girly time, I met back up with the husband at the mall. We had planned to get in some shopping but he was completely exhausted and I was having trouble walking thanks to my ankle snafu, so I only made a quick stop at Macy’s to get some makeup. Before we left Huntington we decided to have a late lunch at Chipotle, which recently opened in town. The husband had never experienced Chipotle awesomeness before and I was happy to introduce him to it! I absolutely love Chipotle! It was a really fun lunch date to close out a great day. The rest of our Saturday was spent icing my ankle, napping and being couch potatoes!

Now for a quick RWRunStreak update: Tuesday marked Day 30 of the RWRunStreak Summer Challenge! Fellow streakers, we are now in the HOME STRETCH! We’ve got this! I am very pleased to report that my ankle is feeling much better since Saturday’s 5K. It’s not at 100 percent yet, but with the help of an ice regimen and KT Tape I’ve been able to continue running to keep my streak alive! More importantly, thus far it’s feeling better with each day. Hopefully I continue to stay on the mend!

KT Tape is helping keep my RWRunStreak alive! Winston has also deemed himself my bodyguard since he knows I haven't been 100 percent with my ankle snafu lol! 

What’s on tap for the rest of the week? Friday I will be volunteering for Habitat for Humanity! I volunteered with Habitat this past November and as cheesy as it sounds, it was a very fulfilling experience! I look forward to helping such a great cause again. We are still kicking around our weekend plans, but hopefully we will do something fun! I hope everyone has a wonderful, enjoyable rest of the week!

Race Recap: West Virginia 5K Championship

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! One of the major highlights this weekend for me was the West Virginia 5K Championship, which was held Saturday in Huntington. This 5K coincides with the state’s birthday, which was the day before the race on Friday. I’ve never seen other states so passionate about their state’s day of birth, and this is one of the many reasons why I am so proud to be a born and raised West Virginia gal! All day on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram I saw numerous posts from many people regarding West Virginia day! Yes, that’s right world, West Virginia is its own state and has been since 1863. We are NOT, I repeat NOT part of Virginia. You wouldn’t believe how many people I meet that don’t know West Virginia is a state. It’s truly appalling.

WORD!

Hello, basic geography anyone?! Well, now that I’ve got that little rambling rant in, I will continue to talk about the race itself!

The West Virginia 5K Championship is an event that promotes fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle. West Virginia is usually sited as an “unhealthy state,” and Huntington, specifically, was deemed one of the most “unhealthy cities” a few years ago. This race in particular is an effort to change that unfortunate stigma by welcoming runners and walkers of all fitness levels to participate. Proceeds from the race are donated to the United Way River Cities and used to help fight childhood obesity. Anything that encourages fitness as well as works to turn a negative statistic into a positive one is great to me. This was my second year running this race with the husband. Things didn’t exactly go as planned this year race-wise, but that’s life. We must take the setbacks, accept the challenges and work to overcome them!

On Friday we picked up our race packets and checked out the expo. Normally for races that aren’t Run Disney I wait until the morning of to get my race gear, but since we don’t live in Huntington, I didn’t want to wake up any earlier than I had to Saturday. Not to mention, they were giving away WV 5K 2014 pint glasses to the first 500 participants to pick up their race stuff. Well, obviously I love me some race swag and especially LOVE my WV 5K 2013 pint glass, so this was a must-have item. We didn’t really spend too much time at the expo itself since we were hungry. Also, I hate to be *that person* but Run Disney has really spoiled all other race expos for me. It’s just not the same! The expo for the most part was well organized, with the exception of some chaotic congestion near the bib pick-up area. Runners were to pick up race bibs by knowing their race number, and most, including myself, did not know theirs. The swag was pretty great for a “local” 5K: the coveted 2014 pint glass and best of all, a tech shirt! Tech shirts are so much better than cotton because I can actually get use out of them! We had a quick dinner date at Olive Garden after the expo before heading home to turn in early for the night.

Tech Shirt and Pint Glass! Love the race SWAG!

Saturday we got up earlier than we even do for work (yuck!) and headed to Huntington. We only had some Clif Gels for breakfast, but that was fine for us. I know many runners are shaking their fingers at us for not “eating enough” but we both tend to get sick easily if we don’t have much time between eating and running. Pardon me if I don’t feel like waking up at 3 a.m. to eat a bagel and/or Clif Bar. I only do that crazy crap for Run Disney! The energy before the race was great and I was happy that while there was 100 percent humidity it didn’t feel as sweltering hot as last year. I wore my lime green Team Sparkle running skirt, which got many compliments but some weird looks too. It’s all good. Haters gonna hate! Lol! I’m a proud skirt runner! After taking a huge pre-race “selfie” with the mayor of Huntington, the group of 600 plus runners, including us, were off!

