Look Who's Back...Back Again

It's been a while...a year and four months to be exact. A lot has happened in the time, I'll save you the details, but in short, we bought a house (and survived), I changed jobs (and love it), Scott was promoted (I think? I can't remember), the kids turned 10, I ran two more marathons, a few more half marathons, and I do not want to admit how many pairs of running shoes I've gone through.

I've lost myself, I've found myself, maybe I lost myself again, and maybe I'm working to find myself. I realized I missed writing for fun. I write on a daily basis for work, but let's be real, it's boring and gray. (Is it gray or grey? I flip flop between the two)

I want to start writing again. I want to document my life, my struggles, my triumphs, my "you won't believe what the hell just happened to me" moments. I'm happy to be back...now grab some coffee and let's start chatting again, I've missed you.

Princess Weekend 2017 - 10k and Half

So it's been a while since the race...a long while...I know....

Here's a quick photo recap and some thoughts on the races.

For the past couple of years we have kept with our Alice in Wonderland theme. Lorren and I typically run this race together and usually at some point she curses me out. 

We had our own cheering section on the Boardwalk this year. The whole crew came down in their jammies to cheer us on. I cannot tell you how many friends of mine that were running the race said they saw my crew. 

It was a good race, we pushed but not too hard since the half would be the following morning. 

Now onto the half! For the past few years there has been a group of guys that run dressed as princesses. They are total studs and we have had our eyes set on finding them and taking a photo with them. I knew they were going to be in my corral so I would be able to sneak a photo, but they were hanging near the front when we first arrived. Lorren and I jumped at the chance to score a photo with our favorite, Jasman. 

I knew it was gonna be a good race.

The race started a little late because traffic was awful, but when it did, I was good to go. I took off nice and steady and kept the same pace for the first 10k of the race. 

Then it was game on. For the last half of the race I kicked it into high gear and pushed. I had a goal and I wanted to hit it. I wanted to be under 2:40 and my ultimate goal is 2:30. I came in at 2:37 and change. It was huge!

Best part of hitting your goal? Having those you love at the finish! Scott met me to give me my medals and my parents and kiddos were there too. After Lorren and Cathy finished we all had our celebratory beers. 

This is the first time my Dad was at the race and I loved having him there. Even though he was a little peeved about the shirt we picked out, I adore this photo. 

Next up is Star Wars this weekend. If you follow me on my Facebook page check in for photo updates! 

It Just Wasn't My Race....

Last weekend Scott and I got away to the coast for the Lighthouse Loop 5k and Half Marathon. We have not had a weekend away in...a very long time.

We spent our afternoon walking the beach. It was so peaceful. After some dinner it was early to bed because we had to be on the shuttle at 5:40.  

Scott was running the 5k and I was in for the half with some of my ladies from MRTT. The weather was smack you in the face humid and I was still experiencing some delicious post nasal drip. Recipe for success people.

We took off at a pretty fast pace, I knew we had to slow down and switch intervals. We switched to 2:1's and slowed down. By mile four I was dripping and chugging water. Why hello dehydration, welcome to the par-tay. 

Every once in a while we caught a nice breeze between the houses. Then we rounded a corner and there she was...the lighthouse...

I want to go back with the kiddos so they can see it and we can learn more about it. 

By this point the sun was beating down and there was minimal shade. The post nasal drip was very real and by mile 9 my stomach was sloshing. As we approached mile 10 I told my friend to run ahead, I was walking. This was not going to be my race, but I had to finish. So I walked....and walked...and walked.

I had one more giant obstacle ahead of me and that was the bridge at mile 12, because when designing a course a bridge at mile 12 sounds like fun.

As I hit the top of the bridge I pushed myself and ran down. Once I hit the bottom another one of my MRTT ladies saw me and yelled across the road. I needed that boost. I pushed forward and ran in the last little bit. 

I was not happy. I was not proud. I was defeated.

I am happy that I ran across the finish and I am happy that I can in just under the time on the clock. It has been a few years since I have completed a half in that time, but I finished. It wasn't my best, but it wasn't my worst.

Plus I had this guy waiting for me...

It was not my day...it was not my race. I spent the next few hours...okay days...letting this race mess with my head. I have the Goofy Challenge coming up in January and this was not what I needed mentally. Then on Monday I dropped a full can of cooking spray on my toe and bruised it pretty good. No, really, stuff like that happens to me.

I took the week off. I need to rehydrate. I needed to clear the cobwebs. I needed to refocus. 

