9/1/13: The Disneyland Half Marathon

The Disneyland Half Marathon is one of my favorite races that I look forward to every year! The race started at 5:30 am which meant a 4:00 am wake up time. I get up at this time to go to work so it did not bother me at all. I actually like the fact that the race starts super early because the weather is much better at 5:30 am than it is at 7:30 am! We left the hotel at 4:40 am and started our walk to the corrals. The situation was much like I am used to seeing it and the runners were able to head straight to their corrals since there were no other events before the half marathon. I can usually get pretty close to the front of the corral but I was not able to and ended up somewhere in the middle. I think that all of the Dumbo Double Dare participants headed over to the corrals much earlier after seeing the crowds at the 10K the previous day. 

I regretted not getting closer to the front of the corral because I weaved through the crowds for the first five miles. The course was very crowded and I was unable to find a spot to settle into my comfortable pace and I got really frustrated. Runners were bumping into me, running in front of me or just getting too close. I don't mean to sound arrogant but I like my space and I want to be free to move around a little bit. My pace was 9:30 for the first .55 miles and I was only able to squeeze an 8:37 out of the first mile due to the crowds.

Mile 1 :8:37

Mile 2: 8:20

Mile 3: 8:08

Mile 4: 8:17

Mile 5: 8:22 (GU) 

I saw that other runners were jumping up onto the sidewalk to break through the crowds but I didn't need to do that since I was not shooting for a PR. I didn't set a goal for this race but knew I wanted to close it out with a fast finish. I felt like I could run a decent race since I ran my 1oK pretty easy but I pretty much let my body dictate this race. I didn't push myself but just ran by how I felt. My splits were all over the place so I am not sure what that says about how I was feeling.

There was some pretty interesting signage out on the course this year. These were two of my favorites!

I was finally able to get some space from Mile 6 on but by then I was pretty annoyed. I stopped looking at my Garmin and felt like giving up. I had to have a talk with myself and reminded myself that I wasn't attempting to PR the race so it was not that big of a deal. I kept the pace comfortable and never felt fatigued. I walked through some of the water stops and made it a point to stay hydrated. I decided to carry my handheld with me due to the heat and the fact that the water bottles in my hydrating belt end up with warm water when the temps are high. The temperature felt much better than it was the day before but it was still very humid. It was 79 degrees at the Start and the sun did not break through until about Mile 11.5.

Mile 6: 8:03

Mile 7: 8:23

Mile 8: 8:23

Mile 9: 8:02

Mile 10: 8:36 (GU) I need to get better at running and taking GU while running, Can you tell?

I wanted to finish the race strong no matter what. The final miles have always been a struggle for me especially during the marathon so this is one of the areas that I really focused on. I need to able to find my strong in the end of a race since this could make or break a big race. I felt like I did well and was happy with my last 3 miles. No PR for this race but probably one of my strongest finishes on this course. It is pretty amazing how you can finish a race strong when you start conservatively and then save it for the end.

Mile 11: 8:01

Mile 12: 7:48

Mile 13: 7:45

.27 (6:53)

OFFICIAL TIME: 1:48:43

The Dumbo Double Dare was awesome and I glad that I was able to be a part of this inaugural event but I think that I will just go back to running the half marathon next year. I usually PR this course every year and I am looking forward to another Disney PR on the half marathon course next year. Disney races are a lot of fun with tons of course support so if you have never ran a Run Disney event, you have to try at least one and dress up for it. They are pricey but you will definitely enjoy it! 

Did you run the Dumbo Double Dare or any of the Disneyland race this year? Tell me what you thought of the events this year.

One Week to Go and My Dumbo Dare Plans

This whole Dumbo Double Dare 19.3 miles in two days thing came all too quickly! The last time I thought about it, it was like 6 months away and now it is less than a week away. The Disneyland Half Marathon is one of my favorite races and I have PR'd it the last three years that I have raced it. It is a flat and fun course and the weather is great every year. This year my race plans are going to be a little different because I have a 10K to run the day before the half. I rarely run consecutive days since I alternate between running and cross-training. I am thinking that this will be somewhat challenging for me.

