Sunday Recipe!- Broccoli & Cheese Soup

Ok, so if you are anything like me, you love anything with cheese and veggies right?? Growing up, a staple in my house to get us to eat our veggies was to put a slice of that orange Kraft American cheese on top of whatever my brother and I wouldn't eat.  One of my favorite food memories as a child was when my mom would steam broccoli in the microwave and then put a couple Kraft cheese slices on top and then my brother would get half and I would get the other.  Even now, I love broccoli and cheese on almost everything (baked potatoes, bread, sandwiches, SOUP).
Over the years, I've had a lot of trial and errors with broccoli and cheese soup at a number of restaurants but they so many have chicken stock in it so it's always a no-go. Fair warning, these places have broccoli and cheese soup that IS NOT VEGETARIAN: Panera, Au Bon Pain, Jason's Deli, Applebees, Subway, Quiznos.  Some places have vegetarian options of this amazing soup, one of them being Cafe Carolina here in Greensboro, NC.  I always make sure to ask/make a worker if they would check their ingredient list before I even think about ordering the soup.  I figure, it's more likely than not that the soup in restaurants will have chicken stock so why not just make it at home??

I came to this conclusion last April and started doing some research for the best vegetarian recipe for a Broccoli & Cheese Soup.  I ultimately ended up finding this recipe on tastykitchen.com and later found out it was Ree Drummond's recipe!!  I wasn't a big fan of Ree Drummond when I first caught her show on Food Network a couple years ago but I've grown to appreciate her recipes and simple methods! Needless to say, I am a big fan now (but I still won't dvr her show).  Check out her website for great cooking ideas! You can find her recipe here: Pioneer Woman's Broccoli-Cheese Soup.
Here is my printed recipe with my notes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole Onion, Diced
• I stick, ½ C butter
• ⅓ cup Flour
• 4 Cups Whole Milk (I used 1%milk- who uses whole milk anymore??!! It's practically cream haha)
• 2 cups Half-and-Half
• 4 Heads Broccoli Cut into Florets (I used more just because I love broccoli!!!!!!)
• 1 pinch Nutmeg (play with this amount, based on how much you enjoy the flavor- I used more than just a 'pinch')
• 3 Cups Grated Cheese (mild Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Jack, Etc.) (I used sharp cheddar, can't go wrong with a classic)
• Small Dash of Salt (more if needed)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Chicken Broth (Nope, just more milk) If Needed for Thinning 

METHOD

• Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the onions.
• Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, then sprinkle the flour over the top.
   
• Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in milk and half-and-half. 
• Add nutmeg, then add broccoli, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.
   
• Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. 
• Stir in cheese and allow to melt.
• Taste seasonings and adjust if needed. 
• Then either serve as is, or mash it with a potato masher to break up the broccoli a bit, or transfer to a blender in two batches and puree completely. (If you puree it in a blender, return it to the heat and allow to heat up. Splash in chicken broth if needed for thinning.) I like it as is, and not a liquid pureed soup so I didn't mash/blend the final product!

 So, this soup was absolutely delicious but here are a few tips that I learned making the soup that I would take into consideration:

1. If you like a thinner soup, add less flour (it's used as a thickening agent for the soup) in the beginning stages.
2. I added more cheese than the recipe called for because I like how the cheese gets stringy.  I used the extra cheese when serving and put on top of the bubbling/hot soup in individual bowls.
3. This is definitely a heavier, more filling soup so try have some crusty bread to eat with it or even take Ree's recommendation for making your own bread bowl at home!
4. I love this soup re-heated as well but it had a tendency to become a thick mess after taking it out of the fridge but a simple fix= add some more milk when re-heating on the stovetop (no silly microwave re-heating!!).  It tastes so fresh and delicious!
5. If you love baked potatoes like I do, try topping off your next baked potato with a bit of this soup for a very filling and semi-naughty meal! (I say semi-naughty because of all the cheese but hello, you are totally eating your veggies too!!)

Hope you enjoyed today's recipe!

Do you have any favorite soup recipes? What are your thoughts on Broccoli&Cheese on practically everything? Which restaurant serves your favorite Broccoli&Cheese Soup??

Danville Free Clinic Shamrock 5K 2013 Recap

I did the Shamrock 5K in Danville this year and it was a pretty fun, low key, local race with not that many people.  It was extra special because it was the first race I did 3 years ago when I started running! I think these smaller races in Danville are a great way of keeping me in racing mode but nothing so serious since let's be honest, it's Danville VA.
The night before the race (my usual practice), I got my race clothes out and set everything out so it would be ready to go in the morning.  Since it was the Saturday before St. Patricks Day, I decided to wear my vintage "Kiss Me I'm a Hokie" tshirt and my black sparkle skirt.  I don't really like running in cotton shirts anymore but I figured this was just a 5K so no big deal.  The Thursday before this race I was doing my 5 mile run and I had just taken my ipod off my watch holder since the sweat was messing with the volume function and unsurprisingly, my ipod fell off my Nathan belt and fell on the ground and the screen is massively cracked. I never put it back on the watch holder so for this race I had to just clip it to my shirt, which was so annoying and kept falling off so I ended up just holding it while I ran.  Another fun part of this race was that my sister ran too! She is just starting out and isn't using any particular method (I'm a strict adherent to the Galloway method w 3:1 intervals) but she still finished and had fun so that's what matters.

