Super Heroes Half Marathon Ranking

I need to jot some notes here about the Avengers half marathon before it all escapes my memory. Has it already been two weeks since I last ran? Geez, life. Slow down a bit, would you?

So I ran it faster than I did the Star Wars Dark Side half in April, but I don't attribute it to any improvement in ability. I just had a better idea of what I was capable of this time around, and didn't hold anything back when the starting gun sounded. Also, I walked away from this race uninjured. Er... I didn't feel any more pain than usual lingering from April's stress fracture. Hurray for achieving the most underwhelming goal I've ever set for myself.

Here's my new ranking of half marathons I've raced, updated from last May:

6: Star Wars Dark Side Challenge: Orlando, FL

I expended a ton of physical and emotional energy in trying to assure this race would be my best ever, only to end up with my worst time. And an injury that still haunts me. This race made me realize that the Disney World races are just not as cool as the Disneyland races. Disney World is so big that in order to get you from the start to the finish in 13.1 miles, you get to spend very little race time in each of the parks - most of the course is on overpasses in between the parks. Disneyland is small enough that you get to spend significant race time in the parks, AND the city of Anaheim participates in a big way too (see #1 and #3 below).

And all of mile 11 at Disney World was uphill. Not cool, Disney.

When I last created these rankings, I predicted that the Avengers Half at Disneyland - no matter what happened - would be better than the Dark Side Half. And I was right.

5: Rock and Roll Half: Philadelphia, PA

My time of 2:02 was decent enough, but I was so freaking bored. This race had no loops or clover leafs, and city roads were closed off, which made it impossible for race supporters to cheer you on. It was great to see my husband at mile 3-ish, but I really could have used a familiar face around miles 10-12. There was also a killer hill at the end. Dislike.

3 (TIE): Wine and Dine Half: Orlando, FL AND Avengers Half: Anaheim, CA

So here's the deal... The Wine and Dine Half was awesome not so much for the race itself, but for the incredible after-party. The ability to take over Epcot until the wee hours of the morning (4am) made it all worthwhile, and got me thinking I might even be able to do a full marathon if it was at Disney. BUT since I did this race in 2013, Disney has made some changes. The Wine and Dine Half is no longer a night race. So if you had to choose one over the other in the future, I would say the Avengers Half is now going to be the better race.

The Avengers course was fun, especially for all of those super photogenic people that got to take their pictures with Spiderman, Hawkeye, and Thor. I actually don't own a single photo from the race, and can't even find a race GoPro video like I have in the past, so enjoy this photo I stole from the Disney Photopass site:

Disneyland is a much smaller resort than Disney World - so you get to run the first 6 miles through the parks, and then you are out in the streets of Anaheim. Mile 9 brought us into Angels Stadium, and we got to run across the baseball field as a DJ announced our names over the stadium speakers. And - because I had run the Dr. Strange 10k the day before AND ran a half marathon at Disney World in Orlando in the same calendar year - I walked away from this race with FOUR medals!!

The only reason this race doesn't earn a higher ranking from me is because it now holds my second worst race record ever.

2: Unite Half Marathon: Piscataway, NJ

This was my first half marathon - decently priced, close to home, and had a great course that clover-leafed around the starting line so I had lots of spectator support throughout the race (thanks to my father and stepmother). My family also were easily able to get to the finish line through some back roads. This race gets a bump too because it holds my best record.

1: Star Wars Half Marathon: Anaheim, CA

Shocking, right? Like I mentioned about the Super Heroes Half, races at Disneyland keep you in the parks for the first 6 miles, and then you are out running the streets of Anaheim. We didn't get to run through Angels Stadium for this race, but it didn't matter - the entertainment was even better once we left the park. High school marching bands and cheerleaders lined the streets, along with members of the 501st. I don't know if this has been the case every year, or maybe the one I did was extra special because it was the inaugural race. If you ran it in 2016, let me know if it was just as cool!

People show up in the best costumes at these Star Wars races. There were certainly some good costumes at the Super Heroes half (including a girl dressed as my hero, Quicksilver), I think the Star Wars races bring out a whole different breed of running nerds that set the bar pretty high.

So there you have it. Six half marathons in the books. Maybe that's enough for one lifetime.

Where's my dinner?

Breaking news - Starbucks is finally offering almond milk beverages! Of course the northeast gets it first, we'll have to wait here in Florida until the end of September. My only regret in moving here from New Jersey. I don't know what the specific ingredients are for their almond milk yet, but I'm really hoping it will give me a Whole 30 compliant latte option.

Last night, my crossfit gym brought in a local pre-made meals company, Fia's Paleo. I'm always more inclined to workout if someone is making me dinner afterwards. I did my WOD and then dined on the samples they brought - apple barbecue pulled pork, almond flour fried chicken, and sweet potatoes.

