Tinkerbell Half Marathon Recap

I know this is almost a month overdue.
I really don’t have any good excuse as to why I haven’t posted it… we’ve just been busy living life!

Be prepared for a TON of pictures!

First of all, the weather in CA is absolutely wonderful! It was so gorgeous when we got off the plane in Long Beach. We got to our hotel, dropped our luggage, got some lunch and hit up the expo. It was a blast. We got a ton of compliments on our jackets. Thanks to my super talented cousin we had the best looking Tinkerbell jackets there!

Met up with Alice as soon as we entered the park! 🙂

We hit the hay fairly early since we had an early wake up call the next day.
it was TIME to FLY! 😉

Linds and I had to start back in Corral C (since she was running under Sundance’s bib) and the start was way congested! Holy smokes there were a TON of runners! We didn’t cross the start line until 20 minutes after the initial start!

We ran out around Anaheim for about a mile and then weaved our way back into the parks! The next 6 miles (I think) were in Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney.

It was magical. I didn’t even feel like I was running!

We stopped for a lot of pictures! The lines were long. When you have 2 corrals of runners in front of you… there are a lot of women in line! haha!
Had to stop for a pic with Captain Hook & Smee!
Tinkerbell was on top of the drum, but it was hard to get a good pic of her!

Stopped with ALL the princesses. This was one stop my Mom and I passed on last year, and I regretted it.

Ran through the castle and stopped to take a picture!
I didn’t take any pics once we got out of the parks, and I finally grabbed my camera as we were coming down the chute –

we resulted in this gem of a photo!

Love ya Linds, don’t hate me for posting this pic! 🙂

We had a blast. Linds and I had a great race! We only stopped to walk during water stops and had to make a couple potty stops. She was a champ… she was having some seriously shitty IT band pain and we still pushed each other to sprint it in at the end. 🙂

Here are a few more pics from our trip…

I’m a huge Winnie the Pooh fan! Makes me feel like a little kid again!

Anyone else run the Tinkerbell Half? Anyone doing the Princess Half and getting their Coast-to-Coast medal? (if yes… I’m extremely jealous!)

Tinkerbell Half Marathon 2013 – Here we come!!

the 3 of us…

are headed to CALI to run this…

and we are SO excited!!!

excited to run in the most magical place – Disneyland!

excited to get out of the COLD weather!

excited for a girls weekend!

 

 

Anyone else running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon this year?
My Mom and I ran it last year, you can read the recap here. 🙂

 

Hobble Creek Half Marathon Recap

We ran the Hobble Creek Half Marathon on Saturday.

My Mom and Joanna had a goal to come in under 1:45, 

Josh wanted to PR, 

and I just wanted to look good while I ran. 😉

and ALL of us accomplished our goals!

Ya BABY! That’s what’s up! 😉

outfit: Costco tank, Team Sparkle Skirt (with my LuLu skirt underneath – it has shorts built in), 

ActiveBand headband, Mizuno WavePrecision, and Nike Miler sunglasses.

I waited for the crowds to cross the start line and took off. 

I really like doing that at chip-timed races because it gives me the freedom to move easily for the first mile – rather than fight through crowds and get caught up with a faster pace group and end up going out too fast.

I kept my pace fairly steady for the entire race (right around 9:00 min mile) and only walked through the water stops and a few pit stops to adjust my skirt/shorts. 😉

I felt good through the entire race, gu’d at mile 6 and mile 10.

I knew I was gonna be close to 2 hours and really wanted to come in under 2:00, so when I hit the 12 mile marker, I picked up my pace. I think I passed more people in that mile than during the entire race. 

I saw Lindsay and my Mom & Joshie out of the corner of my eye as I was passing by the park to the finish.

My Mom jumped in with me for a bit and ran with me, but I spotted a guy in front of me and took off to try to beat him. He must have heard me coming because he sped up too! I couldn’t quite catch him! lol. But I certainly tried! 🙂

I finished in 2:00:18

(overall 9:10 pace)

this bad ass mother runner ^^^

finished in 1:43!!

a 2 minute PR!!

and looked dang cute in her LuLu skirt!