My green shirt, ipod, garmin watch, sparkle skirt, Alpha Gamma Delta sweaty band, Nathan runner's belt were ALL necessary for this race:)

We got to the Danville Community Market a little early (45 min before race start) so we could purchase an extra race shirt for my mom.  She really wanted to do the 5K walk but she and my dad had to go to NJ for a familial obligation so we got her the shirt instead! I had my pre-race fuel/meal of water and my yummy chocolate dipped coconut Luna bar.  I sampled this one at the Princess Expo and it was DELICIOUS.  I'm usually not a big fan of chocolate anymore but this bar was perfect and just what I needed.
We put all our extra things back in my car and headed down to the Riverwalk along the Dan River where the race was taking place. Now I know this is a small, local race but seriously, the start line was a line of white flour on the ground.  Anyways, the race started on time and was organized pretty well so I don't really have many complaints about the logistics.  The course was paved, flat, and pretty fast.  The signage on the course was great, the turnaround was another set of flour arrows and the water stop was around the mile 2 marker but also available after the turnaround as well.  I have a habit of carrying my own water but it was nice to have that option for such a small race.  I guess the most irritating part of the race was the finish line.  Because there was no chip timing for this race, at the finish they had people ripping off the bottom tag of our bibs to use for the placing/official finish. Since there was no chip, I used my garmin time as my official time since I started my watch as soon as I crossed the flour start line.

My time based on my Garmin!

I was surprised and happy and delighted to find out that I PR-ed in this race! I'm extra impressed with my moving time because I was dodging geese poo the entire time I was on the Riverwalk.  I am slowly getting back to where I was before starting 2013 off with the flu, pneumonia, and sinus infections.  I still feel like my breathing still isn't back to where I used to be and I'm still heavier than I would like but I know the weight will come off in time and eventually my pace will get back to where I want.  It's usually very hard for me to do 5Ks since my "short runs" for HM training are 5 miles- I can't remember the last time I just ran 3 miles while training!  I love how my Garmin maintains my moving time and elapsed time to take into account the time when I had to stop and adjust my shoe laces and drinking water too (I can't run and drink water, it would spill all over my face haha).  I LOVED seeing that moving pace of 11:24, it's been a LONG time since I've seen that pace.

Sister and I after she finished the race!!!

After the finish, they had cold water and gatorade for everyone so I got a cold water cup and cooled down while waiting for my sister.  She finished somewhere around 48-50 so I had a nice little break before we headed back into the Community Market for the awards and post-race snacks.  I usually can't eat anything after a race/run but since this was only 3 miles, I grabbed some orange slices and half an apple. I loved the orange slices but the apple was tough to get down since the skin was so tough.  I also grabbed a snack baggie of chips but I never ate those and I think they're still in my car haha!
After the race, we headed back to my parents' house and got cleaned up, played with Rusty for a bit and then went out to a light and healthy lunch at Ruby Tuesday. My sis had the salad bar and some veggies for her sides and I had a bowl of soup (even though the temps hit 80 that day!!) and plain baked potato. I did, however, treat myself to a sweet tea so that was absolutely delightful!

Here's a map of the course from my Garmin.  It was great running along the river and the temperature was perfect for a short race in mid-March.

I'm currently sidelined right now with the muscle spasms/strain in my chest but I'm excited for my upcoming 8K here in Greensboro on April 6th.  I've never done that distance in a race so regardless of what happens, it will be a PR for 8K :)

What's the longest distance you've ever run?  Have you ever run smaller local races? What's your favorite 5K?

Updates on the Many Changes!

If you've been following me for the past month, you can see I've made some changes to my blog!  I wanted to de-clutter my blog (work in progress) and clean up the image as well! It's been pretty much trial and error thus far with the layout, design, pages section but hopefully in the coming weeks I'll get everything updated!

I also started using a new blog editor (Mars Edit 3) for Mac.  This is making life so much easier in keeping all my posts organized and not having to worry about Safari freezing or accidentally clicking back page, etc! It was a bit pricey but I think that if I want to be serious about this whole blog thing, then it was definitely worth it! I'm still figuring it out but hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon. I love that I can write and edit posts and have them ready even when I'm not connected to the internet, etc.

Finally, a big change is my blog address! Please update any links you have to my blog with my new link:

Hokie, Esq: http://hokieesq.blogspot.com

Don't forget to check out the new page with my Favorite Blogs and the addition of my race recaps to my Past Races page!

Have you every had a blog overhaul?? Are you finding it as overwhelming as I am??!

Playlist (kind of) Wednesday!

Here's this week's playlist I am loving.. even though I can't run this week.  This list includes great driving songs too, since I'll be doing a lot of that this week!

• Motown Philly- Boyz II Men
• I can't tell you how much this song always gets me going.  Whether I am running, or even driving back and forth from Greensboro and Danville like this week. And, it never fails to remind me of this gem from one of my all-time favorite childhood shows.
   
