The Disney Princess Half Marathon Is TOMORROW!
Feb 23, 2013 What's Going On
I have a wake-up call in three hours, for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. This is my third time running it, and I know by now that a) I won’t sleep much tonight due to nerves, and b) it won’t matter. It’s impossible to feel sleepy when surrounded by twenty-three thousand people and pumped full of adrenalin. My nerves aren’t really caused by the race itself, they’re mostly from a fear of oversleeping and missing the race! The buses to the race start run from 3am-4am. Get out there later than that and you’re screwed.
So why am I doing this again? Why did I haul my lazy ass all the way down to Disney World to walk/run more than 13 miles? I can’t completely articulate it. Part of it is to challenge myself. Part of it is to say that yes, I did another half marathon. Part of it is to get another medal to hang on my wall. Part of it is an excuse to go to Florida each year during the coldest part of Brooklyn’s winter.
But whatever the reason, I’m excited. The first year, I was really scared that I wouldn’t finish – that I’d fall behind and get picked up by the dreaded sweeper bus. I finished in about three-and-a-half hours, near the back of the pack, but I finished. Last year I shaved fifteen minutes off of my time, enabling me to move up a couple of corrals this year, to corral E.
And my goal this year is to shave another fifteen minutes off, and finish in three hours. Honestly, I don’t know how realistic that is. I’d have to average fewer than fourteen minutes per mile, and considering I walk a lot of the race, that would be very fast for me. But I’m going to do my best! I didn’t even come close to following my training program this year, but I am way more prepared than I was the other times.
I’ve got all of my stuff laid out so that I don’t forget anything in the morning. I have two alarms set and a wake-up call coming at 2am. I’m ready.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Fit For Forty: RunPhones
Jan 9, 2013 Product Review
There are only six-and-a-half weeks until the Disney Princess Half Marathon. And while I’ve definitely been slacking off exercise-wise for the past month or so, I’m still very far ahead of where I was at this point before the last two races. Today I did three miles and while it was very hard, it was doable.
I took my new RunPhones for a spin. They’re a cross between a headband, earmuffs, and headphones. Training for the Princess Half kinda sucks if you live in the northeast, because you’re doing most of your training during winter. The RunPhones definitely helped.
Of course even in the cold I get sweaty while jogging, but these are easy to clean. You open up the little Velcro pouch holding the headphones and take them out, and throw the headband in the washing machine.
My only complaint about them is that they occasionally slipped back from my ears about a half inch. They were easy enough to adjust, but I feel like if they made the back of the headband a little thinner they would stay in place better. But still, this is a minor complaint – they worked very well, kept my ears warm, and sounded great.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: Disney Princess Half Marathon, exercise, review, RunPhones
When It Comes To Weight, Find What’s right For You
Oct 4, 2012 Weight Loss
Weight has been in the news a lot lately. Ralph Lauren got some publicity by hiring a size twelve model, although I hesitate to give him too big of a clap because…um…she’s gorgeous and thin and anybody who wouldn’t hire her is insane. The fact that she’s routinely referred to as “plus size” is just laughable, but I guess compared to the bony size zeros who are usually hired, she is. Well, good for her.
Lady Gaga recently professed her love of pasta and admitted to a history of eating disorders. Posing in her underwear, she asked her fans to be brave with her. Personally I don’t see the extra twenty-five pounds she said she gained – she looks fabulous and fit in the pictures – but her message is clear: love and accept yourself, and find your own balance.
An admittedly overweight news anchor recently took to her morning show to share an email from a man who told her that she wasn’t a good role model for girls because of her weight. I loved what she and her husband had to say about the weight issue, and good for her for standing up for herself against a man she’s calling a bully. (I disagree that he bullied her, but that’s a minor quibble.)
And, while not nearly as high profile as those other women, I started a weekly video diary a few weeks ago about my quest to get thinner and fitter as I head into my forties.
The theme here is that we’re all trying to find something that works for us. Forget about the dangers of being overweight for just a moment, since there’s growing evidence that how fit you are is more important than how much you weigh. Let’s just talk about what it means to be bigger, and to be called obese.
I’ve always been confused by one person telling another person that she should lose weight. Everyone is different, and has her own normal, right? And yet there are so many arbitrary measurements that push us into categories – that try to define us instead of taking our individual circumstances into account.
