Sunday, April 30, 2017

Overzealous

This weekend was the St. Anthony's Triathlon here in St. Petersburg. I first learned about it last year, but wasn't able to attend as the entire month of April 2016 was kind of a shit storm for me. So I made it a point to get downtown yesterday morning to check it out. Yesterday's races were referred to as the "Meek and Mighty" races, and I noticed people of all ages, shapes, and abilities participating. I had no idea there was a mini-triathlon offered - I've only heard of a sprint triathlon, which is still a bit intimidating to me. But the Meek and Mighty race was shorter than a sprint:

  • Swim 200 yards (in the town swimming pool - NOT in the bay)
  • Bike 5.4 miles (some of the athletes were riding beach cruisers!)
  • Run 1 mile
Guys, I could totally do this! I've always thought about triathlon, but have never jumped in because I'm not a strong swimmer and I didn't want to shell out $$$ for a road bike. The bike I have now is great for commuting - it's not as leisurely as a beach cruiser, but not as competitive as a road bike. But I see I could easily fit in with the other Meek and Mighty competitors. So I'm adding this race to the bucket list.

There's also a relay option for the triathlon. My husband hates running, but he doesn't mind biking or swimming. I'm sure we could easily find a third not-so-competitive team member. So that's something that sounds really appealing too.

But this won't be happening in 2018. I've already got the Princess Half marathon scheduled for February, and plan on doing the Tinkerbell Half in May. I don't want to risk injury in April next year. Plus it's better for my budget if I wait until 2019. 

Still, watching some of the races yesterday was super inspiring, and the race expo is one of the best I've been to. While wandering around the vendors, Ben and I were intrigued by a tent labeled "St. Pete Run Fest." We learned this is an inaugural running event that is finally bringing a half marathon to St. Petersburg this November! We have our fair share of 5ks here, but it's been ages since a half marathon has been run here.

The organizers enticed us with discounted registration rates, complimentary tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, free sun visors, and images of the inaugural medal (it's a spinner!)

So I'm sure you see where this is going.

I signed up for a half marathon in November. (If you're wondering, I couldn't convince Ben to do the half with me, but I'm proud of him for signing up for the 5k.)

Shit. So here I thought I had ten months to train for a half.

And now I've only got six and a half.

This may sound like a long time to the average runner, but my followers know how I feel about preparation. There's just never enough time. 

When you accidentally sign up for a running race



Thursday, April 27, 2017

Episode 3: Return of the Blog

I'm a glutton for punishment.

Disney Half Marathon Run


Running and I are still not friends. But the Princess Half Marathon is on my bucket list, and next year is the 10th anniversary of the race, which means it's going to be a pretty big deal. It's also the 5th anniversary of the Fairy Tale Challenge. I can never sign up for just one race knowing doing two in a row gets you an awesome third medal.

I'm still mad at Running, though. Waiting for my apology. You've got a little time to think it over, Running, because the race isn't until next February. But you should know that this means I'm going to do whatever is in my power to also register for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland next May so that I can get the pink Coast to Coast challenge medal. So... you better start kissing up to me real fast.

Not a lot has happened since I shut down in January. My new project didn't take off the way I had hoped it might, although I did win a short story contest last week which gave me renewed hope in my writing ability. There's skill there when I really want there to be. But I have no expectation of Running this half marathon in under two hours. I've been sick for most of the month of April. Not like confined-to-bed sick, just lousy enough that it ruins any motivation I have to workout. Once my current cold clears up, I will still train as if I am aiming for sub-two, but there's a decent shot I'll be Running the Princess Half with a few friends of varied ability. I'll know more on Tuesday when general registration opens for the race.

Oh, I got to register early because I have a Walt Disney World Annual Pass. /bragging. But man, the process was super stressful today. The Annual Passholder site wasn't linking correctly to the registration page. And there is only a limited number of early registration slots, so when it didn't work, I got really agitated and immediately called runDisney. They tried to walk me through different options for 45 minutes (clear cookies, try typing in this URL, are you SURE you logged into your MyDisneyExperience account, etc.). I tried it on three different computers - my work laptop, my personal laptop, and my husband's laptop - to no avail. Finally, the customer service associate was informed that the link was broken (thank you, Captain Obvious), and asked me to try to register again in 30 minutes.

A brief moment of clarity came over me when I hung up the phone and I remembered I had bookmarked the early registration website after I had registered for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge last year. My bookmark worked! Registration complete. Thank goodness, because as of 2 hours after registration opened, the Passholder website still wasn't updated, and the early registration slots for the Fairy Tale Challenge appeared to be sold out. After perusing the runDisney Facebook page, I saw the rumor that the early registration sites were up for Disneyland Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members, which is quite the scandal for Disney if this is true. Disney's gain from blocking out WDW Passholders: Disneyland Passholders will have to spend more money for park tickets and hotels, and DVC members have already promised their first borns to Disney to pay for their membership. And it's not like anybody at the call center was telling callers what the actual registration link was - they were just redirecting us back to the site with the broken link. Whether this was intentional or not, a lot of WDW Passholders were left out of registration, and are really unhappy. I would hope they'd offer another shot to their most loyal customers, but more than likely, they'll have to register on Tuesday with everyone else. And it's going to be tough... this is Disney's most popular race, and to be the 10th anniversary makes it even a bigger draw!

But I've got my spot and I'm committed. So it's time to change the rules to ensure I've got a better shot at improving - no more backsliding. After all, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results = insanity. Here are my new rules:

  • I eat what I want. (Granted, what I usually want has changed very recently.)
  • I exercise how I want. (This includes walking, jogging, speedwork, crossfit, and spin class.)
  • I write when I want. (No more compulsive daily posts.)  

Sound good? Good.