So, we joined the “over the hill” costume category at the Orlando Tap and Run 2013!
Check out our amazing costumes!
Amazing!! We had fellow runners take photos of us and with us! …..
Here’s how we did it: moomoos from thrift store, foam rollers, shower caps and glasses from dollar store, saggy boobs are loofas we safety pinned to our sports bras…. Fun times!
My sister and I have created several traditions for ourselves around the holiday season. The newest of these is running a Christmas themed 5k in full costume (do you see a theme here? Lol). Last year, I went up to visit her in Orlando and we ran Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K at Animal Kingdom dressed as reindeer. Our costumes, I must say, were pretty impressive and we had more than a few fellow racers ask to take photos with us!
This year, the pressure was on to top our previous awesomeness! The solution: Sexy Mrs. Clause!
Check out our photos from this morning’s Reindeer Run 5k at Seaworld, Orlando!
But this isn’t the only costume race we’re doing today…. This afternoon we’re doing a “Tap and Run” with some pretty epic costumes….. Stay tuned for the hilarity!
Costumes were a hit and I think we’ve inspired others to get a little crazy next year!! Check out these awesome pics!
OK everyone. As I mentioned in my post after my last half marathon 2 weeks ago, recent personal events have led me to make some changes to my running schedule this season. I promised myself I would only be changing dates, not changing the amount of races, and really focus on achieving my goal to p.r. at every event by at least one minute. So far, I have been beating my times by two minutes each race!!
My little sister, who will be doing her first FULL MARATHON the Sunday after Thanksgiving, asked me casually last week if I would be available to do the “Best Damn Race” half marathon http://bestdamnrace.com/orlando/ with her on Saturday March 1st. I was originally scheduled for the 13.1 Allstate Miami Beach that weekend and jumped at the chance to change my schedule and do a race with her instead… but then she dropped the bomb on me: She was also scheduled for a SECOND HALF MARATHON THE FOLLOWING DAY and wanted me to participate in both with her. http://www.swamphousehalfmarathon.com/
Back to back half marathons in ONE WEEKEND?! This is the stuff that only lunatics (like full marathoners) come up with. Now, my girlfriends might try to convince you that this whole break-up had me on the verge of an Elizabeth Gilbert-esque Eat, Pray, Love life-crisis for a couple of days but… Im not THAT crazy. So, I told Georgette she was nuts and declined.
A couple of days later… I thought of my friend Madelyn. While I may not see Madelyn very frequently and I can’t say that I know her too intimately, my interactions with her are always positive and impactful. She has good intentions for others, is sincere with her words and is always spiritual, positive and up-lifting. She’s a pretty amazing vehicle for the messages I need to hear at the times I need to hear them and I’m always a willing listener.
Madelyn shared some of her personal intentions on Facebook that week and claimed that they were “Decreed to the Universe”! It made me smile because I realized that thats the only way that anything really happens: we must decree our desires, believe that they are possible and be receptive to them when they arrive. There are many things I need to decree to the Universe at this point of my life, especially those things that I thought I had, those that I have lost and and those that I fear I will never truly create.
I’ve decided that I will start “small” and make my first decree this: I will take the challenge of running two half marathons in one weekend with my wack-a-doo sister as the finale to my running season this year. It is Decreed to the Universe!!
Next step: Decreeing Happiness, Love and Family
When things get tough, I turn to my family. Hugs and dinners with Mom. Conversations with my little sister. Watching TV on the couch with my Dad and Step Mom. Phone calls with my Aunt. Bitch sessions or tears with my girlfriends. Praying every morning on my way to work. Going to the beach alone. Writing. And…. RUNNING.
I run to prove to myself that I am strong. I am capable of achieving great things. I can stomp out whatever sadness and loss I’ve suffered with every step on that pavement. I can find elation in that adrenaline rush and peace with the exhaustion that follows.
I run towards the solution not away from the problem. I run more and I worry less…
Why do YOU run?
So far, my plan to break my P.R. every race this season is falling into place quite nicely! On Sunday, I raced the Boca Raton Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) Half Marathon. http://palhalfmarathon.com/
I registered for the event through my running store which had organized it. Recent events have changed my races this season so I’ve signed up for this one and ran it instead of the Disney Wine and Dine Half which I was supposed to do next week. I’m also going to change a few of my other upcoming events but I have vowed not to cancel any races only make substitutions.
I finished the race at 2:10:31. Almost exactly 2 minutes faster than my September race in Boston. I’m so elated by this that I am CONVINCED that this season is going to be epic. Next race: Still up in the air about the Palm Beach A1A 1/2 Marathon on December 8th. If I can’t find someone to do it with me, I might have to switch to two races in January… will keep everyone posted.
I wasn’t able to do my routine run on Monday because of a terrible rain storm that didn’t seem to let up for hours. Eventually, I threw the whole notion of running out the window and decided to eat dinner and relax with a glass of wine. I knew that on Wednesday I’d have to stay at the school until 8pm because of “open house night” and that on Friday evening I’d be rushing to the airport for our weekend get-away. On Tuesday I came home exhausted and unmotivated but, I decided that I didn’t have any choice in the matter but to put on my running clothes and head out if I was going to get any mileage in this week at all.