I am still, at 173 pounds and 5’4”, just a big spaghetti dinner away from being categorized as obese. This is a ridiculous way to classify people. I am walking and jogging several times a week with my kids, and about to start a twenty-week training program to get ready for my third half marathon. And while I don’t break any speed records, I’m getting faster each year. My goal in February is to finish in under 3 hours. I can ride my bike over the Manhattan Bridge no problem. I go up my own three flights of stairs multiple times each day. My blood pressure and cholesterol have always been excellent. And yet, the numbers on a chart classify me as being, somehow, a problem. In danger because of my weight.
I know someone with a BMI very close to mine who is training for a marathon, routinely completing long runs at a pace of 10 minutes per mile or faster. And yet she’s at the high end of the “overweight” classification. Like I said, ridiculous. So for the rest of this post, let’s forget about the words “obese” and “overweight.” They don’t mean anything when compared to how a person feels and what a person can do.
My weight has never, ever stopped me from doing something I wanted to do. I went scuba diving at 183 pounds. I remember the exact weight because I had to say it in front of a big group of people at the dive center. While I probably should have been annoyed at being asked that in public (so that the dive instructor could adjust my vest), I was already in a skin-tight wet-suit – I had nothing left to hide.
I’ve never been in danger of not fitting into an airplane seat or a movie theater chair. I’ve never not gone to a beach because I didn’t want to get in a bathing suit (I’m not saying I enjoy being in a bathing suit, just that I never didn’t go because of that). But I’m also not happy with the way I look, and when I exercise I know how much easier jogging would be with less weight to haul around. So I decided a year ago to take some weight off.
And I try hard not to judge other people for how much they weigh. I don’t know what’s going on in their lives, with their health. It’s really none of my business. But then I read things like this, and feel absolutely awful for someone who doesn’t want to appear in public because of her weight. That is not a person who has found her balance.
Is it society’s fault, for shaming people it feels aren’t acceptable? Is it this woman’s fault, for not having the confidence to walk into a room? I have no idea, but I do know two things for sure. One, that when you stop doing things because of your weight, it’s time to make a change. You are letting someone else’s agenda control your actions. Whether that change means gaining enough confidence to walk into a room when you’re fat, or deciding not to be fat anymore? Again – none of my business. But If something isn’t working, you should change it.
And two, shaming people into losing weight doesn’t work. Maybe this is something that healthy, non-emotional eaters just don’t get, but for a lot of us, telling us we’re fat sends us to the fridge. Makes us feel ugly and unworthy. It takes a lot of work to lose weight, and why in the world would a person put all that effort into herself if she doesn’t like herself? If she doesn’t think she’s worth it?
Breastfeeding or not. Staying home with the kids or going back to work. Putting your child in day care or getting a nanny. Letting your kid get a cell phone or not. Losing weight. Or not.
Telling people to do what works for them, for their families, makes for boring blog posts, boring talk shows, boring magazines. But there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all solution for anything. Find your balance. Your normal. If your weight isn’t working for you, fix it. If it is working for you, hold your head up high and tell the rest of the world that you don’t give a flying… ;-)
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Disney’s Tangled Royal Family 5K
Mar 5, 2012 What's Going On
Heading over with our group to the Tangled Royal Family 5K on Saturday morning I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do. It was the first day all week that I was feeling myself, my really bad cold having finally exited my body. And while most of the people in our group were taking it easy (Colleen was even doing the race with her six-year-old daughter) I kind-of wanted to do a test run for the half marathon, which would be the next day. I’d felt sick and exhausted the day before after stumbling along for just two miles, so I was curious how I would do if I tried to go at my half marathon pace of 4 miles an hour.
This was also the first time that I’d be using the vibrating run-walk-run pacer I’d purchased from Jeff Galloway at the Fit for a Princess Expo the day before. It ended up being the best $20 I’ve ever spent. I’d been doing Jeff’s run-walk-run method for a while, but it was annoying to have to constantly look at a watch or my phone. This timer can be programmed for a single pace or two alternating paces, and it can beep or vibrate to tell you when to switch from walking to running and back.
It was awesome! I could finally just enjoy moving and not concentrate on the timing. Switching paces became automatic each time the beeper-sized device vibrated on my waistband. If you do any kind of interval training, I highly recommend this timer.
