Christmas Rush 10k Race Report

Oh hello.  Did you miss me?  Probably not! 

I've been doing a lot of nothing resting since the Seattle Half.  Although Runcember is kicked off and running (and I'm kind of regretting it everyday I have to force myself off the couch just to get in that mile!) it had seemed December would possibly be RESTcember as well.  As in, let's fix this freakin' hamstring once and for all, shall we?

Anyway, so although I deemed the Seattle Half the end of 2012's running season, I was technically signed up for one final race: The Christmas Rush 10k.  This would be my 4th time running the race, it's one of my home-town small-time favorites, and I didn't want to miss, but I figured I could just walk the 5k instead if necessary. 

So anyway, there we were, Saturday morning in the crisp cold air ready to "run" a race.  Kerrie, Erika, and Jennifer joined Jordanne and I, and all of a sudden, unready as usual, we were off! 

There's not much to report about the race itself, especially since it was far from a "race".  It was flat and they made it a loop this year instead of an out-and-back which I LOVED.  The race seemed to have doubled in size since last year though, it better not become too big for its britches!

I stayed with Jordanne until about 3.5, when I was dying for a walk break, so I forced her to go on ahead.  I walked again through the 1 water stop and ashamedly again with less than a half mile to go.  Some lady passed me during this walk break and was like "COME ON WE'RE ALMOST THERE" and I can't believe how much I hated her in that instant.  It reminded me of all the times I've said similar things with ONLY the best intentions!  Ugh, I was shooting daggers at her with my eyes.

Thanks to Kerrie for the pics!

But even with the walking I still somehow managed to get in in JUST under an hour.  Squeaking it a little close with a 59:51. 

And the hamstring?  It actually felt okay!  I don't want to get my hopes up just yet though.  I was focused heavily on taking short steps, and obviously the walk breaks.  Please let this continue. 

And NOW my 2012 racing season is officially over. 

Happy Howl-oween!

Happy Halloween!  How was yours?  What did you do?  Eat candy?  Get egged?  Go to haunted houses?

This weekend we had a fabulous time with our friends carving pumpkins, eating roasted pumpkin seeds, dressing their darling baby up like a cow and putting her in a pumpkin (her Dad wasn't too pleased with either of these activities), etc. 

We usually have a bit more impressive costumes, but matching outfits was the extent of our creativity this year:

We're also pumpkin carving professionals:

Annnndddddd here's what my pumpkin looked like before and after JMan got done "transporting" it:

Whoops.

And finally, it wouldn't be Halloween without some costumes for the pup:

Cooper says: "Happy Howl-oween". 

I Would Run to You

I have a million random thoughts to share with you today.  Don't get too excited!

1.  I'm sure all of you have seen the new Nike "Run Strong" commercial - with the catchy "I would run to you" song.  Obviously I love it.  And her outfit.  And her shoes.  And her hair.  And of course I love that she could run across the country but her significant other couldn't!  And she did it all without a bead of sweat, a hair misplaced, or a smudge to her perfect make-up.  Okay, perhaps it's not too realistic.  But I love it.

2.  I finished What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakawi.  It was short (only 4 CDs, or about 4 hours), and I listened to it WHILE I was running, which I think is the only way you should do it.  It wasn't amazing, it didn't reveal any deep dark secrets about running, but it was mostly entertaining.  It's a memoir, so it talked about his experiences with running, getting slower as you age, running the NYC Marathon, running an ultramarathon, doing triathlons, writing books, living in Hawaii, etc. etc. etc.  I totally recommend it IF you're a runner and IF you listen to it while you're running. 

3. Running Off the Reese's recently informed me that Kristin Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sedakis may be leaving SNL.  An incredible breakdown ensued.  Both for me over Kristin and for JMan over Andy.  WHY KRISTIN WHYYY???  WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!  I adore Kristin Wiig, in case you weren't aware.  I'm pretty sure she and I would be best friends forever in real life.  At least that's what I tell the cops when they arrest me for stalking her. Apparently she's been wishy-washy about leaving but past stars (Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, etc.) have had the most success when leaving after 7 or 8 seasons, which is where Kristin is now.

   

I love Kristin so much I dressed as Gilly for Halloween in 2010.  Don't we look JUST alike?!  Rachael's costume is pretty freaking awesome too, can you guess who she is?