So good. The meals are about $8-10 each, which is about in line with other meal services I've looked into from Groupon deals or Living Social. The key difference is that the delivery fees are much cheaper with Fia's since they drop everything off at the gym instead of delivering to your house.

I've never pulled the trigger on these pre-made meal services before because of price. I can totally make my own almond flour fried chicken, thankyouverymuch. The only thing is... I don't. I like easy. I like fast. So I stick to the things that get me through the entire shopping/preparing/cooking/eating experience as quickly as possible. 

But like I've said before - I love routine until I hate it. I'm thinking about maybe adding one or two pre-made meals to my meal plan for the week to shake things up a bit. Let me know if you use any pre-made meal services in the comments - which ones and if you'd recommend them or not.

Alternatively, I can save on the delivery fees and just pick up dinner at a place called Fresh Kitchen nearby. It's about the same price, and they'll make you a bowl with 2 bases (things like rice or quinoa, but I can get greens and sweet potato noodles), 1 veggie (their brussel sprouts are the best), a protein, and a sauce. 

I've got options. Options are good, unless I find myself falling victim to decision fatigue. Tonight, I get to break up my routine because a friend is visiting her parents in Naples, so my husband and I are meeting up with her for dinner before she heads back to New Jersey tomorrow. 

The Star Wars Dark Side Weekend registration opened yesterday. The 10k option sold out (the 10ks always go first) but the half marathon and challenge runs are still open in case anybody is interested. Of the two Star Wars themed races, the Light Side at Disneyland is the better race, but if you can't swing it because of time of year or distance to travel, the Dark Side is certainly worthy. But watch out for all of the Star Wars "extras" you might feel compelled to buy.

My new cell phone case. It says my name in "Star Warsian", or so I've been told.

Younger Self

Yesterday, I was participating in a phone meeting at work and someone was breathing on the line way too loudly, to the point where I was having trouble hearing the individual speaking. So I used my workplace instant messenger to ping a co-worker who was in the same meeting to find out if I was the only one irritated by the heavy breathing. She and I often exchange somewhat inappropriate messages during these meetings, so I thought nothing of typing in the following message:

"OMG, who is breathing like Darth Vader?"

All of a sudden, the breathing stopped. And then I knew... it must have been her! I was mortified that I had offended her, so I quickly typed out a follow up:

"Better now, but that was really distracting for a minute."

"I think it was me!" she wrote back. "I was walking around for a minute and not on mute."

I gave her a laughing emoji and wrote "OK, just don't do the force choke on me."

But she didn't write back. I don't think she got it.

I have to remember not everyone is hip to the Star Wars.

I also have to remember, doesn't matter how friendly I am with people at work... sometimes, it's just better to keep my mouth shut. Nobody ever got in trouble for being professional.

Anyway, on the Star Wars front, the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side Challenge registration opens next Tuesday. No, I will not be registering. But let me know in the comments if you are registering and I'll come cheer you on.

I'm still not really sure where running fits in my life anymore. I've taken a few treadmill runs over the last month because I still need to be able to run the Avengers Half in November.  But there's not a lot of motivation for me to get out there, especially after I read this article that informed me it becomes increasingly less likely I'm ever going to run a sub 2 half marathon with every year that passes.

Bummer. How timely I get to read that in the same month I'll be celebrating my... 21st... birthday.

But can I just drop it, walk away from a lifetime goal, and forget about ever running a sub 2 half? Maybe. At the end of the day, if given the choice between going for a run or taking a walk with my level 20 Flareon to take over some gyms, Pokémon Go always wins. Or Crossfit. Or rollerblading with my 60-year-old mother (yes, I am doing that tonight, and it was her idea, not mine).

Maybe I'll find inspiration in the Olympics over the next two weeks. Maybe I'll be inspired by my continuing success with Never Binge Again. Or maybe I'll just continue being content with not really being a runner right now.

Drive

I think I've lost my mojo.

I'm just not feeling any compulsion to do any of the classic "Nicole" stuff lately. I had a great time in Colorado since I last wrote, had some more adventures at Disney yesterday, but... meh.

I don't want to write.

I don't want to run.

And I don't feel guilty for not wanting to do either of these things. Weird.

I didn't early register for the runDisney Princess Half Marathon two weeks ago. That used to be a "bucket list" race. I love runDisney. And one of the perks of living in Florida now is that I can do these races without having to fly anywhere to do them (disregard my desire this year to earn a "Coast to Coast" challenge medal - attainable only by running a half marathon at Disney World and a half marathon at Disneyland in the same calendar year - and my subsequent registration for the Avengers Half Marathon in California in November).

Also, a perk of being a Disney annual passholder is the ability to register a week earlier than everybody else for runDisney races. I'm not known to pass up on perks.