I felt achy, heavy and sluggish the minute I started running but convinced myself that once I had finished a mile, I’d be warmed up and less irritated by the whole thing. Unfortunately, it had just finished raining and the pavement was sending up waves of scorching humidity towards my face. Now I was achy, heavy, sluggish AND uncomfortably hot. I thought this was supposed to be fun? But, again, I decided to press on and just keep going, hoping I’d eventually get in a groove and “auto-pilot” would kick in.
For me, “auto-pilot” is that point in any run when I am no longer making a conscious effort to move my limbs. In fact, I’m not even thinking about the fact that I’m running anymore. I’m meditating solely on the sound of my feet hitting the pavement and my mind is blank or focused on observing my surroundings. Unfortunately, this wasn’t happening for me.
As I miserably pressed on, I saw an older, heavy-set woman wearing a cotton t-shirt and pair of heavy sneakers trotting along. I tried to make myself feel better by feigning a sense of superiority because she was obviously “not a true runner” and I huffed and puffed as I passed her on the sidewalk. One mile down and not only was I STILL not having any fun, I had now developed an uncomfortable stitch on the right side of my rib cage… But I continued forward.
My pace became irregular and I began to exhale more aggressively to get the carbon dioxide out of my lungs. That gave me no results so I started to do all the tricks in the book like the “lift your arms” thing, then I tried the “slow your pace” thing and eventually the “stop completely and walk for a bit” thing but nothing got rid of the stitch which had now turned into a full-on cramp… And that’s when it happened.
That’s when the cotton t-shirt lady passed me. (gasp)
Immediately thereafter, the cramp got so bad that I couldn’t breathe right so I called my boyfriend and got picked up alongside of the road, panting pathetically. I was only a mile and a half away from finishing the only run I was probably going to do this week and I had totally chickened out because of a stupid cramp and a fast old lady in non-dry-wick fabric.
I had defeated myself, really. I had let my exhaustion, my stress, my pride and my neuroses get the best of me. That’s my problem… I limit myself by not getting out of my own head.
In what ways have you defeated yourself on a run? How have you worked to over come this? How do you feel when you hit YOUR “auto-pilot”? Please share.
There are three things that I dislike when doing a race, and Boston’s race had all three of them. 1. I hate when it starts so late in the morning that the sun is in your eyes while you’re running. (but at least I brought my cap) 2. I HATE u-turns on the course (but at least I got to see Scott as he passed me) 3. And I can’t stand hills (but at least I was fast enough to get over them quickly and still beat my personal record!!!!)
2:12:30!! I kicked all kinds of butt and hurt all kinds of feelings!!!! I beat my time by over three minutes!! 2:12:31 baby!! Oh, yeah!!
Ok, so I am admittedly the laziest blogger ever. Since the school year started I haven’t been very dedicated to this site and I apologize. That being said, just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean I haven’t been running and running HARD. I have been super dedicated to my goal of improving my personal time by one minute each race this season and…. I DID IT!
Our next race is in November and the pressure is on! Can I keep beating my time or have I plateaued? I don’t know but I’m training hard and am staying focussed.
I am admittedly spoiled. I live in South Florida where people from other parts of the country come to vacation and aspire to retire. What could be better motivation to wake up at 5:30am every Saturday than a view of the ocean as the sun is rising? Believe me, it makes it worth every minute out of bed. Actually, early morning runs have not only privileged me to gorgeous sunrises but to some wildlife spottings that could rival a National Geographic film reel.
At one point, I was having so many cool sightings that my updates became an eagerly awaited topic of morning conversation between myself, my boyfriend and his daughters. Between red foxes and giant snapping turtles crossing the street, hawks chasing squirrels and dinosaur-sized iguanas sunbathing, it was getting pretty kooky! But, even the things that aren’t so kooky get me excited to be on my ocean-side Saturday morning route or even my weeknight route. A bright red cardinal sitting on a telephone wire, circular Sea Grape leaves rolling like wheels on short golf grass, boats tied up in their docks bobbing in the water and a handsome (and very fast) man waiting for me by the car with a cold bottle of water… that’s the good stuff.
I wonder, however, how many people actually take the time to notice these small things or even get pleasure from witnessing them.
I once had a co-worker at the hospital I previously worked at who would teach his patients about “mindfulness.” “Mindfulness” is the ability to be truly present and to find pleasure in the HERE AND NOW. It was a difficult concept for many of his patients to master, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t able to be truly mindful at that time in my life either. I mean, it’s not easy to get out of the madness in your own head! With some time, growth and self-reflection, however, I’ve come to realize that although getting giddy about seeing a red cardinal on a telephone wire is pretty nuts, it’s just me being mindful of the awesomeness in the details of life. And those details bring me joy.
* Where are your favorite routes?
* When is your favorite time to run?
* What amazing things have you been witness to on your runs?
* Are you mastering being “mindful”?
* What small details in life give you joy?
Please share your stories and pictures!
Little Miss Sunshine State 