Maybe if we all band together we can convince Kristin to never leave SNL?
 

4.  Did you hear that Amanda Bynes got a DUI?  Anyone else a fan of hers?  I can't tell you how awesome She's The Man is.  Seen it?!  I sure hope this isn't the beginning of a slide like Lindsay Lohan.  Lindsay, I miss the old you.  You know, the one from Mean Girls?  Come back please. 

I feel like I should be ashamed for loving this movie...

5.  JMan is the best husband in the world.  Let me tell you why.  On Monday night he was off golfing and I was bored at home after my speedwork session.  I was complaining that he wasn't there (what a good wife I am!) and he gave me hints that led me to a secret stash of CADBURY MINI-EGGS he had stashed away for me!  Doesn't he deserve a medal of honor and valor?!  Seriously.

And they were delicious.

6.  This weekend I'm running the Mt. Si Relay with a bunch of other bloggers (Team Name: Bloggers Do It Online!) and I'm REALLY excited about it.  It all started when Alma posted about loving relays.  I said we should do Mt. Si and although she couldn't, Marathon Lar agreed.  Then we got Kerrie at Mom vs. Marathon, Lindsay on the Go, and Run Zoe Run (sorry Zoe, I don't know how to do those dots!).  Poor Tiffany at Musings of a Running Girl was supposed to do it too but she's too sick.  Think healthy thoughts for her!  If you want to know more about my awesome teammates (none of whom I've met before in real life, so if I die you know who to go after!), go read Kerrie's awesome introduction.

The relay is 59 miles total and we each do between 10-13 miles, though I have an 18 miler scheduled so I'm hoping to annoy one of the others by accompanying them during their legs.  Sorry whoever gets picked for that! 

Do you think running 18 miles across 10 hours is close enough to the same as doing an 18 miler all at once?

Randomness much?  The End.

Tell me something totally random about you!  Or about your week!  Or about the coming weekend!  And what do you think about my 18 miler?  Counts?

How to Make a Snow White Costume for the Disney Princess Half Marathon

So after reading my Disney Princess Race Recap yesterday, you decided you might someday want to make a Snow White costume for a race?!  Oh, no, you don't?  Please come back tomorrow then.  But if you do, that's excellent news!  Please read on, and learn how to make this and all its glory:

First of all, I take absolutely NO credit whatsoever for this costume.  This Mama Makes Stuff is amazing and I pretty much used her tutorial (with some tweaks) for this Snow White costume so she deserves all the credit.  She is amazing and has fabulous ideas!

THANK YOU THIS MAMA MAKES STUFF!

This Mama Makes Stuff's Costume

Second, again I take NO credit whatsoever for the actual construction of the costume, as I owe a big, huge, humongous THANK YOU to Lisa, who pretty much designed, created, and made my costume.  She is amazing and I am so lucky to have a friend like her.  I wish she could have come run the Princess Half too, only then her costume would have been 5 times more amazing than my own!
THANK YOU LISA!

Okay, so here's what you need if you ever want to recreate my Snow White costume:

• A Yellow Tutu.  I already taught you everything I know about tutu-making.  That's how I got this one.

• A blue tank top.  I searched everywhere (okay, not really, just Target and Old Navy, but I really hoped Target would have something I liked and wanted) and got this cheapo tank top at Old Navy for about $6.  I was not in love with it and hoped I'd find something better fitting, more flattering, and made of dri-fit material, but no luck.  Target never had my size and their "blue" was more "violet" in my eyes, which doesn't make me happy in the least.

Before all the "Extras"!

• White material for the collar.  I was really worried about this part, because I couldn't figure out how it was going "stand up" on its own.  Lisa is a genius and figured out that this stuff called 'interface' exists, which is what they use for the collars in men's dress shirts.  So cut it in the shape you want and voila!  So easy.
• Elastic for the arm bands.  Measure the circumference of your arm and cut that amount of elastic twice (maybe a little less so it's tight).  Sew together, preferably with a sewing machine but we quickly broke Lisa's machine and didn't know how to fix it (have I mentioned I'm the least domesticated person ever?) so we hand-sewed everything.  I was nervous my costume would fall off me while I was running, but I dodged a bullet this time.  I also used my little common sense and wore something underneath so I wasn't left naked.  

