Wine & Dine Half Marathon: Recap

Wine & Dine... or what many like to call WDW's 2014 Splash 'n Dash!

The week leading up to the race showed a chance of rain, but the forecast changed everyday. It wasn't until the day before or the day of the race that rain was imminent. I am a Goldilocks runner: I don't like to run when it's too hot or too cold. And running in the rain definitely is not my cup of tea. But this was my first trip to WDW and I was going to get my Coast to Coast medal, even with the rain. 

I had dinner at our resort- Boatwright's at Port Orleans Riverside. This was my first night race and I wasn't sure if I should carb-load or not, so I went with pasta anyway.

I considered wearing regular running clothes since it was raining, but I was super excited about my Mickey Ice Cream Bar costume. Mostly just the ears. :) I'll post a DIY on how I made them.

The character lines were long! I only had time to wait in one line, so of course I went with Mickey. The line took about 45 mins to an hour, but well worth it!

The rain didn't start until just before the race while we waited in the corrals. I started in corral E and was already pretty damp by the time I crossed the start.

And we're off!

A quick picture with one of the floats from the Electrical Parade that was stolen borrowed from Disneyland. ;)

I was averaging a 10:30 min mile- much faster than I'd been training. The rain really made seeing anything difficult. Water kept getting stuck on my eyelashes and getting in my eyes. Maybe it's just me, but when I wear contacts and I get water in my eyes, they get super uncomfortable. I was afraid they were going to come out! Does that happen to anyone else?

The textured ground in Animal Kingdom made for some great puddles. My shoes were totally soaked!

There was a pirate ship and pirates out for a photo op. There weren't as many characters out, probably due to the rain. These guys were troopers!

Hollywood Studios hat. I like it and I'm sad to hear it's being taken out.

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!!!!

The lights were my motivation during this race. I was tired and hating the rain, so I told myself I wouldn't stop running until I reached the lights. Then I could take a break and enjoy them.

A soggy and tired Mickey Ice Cream Bar

 The rain couldn't stop my excitement about these lights.

Pretty sure I took more photos here than the rest of the race combined. :)

After that, it was just a couple miles to the finish! At this point I really just wanted to be done, so I pushed a little harder at the end and picked up the pace.

My final time was 2:30, which is actually my 3rd fastest half marathon (my PR is 2:23). Surprised? So am I, considering the rain!

I considered just going back to the hotel after the race, after all, I was completely soaked and cold now that I had stopped running. But... I really wanted to eat at the Hawaii booth in Epcot. This was my last opportunity during my trip, so I put on a dry top and braved the rain. I got my food- a pork slider and tuna poke. And even a beer to go with it. :) 

Riding Test Track was considered, but I was shivering so much that I was spilling my beer, so that was my cue to head home.

I even made the official runDisney video! Find me about 27 seconds in. :)

I Made the W&D Official runDisney Video!

Have you seen the official runDisney recap video for Wine & Dine yet? You can catch me about 27 seconds into the video. :) 

I wanted my costume to reflect the theme of the race- I went more with the "dine" part and dressed as one of my favorite Disney treats- a Mickey Ice Cream Bar!

I'm off to the Avengers weekend in Disneyland, but I promise I'll have recaps of the race as well as my trip! :)

Wine & Dine Expo Shopping List

I'm still eagerly awaiting a sneak peek of the merchandise for the Wine & Dine Expo, but I've already started compiling a list of other fun stuff I'm lusting after.

I hope they have a lot of items with this design (from the official race guide) on it. I'd love a magnet or tumbler with it.

I have my eye on this Snow White hoodie from Raw Threads. I have a couple of Raw Threads skirts that I love (super soft and comfy) and I've only heard great things about their tops and hoodies. Since their inventory at the expo can be limited, I decided to pre-order this. They offer free expo pick up!

I'll probably pick up another Sweaty Band. They have some pretty ones like this gold one.

Do you have an items you look for at expos?

Forget Moving! I'm Going to Disney World!

I finally have some updates! We are moving back to CA- and very soon! My husband got transferred to a new team and with that came an "accelerated schedule" to get out to CA. All in all, from the day we found out, we will be moving in 2 weeks. 

Lucky for us, this move is covered by my husband's work. A moving company is coming to handle everything. At first I was really anxious about moving, probably because my move to Texas was such a train wreck. 

But... it turns out my husband will be handling the move while I am enjoying Disney World and running this:

YAY! It still makes me nervous, but there's nothing I can do, so I'm channeling Elsa and letting it go. *cough* bad joke *cough* I couldn't resist. ;)

I'll meet my husband in CA for a couple days and then it's off to Disneyland for this:

It's going to be one heck of a crazy month, but I am really looking forward to being home in CA and enjoying Thanksgiving with family. 

