September Plans

Let the marathon training and race season begin:
Week 1:
Disneyland!!! for #RunAllTheRaces
5k on Friday
10k on Saturday
1/2 on Sunday

Week 2:
Enjoy Disneyland
4 miles
15 miles

Week 3:
4 miles
4 miles
10 miles

Week 4:
4 miles
San Jose RnR 5k on Saturday
San Jose RnR 1/2 on Sunday (Hoping for a 2:44 for Dopey time)

Lots of races and my first over 13 mile run. I'm excited. Hoping for cooler weather as this summer has had some heat waves. My 5ks are all walks. The 5k distance isn't my favorite I feel it takes me that long to get into my groove during a race so I always try to find friends to walk them with.

<3 Ann

My Park Bag

I don't know how to travel light as you can see in my running packing list. So I always have a bag with me in the parks inside of it:

• Wallet (park tickets, id, money) 
• Cell Phone 
• Backup Battery Charger I like ones made by Anker  (http://amzn.to/1JriqA5) 
• A light sweater -  restaurants sometimes blast AC making it a little cold for me
• A small notebook and pen 
• Autograph book and sharpie
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• Medals from the weekend
• Snacks 
• Bottle of water from a cart in the park

Sometimes I carry:

• Digital SLR w/ 18-135 lens
• Extra battery for camera 
• 28mm lens 
• Poncho
• Other race weekend medals
• Sunglasses
• Fun Hat

Is there anything you think I'm missing? 

<3 Ann

What I pack for a RunDisney weekend!

Disneyland Half Weekend is just two weeks away and I'm in full packing mode.
I have a spreadsheet I started for my first RunDisney weekend a year ago and I make a few alterations each trip  The first thing I do is get my costumes together. I have these large ziploc bags I get from Target they're called Jumbo and they're great. When I start the bags I write what race it's for, the costume, what shoe I plan to wear, and anything missing.

All of my running gear is put into a carryon. I'm not about to trust the luggage guys with important items for a weekend.

For Disneyland I'm running all 3 races so I have 3 costumes.
Bag 1: Oswald for the 5k.
Blue Royale Sparkle Skirt, black short sleeve shirt, black bra and socks, race bib holder.

Bag 2: Darth Vader for the 10k
Vader shirt, black capris, grey socks, black/grey bra, black visor, lightsaber, running belt,

Bag 3: Goofy for the 1/2
Goofy Costume (Ordered from iGlowRunning), Black Sparkle Shorts, green visor with ears, white socks, yellow bra, (No Running belt as I'll use the same one I'm using for the 10k)

I also bring:
2 pairs of running shoes
Headphones + charger
Garmin 620 + charger
Clif Gels and Salt Stick
Signed Waivers
Safety Pins
Foam Roller - I travel with the Tiger Tail
Sunglasses
BioFreeze and Advil
Hair Ties to pull my hair up.
Bobby Pins To keep my Oswald ears on my head
Bandaids in case of blisters or whatnot
Compression Sleeves for recovery in the parks
Large trash bags to sit on in my corral as they put you in them early.
Throwaway ponchos in case of rain (I learnt that from W&D)
A backup outfit in case of rain or just not feeling my costume
Water Bottle
Sunscreen
Small cellphone charger like this one from Amazon 

It might sound like a lot, but I'm always a be prepared type of person so I'm ready for anything. I'd love to hear if there's anything you bring that's not on my list.
<3 Ann

Summer Breeze 1/2

My August race was on the 1st. I was running it for Dopey time and maybe a chance to improve my Wine & Dine time. The morning started out perfect it was overcast and 65. I had been having fuel problems for the last few weeks and my stomach was still having issues, but I thought I still could make my 2:44 goal.
I wore my new Training for Rebel challenge shirt with my R2D2 Sweaty Band. I got lots of great compliments on it and it was really comfortable to wear. I even carried my new Nathan SpeedDraw insulated water bottle (I have been using a non-insulated one for awhile now)

