Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween brings up a thought for me.... costumes.  Specifically, running costumes.  Now I've never worn a costume during my run.  The closest thing I wore was the Princess Half Marathon ears they sold last year.

Now, things might be changing.  I might be wearing an Ariel themed costume for the 2012 Princess Half Marathon.  I'm thinking about finding a red top and a purple/green skirt. Disney has a cute Ariel skirt for kids, but there's no way I'll fit into the largest skirt.  So I'm still looking and debating on what I want to do.

I've seen some really great costumes in my runs before.  There was one group dressed as the characters from Snow White (Snow, Evil Queen, and the Mirror).  I've seen Frog Princes, lots of Princesses (including guys dressed as princesses), and other fun costumes.  One girl last year at the Princess Half had her hair braided and tied like Rapunzel and then had the chameleon wrapped up in her hair.  It was pretty great.

Maybe when costumes go on sale I can find a good mermaid one to run in... I'll guess we'll just have to see...

Weekly Report 10/29

Running definitely helped me escape some of the stresses of life this morning.  Yesterday wasn't the best (nor the worst) day, but it definitely had me scrambling around.  This morning I was able to run and forget  about everything that was going on.

The run itself actually felt pretty good.  The worst part was that while it's overcast and rainy, it's still not that cold.  I made the mistake of wearing my running tights a bit early this year so it made me a little hot, but I was able to get through my run, especially when I was running in an open area and it cooled down a bit thanks to the wind.

So, let's round up how many points I would have gotten this week if the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge had started (it's starts November 19).
Tuesday- 2.17 Miles= 2 Points
Saturday- 3.38 Miles= 3 Points
Saturday- 25 minutes of Stretching= 1 point

New Inspiration

This week I have noticed I am missing a key component to my training... motivation.  I haven't had much to inspire me to run, and thus I have been sleep in a lot of mornings instead of running.  I did get in one run, but I also had a late start to work that day.

Part of the lack of motivation comes from not having a lot of races.  I still don't know Orlando too well and so I haven't really been looking for 5Ks and other races in the area.  When I used to swim it seemed like I had a race every few weeks (if not every week during the height of the season) and when I competed in triathlons I tried to get one race a month during the season.  I actually remember one year when I was competing in both triathlons and swimming when I went for 2-2.5 weeks without a break because I either had a meet that weekend or a triathlon on my normal day off.

I think another part of my lack of motivation is me... I'm just in one of those slumps where I don't want to worry about training right now.  It was a busy and somewhat crazy week at work and next week plans on being worse.  I'm still trying to figure out when I will be able to run next week because my schedule is so different.  

However, even with all of these road bumps there is some good news.  I found a new reason to be inspired.  

I was reading through Christy's blog at My Dirt Road Anthem and she mentioned that she had signed up for the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge hosted by Run To The Finish.  You can find out all of the details and even sign up at the event's main page here.  

I've signed up as a Doer, considering I'm just training for the half and no longer training for any triathlons or full marathons.  One of the things I really liked about the challenge was that you could earn points by cross training, which as you guys know I like to dabble in from time to time.

So I start the challenge either this afternoon or tomorrow... I'll be posting how many points I earn each week and the running totals on a post every Saturday.  I think this is just what I needed to get into the training mood I've been lacking all week...

Right On Track...

Surprisingly I'm still on track with my training for the Princess Half.  This morning I got out before the sun was starting to rise and got a pretty good 4.3 miles in.  I got one decent cramp in my side around 2.5 miles, but I walked for a bit and then got back into the run.

This week was supposed to be 2x30 min runs and then a 4 miler.  Well, I got 1x30 min run in and this 4+ mile run so I think I'm pretty good right now.  Tomorrow I'm planning on doing another circuit workout and then I'll run on Monday again (another 30 min run).

Right now my pace has also improved and I feel good running.  Overall it was a really good run and I was happy with what I did.  Now I'm waiting to see how my legs feel tonight and tomorrow...

Eventually I'll Get There...

In one of my past posts I mentioned how I missed my distance goal on Nike+.  Well I eventually hit it.

I'm guessing I hit it on my small run yesterday (I only did about 2 miles), but I did eventually get it.  That's what I've come to learn one of the most important things about training is... you have to stick with it.  If you keep pushing yourself, you'll be able to reach your goals.  It might take some time, sometimes longer than you expect, but eventually you'll hit your goals.

