Magical moments....

It's time for the Disney Princess Half Marathon recap...It was a fantastic weather weekend for running in Orlando. This time of year can be iffy and boiling hot or freezing cold. It was a perfect low-50's kind of morning for a nice jaunt between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.

So now for race day. This is an early morning event, so not for the weak hearted. You have to park by 4am and be in your starting corral by 5am...in a perfect world. We left our hotel at 3:30am to ensure we had plenty of time to make it by 4am. Ended up in massive traffic for the race, but got parked by 4:15am. Went straight to the port a potty line

and stood there until 4:45am. Now mind you, its a 20 minute walk to the starting corrals and we are supposed to be there by 5:00am, so I'm already behind again. Somehow made it to the starting corral through a mass of people by 5:10am...after seeing some fantastic costumes. Props to the guys for really stepping it up this year! Especially you, gentleman with the mermaid tail and at least 300 hundred individually glued sequins designing your naked torso. And then, at roughly 5:50am, the first wave was off! (Oh yeah, that was my wave...I was number 395.)

Anybody who's run a Disney race knows that these are about the experience not the time. You cruise past every imaginable Disney scene set up along

the roadside, get the opportunity to take pictures with just about every Disney character ever created, and of course, run through Cinderella's Castle, which is why I love this race. Last year I didn't do much of the photo safari aspect of the race, this time was different. Disney had more photographers out on the course, so I took full advantage...plus being in the front of the race meant no lines. I was able to pop off course, have a photo taken and resume running in less than 15 seconds each time :) Hopefully the photos don't look too goofy.

Anyway, the run felt pretty decent, though I was really concerned on the front half of the race because my left hamstring and right quad were really giving me fits and starts. I applied biofreeze and sucked it up. The course was better managed this year than last, I think. You could

breathe easy without worrying about sucking in diesel fumes from the generator's lighting the otherwise dark course, and believe me, you definitely did not need to bring your own hydration - 9 water stops over 13.1 miles. And, of course, there is nothing quite as awesome as crossing that finish line well ahead of where you thought you might on the timer. The race was fast and fun.

So here's the down and dirty - Overall, I finished 878 out of 15, 784 women, 151 out of 2,543 aged 35-39.

Happy trails!

Stats-
Miles: 13.29 (plus 1 mile to the start and 1/2 a mile sprint in airport)
Time: 1:56:48 (average 8:47 per mile)
Location: DISNEY WORLD!!!
Feeling: Really awesome!!!

Tick tock, tick tock...

That's the sound of the countdown clock. It is less than 12 hours before I head south to get my bling on at the Disney Princess Half Marathon. What am I most looking forward to? Another run through Cinderella's Castle as dawn breaks over its turrets :) Truly, this race is worth getting up and in your starting corral by 5am.

But turning to more immediate matters - today was GORGEOUS!!!! (Yes I meant to use that many exclamation points) I absolutely could not let a day like this pass me by, so I did not one but two runs this afternoon. While I've combined the stats below, my first run was a little leg stretcher over my lunch break. It was so nice to cruise through the Capitol Hill neighborhoods and see the daffodils poking through the ground and all the colorful spinning pinwheels. It kind of puts an added spring in your step and smile in your heart...though not in the hearts of DC drivers apparently since I was neary hit by three or four while in crosswalks (DC law says a car is supposed to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but many ignore the law). So this little venture was an added bonus to the day.

My real run came after work when I could really get out and move around for a while. As I stated on Monday, my goal for the week is 28 miles, in part to make up for a very slow February start. To stay on target I really needed to put in 10 miles today if I want to be able to relax Friday and Saturday and just play in Orlando pre-race. Alas, I'm 1.5 miles behind and will take in a leisurely jog to loosen my legs tomorrow or Saturday to fill that gap. But back to today, the afterwork run looked a bit like a traffic jam on the sidewalks with so many runners taking in the great weather. It's rather inspiring to see so many folks enjoying the weather in running shoes. Here's to many more wonderful weather days this February :) (or at least 6 more since that's all standing between us and March). Happy trails!

Stats-
Miles: 8.54
Time: 1:13:30 (average pace of 8:36 per mile...though my first run average was actually 8:19 per mile)
Location: All over Capitol Hill
Feeling: Fantastic! Great leg stretch before the half marathon

Welcoming the lenten season...

I'm just a handful of days away from the Disney Princess Half Marathon - aka the Happiest Run on Earth - and so far this year have successfully avoided any of the typical injuries I get when running hard. That is, until I started to feel a twinge in my left calf tonight. Now, it was not really enough to be alarmed about at this point, just a bit of discomfort in miles 2-4 and it evened back out by mile 5 - leading to a super fast last mile. That said, I definitely need to watch it a bit. Especially if I hope to log roughly 28 miles before the end of the week.