Are you a Half Fanatic?

November is right around the corner bringing lots of fun stuff! Fall is officially here and I can't wait for Thanksgiving. But before all the turkey eating commences, I've got two half marathons to run! First up is Wine & Dine on Nov 8th, then the Avengers Half on Nov 16th. Completing both of these qualifies me to be a Half Fanatic! 

There are different levels of being a Half Fanatic, starting with Neptune: 2 half marathons within a 16 day time frame or 3 half marathons within a 90 day time frame. You can see the rest of the levels here. 

They offer different merchandise and I could always use another Sweaty Band! :) 

Have you looked into becoming a Half Fanatic? Is it something you're interested in?

Moving, Running, and Work. Oh my!

The blog has been quiet for way too long now and there's so much to share! If you're reading this, thank you for staying with me!

Moving...

Still no solid news on moving, but I have the feeling we will be here through at least Thanksgiving. We're debating whether to fly home or not- airfare is just so expensive, especially Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless, I'm excited. Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year! 

My hope is that we will have concrete moving plans before Christmas. I hate this feeling of one foot out the door. Pictures are still not hung up. I haven't decorated for Halloween/Fall. I can't imagine not decorating for Christmas! 

Running!

With the Wine & Dine half marathon a little less than 3 weeks away, I've finally gotten back on a decent training plan. It's certainly not on pace with the marathon training plan I had in place, but it'll get me through next month and the 2 halves I have scheduled. 

Now that the weather has finally cooled off a bit, running has been a lot easier. I never thought I would think mid-80s was great running weather. Oh Texas, how you're changed me! :) I've been running ~5 times a week, between 2-3 miles each time with one long run. Last week my long run was 6 miles, this week I'm going for 9, and next will be 12. I know it's a fast ramp up in mileage, especially so close to the race, but I think it's the kick I need to get me back on track.

I finally worked out my air travel for both Wine & Dine and Avengers. If you recall, I had no idea what to do/book with our new moving adventures. 

But that's why I love Southwest! Flights are cheap and best of all- no change fees! I was able to move my flights around easily and now I'm all set!

I still need to put some finishing touches on my race costumes and I'm starting to think about what to pack. This will be my first trip to WDW and I really don't know what to wear. How's the weather?

Work?

I saved the best for last, of course! I recently embarked on a new business venture or sorts and it's actually taken off a lot better than I expected! It was a little overwhelming at first, but I'm learning to juggle things. I don't know about you, but the less time I have, the more things I seem to get done. I've been really good about running, I've actually been making decent dinners, and I feel like I'm working more hours than my 9-5 job.

I'm certainly not raking in the dough and if you calculated my hourly rate, it would probably be less than minimum wage. But I'm enjoying it! I feel like I finally have something real to do instead of just putzing around pretending to clean the house. ;) 

Stay tuned- I'll have a nice post this week about this new adventure.

For my WDW friends- what kind of clothes should I pack? What kind of temps can I expect?

Wine & Dine Corrals, Waivers & Info

Corral assignments for the 2014 Wine & Dine Half Marathon have been released! You can also print your waivers which will have your bib number. 

Use this link to access your waiver.

Where we'll be running! And eating at the finish!

Check out the official event guide as well.

I'm loving the cover. I really hope it's the design on the shirts!

I hope they do a sneak peak at the merchandise- I can't wait for the expo!

Who will be at Wine & Dine? Anyone else in corral E with me?

Training Tuesday

Training for:

Weekly Recap

Tues: 1 mile

Wed: cross train

Thurs: cross train

Fri: rest

Sat: (out of town)

Sun: (out of town)

Mon: cross train

My motivation to run has faded. And it's my own fault. Last week or so I went for a run right before sunset. It was beautiful, only like 85 degrees and there wasn't any sun beating down on me. For the first time since I moved here, I was able to run and just enjoy it. I was able to run at the speed I used to, and boy did it feel good! But since then, I just get discouraged at the thought of running during the day. I know I could always go in the evening or early in the morning, but spending time with the hubs or sleep always seems to win out.

On the upside, I discovered a new fitness app that I've been using to cross train. It's called FitStar and it's got a ton of great 20-30 min workouts ranging from Boot Camp styles to more relaxing morning wake ups. I try to do one a day or two if I don't run.

Saw this on a giant Jenga piece when we went out.

This weekend we also took a quick (like 30 hrs) trip back home to CA to celebrate the marriage of one of my childhood friends. It was great to see people I haven't seen in a long time. It's probably just me, but I've known these friends since birth. Crazy that we've gone from the playground to weddings! *sniff*

Best Friends since birth!