• More elastic to attach to the tank top.  Then cut another two short pieces of elastic that you'll use to attach the sleeves to the tank top.  Or you could just sew directly to the tank top but since we were hand sewing this was easier. 
• Tulle for the sleeves.  This Mama Makes Stuff used ribbon, and I brought ribbon intending to do that, but then Lisa had the stupendous idea of using tulle instead and I think it looks SO much better than ribbon.  So much puffier and princess-like!  Highly highly HIGHLY recommend this route. Simply cut it in the length you want it, bunch it together, and sew it to your shorter piece of elastic.  Then sew it to your circle arm band piece of elastic.  I did 4 pieces, 2 each of red and 2 each of blue for each arm.  I think you could go 5-6 and it would look even better! 

• Red material for the cape.  I actually already had a cape from doing the Hell Run, so we just sewed it in half to a) cover the huge Hell Run logo, and b) to make it the right length.  It came with a string tie so we just used that or else you would sew the material to your tank top.  

• Make your bow!  I just sewed hot-glued sparkly ribbon to a piece of elastic (sewing is obviously preferable but haven't I mentioned already I'm not too domesticated?).  It might be a bit big?!

   

• Put it all together!  I already had all the ribbon cut for the sleeves so I made some bracelets out of it.  I also bought yellow socks and yellow ribbon to add some "extras". 

And voilà!  You're done!  You are officially princess-ified.

How is your week going?  What race is coming up for you next?  Ever dress in costume for a race?

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap

My 10th half marathon is in the books!

The Disney Princess Half Marathon was possibly the most fun race I have ever participated in.  I had a complete BLAST.  This also reiterated my newfound love for dressing in costume for races.  I had never worn a costume for a race before until the last three races I've done, but I am totally and completely sold on the idea now!

I rarely have "plans" for races, I just do whatever I feel (yeah yeah, this is bad).  But for once, there was a plan going into this race.  The plan:  Leandrea is running a half marathon in Atlanta in a month and is dying to sub 2.  So we decided to have fun, stop and take pictures, and not worry about the time, but to try to stay "on pace" for a sub 2 (about a 9:00/mile pace) any time we were actually running.  Despite discussing the plan and even discussing how this time we were NOT going to go out too fast like last time our first two miles are still a bit fast.  Next time we will finally get it!

We ended up only stopping to take 3 pictures because at least for me, I just did not feel like stopping.  I knew if I stopped it would be rough to get back going, especially after about mile 10.  Poor Mulan was at mile 12 and had NO ONE stopping to visit her, I'm sure for this reason.  Plus some of the lines were ridiculous, I can only imagine they took about 20 minutes or so to get through to the main princesses.

Unfortunately our other picture with characters (and most of my other pictures while running) turned out horribly blurry.  Apparently a crappy camera + darkness + taking pictures while running is a bad combination for high quality photography.  Who knew?

We were doing great on the plan besides some stopping in mile 6 for pictures until Leandrea unfortunately started feeling poorly (you can read Leandrea's race recap here).  I felt so bad for her, she looked like her stomach was in major pain.  So we lost a bunch of time in Mile 10 at the port-a-potty and I could tell she was suffering majorly for the rest.  She is such a trooper though and I know in Atlanta (barring more stomach issues!) she is going to CRUSH that sub-2.  

We ran together until almost mile 12, when Leandrea convinced me to go on.  I was hesitant as I wanted to run the whole thing with her, but by then I was suffering pretty good myself and I just wanted the suffering to end ASAP.  So I took off.  And actually, running much faster made me feel much better!  It was GREAT to just go as hard as I could for the last 1.4 miles or so.  Although I paid for it later in nauseousness for a few hours, and my quads are already a bit sore.  This might also be because this was the flattest course I have ever run, there were two mini "inclines" going up onto the overpasses that you could barely call hills, and that's it.

Splits: 1   8:46 Started a little bit fast 2   8:39 3   8:54 On perfect pace! 4   8:56 5   8:46 6   9:31 Pictures at the Castle & with characters 7   9:07 More perfect pace! 8   8:59 9   9:45 Poor Leandrea! 10 12:35 11  9:30 12  8:59 Took off in here 13  7:18 I felt the burn!