The Family 5K was a blast. There were so many kids participating, and a lot of fun costumes. For the first time since getting to Disney World I wished my kids were there – they would have loved this!
This couple just cracked me up. I want to be them when I get older. Of course, I may have to trade my husband in for someone a tad more whimsical.
Today’s Agenda: Disneylucious Edition
Mar 1, 2012 Amy in the Morning
Despite sleeping for ten hours, I was too tired to type this morning. :-)
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 7, 8, and 16. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Want to catch up on my other posts about the Disney Fantasy? Here they are! (Oldest first.)
Drooling, Headachy, Post-Disney-Christening Non-Alcoholic Hangover
Videos From The Disney Fantasy Christening Gala
The Disney Fantasy: Gorgeous From Head To Toe
So What Do Kids Do On The Disney Fantasy?
Drinking And Eating…And Eating…And Eating on the Disney Fantasy
Partying Around Europe On The Disney Fantasy
Tags: DCL, Disney Fantasy, Disney Princess Half Marathon, Shellac
Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo
Feb 28, 2012 What's Going On
In my last post I mentioned how terrible I felt when I woke up on Friday, but things improved rapidly from there as the cold finally started to leave my body – just in time, since the Tangled Royal Family 5k was the next morning! After our early run with Jeff Galloway (more like a crawl for me) I went to sleep, and woke up feeling better than I had all week. I headed to the Fit for a Princess Expo with the rest of the group, and engaged in some retail therapy – a sure sign that I was on the mend.
I picked up a couple new pairs of running pants, an arm band case for my phone, a sparkly skirt and headband to wear for the half marathon, and a vibrating timer that Jeff Galloway had told me about that morning.
I also found some more shirts that I related to:
And, I got an inspirational look at a whole bunch of metals you can earn for running Disney races. I could see how this could become an obsession.
We also picked up our race bibs for the Tangled Family 5K and Princess Half Marathon. That’s when things got very real for me, when I saw my race number. That makes it very official.
I even caught a glimpse of Cinderella’s coach and footmen!
One more long nap later, and I was feeling about 90%. Everyone on our press trip met up for the big Pasta in the Park dinner at EPCOT. This is a great opportunity for carbo loading, dancing, and watching Illuminations from a special spot reserved just for the pasta partiers.
I, however, missed everything but the pasta, because I was exhausted and went back to my hotel after eating! Yes, lame, I know. But I tried to make up for it by eating two helpings of two different delicious (and vegetarian) pasta dishes. And, at least I got to see Spaceship Earth all lit up – I love the way it looks at night!
I got to sleep at a decent time Friday night, and managed to get six hours of sleep before the 5K. I’m so relieved that I didn’t spend the whole trip sick and miserable, that would’ve been such a waste!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 7, 8, & 16. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Want to catch up on my runDisney adventures? Here are the other posts (newest first):
Disney’s Tangled Royal Family 5K
From bad, to worse, to great with runDisney
And then a few zebra wandered by
A half marathon that fits on a t-shirt
From couch potato to 26K with runDisney
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 2
Disney Princess Half Marathon: Done
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 1
So this is what Disney does to me
Tags: Disney Princess Half Marathon, Disney World, exercise, Tangled Family 5K
From bad, to worse, to great with runDisney
Feb 25, 2012 What's Going On
I’d been sick for several days before heading down to Disney World on Thursday for the Tangled Family 5K and Princess Half Marathon. By Friday morning, when my alarm went off at 5:30, I was feeling terrible. I’d woken up every fifteen minutes or so all night until 4:30, then finally managed to get one solid hour of sleep. And even though I just had a cold, it was a bad one, and I wasn’t sure I could walk to the lobby, let alone do a two mile walk/run.
Our meet-up that morning was with Jeff Galloway, a training consultant with runDisney and someone I have a huge amount of respect for. I first met him before last year’s Princess Half, and he introduced me to his Run-Walk-Run method. This was a revelation to me, because I know a lot of runners and they all seem to see it as a failure of some kind if you have to walk part of the way. But here was this amazing athlete, who in the early 1970s competed in the Olympics and ran 10 miles in under 48 minutes (only slightly longer than it takes me to “run” 3 miles), telling me that it was OK to alternate walking with running, that it’s a completely legitimate way to complete a half or full marathon.
