Lets be honest, I started this post on um, feb 28, 2011 and I've put it off almost a whole entire month. The past 4 wks since my half have been absolutely bananas but Ill start w a recap of my disney princess half marathon weekend (which was amazingness/best wkend in life in FOREVERRRR)
(resume post from 02/28/11)
WELL. I did it. On February 27, 2011 I finished my first half marathon!
I was extremely worried that I wouldn't be able to finish because of my illness that kept me from running/training at all from December-mid February. I took the last 2 wks before the race to get back in shape in hopes of being able to keep pace and make it through the finish line. I ran abt 8 times in the last 2 wks before the race and I even got my longest run in ever at 13.6ish miles on the Thursday before I left for disney and it was great! I was still worried about finishing in general the entire wkend up until starting because I was just mentally so out of it being sick and miserable for so long. The wkend was just amazing though! I packed in a rush the thurs night before we left b/c I had class until 5ish. Then my mom came that night and my dad later too since we were all leaving out of CLT in the morning. my parents were bickering like small children so I had to play parent and keep them from yelling at each other haha.
Friday, February 25, 2011
we get to the airport like ridic early b/c my dad is panicking about time as always so we get there like 2 hrs early for our domestic flight to Orlando and we find out our flight is delayed from 10am to 1pm. My bro flew out of detriot in the morning while we were waiting and he even got to tampa and drove to orlando before we even got on the airplane in CLT haha. ridic. so we finally get to Orlando, I'm estatic because Im so excited about life at this point. We get off the plane and then my dad goes berserk again panicking abt our checked bags and I was all like 'daddy, srsly we are doing Disney so the magical express is taking our bags straight to the resort and our room!" and he didnt believe me so my dad stayed at baggage claim trying to find our bags and I went down to the magical express counter to get official proof to tell my dad that the bags were going to our resort b/c obvi the papers I had werent' proof enough. my mom got fed up w my dad so she went downstairs trying to find me. My ridic berry was also dying at this point so all the phone calls w/ my parents were getting cut off too. it was bananas. Both of my parents got lost trying to find me by the Disney Magical Express. My mom got lost b/c she went all the way outside and my dad finally came to the Disney Magical Express after he talked to someone who worked at the airport and they told him the bags never even come into the airport, they go straight to the resort from the airplane. While I waited for my parents, I saw 2 shuttles leave for our resort, so annoying. Well, we finally waited in line for the magical express, my dad was livid that we were "herded like cattle" so he j sat down in line like a small child but whatevs. I was so excited no one could bring me down. We finally got on the shuttle and made all the stops to the other resorts before getting to ours, I was sosososo excited. My brother was already there and had a rental car so he was liek call me when you get there, the walk frm the front desk to the room is long. (but rly, it wasnt, hes j out of shape hahahaha) but OMG I was so excited. We were in the Mighty Ducks building. OMG It was like a dream come true. my sister was getting in later that night so we went to the ESPN Wide World of Sports for the Fit Like a Princess Expo! I had to pick up my race packet and see all the fun vendors. It was so much fun and I was so excited too! My number was 9697 and I got some awesome things at the expo (a much needed spibelt to carry my berry and camera for the race, a finishers tshirt we ordered for my official time that I should get any day now, princess ears, princess waterbottle). After the expo, we went back to the room I think? No, we went for dins but my dad and bro made a big deal about finding an indian restaurant for dins but I was all like 'I cant eat that" (b/c my stomach was already in knots over the race and I still, to this day, cant handle ANY food w/ spice b/c Ive been eating literally bread/buttered toast since January). But nooo they didnt care so we went to this indian restaurant that was in an indian shopping center in Orlando (about 30 mins away from Disney, so yeah we went on a ridic car ride too). The food was ok b/c my mom and I were like " I need bland, white-ppl/American version of indian food" (no offense my white-ppl friends, but its j how they describe it at restaurants to other indians haha). Afterwards, I went to the indian grocery store next to the restuarant and got some ice cream and mango juice to soothe my stomach. afterwards, it was soon enough and my sis didnt want to wait for the disney magical express and so we went to the airport to pick her up. Then, back to the resort. BUT OH WAIT. I was so excited about Disneyworld, I forgot to pack some pajamas and my mom forgot her camera so we made a stop at a local walmart. Not gunna lie, I never loved walmart more than this one, there was so much of Disney souvenirs, etc that I had seen at our resort Disney store so I totes got it (tshirt, mug, etc) for like $5 less! Yay! I got some cheap pjs and apparaently they were out of all cameras of any sort and my mom was not having any of the disposable kind so we j peaced out and tried to plan the next day back in our room bt my daddy and bro were in a food-induced coma so we got frustrated, got ready for the morning and went back to our room for sleep!