Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend: Health and Fitness Expo

Good evening! Today's post will be the first of the many posts about the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. I had such a great time and can't wait to share it with you all.

My family and I arrived on the Thursday before the race. We stayed at one of Disneyland's friendly neighborhood hotels, the Holliday Inn. It was about a seven minute walk from Downtown Disney. On Friday, we walked over to the Disneyland Hotel and went straight to packet pick-up. Since we had printed our waivers before the trip, picking up our packets went very smoothly!

Going underground to pick up our packets.

Our packets included the race number, bag check number, and the Disneyland Half Marathon pin I had ordered when I registered for the race.

Next, we went upstairs and checked out the expo!

At the Angels booth

Checking out the medal!

At the expo we also picked up our race shirts! At first I wasn't too please about the color orange, but once I put it on it actually wasn't that bad!

Enjoying a Dole Whip in my race shirt.

I was going to get the really cute "I did it!" shirt at the expo. We planned to revisit the expo on Saturday and buy the shirt (since the checkout line was very, very long on Friday). Unfortunately, I thought the expo closed at 8. We showed up there at 6 and the whole runDisney merchandise was completely gone. Turns out the expo had closed at 5!! I was completely upset. Does anyone happen to know where I could get any merchandise of runDisney online? This hiccup has taught me that I need to buy things right when I see them at the Nike Women's half marathon expo!

Other than not getting what would have been my favorite shirt of all time, the expo was pretty great. Thanks runDisney for a great day!

QOTD: Have you ever missed an opportunity at a race event?

Half Marathon Finisher

So guys, it's official. I finished a half marathon! It was so much fun and amazing and everything I hoped it would be. Well, except the part about being super duper sore during/afterwards. I will share a race recap later on but I thought I would share some race photos with you. Enjoy these awful looking pictures of me :)
 
My favorite is the lower left one. It was right after I ran through the castle. I tried to manage a smile as I ran by the photographer :)

QOTD: Did anyone run in the Disneyland Half Marathon?

**I do not own the rights to any of these photos. I did not purchase these. These photos came through Marathon Foto**

NIKE

So, it's official. I got into the Nike Women's half marathon! I received this amazing email as soon as I got back from Hume Lake:

I have to admit, I was completely surprised. I went into this thinking that I wasn't going to get in. I thought I wasn't going to have to keep training after Disneyland half but it looks like I am. And with hills. Ugh. The dreaded hills. I have no idea how I will even try and train for those. I know I have to and I know that somehow, some way, I will conquer those San Francisco hills!

I'm so happy to be sharing this news with you guys and I am glad I can share my journey on this blog. Happy running :)

October 20th here I come!

Train Insane or Remain the Same

Yesterday I ran a pretty hard run but only for a short amount of time. I wanted to run around 1.5 miles with around a 9:00 minute mile. I really want around a 9:00 or 10:00 minute mile for race day on September 1st (It will be here before I know it!) so I'm trying to train closer to 9:00 minutes that way I have some wiggle room.

I've kind of been getting bored in my runs, which sadly, makes me want to stop running. Then I end up not getting to my goal or not conquering what I wanted to. I haven't been really into my running playlist so I thought that maybe I should do a run without music. Didn't go too well. I lasted like a mile. Lol. So yesterday I thought I should change my course. Instead of running out on the streets, I ran around all of my connecting neighborhoods. It was kind of nice because I could set little goals to myself like "When you get to that green house, you can turn around and go back" or something like that. Whereas on the streets, I would get confused on which tree I set my goal at.

The new course actually helped me a lot! I ran at a 9:27 pace for 1.44 miles. I was done within 13:39 minutes (I didn't want a super long run yesterday).

I actually felt really good afterwards too. And lately, I have been feeling like I'm going to either pass out or throw up when I run. I felt so good but also completely exhausted afterwards that I literally laid down on my grass and stayed there for a while. People walking by probably thought something was wrong with me.

Yeah so that's me lying down on the grass. Great picture huh? But that face literally describes how I felt. Even though it was a short run, it was definitely a great run :)

QOTD: Have you ever had a great run, short or long?

