Walt Disney World Marathon 2013 Overview Part 1- Plus tips I wish someone told me!

First off, Let me just say, we probably did EVERYTHING, you're not SUPPOSED to do for a marathon. Even though I was a marathon newbie the circumstances that led up to the race didn't allow for a lot of  what is called "marathon prepping"

The move from Hawaii was arranged around the same weekend (why not kill two birds with one stone and save on air fare). The flight left The Big island of Hawaii at 9:15 am on Thursday and landed in Orlando, Florida 6am Friday morning.

There had been some debate whether we should go cheap, arrange a hotel off the resort and use a rental car all weekend....OR...pay a little bit extra (it actually saved money) and stay at a Budget Disney Resort. LET ME TELL YOU.. that is THE FIRST thing I talk about when I talk about the marathon weekend. IT WAS AMAZING. (Real quick side note*) * There was once an incident at the LA marathon where we spent 2 hours in traffic trying to get to the start and one ended up having to jump out on the car on the free ramp to not miss the start of the race....Getting to the race, stresses me out more than the actual race itself.*

OK... So... The arrival was SO EARLY, we were the ONLY ones on the shuttle that took us to our resort. When we checked in, there were no lines (after breakfast and a nap we came back down to use a shuttle and there was a line out the door around noon)

SO.. TIP #1. Do your research!!! Everything is about "Location, location, location" Because of the resort there was never a worry about food (there was a huge cafeteria on site, they were open at 3am every day that weekend for the runners AND had pasta tailored menu the day before the race, cheaper then pasta in the park)....SO..look for the low budget resorts that Disney has to offer...

All Star Music Resort

I splurged one morning and got this...it was SO CUTE!

 ALSO...They offer shuttle services TO and FROM the marathon.. (I heard the hallelujah chorus)...no stress at all getting to and from the race as WELL as the expo, no stress about parking... traffic... or getting to/from the airport....

(THIS MADE THE ENTIRE WEEKEND STRESS FREE)
They even carried the 6 suitcases we had (again..we were moving from Hawaii 2 checked a piece, 2 carryons...and a backpack)

I did LOTS of number crunching and with finding our own place and a rental car VS the budget resort we actually saved money.

OK.. So on to the EXPO...
...So I was SUPER excited about the Expo...but I knew it was going to be BUSY...It was wall to wall people.

The bag pick up was a very simple and fast process. The bag contents were ok. Having ran the Princess run last year I wasn't expecting much. It came with the Blue tech shirt (shown above), a race brochure, a tattoo of the WDW symbol, I think a small crunch bar, and a few pamphlets. The expo itself, again, very similar to the Princess race. I don't usually buy anything major at the expos, I DID find a really cool "I did it " long sleeve shirt I purchased. They DID have a pretty cool booth where you stood in front of screen and you got to hold the medals. You printed out a picture and it had Mickey behind you at the finish line. I didn't want to give the medal back, but I knew I would own one soon!

Saturday was pretty awesome! I met up with one of my sorority sisters, who works at the parks, and was able to provide park hopper tickets to Epcot and Animal Kingdom! It was pretty awesome! ( again.. probably shouldn't had walked all day the day BEFORE a marathon! LOL)

 We were there until the park closed...I HAD to see the Illuminations Fireworks show at EPCOT, it's my favorite...I haven't seen it since 8th grade. I actually use the song from the show in my running playlist!

The park closed at 10..by the time we got back to the bus, hotel, packed, got everything ready for the race...it was midnight.....the alarm for the race went off at 2:30. AGAIN with 5 time zone changes, 22 hours of flying, 8-10 hours of walking the previous day..I am saying..nothing in that last sentence is what is told to be done before a marathon..LOL

SO... I had to break this up into 2 posts.. SO.. Please look for Part 2 for actual race day! :)
PART 2

Ramblin' Rose Ambassador

 So, I'm really excited to say that I am an ambassador for the amazing Ramblin' Rose Triathlon series based out of North and South Carolinas!