The first mile was going decent until the dreaded rock that I happened to step on in the middle of the street. I didn’t realize there was rock there until I stepped on it and managed to BADLY roll my ankle. If it hadn’t been for the husband catching my arm, this would have easily resulted in me face planting right into the pavement! Upon next step, I immediately knew I did more than simply tweak my ankle like I often do on runs. Usually I might turn it a bit, which is due to it already being weak from an old high school cross country injury. Normally when I “tweak it” the pain only lasts for a split second and I’m good to go. I quickly realized this wasn’t the case as each step I took got more and more painful. It was even more irritating that it happened before we even approached the first mile marker! The husband asked if I was ok, and I decided to tell him it was fine and tried to do my best to ignore the pain hoping that if I did it would go away.

Well, before we approached the second mile marker it became evident my ignore tactic wasn’t working and we had to unfortunately slow our pace way down. We even had to take a moment to stop at the water station and see if I could stretch it. We didn’t stop long at all, but this is something I NEVER do and have NEVER DONE in a 5K! That’s when the husband really knew something was definitely wrong. He asked if we should stop and then my stubborn nature really kicked in and I replied “absolutely not! I never quit!” I sucked it up and pushed forward. By the time we had a little over a half mile left, I was in a lot of pain, but you better believe when we came to the finish line stretch that I somehow reached deep in my gut and pulled out a pretty fast finishing kick. I passed a lot of people down that last 100 meter stretch so much so that someone shouted “get it lady!” at me haha! That finishing kick was two-fold: a will to be done ASAP so I could sit down and assess the ankle damage and because I was frustrated with how the race had gone and at least wanted to enjoy a good sprint at the end!

As soon as we finished the husband said his feet were bothering him most of the race since his new shoes still weren’t quite broken in, but he didn’t want to mention it while we were running because he knew how irritated I was over rolling my ankle. I must thank him again on here for putting his own discomfort aside to be the positive motivator that I needed during the race! Usually I am the cheerful one when doing races together, so this was a role reversal! Back to the race and time for my one major complaint: we saw absolutely no trainer, medical tent or place to get ice post-race. The husband and his crafty skills ended up finding a bag and taking ice from a water cooler to create a makeshift ice bag for me to use on my ankle. After the post-race ice debacle, I limped to the area where the Brown Dog Yoga instructors were offering a free post-race yoga stretch. I enjoyed the post-race yoga, except of course the parts where I had to balance on my right foot since well, the ankle clearly wasn’t feeling it (obviously.)

Fun at the West Virginia 5K 2014!

Overall despite my ankle snafu, I had a great time at the West Virginia 5K Championship. Most races this would have likely ruined the whole experience for me, but this 5K is really enjoyable and I still had fun. It was FAR from my best time, but considering the circumstances I think we did pretty well. After finishing and feeling the pain that came from simply walking, it was clear to me that my adrenaline and stubborn nature fueled me to the finish. The Marshall Men’s Basketball Team also made the race enjoyable and kept me laughing the whole time. They were hilarious! The entire team ran the race, and it always impresses me to see coaches not only value running as conditioning but to also show support in the community where their university is located. As members of the team finished they stuck around the finish area to high five everyone as they completed the race. I was very impressed with their demeanor. I am a WVU fan FOREVER, but this team endeared themselves to me so much so that I’m going to have to cheer for them too (except when they play my beloved Mountaineers, of course!)

It was a fun weekend and a fun race. I love doing races with the husband and even though I badly rolled my ankle, I am still glad we did the West Virginia 5K for the second time. Sometimes not all races are sunshine and rainbows and we have to overcome a little adversity along the way. Who else raced this weekend? Who else has dealt with injury either before or during a race? How did you work to overcome that challenge? I’d love to hear all about it and I commend those of you that have had and conquered the many challenges that come with running!