Total Time: 2:03:29   Garmin Distance: 13.34   
Average Pace (per Garmin): 9:16

The Negatives:
The start was a little ridiculous, complete with a 3:15am wake-up call (yes you read that right!).  They were basically threatening us with closed roads at 4:00am and closed corrals at 5:00am, and the race started at 5:45am, so this basically left us shivering in the cold for a few hours before the race.  If I'd had more room in my suitcase (or more brains in my head) I would have brought or gotten a throw-away sweatshirt.  But, alas, I have neither.  I went with capris over shorts at the last minute and although it was nice for the wait, I was regretting it only 10 minutes after we started running.  My arm warmers went down right away and it was plenty warm.  Also, this was definitely the most expensive race I've ever done.  Not all Disney's fault, I mean it was an expensive race regardless, but I usually register early and / or with sales / discount codes and due to my procrastination this time I was at the most expensive price.

The Good:
Although it was expensive, Disney knows how to put on a race.  The overall organization, from the corrals, self-treat area after, the character areas - it was all done AMAZINGLY.  They even had fireworks for the start of EVERY corral.  Little congestion on the course, tons and tons of volunteers doing everything including being there to take our pictures, plenty of Gu, water, and Powerade, Luna bars and even these little boxes of snacks at the finish, etc.  Very well done Disney.  But space blankets next time please.  Surprisingly also, my Snow White costume didn't chafe!  I did wear Body Glide but I was still expecting it to bother me.  The tutu kept getting caught between my legs and that was definitely annoying and less than graceful though!

See, fireworks!  I wasn't lying. 

Fireworks AND delicious snacks and cute snack boxes!

The Great:
Running through Magic Kingdom!  This was pretty much the best 20 minutes of my life and I wish the whole entire race could have been through here!  I also want to run every half marathon with Leandrea (sadly we just have run two together, one in 2010 and this one), it is a blast.  I loved seeing all the costumes, characters, cheerers, running through the parks, it was all so fun and made the miles go by so fast.

Running through the castle was pretty much the best thing EVER. 

Did you make it this far?  Longest post ever.  Don't worry, that's The End!  And they lived happily ever after.

Like my costume?  If so, tune in tomorrow for a how-to!  
Have you ever or will you ever do a Disney race?  I highly recommend it.

Happy Tuesday!  Have a great day!  

2 Weeks!

The Walt Disney World Disney Princess Half Marathon is in TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!  I am so excited, for running the half, seeing my main lady Leandrea, hanging with my Mom, theme park fun, dressing in costume, etc. etc. etc.

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I can't freaking wait.  I'm registered and my tutu is made!  If you need a tutu here is the tutu-torial, as Mom vs. Marathon so cleverly termed it (I think she needs to copyright that, don't you?!), and if you still need costume ideas I highly recommend watching this video.

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My Sunday agenda involves lots of work and finishing my costume.  Maybe I'll do chores IF there's time.  Priorities, priorities.  

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Who else is running this race?  What are you wearing?  Don't forget about Running with Sass' blogger meet-up!

How to Make a Princess Tutu!

Have a Princess race coming up?  Know a runner in your life doing the Disney World Princess Half Marathon?  Is her name Ricole?!  BECAUSE I'M DOING THAT RACE!  Thus, my need for a princess tutu.  The costume decision was a tough one, a very difficult choice between Minnie Mouse, Snow White, and a Princess Pirate.  But after some serious soul-searching, and considering my new-found love for Once Upon a Time, I made up my mind.

 

Do you watch Once Upon a Time?  I thought I would think it was stupid, but I love it.  Maybe its all those Lost Apollo bars they keep floating around... #LostFanForever

I considered buying a costume online but after a quick internet search I found that although the online costumes were quite affordable (as low as $10, cheaper than making one!), they were also quite risqué, if you know what I mean.  Without being able to see it in person first, it seemed likely to not fit right, likely to cause major chafing (a runner's nightmare!), and not be exactly the Snow White look I was going for (she's more pure and good, less scandalous, right?!).

So a tutu was needed!  Feels Like Home has an even better tutorial for making a tutu if you're really interested.  I followed their steps when I made my first one for precious 1-year-old Denali, now I'm a tutu pro!