That's exactly what happened to me.  Life got in the way and I didn't hit my goal in the time expected, but I kept at it and I've now hit it.  I'll make another goal closer to the Princess Half Marathon, but for now I'll run with the Galloway system and I'll be happy with that.

Back To Strength Training

I was able to get out and run yesterday.  I was originally planning on running on the treadmill, but I could not get into the gym.  I went pretty early and for some reason the code I had would not work... It frustrated me to no end, but I eventually went back to my apartment, dumped my extra keys, and took off running on the streets.

It ended up being a really nice day to run.  Check out the awesome sunrise:

So I got a 30 min run in, which is the base for Jeff Galloway training plan.  It went relatively well.  My ankles are starting to act up, but hopefully that'll pass soon enough.  The good news is that the pain was isolated to the run and didn't stay with me the rest of the day.

So today was a running rest day, but I eventually got out of bed and popped in one of my Jillian Michael's DVDs.  May I say how sorry I am for not keeping up with those?  I even went back a week from where I had left off and it still hurt more than I thought!  It was definitely a good workout though and I'm sorry I've fallen off for more reasons than just the lack of fitness.  Luckily, today made me realize how much I needed to work on so that's helping my determination...

Tomorrow's another run day, but considering it's my day off I might try and hit the gym (when the normal doors are open) and get some weight/machine work done.  Plus, I really need to keep up with the calorie burning considering it is getting close to Halloween and candy is all around.  Plus, it is National Dessert Day so I just have to celebrate that...

Getting Back Into It

I just had a weekend with my parents, which I knew would be the final vacation from running before I got back into training.  I did run during their visit, but only once and only for just over 2 miles.

Those 2+ miles was a lot of fun though because I got to run through the Epcot Resort area (Boardwalk Hotel, Beach and Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin Hotel).  It was nice running along the waterway and next to the pools.  Without all of the cars and busyness of real life, it just makes the run that much more peaceful.  It was also really nice to have a banana nut muffin waiting for me afterwards.

So the visit was great and we ate... a lot.  So yes, I gained some weight during the week, but really not that much.  Seriously, I thought I would gain more, but I didn't.  I still need to drop the weight and then some, but this is a constant battle.  It always has been a fight for me and I know it more than likely always will be.

On top of the visit, I've caught a cold and so now I have that to fight as well.  I'm already feeling better and I think yesterday was the worst of it.  Still, it sucks feeling sick and I definitely feel weaker when I'm working out.

So, hopefully by the end of the week I have my eating under control, this cold gone, and my training somewhat back on track.  I'm going to be keeping an eye on the Jeff Galloway training plan for the Princess Half Marathon as a guideline for where my training.  It started last week, but luckily it started at my base so I really didn't miss much.

Good Luck Food and Wine Runner!

Tonight I will be resting and getting some sleep before heading into work tomorrow morning.  However, that is not the case for a lot of people.  Yes, most people aren't heading to work tomorrow considering it's Sunday, but that's not the group I'm talking about.  I'm talking about all those runners running the Food and Wine Half Marathon here at Disney World!

I have a few friends running the race tonight and I wish them all the luck.  The course looks pretty interesting and I'm thinking about doing it next year.  So, good luck to those running the race tonight and have fun at the after party!

They did pick a great weekend for the race.  Not only are there all the fun activities associated with the race, but you also have the opening weekend of Food and Wine.  I walked around it today and there was a lot of interesting and good looking food.  I had a lobster roll from the America Pavilion that was really good.

It is also Walt Disney World's 40th birthday!  I trekked over to Magic Kingdom this morning for all the festivities.  There were special shirts and other merchandise pieces, but they all went pretty quick.  I think the shirts were sold out in like 5 minutes!  They also had special event cupcakes for purchase.  When you entered the park you could get a special button, they had special park maps, and they had a special show and parade.  I was able to get right in front of the castle so I had a great view of the whole thing and it was pretty cool.  A few stories, music from the Disney World Marching Band and Dapper Dans, as well as all of the characters.  It was a great morning!

Again, good luck to all of the runners!  I'm sure the race will be a great one!