(Update: Since people have asked and for those wondering, my ankle is still pretty sore but feeling much better today. As of now, I am still forging on with the RWRunStreak because I am soooo close to being finished that I can’t fathom stopping at this point. I’ve been icing A LOT to help with swelling and on Sunday and today I did very light runs at an easy pace. Sunday’s run was quite unpleasant, but in a way the running seemed to help make my ankle less stiff. Believe me I would have sucked it up and stopped if it was absolutely too painful to keep going. I’ve also finally used the much talked about KT Tape, so expect a future blog review on that! Hopefully my ankle continues to feel better! Fingers crossed!)

Ice Ice that ankle baby!

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!) 

Happy Hump Day! I know so many of you are working for the weekend, but cheers and virtual high fives all around to making it to the mid-week! This will be my first “week in review” post, which I will hopefully be able to do on a weekly basis each Wednesday. I know Wednesday seems like an odd day to do a week in review, but hey, whatever works right?! Let’s get this first series post started! Last week was extremely busy for me work-wise. Plus, now that he is back safe and sound, I figure that it’s ok to say that the husband was also away in New Orleans on business. We certainly aren’t the type of couple that must spend every waking minute with each other, but I most definitely missed him! I am a social person so the extra silence is always weird when I’m the only human home! Luckily, I had my fuzzy child Winston to keep me company! While Winston missed his daddy, I think he enjoyed the time he got to have his mama all to himself! Other than finding a snake egg in my backyard (SCREAM!), not too many exciting things happened. I usually am an “after work runner” so my routine was pretty much work, run, come home, shower (duh) and then Winston and I just chilled watching Pirates baseball games and my Sex and the City DVDs. Yes, I know I live a glamorous life! I was and am still finding myself to be more exhausted in the evenings than usual and I blame that on the summer heat! Running especially in these hot and humid temperatures is a total energy drain!

Speaking of running, for all my fellow summer challenge streakers, last Saturday marked the official HALF-WAY point of the RWRunStreak! If you are streaking with me, virtual high five for a job well done so far! (You can read more about the RWRunStreak here.) I admit at one point on Saturday (Day 20 of the streak), I was thinking “really I still have another 20 days in a row?” Coupled with last week being exhausting in general, my legs are FEELING the streak and I can tell I’ve been running for several plus days without any actual time off. That being said, at the same time it’s nice to look at the glass half-full and know that I’ve made it this far! Now we have less than 20 days left! Fellow streakers: keep pushing through! I know it isn’t always easy and the past few days I’ve experienced those times when I’m just not feeling it, but I keep running toward that goal! I can say that I always feel better about myself after a run, even if the run itself isn’t pleasant. I like being happy, so that’s motivation enough to keep on streaking! Today marks Day 24 of the streak and we are over half way done guys! To quote Princess Tiana, “I’m almost there!”

Aside from the streaking madness and the work flow, after the husband’s return from the Big Easy we basically chilled out all weekend. It’s not unusual for us to go to the theatre to see a movie at least once a week because we love movies. There isn’t a whole lot to do in the area we live in, so we spend a lot of time at our local theatre. We ended up actually seeing TWO movies last weekend and stuck with a comedy theme for both of them. On Friday we saw A Million Ways to Die in the West and on Saturday we saw 22 Jump Street. We particularly enjoy stupid, raunchy, tacky humor, so of course we found both movies hilarious! The movies were a nice addition to our overall low-key weekend.

Sunday was Father’s Day. While neither of us got to see our dads on that day, we did call them to wish them a happy Father’s Day. I hope all you dads out there had a good one!

So far, this week has been busy as usual. I’d say while it has basically been a normal week, Tuesday was an exciting day for me and this blog! After being encouraged to do so via Instagram, I joined the Tuesday Link-up with hosts My No-Guilt Life and Run The Great Wide Somewhere. Both of these blogs are great and I urge you to add them to your reading list! It worked out perfectly that I had just posted about new running shoes on Monday because that’s what Tuesday’s link-up topic pertained to! The link-up was a great way to further connect with other runners in the social media community and it provided me with some great new blogs to add to my reading list! I will certainly be taking part in more link-ups! Thanks again to My No-Guilt Life for inviting me to join!

LOL! I hope I don't come off like this on social media!

What’s on my schedule for the rest of the week? The West Virginia 5K Championship! The husband will be joining me for this race. Our last race was clear back in April for the Pirates 5K Home Run. It’s looking to be a HOT and HUMID time for the WV 5K! Last year was no different and the painful parts of that race are all of a sudden coming screaming back to me! The race in general, however, is very well-run (literally…oh puns, come on hire me now Disney Jungle Cruise). Hopefully we can push through the heat and have a fun time! I hope you all have a good rest of your week! Remember Friday is just around the corner! Let me know if you have any race plans this weekend or if you have any fun things planned in general!

