tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64069099549893268572024-02-20T22:46:06.413-07:00Princess Half MarathonThree Princesses' Journey to the Disney Princess Half MarathonPrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-73371075601639420832013-08-05T12:24:00.004-06:002013-08-05T12:24:44.494-06:00Fun Runs under a Toronto Sun!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lot of things have happened in the past month or so that I haven't had time to write about...the Alberta Floods devastated, and then united my city, I went to <a href="http://www.visitjamaica.com/">Jamaica</a>, <a href="http://www.calgarystampede.com/">Stampede 101</a> went off with barely a hiccup, I went to Dallas for the first time, and I've been training like crazy for the <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/">Seawheeze</a> next weekend. But before all that, I went to visit friends in Toronto and ran not once, not twice, but three times!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left Calgary on June 21 in the pouring rain (it turns out I left just before the flooding got crazy) and overnighted at the </span><a href="http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=692" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">YYZ Sheraton Gateway</a><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> so I wouldn't have to take the red eye flight on Friday morning. I had to get up bright and early because my training schedule called for a 15K run. May I say the Sheraton is GREAT because when I checked in I asked at the front desk if there were any running paths nearby and they gave me a fancy official Sheraton map with a 3K and a 5K loop right out the front door of the hotel and around the airport!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gah! Why won't this rotate? Anyways, is neat, no?</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easy peasy, I crank out 3 loops of the 5K without getting lost at all. Not an official race, but I did have to get that done while I was there. I got texts throughout from YYC with updates on the flooding...it was crazy! The sun in Toronto was already blisteringly hot at 7am plus the geese in Toronto are kind of jerks because when I stopped to take a picture of some cute goslings, I got chased by angry hissing parents! harumph.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerk geese</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweatin' like a hog on slaughter day.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Run completed, I <strike><em>went back to bed for an hour</em></strike>, showered and took the train downtown to meet my friend at the <a href="http://www.colormerad.com/">Color Me Rad </a>expo to pick up our bibs. Pretty exciting stuff as we picked up our shirts and awesome sunglasses and debated over buying cool Color me Rad swag like socks or 70's gym shorts. We grabbed some Red Bull samples and then headed to PF Changs for my very first visit and to carb up before our run (mint margaritas have carbs too, yes?). We then stopped in Unionville on the way home to pick up our second set of bibs, shirts and swag. </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one was the </span><a href="http://www.runforwomen.ca/?s=13844&language=en" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Run for Women in Unionville</a><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, which we had heard was awesome and had something different than a medal at the finish line...plus had a kid race too so Kendall could run too!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RACE DAY #1</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had to get up at an ungodly hour (I had about 30 texts from YYC about flood, a bunch of my friends got evacuated) and all headed out to the race. The grownup race was first, so after snarfing some free snacks, listening to some motivating speeches from Olympians, and doing our group warmup, we were off!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bibs on, now where's the lobster??</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.unionvilleinfo.com/">Unionville</a> is an awesome wee Ontario "gem of a historic village" so the start of the race was right up Main Street which felt like we were running in the 50s with its brick fire station and City Hall and gazebos, sooo cute! After that we veered off into a gorgeous park and looped around a shaded gravel path (it was close to raining but it was still HOT out so the shade was nice). It was actually a pretty great route, I would like to run it again sometime! After the loop, we headed back and came back up along Main Street for a great finish with cheering fans waving cowbells and holding all kinds of fun signs! Then instead of a medal, we got these awesome bracelets from <a href="http://www.foxyoriginals.com/">Foxy </a>, just another reason why I love women's only runs...see how cute? </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course I love me some medals, but it sure is nice when you get something you can actually wear (and subtly let people know how awesome you are). </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few glasses of water and some more snacks, we went back to do the Kids run with Kendall...man, kids can MOVE, she went off like a shot and I could barely keep up with her! Good thing was only one kilometer, I could NOT have kept up that pace much longer. Super fun run though, watching all the little girls tear around the course. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am at full tilt, and the kid is just cruising!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Success and triumph for everyone called for nonstop eating and drinking for the rest of the day (I had just discovered Glazed Donut Vodka existed and it needed to be tried in all its delicious forms) after we assembled our shirts for Color Me Rad...Team Betty White needed to have a shoutout to our favorite feisty senior celebrity!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizI_oEpJB6o_PksEgvawQETyGshesgXoFY-7No7gshVK3UsEpKAzDaRwEmHM4paP9kpdpIFheHRpjaEyWkMzPiWtAZ33Mz-l2sl7awJyCrmQBrw66gVkbfN4j6VBTr8H27mZCa0-jOeMs/s1600/i+heart+betty+white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizI_oEpJB6o_PksEgvawQETyGshesgXoFY-7No7gshVK3UsEpKAzDaRwEmHM4paP9kpdpIFheHRpjaEyWkMzPiWtAZ33Mz-l2sl7awJyCrmQBrw66gVkbfN4j6VBTr8H27mZCa0-jOeMs/s320/i+heart+betty+white.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RACE DAY #2!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, originally we had picked the Woman's run as a substitute for the Color me Rad run which wasn't being held in Toronto. Imagine our excitement when they announced TWO Toronto runs were being held, and THE SAME WEEKEND I WAS GOING TO BE THERE ANYWAYS! This is a lot of running in one weekend, but the Color me Rad is pretty low pressure (no timing chip) so we figured we could walk most of this one. So, we picked up Tracy and her daughter Paisley (at another ungodly hour) and headed out to the park where music was blaring and the energy was crazy! We were in one of the first waves but there were already color bombed folks walking around showing off their new colors. After trying some Vitamin water samples and tatting up RAD-style, we headed into the corral and with a few color bombs to herald our start, we were OFF!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pKrbH_H2xJTL2L9PhGk7297KxlVM4OGaVEvtYK_hVZRfvLI8h5xA0rMu2LCsExcJySA78ASivMWYLEkdpAtihU9quBuBpfsKKx4N0SLP5ZrCMJqHxdHf9fJqRys52Jrri0TL93dluqM/s1600/radbefore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pKrbH_H2xJTL2L9PhGk7297KxlVM4OGaVEvtYK_hVZRfvLI8h5xA0rMu2LCsExcJySA78ASivMWYLEkdpAtihU9quBuBpfsKKx4N0SLP5ZrCMJqHxdHf9fJqRys52Jrri0TL93dluqM/s320/radbefore.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Betty White is ready to be RAD!