But I let the early registration date pass.

Then I let the regular registration date pass.

So, no. I'm not going to be running the Princess Half Marathon.

And I'm feeling really apathetic about the runDisney race I am registered for right now.

I don't even feel the need to analyze why I'm feeling this way, as I've done so heavily in the past.

But let's do a little analysis anyway.  Maybe it will help my old self return.

1. Pokémon Go. I've gotta catch 'em all. There's no time for running when I've got to strategize Team Instinct's rise to glory.
2. Altitude sickness. I woke up every morning with a sore throat in Colorado and chalked it up to being well above sea level. But nah, I really was sick. Still fighting off the cold even now that I'm home.

Honestly, though, these two things aren't to blame. They certainly aren't helping, but I've been feeling pretty indifferent about what used to be a lifetime goal even before I left for my short vacation and before the game was even released in the App Store.

I know the real reason. And for the first time, I don't want to publicly share. Because maybe this is only a phase. Maybe it's not permanent. And maybe I'll be back to doing typical "Nicole" things tomorrow.

Don't misunderstand. I am very content with life right now. I'm ok with not caring.

It's just... while I know why I'm feeling a lack of interest about the race, I'm not sure I understand why I'm ok not caring about it.

SORE

Just so you know, there's no DOMS after doing Crossfit.

No, the soreness comes pretty much immediately. I could barely reach up into my cupboards to grab a mug to make coffee after my workout yesterday. 

Man, I missed Crossfit.

As I mentioned yesterday, I used to go to CF pretty regularly when I lived in NJ in 2014. I loved the energy, the people, and the sense of accomplishment I got after every workout.

What I didn't love was that I was often sidelined with injuries for weeks at a time. Hips. Shoulders. Knee problems. At the time, I had fantastic health insurance that covered me for chiropractor visits, but even with popping in and out for adjustments, I just couldn't seem to heal quickly enough to get back in the game. 

Finally, in November 2014, I called it quits from CF. I couldn't risk any more injuries that might screw me over for my inaugural Star Wars Rebel Challenge 10k and half marathon at Disneyland in 2015.

Clearly, I had been doing my WODs (Workout of the Day) incorrectly. Or maybe my inflammatory diet and disordered eating patterns caused my problems. But I missed CF, and decided to give it another shot right after I moved to Florida last year. 

There were two things I took as clear signs my local gym and I were meant to be:

1. The owners, who are about our age, grew up in the same region of Pennsylvania my husband did, so we built some rapport right off the bat.
2. The WOD on the day I tried it out happened to be "Nicole." (There are some standard CF workouts named after girls and others named after military heroes). And, coincidentally, Nicole involves a lot of running. Nicole isn't easy, but I'm just glad she's not evil like Fran.

I did my one-week free trial at my local gym but then chickened out from joining. I knew I'd be registering for the Star Wars Dark Side Challenge, and I had visions of spending every other month injured again. (It worked out that I didn't join, anyway, when I was forced to move across the bay to Tampa for a while).

But I've convinced myself things will be different now. I'm going to work with the coaches as closely as possible to keep myself off the DL. I'm only going to go twice a week, max (before, I was going 3x or more each week). And I'm really paying attention to what I eat.

So we'll see how it goes for the next three months, but I've got high hopes.

Today's exercise: Spin. (Don't raise your eyebrows at me. Just because my arms hurt doesn't mean my legs can't work!)

Next steps... or lack thereof.

It's been exactly four weeks since the Dark Side Half, and the only thing I've done at this point to prepare for the Avengers Half Marathon is to watch the latest Captain America movie.

And the only thing that's really done is reinforced how much I love Ant-Man.

I do enjoy me some Marvel movies. Not as much as Star Wars, of course, but pretty dang close. I blame Disney.

The Marvel/Disney relationship is a strange one. X-Men comes out later this month, to which I wondered Disney's strategy for releasing two Marvel movies at practically the same time. After doing some research, I learned Disney doesn't actually own the X-Men.

Which makes sense to me now, because I knew there was no way that a family-oriented franchise like Disney could have been involved with Deadpool.

And I also knew that Disney doesn't own Spider-Man... yet Spider-Man makes an appearance in the new Captain America movie.

And, unlike the thirty other Spider-Man movies, I actually like this Spider-Man.

Ok, you see right through what I'm doing here. I'm rambling all things Marvel now in order to avoid the topic of my still injured foot and my inability to run. I did finally get off my ass to go to spin class with my mother this morning. It's been ages since I did that, and it didn't hurt my foot so much.

Given how long it's taking to heal, I'm going to assume I must have a stress fracture.

I finally picked a local doctor here in Florida, and have my first appointment tomorrow. I actually had made the appointment to speak with him about other things, but hopefully he can get to my foot too.