Sweet Denali's Christmas Present

Step 1.  Buy your tool tulle.  There is some fabulous options at Joann's (including sparkly tulle!) but I went with the cheapest kind and getting some spray glitter instead.  The tulle was $0.89/yard and I used about 8 yards. You can choose to go with just one color or be a little more adventurous and choose two or more colors!  For this one I chose bright yellow and a paler yellow, 5 yards of bright yellow, 3 yards of pale.  If you're rich you should get the sparkly tulle, it's so pretty!  I'm not so rich so I got the regular kind.
  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Step 2.  Cut your tulle into 6 inch wide strips, then cut the fold to make it two pieces instead of one super long piece.  The tulle comes folded and is about 56 inches wide, but when you cut on the fold you get two pieces 6 inches wide and about 28 inches long.  This was a good length for me, you may want it shorter if for a child or longer if you're taller or less flamboyant more conservative.

Step 3.  Prepare your method of holding it on your body.  In the past I used ribbon (it's prettier and cheaper) but since this was for a race I went all out and got elastic and velcro.  Cut the ribbon long enough to wrap around you and tie in a cute bow.  Cut the elastic the size of your waist, and either sew or stick-on (duh, I used stick-on) velcro pieces at each end so it can make a loop.

This picture is not relevant to any of these steps but it has the precious pup in it so I thought you'd want to see it. 

Step 4.  Grab 3 strips at a time in whatever sequence you like.  I randomly went with 3 bright yellow, 2 bright 1 pale, 2 pale 1 bright, and 3 pales so I had a mixture of the color throughout.  Stack them on top of each other, then form a loop underneath your elastic.  Pull the loose end through the loop end and voila!  You have a knot going around the elastic.  It's easier to pull tight with ribbon but pull as tight as you can around the elastic (TWSS).

Step 5.  Do this over and over and over and over and over and over and over.  You'll know when you're done.

Step 6.  Spray it all over with massive amounts of fabric spray glitter.  I say, the more sparkly, the better.  Also, if you're more talented than I, make a sweet bow to cover where the elastic meets (not necessary if you used ribbon instead of elastic).

Step 7.  Wear it and get lots of compliments for looking awesome.

Step 8.  Make another one and wear one every-single-day so you keep getting weird looks compliments!

The end!  Go and enjoy being tutu-ified!

I Like Compliments?

Yesterday I made an impromptu decision to do my long for the week that night.  I would be running with Lisa on Thursday and no one on the weekend, and I'm not so great at going long alone (TWSS), so I got there early and did almost 6 before Lisa got there.  Then we did 4 great miles together (so nice with company!) and I did another after she left.  I really wanted 12 but I felt strangely nauseous and had to stop, so 11 it was.  Total time of 1:45, with an average pace of 9:33.  Felt pretty good (though a little tired towards the end) until mile 11.  Feeling nauseous is the worst.

This is how I felt during my run. 

During the run I was honked at and barked at (not by a dog).  It's definitely not the first time either of those things have happened, but I'm still not sure how to interpret it - should I be appalled or consider it a compliment?  Once someone threw a FULL water bottle at my head while I was running.  That was scary and made me pissed off.  And I can't count the number of times I've almost been hit by crazy a-hole drivers. End rant.  I can't talk too much about the perils of running because my husband might read it! :-)

Things I'm loving - Lisa knows how much I adore and obsess over peanut butter, and so she gave me this:

Isn't Lisa the BEST?!  Peanut Butter & Co.'s White Chocolate Wonderful.  It. Is. The. BOMB.  I am officially in love.  It is like delicious peanut butter chocolate frosting, and it's so light and fluffy.  I could eat the whole jar tonight.  No judgement if I did, right? 

The only problem is this morning regular old peanut butter in my oatmeal didn't taste as delicious.  I might be a ruined woman (peanut-butter-wise only, of course).
 
More things I'm loving:  Last month Rock n' Roll Seattle was running a promotion on Facebook about racing in holiday costumes.  I posted my Jingle Bell 5k costume where I rocked my red Team Sparkle skirt and won!  I won a pair of real running gloves, which I'm super excited about since I just run in $1 cotton ones from Dollar Tree. Here's the picture that I sent them:

Yes my room is messy.  Hire me a maid.  And pay for it.  STAT!  And those are the "Brooks Vapor Dry Run Gloves" (fancy, right?!) that I won!

That's it - HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!  Aren't Fridays the best?


Have you ever been honked at or barked at while running?  Have you ever had that pb?  If not, do yourself a favor and get some pronto!  What fun weekend plans do you have?