I will return... I will make this course my bitch, maybe not the bridge, but the other 11.5 miles are so mine. 

Until next time Lighthouse Loop. 

Ted's Princesses Take Over Disney Part 3: That Time We Ran 13.1 Miles and Raised More Than 8k for Alzheimer's

Back in the fall my sister began researching ALZ Stars because since our Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's we have wanted to support the cause. There were several calls/texts/emails between us trying to figure out the magical number of what we would raise. We decided on $7,800 since he was turning 78 that October. Our mission was set and the four princesses began the process of not only training, but fundraising. 

One of the cool things about fundraising with ALZ Stars is that we were able to represent this amazing organization by wearing singlets on race day. This photo kind of sucks because it's blurry, but you get the idea.

This was also the first time the three of us completely separated for the race and the first time I went left while Cathy and Lorren went straight to get to our corrals. I landed myself in corral H for this race and could not believe it. It was such a small corral!

Lorren was behind me in I and Cathy was in K. I knew where I wanted to end up and tried to stay near the 2:45 pacer. My best time for a half marathon is 2:42 and change and my best time for princess was 2:55 and change. I was confident that I could beat one or both of these times. The corral was small, the weather was great and I had to do it, not just for myself but for the cause. 

Melissa was going to be on the course cheering us on and thanks to the magic of text alerts would be able to find us easily. Plus we were all head to toe purple, we couldn't be that hard to miss, right? I found Melissa at the transportation and ticket center but I was completely on the other side of the path. I did the crazy wave and kept going. Lorren managed to snag a picture with her when she passed.

One of my favorite parts of this race is running up Main Street. There is just something special about running towards the castle with a ton of strangers cheering you on. 

Once I hit the 10k mark I knew I was picking up the pace. 2:45 was a definite possibility at this point, now I just had to hold steady to come under 2:42. I was able to keep cruising along on that back stretch, which normally if you're in the corrals further back is a hard feat. Normally during that 6.2-7.5 mile stretch you are walking. Thankfully, we were all running at this point. 

The sun was starting to come out around the 15k mark and it was starting to warm up. The on ramp at this point is my least favorite part of the race, but I had to push forward if I wanted to hit this time. I gave the drill sergeant the side eye as I jogged past and pushed forward. Cresting the hill I heard Bruce Springstein telling me that "Baby you were born to run" and I pushed forward. I only had a mile and a half to go and I was ready to be done. 

As I approached the back side of EPCOT I sent Melissa a text to let her know I was on the way. Her response? "You're too fast! I'm not there yet!"

I clipped through EPCOT glancing at my Garmin every couple of minutes. I knew it would be close. As I came down the stretch I put everything I had into my finish. Arms raised as I crossed I was proud of myself. I didn't beat my best time, but I only missed it by seconds. I came in at 2:43:04 which is not bad seeing that I raced the previous two days. But the best part? Having Scott there at the end to give me my medals. 

I met up with Melissa and we waited for our other princesses to cross. Lorren was next and we celebrated with some beer and champagne. 

It was really starting to get warm by this point so we hung out in the shade and waited for Cathy. Fun fact, Cathy met up with another ALZ Stars member, Kayla Anderson along the course!

This was actually really cool because ALZ Stars is not one of the official charities of the race, so it is not a common one that you would see. Normally you see Children's Miracle Network, Team in Training and oh gosh...some other one that I cannot think of. 

Once Cathy crossed we were ready for some kit kats and champagne, the Bednarek girl tradition.

We also Skyped with Mom and Dad, which is never dull. Dad asked at least a dozen times is we had been drinking. Well, yeah.

And yes, this is how my parents Skype with us. You could probably hear us giggling. 

After we cleaned up we headed to EPCOT for a celebratory German feast at the Biergarten. But first we had to take favorite "all the medals" photo. 

And yes, we wore matching shirts that said "Run Your Shells Off." 

I still cannot believe we raised more than $8,000 for Alzheimer's (we can always raise more though, the link is still live...hint hint). Thank you to everyone that contributed and shared our page. We could not have accomplished this without you!

Hitting the Bricks - The OUC Half Marathon

At the beginning of the month I ran the OUC Half Marathon. It's a big thing here in Orlando and is a lot of people's favorite race. I'm not sure why people love this race so much, I mean it's neat running through all of the neighborhoods and all, but it's all brick.

I hate brick.

Well, I don't hate brick. Brick is beautiful on a house, or a nice brick sidewalk. Brick roads though? They flippin' suck. 