Commute

This week marked the first time I had to commute to my old office in New Jersey since I moved to Florida last July.

Commuting is good for nothing except rocking out to Britney Spears and NSync. I never said "bye bye bye" to that teeny bopper phase...

I am not looking to give back 90 minutes each day to sitting in traffic, but I did find it helpful for gathering my thoughts and remembering things I forgot to mention on my last post regarding the Dark Side Challenge.

Another reason Disneyland races are so much better than Disney World races? Time zone change. I had to be up at 3am each day of the Dark Side Challenge to hop a bus to get to the starting line on time. Sure, we had to be up early at Disneyland too for the Rebel Challenge... but 3am at Disneyland is 6am here, so I was awake and ready to go anyway. And all of the hotels at Disneyland are walkable to the starting line, so you don't have to hop a bus to get there.

But I do have to give credit in one area to Orlando over Anaheim for runDisney races. Disney World has fireworks at the starting line, which is pretty awesome. They set them off as each corral starts. Disneyland can't have them, I think because of how dry it is there.

I started watching Dark Side Challenge Go Pro videos on YouTube to see if I could randomly find myself like I did after last year's Rebel Challenge. There are so many more Go Pros for this race, I'm not sure I'll ever get through them all, but here's my first find (9:20):




I can't tell if I'm in this next one or not. My neon pink compression leg sleeves usually make me easy to spot, so I'm going to say I'm not in it... but I know this guy was definitely nearby me at the end of the race. He started one corral behind me (he was in "E" and I was in "D") and there are some key things that happen in his video that I remember seeing on the course. I'll take another look and let you know, but in the meantime sharing it here because it:

A. Is one of the better Go Pro videos out there - it only makes you slightly nauseous while others out there are totally going to make you ralph;
B. Gives a pretty good overview of the half marathon if you've got the time or patience to watch 42 minutes of it. At least just watch the first few minutes for the fireworks.

New Rankings

I have to change my half marathon rankings, last shared in October 2015. Now that I have a 5th one under my belt, where does the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon fit in?

Dead. Freakin. Last.

5: Star Wars Dark Side Challenge: Orlando, FL

I expended a ton of physical and emotional energy in trying to assure this race would be my best yet, only to end up with my worst time. And an injury that still has me sidelined 3 weeks later. I also realized that the Disney World races are just not as cool as the Disneyland races. Disney World is so big that in order to get you from the start to the finish in 13.1 miles, you get to spend very little race time in each of the parks - most of the course is on overpasses in between the parks. Disneyland is small enough that you get to spend significant race time in the parks, AND the city of Anaheim participates in a big way too (see #1 below).

And all of mile 11 was uphill. Not cool, Disney.

Like I said before, I hate the Dark Side. At least I know - no matter what happens at the Super Heroes Half at Disneyland in November - it will be better than the Dark Side Half.

And here are the rest, copied from the post I linked to above:

4: Rock and Roll Half: Philadelphia, PA
My time of 2:02 was decent enough, but I was so freaking bored. This race had no loops or clover leafs, and city roads were closed off, which made it impossible for race supporters to cheer you on. It was great to see my husband at mile 3-ish, but I really could have used a familiar face around miles 10-12. There was also a killer hill at the end. Dislike.

3: Wine and Dine Half: Orlando, FL
The Wine and Dine Half was awesome not so much for the race itself, but for the incredible after-party. The ability to take over Epcot until the wee hours of the morning (4am) made it all worthwhile, and got me thinking I might even be able to do a full marathon if it was at Disney. It's not that the run was awful, but there were a lot of boring stretches on overpasses. I didn't have my iPod with me, so the lack of music made this even more difficult. This race holds my second worst record.

2: Unite Half Marathon: Piscataway, NJ
This was my first half marathon - decently priced, close to home, and had a great course that clover-leafed around the starting line so I had lots of spectator support throughout the race (thanks to my father and stepmother). My family also were easily able to get to the finish line through some back roads. This race gets a bump too because it holds my best record.

1: Star Wars Half Marathon: Anaheim, CA
Shocking, right? The thing about races at Disneyland is that it's a much smaller resort than Disney World - so at the end of mile 6, you are out of the parks and into the streets of wonderful Anaheim, CA. Yet the entertainment gets even better once you are out of the park. Local bands and high schools line the streets along with members of the 501st. I also enjoy the fact that one week after the race, I randomly found a Star Wars Highlights Go Pro on You Tube - and found myself at min 2:24 (Yup, I'm the one in the long sleeves wearing my favorite headband):

Victories...almost.

The Dark Side Half Marathon isn't going to be a race I remember fondly. But there were two things I took a little bit of pride in that I have not achieved in other races.