Today I started looking through my closet looking for two outfits to wear. I found two outfits in the closet that fit the Disney theme perfectly that I have never worn. One of my outfits is fun and the other is not so much but the colors are appropriate. So what are my race plans? Well, the weather is going to be in the mid 60's which is not bad but not great either. 

The 1oK starts at 6:15 am so if I finish within a hour of the start time, I am thinking that I will be okay. My goal is to run in the 8-8:15 range for the 10K. The half marathon starts at 5:30 am which I really like but I don't have a goal pace or time! Disney races are so expensive and I never take the time to stop and enjoy the course or what Disney has to offer. I never stop to take pictures with the characters either so I just might do that this time. I am a little worried about the warm weather so I will make sure that I don't have too much fun out there! Bottom line is that I plan to have fun out there and not put too much pressure on myself.

Anybody else running the Dumbo Double Dare or one of the Disney races next weekend?

Double Dare Me and 28 Miles to Go!

I am a huge fan of Disney races! I have ran the Disneyland Half Marathon for the past three years and it has become my annual PR race so naturally I love it! I also love Disney medals since they are so fancy and beautiful! Today I saw a post on Facebook from Run Disney which mentioned a new challenge for 2013 known as the the Dumbo Double Dare. In 2013 they are adding a 10K, known as the Disneyland 10K, as well as a new challenge to run 19.3 miles in two days. Participants who take on the challenge would run the Disneyland 10K on Saturday followed by the Disneyland Half Marathon on Sunday and will be awarded the all-new Dumbo Double Dare medal in addition to the Half Marathon and 10K finisher medals. This is very tempting to me but I am not sure if I will sign up for it since the cost is $280.00! Disney races come with a hefty price but I have until January 22nd to think about it which is when registration opens.

In other news, I am 28 miles away from reaching my goal of 1000 miles for 2012! I have two more runs scheduled for 2012 and one of them is a 20 miler! I haven't ran 2o miles in quite some time so I am nervous and excited all at the same time. The weather has been perfect so I am looking forward to tackling 20 miles in cool and crisp temperatures!

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day! We are finally heading to Disneyland!

Chill Cooling Towels: Product Review and Giveaway!

Other than my runDisney bling-bling medal and my two biggest fans, the most amazing thing was waiting for me at the Disneyland Half Marathon finish line, a Chill Cooling Towel! I had never heard about these towels but I glad I found them! I was hot and sweaty after my race and really needed something to cool me down and a Chill Cooling Towel worked it's magic. The towels were not refrigerated and were just being handed out from boxes at the Finish Line. When I opened my Chill Cooling Towel, I was amazed at how a towel that came out of a package could be so cool and refreshing. Chill Cooling Towels have me sold and now I have decided that every race needs to provide these to their participants. My race day bag now includes a Chill Cooling Towel just in case they are not provided!

What I like most about these towels is that they provide immediate relief from the heat! I like to wrap mine around my neck and I immediately feel refreshed! I was more amazed at how cold the towel remained without me having to do anything to make it happen. The towels are packaged in resealable bags and can be used multiple times which is also a plus.  Once I have gotten all of the use that I can get out of a Chill Towel, I wash it and re-use it as a dry gym towel so these towels serve multiple purposes for me!

If you have never heard of Chill Cooling Towels or have never had the chance to try one, they are all-natural, fully recyclable, 100% terry cloth towels that are hygienically sealed and contain antiseptic properties. They provide instant cooling and drop 25-30 degrees F below your normal body temperature to provide instant relief from the effects of heat. There is no soaking, rinsing or wringing out required.  Just open the bag and they are ready to use!

After a long run or a race, one of the first things that I used to reach for was a cold towel and now I reach for a Chill Cooling Towel. These towels come in three convenient sizes: Small (12 x 12), Medium (12 x 20) and Large (12 X 27). I prefer the large size since I like to wrap mine around my neck. These towels can be used for any type of sport other than running, like cycling, tennis or golfing.  They can also be used after or a during a workout at the gym and you can even use them when you are out on a hot day walking around at an amusement park or even the beach.

I was so impressed with this product that I contacted Robert over at Chill Towels and asked if he would be willing to partner with me to give one of my readers the opportunity to try this amazing product! Chill Towels has agreed to send one of my lucky readers a Five Pack of Large Chill Cooling Towels to try out.  I promise, you are going to love them!