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was so excited to get color bombed I broke into a trot...which was not mirrored by the rest of my team (Tracy may have lit a cigarette at this point). I am ashamed to say when they told me to go ahead, I broke the rule of "no soldier gets left behind" and scampered off as fast as one could when it was already high 20Cs and about a trillion percent humidity and ended up doing 4.95K on my own. I pirouetted through every color bomb station and when I finished I ran back to the parking lot to pick up camera (to amused cries from incoming new racers than I was going the wrong way or that I had already crossed the finish line) I got back in time to take a few pics of them coming in and even joined them for another triumphant finish!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGiLzSVSgXO2fNXckILJZpsLL4KbJQVZ3BBFf266SEXUoNMwHsGRMTXI5n3GecFOgxdi8ascxurzmHOJ8yNRy9873Fb94H5WmLz4NneGTC1stjRVAfQj7z9uG5B3lpzWyUWk_NgMYwj0/s1600/color+run+trio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGiLzSVSgXO2fNXckILJZpsLL4KbJQVZ3BBFf266SEXUoNMwHsGRMTXI5n3GecFOgxdi8ascxurzmHOJ8yNRy9873Fb94H5WmLz4NneGTC1stjRVAfQj7z9uG5B3lpzWyUWk_NgMYwj0/s320/color+run+trio.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, thanks Flo-Foto for not blocking your images?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MUkLlxmjHlkHKS3ctKUvMCTJBAgO0LgTOGpSRrzVIy_AavBlocXAtU453TVBetSca849d6Czz__bHgZ-UHqOOo2GL00L7zzPY-QRjUzZijy3I6VrhJvoBfV5QaUUPa6A6f-kJKV7KHE/s1600/rad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MUkLlxmjHlkHKS3ctKUvMCTJBAgO0LgTOGpSRrzVIy_AavBlocXAtU453TVBetSca849d6Czz__bHgZ-UHqOOo2GL00L7zzPY-QRjUzZijy3I6VrhJvoBfV5QaUUPa6A6f-kJKV7KHE/s400/rad.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ain't nobody more RAD than us!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've done races at Disneyland and World, in Vegas, in the snow, and one in Vancouver that had mermaids and drag queens cheering us on, but I think Color Me Rad is one of my favorites. It was low key and relaxed and totally fun and people were really getting into it. The white outfit before and afters looked so fun, and the energy before and after the race were pretty hard to beat! I've read that this race is super popular because it isn't elitist and it brings out the kid in everyone and that was how I felt when we were there. I felt like it brought in a lot of people who wouldn't normally enter a 5K run of any kind, and I think it will help encourage people to have fun with running...because as much as I complain about how I hate running, I really don't...there isn't much that beats the excitement of race day :)</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel bad that I didn't get to write about this sooner, I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but there was a lot on the go in the weeks following this trip. But I got to spend time with my dear friend and her family that I just don't get to see enough of, got to try 2 new (and very different) races, make some new friends and ate and drank from sunup to sundown. </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, a great weekend, I hope I get invited back soon!</span><br />
<br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-30823038394627087832013-07-24T11:49:00.000-06:002013-07-24T11:49:12.688-06:00What the....Fun Run!?
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">So, our <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/run/get-ready/"><span style="color: blue;">Seawheeze training schedule on Wednesday</span></a>
alternates between sprint drills and hill drills and today was hills (which I prefer
to sprints…I can probably chug slowly up a hill forever if I had to, but I can’t
sprint worth a damn). <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">The last 2 months of hill training
have been “jog up hill for 90 seconds, then jog slowly back down and run easy
recovery and then repeat until 50 minutes is up”, with the easy recovery time
getting shorter and shorter as the weeks went by (ie, the first week you only
did the hill 3 times and then had lovely 10 minute recoveries, and the last one
was run up the hill 8 times so your recoveries were only 3 minutes). You know,
the gradual buildup to hills that are a staple in half marathon training.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">This morning was different though.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">The drill call for the same 8 hills,
but instead of easy recovery jog back down and then around the block, you then
SPRINTED BACK DOWN THE HILL and then repeated…so the “recovery” was actually at
a high speed.</span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">So what ended up happening was a jog up the hill and then a
sprint back down gleefully waving<span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: dark2;"> <span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my</span> </span>arms and shouting WHEEEEEEEEE with a vague feeling of terror that
I would trip at such breakneck speed. Which was EXHAUSTING because we never
really got a proper recovery, but was probably my favorite drill work EVER, because
the running down the hill was SO fun…it was like when running down hills as a
little kid was the funnest thing ever and running was for the fun of it before
I grow up and it became all hard and horrible because I am out of shape and my joints are getting old. And while it was exhausting because
there was no recovery time (and to tell the truth, at the end the jogs back up
were slower and slower and had more walking than usual), the sprints down the
hill were exhilarating and meant that instead of 50 minutes of varying levels
of horrible, I got 8 minutes of pure unadulterated joy in the mix. I actually
couldn’t stop the WHEEEEEEEEEEE from escaping, and I’m sure anyone driving
towards me would have wondered how someone could run with such a smile on their
face.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">Anyway,
now my legs hurt in all kinds of crazy new places and I am struggling to stay
awake. So I will assume that means it was effective training and Friday's long run will be a breeze!</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: dark2;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">PS… I promised I would post about the 2
Toronto runs I did last month and I haven’t forgotten…I even have fun pictures!
They will be up by this weekend!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-75182309967157158312013-07-03T10:44:00.001-06:002013-07-03T10:44:32.333-06:00OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, I was out of town last week so I didn't get this live, but I can imagine the shrieking of my teammates was pretty epic??? </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrlcDJYtUWsdGWR2rnDp4yfz6YqIMlFXwUZFjEIL4sJJX7Oof-oCRB0DioY0NhC11i7Rpz-xDxUL6OZkClC5233ppQDpmNSw2iulHSk3HUy77CvvVxtdxrQxU1d62jKTYUarBHSucXbQ/s402/Nike+snip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrlcDJYtUWsdGWR2rnDp4yfz6YqIMlFXwUZFjEIL4sJJX7Oof-oCRB0DioY0NhC11i7Rpz-xDxUL6OZkClC5233ppQDpmNSw2iulHSk3HUy77CvvVxtdxrQxU1d62jKTYUarBHSucXbQ/s320/Nike+snip.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acceptance never felt so sweet!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not sure if I can stress how exciting this is, this race is extremely popular, so popular they have to do a random draw from the 30K+ applicants they get for the 7000 or so spots available. I have tried 4 times already, so I was starting to lose hope that I would EVER get in. And I had tried as a single and as a group, so I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Anyway, we are IN and there are 5 of us on team <strong><u>Pardon my Fartlek</u></strong> (AHAHAHAA, I love run jokes) so we will have 5 lovely ladies running the hills of San Fran in October! </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Bring on the Tiffany necklace, Mr Fireman!!!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-55522032364993651832013-06-18T17:42:00.002-06:002013-06-18T17:42:43.714-06:00NWT = A OK!
