I Did It! PHM Trip Report Part 1

Despite work and life trying their hardest to get in my way, I was able to complete my first goal of 2013: the Princess Half Marathon!  It was my first half marathon ever (hey, instant PR!) and my first runDisney race, and it was an amazing experience. In order to preserve my memories from the whirlwind weekend, I’m putting together a combination trip report and race report.  In truth, I’m suffering from a bit of post-trip blues, which happens to me after every vacation, so reliving the magic should help cheer me up!

Day 1: Getting There is Half the Fun!

Instead of flying out of my local airport, I’d booked my flight out of Manchester, NH, about two and a half hours away.  My mom, who was my travelling companion and cheerleader on this trip, lives in NH, and Southwest offers direct flights to Orlando with the added bonus of free checked bags!  After kissing the husband and kids goodbye, I made the drive to NH on Thursday morning to meet my parents and hitch a ride for the airport.

Before boarding our flight, Southwest made an ominous announcement asking anyone who was connecting to Saint Louis on the second leg of the flight to come to the podium.  This was our first hint that some parts of the country were experiencing some pretty disruptive weather.  In hindsight, I feel very lucky that our travel was smooth, as many Princesses travelling to the race had to deal with cancellations and delays.

Sitting in front of me on the flight were two adorable women in tiaras.  I asked them if they were running the Princess, and they were!  Although, secretly I think I would love it if they just wore tiaras around for giggles.  They asked me which corral I would be in, and when I told them B, one said “Oh, you’re a real runner,” which cracked me up.  Turns out, the princesses on my flight were in G.    I didn’t see them after we got off the plane, but I hope they had a great race!

The flight was relatively uneventful, except for the fact that light turbulence made the captain keep the seatbelt light on for almost the entire flight.  Not a big deal, unless you are trying to hydrate like crazy for your first half marathon!  I ended up breaking the rules to use the bathroom, and got a hearty scolding from the flight attendant, as well as an extra announcement from the pilot asking us all to keep butts in seats, please.

Once we landed, we made our way to the Magical Express bus.  I love not having to collect my luggage from bag check!  Our driver was quite the jokester, and got a big cheer from us when he announced that he would be dropping off at Art of Animation first. We spent the drive over listening to the cute kids behind us react in awe to the welcome movie playing on the bus, and it was the first of many times that weekend that I wished my own kiddos were with me…

It was our first time at Art of Animation, and the hotel did not disappoint!  In keeping with the theme, the lobby was full of animation sketches, including the light fixtures.  We had booked in the Little Mermaid section, and after receiving our keys began the first of eleventy billion long walks from Animation Hall to our room.  We knew going in that the LM rooms were far away, relatively speaking, but I think there’s a difference between knowing something, and actually having to face that long walk after a long day of theme park fun (or half marathon running!).

After dumping our carry-on bags, we walked back to Animation Hall (see?!) to grab some dinner.  I was very impressed with the food court at AoA, as they offered some more healthy and interesting options than I’ve seen at most value resort food courts.  I ended up with the Create Your Own pasta bowl, which was delicious – and HUGE!  The portion was enormous, and in a nod to sustainability, was served in a “real” bowl instead of a to-go package.  I mentally made a note that the pasta bar would be a great pre-race dinner option on Saturday night.  My mom and I each picked out a cupcake for the road, and headed back to our room to see if the bags had been delivered yet.

Sadly, the bags had not arrived, but I’d packed some jammies in my carry-on, along with all of my race day gear, so I was able to get comfy and wait.  My poor mother did not take the same precautions, and had to wait until our suitcases showed up at 10 pm to settle in and go to bed.  We set an alarm for 5:30 am, plenty of time to get up and ready for our breakfast at…CINDERELLA’S ROYAL TABLE!

Winter Training (Blerg)

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in preparing for the Princess Half Marathon has been winter training.  I signed up for the race in July, high on the adrenaline of training for and completing my first 5K.  Intellectually I knew that the Princess would be a bigger commitment in terms of training, and because I have a calendar, I knew that part of the training would take place in the winter months.  Sure, I knew it would probably be hard, but I was confident that the excitement of the race and the thrill of accomplishment would be enough of a carrot to keep me motivated through it all.

Fast forward to today, when the mercury on my thermometer is barely a single digit and my long training runs are into double digits, and all the carrots in the world can’t make me excited to get out there and run.  Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited for the race!  I absolutely cannot wait for the experience.  Unfortunately, in order to get to the race, I’ve got to put in the work, and that’s a different kettle of fish altogether.

For the most part, my Princess training has been going well.  I had a two week lull in the middle of December – between craziness at work, school finals, the holidays, and everything involved with the Newtown shooting, which shook me to my core, running was not in the cards – but beyond that, I’ve stayed consistent.  In the spring and summer, I did my shorter mid-week runs in the morning at the track near my house, but the prospect of dragging myself out of bed on cold dark winter mornings is not appealing, so I’ve switched to my treadmill until daylight savings time.  Long runs are a different story; there’s no way I can face the treadmill for more than an hour!