The first few miles were great. I know I went out too fast. I always do, but I caught myself pretty early and fell into my 45/30 intervals. I was doing great until about the 6 mile mark. It had really warmed up and I kept looking for the turn around. Thinking I'd see it any minute not in the actual half mile from where I was (I have trouble with math when running) I should have just kept going knowing I wouldn't get lost. Then the heat + my fueling issues really hit me. I had to walk a little bit after the turnaround and then settled into 30/30 intervals. My virtual pacer told me I was about 5 minutes behind my goal. I knew I could make that up and I was going a lot slower then I was the first half. So I reassessed my goal to 2:59. I wanted it to be under 3. I kept going the best I could. I stopped looking at my watch and just kept up with my intervals. I crossed the finish line at 2:53:51 9 minutes behind my first goal and 7 minutes ahead of my reevaluation goal. I didn't realize it at the time, but I set a new PR!!! Beating my old PR by 15 minutes. I was happy I had a time to submit for Dopey that I was happy with. I have another half before the cutoff, but it's also hit or miss on the heat. Now it's just some training runs and getting ready for Dumbo Double Dare and the 5k.
<3 Ann

Peachtree Road Race 2015

 The morning started off with a 5:30am alarm. I did another weather check because even the night before they weren't sure how hard or if it would rain at all. Well the rain had moved in and it was going to be heavy. I decided to skip the outfit I planned on and went with a backup "Christmas in July" outfit. I've learnt to travel to races with a backup outfit, large trash bags, and a throwaway poncho. For 60,000 runners it never felt crowded and the corrals moved smoothly. Right before 8am my corral started off. I decided to run with 30/30 intervals and that felt great. I was wet, but my shoes and socks stayed dry. One of my favorite parts of the race is when we pass The Cathedral of St. Philip and are blessed with holy water.


Mile 3 brought the hill I feared the most. Cardiac Hill. It's a pretty steep incline straight up to a hospital. I decided to walk it as water was just rolling down the hill and my lack of hill training. Once I reached the top I knew I could finish in a time I could be proud of. It wasn't going to be a PR, but I was feeling good and fell right back into my intervals.

Around the 4 mile mark they changed the course from yellow to red and I saw a couple cloud 2 cloud lightning strikes, but nothing that scared me as I was surrounded by tall buildings. I didn't see anymore as I continued to run through the city and then the turn off Peachtree and onto 10th Street. I was still feeling great, but ready to be done with the rain.

When I entered Piedmont Park they were trying to clear people out due to the lighting in the area. I trekked through the mud for a bit trying to find my way to Marta which wasn't well marked and it felt like it took forever to get there. I loved traveling home to run the first race I ran. I finished in 1:23 and set a new PR for a 5k!

Now onto training for the Dumbo Double Dare,
<3 Ann 

July Goals

As I start July I officially start the training plan for Dopey. I honestly don't feel like I'm starting it. None of my runs feel like Dopey prep, but I suppose we have to start somewhere and I have so many races coming up that maybe it'll take a few month.

This month my monthly mileage goal is 55 miles. I have a 10k race this week back in my hometown of Atlanta. The great Peachtree Road Race. I'm so excited to be running it again.

I have 3 long runs on tap for the month 9 miles, 11 miles, and 7 miles. I have my regular short runs which are 3-4 miles each, but I'm horrible about going out for "just 3 miles" so it turns into 4-5 mile runs. I have 2 tentative B2B scheduled for some Dumbo weekend prep. I should also start working on some cross training something I've never been a fan of, but know it's useful with my mileage adding up.

<3 Ann

Hello!

Hello world. I'm Ann. I'm 28 and I'm a bit of a RunDisney junkie. I've participated in 4 weeks so far and this fall I'll participate in 4 more concluding with Marathon Weekend and Star Wars Weekend Disneyland. 

I've been running for almost 2 years now. I used to run in high school and stopped shortly after due to injuries. I'm feeling great now and looking forward to taking on some new races and some challenges this year.

I decided at the beginning of the year to attempt to run a race a month for 2015. So far this year I've logged 165 miles with 1 5k, 3 10ks, 3 1/2s, and 3 other odd distances. Planned for the rest of the year I have 5 5ks, 3 10ks, 6 1/2s, and 1 full marathon. I've found having races is my motivation to keep running and to keep training. I hope to go back and write up some of the races as reviews on the blog sometime in the future.

The purpose of the blog is to document my training and hopefully share tips and ideas for others training for challenges or their first races.

<3 Ann