Running Playlist

Throughout a long or short run, I need music. And not just any music; I need music that will get my excited and hyped up to get through the next 30-50 minutes. Some people are the type that can't even listen to their music when they run, but I am obviously the opposite. I get bored easily, so going through the same course everyday without some music to make it enjoyable would make my run horrible. I actually run faster with music. Anyways, today I thought I would share my current running playlist with you all for those of you who need new pump-up songs or for those of you who are just interested on what type of music I listen to. You can tell a lot about a person from the music you listen to. So here it is:

1. "I Lived" -OneRepublic
2. "I Need Your Love" -Calvin Harris (feat. Ellie Goulding)
3. "Let's Kill Tonight" -Panic! At The Disco
4. "I Knew You Were Trouble" -Taylor Swift
5. "My Life Would Suck Without You" -Kelly Clarkson
6. "3" -Britney Spears
7. "More" -Usher
8. "Lucky Strike" -Maroon 5
9. "The One That Got Away" -Katy Perry
10. "Giving Up the Gun" -Vampire Weekend
11. "Counting Stars" -OneRepublic
12. "Let The Groove Get In" -Justin Timberlake
13. "Figure 8" -Ellie Goulding
14. "22" -Taylor Swift
15. "Set Off" -Hey Monday
16. "Something Good Can Work" -Two Door Cinema Club

This isn't even the full playlist but I think you guys get the gist of what I listen to. Love it or hate it, this is the stuff that gets me through those tough runs. 

QOTD: What kind of music do you listen to on your run?

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 3

We concluded our memorial day weekend on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, we all went to the last Cardinals/Dodgers game. Cardinals won 5-3!!! Yay! This game we actually ordered seats in the main field instead of the outfield pavilion. It was a lot nicer: food, stores, seats, shade, and view. The main thing that was especially nice was the shade! It made for a very nice last game.

Seats right on the foul line.

Cardinals celebrating after the game.

I'm so glad that we had such a relaxing weekend away. It was much needed :)

When we got back home, we went straight to the Shelbys house to play with their new golden retriever puppy, Scarlet. She is just the cutest thing! The Shelbys had a barbecue on Monday so we went over there and got some more time with baby Scarlet.

So adorable! Have a great Monday everyone :)

QOTD: Have you ever had/played with a puppy golden retriever?

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 2

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying this day of rest. Yesterday I talked about the first Cardinals game we went to. Well the next day, we went to the second game of the series. It was in the outfield again and it was a day game. Which means it was HOT! I reapplied sunscreen so many times I can't even count.

The game was at four but all of us kids wanted to go to batting practice so we left at around one to head to Dodger Stadium.

Game 2 was also a bobble head night. The first 50,000 fans would get a Jamie Jarrin bobble head as they walked through the gates. Jamie Jarrin was the Dodgers' Spanish broadcaster. Since I am not a Dodgers fan, I didn't really care for it. But as I entered the park, they did not hand me a bobble head. So I headed back a few steps to get one. As I was doing this, a couple Dodger fans came up to my three other siblings and asked them if they wanted a Carlos Beltran bobble head. They had been to a St. Louis game the week before and gotten three Carlos Beltran bobble heads and we were willing to trade with us. In a split second, the trade was over and I had just come back! I was pretty darn mad! I could've gotten a Carlos Beltran bobble head if the workers would've giving me the regular bobble head in the first place! But anyways, after a while of being mad, I decided I could just sell the Jamie Jarrin bobble head and get a good amount of money.

The actual baseball game didn't go too well. Cardinals lost 5-3. We still hit well but we just didn't have control over Adrian Gonzalez. That guy was literally on fire during the whole series! It was crazy. We all had lots of fun despite the loss.

QOTD: What is your favorite sports team?

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 1

This past weekend, me and my family spent memorial day in Los Angeles. We went to the three game series of the Dodgers versus, our favorites, the Cardinals! We of course went with our very good friends the Shelbys. We've been going to the Dodger/Cardinal series with them for a very, very long time.

The first game was a night game. It was perfect weather the whole weekend, but especially perfect this night. We all got In-N-Out before the game and then enjoyed snacks during the game. David Freese and Allen Craig both hit home runs that night! It was such a fun game to see. The Cardinals won in a shutout game, 7-0. Here are a few pics from the night...

After the game, the Dodgers kindly opened their field for everyone to come and enjoy the Friday Night Fireworks! The fireworks were even a special edition show just made for memorial day. It was such a good and enjoyable show.

It was definitely a fun time had for all. I loved every minute of it!

QOTD: Have you ever been to a Major League Baseball game?

My Running Story

Today I thought I would share my "running story" if you could call it that. First of all, I am a NEW runner. Definitely not experienced at all. Back in January, my family all thought that we should do something together. Like a big event that we could all participate in. For some reason I kept getting stuck on the idea of running. Running a 5k or 10k, definitely not a half marathon or marathon. I brought the idea to the fam and they loved it! We picked a place to run our first running events that was going to be fun and exciting (also, my favorite place in the world) DISNEYLAND!