My long weekend runs have added an element of anxiety that was previously missing for me.  I obsessively track the weather for the weekend, trying to figure out if my planned Sunday morning slot will still work, or if I should try and reschedule for Saturday mid-day due to weather conditions.  We’ve had more snow this winter than last, which makes the rural roads without sidewalks I run a bit more treacherous.  I work in a city about 20 minutes from my house, where sidewalks are available and clear for running, but driving in order to run seems wasteful of both gas and time.  Long runs already take away time from the family on the weekend.  Tacking on another 30-45 minutes of drive time seems more self-indulgent than I need to be.

Right now, I’m grateful that I’ve been able to eke out the long runs I need to in order to stay close to my training goals.  In a perfect world, my long runs might be longer, but being so close to the Princess, I also don’t want to risk injury by pushing myself too hard, or running in potentially dangerous conditions just to complete the run.  Besides, I just keep reminding myself that the Princess Half is not a race I’m running for time.  I’m running for the experience, the photos, and the accomplishment of finishing.  I will leave the time goals for spring and summer races, when training conditions are a bit more favorable. 

2013 Goals

I never would have suspected a year ago that 2012 was the year I would become a runner, but that’s what happened.  In May 2012, I set myself a goal: complete the Couch to 5K program, and run a 5K race.  I finished the program, and ran my first ever race: the Shipyard 5K in Portland, ME.  By the time 2012 ended, I had completed four races, lost 40 pounds, and was training for my first half marathon!

As I gradually eased myself into the cult of running, one thing that was really helpful in keeping me focused was having clear goals to work towards.  In the beginning, it was to complete the C25K training program (and on tough days, that simply became making it to the end of the run segment of a workout).  Then, each race became its own goal, and finishing each one gave me the confidence boost to tackle the next.  Since I took my first step on this journey in May 2012, setting and reaching my goals has created the momentum to make running a regular part of my life.

So now it’s 2013, and I want to set a few goals to start the year.  Some are goal races, some are more about the perspective I want to keep, and one is a simple mileage goal.  Because life is full of surprises, I’m sure that these goals might morph or change or grow over the course of the year, but I think they are a good place for me to start.

Goal 1: Princess Half Marathon!

So I’m not going to lie, watching a video of the Princess Half Marathon was the spark that inspired me to try running in the first place.  I am such a Disney nerd that the idea of finding another way to experience the Happiest Place on Earth was a huge motivation for me.  When I am in the middle of one of those “bleh” runs, I try to envision myself running triumphantly through Cinderella’s Castle.  I am thrilled to be tackling this race, but I have a feeling it’s going to act as some sort of gateway drug into a full blown runDisney addiction.

Despite my excitement for this race, I am a little apprehensive. The Princess Half is run in February, and while winter running conditions might be great in Florida, they are a bit more challenging in Vermont.  In addition, the holiday crunch of December (both at work and at home) really threw me out of my training groove.  In short, as my training distances should have been building, they started to flounder.  Right now, at roughly six weeks out from the race, I am playing catch up.  Everything I’ve read, including several training plans, say that if I can get to 10 miles in training, I will make it through the race, but I really wanted to have the confidence of knowing FOR SURE that I can run 13.1 miles.

Fortunately, the Princess Half is not a race I was planning to run for time.  The things I am most looking forward to relate to the experience: the costumes, the characters, the Castle, and the overall energy of 20,000 princesses!  While my primary goal is to finish, I also want to be able to get out of my own head enough to enjoy and appreciate everything happening around me. 

Goal 2: Log 500 Miles in 2013!

When I started on my running journey, I discovered the amazing tool that is Runkeeper!  The site is an easy way to track results, goals, routes, just about anything you can think of.  Runkeeper tells me that in 2012, I ran just under 250 miles.  Considering that I started running mid-year, and most of the first few months were distances of 2 miles or less, I really think this is an achievable goal for me, especially now that I’m tackling longer distances like the half.  I also think this goal will be a good bridge to carry me from race to race, so even when I am not working on a training plan for a particular event, every mile I run will count toward this goal.

Goal 3: Shipyard Half Marathon, Portland ME!

When I was trying to figure out which 5K would be my first, I decided on the Shipyard Old Port Half-Marathon and 5K in Maine.  Yes, there are a ton of races in my own Vermont back yard, but there were several things that drew me to the Shipyard.  First, it would mean a fun weekend with my sister-in-law in a great city.  Second, races sponsored by a brewery often tempt you with a free beer at the end.  In this case, runners were offered free beer, pizza, ice cream, and other goodies.  These incentives sounded good to me, but even more importantly, they sounded good to my husband and his sister, which meant they committed to racing with me.  We had such a blast, and it was an amazing feeling of accomplishment that I got to share with two of my favorite people in the world.