To Enter this Giveaway to win a Five Pack of Chill Cooling Towels, all you have to do is:

+1: Follow my blog Boston Bound Brunette via Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment telling me that you are a follower!

+1: Like Chill Towels page on Facebook and leave them a comment telling them that Boston Bound Brunette sent you!

+1: Follow Chill Towels on Twitter and leave me a comment telling me that you did!

For Bonus Entries you can do these things too:

+1: Follow me on Twitter: Tweet about this Giveaway and leave me a comment telling me you did.

+1: Follow me on Instagram (bostonboundbrunette) then leave me a comment telling me you did.

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way to share my opinions with you.

This giveaway ends at midnight (local time) on September 26, 2012 and is open to anyone who enters! The entries will be numbered based on the order that they are received and the winner will be selected via random.org. The winner will be announced on September 27, 2012 and the winner must respond to me via email within 3 days of the announcement or an alternate winner will be selected.

GOOD LUCK!!

Disneyland Half Marathon: 9/2/12

The Disneyland Half Marathon is my favorite half marathon and this was my third time running this race. I think it is the whole Disney thing that keeps bringing me back. I am also familiar with the area and the hotel that I stay at is within walking distance of the Expo and the Start so that takes away a lot of the race day stress for me. I checked into my hotel around noon on Saturday and then walked on over to the Expo at the Disneyland Hotel.  

The Expo is always super organized and is a pretty decent sized event. I really wanted to get taped up at the KT Tape booth but it was way too crowded. I stayed in the line for about 15 minutes and the line did not move at all so I had to tape myself up.

After the Expo we headed over to Olive Garden to get some carbs. They have the never ending pasta bowl going on right now so I loaded up and the took my leftovers from my second serving with me for later.

This year I was super nervous about this race. For the past two years that I have ran this race I have always had a goal and have met it. This year I did not want to push for a goal but who can get the thought of a PR out of their mind? I was also super worried about the weather since it has been in the mid to high 90's here in California for the past few months with no break.  Thank goodness this race started at 5:45am and the weather was great!

Anyway, onto the details of my half.  The weather was better than what I expected. It was 64 degrees at the start. Thank God the weather man had it wrong! I was in Corral A so I enjoyed watching the pre-race events with Mickey and Minnie.  

The fireworks are always a plus and Disney never fails to put on a good show. Another plus of being in Corral A is that they do not allow anyone into the area if they do not have a bib marked Corral A. I like that because some people just don't respect the Corral designations and make it hard for others. I also love that I didn't have to spend a lot of time weaving and finding a comfy spot on the course. I pretty much let all of the super speedy runners through and then it was time to see what I had for the day.

The course was pretty much the same as it was the past two years but this year the new Cars Land was added into the course which was exciting! I started out way faster than I should have but the adrenaline was flowing so I went with it for a few miles.

Mile 1: 8:00

Mile 2: 7:50

Mile 3: 7:54
Mile 4: 7:48

Once I exited Disneyland and headed out onto the streets of Anaheim, I decided to bring my pace down to a more comfortable zone because I knew I could not hold a sub 8 pace for 13 miles. I simply didn't train for that and didn't want to get injured again.

Mile 5: 8:11 (GU)

Mile 6: 8:11

Mile 7: 8:11

I was feeling really strong but very nervous. I kept wondering if I should slow down but I felt good and just let my body decide the comfortable pace for me.

Mile 8: 8:09

Mile 9: 8:11

Mile 10: 8:10 (GU)

Mile 9 of the course takes the runners through Angels Stadium where everyone loves catching a glimpse of themselves on the jumbo tron. The Disney crowds are just amazing. They keep you going and I love races that have great support from the crowds and volunteers.

Mile 11: 8:14 (shin starting hurting...got a little distracted)

Mile 12: 8:20 

Mile 13: 8:05
the last .22 (7:35) My Garmin picked up the course at 13.22.  I guess I need to stay closer to the corners!

These are my final results. I had a mini PR of 45 seconds which is not much but I feel like I am starting to get back into my running again and that gives me the confidence I need to keep pushing for Boston! 

I also met my Running Goal of running a half marathon in under 1:47! I am not sure if I should count this or not because I barely skated in under 1:47.

Me and my biggest fan and some finish photos!