After running my first marathon in January, I vowed that my goal in 2013 was to do my first triathlon. After moving to North Carolina, I searched for different triathlons that were very simple yet would challenge me to train for it. Any race with a swimming event over 400 meters scared me. Yes, I've swam in the ocean quite a lot but not in a race style. After swimming laps in the local pool it was clear to me I needed something much, much smaller. This is when I found the Ramblin' Rose Race series. I LOVE that it really focuses on celebrating active and fit women. It's hard to believe that a women had to sneak on to the Boston Marathon, just shy of 50 years ago, to actually prove that women could be capable to run just like men. Now, there are races gauged specifically for women!

I'm not sure which race in the area I'm going to run, but I know it will happen this summer.

Here is a listing of the races

South Charlotte Tri
May 5, 2013

Raleigh Tri
May 19, 2013

Rock Hill Tri
July 14, 2013

Winston-Sale Tri
August 18, 2013

Charlotte Tri
September 22, 2013

Chapel Hill Tri
October 6, 2013

It's a VERY, VERY achievable event for even those who are beginners in the Triathlon event or are trying to achieve a personal record in each event

The actual events include :

Here is the link for the actual website and other sites that hold more information for each race day and other news and events:

Ramblin' Rose on Twitter

Ramblin' Rose on Pinterest (this has some really awesome inspirational and motivational running quotes, I would really suggest checking it out!)

Ramblin' Rose on Facebook

Ramblin' Rose Website

I plan on updating this website with photos as well as updates of the different races.

From this picture I found on the website, it looks like spots are filling up pretty fast!

Now, Keep in mind this is as 3/31/13, So, if you're interested you might want to sign up early to confirm a spot!

The Active Choice 5K- Boone, North Carolina

This race was a combination of running on the local Greenway and part trail running. I didn't realize until we were running, the reason why we didn't continue on the Greenway was due to another race happening just north of us. I was running and saw this mass amount of people and was instantly confused! I knew there weren't that many runners with our race but understood it was a different group with the difference in bibs.

This 5K was organized by the Health and Science club, as well as the Physical educators and Exercise science club at the local college. I thought the logo for the race was pretty neat!

It was SUPER cold at packet pickup this morning. The sun was out and it looked like a beautiful day but I think by the time we were running it was only 43 (COLD!). I was very glad I didn't wear shorts.

The course began on the Greenway but made it's way up a pretty steep and gravel trail after the first mile.

The 2nd hill kicked my butt! with the combination of the cold air in my lungs and the hill, breathing was very difficult for me. I was holding an amazing pace, first mile was 8:41 but quickly slowed once I hit the hills.4 people then passed me and I never regained my lead I had.

After mile 2 I knew there was going to be a decline and was anxiously anticipating it. Down the hill I picked up speed and was constantly gauging my speed and my feet placement on the gravel to avoid slipping.

Mile 3 was across a grassy part of a soccer field and then the home stretch. After crossing the chalked finish line It took quite a while to regain my breathing. My lungs were burning from the cold air  and I had really pushed myself faster than I usually do (the curse of the 5K sprints...as I call them)..however after a bagel my were no longer on fire and I could regain normal breathing.

Surprisingly I was awarded the 2nd fastest time in the women's 21-30 age division. It was small race but I still wasn't expecting it.

I also won a Gift certificate to a local grocery store...wahoo!



Josh took off and I only saw him once other time during the race. He ended up being awarded 2nd place in the overall race

It was a successful 5K.

I like 5K's, it was the start of my whole running "career" but.. I also HATE THEM. I have SUCH a competitive outlook on smaller races and so I ended up pushing myself harder than I have trained and they end up more like sprints for me. These next few months of training will be more focused on speed and hills instead of just a flat distance training like last year. I have proven I can do long runs, now I just need to fine tune them so I can push myself more.