• Negative splits... almost. In the four other half marathons I've run, I had to practically crawl across the finish line. During this half, I was able to run each mile at the same pace or faster until the very end. I believe I could have hit a pace in the 8 min/mile range for my last mile, except the course narrowed for a while onto a dirt path, creating a slower bottleneck that was tough to get around. Still, I was in shock at how good I felt after the race. Usually I'm left wondering how a half marathon is half of anything. Makes me think I should have tried to run a little bit faster during some of those earlier miles.
  
  
• Running the entire race...almost. In 4 of 5 half marathons I've done, I began losing steam after mile 9 or 10. I'd always finish out my race using some form of the run/walk method, even in my first and fastest half marathon. This time, I didn't need to walk at all... except through ONE water station. That doesn't really count, right? I just haven't mastered the ability to drink water and keep running yet. You can see exactly where that was below:

Good stuff, right?

So now I've just got to get faster for the Avengers Half. And I know I can do it because I just had six months of experimentation to figure it out. I know what I need to do. I'm not going to lose time messing around with faulty heart rate monitors this time like I did last time. I have to throw in more sprints and faster runs in my training. And I have to build some strength.

But shaving off two minutes per mile in the next six months still sounds a bit daunting. And kicking my training off with an injury doesn't bode well.

Undercover Boss

Today marked my first attempt at running since the Star Wars Half. It didn't go very well. Although there's no longer visible bruising on my right foot, there's still pain. It's been almost two weeks since I ran last, and really would have expected to be healed by now. So it will be a while before I'm going to attempt running again - I can't risk further injury, as I'm going to need all the time I can get to be ready for the Avengers Half in November.

I'm wondering if I might have been better served going back to work instead of going on a cruise right after the race, as at least I'm keeping weight off my feet when I'm working. Most people equate cruising with putting your feet up by the pool, but I get way too excited about all of the activities onboard Disney Cruise Line so I usually end up running all over the ship. Rest assured... there was plenty of hot tub time too... I just ended up being on my feet more than I usually am during a typical week.

So let's get to costumes from the race, since that was one of the highlights I mentioned yesterday. I have two favorites, but let me be clear - I respect anybody that can run these races in costume. It's hard enough to run 13.1 miles to begin with - but to run holding lightsabers and wearing face paint? No thank you.

Unfortunately, Disney banned full masks this year, so no full Chewbacca costumes were seen on the course. But I saw plenty of Ewoks, Jedi, and even one Darth Maul.

My two faves:

1. "Matt." I saw my first "Matt" while waiting in line for the bathroom before the 10k, but I didn't really scrutinize his costume all that closely. Just looked like a dude in a blonde wig and orange security vest. My husband started laughing and pointed the guy out to me, saying "I just figured out his costume." That's when I took a good look and recognized the Kylo Ren Undercover Boss SNL parody. So clever.



2. Barf. While I saw quite a few "Matts" over the course of the two days, I only saw one Barf during the half marathon. Bravo, friend.

Maybe after I hit a sub 2 half, I'll think about running a race in costume. But no fun allowed until I reach my goal.

Today's exercise: 4ish mile painful run

The good

I've gotten the bad and the ugly out of the way. Back to regularly scheduled programming.


Even though I have to live the rest of my life with a new worst half marathon record, I can’t say I didn’t have fun during the Dark Side Challenge. So here are the non-running related highlights. Some of these photos are going to be Disney watermarked, but #sorrynotsorry... not paying an arm and a leg for really unflattering photos of me.


Tangent: Anybody else think it should be a crime to take photos of people running a half marathon? I mean come on. Really.

• Running with my husband: It’s so rare that I run with him. I’m much too competitive. We stopped for photos at a few of the mile markers, and hammed it up as much as we could for the course photographers. I think he appreciated having the company, except when he’d suggest a walk break and I’d push him to run just a little farther than he wanted.

At Mile 2 during the 10k

• Disney's attention to detail: Even the mile markers were way fun, although I think they really had to reach for 13 villains to display for the half marathon.

We will finish what we started.

• The costumes: I could probably dedicate an entire post to this. In fact, I will at some point.
• Meeting Phasma… I’m convinced Gwendoline Christie was in this suit. And if it wasn’t really her, this WDW character should get a pay raise. Spot on.

I'm a little short for a stormtrooper.

• …and Darth Vader. The original baddie. Space Lord Voldemort.

This will definitely make an appearance as our family Christmas card in the future.

I have a few running related highlights, but saving those for another day.

Do or Do Not.

There's a lot of "Life" being thrown at me right now. I'm struggling to decide what to tell the world about first.

This is the post I never thought I’d be writing when I started blogging in September. I don’t want to write it. But with each passing day, I’m forgetting details, so I guess I'll get it started and perhaps one day I’ll work up the courage to hit “publish” on this.

