Pity Party of One, Your Table is Now Available

This entire process has been a series of pity parties for me, but the one I have been dealing with this week takes the cake. This weekend is Princess Half Marathon weekend. This weekend would have been my ninth consecutive Princess Half and my sixth Glass Slipper Challenge. It sucks beyond belief, especially knowing that I will lose my perfect status for Glass Slipper.

Aside from the race, it's also a girls weekend for me, my sister (who is celebrating a birthday today!) and niece. We run all the races, eat all the food, and park hop til our heart's content. Well, I am still hopping, just not between parks.

I know the feeling will pass, I know at the end of the day it is what it is, but it still sucks, plain and simple. I know that I am extremely lucky to be healing as quickly as I am and to be surrounded by so many people that are helping with the healing process. Truly, I am (and I sparely use this phrase) blessed.

So thank you to everyone that checked in on me this week because of the race. Thank you to my niece for understanding when I asked for no more updates from the expo. And thank you to anyone who has participated in my pity party this week, I promise I'll put on my big girl pants next week.

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! 

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!

Ted's Princesses Take Over Disney...Part 2: The 10K Chronicles

Before I dive in to the 10k, I would like to follow up on the platter of meat Lorren had at tea, or as I have renamed it, the 96 ouncer. Behold:

Now compare that to our dainty tea sandwiches...

Oh, and prior to having tea, Lorren hopped up on this statue (Scott you did not read that):

The dismount was glorious.

Now, back to the 10k... The 10k route follows some of the 5k route, but adds the EPCOT resort path. I LOVE this route. It honestly is one of my favorites, especially when we run across the Boardwalk and sound like a herd of elephants.

We decided to stick with our theme from last year and go as Alice in Wonderland characters. Cathy was the only one to change her character. This year she went as the Mad Hatter in her pretty Wonderland skirt from Sparkle Skirts. Melissa obviously dressed for warmth.

The 10k route was a hard one for our cheering section because there are really only two spots you can actually make it to, the start and the finish.

Lorren and I ran this race together and I was told by Lorren at the halfway point she would never run this with me ever again because I am too gd fast. I will admit there were a couple of points on the course I really stretched my legs and hit some awesome paces. She was not amused.

For the most part though we took it easy on the course because we did have a half marathon to run the next day. Lorren and I finished in 1:21:49 and 1:21:54. Cathy was not too far behind us and we were able to catch up with our cheering section.

After the race we grabbed some delicious breakfast from Captain Cook's at the Polynesian and then headed over to Hollywood Studios.

 Obviously we needed popcorn and a churro. I mean, what else are you supposed to eat there? The parks were actually pretty crowded so we did not get on a lot of the rides, not that the Studios has a lot of rides anymore. We did manage to get on Tower of Terror though. Apparently Melissa has never been on this ride, so naturally we scored the front row. Fun fact, Melissa likes to death grip both handles and there was only one grip for me and Cathy. I had to grab the "oh shit" bar which resulted in this classic photo:

After we returned from the Twilight Zone we walked around the soon-to-be-gone Streets of America. On our stroll we found the glass slipper. We had to stop, I mean we were running the glass slipper challenge after all. We decided we were going to take two photos, a nice one and a not so nice one, because...well because. Our photographer was not a good sport. We scored this nice photo:

However, when you take a not so nice photo it is apparently frowned upon to look like you are pulling hair and kicking, so we settled on this:

I mean, whatever...our idea was better but oh well.

After the Studios we headed over to the Boardwalk for our dinner at Trattoria del Forno. Cathy and Lorren ate here when they first opened and were not super impressed but wanted to give it a second chance. They changed chefs and Cathy said it was so much better than the first time. The entire meal was amazing and we had the most fabulous waitress. She made every item on the menu sound delicious. The chef even stopped by to make sure everything was good. It was an all around great experience. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for our early bedtime. The half marathon was the next day and we all needed our rest. 