:)

A Day Hike on the Appalachian Trail-Damascus Virgina

Since moving to my new residence, I've really became compulsive about the Appalachian trail. I never knew existed until this move. I've heard of the Pacific Crest trail, but when living close to it, I wasn't very active I quickly dismissed the idea of even finding it. I feel as if I've gone to the library and checked  out almost every book on the Appalachian trail as well as buy one book every 2-3 weeks on amazon that hikers have written about their thru hike. Those books being:

AWOL on the Appalachian trail -David Miller
A Walk in the Woods- Bill Bryson
A Journey North- Adrienne Hill
Backpacking for Women-" "
Day Hiking on the Appalachian trail- Louge & Adkins

There are more out there...but I've been slowly devouring them, one at a time, since March.

After going to the local city information desk, I found that I was a very quick drive to Damascus, Virgina. One of the biggest, and sought after trail towns on the southern side of the AT.

This past week was one of the warmest days it had been so, I jumped on the oppourtunity to go!

The city itself is a very sleepy summer town. I was expecting there to be me more of a town. However with a few gas stations and one stop light, unless you were there specifically for the AT or the Creeper trail (more on that later)..you would blink and dismiss the city as very comparable to the small town of Mayberry from the Andy Griffith show.

Upon arriving we decided to drive through the city and get an overview ( this took about 5 seconds). Of course we arrived at a park that was the southern entrance of the city. I jumped out of the car, I was so excited to actually see the evidence of the trail!

It's not an extremely exciting entrance but I'm sure a very welcoming one to a thru hiker ready for a hot meal and a day of rest.

There are 2-3 hostels/hiker's inn's I saw as we drove along the city streets. Next we hit the 2 outfitter stores just to drool over, over priced hiking items. It was neat to see.

At the edge of town we saw our 2 options for food, a local coffee/sandwich shop at Mojoes or a Hamburger at Jeepers Creepers. I'm really sad that we didn't see the Jeeper's Creeper's stop first. I had watched the National Geographic documentary about the AT and they feature the JC hamburger place in the show. However our sandwiches from Mojoes were amazing...AND we had the pleasure of conversing with a thru-hiker. He was retired and had started hiking from GA March 1st. We were very impressed with his speed! He had taken a 0 day yesterday in town, leaving at noon the next day, aiming to make it 15 miles .

After loading up it was time to hike! I had found a PDF on the Damascus website that had offered 4-5 4-8 mile hikes around the AT. I had seen a bridge coming into town marked with the AT on it, I was dead set to start with it, plus it was the beginning of the AT heading north out of town.

We parked our car at Mojoes and hiked on the side path that is part creeper trail, part AT.

                                                        (turned around and took this picture) This is what the thru-hikers coming the North would have been greeted with.

                                                                       And....we're off!

The first 2 miles from this bridge..were pretty killer. Other than a hike I had done in Hawaii, this ranks as one of the HARDEST climbs . It was a consistent incline with lots of rocks you had to avoid slipping on. I had to take 3-4, 5 second breathing breaks.  But I couldn't help shout WHITE! and slap every blaze we had passed

                         I was so excited to finally be on a part of this trail I had read and read about

                                                        It was a beautiful day!

It's still not quite spring up here in the mountains, I can't wait to revisit some of the trails, just to see the blooming of the flowers and trees!

I had great directions I had found on the PDF and the trail was very well marked. We hiked for another 2 miles on the trail and turned right to loop back to our car, back on the Creeper trail. I was sad to say goodbye to the AT but was very excited to hike on it.

The Creeper trail is a 33-34 mile trail that seemed more famous/ advertised in Damascus. Local bike shops/rentals will shuttle you and your bike/rental, on this gravel path that starts around Abingdon, VA and intersects Damascus. This trail is very pretty, and does run beside a river, but It's more for the bikes, less for the hikers. It seemed to be a long, slow, and flat 5 miles back to the car.

I ended up getting knee high in the river and cooling off my legs. I was having some shin pain from the constant hiking that week.

We spent the last mile of the hike discussing a smoothie choice from the Mojoe's cafe but was sadden when we saw it was closed before got back. We drove to another ice cream place and was also met with a "closed" sign. After talking to some local's we found the Dairy King and rewarded ourselves with a chocolate/Vanilla twist cone. It was amazing!