No surprises, but the Dark Side Half Marathon falls squarely in the “Do Not” category.

Spoiler alert: It wasn't all bad. I'm just going to save the good... and the ugly... for another day.

But for now... I hate the Dark Side. Definitely following the path to the light from here on out.
 
I did, in fact, log a new half marathon record: Worst. Half. Ever.

By a solid 14 minutes.

It’s not like this caught me by surprise. I knew it was coming. Still, I found myself getting a little choked up every time my Garmin alerted me another slow mile had passed. At the mile 11 marker, I saw the race clock at the exact time I would have needed to cross the finish line to achieve my sub 2 goal.

Yes, there were some tears. This was not the way it was supposed to have happened.

I had been doing the math the entire race, but having the visual confirmation of my impending failure really stung, especially since I had 2.1 miles left to go and knew at that point I’d be clocking the slowest half marathon of my life.

When I ran the Star Wars Rebel Challenge last year, I raced the 10k the day before and still managed to move the needle in the right direction for my half (2:07 compared to 2:10 for Wine and Dine, the race that previously held the honor of being my worst). I didn’t even bother to race the Dark Side 10k on Saturday morning this time around, opting instead to “wog” with my husband. So technically, I should have had more "juice" to race my half this time. It just didn't work out that way. I hate that I've lost so much "ability" in just over a year's time.

I also hobbled away with a fantastic new injury, so my running shoes have been collecting dust since the race. Here’s your warning – the following is not for the squeamish. Doing my best to publish this below the fold, so you have time to detour to Facebook or something where you’ll find happier photos of me.

EWWWWW. That is a gross swollen purple foot.

Photo was taken the day after the race. It's looking much better a week later, but still not 100% healed. I'd say send positive vibes to my foot so that I can pick up training for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge, but I need positive vibes to go elsewhere right now.

See you on the Dark Side

Today - run around like crazy wrapping up work projects, clean up to prepare for guests, drop the dog off at Grandma's house, pack, squeeze in a short run and a manicure (self-care is a must!) and get a free cup of coffee at Wawa.

Tomorrow - Off to Orlando.




The thing I'm most surprised by at this point? Not meeting anybody else who is running this race! Where are all of my fellow Star Wars/runDisney/running geeks?

Well, if you are running it and happen to see me, feel free to say hi.

That's all she wrote.

Today's exercise: 2 mile treadmill run @ 15 min/mile

Stay calm, stay calm.

Alright, running friends, who else will admit to compulsively checking weather forecasts hourly in the week leading up to a race? Weather.com has become my new best friend over the last day.

PM thunderstorms on Friday will bum me out, for sure - only because it will mess with my poolside plans. But the real concern here are Saturday and Sunday mornings, when the races occur.

I've actually lucked out weather-wise with every single race I've registered for over my adult running career. The only one that was close to being ruined because of weather was my very first half marathon, which was April 22nd, 2012. This is what I posted to Facebook 48 hours before the race - you can see I was agonizing over having to run my first half marathon in a downpour:

That wall of green was coming my way for race day.

Sidenote: Just realized I'm coming up on the four-year anniversary of my first half marathon! Oh, to be able to go back in time and meet my old self at the starting line to give her a heads up as to how close she'd come to hitting a sub 2 half. She would have made it happen. One less walk break? Just kick in a super sprint at the last mile? Wonder how things would be different today if I'd have hit the sub 2 way back then.

Luckily, the rain held off until the race was over. Which meant it remained overcast and cool for the two hours I was on the course - couldn't ask for anything better than that!

So this weekend's forecast gives me just a little anxiety. The humidity is a bit high-ish, but I can manage. I'm leery of those PM showers on Saturday... if they don't roll through until later than expected, that could impact the half marathon Sunday as it starts at 5:30am.

Of course, if the race were canceled, it's hard to say how disappointed I'd actually be. I mean, it would be like I'd get a free do-over.

Today's exercise: Unplanned rest

On pride

"This is not how I thought this day was going to go."

Sorry Han. Here's hoping it doesn't get as bad for me as it got for you.

In less than one week, I will have completed the Star Wars Half Marathon. And it's not going to go how I thought it might when I started the blog back in September.

I will not be doing it in under 2 hours. In fact, it's likely I'll be recording my slowest race time ever.

Between preparing for my upcoming race and hearing that I have a lot of work to do if I wish to keep my front teeth, I'm taking a lot of blows to my ego this week... which was fragile enough to begin with.

But you know what? I have NO regrets. Bring it on, public failure.

You think failing privately would have made me feel any better?

Imma survive this. Every day, I actively make a choice to post. I choose to share this. I could have kept it all to myself. I could have never started the blog. And I could have stopped writing when I knew I wasn't going to achieve my goal.