My Running Story: Part Two

Hello! First off, my apologies for my short hiatus. The month of May is extremely busy for me work-wise. Many extra events and functions also make May a crazy month, which unfortunately meant my random running thoughts had to take a small break. I am back though!

Since I last left you with my Running Story: Part One, which focused on my competitive years of running cross country and track, I am here to share with you the second part of my running story. This story is still going as I'm continuing to find my place as a runner in the post-collegiate world.

First off, as many former collegiate runners and athletes can probably agree with, life after that last “competitive” race is a bit odd. When you’ve spent the last several years of your life pushing your body to the limit in practice and spending your weekends (and often week nights) in competition, it’s unusual when one day it just comes to an end. Poof it’s gone. Only a memory. It’s also strange when you’ve spent those countless hours with teammates who became friends and then became more than friends – a second family – and you no longer get to have that daily connection. Frankly, it’s an odd time after college in general. No longer having something that you gave so much of yourself to, so much so that it became part of who you are, is difficult.

After my graduation from UC, I was on the hunt for my first “grown up” job and planning my wedding, which was set for mid-August of that summer. This kept me busy, but I admit I felt loss knowing I’d never run competitively for my university again. Of course, part of me felt excited to enjoy the world around me without the constant pressure that came with collegiate running. I’m the first to admit that I was burnt out from both school and competitive running by the time graduation rolled around, so in a way it felt good knowing I wouldn’t have that anxiety to deal with. Since I was preparing for my wedding, I decided to not stop running or take a major break that many former collegiate runners often do. While not anywhere near the intensity of my college training, I continued to run for purely fitness purposes. It was by doing this and just running FOR ME and just running TO RUN, that I truly began to really enjoy the sport. I’ve always liked running, but before it was mostly all about the competition. Now, I find myself loving “just the running.” While the accomplishments and accolades from competitive running appear most impressive on paper, I am just as proud of finally learning to love “just” the running itself.

After my wedding I continued to run for primarily fitness purposes. I found it harder to do so as I was working my first “grown up” job, but I tried my best to continue to make time for running. I also found that running turned into a time for me to relieve stress, something I had always heard people talk about when referring to running, but had never experienced much of myself! Running became my place to let the stress of the day go and it was, and still is, a time for me to think. I think about a variety of things when I run, mostly RANDOM thoughts of course. I think about the run in general, my goals, how good pizza post-run would be, movies, books, my hair (like should I keep my bangs because they are bugging me on this run, but I love bangs), my friends, my to-do list – yup, that’s why random ramblings of a running princess is a fitting title for this blog!

Turkey Trot 2013!

The fall of that first year where I wasn’t preparing for a cross country season was hard because I really found myself missing the sport. I decided I would run the Turkey Trot in my hometown at Thanksgiving as my first road race as a “regular ole runner.”

It was a fitting choice too since the Turkey Trot is and has become even more so a staple of my Thanksgiving traditions! As the year progressed and since then, I’ve enjoyed doing many road races. Sure I’ve won some local ones and received awards, but I don’t do them to set any records. I don’t do them as a fierce competitor, I run them for FUN, and I’ve got to say I love that I can do that. As I did more 5K road races, I did find myself wanting more of a challenge, however. I finally decided in 2011 that it was time to accept that challenge and cross an item off my bucket list: run a half marathon!

2013 West Virginia 5K!

If you remember from part one of my running story, it took a while for me to accept the fact that I was a distance runner. It used to seem like an eternity to run a half mile, and now I want to do a half marathon?! Say what? As I prepared for my first half, those old nerves from my competitive days slowly crept back. A half marathon was unchartered territory. My goal was strictly to finish. Since I was running this one solo, I also knew I'd be relying on my own confidence to get me through the race. I didn’t put any time restrictions on myself. I wanted to cross the finish line and be able to know that I still had it in me to rise to the occasion and complete a challenge that I set out to do. My first half was the Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. Why did I choose this one? Well, I liked the name of the race. Flying pigs are cute and I thought it was hilarious that they called the finish line the “finish swine.” Yes, I’m really mature. ;) Despite the fact that I seemingly chose the one part of Ohio that’s really hilly to run my first half as well as the monsoon that took place during the race, it was a successful experience. I was pleased to finish and be able to finish in under two hours, despite not having a time goal. I remember the hard parts and thinking during the race that I never wanted to do one again, but after crossing the finish and meeting my goal, those thoughts vanished! I love setting goals, but I really love achieving goals!