So excited to set foot on the historic and iconic AT trail. It won't be the last time we meet!

Trail Info:

Loop hike on the

Appalachian and VA

Creeper trails (8 mi. easy

to moderate):

Beginning in Damascus,walk east on the Appalachian and VA

Creeper Trails (white blazes). At the “Appalachian Trail” sign, turn left, cross Rte. 58/91 and ascend a set of steps, following the white blazed A.T. four miles, across ridges with views. Cross a small log bridge and turn r ight on the Beech Grove Trail (unblazed woods road) to reach Rte. 58 in ¼ mile. Cross and descend to the Straight Branch VA Creeper Trail parking lot. Turn right on the Creeper and walk four miles, with views of the creek, to return to Damascus.

 

The beginning of the hike was more moderate while the end was easy. With a pace of 3 miles per hour, we had, we found out it was more like 9 miles. 

Color Run 5K- Nashville, TN

 This was my first Color run, well walk. It's not so much of a run. There is no timing/chip and it is more enjoyable if you walk and take your time through each station. The goal, get as messy as you can!

Some people asked us if this race was a gay pride/awareness thing.  I pulled this from the Color Run website it's self:

ABOUT US

The Color Run™, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, individuality, and giving back to the community.

The packet pick up was in the Opry Mills Mall. I was pretty impressed with the ease of it. Waiting in line, getting the bag and shirt, took about 3-4 minutes. That evening wasn't as easy. The hotel we had rented a room from was about .9 miles away from the stadium. Being a part of other races,I have learned that the morning of the event is sometimes more stressful than the actual race. Well...with 4 of us planning to stay in a room, they only room they had available had a king. We had booked a double but, that's the joy of Priceline. The front desk worker wasn't too polite, so, we roughed it 1 couple in the bed, 1 on the floor in a sleeping bag, worked out just fine.

Packet Included:

1. White color run shirt ( I liked mine so much I ended up wearing another white shirt the day of so my race shirt wouldn't get ruined)
2. White color run headband
3. 2  color run temp tattoos (I put one on my cheek)
4. Bib
5. Safety Pins
6. Arm bracelett
7. Color packet (to be opened at the end of the race)

Dress Attire- Everyone wears a white top, whether it be the color run shirt or just a plain white top. Everything I wore got color run on it (including an under tank top) SO just prepared to get color in places you don't expect....My feet still have color on them from inside my shoes!


The morning of we blasted Space Jam as our pre-race jam and got our white on. Within 10 minutes of walking to the stadium a lady, with a color run shirt on, offered us a ride. Gotta love good race karma. Upon following the herd of people , like sheep, we found the beginning of the race (but couldn't help pose by my favorite color)

The place was packed! My bib # started with 40,000 but I didn't think it was a real number ( it looked like a pretty standard bib they used/reuse at other color runs)..but.. After seeing the amount of people, I could believe it.


After meeting family in the back, we waited...and waited...and waited... Our wave of people didn't make it to the start line until an hour and fifteen minutes after the start of the race. There was an elevator and stairs , off to the side, that took you to part of the route that people were bailing out to take, but we wanted to full experience of the start.

The course was pretty awesome, It took you downtown Nashville. There people, not involved in the race, walking around and looked at us like we were crazy. Well I guess you could say we were!

 First comes yellow. I wasn't too covered by the time we passed through that station.

 I figured out by the orange station to just go down the side and turn your body so the people can spray both sides.. lol

Just being silly on the course

 AHH! Pink I was so excited. Some family members and I actually got on the ground and made color angels, it was awesome.

 Last came blue...

AND FINISH!

That's when we released our packets of color that was included in our packet pickup

They had a pretty awesome ....color/mosh pit after a lot of people left... but we joined in and had a great time!!!

Let's just say ...I got my color.....on..LOL.. 

It was awesome!...It's the perfect event for those that are runners and those that arn't runners. We ran at some parts, but walked most of the way. Most people did. They have a ton of events in the US . I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST finding one close to you and doing it with friends and family!

http://thecolorrun.com/