Pig on the Pond 5K

2013 is going so well - I've already done 5 races so far! For the Pig on the Pond 5K, we met up with Sean and headed over to the scenic race route which was alongside Lake Minneola in Clermont.

 

 

The race is part of a bigger, annual festival - so we ran alongside the gorgeous lake and then finished in the fairground which was different!

My goal was to come in under 31 minutes and place reasonably well, Mike was looking to place and Sean was looking to beat 30 minutes...

 

 

And we all hit our goals! Sean came in 20 seconds under 30 mins! I placed 4th out of 32 in my agegroup!!

 

 

And Mike came in first place in his age group!!! Boo Ya!!!

 

 

And we even got a medal too :). Fun race, great company, gorgeous views and great results. So worth getting up early on the weekend for!

Disney Princess Half Marathon!!!

One of my goals for 2013 is to complete two Half Marathons. Last year I loved the Disney Princess Half (last year's race post here!) so Lu and I signed up again to check the first one off the list for 2013!!

The Expo was amazing and absolutely packed. We ran into Jeff Galloway and I thanked him for writing "Mental Motivation for Runners" which I just read this week and really found helpful. He was super friendly!!

On the big morning we had to get up crazy early to be there on time. Last year we promised we would dress up next time which felt a bit ridiculous at 3am to be honest...until we got there and everyone else was dressed up too :)

 

It was my first time in costume for a race and it was actually really fun! And it really helped me stay focused on finishing...no self-respecting 41-year old woman is exactly 'living her best life' getting picked up by the SAG wagon dressed as Minnie Mouse :)

 

 

There were about 24,000 princesses ranging in age from 14 to 96! We met up with Amy in the corral- she's a "friend of" Snow White :). And took about a billion photos since we had over an hour to wait before the big moment...

 

And then the Fairy Godmother waved her magic wand and we were off!

 

 

The race started and we celebrated each and every mile!  It was hot and pretty humid and very congested but really fun!

The entertainment and spectators were totally fantastic!!! Lu helped me stay focused on each step...first to the castle,

...then a 15k, then 10, 11, and 12 miles and then just one more!!! Right before the end they had a full gospel choir. I remembered it from last year and burst into tears :)

 

And then we were all done!!!

 

 

 

One of my favorite races - and beautiful bling too :)

 

Inaugural Winter Garden 10K

The Tri and Run store in Winter Garden hosted their first 10K today! One of my goals for this year is to run with a group and there's a bunch of local runners who get together there every week so I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet some of them! I hate getting up so early on the weekend but it's always worth it once I'm out of bed. I was super sleepy this morning but Lu got the energy flowing...:)

Mike's friend, Sean, joined us for the first time. Welcome to Team Daaaaamn! Sean!!

 

Feeling the running love...

 

The route was absolutely gorgeous today. I love the old downtown area and we got to run by Lake Apopka too which is so pretty...and there were medals. I freaking love medals...

 

So does Lu...:)

 

Team Daaaaamn! looking good...:)

 

And congrats Mike who killed it in 51:10...

 

Good times:)

Lady Track Shack 5K

The Lady Track Shack 5K was one of our favorite races last year and once we saw how cute the shirts were this year we had to sign up again :). Aside from getting ready for the Princess Half which is now only a couple of weeks away (yikes!) we have been working at improving our pace during our training runs. After last week's fantastic race, we were looking to see if we could run this 5K even faster :).

 

 

Aside from cute shirts, the route through Winter Park was really pretty and ladies only races are always really motivational for me...I just love the whole sisterhood thing :)

 

I absolutely gave it my very best effort today so I felt really good when I came over the line, even though I realized I still have some work to do to achieve my goal of a 30 minute 5K. When I found out later that I was only 15 seconds over I was thrilled!

 

 

2013 is working out really well so far :)

 

Seasons 52 5.2K

Today was just a perfect running day:). We got up early for our first 5K of the year and saw a coyote in our back yard before we even left! It was pretty cold when we arrived in Winter Park so we took a little run to warm up. I don't usually run at all before a race and it actually really helped so I think I'm going to do that every time now! We didn't take cameras to the race location which was such a shame because it was gorgeous!

 

It's a Team Daaaaamn! reunion!!

 

I wore my new Christmas kicks. I've been running in Newton's for so long but I actually really love these Asics too now!

 

 

Track Shack do such a nice job of their events - there were just over 2000 runners and we all had a really great time and ran really well.

We don't let a bit of sweat get in the way of a great post-race hug :)

 

It's been forever since I did a straight 5K and I've become really reliant on intervals so the goal was just to keep running the whole time. I was shooting for under 33 mins ideally so I was really thrilled to see my 5K chip time come in at 30:34!! That's the fastest 5K since October 2011 for me:). I feel really motivated to do some speed work now and try and get back under 30 minutes. 2013 is going to be awesome!!

Lu's Amazing Race!

After months of rigorous training, today was the day that Lu officially became a MARATHONER!! Team Daaaamn! were there to catch the big moment just outside Epcot...


Just watching the people coming over the line, sharing their determination, suffering, elation and accomplishment was totally insiprational. I can't imagine how amazing it must have felt to be on the other side of the gate...

It was the 20 year marathon anniversary for Disney. The medals were gorgeous!

 

Lu cried when she came into the home stretch, here she is recreating the moment!

 

 

Lovely Lu!!

 

 

Team Daaaaamn!

 

 

This is my favorite picture. I wonder how many times marathoners just look at their medal and can't quite believe they actually did it.

 

 

And in her own words...

 

How totally inspirational! CONGRATULATIONS LU!!!

Janathon is here!

I so needed a brand new year with new goals and new challenges:). 2012 has been exhausting and I'm totally ready to hit the ground running (literally) in 2013!! I feel really motivated and positive about my new goals and losing some weight:). And I can't think of a better way to start the year than by signing up for Janathon (link here)!!!

Janathon is a virtual event organized by a group of runners in the UK. Basically it's a challenge - you have to run (or do some other form of exercise) and blog about it every day for a month! I did the same challenge in June last year and despite some rule bending here and there, I did it and the results were amazing (link here)! Here goes...:)

Day 1: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

This one was huge for me today for a number of reasons:

1. I have been really lazy lately

2. Things have a tendency to stay in their boxes in my house if they don't get opened and assembled in about a week. I didn't want my new bike trainer to become one of them!

3. I haven't ridden my bike since we moved in October so now the tires are inflated again and I have located all my biking paraphernalia I have no excuses!!

4. I need to have some way to exercise indoors that does not involve a DVD. I would rather sell an organ than do a DVD. Unless its the Thriller dance. Which is really good exercise so it counts;)

Anyway, after a frustrating hour putting it together and some help from Mike my new bike trainer works!!! And it feels a lot like real biking. And it's sweaty :)

Day 2: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

I rescheduled tonight's planned run for tomorrow so I figured I'd do the trainer again. This time I pimped it up with a special towel cover that has a remote control holder. It's actually called a bike thong which made me giggle :). Day 2 done!!

Day 3: Run, 35 minutes, 3 miles

Lu's back!!! Ebaaaaa!

Day 4: Nothing
Day 5: Nothing :(
Day 6: Run 75 minutes-ish, 6 miles
Day 7: Bike trainer 20 minutes
Day 8: Nothing
Day 9: Nothing
Day 10: Run 35 minutes-ish, 3 miles

OK it's officially over. I have too many days to catch up. Janathon - you have gotten the better of me! See you in June when I'll be ready for you. Grrrrr!!!