She ended up in 5th place in her age group.

Last year – she placed top 3 with a slower time!

so this year… there were some SPEEDY mother runners!

Joanna was right in front of my Momma and finished in 1:42!!

and this BAD ASS brother runner

finished with a screamin’ time of 1:35!!

and a 5 min PR!!!

I am so proud of him!

He is kickin’ butt this summer!

AND he finished in the Top 100 males – so he got a special elite medal!

(p.s. LADIES – he’s single and ready to mingle… anyone interested?!) 

Huge thanks to Miss Lindsay who came out to be our official finish line photographer!

I just LOVE that girl. She has always been so supportive of us and credits us for getting her into running. I can’t wait til she races again so we can be there for HER. 🙂

love ya girl!

Did anyone else run Hobble Creek?

Were you as excited as we were that it ACTUALLY started on time?!

It was a race day MIRACLE! 😉

Anyone else ever race in a skirt?

I think I’m obsessed. I need to start rockin’ my TeamSparkle skirts at CrossFit. 🙂

American Fork Canyon Half Marathon – Recap

Last weekend we ran the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon.

Josh and I ran this race last year and we LOVED it and we convinced my Mom to run it this year.

We made tanks (and a shirt for Josh) for this year’s race too.

My cousin Leslie helped us out with some COOL iron on’s in neon pink and white.

the designs really POPPED on the bright blue tanks and Josh’s black shirt.

We ran in honor of my Grandma Marge.

me & momma CANCER SUCKS!!

Our running BFF, Joanna (aka JoJo), ran too. 

I was going to try to keep up with them… but they took off and I couldn’t keep up. LOL

the GIRLS Momma, JoJo, and me

I was initially going to run with Janae, but because of all the nasty fires and smoke in the air, she decided to sit this race out and keep her be-be safe. 🙂

I decided I just wanted to have a good time while running this race.

I just wanted to be comfortable (aka no chest pain like Ogden).

I wanted to feel strong.

I wanted to have fun!!!

And I did!!

Never had to stop and walk, except through the water stops –

which is what I normally do – no running and drinking, I’d drown.

Never had to stop and potty – HUGE success. lol.

Never had any chest pain or felt that uncomfortable pressure in my chest.

Last year I made the mistake of letting myself go on the downhill portion and I tanked at mile 9.

I tried to hold myself back a little and I think it definitely paid off.

Could I have pushed a little harder? Probably…

But I didn’t. And I’m OKAY with that.

I really had such a GREAT time running this race.

I took the time to read every sign on the side of the road.

Think about my Grandma and other loved ones who have been affected by cancer.

Thank the volunteers and police officers.

Wave at spectators.

High five the little kids.

and I chicked a guy right at the finish line! WOOT!

no, that’s not back fat… it’s my spibelt. 😉

I’m beginning to realize something…

I think I’m over RACING…

Don’t get me wrong… I don’t want to STOP racing.

I just want to stop being obsessed with PRing at races.

I said it before, and I’m saying it again, I want to LOVE running again.

I’m tired of KILLING myself, physically and mentally, over training/running.

After Ogden Marathon, I just really didn’t WANT to run.

But I knew I had to get some mileage in for the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay.

from May 20th to June 14th I ran a total of 37.5 miles.

Which… is not much, considering I used to maintain weekly mileage between 20-30miles.

Between Ragnar and this race, I ran 3 miles on Thursday.

and really, if I’m being honest… it was more like a 1 mile run with 2 miles of run/walking.

It was after work and HOT as hell.

and I still finished this race in a respectable time.

I think I’m finally finding a balance of running and CrossFit.

I’m (re)learning how to LOVE running again! YAY!

and if any of you care – here are my splits:

Oh yeah… In case you didn’t know, my Momma is a BAMR!

(Bad Ass Mother Runner)

she placed second in her age group! WOO WOO!

She finished in 1:45! (it might even be a PR!)

and…

if you are my FB friend, or follow me on THE TWITTERS, or instagram

you’ve seen this pic…

but if you haven’t – you’re welcome

Diz was parading around like a peacock in his new shirt.