The truth is that I've realized everyone is starring in their own movie, and I'm just an extra. Does anybody care if the extra runs a sub 2 half marathon? Hell no.

There was never a real risk to my pride, right? And look at everything I gained out of putting myself out there. A Jedi Master reached out to coach me off the run, eat, repeat cycle. I have six months worth of detailed notes that can help me figure things out for the next half marathon. And I started out thinking I'd have to quit running at some point if I ever wanted to get healthy, and learned that just isn't true.

Oh, and for those who have been with me for a while, remember this post? The one about New Year's Resolutions and having more fun? I think my real failure here is lack of keeping up with the fun.

So I'm going to do whatever it takes to have fun at my races (remember, there are actually two, even though I've been so focused on the half marathon only) next weekend.

And then I'm going to have to figure out what I want to do with this blog afterwards. I'll be taking at least a week off for vacation, but it's TBD what happens after that. I know I'll have to update my "Start Here" page. Not sure what else the future holds in terms of updates.

Today's exercise: Rest

It's the Final Countdown

Imma just put this here:


I can't believe I'm one week away from checking into my room at Disney's Yacht Club Resort and making my way over to the race expo for packet pick-up. I can not wait to see what we're getting for race t-shirts!

Race shirts are always hit or miss for me. They just can't seem to consistently get women's sizes right. If I get a women's medium, I'm taking a risk - either it will become clothing for my dog or I'll belt it and wear it as a dress (thanks, Wine and Dine). There's no happy medium (hah, see what I did there?) The Star Wars Half at Disneyland got it right last year. So I'm optimistic.

Speaking of optimism... I had a shitty run today.

But you know what? I'm fine with it.

Sure, I had high expectations after hitting MAF miles in the 14's last Sunday, but a lot has happened since then:

• Having ended my marathon family visitation week, I'm back to eating healthfully, which means reduced carbs compared to last week. Maybe I'm just in an adjustment period.
• I tried sprinting on Wednesday after work. It's been a long time since I last did sprint intervals. Maybe I wasn't fully recovered when I went out today.
• I didn't sleep well last night. Woke up at 3am thinking it was closer to 5:30am and wondering why I was so awake. Didn't really fall back asleep, as I started to think about some crazy work deadlines I'm facing.
• I received some distressing news yesterday from my dentist, also one of the things that kept me awake this morning. And while what she said does weigh heavily - in that it reminds me that some of the damage I've done to myself is irreversible - it does not mean my teeth are gone today. I can and will do whatever it takes to keep them.

One run on any given day isn't going to make a difference.

Today's exercise: 6 mileish "so what if it was craptastic" run
M1: 16:28
M2: 17:52
M3: 17:01
M4: 16:09
M5: 15:02
M6: 15:43

Spoiler Alert

It's official. I'm not quitting running:

Not too many have been with me since the beginning, but those who have know that my original intention was to run the Star Wars Half in under 2 hours and then quit running so that I could stop the run, eat, repeat cycle and focus on getting healthy.

After 2.5 months of training without improvement, I was clued into the idea that there was a way to keep running in my life and get healthy at the same time. I just needed to slow down for a while.

And slowing down for a while was great for improving my health... but hasn't worked out so great for getting me to a sub 2 Star Wars half (which, btw, is only 11 days away). This impending public failure has dealt a huge blow to my self-esteem. If I've seemed more despondent than usual lately, this is why.

I need to redeem myself.

So I decided that Star Wars can not be my last half marathon.

The Avengers Half Marathon will be on Sunday, November 13th, at 5:30 am. That's seven months away... and seven more months beyond when I started this blog.

Remind me when November rolls around that if I'm not able to run a sub 2 half marathon after 14 months of training, then I think it's pretty obvious it will be time for me to find a new hobby.

In the meantime, I'm going to take 60-second improvements in MAF times as a clear sign that there is NO WAY I'm not getting that sub 2 in November.

Today's exercise: Unplanned rest.

A Great Disturbance in the Force

This is why I love runDisney:

Clever, Disney. I see what you did with your subject line there.

13 days to go. Here are some things seen on today's run:

1. A Lamborghini. And a Tesla. And a DeLorean. And the Millennium Falcon. Ok, maybe not that last one, but they were setting up for some luxury car show down in the park where I usually run.
2. An armadillo. I didn't even know we had those down here! From a distance, I thought it was a possum, but then it didn't seem to care very much as I got closer to it. I caught up with someone walking the path in front of me (I know, funny that I need to "catch up" with walkers still) to confirm the armadillo sighting, and he let me know that I was correct. He also said that's only the second time in the 40 years he's lived here that he's seen one. Now I wish I had taken a photo!
3. And the most shocking thing of all... MAF miles in the 14's. My fastest mile today was over a minute faster than my best mile last time I ran at MAF. The last time I saw 14:30 miles was back in February during a really frustrating run at a higher heart rate. I know I kept drifting above 140 bpm during that run, whereas today I was able to consistently stay under 135.