This year, I want to focus on completing the half-marathon portion of this race.  There’s a feeling of incredible pride and accomplishment to even be considering this half, when less than a year ago completing the 5K seemed like a daunting idea.  I’m really looking forward to coming full circle, in a sense, so it goes on the goal list!

Goal 4: Let Go of the Feeling I’m Not “Fast Enough,” and Appreciate my Successes

Okay, so this particular goal isn’t necessarily one that is specific or measurable, but important nonetheless.  I know for a fact that I will never be the fastest runner on the road, and I accept that without any problem.  However, I find myself with a tendency to compare my performance to others, whether it’s a real-life friend or someone online.  Somehow, I always feel I come up short by comparison; I’m not running as far or as fast as others in my world.

The bottom line is, I am an individual, and my path is never going to be identical to someone else’s.  I need to embrace that, and stop beating myself up that I don’t “measure up” to some standard that I’ve put on myself.  I need to be kinder to myself, and allow myself to unabashedly celebrate my wins, without side by side comparison to someone in different circumstances.  Having said that, I know that there are things I can do to improve my own performance, like strength workouts, and being consistent in following my training plans.  If I want to be the fastest runner I can be, I will look at those things I can control, not what I can’t.  Easier said than done for me, but that is my goal for 2013.

I Came, I Saw, I Ran

This, in a nutshell, is the recent story of my life: I came, I saw, I ran.  For those who like a little more detail, let me elaborate...

I came to the realization that I was not living the best life that I could in early 2012.  While I knew in the back of my mind that I could be eating better food and being more active, I was a slave to my life's schedule:  two small kids, a husband that I'd like a little time with, a full time job, part-time college courses.  In my infrequent down time, nothing sounded more appealing than snuggling up on the couch with a book or a TV show.  Sound familiar?

I probably could have coasted on in that mindset for quite a while, but in early 2012, my 38 year old cousin lost his battle with a very aggressive form of cancer, leaving behind his wife and three small children.  His passing rocked me, not only with grief and sadness for the wife, children, parents and siblings trying to cope with their devastating loss, but with complete and utter terror.  My cousin was only a year older than my husband and me, his youngest child the same age as my oldest.  It could have so easily been one of us.  I've never before felt my own mortality quite as keenly.

From that minute on, I saw my life from another perspective.  I have been blessed in my life, and rather than appreciating the people around me, and celebrating the fact that I continue to wake up and draw breath each morning, I was squandering some of the things I was lucky enough to have.  I thought about how hard my cousin fought for each additional minute of his life, and I took a good hard look at the way I was living my own.

I also took a good, long look in the mirror, and climbed on the scale for a personal come-to-Jesus.  I've never been a tiny person, though I'm short, but I'm still carrying around my baby weight, even though the first baby is heading into 2nd grade, and the second is almost four.  Yes, it was clearly time for a change, but knowing a change is needed, and knowing how to make it happen are two different things.

I had recently read a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, which helped me formulate a plan.  Duhigg explained that in order to effectively change a habit, a person needs to crave the rewards of the change more than they crave an old behavior.  There is one reward that always motivates me, and that's a trip to Walt Disney World!  Obligingly, WDW has a program called runDisney, which sponsors all kinds of races, including the Disney Princess Half-Marathon!  I knew when I found it that I had the perfect reward to motivate a change in my habits.

That night, I sat my husband down and told him I wanted to start running, sure he was going to burst into laughter (secretly hoping he wouldn't, even though my mind was made up!).  Actually, I think he was more relieved that I wasn't trying to talk about having another baby, or redoing the upstairs bathroom.  In any case, he not only supported my plan, but agreed to run my first 5k with me!  And so...

I ran, starting in May with the Couch to 5k program. It was a great choice for me, allowing me to mix running and walking, building slowly to the ultimate goal of running for 30 minutes straight.  On July 22, my amazing husband and adventurous sister-in-law joined me in running the Old Port Half-Marathon and 5k! It was an amazing, empowering experience, and I met my goal of finishing in under 40 minutes (yes, I'm slow!) with a 38:44 time.  Because the race was sponsored by Shipyard, I also got a celebration beer!  Woohoo!

Now it's almost September, and since I took my first cautious jog up my street, I have lost just about 25 pounds, cut my 5k time down to 33 minutes, and registered for the 2013 Princess half-Marathon!  I am still a work in progress, but I am thrilled that I have come so far so fast.  I decided to start this blog in order to "pay it forward", because in this process I've drawn so much help, advice and direction from random, anonymous internet people!  If I can be a random, anonymous, and yet helpful internet person to someone else, I will consider myself lucky!