Weather Stalking Part 2 and a Blue Moon!

With my race just a few days away, the weather forecast keeps getting warmer and warmer. I was hoping for weather in the 60's but it has now starting moving towards the 70's! It is what it is. Maybe my game plan should be to run as fast as I can to avoid the heat!

The shin is still tender and the toenail is feeling a lot better but does not like shoes! I have a pair of flip flops hiding under my desk and wear them as often as I can.  I have to stay hidden from the shoe police at work. I swear they notice all of the right things!! 

I know that it is just a half marathon and not a marathon but it is still a race.  We all look for those ideal conditions on race day but it doesn't always work out that way.  One of my favorite things about running is the meal I get to eat the night before.  I haven't had pasta in a while and I think I just might indulge. I heard that Olive Garden is having the never ending pasta bowl right now!

 

Source 

Did you hear there is going to be a blue moon tomorrow? This will be the first time we will experience a blue moon time since March, 2010. After Friday, we will have to wait another three years, July 2015, for the next one. So, if you have never had a chance to experience a blue moon before now is your chance! My son loves this kind of stuff so I am sure we will be spending lots of time moon watching with his telescope!

Anybody racing this weekend?  

Have you ever seen a blue moon before? I have not!

Weekly Recap, Weather Stalking and Plans for the Disneyland Half Marathon

After a less than stellar week, I was determined to make this week a better one.  My goal was 30 miles and I got it done.  My right shin starting acting up on my 15 mile run on Sunday so I am a little concerned. I slowed down the pace and came home and iced it right away.  One week before race day...just my luck!

I took a interval cycling class last week and I was kind of impressed with myself.  I was able to push myself pretty hard and I made it through the 55 minute class without dying. I was reflecting back on when I was injured and taking cycling classes as an alternate to running and I was feeling really burned out back then so I guess I am getting a little stronger.

I am also keeping up with the Friendly Challenge and making sure that I do my daily push ups, planks and wall sits.  I try to do just a little more of each everyday and I really like the challenge. I might try to stick with this even after the challenge ends on 8/31. My record plank is 2:30!

I can't believe that the Disneyland Half Marathon is this coming Sunday. Let the weather stalking begin! I have been waiting for the 10 Day weather forecast to come out and hoping for the best in spite of the horrible heat we have been seeing all summer long. It looks like the weather will be much better than expected. For the past two years that I have ran this race, it has been in the low to mid 60's and I can definitely deal with that.  

The race starts at 5:45 am and I will be crossing the start line with seconds of the gun so I can be done before it warms up. I have decided to run this race without any goals other than trying to beat my last time of 1:57:57 which is about a 9:00 pace. The course is pretty flat and I wish I was ready to set my eyes on a PR but I am not. I haven't been doing any kind of speed work or cross training and I have just kind of been running without any goal pace. I guess I am just so happy to be running again that I have yet to focus on cross training and all of the other components of a strong training plan.

I am excited to start picking out what I am going to wear for the race on Sunday. I have lots of new outfits in the closet that are waiting to be worn but can't decide. Disney races are supposed to be fun and lots of runners dress up for the race. I have never dressed up in costume because I thought it would be uncomfortable and distract me from doing my best. I am also busy getting my race bag packed to make sure that I don't forget anything important.

Do you stalk the weather during race week? Do you like to dress up in costume for races?

Wordless Wednesday

My Olympic Addiction and Need for a Half Marathon Goal

With the exception of the 17 miler I ran on Friday, my weekend was busy...busy watching the Olympics.  I think I have slept with the TV on since the opening ceremonies and I have been up late every night watching various sports. I said that I was only going to watch gymnastics and women/men marathon but I have been watching cycling, swimming, volleyball, etc. 

My heart aches for gymnast Jordyn Wieber! The poor girl missed the chance to compete in the all-around finals while 21 other girls who scored lower than her will compete!  That sucks especially when the girl is an all-around world champion! I am also wishing the best for Desiree Davila who is still undecided on whether or not she will compete in the Women's marathon. I hope she makes it to the start because she is my favorite!