Jeff Galloway
We gathered just inside of EPCOT as the sun was coming up.
Jeff led us on an easy run/walk through EPCOT as the park’s workers were getting things ready for opening. Well, it would’ve been easy, but I was feeling awful. By the end of the two miles I felt like I was going to pass out. I was getting really worried about the rest of the weekend.
I stopped to take this picture on the way. Partly because it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, and partly because it gave me an excuse to stop for ten seconds.
We were met at the end of the run with tiaras and breakfast, and really, I’d like someone to arrange for that to happen when I get back to my house from a run. OK? Every time, please.
As we ate we got to hear from an interesting group of speakers: Rachel Booth has won the Disneyland Half Marathon twice, and is going for a win at Sunday’s Princess Half Marathon. We also heard from Betty Wong, editor in chief of Fitness Magazine, Lori Stultz Lovell, the current runDisney mom on the Disney Moms panel, and Suzy Favor-Hamilton, an elite runner who has battled depression and anxiety and is now a motivational speaker.
Rachel Booth
Honestly though, it was kind-of a blur because I felt so awful. But I couldn’t pass up some very special Disney photo opps.
The best part of these Disney press trips is the private time with the characters. You’ve never seen a bunch of grown-up women so excited. We were beaming. And the characters made each one of us feel special, just like they would have with little kids. :-)
When I got back to my room I crawled back into bed, sweaty and exhausted. I really started to think that I had made a big mistake getting up so early and heading out sick. When I woke up from my nap, though, I started to feel better. That was the turning point, and things got better very fast.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 7, 8, and 16. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Want to catch up on my runDisney adventures? Here are the other posts (newest first):
Disney’s Tangled Royal Family 5K
Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo
And then a few zebra wandered by
A half marathon that fits on a t-shirt
From couch potato to 26K with runDisney
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 2
Disney Princess Half Marathon: Done
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 1
So this is what Disney does to me
Tags: Disney Princess Half Marathon, Disney World, jogging, Travel
And then a few zebra wandered by…
Feb 24, 2012 What's Going On
Zebra
So after a check-in glitch that left me without a working room key until 11pm last night (very un-Disney-like!), I’m now happily ensconced in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The thing about these press trips is that we do more in a day than I usually do in a week, and I’m still not feeling well, but my first twenty-four hours here have still been really fun.
Ostrich
I’d never been to the Animal Kingdom Lodge before yesterday, but it’s like staying in a hotel next to some kind of wildlife preserve. When you check in you’re asked not to bring any plastic straws or lids into your room, and to not throw food to the animals.
Antelope
Animals are roaming around right outside of the hotel. Sitting on my balcony so far I’ve spotted roan antelope, reticulated giraffe, zebra, and an ostrich. And no, I’m not some sort of animal expert. There’s a guide in my room that I can use to identify the animals, and check off the ones I see.
Last night our group of bloggers were taken to Sanaa for dinner, which is in the Kidani Village section of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was a little nervous that there wouldn’t be anything for me to eat, because I imagined that an African themed restaurant would serve mostly meat dishes. I was thrilled that just about everything brought out to us was vegetarian, not to mention delicious! Plus, it was all very spicy, and since I’ve had a very bad cold this week, I was glad to be able to taste something. From three kinds of bread with about twelve dips, to the best roasted cauliflower I’ve ever had, and a tangy, oniony chickpea salad, the meal was wonderful.
Above our table at Sanaa
Disney World is known for how well they can accommodate special eating requests. One person in our party had some kind of food allergy and they took great care of her. Our servers also came right to me as each course was brought to the table and let me know which of the dishes were vegetarian.
I managed to keep my camera in its bag all through dinner, making fun of everyone else snapping away, but I had to join in and take a picture of our desserts. And they were as delicious as they were pretty.
Chocolate cake, chai cream, and mango sorbet
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 7, 8, and 16. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Want to catch up on my runDisney adventures? Here are the other posts (newest first):
Disney’s Tangled Royal Family 5K
Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo
From bad, to worse, to great with runDisney
A half marathon that fits on a t-shirt
From couch potato to 26K with runDisney
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 2
Disney Princess Half Marathon: Done
Diary of a Disney Princess Half Marathoner – Part 1
So this is what Disney does to me
Tags: Disney Princess Half Marathon, Disney World, Food, Travel