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">Week 3 is now underway, and I’m very proud to report that we
are all still on track with the training program!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have done sprints, hills, maintenance runs
and everything, but the one struggle I am finding is trying to schedule my long
runs. The schedule says to do them on Saturday, but I find I almost never have
the time to do them Saturdays and end up switching them for Sunday instead. This
makes Sunday a great day of Run. Laundry. Nap. Eat Everything. I’m still DOING
them, don’t you worry, but I find that with summer around the corner my
weekends are filling up and I am having to plan well ahead of time to get in
the vital loooooooong runs to build up the stamina for race day. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">For example,
last weekend I was in Yellowknife because it was the week before the equinox. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last 2 times I was in the Territories were in the winter and the sun came up for an
hour a day and it was colder than all heck so I wanted to see what it was like at
the other end of the spectrum so off we went.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">For the record, it is MUCH nicer there in June than in
February. And it is darn right UNSETTLING to have the sun still shining at
midnight. But we drank $14 bottles of beer, ate some (unexpectedly) delicious
food and I got in both the scheduled weekend runs. And I’m happy to report that
while I was a poky little puppy for both the short run and the long, the
scenery was great, the temperature was just about perfect, I didn’t get too
many bug bites and I didn’t get lost. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtR2O1CN5eca02atyjfe1VeAzB_daYGo5EF0Kg7kdeWlBwr6SqHy6Yw3lXSK8-gtmUWTXgNGA9NpPV5l3qmlmL3fOJQTkkt0bjFbnJAldVzk8PTNnw7im4ubwPS8fqScdYlqL4YFgzbE/s1600/NWT+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtR2O1CN5eca02atyjfe1VeAzB_daYGo5EF0Kg7kdeWlBwr6SqHy6Yw3lXSK8-gtmUWTXgNGA9NpPV5l3qmlmL3fOJQTkkt0bjFbnJAldVzk8PTNnw7im4ubwPS8fqScdYlqL4YFgzbE/s320/NWT+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how pretty?! The view, not the sweaty rumpled princess. FYI, 2 minutes<br />
after this I took a "nature break" in those trees....and got caught by a local out walking their dog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The only downside was that I was expecting it to be easy breathing since I was 3000 feet closer to sea level than usual, but I ended up gasping along and walking more than I wanted to. Am pretty lazy when I'm by myself. Plus I was one Sweaty Betty, I didn’t realize how humid it was there! I also forgot to bring some carb chews, so I had to eat a granola bar at the halfway mark…tasty but not the best feeling to be choking down sawdust halfway through a 14K run. Will have to remember to pack some for the next few weekends when I am away.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq7QiqJIEJ3vX_4B8-G4Zrjhh5EzkmbUsXScPUr4Msl8kBfkVqP4LmsEr6mJZtoaC69h5VrCkZK5YkjoMtwV1Lun1e9Fy5CkmdXSmTmTOn4fz6nB2Oxiuwse7MMpssv99t7e-UygVJG0/s1600/NWT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq7QiqJIEJ3vX_4B8-G4Zrjhh5EzkmbUsXScPUr4Msl8kBfkVqP4LmsEr6mJZtoaC69h5VrCkZK5YkjoMtwV1Lun1e9Fy5CkmdXSmTmTOn4fz6nB2Oxiuwse7MMpssv99t7e-UygVJG0/s320/NWT.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NWT Legislature! Sadly closed on Sundays or I could have used<br />
their bathrooms. I mean, taken a tour and learned about the government process.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow is our first Official Trio Seawheeze Training Run,
and it will be 50 minutes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek"><span style="color: blue;">Fartlek training</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.</span> Which pretty much guarantees I will
be struggling for breath for 49 minutes as I laugh childishly.</span> </span></div>
PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-87760898605392481902013-06-12T23:07:00.002-06:002013-06-13T17:26:05.354-06:00The Hills are Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiive......<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...with the sound of gasping for breath....yep, today was our first hill training in the Tacklebox, and while I was dreading it for the last few days, hills this morning was actually not bad at all! I met Linz at 525 this morning and after a 5 minute warmup, we ran up the hill at 10th Street for 5 X 90 second intervals with recovery jogs between them. Sure, it sucked to be up that early, but it means we are still <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Get-Sweaty-Get-Ready-intermediates.pdf">sticking to the program</a> and getting it done! Plus then I spent most of the day shadow boxing Rocky-style, totally proud of how awesome I felt!</span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Couldn't have been a better day for feeling awesome about hills either...the random draw for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RunNikeWomenSeries/app_154357051413524">Nike Woman's Half Marathon in San Fran</a> opened this week! I entered the draw for the fifth time in a row, fingers crossed that this time I get in! Yes, San Fran would be a scary hilly course, but this is the one where finishers get a specially designed Tiffany necklace instead of a medal. FROM A FIREMAN! If that doesn't motivate a girl to want to run up 21K of hills, I don't know what will!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJAT8j_HdnrIxbfbSfu4DorFINzbJrGkVb3elKZdOpyhVFuh2vpWnaqhyphenhyphenS4MFD61ZRWFNTVzHVCiALuxQsslRKipVHqybApAqe2tHYyr9v1utPHdN-fIf6jPb0Uu1KaGQmEhPTEuAhBk/s1600/tiffany+sanfran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJAT8j_HdnrIxbfbSfu4DorFINzbJrGkVb3elKZdOpyhVFuh2vpWnaqhyphenhyphenS4MFD61ZRWFNTVzHVCiALuxQsslRKipVHqybApAqe2tHYyr9v1utPHdN-fIf6jPb0Uu1KaGQmEhPTEuAhBk/s400/tiffany+sanfran.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave AND bearing gifts in blue boxes, it doesn't get much better!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This weekend is a 13K run and some more yoga....then next week we find out <strike>if</strike> <strong>that</strong> we got into San Fran, which will certainly motivate us on the hills!</span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-14072960995703410162013-06-06T23:08:00.002-06:002013-06-06T23:08:59.008-06:00Week One <span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are four days in and feeling great! After a solid week of rain in YYC, we've had gorgeous blue skies and warmer weather, which means it's been pretty easy to get up early and knock out the day's running schedule. Even if the schedule is for a 50 minute run with 6 intervals of one minute sprints. That made for 360 seconds of me muttering words my father doesn't know I know followed by a day of SUPER sore legs. But we are all feeling great for sticking with it and I'm sure I'll have a good sleep tonight! Plus tomorrow is the best day of the week...REST DAY! That's right...no run, no cardio, no crosstrain, just give my tired legs a day to rest and repair and get ready for this weekend's long run...but frankly 11K actually sounds better than those repeats from this morning.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also...you know those days when you drag your sad tired fat carcass out of bed early the week after vacation and blearily dress and head out for a run, cursing the day you ever registered for a race involving the hateful activity that gobbles up so much of your TV watching time? Well, sometimes you get a reward so awesome that even 2 days afterward it makes the smile stay on your face? Well, this is what temporarily halted our run on Tuesday morning....