Covered in Stickers!

Today I completed my second official training run. I am following Jeff Galloway's training that is posted on the Run Disney website. I am starting with the 1/2 marathon training and then I will transition straight into the Glass Slipper Challenge training which is a 10k followed by a 1/2 marathon the next day. The way I have it planned I will finish training around Christmas time with 2 months to spare and work on my times. For today's run I was supposed to get in 30 minutes. Distance wasn't the priority. Right now I am playing with my run/walk times to figure out what is most comfortable. Jeff Galloway advocates taking walk breaks and when starting out you run 20 seconds/walk 40 seconds and slowly increase. He wants you to finish any race strong without huffing and puffing. I finished my first mile in 14 minutes and my second in 13 minutes and 50 seconds. As long as I am under 16 (15 ideally) then I am happy. If you don't maintain a 16 minute pace you will get "swept" from the race. Saturday is my "long run" but it's only 2 miles this week.

I tend to get shin splints when I do any kind of running or jumping. I need to look into good shoes, but for now I have decided to give KT tape a whirl. After reading about it on several blogs it sounded too good to be true. I refuse to give up because of pain! :) I am not a quitter. So far it feels like a little hug around my legs. I can't tell if it is doing any good but I will let you know. I took a nice hot bath in epsom salts and am feeling better already.

My college roommate Kasey and her husband are promoters for Thrive products. She asked me to try them so I thought I would see what the hype is all about. I have vitamins to take in the morning followed by a meal replacement shake. I also have a patch to wear each day. These products are supposed to have great health benefits including increased energy, increased metabolism, suppressed appetite, decreased pain and more. I will keep you updated on my progress. Goodness knows I need energy these days with school, work, and Jamberry! Here's the link to her website if you are interested in more information: http://fbthrive40.le-vel.com

Currently thinking/feeling

1. Sore!

2. Proud of myself for keeping this up...only if it has been 2 days.

3. Relieved that there is already a training plan set out. I am more apt to follow through when all of the steps are laid out for me.

4. Proud of Josh for starting to run as well! He's a gym rat but isn't a runner. I told him he will finish with me even if I have to drag him across the finish line!

5. Excited! Still!! 

6. Obsessed with looking up all things #rundisney these days!

7. Unmotivated to do homework over Spring Break.

So this is love...

I was raised in a Disney loving family. I was less than a year old when I first traveled to Walt Disney World. Cinderella has always been my favorite movie even at the age of 28. I've been to Disney World countless times and each time I walk through the gates at the Magic Kingdom I am back in my 5 year old mindset. To me, everything is magic. I was recently sent to Orlando as part of my direct sales job and I took the opportunity to go to Walt Disney World during my downtime. This was my first trip as an adult and probably my most magical yet. I stayed for a few days afterwards and went to the parks with my boyfriend, Josh. Our trip just so happened to coincide with the WDW marathon weekend. Driving to park we saw the thousands of runners and each of them had a huge smile on their face. There were people of all ages, shapes, and sizes and they were all having a blast. It gave me giant goosebumps. That's when it hit me. I wanted to run Disney. I wanted that same cheesy grin on my face. I wanted to wear a ridiculous costume. I wanted that BLING!

The catch...I am not a runner...I hardly workout! I have been thinking about running Disney since our trip 2 months ago and when the dates for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend were released my boyfriend and I decided to go for it. No only are we going to do the 1/2, but we are going to do the Glass Slipper Challenge and the 5k. Go big or go home!

Even after we made the decision I didn't believe myself until today. You see, I've had a mental block against running my whole life. I have grown to believe that I am not a runner. Today I proved myself wrong at the gym. I started walking for 1 minute and jogging for 30 seconds until I hit 3 miles. I was stoked that I was able to do that!! Fueled by adrenaline I kept going until I completed a 10k. Once I did the math, I averaged 14 minutes per mile. Is that award winning? NO! Do I care? Absolutely not! My goal for this adventure is to get to the finish line of all 3 races within the 16 minute mile time limit set by the people at Disney.

Since this will be a such a big personal journey I decided to keep a blog. Over the next year I am excited about the journey from my couch in Dallas, Texas to Cinderella's Castle in Florida!

Josh and I, January 2015

Currently thinking/feeling

1. I have always been motivated by "stuff" and I am currently drooling over the medals we will receive!

2. Is it too early to start thinking about race apparel? Since we will be doing 3 different races I want to have 3 different "costumes". Right now I am thinking about Tink for the 5k (no long run with wings), Ariel for the 10k (for my mom), and Cinderella for the 1/2 which is a no brainer.

3. Gosh dang my legs are stiff! I have quite a bit of learning to do soon! 

4. I am on an adrenaline high right now after my workout today.

5. Josh and I are going to do our first 5k together in a few weeks.

6. My dad said he's going to do this with us. I hope he actually does! How fun would it be to share this with him?

7. I need to make plans so my mom and brother can come too! Mom hasn't been back to Disney in many years and I know she would enjoy it.

8. How necessary is it going to be to have a running watch to keep myself aware of my pace?

9. I am an independent consultant for Jamberry nails so my nails have to match each outfit! I need to start designing those too!

10. Am I really going to do this!?!?!