Check back for the final post!

2015 Princess Weekend...Part 1

I just finished another amazing Princess Half Marathon weekend and have so much to share that it's going to have to be broken down into 3 parts...at least.

Thursday I met up with my niece and sister from some breakfast and then we headed out to the Fit for  a Princess Expo. We picked up all of our bibs, t-shirts and then headed to browse the goods. Loren and I even waited in line for probably 45 minutes to buy some Princess merchandise. Seriously...I didn't even wait that long for any rides this weekend.

Oh, and yes, I am in my Chicago winter coat with layers underneath. Winter decided to hit the sunshine state in a big way. Apparently the Frozen theme was literal.

After the expo we headed over to Morocco for some lunch. Neither Lorren or Cathy had ever been there, so it was a fun experience for them and delicious as always.

It was definitely an early to bed evening since we had the 5K in the morning. It was also the coldest run I have ever been on.  Before the race runDisney had heaters set up for the runners and we were wrapped up in mylar blankets. I honestly have no idea how many layers I had on, but it was a lot.

Scott was working on site that day, so I was able to meet up with him before the race. I may have stood extra close to warm up.

The three us decided we were going to walk the 5K since we were running the other two races that weekend. Also, since it was pretty freaking cold, none of us really felt like running.

I love the 5K course. The course wraps through EPCOT and there really is nothing better than walking around World Showcase with all of the torches lit and the sun just starting to peek out.

The three of us also wore matching shirts in honor of Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue was an incredible woman that would hold up inspiring signs along the course to encourage runners. You always saw her going into the Transportation and Ticket Center (usually when you needed a boost) and again right after mile 12. She passed away around the time of the January marathon and the runDisney community has not been the same. The shirts we wore had her famous sign on the back and we received a lot of compliments. Some people knew what the shirts were for and some did not, but now they know.

We also wore matching flowers from Fellow Flowers. This is a great company that is meant to bond fellow female/mother runners. We wore orange flowers and the meaning behind orange is this: 

"Bold. Honoring the journey of friendship. We are connected. Fiercely united. Marching on...one foot in front of the other. For health, for hope, for each other. To cherish, to protect - always. Believe. Achieve. Bloom. Endure." We thought that color was perfect for our shirts.

Did I mention the 5K was cold? I'm pretty sure we all lost feeling in all parts of our bodies at some point. After we warmed up a little bit, we headed out to Animal Kingdom. Yes, we wore our flowers.

The parks were kind of crazy, but we were able to hit Expedition Everest, some of the animal trails and of course, lunch. We went to Yak and Yeti and feasted on some delicious food.

My friend Michelle joined us that night and it was another early night. The 10K was bright and early (we had to be on the bus by 4 am) and we had to get our rest.

I have more posts coming this week. It was an incredible weekend and I cannot wait to share the rest!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott and his promotion! Yes!!!! We have been over the moon for the past week. I am so proud of him!

• Aaron, my little chef. He is a master at making apple pie and scrambled eggs.

• Jillian, my snuggle buddy. I love our moments together talking about her day.

• Family all around us.

• Another Princess Half Marathon weekend with my fellow princesses! I cannot believe I just registered for my 5th Princess!

• 5k's with my honey and 4 milers with my buddy.

• Mid-morning walks with Amy.

• Spotless playrooms. I hear the choirs of angels singing every time I walk by.

• Large iced coffees with a touch of hazelnut.

What are you thankful for this week?

Princess Half Marathon Pt. 3 - The Half Marathon

Welcome to the final installment of my Disney Princess Half Marathon recap! Sunday was the big race and the one I was the most eager to finish. Last year I did not have a great race and was still battling the nerves from that. I'm pretty sure my fancy sparkle skirt gave me the power to get through. 

My skirt is Black Diamond.

