an extra day . . .

Happy Leap Year!

Some lucky people will be at Disney World or Dinseyland where the parks are open for 24 hours from 6 am today through 6 am tomorrow.  

I am applying for more jobs and going for a run! Not as much fun as going to Disney, but not a bad day.

Everday is a gift, this year we are given one extra gift. How will you be spending your extra day?

From Wheelchair to Running on Air at Walt Disney World Resort

Take out your tissues, as you view this amazing story about a fellow runner who defeated the odds and went from a wheelchair to running at Walt Disney's Tangled Royal Family 5k. In the true spirit of most runners she simply did not give up. What an amazing story, way to go!

Recycling

With all of the water that I have been drinking lately I decided to head over to my local Greenopolis Station at Whole Foods. Wow! Greenopolis refunded me $9.00 in CRV's. I did my part, are you doing your part?

Acceptance

Most runners want to improve their running pace. I agree that this is a goal of mine as well, to improve my pace. I however have been struggling with this as my GI and health issues have greatly impacted my training this year. I have struggled with being ashamed and embarrassed of my GI issues for years and as a runner I now struggle with being ashamed of my pace. I understand that yes, I am at least out there hitting the pavement. While all that might be true I greatly want to embrace and unleash my inner gazelle and be one of those "fast runners." I am learning to accept my GI issues for what they are and with time I know that my stomach will settle itself down. I am taking all the proper courses of action toward the road of recovery, which will help my pace tremendously. I have changed my diet completely, I think that I am allowed to eat 12 items, I am not joking. I have been keeping a food journal for 13 days and have been able to stick to my dietary plan. I have previously completed a half marathon in under 2 hours and 40 minutes before and I know that one day I will be there again. I have 190 days until The Disneyland Half, which is the last race of my challenge, to focus on improving my pace. From now until The Disneyland Half every run that I complete is a victory and I need to accept myself for who I am and what I am capable of. In life you need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps or in my case my running shoe laces and keep on going and that is exactly what I am going to do. Look out Labor Day 2012 I am crossing that finish line in under 2 hours and 30 minutes! 

Rock 'n' Roll Pasadena Half Marathon...Race Number 6 Race Recap

Yesterday I completed the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Pasadena Half Marathon which benefited CureMito!, an organization for mitochondrial disease.  Until recently I was unaware of this disease, a follower of 13 Going on Crazy contacted me regarding her 8 year old son, Kyle  who she lost due to this disease. I decided to dedicated today's race to Kyle. 

Seeing that this was the inaugural race I feel that there were a lot of kinks that need to be worked out for future races. I picked-up my bib on Saturday, took a peruse through the expo, which was fair, I still have not found an expo that topped The Disneyland and Tinkerbell Half Marathon Expo's. The Rock 'n' Roll Pasadena Expo was just okay. Maybe it is because Brooks Running is the main sponsor or maybe it is something else, it simply can't put my finger on it. At the RunDisney expo's, there is this amazing energy in the air that it is contagious. 

Sometimes you could be your own worst enemy, rather than patting yourself on the back and saying, "look at me I'm in another half marathon," you instead kick yourself and say, "look at you, remember when you used to run these?" Sunday I needed to be a walker, health issues have brought me down and truly impacted my training. I decided not to kick myself, but to be a walker and hold my head up high. Lucky for me if I was running, I would not have had the opportunity of sharing 9 memorable miles with my new friend, fellow runner, Hali. Was this course challenging? YES! Was this course way too hilly? YES!! Was this course spectator friendly? NO!!

So to coin the phrase, life is a journey, yesterday was a journey of acceptance and truly living and accepting that when life knocks you down, you need to brush yourself off and keep on going. You never know who is going to be on the other side of that hill, so you gotta keep on moving.  

Did you run this past weekend's Rock 'n' Roll Pasadena? What are your thoughts regarding this race?

Quote of the Day...

Once our eyes are opened to victories of all sizes, we can see them more easily in ourselves and in everyone else. There is no better feeling than to acknowledge someone else's milestones, especially the little ones that they haven't thought to celebrate. Remind them. ~Kristin Armstrong, MILEstones, Mile Markers

I am in LOVE...

It’s official; I am one of those people.  I am in love…it is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep. I love all of the new places that I discovered because of you. I strategically plan all of our dates and obsess about them afterwards. I have even created charts reflecting our adventures. Yes, I am in love with running. Running, I am seriously into you and I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level.  

New Day

I know that it has been a while since I last wrote and I don't even know who is out in the universe listening. This has been an extremely difficult week health wise. The beginning of the week presented itself with major GI issues, which obviously greatly impacts my running. Today was my first day running or should I say walking in almost a week. It took almost 45 minutes to walk to 3 miles, but with a smile on face I can say that I did it! Did I walk without stomach pain, no. When I approached mile 2, I wanted to go home and say enough, but I pushed myself. I had a goal today to log 3 miles regardless of my time. Today is a day of new beginnings, I am not giving into my inner self of I can't do this, because I CAN!

The Best Cheer Squad in the World

I have been able to run this week as I have been under the weather, so I have been watching a lot of TV! I am sure that many can relate to this commerical. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader, which is why I love this commerical from Honda!

Disneyland Tinkerbell Half Marathon

Only 8 more races and 104.8 more miles to go, plus all the training miles in between! I can now officially cross race number 5 off of my list. My favorite booth at the Tinkerbell expo was the ABC booth. I was able to spin a wheel to win a prize and I won a super cute Pan Am bag! I am now the proud owner of a new race gear bag!!

On Sunday, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. for the race; yes I know that the race started 5:45 a.m.!  Thankfully the start and finish line was right outside my hotel! Which was great except for the fact that they decided to test the loud speakers at 1:00 a.m., not great planning on Disney’s end, why couldn’t they test it the night before? It was surprisingly really dark the first 2 miles and the sunrise coming up on Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty’s castle was gorgeous.  Having the opportunity to run right down the middle of Main Street made all the miles and sweat in between well worth it.  I love this course and it was a refreshing change from the Disneyland Half Marathon course. The course ran through Disneyland, the city of Anaheim and California Adventure.  Once inside Disneyland, there were a ton of photo opportunities.  I typically do not stop, but this time around I had to stop for all of them! I even stopped to pet a Dalmatian during the race. I have a weakness for Dalmatians and not even a time clock stop me from visiting with this dog. While running I spent some time with The Marathon Show and discussed 13 Going on Crazy! Being a participant in The Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon was an amazing experience. As soon as the race opens for 2013 I am signing up! As always the Disney magic was present from the expo to the race. Disney, truly has the best races under the sun.

Did you run the Tinkerbell Half Marathon this past weekend?  If so, please comment below and tell me your opinion on the expo/race especially if you have run in other RunDisney events!