</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtENxpcdrpr1DdcXdUMDmY5DUDw6tabR06QHJ23osOHLeNdvhP1eOH0RhdyuncpJBf55i5QBVirH-80NzMlDv4EXSnylQIKr36Wt3f-tvOKIZGdrs89WqVSjgRizPtxCtK1CnkZ1qoSAs/s1600/geese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtENxpcdrpr1DdcXdUMDmY5DUDw6tabR06QHJ23osOHLeNdvhP1eOH0RhdyuncpJBf55i5QBVirH-80NzMlDv4EXSnylQIKr36Wt3f-tvOKIZGdrs89WqVSjgRizPtxCtK1CnkZ1qoSAs/s400/geese.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How goose-stepping got its name!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty much the cutest interruption ever, the morning skies rang with our shrieks of delight! So even though it was a rough start, it reminded me just how much I like getting up and running first thing in the morning.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-49807221749740472442013-06-03T19:30:00.000-06:002013-06-03T20:48:26.632-06:00Get Ready, Get Sweaty!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the worst things about getting back from a week long vacation include:</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-the insane credit card bill that even when I go over it closely proves was all me.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-buying/drinking whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. More eyeliner and beer for breakfast? Sure thing!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-trying to reduce calories down from the high school linebacker-style consumption I managed last week. Seriously, one day I hit daily calorific intake before I finished breakfast.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-getting back into a running schedule after a week off...feels like starting over.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you know what helps offset the post-vacation blues? Coming home to this!!!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLijpoKwzl9p0qN90JTNXj_Wu7kglFZBoAhqquQbkIwgg_2EjGrxWL2a3ZqmC7rfSKtxLhV3siRnZIu9PrW7gpJE6U6hiK3bSbTn2kvKC5KvaLfSDIos0m412098bf-AJ9G75py6mdI0/s1600/Shorts1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLijpoKwzl9p0qN90JTNXj_Wu7kglFZBoAhqquQbkIwgg_2EjGrxWL2a3ZqmC7rfSKtxLhV3siRnZIu9PrW7gpJE6U6hiK3bSbTn2kvKC5KvaLfSDIos0m412098bf-AJ9G75py6mdI0/s200/Shorts1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sooooo much better than a bill!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HURRAY! My snappy Lululemon shorts had arrived while I was away! And how cool is the shipping paper??</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I eagerly tore that off, there was ANOTHER cool pattern underneath on a zippered thing resembling a giant pencil crayon case.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6UahV7NKWaBIta1bqk7otAcs3yWi8x1hJL8WkFME-SDr7eLrpg4mOfNeFzhYRkDhvd-Pl_MnjMeArJYKHirYcqHr2Y_QClH1Em6A-dn_749r4-otF53j_m6bhNDmUXwGLM-EuJ_INgU/s1600/shorts2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6UahV7NKWaBIta1bqk7otAcs3yWi8x1hJL8WkFME-SDr7eLrpg4mOfNeFzhYRkDhvd-Pl_MnjMeArJYKHirYcqHr2Y_QClH1Em6A-dn_749r4-otF53j_m6bhNDmUXwGLM-EuJ_INgU/s200/shorts2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure what to use it for yet, but trust me, it'll be something cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZPhMvMrBVLuaBWR-va_iHLlSypcNdMiFypOeSzo0CdXw7SuDl1J7-Odl5ZeckaOn6G3HyPBfSyyIeXjuuVpP13KmS5hh0MSDUpObuLz3u24akx6rks7bYh09HxH0J5iRqM9iao9rVdM/s1600/shorts3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZPhMvMrBVLuaBWR-va_iHLlSypcNdMiFypOeSzo0CdXw7SuDl1J7-Odl5ZeckaOn6G3HyPBfSyyIeXjuuVpP13KmS5hh0MSDUpObuLz3u24akx6rks7bYh09HxH0J5iRqM9iao9rVdM/s200/shorts3.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG so much better than white.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I opened that, the shorts were revealed in all their stripy glory. Hurray! They look just as good in real life as they did online. Plus, they fit great!!!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdElnje8dyvKtxgwM2vZdndPPNto7IyH9zaFIti7N6KNTF0xumFtJ_BzwVPf58Pc5BfFGc9PPgc3r9veYd4OPGHy9qTFXw7zCJLVqe3GTb2UM2x_tzqMnWVm4_on5uQ4z_Ws_GdjL7n6E/s1600/shorts4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdElnje8dyvKtxgwM2vZdndPPNto7IyH9zaFIti7N6KNTF0xumFtJ_BzwVPf58Pc5BfFGc9PPgc3r9veYd4OPGHy9qTFXw7zCJLVqe3GTb2UM2x_tzqMnWVm4_on5uQ4z_Ws_GdjL7n6E/s200/shorts4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No point of reference, but trust me here, they are TINY.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wait...let me clarify. They are not too tight or too baggy, and they are comfy as heck. But, let me be clear, they have a TWO INCH INSEAM. You know what that means? Like, what it means with regard to PANTS? Well, the tag for the pants hangs 3 inches below the hem of the shorts. They are so short they require built in underpants. They are so short the underwear I was wearing when I tried them on was actually clearly visible above and below the shorts. I'm no seamstress, but I bet less than half a meter of fabric was used in their construction. And I can assure you they will NEVER see the light of day outside in Calgary. But I AM pretty excited to wear them on runs in other countries...I will be in Jamaica next month, so they won't have to wait too long to see the light of day.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just in time too...Happy June 3......the <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/run/get-ready/">Seawheeze Training Program</a> kicks off today! And while I don't have a snappy iphone that I can download their awesome app onto, I am still able to follow along <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/SW_Tacklebox_intermediate1.pdf">oldskool on the web! </a></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 1 started out with Vancouver-style rain at 5am which seemed fitting since the race will be there too. Undeterred, Princess Chris and I met at 530am and did the 50 minute run on the schedule and cheered as we checked it off on the app. Kind of rough after a few weeks off, plus the rain didn't make it easy to get up and out of the house, but it still beats the treadmill!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Yoga tomorrow...hurray!</span><br />
<br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-29357446892496654692013-05-11T13:13:00.003-06:002013-05-11T13:15:27.380-06:00Caution- Extreme Grossness Below!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">So, did you guess?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Well, here it is in pictures. After the <a href="http://princesshalfmarathon.blogspot.ca/2013_02_24_archive.html">Princess Half Marathon</a>, my left big toe started hurting. Nothing crazy, and I could still run, but I was <em>aware</em> that it was there and not feeling great. A few weeks after that when I was changing polish, I noticed my toe now looked like this:</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4PJVwY49-tnDDtHPp82VzKrZLCreUgQIiTt0ME0vf0e0OZxd3WMPP4cHbkmOrrgkCTj03nRA4Eiop6a9_uZZnDWclaZR-anY3UZaP1gzaohu5MN5Oau3AT5MEW2rOJ1XDOC_045UKUo/s1600/may+black+toe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4PJVwY49-tnDDtHPp82VzKrZLCreUgQIiTt0ME0vf0e0OZxd3WMPP4cHbkmOrrgkCTj03nRA4Eiop6a9_uZZnDWclaZR-anY3UZaP1gzaohu5MN5Oau3AT5MEW2rOJ1XDOC_045UKUo/s200/may+black+toe.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thaaaaaat's....not a good thing?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Feeling the first inklings of concern, I did the only thing sensible and painted my toes with OPI's lovely shade of Black Cherry Chutney. Yep, just like turning up the radio to block out the funny noise my car makes, I opted to cover up the problem and pretend it didn't exist. Plus, my toes looked great and were right in line with the end-of-winter colors.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4afn7mwHE-2d5APPHv2vvPaqEdgCfbFYfNU7Ir3J-eMPGuyyLX0JTwJBD-RNuIfZBuBv7ti6pEBYqwhY9lp5YoSKRISSV-e0U7_XvI4p6pXypiQ8DpxPmzXXcro1lcS037pSYlENxj7E/s1600/may+toe+fixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4afn7mwHE-2d5APPHv2vvPaqEdgCfbFYfNU7Ir3J-eMPGuyyLX0JTwJBD-RNuIfZBuBv7ti6pEBYqwhY9lp5YoSKRISSV-e0U7_XvI4p6pXypiQ8DpxPmzXXcro1lcS037pSYlENxj7E/s200/may+toe+fixed.