• U Don't Have to Call- Usher
• I recently heard this on my Usher pandora station. I am a huge Usher fan but I hadn't listened to a lot of his early 2000s albums in forever so this was a pleasant surprise.  I love the upbeat tempo of this song without being too fast/slow for when I run.
   
• TikTok- Ke$ha
• This song always reminds me of dance parties from summer/fall 2010 haha! I love the nonsensical lyrics and singing them while I run or drive. Ke$ha is crazy but her music is great for running!
   
• American Boy (feat. Kanye West)- Estelle
• Many people forget about this song from 2008 but I like to think of it from a time before Kanye West became annoying and extremely full of himself. I remember listening to this senior year of college and I've had it on most all of my playlists since I started running fall of my 2L year of law school. I even remember how excited I was when it won the Grammy all those years ago! Love it!!
   
• Everything is Everything- Lauryn Hill
• Love the message of this song (Everything is everything, What is meant to be will be. After winder, must come spring, Change, it comes eventually"). I listened to this song a lot after my last bar exam attempt (which I passed!!!) last August and it helps me keep perspective in life if that makes sense.  I love this song for running/working out especially because it reminds me the pain in my legs, the mental exhaustion, etc in the long run doesn't matter and no matter what I can get through that run/workout! Also, check out the video, pretty amazing!!!

Hope you liked this week's song selections! Did any of your favorites make the list? What would your Playlist Wednesday look like this week??

I Hate Going to the Doctor.

Soo, you might be wondering where Playlist Wednesday is..

 

Well, I have it all ready to go but wanted to share a bit about the crazy Wednesday I had. I woke up yesterday (Tuesday) at my house with this incredibly sharp, heavy pain in my chest.  Naturally, I was scared because heart problems run in my family (mom's side) and I've lost both of my relatively healthy grandparents (mom's parents) to heart attacks and my uncle had a heart attack in 2011 (relatively healthy too).  But I was also a little comforted by the fact that I am pretty healthy.  I run&walk anywhere from 50 to 70 miles a month, I'm a strict vegetarian, and the only "bad" thing I eat is butter&cheese on my baked potatoes when I eat out.

 

Still, my mom was worried especially since I started to increase my mileage for the upcoming half marathon. I had to come to Danville today anyways to drop my mom off anyways so my mom and I got an appointment with my usual doctor to get some tests done.  Just for the record, I hate going to the doctor. I know I come from a family of medical professionals and growing up (and even now) I've heard more than I ever wanted around the dinner table with my family but something about going to the doctor's office gives me anxiety.

 

I had my appointment this morning and I went to the husband doctor of the husband-wife doctor practice I've gone to for the past nearly 10 years.  He did a basic check-up and I let him know that I've pretty healthy and I run/work out a lot so I don't know what is going on with my body and why it hates me so much.  He ordered bloodwork an EKG test and felt the muscles and listened to my chest to see if it was my heart or my lungs or what.  I was a bit nervous about the EKG but all they did was put little stickers all over my chest and my arms and legs and then the nurse attached the machine to the stickers and ran the machine test.  The nurse ran the test FOUR times so I freaked out a little but she said that she was trying to get one of the lines to come out smoother (whatever that means) so not to worry.  She took the test printout to the doctor and I got dressed. Good news- nothing wrong with my heart!!! So yay, good news! My doctor wanted me to minimize the stress/anxiety I have in life (um, how about looking for a full-time attorney job? yeah that's not stressful).  He gave me some steriods for my muscle sprain and wanted to see me again in 2 weeks.  They said they would call/fax my bloodwork results to my parents' house (they all know how to read those things but I clearly don't) but I still haven't seen them. Oh and the worst part (other than the indescribable sharp, heavy pain with every movement) is that I can't run this entire week! I know that isn't a big deal in the long run, but it still makes me sad.

 

So, I am super thankful that nothing super serious is wrong! With my family history, I can never take any chances!

 

 

 

Time for bed now that I've had my handful of meds!  (And don't worry, playlist Wednesday will be up soon!

 

Recipe Sunday- Cinnamon Nut Palmiers!

I haven't gone to bed yet so let's be serious, it's still Sunday for me :) Here is one of my favorite cookie recipe from someone who doesn't enjoy baking!! 

Cinnamon Nut Palmiers

 I got the idea of making these little French pastry cookies when I was watching the Barefoot Contessa one day. She made a savory version (which I fully intend to try) with cheese and garlic.  I did a little online searching on my favorite recipe/cooking websites and found this pretty easy to follow recipe from Budget Bytes.  This website is a great resource if you are on a budget but still want to try new and  different recipes! I'm sure I will be sharing more of my variations and experimentation with recipes from Budget Bytes.  I used the exact recipe from Budget Bytes and that can be found HERE (the pictures are my own though!)