I swear, I am not a spokesperson for Sparkle Skirt. I just really love them. I also wore my first shirt from Raw Threads and I really liked it. Normally, I only run in tech shirts, but I liked the bamboo material. It was super comfortable and made running in the humidity tolerable. 

Cathy, Lorren and I were in corral J (they went all the way to P) and Michelle was in N. Before we took off, Scott sent me a text telling me where the lead racer was. One of my favorite things about this race is seeing the first place female running on the opposite side of the course. There is something so inspirational about seeing an athlete of that caliber just coasting along. It gives you that extra oomph that you need sometimes. So when we were took off I made a point to watch for the first female, except I never saw her, she was that fast. The first female, and actually, the first person, to finish did it in 1:11. That's insane!

Okay, back to the non-Olympian runners...

Lorren and I pretty much stuck together for this race, similar to the 10k. The course was pretty spooky because of the fog/mist/humidity. When we approached the toll plaza for Magic Kingdom, you could barely see it. 

I think this helped a little mentally, because you couldn't really see how far away you were, so it was like a pleasant surprise each time you can upon a mile marker or landmark. 

My favorite part of the race is everything that surrounds Magic Kingdom. Once you hit the parking lot and Transportation and Ticket Center the crowds are already forming. I love all of the signs and complete strangers that cheer you on. Big shout out to the woman with the sign that said, "Have fun storming the castle!" I think I laughed about that one for a few miles. Well, at least until I came upon the three fairies with the sign, "You are running Malificently!" Genius I tell you!

The next best thing is running up Main Street towards the castle. The cheering squad is huge and it just pumps you up. 

We coasted through the kingdom pretty quickly and hit the 10k mark with the same time that we had the day before. I was feeling pretty good. Lorren? Well...

Poor Lorren. 

We got our boost at the halfway mark with "Let it Go" blasting from the speakers. It seriously was the perfect song for that point in the race. 

Lorren and I stuck together until the 15k mark and I had to leave her. Trust me, it was not an easy decision. 

I costed through the last 5k+ and finished right around the time I wanted to end. I finished in 3:18:59, my best time to date.  Scott met me with my medal and it was perfect!

We both waited for Lorren and Cathy to cross and then headed over to the tent to get our Glass Slipper medals. 

There was no better feeling than having those two medals clinging around my neck. 

Michelle finished shortly after we got our medals, so we hung around and waited for her and snagged this lovely photo:

Yes, we all wore Raw Threads shirts and Sparkle Skirts. It's an addiction!!!!

I am so insanely proud of all of us for finishing our biggest challenge to date. 19.3 miles over 2 days. It definitely made all of those early Saturday mornings worth it.

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along the way, especially Scott! I can't wait to do this again next year!

Princess Half Marathon Weekend Pt. 1 - The Expo

It has definitely been a long weekend, but an awesomely amazing one! I ran my fourth Disney Princess Half Marathon and to one up myself, I did the Inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge. The challenge consisted of both the 10k and the half marathon, back-to-back. Crazy, right?

I met up with my sister and niece to head over to the expo. I have to say this is always one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I love visiting all of the booths and of course buying some goodies. I'm an official Sparkle Skirt addict and was in pure sparkle heaven. My sparkle wish list has grown tremendously since visiting the booth, but that's not why you're here...back to the reason you're here.

One of the coolest parts of the expo was that someone from our church gave me my bib and shirts. He happened to be volunteering and it just made my day. 

We spent probably an hour, maybe two, at the expo grabbing some swag and maybe some cupcakes. Yes, I introduced my sister and niece to the deliciousness that is the Yum Yum Cupcake truck. 

I think we could have sold these and made back all of the money we spent at the expo. That's not an exaggeration. 

After the expo and maybe a cupcake, we spent the afternoon at Magic Kingdom. We did not ride Space Mountain (it was broken) and we got stuck on the Peoplemover. 

We did not stay long and headed back to the hotel for bowls of pasta and some sleep. After all, we had a busy weekend ahead of us. 

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!

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!