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Problem SOLVED! And it looks way awesome too. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">I kept this up for a few weeks, working through all <a href="http://www.opi.com/">my darkest shades</a>, and feeling all happy about my pretty toes as the discomfort in my toe slowly increased. Still not to the point of horrible pain, but I was now having trouble running long distances without it really REALLY hurting. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">A few weeks ago, I went deep water running. During some of the flutter kicks, my toe started feeling WEIRD. As in, it hurt a LOT and was starting to feel...well....FLAPPY, is the best I can think of to describe it. Relaxing in the hot tub after DWR, I examined it a bit further, relieved to see foot was still intact (and horrified at thought of nail coming off in public pool?), but something definitely wasn't right.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">When I got home, I armed self with some antiseptic and bright lights, and braced myself for the worst. Gave it a little wiggle to see how it looked.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpXQvfJ8rpknlkVS7MUGHAYRbLtjNmHFoPL7Jcuq3A3gL27DrIkVE0dKdSW0AZoaj7ZqiB-mfU_8yjMy4fXhbpkFpLCLK4-8WxHcVXe36UlgJ-3yTXcsV6HHixGqzSIDVIi4K2mPBGkg/s1600/May+first+toe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpXQvfJ8rpknlkVS7MUGHAYRbLtjNmHFoPL7Jcuq3A3gL27DrIkVE0dKdSW0AZoaj7ZqiB-mfU_8yjMy4fXhbpkFpLCLK4-8WxHcVXe36UlgJ-3yTXcsV6HHixGqzSIDVIi4K2mPBGkg/s200/May+first+toe.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sure doesn't look like the other toe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Wouldn't you know it, the whole thing just swung away from the toe bed. Trying not to vomit, I tugged a bit, terrified it was going to hurt, but the whole thing wouldn't quite come off. No pain though. I was able to cut the whole nail off.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bwTrbKfhFh9S6DkFl_YIqJUMv1wUtaryu75B0-hkP1wjt4gzkIoqFchD7Sx-M98mIzqanCmYSQUxgnF1Gy-gYOeKFJRpHlqhqzArSJWO2l6U_ThOKdnmBOK0NvtJQ8Iaaok8kwbhIQM/s1600/may+toe+wiggle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bwTrbKfhFh9S6DkFl_YIqJUMv1wUtaryu75B0-hkP1wjt4gzkIoqFchD7Sx-M98mIzqanCmYSQUxgnF1Gy-gYOeKFJRpHlqhqzArSJWO2l6U_ThOKdnmBOK0NvtJQ8Iaaok8kwbhIQM/s200/may+toe+wiggle.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No No No No No NO NO NOOOOO!!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhA5YcYNkJH3-zGf6szOQrBST5C0KKJjREIXLMXsXLDH9ytkUyUIaXS-B5rt-g3l1xL3l9ZTzM4kXIAfkARsY28yOfTvmiD4Qzv0UzIeKN4eopZZA3Wt1Gh_g2nYg91HbkDHa4b7Nfl0/s1600/may+toe+off.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhA5YcYNkJH3-zGf6szOQrBST5C0KKJjREIXLMXsXLDH9ytkUyUIaXS-B5rt-g3l1xL3l9ZTzM4kXIAfkARsY28yOfTvmiD4Qzv0UzIeKN4eopZZA3Wt1Gh_g2nYg91HbkDHa4b7Nfl0/s200/may+toe+off.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like a giant beetle. It was <br />
prettier on my foot than in my hand :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCXxZ_thRhRhRcCOkyHrCgpiZUbBwitkTkw8p2vzw2J994dtiOaeq07wC4js45lR9IjrIWdDWtBgSEg_4W49yX_fRFHgU0Zzv6gTSZL2yJFBHUQA0_ZgNm1YH4mxeH7rAVjoLdc1YGEI/s1600/may+toe+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCXxZ_thRhRhRcCOkyHrCgpiZUbBwitkTkw8p2vzw2J994dtiOaeq07wC4js45lR9IjrIWdDWtBgSEg_4W49yX_fRFHgU0Zzv6gTSZL2yJFBHUQA0_ZgNm1YH4mxeH7rAVjoLdc1YGEI/s200/may+toe+after.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It actually looks even worse now too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">I spent the next few minutes staring at the nail and fighting off waves of horror. And nausea. And rage that this had happened just as open toe shoe season was starting. And just the teeniest sense of pride...only Very Real And Serious Runners lose toenails. But mostly horror. But hey, toe felt fantastic after that, no pain at all!</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_lc4ccRVtd9T1UfltMced-AR1_8icnpyh8nfswc3Cy6pzopAidvAhYgM0Oi2iJ9j8wnivn4eGb_rBzHzVcqQoLB2YLJvTxA55PedkI-uE6WK7HFTao8fB-7pzrGjtiJ9V4HFTDf6Mg4/s1600/may+mah+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_lc4ccRVtd9T1UfltMced-AR1_8icnpyh8nfswc3Cy6pzopAidvAhYgM0Oi2iJ9j8wnivn4eGb_rBzHzVcqQoLB2YLJvTxA55PedkI-uE6WK7HFTao8fB-7pzrGjtiJ9V4HFTDf6Mg4/s320/may+mah+face.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't fake the horror in my eyes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">I've had a few weeks to try to get used to it as the new nail slowly grows in (seriously, this means closed toed shoes ALL SUMMER) , but I am still totally grossed out by self. And I just can't muster up the courage to book my first pedicure of the summer....maybe I can get a 10% discount??</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Tomorrow is my long run day and I'm going to run around the reservoir. That means a fresh self pedi afterwards, which feels great after a long run. Am sticking to pale pinks only these days so as not to draw attention to feet!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-80244692269308367422013-05-08T22:02:00.001-06:002013-05-08T22:03:06.405-06:00Happy Easter, Happy Birthday to me, oh and...<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it's been longer than I had intended, but honestly, not much to report. Am just trucking along, doing my weekly runs and increasing distance on the weekend. Nothing rigid, nothing fancy as far as training, I am just trying to keep up with my yoga and my maintenance runs so when the actual training takes off, I can literally hit the ground running.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well...except for one thing that happened that was so horrible I am still having trouble coming to terms with it. I'll post some disgusting pictures soon, but in the meantime try to guess based on these clues...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. It was like something out of a horror film</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. It officially makes me a Real Serious Runner</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It eliminates most of my summer shoes from wardrobe contention this summer</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. I hope I get to enjoy a discount the next time I get a pedicure</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any guesses?</span></div>
PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-68347410013642372682013-03-13T23:38:00.006-06:002013-03-14T09:09:39.926-06:00Badass Mudders!<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's that time of year again...the clocks have spring forward, the days are getting longer, bunnies are trying to jump over each other but not quite making it and the urge to run outside gets overwhelming. Today's forecast called for 12C, sunny and windy like the bejesus so I was just itching to get outside. Princess Chris and I made plans to run at lunchtime and I asked Lindsay, who I had coaxed into registering for the <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/">Seawheeze</a></span> to join us.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather did not disappoint. While windier than I like (and it changed directions on the way back so it felt it like whole run was into the wind) the sun was shining and it was WARM out...not just a Chinook, it definitely felt like spring, and man, it felt great. I was wearing my <a href="http://princesshalfmarathon.blogspot.ca/2013_03_03_archive.html"><span style="color: blue;">new Mickey running shoes</span></a> for the first time, and kept squealing when i looked down at my feet. But I quickly remembered the one thing I don't love quite so much about spring running...</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MUD.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ohh maaaaah laaaawd, the mud. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within 5 minutes of leaving the building, my gorgeous new Mickey shoes were covered in so much mud I bet they were 5lbs heavier. And even running through patches of (rapidly melting) snow couldn't rinse 'em off. A quick rinse when we got back to the office did little to restore their glory and to be honest, a quick whiff made me worry it wasn't all mud. I opted to wrap then in paper towels and stick them in my bag to let them dry out and hopefully clean them off later....</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dSaCY33H1Pm76byd1bj_5ycGVQby_6d-walRTLpgEyaUDP1RnuiG1mTygT9PK3UG5cObC5DqZHl8RXbaRLY7TAjLcScfCPMXDoGUrLrlRF7oPxqSeNCOcz8tMhIYZNF0FPr1galgObk/s1600/muddy+runners.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dSaCY33H1Pm76byd1bj_5ycGVQby_6d-walRTLpgEyaUDP1RnuiG1mTygT9PK3UG5cObC5DqZHl8RXbaRLY7TAjLcScfCPMXDoGUrLrlRF7oPxqSeNCOcz8tMhIYZNF0FPr1galgObk/s320/muddy+runners.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was after the FIRST cleaning attempt. sorry Mickey!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, might as well break them in sooner or later, and a 5K didn't give me any trouble, hurray! It was windier than we would have liked, but overall a gorgeous day, great company and a pretty darn good run. We even spent the rest of the afternoon on a bit of a runner's high!</span>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plus, it was our first trio run. Next thing you know, we'll be running the <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Seawheeze</span></a> in August!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-3119513423965112352013-03-05T21:57:00.000-07:002013-03-05T21:58:32.866-07:00Shoes + Disney = AWESOME<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I know I've </span><a href="http://princesshalfmarathon.blogspot.ca/2010_10_03_archive.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">written of my love of shoes before</span>, </a><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but I think this bears repeating. I LOVE SHOES. It's usually the first part of someone's outfit I notice. I have shoes in my garage, storage room, front hall closet, spare room closet, linen closet, bedroom closet and in my filing cabinet at work. Obviously, if I could stand it I would always wear 3 inch heels (hey, is only way I don't have stumpy elephant legs, plus it lowers my BMI into the normal range, hahaha!) but I can't last all day even in the comfiest of heels. Oh, plus I run kind of a lot, and with a "heavy footfall", which I think is the running store saleperson's nice way of saying "like a fat kid", but I'll stick with the scientific term, heh. So when I find a good pair of running shoes, it's time to shout it from the rooftops...errr....Internet.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, Disney teamed up with New Balance to create a pair of Mickey and Minnie inspired running shoes for their RunDisney program. The men's shoe is based on Mickey in his classic tuxedo and the ladies Minnie shoe draws from Minnie's polka dot dress and yellow heels look of yesteryear. As soon as I discovered they existed, I was smitten! Behold how cute they are!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-bSfpWZghPTDf1VevDKcwaQLxavEXTcgKeU_MBxMPJ9N_d0KbAIFoEeG_P1eGYFH_UnaU_pguQGls5066fVSbQPc0K_6h_fhVV3CVQPRZjHqHgWkxjT5Kfemyc0dSjiSPzv0T6EyS2o/s1600/1200-rundisney-new-balance-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-bSfpWZghPTDf1VevDKcwaQLxavEXTcgKeU_MBxMPJ9N_d0KbAIFoEeG_P1eGYFH_UnaU_pguQGls5066fVSbQPc0K_6h_fhVV3CVQPRZjHqHgWkxjT5Kfemyc0dSjiSPzv0T6EyS2o/s320/1200-rundisney-new-balance-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mickey on the left, Minnie on the right...LOVE THEM!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it was very scary to further read these babies were limited edition and only available at Run Disney expos. How handy that I was heading to one of those in a few weeks! And even handier that I have giant man feet and might be able to scoop up a pair of men's shoes at a women's run! Never had I been so excited to have big feet...with any luck, there wouldn't be many ogres registered in the run who might also be interested in the size 11 women's shoe because we weren't going to be able to be at the expo when it opened.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long story short, we waited in line for probably 20 minutes to get a pair to try on as people around us lamented the sizes they were already sold out of. Like the clever princesses we are, we researched the model # of this shoe and tried them on here at home ahead of time so we knew just what size to ask for. I had decided I liked the Mickey ones better for running, but quickly got caught up in the hype at the expo and asked for both gender shoes. We waited with baited breath as they searched....and returned with boxes of shoes!!!! I was able to snag both a Mickey and a Minnie thanks to my big ol' feet, but Christi being the daintier princess was sadly only able to get a pair of Minnie shoes. Nonetheless, we fought off the women desperate to grab our shoes if we didn't want them (seriously, this shoe buying experience was cutthroat! I could NOT let those Minnies go) and gleefully bought our shoes before heading over to....pick up our race packs. That's right, we went for shoes before checking in for the race, we were already hours late! </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, the first rule of running a half marathon is <strike><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/">don't talk about Fight Club</a></strike></span><strike><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/"> </a></span></strike><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strike> </strike>don't wear new ANYTHING on race day. Not headband, shoes, pants, socks, anything you haven't tested for chafing first. But Christi decided her shoes matched her Snow White dress perfectly and decided to throw caution to the wind and wore her brand new shoes on the race....</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 21K and over 22000 runners, we didn't see a single other person wearing these shoes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But GUESS WHAT?!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She loved 'em! No problems at all and she looked every bit the princess at the finish line in her gorgeous new shoes! A few blisters, but she always gets them after a half and these were way less problems than she's had in the past with tried and tested shoes. Don't try this at home folks, it was a Disney Miracle!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second miracle is that I've now worn my Minnie shoes for a 6K and a 5K this week...both on the treadmill thanks to the dump of snow we got on the weekend, but I also love them! I figured I would use them for crosstraining instead of running, but they matched my outfit better those days. They are comfortable, well fitted and have just the right amount of support I need, which I wasn't sure of the first time I tried them on. Plus anytime I started getting annoyed with the treadmill, I just looked down at my feet and felt all happy again! Thanks Minnie!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-53404783244628788392013-03-02T14:45:00.003-07:002013-03-02T21:43:49.840-07:00One Week Later<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so I still feel like I haven't recovered from the Princess on Sunday. I still feel tired and achy...like I fell out of a tree or something. Plus, darn it, I deserve a bit of a break. So I haven't run once since then, or even been to the gym in the past week. That's fine, I think a few days to fully recover is a good idea. So in the meantime, please enjoy our before and after pictures from the race:</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why are we smiling? We're about to run 21K in 25C!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYfolIV6yxz3psz6oZiZQ-7V9zW0ZQhAcl1y7EBwpgBCZoFB9217Chakhlj346nY5aQkdWNplCmNIkrgauDAhLjN2PF_yfoxFlqZWncIOjPmFoOqlmkZ7NRHTtJ6YXgJzfVS3I_57Ppw/s1600/2013after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYfolIV6yxz3psz6oZiZQ-7V9zW0ZQhAcl1y7EBwpgBCZoFB9217Chakhlj346nY5aQkdWNplCmNIkrgauDAhLjN2PF_yfoxFlqZWncIOjPmFoOqlmkZ7NRHTtJ6YXgJzfVS3I_57Ppw/s320/2013after.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note we both have a touch of the crazies in</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">our eyes...we're dazzled by the new bling!</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Also, a friend sent me this, but I'm thinking it's a pretty good idea....might give this a whirl the next time I'm downtown...DANCE WALK BABY!!</span></div>