"

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 box (2 sheets)	frozen puff pastry	$3.68
2 Tbsp	honey	$0.45
2 tsp	cinnamon	$0.10
4 Tbsp	brown sugar	$0.12
4 Tbsp	chopped walnuts	$0.32
1/2 cup	confectioners (powdered) sugar	$0.09
TOTAL		$4.76

STEP 1: Thaw the box of puff pastry either on the counter at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight. (since I made 2 batches, I put the one I wasn't using back in the fridge or the puff pastry will get too soft to even roll later on!) I just put mine in the refrigerator instead of the freezer when I got home from the store and a couple days later it was ready to go.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
STEP 2: Sprinkle a clean countertop with powdered sugar to keep dough from sticking.  Unfold the dough and lightly drizzle it all over with honey. (about 1Tbsp per sheet  I was much more liveral than 1tbsp since I love honey!) Next, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, brown sugar, and chopped walnuts.  You don't need a lot of these because you will be rolling the dough up and the ingredients will be more concentrated than they seem when it is unrolled. (it was trial and error for me and how many nuts to use.  I had to chop the "chopped walnuts" I purchased even finer than what was in the package)

STEP 3: Roll each side of the puff pastry inward until the two sides meet.  You may need to get a little more powdered sugar from the counter and powder up the log again.

STEP 4: Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch sections and place them on a cookie sheet (about 1.5-2 inches apart). (I used both puffed pastry sheets so I made two batches! Double the yummieness!)

STEP 5: Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Check the cookies at 10 minutes and keep an eye on them.  You want them golden brown but not dark brown.  If the cookies get too dark they will taste like burnt sugar!

the end piece looks so bad but still tastes delicious! 

Voila! You now have made an impressive, delicious, French cookie! My family LOVES when I make these!  They are great in the mornings with coffee or an addition to any brunch! I keep these out on the table when I have company over or use it for dessert with vanilla bean ice cream! I've made some variations of this cookie with Nutella for my cousin when he was studying for the MCAT last fall and he LOVED them! 

Variations- Cheese&Garlic, Nutella--anything really!

Have you ever made palmiers before? What kind would you make? Any fun variations for the filling?

Sunday RUN day!

So you all know how I'm currently training for the Divas Half Marathon in North Myrtle Beach next month right?! Well, I usually do my long runs on Saturdays and outside but since yesterday I was doing a religious fast all day, I chose to wait until today to do my long run. And since its terribly cold and raining nonstop, I had no other choice but my treadmill. ;

I had planned for a 9 mile run on my adjusted training plan but I was so in the zone today and got an extra mile in for 10 miles!!! I haven't run double digits since the Princess HM last month (4wks ago today!)!

My final stats were:
Time=1:54:11
Distance=10.01miles
Pace=11:25 min/mi
Calories= 1287 (!!!!!!!)

Time to go get cleaned up and pick up Rusty's birthday cakes and balloons! I'm having his adoption anniversary/3rd birthday party tonight when my family gets back from Detroit tonight!!!

PS did you know that some treadmills just turn off after 100minutes?!?!

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013 Recap (Day 4)

Well, here is the last day of my PHM weekend! So sad to leave Florida that day for gross and cold North Carolina! 

I ended up taking a benadryl the night before because I didn’t think I could sleep the whole night through (given the previous few nights I slept 2-4hrs) but weirdly enough I only “slept in” until like 730am. I lay in bed for a while and read on my iPad while Maggie was still asleep.  I was planning on meeting my sister and Sara at 10am at Downtown Disney because they had to check out of their room by then so it seemed like the perfect time! Well, Maggie was staying in Disney for a few days after I left so it was nice that I didn't have to rush to pack, etc until I found out that I had to check in at the airline/check my bags by like 1pm so everything could make it to the airport in time for my flight.  SO, that meant that I had to call into a Magical Express Operator, pay for my bags via the phone, then I had to wheel my bags (thank god Maggie helped me) to the other side of the resort to the airline check-in office.  They were really nice there and they didn't even weigh my bags! See I come from a family of heavy packers and we have luggage scales in all our houses so we can make sure our bags are underweight for flying haha! The guys working this counter were so nice and made sure I was all set with my boarding pass, etc before I left. 

After this, I was running late and my sis and Sara were already on the shuttle bus to Downtown Disney so Maggie and I walked over to the bus depot to wait for the DD bus.  She was nice enough to walk with me over there and wait for the bus with me but then I told her to just go ahead to the bus for the park she was going to that day because it was a waste of her time when we saw 2 busses come and go for the one she was going to that day.  We got someone to take our picture that we recreated from our 2011 trip before I left!

I like to call this "Skinny Runners Legs"

YAY!

Eventually the bus came but it was also going to the water park first so it took a while after making that stop first but I finally made it to Downtown Disney! I've never been here before (I'm totally kicking myself for not taking more pictures here!!) and it was pretty cool how there was a lagoon/lake area and all around there were cute little shops and restaurants all around.  AND the largest Disney store was located here so that made souvenir shopping so much more fun! 