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The next morning, we woke up super early to go to the parks. I originally wanted to j go to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but since MGM Studios (i knwo is hollywood now but its j not the same anymore) had Extra Magic Hours, we got 1 day parkhopper tickets for my mom, dad, sis and I b/c my bro was lame-o and ddidnt want to come with us. IT. WAS. AMAZING. we went on tower of terror wo any wait, the great american movie ride too. Then, we left before the park opened for regular people so we made our way to Animal Kingdom. We went to Asia (obvi) and did the Kali River Rapids (omg sososomuch fun) and then had some Mickey ice cream, did the Safari in Africa (amazingggg) and then walked aroundsome more too. Then we went to Epcot Center. This was always my least favorite place in Disney World but my fam loves it so we went. At this point, I hadnt eaten anything all day so I was starving and trying to find something to eat. No luck in Mexico (overpriced "nachos" w.o any veg options), Im not a fan of Chinese food, the lines in Italy were inappropriately long, dont like Japanese food, and finally made it to Morocco. There, I found a falafel with a couscous salad. It was pretty amazing. While there, I ran into Aladdin hanging out with that whorish jasmine but I didnt throw rocks at her like I wanted b'c I didnt want to scar the small children. While eating, Maggie (my sorority sister) found me so we caught up some and talked about the ooc airplanes and the parks so far. We planned to meet at the Mighty Ducks pool at 315am the next morning to go to the race together. I was so nervous/anxious at this point about the race but being in Disney calmed me down. We walked through the rest of Epcot and then decided to go for it and took the monorail to Magic Kingdom/happiestplaceonearth. I was so happy there, I was literally jumping up and down to the entrance as soon as we got off the monorail!!! Took some amazingpictures too. We watched the show by Cinderella's castle, which was so fun then made our way around to all the different areas but the waits were far too long for Big Thunder Mtn Railroad and Splash Mtn so we decided against going on those since I had to eat dins and get to bed soon (which didnt happen) bc I had that little task of running 13.1 miles in less than 12 hrs. We did however, ride the crazy teacups ride. my mom and I were literally abt to puke when we got off but it was so much fun. We then walked around some more and then eventually make our way back to the resort exhausted, etc. Back in our room, we cleaned up and then my bro said we were going toOlive Garden for dins b/c I needed to eat pasta before the race (which was a good idea in theory but not in actuality..). We went, had to wait forever, had terrible service, and then got back to the resort by like 9-10 (and yes, I had planned to go to bed by 8pm). THEN, stupid ooc me, stayed up to watch my VT HOKIES beat Duke. It was pretty amazing and I then felt relaxed for the first time in forever b/c I took it as a good sign that things were going to go well with the race the next morning/in 6 hrs. I didnt end up falling asleep until after 1230am and was up at 245 to get ready for the race. Yes, that is right, I ran 13.1 miles on about 2hrs of sleep. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011
The race was so intese. I didnt realize how many people were going to be there and I was definitely not prepared b/c I didnt plan my bfast in the morning so I got a banana when Maggie and I got to the race and she gave me some of her fruit loops too. After getting to the race start, we went to our corrals, I was in D, she was in B out of F corrals.. I was literally abt to puke I was so anxious abt the race and all the people. Per usual w nerves, within the first 2 miles I had to pee. I was scared to go in the woods to save time so I stopped at a gross portapotty. I wasted so much time but I felt so relaxed after and got my pacing again and I was still within my corral's people so I wasnt too far behind. I ran for about the next 5 miles straight through Magic Kingdom and after I hit 7 miles, I was so exhausted. My ankles hurt, I was dripping with sweat it was so hot, and I was j so tired. After we got through MK, that is when I started my run/walk breaks. I think I walked more than ran the last half but I at least kept up my jogging instead of walking, until mile 11. This one was ROUGH. I honestly didnt think I could make it, I kept counting on my hands how many miles I had left and then I tooka quick stop at the top of this overpass where we were running, saw all the people behind me and felt a LOT better that I wasnt