I was doing well in the beginning, but the constant on and off brick roading we were doing was starting to take a toll. I told the pacer (who was my pacer at Nona) that I would ditch them at 10 and push ahead to PR. 10 came and went and I was still with them. I finally left at mile 11 and tried to surge ahead. The temps (unusually warm) and the brick were getting the better of me. At this point, I just wanted to finish. 

I came around the corner and was on the walk part of my interval. I should have pushed through and run, but I was done. I saw Scott and the kiddos and picked up my pace. 

I finished in just over 2:43 which was just over my PR from Nona. Had I surged as I turned the corner I could have beat it, but I was done. All I wanted was my banana and a hug from my kiddos. 

This race was ugly, but my time was still decent. I'm happy I finished, but the best part of the entire 13.1 miles was seeing my three favorite faces at the point that I needed it the most. Thanks for all of the support Scott, Aaron and Jill!

Thirteen Point Freakin' One

Today was the Lake Nona Half Marathon. Michelle and I ran this last year, Scott unfortunately had something come up at work and had to miss it. This year, he joined us. This was Scott's first half marathon...ever.

I knew Nona would be a great first half marathon course for him. It is relatively flat with only one hill. If you want a big PR this is the race to run.

I hung with the 2:45 pacers until mile 12.5 when they looked at me and said "Go!!!!" I was the only one that hung with them the entire race and they knew I was already going to PR but also knew I could shave another 3 minutes off. So I took off and came in at 2:42:28. Last year at Nona I came in at 2:58. I came in at 2:55 at Princess. That is insane. 

13 minute PR, you bet I'm ringing the bell!

Michelle was not too far behind me. Then we waited for Scott. I saw him when I was around mile 11 and he was at 8. He was looking good, but tired. I knew he would finish and I knew it would be all the feels. 

I spotted him coming, ran over to the medals and waited. He was walking and he looked done, but then he jogged the last stretch. 

Jogging across the finish!

I was so incredibly proud in this moment. He has come so far and to accomplish this was just everything. I knew he would be emotional and I tried not to be, which was hard when I gave him his first half marathon medal. 

Scott has medaled me at the last few Princess races, so it was nice to be able to return the favor. Of course he kept moving after this because he had one thing in his sites...

I am so proud of this man. I really cannot put into words just how proud I am. I look forward to more races with him and more pictures of him ringing the PR bell!

You conquered 13.1 babe!

Princess Weekend - Part 3...The One With The Half Marathon

Sunday was the final race of Princess weekend and the final 2 a.m. wake up call. I was the most nervous for the half marathon and had set a goal of 2:45 - 2:50 for myself on the race. I knew it was ambitious because Disney races are packed with people and are often hard to PR in.

The weather was so much nicer on Sunday morning and I was beyond pleased with it. All four of us sparkled (check out Michelle's first sparkle!) and I firmly believe they make you run faster.

Because of our awesome PR at the Lake Nona half marathon, Michelle and I were placed in corral J which is the last of the proof of time corrals. I cannot even begin to explain how amazing it felt to walk into that corral knowing that I had to bust my behind to get in there.

The other great part of being in corral J was that we had a pacer. She was AMAZING! Before we even started moving she was giving us pep talks and explaining how the race was going to go for us. Michelle and I had good luck running with a pacer at Nona, so we knew we would finish well with this one. The difference though, is Nona doesn't have nearly as many runners that the pacer has to navigate through. There were definitely moments where I was figured I lost the pacer and would never find her again...even though she was carrying balloons.

The race overall went really well. I hung with the pacer until about mile 8 or so, then I decided I would do my own thing. I lost Michelle somewhere before Magic Kingdom and you would be shocked how hard it is to find someone in a sparkly skirt with a blue shirt. I mean, it's just as hard as trying to find someone in a tutu.

The last 5k was brutal for me. It almost always is because I'm pooped by this point and still have two monster hills to tackle, complete with a toy army drill sergeant yelling at me.  Once I hit the EPCOT parking lot (and passed the pacer) I started getting a little emotional. I was almost to the Peggy Sue spot and knew she wouldn't be there and also knew that I wouldn't be able to handle any tribute at that point. I also knew I was going to PR by this point, just not sure by how much.

Once I ran into the park something hit me that was strange. There were no guests. I have NEVER been at that stage of the race and not had guests around.