We had a wonderful lunch at Earl of Sandwich, which I've never been to before, and was pleasantly surprised.  At this point, my hunger/lack thereof from the previous day finally arrived and I was ravenous.  I had the Mediterranean sandwich with feta, lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, etc.  Basically, it had all of my favorite veggies and a delicious Mediterranean vinaigrette.  Since I was so hungry, I chose to get their famous Macaroni & Cheese for my side with a bag of sour cream and onion baked chips. OH and I got one of their delicious cupcakes as well. WELL, clearly I was overzealous in my food selection and I could only eat my mac&cheese and a little less than half my sandwich.  I made sure to get extra utensils and wrapped everything up so I could have a nice little dinner at the airport while we waited for our flight.  

After eating, we made a beeline to the ginormous Disney store! We got some cute things for ourselves (I got the 2013 character mug I never got back in 2011, a magnet, little mickey earrings) and I got stuff for my bro and his GF (a mickey Doctor ornament and for his gf a 2013 character ornament b/c I didn't know which was her favorite Princess).  My sis and I got my parents a really cute 2013 Walt Disney World frame and we got a quick picture in Downtown disney together that we'd put in it and give to the parents for their house.  

picture for the parents!

My sis got me a frame too so I can have one for my 2013 race picture like she got me one in 2011.  Sara got some things for her parents and her neices too.  I wish we'd gone here earlier or at least to Downtown Disney with more time because we only really got to see the Marketplace area.  I did stop into the Disney Christmas store while my sis and Sara were in the bathroom and I finally found my Princess Jasmine ornament!

We split up at the bus depot and mine came almost immediately so I was off back to the Art of Animation.  I am so lucky my parents told me to check all my bags (even my rolly carry-on) so I only had my longchamp tote to worry about and my purse was in there so all was good! I put all my Downtown Disney purchases in my nifty Baggu so I didn't have a ton of things to carry! I got back to my resort with about 30 minutes to spare before I had to get to the Disney Magical Express so I went into the gift shop to look at all the stuffed animals and postcards (I like to get at least one postcard for every trip I go on..). I got 2 postcards- one was of all the characters that was similar to the mug I got and ornament I got for my bro's GF from Downtown Disney and one was a holographic Disney Princess one with all of the princesses on there! The one thing I saw when we first arrived at the Coronado Springs was a magnet set with all Disney food items (mickey ice cream, mickey pretzel, etc) so since I had the time, I looked around and finally found it! I got that, the postcards, and a little Minnie Mouse keyring (my house key VT keyring broke in December so it's just been on a ring since then).  I was ready to head over to the Magical Express stop and get on my way to the airport!

I struck up conversation with a nice lady who also ran the Princess and was on her way home to Maryland. We discussed the race (it was her first runDisney race) and the parks and rides.  What I love about the Magical Express (probably the only thing) is that they play vintage Disney cartoons for the ride to the airport- definitely what I needed to pick me up from my depression of having to leave Disney World.  

Sister and Sara were at the airport before I got there so once we met up, we made our way through security, food court for dinner (I had my delicious leftovers!) and then the gate! It was a ridiculously crowded flight.  Finally we made it to Charlotte in the freezing cold and I was still wearing only my sparkleskirt and tshirt (I packed everything in my 2 checked bags in the morning) so that was a bit of a shock haha!

We had a 1.5hr drive back to my sister's house after dropping Sara off.  I was pretty depressed being in NC and not in Disney World anymore, but at least I had this shiny new bling to show off :)

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013 Recap (Day 3 Part 2)

So I left off after all 4 of us getting back to the resort after the race.  We had checked the magic hours when we first arrived to FL and were excited to see that Magic Kingdom was open late until 11pm Sunday night so we decided this was the perfect way to spend the rest of our day!

Maggie and I were exhausted after the race but we got cleaned up and were famished so all four of us decided that we'd go ahead and eat at the food court in our resort before catching the bus over to MK.  The meal was pretty standard.  My sis and Sara got the veggie burger (which they hated! I would too, it fell apart almost immediately), Maggie had an Asian inspired meal, and I chose the cheese pizza.  I was well aware this was a frozen pizza but I have this thing where I literally cannot eat a single thing after running long distances--to the point where I am nauseous at the sight, thought, &smell of food. I get like that and cant eat for a minimum of 24hrs.  My sister was worried about me so she asked me to eat a banana before we left the family reunion area in the morning and drink my red powerade. It finally took me to our lunchtime at the food court to finally get the whole powerade down.  The pizza didn't help much but I gave my sis half of it and my crusts b/c I just couldn't stomach it and her veggie burger wasn't that great.  We perused the gift shop after lunch and made our way to the MK bus stop.

I must say, my favorite thing about the parks is walking into Magic Kingdom from the bus stops. It's basically the spot where all the people from the resort busses, the monorail, and the ferry come together after scanning their park tickets.  It truly is magical.

everyone's a kid in Disney World!

We saw Snow White as soon as we entered the park so we got some pictures with her (and it started to rain while we were waiting in line!!!).

ugh I look all gross and bloated from all the water/powerade frm the race but look at my BLING!

We walked up Main St USA and got to take in all the amazingness that is Magic Kingdom and in front of Cinderella's Castle.  This is probs one of my favorite parts of being ing MK!

a wet Main St, USA

From there we started out in Adventureland where my sis and Sara had some Dole Whip! I wanted some so bad but I was feeling so nauseous still after the race so I only had a bite of my sis'.