On a more fun note - Happy Fat Tuesday! How did you celebrate? Me? French fries and about a gazillion oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. While most of the world, myself included, chart our goals for the year beginning on New Year's Day, fat Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday to the Christian world) offers the opportunity to chart new goals for the spirit. I'm a stringent observer of Lent - much to the consternation of some of my co-workers who worry about mood alterations due to diet changes - but I look forward to the season when I cleanse my soul of both bad attitudes and bad food toxins. Lent cannot really be observed, I believe, merely by giving something up, but must also be observed by improving for the positive. So here's my list - giving up chocolate, soda, all forms of fried potatoes and cutting back on the coffee (let's be honest, attempting to give this up may cause me to become murderous...or at least VERY pissy), and I'll be improving my soul by engaging in at least one and hopefully multiple random acts of kindness in a day. Happy trails!

State -
Miles: 5.01
Time: 42:13 (average pace of 8:25 per mile, with a 7:52 on mile 5)
Location: Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park (I even ran around the House-side buildings....slumming, I know :) )
Feeling: I will be great if that calf doesn't go downhill

7 days to go...

Last year, for the first time, I decided to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Now, that sounds like it should be a relatively simple endeavor, right? After all, I've run a few marathons, a couple 50Ks, and many ten milers. It's not. Last year was the first time I ran the half marathon distance, which is distinctly different than is shorter or longer brethren. That said, it's an easier half marathon than most because it is basically a 13.1 mile photo safari through the grounds of Disney between Epcot and the Cinderella's Castle.

Well, I had such a good time last year that I'm running it again this year. Next Sunday to be exact. At first I thought I'd set an ambitious goal for myself after running a 1:53:31 half last fall. I thought "why not shoot for 1:50:00 or even 1:45:00?" Then, as I was doing my long run today I thought better of it. After all, the point of the Princess Half is to enjoy the course, stop at the photo ops all along the course, and soak in the dawn breaking over Cinderella Castle. We'll shelve the more ambitious half marathon goal for later this year and just have fun next week.

Now on to today's run. There's little to say except that it was remarkably uneventful. With one exception that is...I was WAY under-fueled for a ten mile run. I got a bit weak about 7 miles in because of the lack of calories consumed during the day. Reminder to self - next Saturday night carbo load and put a sleeve of gel shots in my race gear for Sunday. I can guarantee a much happier run that way. Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 10.03
Time: 1:27:17
Location: Cape St. Claire and Woods Landing
Feeling: Worn...fuel next time

Recovery....

I haven't been feeling too well the past couple days, so I decided to head on out for a nice easy run in the beautiful early afternoon God gave us today. Did you happen to notice the outside weather? Oh yeah, its 53 degrees and sunny as can be. Can there possibly be any better weather for running? I don't think so.

So I did take it relatively easy today...definitely not hitting the same pace as Wednesday, but not being a total sloth. Though, I must confess, I did actually walk two blocks when I ran into a work colleague I wanted to chat with. Don't worry, that walk time is actually reflected in today's pace and overall time. It was a great conversation though. He just returned from basic training and we chatted about deployments and leave time from the military...for all of two blocks.

I then completed the run. Had I not felt guilty about running without my blackberry, I probably would have run half the afternoon. That said, I headed on back to the locker room to get on with the business of life. Here's to hoping this weekend's snow storm holds off long enough for me to get in about 10 miles this weekend.

Stats -
Miles: 3.76
Time: 33:00 (average pace of 8:46 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Lincoln Park
Feeling: Not too bad considering yesterday I was doubled over

DC at night...

I love Washington DC at night. If you've never experienced, you are really missing out. Washington looks quiet and majestic by night. All the white

marble glowing against the dark sky is inspiring and cleansing. It's even better when you've got the adrenaline pumping on a fast, hard run.

That said, I violated one of my own rules - don't run outside after dark. This rule isn't about safety from the bad guys...6pm is certainly not the time of day you have to worry about the muggers who may occasionally target Supreme Court Justices, the random member of Congress or just your average Joe. No, this rule is about my own clumsiness, my own inability to effectively put left in front of right once the sun goes down and not trip. Now, DC is decently lit at night...I wouldn't go running through dark alleys. But my night vision suffers something horrible, and tonight was no different. I managed to trip over roughly three tree roots (at least) while traversing the edge of Stanton Park...and the ground was lit. Yes, I am my own worst health problem...but boy were the results worth the effort (and momentary twisted ankle) tonight...check out the pace per mile below! Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 3.14
Time: 25:35 (average pace 8:09 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill and Stanton Park
Feeling: Totally on!!!

Ten percent...

Today was the federal budget roll out, so crunching percentage increases and decreases, overages and so on was the game of the day. It didn't stop with the end of the work day either...I surpassed the ten percent point on my year-long goal to hit 1000 miles by the end of 2012. The run was not what I expected for the one that would cross that milestone, but hey, miles are miles.

So why did my ten percent run end up occurring on a treadmill instead of the road or some nice trail somewhere? Yeah, my bad, I did not take my trail shoes with me this weekend to Ohio. The snow fall was pretty decent, at least decent enough to require better tread than my street shoes, so I was relegated to a no run weekend and a treadmill ten percenter. With luck, I'll cross the twenty percent threshold out on the open road :) Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 4.0
Time: 33:35 (average pace of 8:23 per mile)
Location: Treadmill hell at 24 Hour Fitness, Annapolis
Feeling: Outside would be better, but who can complain