So how is my running going? My left calf was sore again after my 17 mile run on Friday so I decided that it was time to take it easy and back off a little bit so I took the rest of the weekend off.  It felt better on Sunday morning but I got kind of nervous and decided that it just wasn't worth another run so I only managed to get 29.50 miles in last week. I was a little bummed that I had to pass on my Sunday run but couldn't even imagine another injury. Instead, I slept in and spent some time with my family. I am glad I played it smart.

The guilt from missing my Sunday run really got to me so I made up for it this morning. My legs were feeling good so I played it by how I felt and ended up doing 9 miles at an easy pace. I am starting to get nervous. The Disneyland Half Marathon is about a month away and I really want to run it feeling strong and pain-free. I still have not set a goal for this race. I have not been very good at setting race goals lately. I feel like it makes me put too much pressure on myself and I don't want to do that right now. My current Running Goal for a half marathon is to break 1:47 but I can't say that I am ready for that yet. My runs for the past two months have not shown me that I am capable of this goal so I cannot confidently say that I can pull it off. I will continue to work towards this goal.

So have you been watching the Olympics? What are your favorite sports to watch? Who is your pick for the Gold in the Women's Marathon?

Disneyland Half Marathon: 9/4/11

Weather Report: 62 degrees!  Amen!!

This is going to be a long one with lots of pictures and you will soon found out why. If you just want the details, scroll to the bottom of the page!

THE EXPO:

I was so excited when I picked up my race bib because they placed me in Corral A!  Corral placement is based on your official time in another timed event so I used last year's time from the Disneyland Half Marathon and this is where it got it me!

After the Expo, we walked around Disneyland for a little while since we are annual pass holders. My son loves the monorail so we rode it into the park and we even got to sit in the very front! After leaving Disneyland, we headed over to Red Robin to have lunch.  My lunch was probably not a very appropriate one but I love the protein burger at Red Robin and I skipped the fries for broccoli. I even ate a couple of onion rings.  They are the absolute best I have ever had! Oh, and I also had a freckled lemonade too.  Gotta have my drink...it's non-alcoholic don't worry!

Course Map: The course is pretty flat for the most part and has lots of entertainment for runners to enjoy. I am too focused on time and never seem to enjoy what this race has to offer.  There are characters throughout the first 4 miles of the course within the theme parks but just a handful of people stop to take pictures. I really want to run this race for fun in the future so I can take full advantage of it!

I was really worried about the weather and had been monitoring it for the last week or so.  I hate the heat and never train in it for any reason so I will never be prepared for it.  The hotel we stayed in was about .65 miles from the start so we decided that we would leave the car at the hotel and make life easy on ourselves.  Last year we stayed at a local hotel that was about 1.5 miles away and then drove to the race in the morning and boy was that a mistake.  This year it worked out much better.  We took a walk to the Start the night before to see how long it would take us and how long of a walk it was.  We ended up walking and grabbing a sandwich from Subway for dinner while we were out since the hotel parking lot was completely full!  If we would have driven I not sure that we would have had a place to park because everyone seemed to be walking instead of driving. I did more walking than I wanted to and started to wonder if it was going to work against me on race day...

RACE DAY:

I woke up at 4:00am and got dressed.  I am pretty anal about laying out all of my stuff the night before because I would kill myself if I happened to forget something important. I could hear all of the other runners leaving their hotel rooms and heading down to breakfast.  We left the room at 4:30am and headed over to Disneyland. It was still dark and there were runners on every corner of the intersection.  I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was last year when I ran this same race. I was pretty nervous last year because it was the first race I had ever entered a race and I had no idea what to expect. I made a quick stop to the port a potty and then headed to the corrals.  Corral A does have it perks and I was loving it!  You can see Mickey and Minnie, the officials only let those whose bib identifies them as belonging in Corral A through, you get to take off first and avoid weaving around those who are slower than you, all of the special guests and famous people who are running the race are placed in Corral A and you just feel important being there. I am not used to this like many of you speed demons might be so I was pretty excited!! 

The singing of the National Anthem with fireworks!

I was pretty close to the Start!