We rode the Magic Carpet Ride which was amazing b/c I love ALL things Aladdin :) After, we went on the Jungle Cruise.  I was soo exhausted and my feet were burning so bad after standing in line FOREVER, I did the unthinkable and sat down on the dirty ground because I couldn't stand another minute longer.  I know, I know, I'm still in disbelief I did something so gross.  Anyways, we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (always a favorite!!) too.  We headed over to Frontierland next and rode on one of my all time favorites- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I love this ride just because it has a roller-coaster feel but no crazy drops, etc that most roller coasters are known.  We wanted to ride Splash Mtn so so bad but it was closed for refurbishment :( We went to Liberty Square next and went to the Hall of Presidents because I am such a fan of American history but unfortunately, the lack of sleep and the exhaustion from the race led Maggie and I to accidentally take a slight nap towards the end of the video haha but we were definitely refreshed afterwards!

Next, was my favorite part of all of MK-- Fantasyland and the New Fantasyland! Here's a rundown of the rides we hit up (definitely spent the most time here while in MK): 'its a small world', Peter Pan's Flight, Mickey's PhilharMagic, and the Mad Tea Party (LOVE the teacups!!!!).  I know the New Fantasyland is supposed to be so amazing but without a doubt, but I miss the old Mickey's Toontown Fair. I loved going into Mickey&MInnie's house and seeing all their oversized mouse- items in their house and then waiting in line to meet them there! We didn't get to see the new Storybook Circus area close up but everything looked amazing (and definitely need to go back to do all the rides/attractions).  In the New Fantasyland area, theres a cool area inspired by Beauty and the Beast with Gaston's Tavern and even Beast's Castle.  There is an amazing restaurant in Beast's Castle called "Be Our Guest" and although I didn't get to go there, Maggie did go (she stayed a few days after I left) and had nothing but amazing things to say! There is a room with the rose in the glass case from the movie, and after you're done eating, the Beast is there too. I really wish I could have gone but again, that is something for next time!

We ate somewhere in Fantasyland (clearly not that memorable b/c I still couldnt handle food) and then made our way back to Cinderella's Castle for the fireworks show. Tinkerbell flew out of the castle into Tomorrowland at the beginning of the show and the fireworks were AMAZING.  I just love all the fanfare Disney puts into it's nighttime fireworks.

After the fireworks, we went back into New Fantasyland and got to go into Ariel's Under the Sea ride and it was so much fun.  The ride got stuck for a little bit but at least we were in the scene where they were singing "Under the Sea" and not the scary ursula scene!

We were soo exhausted at this point but were determined to go to all of the "lands" in MK so we headed over to Tomorrowland!  I honestly was scared of Tomorrowland when I was younger I think mainly because I was/am scared of Space Mountain.  I remember after riding it for the first time when I was 8 and I almost puked afterwards and the rest of my family (mainly my older brother) made fun of me for the rest of the day. We rode the People Mover (which was amazing) and so much fun because we got a nice cool breeze and we were off our feet for a while! We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride too which was so much fun even though I was super confused the entire time ahah! I feel like we did a couple other things but it's all a blur from sheer exhaustion.  I think it was about 10:45pm at this point so we decided to just go back to our rooms and forgo the last 15 minutes of magic hours haha

It took forever and a day to get back to Art of Animation in a jam packed bus.  Maggie and I were both incredibly exhausted and almost fell asleep standing on the bus!! Once we got back tot he room, I immediately turned on the Oscars (I usually live-tweet with one of my good friends from college) but I caught the last 30 mins or so because it went wayyy over time!! SO happy Argo won but WTF was that acceptance speech Ben?! You should be LUCKY Jen has stayed with you after all your womanizing ways (BTW I STILL LOVE YOU).

All in all, we had a great race and then 10+ hrs in Magic Kingdom afterwards! One more day left in the PHM Weekend recap!

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013 Recap (Day 3 Part 1- RACE DAY!!!)

OK, race day, the day I had been preparing for the previous 4 months was finally here!!

We went to bed late on Saturday after a full day of walking around in the parks, knowing we'd be on our feet early in the morning on Sunday for HOURS.  Oh well, how often do you get to be in Disney World?!! We went to bed between 11pm and midnight and we had our first (of like 5) alarm going off at 2am-215am. We were smart and laid out our race clothes and our gear check bags before we went to bed so when we got up everything went smoothly.

everything is ready to go!

It took us a while to get up- I think we finally got up when the 2:30am wake up call rang haah! We were so tired but excited to do this race! BUT, we didn't leave until we got some pre-race pictures before we left our room though!

I'm so ready for this!
PS I did something I would never do for a race but I wore something new I've never worn before- my "Red Means Go" SparkleTech Sparkle Skirt! AND KT Tape!

We were meeting one of our sorority sisters from Virginia Tech and the group she came with (fellow hokies!) since we were all staying in the same resort.  We decided to meet up at 3:15 am so we could catch the shuttle bus over to the race area (which of course we had to walk from the bus drop off to the gear check and the main staging area for the race and then from there to the race starting line corrals).