My goal this week is to just get out there and run. Bite the bullet and get over my dread of running in the heat. I know it has to be done, especially if I want to have any hope of finishing the WDW Marathon!

Do you ever get discouraged about running? How did you overcome it?

Costumes: Tuesdays on the Run Link-up

This is my first time with the Tuesdays on the Run link-up. Let's hope I did it right!
A big shout out to the hosts of this link-up: Patty at My No-Guilt Life, April at Run the Great Wide Somewhere, and Erika at MCM Mama Runs.

This week's topic is Racing in Costume!

When I started my running journey in 2011, I didn't even consider running in costume- I was more focused on finishing! It wasn't until my 3rd runDisney event that I wore a costume, but since then, I've been hooked!

C3PO & R2D2

Disneyland 10k, 2013

As my first costume attempt, I wanted something easy. My husband didn't want to be a prince, though he did suggest we go as Jasmine and Jafar. Haha.

I purchased my R2D2 tank top and hat. I decorated my husband's gold C3PO shirt with a sharpie, some black tech fabric, and some colored elastic cording.

We definitely have the height difference down!

Hipster Disney Princesses Jasmine & Snow White
Neverland 5k, 2014
My friend and I planned to walk the 5k, so we didn't have to worry about it being runner-friendly. She came up with the idea to go as Hipster Disney princesses, complete with signs. Everything was regular clothing, which was helpful in the cold morning!

Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell 10k, 2014
The Tinker Bell 10k was the first race I've run alone. I was a little nervous, so I figured a costume was in order! I went with a super easy version of Tink, mostly because I already had a green running tank. Plus it fit the race theme! I made a skirt from green confetti dot material (same stuff as the Sparkle Athletic skirts) and wore the official white and green runDisney Tink Sweaty Band.

Simple Snow White

Tinker Bell Half Marathon, 2014

Being my 3rd race of the weekend, I kept it simple with a nod to Snow White. I wore a red Sweaty Band, my Team#runDisney shirt, and a yellow Sparkle Athletic skirt.

I don't think I'll ever go back to non-costume running, at least for runDisney events. Even if it's something simple, like my nod to Snow White, it definitely adds to the fun! 

I've got some fun costumes coming up.

 I love me some wine, but I went with a "dine" theme for Wine & Dine.

At the request of my 5k friend (same one who did with Neverland 5k with me),

I'm tackling my most adventurous sewing project for the Avengers 5k! I'm super excited to reveal them in November! :)

I'm still debating what to do for the Avengers Half. Any suggestions?

Do you run in costumes?

Wanted: WDW Dining Recommendations

I'm making a list of must-eat places for my upcoming first trip to Walt Disney World. Unlike Disneyland, the dining choices at WDW are endless. Seriously. My wrist started to hurt from scrolling so much on my phone. ;)

So far, these are our absolutes for dining reservations:
-'Ohana

-Be Our Guest

Other places we are interested in:
- Rose and Crown
- Tokyo Dining (I think? My mom said it was a sit down place in Japan in Epcot)

Where do you eat at WDW? Do you have any places that are imperative for dining reservations?

Run Wine & Dine... Solo?

When registration opened for runDisney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World, let's just say I got a little trigger happy and registered my husband and myself pretty quickly. I knew we wouldn't be running the Disneyland Half, which used to be our annual race, so I figured WDW in November would be a nice substitute. 

Little did I know that we would end up deciding to do the full marathon- taking place in January, just two months later. My family is also coming along for marathon weekend and my brother is running the 10k, so that'll be fun. 

My husband isn't too keen on doing both trips and he doesn't think he'll have time to take the weekend trip for Wine & Dine. So now I'm left with a dilemma... 

-Do I just eat the registration fees? 
My husband's suggestion, but it doesn't make a difference to him since it was my side job money that paid for it.

-Do I pay $90 or possibly $140 to defer both our registrations?
It still wouldn't be a guarantee that we would be able to go in 2015.

-Do I make the trip solo and run by myself? 
Keep in mind that this would be my first trip to WDW. Newbie + solo + WDW = probably a confusing trip. I'm not too worried about running alone, but I was really looking forward to sharing the experience of the race and after party with my hubby.

What makes it even more complex is that I don't even know where we will be living in November. Heck, we could end up in Orlando! I'm going with the assumption that we will be back in CA, which means it would take a full day to fly to FL and my husband does not want to miss work.

I have until the end of September to decide- that's when the deferral price goes up and I'd much rather figure things out before then anyway. Hopefully by the end of September I will also know where we'll be living. And it'll give me time to try and convince my hubby we should take the trip. :)

What are your thoughts? Have you ever done a Disney race solo? Have you ever been to a new (to you) Disney park solo?