at the end. I took a break at the next medical stop and got some tylenol, got some goo for my legs/muscles/the soreness, and some people congratulated me on VT's big win over Duke the night before. That was just what I needed so I got going again and finished out hte last 2.1 well. Eminem came on and it was just what I needed after listening to Destiny Child's Survivor. The last part of the race, inside of Epcot, was rough. This is where I walked more than run/jogging but I got through the first half of mile 13 and then the last .6mi of the race I sprinted as fast as I could. It wasnt what I needed to make up for the times that I power walked more than I needed to run but its ok. I finished. MY time was pretty horrendous but I finished and ultimately, thats all that matters. I had been training for a 2:30 time but with my 3 month sickness, I think I did ok even though my pacing was way off. My family was so happy seeing me cross the finish! I met up with them after I got some snack items and water/powerade. We looked at my medal some then they went to the tshirt part and got them to make me a personalized tshirteven though we had ordered one at the Expo. I met up with my classmate from law school who also did the race to take a picture (srsly, who lies abt your finishing time? who cares as long as you finished? srsly, lame.) and then my fam and I peaced out b/c we had to check out of our hotel by like 11 I think and it was liek 1015 so I needed time to not only shower/clean up but pack too. It was ridiculous. Maggie finished so much earlier than me,she was already back at the resort and getting ready to hit another park before her flight that night but our flight was in the afternoon so the DME was taking us to the hotel at 2pm. My bro still had his rental car so he took us to ANOTHER disgusting indian restaurant that he and my dad wanted to go and I was too exhausted/sore to do anything about it so we went, I barely ate anything, and drank my own powerade. It was absolutely ridic bt thats j how my bro and dad are sometimes. Oh well. We got back to the resort in time to catch the DME and my moms got me ice cream in the airport after we got through security so that was nice. At the airport, ppl were furious b/c the flight before ours was cancelled/something happened, got hit on by some creepers in the Orlando airport, but then got on the flight home. We made a pit stop at my Aunt's crib in Concord, NC on the way home b/c she made me food b/c I hadnt eaten all day and was so exhausted/hungry still after my race. My cousin was visiting my aunt for the wk so we got to play with the new baby for a little too. She wouldnt stop crying and it got late so I was like 'ok lets go home" so we got home, and I couldnt even make it up my 2 flights of stairs in my townhouse to my bed. My ankles literally felt like they were going to break and give out. BUT, it was a reallllly good feeling :)
Since the half, I had my prof. ethics exam the next saturday so I took a break from running to study that week. then I ran 5Ks the past 2 saturdays. the 5K on mar 12 was particularly rough b/c I j wasnt mentally there b/c of drama at work, etc and I was really disappointed in myself and my time, etc. It was probs one of my all-time lows but I just needed to take time to get all back into it. Last Saturday I ran a 5K in my hometown and although the race was very poorly organized, I still was back to my half marathon pace. It wasnt the best pacing but good that I didnt let myself go too much after the half. Starting monday, when I get back from spring break this year), I think I am going to start throwing myself into running again circa july 2010 (running nearly 160-170 miles/month). I need to lose these last 15 lbs that have resided on my hips and stomach and I want to get healthy before I start studying for the bar.
Some exciting news--I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon in Anaheim, CA in September with my sorority sister Maggie. I am very excited about doing both the DisneyWORLD and DisneyLAND races all in one year. In training for the Disneyland Half, I am going to srsly train properly. I decided to do
Jeff Galloway's training program for the half. I am hoping that I can break 3hrs this time and hopefully get some runs in outside this summer as a break from Bar Studying (the stress/anxiety about that is for another blog post haha). I've heard a lot about his program and everyone I've talked to loves it and his book is great so that's my goal for September. Starting in April, Im going to get back to my 100 miles in 30days goals that I stopped in December. I'm physically feeling fine unless I eat somehting not good (i.e. last night) and then Ill be sick for a while (i.e. all day today) so I j need to keep my diet in check too. I hope it goes well.
Here's a little rundown of my past races and times, which I'm nervous abt publishing to the world but I tell myself I have nothing to be ashamed abt because finishing these races is a good start. going into my second year of srs running, I am going to work on my pacing and times for all my races from here on out.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure: Charlotte NC- 10/2010 (38:42)