I am usually pretty strict about my pre-race fuel/meal before big races (lets be honest, all races).  I like to have some water and oatmeal and if not oatmeal,then a balance bar/luna bar.  So for this race, I had one of my all time favorite Luna Bars with a nice cold water on the bus over to the drop-off.

Everyone try it! It reminds me of Hawaii! (Source)

We eventually got to Epcot after a 20-ish minute ride over from the Art of Animation.  We decided to take some pictures of the whole group and a sorority pic (OF COURSE so we can send it into the Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly- I just need to figure out how to do that!) with Spaceship Earth in the background.  It looked great because it was nighttime on top of everything else!

Hokies! 

LIEP!

We eventually made it to the finish line/staging area and we walked around some, listened to the music (the DJ was sooo intense in the morning, I had half a headache from that!!), and hit up the porta-potties for those who needed.  Surprisingly, for a race of this length, I never had to stop to use the bathroom! I think the main reason I didn't have to stop was because I wasn't really nervous/anxious at all before this race! If you remember, I had the flu, pneumonia, and sinus infections the first 6 weeks of 2013 so I missed a month and half of training and ran minimally the last 2 wks before the race.  I decided that I wouldn't try to PR and just go and have fun! I guess this mentality helped because I was so relaxed and could enjoy all aspects of the race! 

Once they called Corrals A-D to go to the start line, I quickly finished my Luna Bar and carried my water with me, planning on tossing it  before heading into the corral.  We dropped our gear check bags so much easier than I expected and Maggie and I were both going to the "P" tent so it worked out!  Heading to the corrals was the most frustrating because there were so many people essentially being herded like cattle! Crazy.  We make the 20minute trek to the starting line corrals and Maggie and I say our goodbyes because she was in Corral B and I was in D.  I was happy not to be in the later, more crowded corrals but being right smack dab in the middle of 26,000 was a bit overwhelming for me! I did some pre-race stretches (this is something I need to work more on as I increase my milage) while in my Corral waiting for the Wheelchair, A/Elites, B, & C to go! One thing I love about Disney is that they make you feel special no matter what pace, how old/young, etc. I waited for what seemed like forever but then before I knew it it was 5:56am! Rhe Fairy Godmother said the magic words and was sprinkling pixie dust on all of us runners and then we were off! 13.1 miles to go!!!

fireworks frm the earlier corrals!

The Start line! I can finally see it!!

Fairy Godmother sending us off!

Fireworks sending me off to run 13.1!

WELL.  Even though I wasn't nervous about this race, one thing did gave me anxiety- the weather.  I double checked afterwards but the temperature at the start was about 73 degrees with a humidity of 95%.  Yes, that is pretty hot/sticky/damp for 5am.  The first few (3) miles were miserable.  I find that the beginning of my long races are the worst because I am trying so hard not to get caught up in the excitement and keep a slow and steady pace so I can negative split.  Well, with the weather and the tons of people, I couldn't keep my focus (I had sweat dripping in my eyes before getting to mile 1!!) and I started off faster than I wanted.
Here are some pictures from the beginning of the race:

The mile marker signs are one of my favorite things about Disney races!

Fuzzy Mile 2 :(

Don't be alarmed, my chip time was abt 36 mins behind clock time because I started in D.

After Mile 3, I was completely drenched twice over.  So humid and I know it's pretty humid in NC/VA but I've never run in anything like this race weather!! Around mile 3, I caught up with the girl in the green shirt I had been pacing with.  See, I usually find a person with a distinct shirt, etc in big/long races and I try to focus on them and keep up with their pace so I don't get distracted.  Well, whenever this girl would be running, I'd be on my walk breaks (I ran using Jeff Galloway's run/walk method with 3:1) and when she'd be walking, I would be in my running intervals! Soo, at some point after mile 3 we caught up with each other and was like "I was wondering where you were, I am trying to pace with you" and I literally said the same! So for the next 10 miles we got to talking and found out she is an Alpha Gamma Delta sister from Florida State University! We bonded over similar college/sorority/life experiences and it make this race so much more fun! I love meeting strangers at races and running with them, especially when they turn out to be sisters!  

The next few miles were fun but still pretty dark, until we got to Magic Kingdom :)  Here are some pictures for this part of the race:

Mile 4!

Villians!! I soo wanted to stop for pictures with them but the lines of 40deep prevented that..

Mile 5

We entered MK through the castmember entrance-- I can totally see Space Mtn!

Main St. USA-- the most magical place to run in the world. Ever.

Around mile 5.5 we are inside of Magic Kingdom.  I love this part of the race so much! All of the signs from the spectators, the castmembers cheering you on, seeing Cinderella's castle and actually running through it is so magical and special.  There were so many characters here as well but the lines were impossibly long :(  I remember seeing Jessie from Toy Story, Tiana, Cindy and Charming, they had other Princesses there but those lines were beyond long!! Once we get through the castle, we run through Frontierland and through the side of MK to head back down World Drive. 
Some MK Pictures: 

Unfortunately, this is my best castle pic :(

Gaston in New Fantasyland!