My first half marathon: The Flying Pig! 

After my first half marathon!

While half marathons still aren’t my favorite, I’m happy that I have a few under my belt now. Completing that first half gave me a sense of accomplishment that I had been missing from the competitive years. Eventually, I fell in love with Run Disney as well, which could be and eventually will be a whole other blog post! Having done two Run Disney half marathons, I can say that I’m happiest while running at my favorite place on earth!

After the 2013 Walt Disney World Half Marathon!

Let it Goooo! Running as Elsa for the 2014 Walt Disney World Enchanted 10K!

Dressed as Cinderella for the 2014 Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon!

It's hard to wrap up this post, which has turned into novella territory, because as I said earlier, my running story is still continuing. I'm working to run and to continue enjoying running despite the crazy/hectic busy things life throws at me. I am truly blessed and thankful that I am able to continue on my running journey. I'm proud to call myself a "runner" most of all. Thank you for reading this (you deserve a medal but a virtual high five will have to suffice!). Feel free to share your running story with me. I'd love to read it! Remember, no matter how you started out, every runner has a story!

Race Recap: Pirates 5K Home Run

Hello! For my first "official" non-introductory post, I intended to share my "running story." Every runner has a story! However, since it's timely, I figured that one can wait and instead I will share with you a recap of the most recent race I did. Since running is a major focus of this blog, I hope to share race recaps on here as much as possible! So, let's talk about the Pirates 5K Home Run!

As an avid sports fan and major baseball enthusiast, I love races that connect with other sports. I've been a Pirates baseball fan since I was little, and yes, I even stuck with them during the twenty year curse of losing seasons (hooray for breaking that wretched curse last year and making the playoffs!). Regardless of your opinion on the Pirates, PNC Park is one of if not THE best ballpark in major league baseball. If you like baseball, this should be a must-see ballpark for you. PNC Park is one of my favorite places to be, so running a 5K that finishes on the field there is a winning idea for me! The race also raises money for the Pirates Charities organization, which is another great aspect of running races. Anytime I have the opportunity to give to a charity as well as help myself stay fit, is considered a double win for me.

PNC Park: one of the best parks in MLB!

This year was actually the second time I did the Pirates 5K Home Run. After a fun experience last year, the husband and I knew that we wanted to do it again this year! The race took place April 19 and just happened to fall a few days after my birthday. Like last year, we took the opportunity to make it a Pittsburgh birthday weekend with the 5K and of course some baseball fun! We arrived in Pittsburgh Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel on Pittsburgh's North Shore, The Residence Inn by Marriot. The hotel was literally across the street from PNC Park, which was where we needed to pick up our race packets. This was already a plus to our experience compared to the previous year, when we stayed about 15 minutes outside of the city. Being so close made the entire weekend more relaxing and made the pre-race and post-race experience far less stressful since we didn't have to worry about finding parking! That's always a plus since the husband suffers from major road rage. Getting our race packets was simple and painless, which is always a sign of a nicely organized raced. My only complaint about the process, which is my same complaint from last year, is not including pins with the race bibs! Having to get pins the morning of only creates chaos. Plus OCD runners like myself prefer pinning our bibs to our shirts before wearing them to make sure they are put on straight! Sigh. Anyway, with our race entry, we received a tech t-shirt, which was a definite upgrade from last year's cotton shirt, as well as ticket vouchers to a Pirates game.

Colorful tech shirts are the best!

We already purchased tickets for Friday's game, so we redeemed our ticket vouchers for Saturday's game, the day of the race.

Cheering on the Pirates! Let's Go Bucs!!!