And not just one mile in the 14's - but three!

WTF!

Everything about this week left my expectations low for this morning's run. Honestly, I was ready to take a "win" just for getting out of bed at 5:30 and lacing up. 

So it makes no sense to me that today would offer me my best run yet. What I'm learning is:

• I'm faster after a high-stress, reduced-sleep marathon family visitation week. 
• I'm faster after hitting the treadmill for a chronic cardio session.
• I'm faster on the Standard American Diet (SAD) than I am when I eat healthfully.

No. April Fool's Day was on Friday. I don't believe any of the above for a second. 

The only thing I'm learning is that I just don't have myself figured out.

Today's exercise: Really crazy confusing run

M1: 14:31

M2: 15:06

M3: 15:35

M4: 15:28

M5: 15:14

M6: 14:49

M7: 14:56

Accentuate the Positive

There's a lot bumming me out this week. I debated pretending nothing is bothering me, but nah. I'll just purge it all here because maybe that will help me move past it all.

1. Cats. I was criticized for what I said here. As if one blog/vlog post read by a small group of followers is going to all of a sudden halt all altruistic adoptions of unwanted pets. I... of all people... want you to adopt cats. Seriously. More on this another time.
2. The race. This, of course, is not news. The thought of selling off my registration has crossed my mind, but then I remember this is the inaugural Star Wars Half at Disney World and there's not going to be another one. Plus I'll need to do this one if I want to get the runDisney Coast to Coast medal. So there's no way I'm sitting this one out.
3. Fakebook... I mean "Facebook." We're all pretty selective about what we choose to post, right? I'm exhausted trying to keep up with everyone else's happiness. I get comments IRL about things I have posted on Facebook that I'm sure were not intended as criticism, but certainly feel like they are. So... for the first time in nine years... I deactivated my account. And I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, even though my blog traffic has suffered a little bit because of it. (Friends, you can still reach me on messenger.)
4. Easter Candy. I may have hinted that I wanted a 1/2 price Cadbury Creme Egg to my husband on Monday, and he interpreted that as "bring home every last bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and marshmallow Peeps that CVS has available". Easter candy is like my kryptonite. With additional stress coming from marathon family visitation week, I'm fighting a losing battle here.

I need better armor to fight off Cadbury Mini-Eggs.

Quote of the day: "This is how you succeed: You fail so many times that you run out of options and the only thing left is success."

Today's exercise: 6ish mile run

M1: 15:42
M2: 15:48
M3: 17:20
M4: 16:57
M5: 16:18
M6: 16:35

May the course be with you

Rough 24 hours, but then I read this today:

25 Things About Life I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago

The first two things on the list spoke to me:

#1. Struggle is good. Wish the author would have written a little more about WHY it's good, but I'm sure it has to do with perseverance, resilience, blah blah blah. If I had to guess why struggle is good for me, it's because it builds a foundation for me to understand that I can overcome challenges, and not back down in fear when presented with new ones.

#2. Don't complain. So I can't run a sub 2:00 half marathon. Wah. Oh, I've spent all this time and energy getting outside for a run in paradise while the rest of the world deals with winter. Wah. I have to go to Disney in less than a month to run an epically awesome Star Wars themed race and I feel unprepared for it. Boo freakin' hoo.

You can put your tiny violins away. I'm ready to shut up about it.

I spent some time looking over the course maps today. First, the 10K. Pardon my terrible screenshots:

So it looks like it starts out at Epcot, runs through the Disney Boardwalk area, then through Hollywood Studios, ending at the Wide World of Sports (WWOS) complex. I am a little bit worried about the end of the race being kind of boring. The last three miles are on the roads that separate the parks.

But I understand why it needs to work this way - they need to make sure everyone's out of the parks before they open for the day.

I was worried about the same thing - 'boringness'  - for the Rebel Challenge Star Wars Half at Disneyland - you run through the parks there first, and then head into the streets of Anaheim for the last 7 miles. I mean... Anaheim? How cool could that possibly be?

I was pleasantly surprised.

So here's the course map for the Dark Side Challenge Star Wars Half:

It kind of looks very similar to the Wine and Dine Half route, only in reverse - Wine and Dine started at WWOS and ended at Epcot. Anyway, the half follows a very similar route as the 10k, but then takes you out to 18 million overpasses (or maybe 4) until you hit Animal Kingdom, and then 4 miles of boring-ness til you get to the end at WWOS.

Did someone remember to invite the 501st for this one? Here's hoping...

Today's exercise: Rest