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PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-23227120211717489822013-02-27T19:05:00.001-07:002013-02-27T19:06:14.192-07:00Princess 2.0<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it's been over 6 months since my last post. I have no excuse other than sheer laziness....On writing, that is. I have been running. Last year we did the Stampede Half and the Seawheeze. I did them and didn't write about it. I feel like I let myself down there...so let's acknowledge that it happened and move on.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy 2013! </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is gonna be the YEAR I RUN </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AND WRITE ABOUT IT. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like having the record of it to track my progress and setbacks. I'm kinda funny sometimes. And a few pictures too. I'm kinda funny looking ALL the time, heh!</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what has 2013 brought so far? Well, get this. On Sunday, Princess Chris and myself completed the Disney Princess Half Marathon. That's right...the race that got us started on this whole running thing. Nope, we didn't write about the training. Yep, I will post a few pics this week. And I promise to start writing again, even if it's just for me. And I should have something to write about...we are registered for the Seawheeze again in August and the Disneyland Half again in September. We even have a new recruit for the Seawheeze running her first even half marathon! We are also planning on running the Stampede half again this year. And I promise there will be posts and pictures all year long!</span></div>
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PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-2380631837130787112012-06-20T08:06:00.000-06:002012-06-20T08:07:07.762-06:00Already got the wheezing part...<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out our Progress! We've registered for the <a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/">Lululemon Seawheeze</a>, a half marathon in Vancouver that's only 95 days away. It does sound like fun and the route looks like it will be gorgeous. And while it's not an exclusively woman's race, I'm guessing it will be slightly geared towards the ladies, which is the kind of race I prefer….even the most unathletic of boys will probably pass me forever at some point. Plus the swag includes shorty shorts instead of a shirt! We registered too late to get the shorts ahead of time, but I understand they look like this:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL56a5FeHxlkky6ajPtWxkI3qMYmUrGhdRF7tjxcU9Y1p6EpEbReyhB4zxfMf38SaQBG5HRCYWcH1SJYVM5f9GA5BAxKTH-_pEXi5TvIBAZ63uv2C6y7G55a-n4hhlZLlsCw2AMUNm80w/s1600/seawheeze+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL56a5FeHxlkky6ajPtWxkI3qMYmUrGhdRF7tjxcU9Y1p6EpEbReyhB4zxfMf38SaQBG5HRCYWcH1SJYVM5f9GA5BAxKTH-_pEXi5TvIBAZ63uv2C6y7G55a-n4hhlZLlsCw2AMUNm80w/s320/seawheeze+shorts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty sure I have undies with more coverage.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, short and white pretty much guarantees I will never wear these out of my house, but I have to admit they are totally cute and I would wear them if I had 32 inch hips. Pajama bottoms if I can even squeeze into the biggest size, I guess?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the Stampede Half in a couple of weeks, I’m pretty sure our only goal is to finish the race upright (and then eat as many pancakes as possible), but I decided my goal for this race is to try to be 2:20 or under. I think because it won’t have quite as many photo ops as a Disney run and the race is in a sea level city, that this goal is tough, but possible. </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, this means I'm not only have to get my butt training, but I'll have to knock about 30 seconds off my typical per km pace in a half marathon. This doesn’t seem like much until you realize just how fast you have to go without breaks…and the breaks you do get have to be SHORT. Sounds like I'm really going to have to bump up the hill training and speedwork! We have had a couple of shriekworthy training runs where I think this pace could be possible…in fact, we did one 7K last week where if we could have maintained that pace, we would have come in UNDER 2 HOURS for a half…yes, it’s unlikely we could have maintained that speed for any longer than we did, but it gave us a good idea of what our pace should be like to set a new PR. I can already feel my legs getting sore....</span><br />
<br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-49215911978476941992012-06-13T12:27:00.000-06:002012-06-13T12:27:13.517-06:00Running, not w-Riting<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, OK, while I might not actually be WRITING much about running, I actually AM running. Yes, it has been a while. I went to Vegas in May, where I not only dragged myself out of bed to run, I did it three times. Each run was slower than the day before as the week of gluttony caught up to me. Also, even though I headed out by 8am, it was already over 30C. I took a water bottle even though they were short runs because I was afraid of death by dehydration or of looking like this:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hours of tanning might contribute too...</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, because I’m me, the first day my run was to Sonic to pick up breakfast sandwiches and French Toast Sticks. I laughed to myself all the way back as I chugged down the sidewalk clutching my greasy brown bag of fast food…I might like to run, but I like to eat more.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast of Champions...sometimes I AM the best roommate ever!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got back from Vegas, we registered for the <a href="http://www.stampederoadrace.ca/race-details.php">Stampede Half Marathon</a> which is the first Sunday of <a href="http://www.calgarystampede.com/">Stampede</a>. Because this race is at 7am on a Sunday, this means I will have to be smart on Saturday and drink lots of water and go to bed early instead of partying it up down at the grounds, but hey, maybe I AM growing up a little. Then again, since I’m trying to figure out how to wear a cowboy hat while I run 21K and am far more excited for the post race pancakes than the race itself, maybe not.</span><br />PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-25153751939852207042012-05-06T22:06:00.001-06:002012-05-06T22:06:12.934-06:00Mother Nature takes a Midol<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's right, it's been a while. I fell again and this time it was worse....I fell forward and bashed up both knees and rewhacked my elbow, which put me out of commission for a while. I did try to get a few runs in, but even walking hurt quite a lot for a few weeks so I took it pretty easy----still active every day, but no running. But I'm back in action and back to running, which is certainly getting easier as the weather improves and the days continue to get longer. Now it's fully daylight at 6am which makes early morning training that much easier to plan.