We spent the rest of Friday night cheering on the Pirates at the game and enjoying ballpark food. Alright ballpark food probably isn't the best thing to eat the night before a race, but it was my birthday trip so as the kiddos say, YOLO (yes, I know I'm coming off as the nerdiest, I mean coolest person ever right now)! Since our hotel was within feet of the 5K area, we had the pleasure of "sleeping in" as well. It was so nice to be able to walk right out our hotel door to the start line! The weather was slightly chilly, but otherwise great. The sun was shining and it was only a few degrees cooler than my "ideal race temperature," which is anywhere from mid 50s to high 60s. We agreed to run the race simply for training and fun, but I will admit I did have some butterfly action going on in my stomach! After my Glass Slipper Challenge running event that I did at the end of February I had taken some time off and I'm not yet in my "full on running routine mode." Also, I was unfortunately rear-ended in a car accident a few days prior to the race and had been suffering from back pain as a result. These concerns were definitely on my mind, but I was determined to enjoy the experience and give it a solid effort! The husband also assured me that we would be just fine. He himself hadn't run consistently in months, so if he was feeling confident, I knew we would both rock it!

Shaking off the jitters, we lined up according to estimated pace at the start line, which was located on the beautiful Roberto Clemente Bridge.

Start Line on the Roberto Clemente Bridge! 

The pre-race energy was fantastic and helped ease my nerves! They were playing music and the Pirate Parrot was running around being awesome like he always is! Soon we were finally off and running. Since the race was sold out this year, there were lots of runners, but I never really felt crowded on the course. The first mile is primarily on paved streets and then you go back in an area that almost has a "trail like" feel to it and reminds me of many local West Virginia running routes. On this part of the course it really doesn't even feel like you are running in a larger city. The course then travels along the river, which provides a gorgeous view! I love looking at things and taking in the scenery on my runs, so this is another reason why I enjoy this particular race course! We were feeling pretty good at this point and it wasn't until mile 2 that either of us started to feel tired. My back was starting to hurt a bit, especially after we had gone down a hill and then later up a hill. The finish line was close though, so we pushed through! Plus, the finish line for this race is extra special! Yay motivation! The final mile takes you past Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers (here we go, Steelers, here we go!) and back to paved streets before you head toward PNC Park and the finish.

As we made our way to the ballpark we entered PNC at right field and ran around the warning track to this finish line, which was of course at home plate! For all my Run Disney loves, finishing on the field at PNC Park is the "Magic Kingdom" portion of this race. Getting to run around the bases on the field of my beloved Buccos is ALMOST as awesome to me as running up Main Street  toward Cinderella's Castle! Again, ALMOST. At this point the excitement and awe of being on the field in the ballpark completely spiked my adrenaline and I put a surge in and charged to the finish. My petite stature makes it easy for me to zoom through people, so I unfortunately somehow lost the husband here as he couldn't get around some other runners. But, it's ok because we were almost done and had pretty much enjoyed the entire race together! Crossing the finish line felt great as my body was soooo ready to be done! It was awesome to hear the crowd in the stands cheering us on. The volunteers were fantastic with their cheers and help as well. After finishing the race, they do try to rush you off the field as soon as possible, which is kind of a bummer but understandable since they need to keep adequate room for all the runners. Since we were basically being pushed out of the park we hurried and snapped a few quick pics on the field before exiting.

Finished! 

The finishers party on Federal Street outside of the park was really fun. They have some of the weirdest post race food ever though. Hotdogs, Chic-Fila sandwiches, chips and cookies after a 5K?! While I try to be healthy, I certainly enjoy my fair share of non-healthy foods, but I still think it's odd to eat a hotdog right after finishing a 5K at 9 in the morning! I did grab us some cookies, chips, water and Powerade. Sorry, I can't just do a hot dog and chicken sandwich that early and I especially can't do it after running. Before going back to the hotel we took some pictures and enjoyed the finisher's party. As a whole, it was a great course, excellent weather and another fun experience! The finish line is worth doing this race alone. It's just so awesome getting to run on the field at PNC Park!

After the race we enjoyed the rest of our day in Pittsburgh. We celebrated my birthday and our 5K finish with a feast of German food at Hofbrauhaus. We met my old college roommate and her sister for our feast, which only added to the celebration! Ever heard of a food coma? Want one? Go to Hofbrauhaus! I can say we certainly did not come away from our 5K weekend in a calorie deficit! We ended the day by using our free race tickets to go to the Pirates game that evening. It was a good game, but sadly the Pirates lost. I blame this on that cheater Ryan Braun! Sorry Brewers fans, but it is what it is! Despite the loss, it was still a fun night at the ballpark with friends after a great race! We definitely plan to be back for the Pirates 5K Home Run next year if circumstances permit! 

If you would like more information on the Pirates Charities or the Pirates 5K Home Run, check it out here.