He got stopped by at least 5 people asking to take his picture.

Asking where he got his shirt. If I made the shirt.

If y’all want to know… I bought Diz’s shirt from RunningTshirtsOnline.

My friend, Hannah, mentioned it in a comment a few posts back and I knew I had to buy it.

I gave it to Diz for our anniversary.

Isn’t the 4th year gift supposed to be classy tshirts?? no?

well, damn.

P.S. Can I tell you how much I love the online blogging-running-dailymile community?

I saw SO many friends while running this race!

Met Lydia from DailyMile (though I made it super awkward – “ummm…. what’s your name?!”)

Saw Susette, Rachelle (who paced my brother – who PR’d with 1:37!!), Julia, and Kim (my Weight Watchers leader). Loved seeing all the familiar faces! 🙂 🙂

Riverton Half Marathon Recap

This Saturday I ran the Riverton Half Marathon.

The morning did not start well. I totally slept in. Set my alarm to wake up in time, but I forgot to turn it on. So I woke up when my Mom called me to let me know that she was in the driveway. Good thing I had prepped everything the night before. So I hurried and got dressed, brushed my teeth and ran out the door.

Picked up Josh.

Stopped at the gas station to get some coffee. (gotta *ahem* get things moving)

then picked up Lindsey.

drove to Riverton.

went potty. twice. WOOT. (I know… it’s TMI, but I don’t care)

Met up with Julia.

Decided we’d run together and shoot for a 9min pace.

Well the winds from the south that were blowing 21mph to 31mph had a different plan.

and it was warm. Almost HOT.

I know the weather guy said it was winds from the south. but I swear. No matter which direction we ran. we had a head wind. It was tough.

Julia and I had the intention of hanging with the 2:00 pacer – but they seemed to take off really fast so we hung back a little and just made sure we could keep them in our sights.

The first 3 miles weren’t bad.

We hit the first hill at mile 4 and then the wind seemed to really pick up.

Running along the park way trail was the worst. It was so windy. and dusty, blech!

I had a hard time staying positive during this race. I would tell myself “You can do this” and “Just keep going” then the wind would blow even harder.

I asked my Grandma and Brad and Jim to “please, just make it stop” many, many times.

Once I hit mile 8, I knew it was not going to be a sub 2:00 race. And I was okay with it. I just told myself that I had to continue to push as hard as I could.

I saw Lindsey (not the one who was running, but the other Lindsey from work) about mile 11.5 and I ran over to her and gave her a big sweaty hug!

Then Whitney was around the corner right at mile 12 and she ran with me for a bit too, and really helped me push the pace back up.

Then, we were making the few last turns and I could finally see the finish line. And I pushed. and PUSHED. and PUSHED.

I finished in 2:02:59 (average pace was 9:23)

For reference, the reason why I look so fetching evil in that pic above… I was running at a 4:33 pace for that last part.

and I was chasing after a guy. I really wanted to CHICK his ass. I ALMOST had him. I hope I ruined his finish line pictures. LOL. My Mom said I looked like a crazed maniac. Pretty sure I sounded like a maniac, too.

We went back to run Lindsay in.

She finished in 2:14. She did SO SO SO good. It was a tough course and TOUGH conditions.

My Mom KILLED it.

She took FIRST place in her age group with a time of 1:51.

Here she is with her “Big Deal Big Wheel” Trophy 😉

Josh did amazing as well. Finished in 1:43. He’s a ROCKSTAR!

The whole fam 🙂

and the whole group. 🙂

Linds, Julia, Me, Momma-cita, Poshie

Overall, I’m not super pleased with my time, but still pretty happy with how I finished. I mean the winds were KILLER and the course is tough. And I did try to stay positive (which is new, for me!).

It makes me even more excited for the AF Canyon Half… YAY for downhill!

and kind of excited/half sick about Ogden… ugh. 26.2 miles? WTF was I thinking?!

Anyone e
lse race this weekend??