The back of Cinderella's Castle!!

ROYALTY.

Tiana and her prince! 

Jessie frm toy story!

Mile 6 marker!!!

We get out of MK around Mile 6.4 so we have just a little bit before we are halfway.  We also ran in front of the Grand Floridian entrance! This part of the race was definitely my least favorite because of a few reasons: 1- it was a 2 lane road and they only had one lane open for the runners, the other lane was open to traffic (OMG SO DANGEROUS) and on top of that try keeping 26,000 runners in that much space and 2- they used Alicia Keys' song "Girl on Fire" as the halfway point song and I wanted to scream. I don't think there is a more annoying song ever played at a race!

Halfway mark!

OK, halfway done, I can finish this with this OOC crowd..! I knew the worst part of the course (immediately after Mile 10) was still to come and being out of MK was pretty depressing but I pushed on regardless.  It was nice to have Jessica (my sorority sis I was running with) there so we could keep each other motivated and to push each other to keep going.

Fuzzy mile 7 marker!

I stopped to see Genie!!! 

My friend Jessica and I w Genie!

Mile 8!! Around mile 8.3 they had a fuel station with Clif brand gel/gu.  I had 3 of my GUs but I took these just to be on the safe side.  I've had them before so I wasn't worried about taking them if I felt like it!

Heros!

Aladdin &I totally had a moment.  I didn't want to wait in the line of 40-ish ppl so I stood by the side and Flynn got his attn and pointed towards me and Aladdin posed just so I could get his picture.  My life is pretty much complete.

 After the momentary high of having a connection with my true love (Aladdin), I was temporarily distracted from the fact that I was running for 4 more miles. 

15K done! only 6K left!!!!

I love this princess banner on World Drive!

Mile 10! Things were abt to be srs business after this...

After mile 10, there was a pretty steep ramp we had to run up and omg it hurt.  It was like running sideways w 20K of your closest friends! It was rough. I knew I could do this but the 10 mile marker is usually where I get completely exhausted and feel like I couldnt go any further.  WELL my friends, this was not the case this year.  Maybe it was b/c I was running with another person who needed me to push her or the fact that I had properly trained (even with my 6 wks out) and I was confident because I had done a number of HM's before but whatever the reason, I loved the feeling of being energized!

Finally made it up the dreaded ramp!

mile 11! SOOO CLOSE. LESS THAN A 5K LEFT.

still many people in front of me!

At this point, I felt like I could've run more than I did but even though I did more walking w my friend, it was worth it running with someone else and keeping up motivated and going for the last part of the race!  

OMG Mile 12, we're so close to Epcot, I can feel it!!!!

EPCOT CENTER!!! SO CLOSE TO THE FINISH!!!

Running through Epcot was great.  I remember in 2011 I walked practically the entire last mile but this time, I was so energized and Jessica and I talked about running the entire last mile straight.  Now this is something I never do, I am a stickler for staying with the Galloway method for races so I was a little nervous after mile 12.  I felt great running in Epcot but Jessica was faltering a bit so I pulled back and jogged/walked with her and keep her motivated.  She kept telling me to go ahead and keep running so I did but after mile marker 13, we had already passed the Gospel Choir and could see the Finisher's chute and all the excitement but she was struggling so I ran back to where she was and pushed her to jog/run the last .1 to the finish line, and we did :)

We're sooooo close!

WE DID IT! DISNEY PRINCESS FINISHERS!

Everything after the race ended is a bit of a blur but I remember getting Pixie Dust and my beautiful medal! 

Afterwards, we split up to find our groups. I first went to gear check to get my bag with my flip flops (OMG much needed) and I got my box of post-race snacks (something different than 2011) and let me tell you, I was NOT a fan of the box. I pretty much only ate my banana but other things included were hummus and pretzel chips, dark chocolate, a mini luna bar, and some other things that I dont remember because I rationed it out to my sister, her friend Sara, and Maggie. I got a couple waters (one to drink and another to make gatorade w my powder packets I had in my gear check bag) and a powerade.  I finally met up w Maggie at the "P" tent in the family reunion area.  I wish I had finished earlier so I could have gotten pictures with the princesses at the finish.  I was trying to speed it up because my sister and Sara were waiting for us and they seemed a bit 'annoyed' so that was frustrating that I didn't really get to enjoy all the post-race activities and amenities.  They seemed like they just wanted to get back to our room so we could get cleaned up and continue with our day.. I don't think anyone who hasn't done a half marathon can really relate to all of the emotions after MONTHS of training, sheer exhaustion, depression of being done, etc.  We collected ourselves and eventually made our way to the line for our shuttle bus back to Art of Animation. We were so lucky to get an AC charter bus too :)

Our sorority sis and her group ended up coming onto the same bus we were on so we all decided to get a Hokie Picture and sorority sis picture at our resort with our medals!

I love this one!

Sooo, there it is. I know this was long but I love all the details runDisney has in their races so of course I will document everything!!

I will finish Sunday's recap in a part 2 later on today since this was long enough, hope you enjoyed the pictures!