Like I said, I am a new runner. I mean I just decided to run when I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Before I signed up, I dreaded the mile at school, never ran on my free time, and absolutely hated the thought of it! So, I decided that I would definitely not go past the distance of a 10k. The 10k (6.2 miles) is already a huge challenge for me.
Well, the day came when me and my family would all sign up for the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. I reminded my mom the date and the time that they were going to release the registration. She forgot. Yikes. Luckily, I remembered and when I got home from school the day registration opened, I ran straight to computer and looked on runDisney's website.
Next, I went to go click on the 10k. Then I realized something horrible: the 10k was sold out! How could it be sold out? Registration had only been open for a few hours! This was crazy. My mom and sister had already decided to do the 5k but me and my brothers were challenging ourselves for the 10k. Now what would we do?
Me and my brothers had a little pow-wow and decided that we weren't going to travel all the way to Disneyland just to run a 5k. So, our only other option was the half marathon. The thought of that made me cringe. We were all very skeptical at first. Could we do this? It was 13.1 miles! We would have to train for a while and actually run 13.1 MILES! Once we got over this fact, we just closed our eyes and signed up.

So, I've been in training for a few months slowly, very slowly, working my way up in the miles. I'm up to about four miles right now. I have been sick so I haven't really gotten to run lately but hopefully I can get back to training soon! My brothers don't think they need to train (yeah right) so they aren't going to actually start running until June/July. I'm hoping I'll get a faster time than them just so that I have bragging rights and that my long-term training will actually be payed off. 

I am hoping to run in a few more half marathons because I've kind of fallen in love with running now. Hopefully when I'm older, I'll be able to run a full marathon! As for now, I'm sticking to half marathons. I hope you guys enjoyed my :running story" :) Have a great day!

QOTD: Have you ever ran a half marathon? What made you sign up?

Color Me Rad Recap

Today I got the honor to run my first race EVER! It was only a 5k, but I think it still counts. So, let's start at the beginning...
I woke up at around 8:00 since my race time was supposed to be at 10:20. My friend Kelly was running with me and came over at around 9. We ended up talking and putting on sunscreen for a while, so we didn't end up leaving my house till 9:40! Yikes!

Kelly and I in our "before picture"

We got to our destination on time and my mom dropped us off on the corner of the street. We walked across the street to the race where we saw tons, I mean tons of people. And they were all in a huge mob. Kelly and I jumped into the "mob" that was actually a line. The starting line was pretty close, but we were a little confused on why we were all in this huge line! I was a little irritated.
We waited in the line a while longer and then realized that it was 10:40. Umm...weren't we supposed to be running at 10:20? I was a little confused on how all this was going to work. People next to me were supposed to run in the 10:00 group and the 9:40 group. But, we just kept waiting, seeing what was going to happen next.
Once we were close to the starting line, Kelly and I decided that we would try and find my brother's girlfriend, Rachel, and her family. We didn't want to be alone and confused! Lol. We finally found them and walked up to the starting line. At this point, they were letting people start running in small little groups about every 10-15 minutes. We walked up expecting to start the race when this Color Me Rad staff member puts this huge pole in front of us! Looks like we barely made it to that group. But on the plus side, we were going to be right in the front for the next heat.

We finally moved up to the very front of the starting line and within a few minutes, we were off! I have been really sick for the last week, so my group decided that we would try and run as much as we could (especially through the color parts) and walk as much as we needed to. We ended up walking a lot because I was coughing up a storm and wiping my nose every few seconds! It was absolutely horrible. I really wanted to run though. We ran all the way to the first station: purple. We got so excited and came out with absolutely no purple on us! We were pretty bummed. After that, we were on and off running and walking.

I was very excited once I saw the finish line. I was ready to end my misery, take a shower, and just blow my nose without getting colored powder everywhere. I ran the last part of race, because I wanted to end the race running. There were color "bombs" galor at the finish line! I was coughing and coughing until I finally got out of the madness. I found my mom, we took a few pictures and then headed to lunch.

The whole group afterwards. 

The "after" picture with Kelly. 

Overall, it was a fun race. I'm sure if I wasn't sick it would've been a lot more fun. I definitely think it needs to be more organized (I saw people without bibs on, just joining the race!) so hopefully they improve that for next year!

QOTD: Have you ever ran in a Color Me Rad race? How was your experience?

Upcoming Races (Part 2 of 3)

Color Me Rad 

Today I am sharing one of the races I am doing this 2013 year. The Color Me Rad! Color Me Rad is only a 5k so it's more like a fun run because it really is a FUN run! Many of my friends have done a color run and loved it. I am very excited to be doing this event. 

If you don't know what a color run is, it's basically a race where you wear all white and during the race people throw different colors of cornstarch at you. Some people might not think this sounds like fun, but from the look at these pictures, it looks like a blast to me!

Doesn't that look like fun? I am very stoked for this race! If you would like to run in the Color Me Rad, go to colormerad.com and look to see if they are coming to a city near you. I am running at the beginning of April. I can't wait to share my experience with you guys :) 

Here's a fun video I found of the Color Me Rad...enjoy! 

*All photos today came from the Color Me Rad Facebook page. I do not own the rights to any of the photos*