I hit the last .2 of the race and my quads were shaking. I had to give myself a pep talk to make it down the final stretch and hit as I approached and glanced at my watch I knew I PR'ed. It was only by a minute, but hot damn that was my minute. (For the record, it was a minute for my overall half and around 25 minutes for Princess)

Scott was waiting for me at the finish with the biggest smile. I crushed it and watched the pacer cross after me. BOOM. I also crushed that snack box they gave us (much appreciated runDisney).


Michelle crossed not that long after me, and then Lorren and then Cathy. I am so proud of all of us for crushing another princess weekend!

After we noshed on some hot dogs and showered, the kiddos joined us and we headed to Hollywood Studios to celebrate Cathy's birthday.

We had dinner reservations at 50's Prime Time Cafe, which shockingly Scott and I have never been to. The dinner was fabulous and we all literally ate all of the things.

We were even able to snag our photo in front of Cinderella's coach. How awesome is this?!

The entire weekend was wonderful and definitely a physical test. I cannot believe that I PR'ed on this race and cannot wait until Princess 2016!

Lake Nona Half Marathon

On Sunday I completed my 6th half marathon. Never in a million years did I think that phrase would come out of my mouth. I ran with my wonderful running buddy and best friend, Michelle. Scott was supposed to join us, but sadly, he was called in to work that day.

This was inaugural year for the Lake Nona half marathon and it was an amazing race! The weather was chilly at the start, but perfect during the main portion of the race. The course was flat (minus running over the overpass) and basically the opposite of the races we run on our side of town.

Michelle and I went in to the race hoping to finish in 3:15, it would be a PR for both of us. A few miles in to the race, we paired up with the 3 hour pacer and stayed with her.

There were a lot of people on the route cheering us on and the best part? There were water/gatorade stops every other mile. Boom!

Around mile 11 I knew we were going to come in under the 3 hour mark. Well...I knew I was going to come in under the 3 hour mark. Michelle started getting a calf cramp around that point and we had to separate. I also lost the pacer at this point too because she was ahead of pace.

I knew I had to push as hard as I could in the last 2.1 miles. I really wanted to come in around the 2:50 mark and I was going to run as fast as my tired legs could go. I ended up coming in at 2:54:13. My time from Princess was 3:18. Talk about an improvement! I could not wait to ring the PR bell at the finish. I was in total shock, and quite honestly, still am. Michelle coasted in around the 3 hour mark and earned her own bell ringing!

I cannot wait to run this race again next year! It was such a great experience with a wonderful event team!

I'm Half Crazy

I'm in full on half marathon training...again. The difference is that I'm running more than one this race season (currently two, but possibly 4). I know! I'm clearly half crazy (see what I did there?).

Another difference is that Scott is running one of the races with me! I am so excited to see him complete his first half marathon. I remember the first time he crossed a finish line and the pride in his face. Amplify that by a million and that is what he will be like when he crosses the finish line in his first half marathon.

What else am I doing different this year? Well, to be honest, I'm taking it seriously. I'm eating right (says the girl who had a slice of cookies and cream birthday cake today), doing strength training and really focusing on consistency in my running. I am really hoping this is the season I come in sub 3 hours.

So am I saying I didn't take the other 4 half marathons seriously? Well, kinda. I mean I trained, but not really. Last year was the first year that I really applied myself and I hit the mark that I wanted to hit, so now it's about crushing that.

What else is this about? Ultimately, it's about being a role model for my kids. Ever since I really started running more than just a couple of races a year, the kiddos have been in to running as well. Jill wants to run all the time with me and our goal is to do one race as a family this year. I cannot wait for the four of us to cross a finish line together.

Are you a runner? Do you have any training tips that you want to share with me? I'm all ears!

Prettyful Princess

One week from today it will be princess weekend. At this time next week I will already have one medal around my neck and will be anxiously awaiting the other two. Whoa...I think my stomach just did a flip.

Aren't they prettyful?!

This upcoming race weekend definitely snuck up on all four of us, but I'm excited to face the challenge. 

19.3 miles, or as Michelle and I refer to it, "6.2 and 13.1." This will be my fourth princess half marathon and I am well aware of where I will hit my mental roadblocks. The biggest one for me is after the castle. You are on such a high going through the castle and then you run on the backroads for what seems like an eternity.

Then the real roadblock hits. Mile 10. You can literally see the finish line and you still have 3.1 to go. So close.

I have to give a big shout out to all of my supporters for this race. Y'all have been great and I am so thankful for all your kind words, encouraging words and for making sure I'm drinking enough water and eating enough carbs (Amy!).

Be sure to check back next week for my post race posts!