My goal pace was 8:18 in hopes of finishing in 1:49.  Last year I completed this same race in 1:50:58 and one of my Running Goals is to complete a half marathon in under 1:50.  I was able to make it way to front of my corral and started within 5 seconds of the official start.  I took off faster than I wanted to because all of the fast people are in Corral A and you have no choice but to move it or possibly get trampled!  I was laughing to myself because I was now the runner that everyone was passing!  I think I was the slowest runner in Corral A! I still loved being in Corral A because everyone was so spread out and there was lots of space around me.  I ran a 7:58 for Mile 2 and I usually kill myself to pull off a lap like this in the very end of my training runs.  My husband and my son were waiting for me right around Mile 4 which is where you actually exit the theme park and hit the streets of Anaheim.  They made me a great sign this year so that I couldn't miss them. Please notice that my son also has on his "Run Mommy Run" t-shirt.

They got so many compliments on their sign!

My son and his sign for Mom!

Mile 4 was exciting because I saw my two biggest fans.  They were able to take some great pictures because not a lot of fans were waiting at at this location. They actually had to sneak into this area because once the race started they closed this area and this is where I was looking forward to seeing them.

High Fiving my Son!

Immediately after I seeing my husband and son, came the overpass on Ball Road which is probably the worst part of the whole course.  It's really not that bad and I was definitely distracted by the beautiful sunrise. I actually stopped to take a picture of the sunrise and I didn't want to stop unless I really needed to, but I couldn't pass this one up. Mile 5 was my only lap that was under 8:18. It was actually 8:23 due to the Kodak moment. 

Another exciting part of my run was around Mile 5.5 when I noticed that the man in the yellow shirt that had been beside me for quite some time was Drew Carey.  He was very friendly and has actually lost 80 pounds since he started running. I really wanted to take a picture of him but didn't want to piss him off so I decided to secretly take a picture of him and hope he didn't notice and go off on me. By the way, I am faster than Drew Carey! I also GU'd at Mile 5.5 because I needed it!

That's Drew Carey.  He PR'd by 7 minutes so good thing I didn't try to stop him for a picture!

Drew Carey got really excited for Mariachi but I don't think that had a clue who he was!

I knew that I was ahead of schedule around the halfway point and I was very tempted to stop and take a break but I wanted this one so I pushed myself to keep going. By Mile 7, the sun had made it's way out but the temperature was still pretty cool.  The part of the course that all of the runners really look forward to, running through Angel's Stadium, was really close and I needed that boost of excitement to keep me going.  The volunteers handed out GU right around Mile 9 and I was Gu'ing through Angel's Stadium for some odd reason?? No, I am not a big Angel's fan and I hope I wasn't on the jumbo tron Gu'ing! I didn't even want to look.

I was getting tired by Mile 10 and my legs were feeling it but I was determined to get my PR so I pushed hard.  I also noticed that my Garmin and the Mile Markers were off by about .12-.16 miles so I knew that I had to pick up the pace a bit to make up for the "added mileage."

By Mile 11, I was pretty beat!  I could feel my pace slowing down but I fought it and pushed hard!  I was so happy to see Mile 12 and I gave it all that I had left, which wasn't much.  I could feel the burn in the legs and I knew I was going to be sore the next day...and I am! I took one last look at my Garmin and I knew that I was going to come in around 1:48 and I was elated! Official Time 1:47:43! This was much more than I had hoped for!  Moments like this really make you feel good about all of the hours of training that you have put in and all of the sacrifices that you have made to stick to your training plan.

Can you tell that I was beat??

Disneyland was definitely the "Happiest Place on Earth" on this particular day.  So how did I celebrate?  I had a good breakfast which included pancakes....

There is an egg white omelet with spinach under all that cheese and tomatoes!

and then I went to Disneyland and had a double scoop of ice cream in a waffle cup! My birthday is right around the corner and my new PR was the perfect birthday present!

Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip are my two favorites!

Here are my splits and my official results if you care to take a look. According to Run Less Run Faster, a BQ of 3:45 is realistic if you can run a half-marathon in 1:47:25. Kind of makes me wonder if I hadn't stopped to take the pictures of the sunrise and Drew Carey, then maybe I  could have finished 18 seconds faster!  I guess it's time to step it up and keep pushing for Boston just a little bit harder! I have the Long Beach Marathon coming up in about a month and this Sunday I will attempt a 20 Miler!! That's going to be a tough one!! I was looking forward to tackling 20 miles with Shawna, my running buddy, but she is officially out of the race due to an injury!  Bummer!!