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is, until Saturday rolled around. My alarm goes off at 8am and I hop out of bed for a run before a busy day. I take a peek out the window to THIS:
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2lCzRh2gItkH1Ytgt0J1OKbeuoJJskyYiDnSEkVUZYYZaxlc7tB-DDp3AnpbrFch_7pbkph17X_9nY1UPeUtbxYDoi2MNSr8rFQ2imYYhph1nqbo7g7ZVCAugW-Yx-B4nzeqTjluLaQ/s1600/snow+sat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2lCzRh2gItkH1Ytgt0J1OKbeuoJJskyYiDnSEkVUZYYZaxlc7tB-DDp3AnpbrFch_7pbkph17X_9nY1UPeUtbxYDoi2MNSr8rFQ2imYYhph1nqbo7g7ZVCAugW-Yx-B4nzeqTjluLaQ/s1600/snow+sat.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, it's May.</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously? It looked like December out there. Although I had full intentions of going for a run, I do NOT want to go out in 4 inches of slush accumulating on the roads or the sleet that would soak me within minutes. It may not have been cold, but it was certainly miserable. So, I did the only sensible thing to do during a snowstorm and went back to bed for 2 more hours. Really, I had no choice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, Princess Chris and I had a 10k run scheduled for Sunday, but I didn't feel too good about it yesterday.
Now, I do live in Calgary, so my fears were unfounded. By Saturday night the snow had stopped and melted and our run was still on. Sunday dawned clear, crisp and about a million times greener than it had been a few days earlier. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfpPj6x75u35tbIMdt7810ZHX07PaR5_CBNr9_UxnFizVh9ur4xkxgXywzsiKvRLvQM2_kqNK5Hoo7-RxwQoZrjUtxLyFIg-QgArfGJYhaylD_TnEuGyMJgmKUdrBeelRmiqhxEP8CEI/s1600/sunday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfpPj6x75u35tbIMdt7810ZHX07PaR5_CBNr9_UxnFizVh9ur4xkxgXywzsiKvRLvQM2_kqNK5Hoo7-RxwQoZrjUtxLyFIg-QgArfGJYhaylD_TnEuGyMJgmKUdrBeelRmiqhxEP8CEI/s320/sunday.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhhh, that's more like it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We met at the Weaselhead as scheduled and not only did our 10k, but we overshot a bit for 10.5k. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the weather was that perfect running temperature of 4C with just a hint of breeze to keep you cool without being chilly. And we weren't alone, the path was packed with smiling runners just happy to be out on a gorgeous day!
With today's 10k, we're slowly building up our long runs and getting back into half marathon form. Heck, we might even register for a race soon!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-73131579115008601312012-04-10T07:12:00.000-06:002012-04-10T07:12:43.675-06:00War wounds<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been over a year since I first started -and promptly fell in love- with winter running. It feels amazing to bundle up and face the elements, and not turning into a sweaty mess feels pretty great. And you can't beat a sunny day with crisp white snow, frosty trees and that noisy kind of quiet you get from muffled snow running. I can't believe how many gorgeous winter days I wasted inside on a treadmill thinking my lungs would freeze or I would slip on the ice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So after all this time in the great outdoors and the unpredictable Calgary weather, it was bound to happen. On Saturday, a few days after an April snowstorm, I went out for a quick morning 5k in the ravine behind my house. I had breakfast plans and had overslept a bit, so my timeline was pretty tight. As I approached the switchback path down to the ravine I recalled how slick it had been the week before in the spring thaw, so I slowed right down as I came to the halfway point on the path. I had moved off the snow covered path to what I thought was bare road...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BOOM.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I realized what had happened, I was sitting flat on my ass, too stunned to move or even comprehend what had happened. Did I just...FALL??? A shriek of pain and rage was heard over my iPod as pain set in. Now, I had fallen right down, no twisting or sliding, but rather one second I was upright, the next picking dirt out of my palms. I sat there for at least a minute, still shocked that I was sitting instead of jogging up the ravine admiring the trees before I dared move. I was so afraid of finding out I'd twisted or banged an ankle or knee and that it would be a long walk home followed by rest...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDLW1sxLk0fYk5V-qhJ6iR7jU4pOFvnpvnsAZpmYlMnZm7prCNPVdugz43yvs2FhCybGdrsCUAjMbbUBai-mbglpUbUcYzYHlwgAT8tPE6CmQepnk1DJHUoKH-2jcDebt-geoC9-KHP4/s1600/elbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDLW1sxLk0fYk5V-qhJ6iR7jU4pOFvnpvnsAZpmYlMnZm7prCNPVdugz43yvs2FhCybGdrsCUAjMbbUBai-mbglpUbUcYzYHlwgAT8tPE6CmQepnk1DJHUoKH-2jcDebt-geoC9-KHP4/s320/elbow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, the only thing I'd hurt was my hands and elbows as I crashed down. Well, guess I smacked my rump pretty hard too, but there's certainly enough padding to protect me there. My palms certainly stung, but the cool air helped, and there didn't seem to be anything too permanent and nothing to stop me from running. I carefully picked my way down the hill and very cautiously finished the run. Took a few minutes longer than usual, but no more mishaps and I got the sympathy I was hoping for when I got home and showed off my puffy hands and slowly brushing elbows. I self treated with ice and a few beers and I should be as good as new in no time!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-82869231065627248392012-03-20T20:16:00.000-06:002012-03-20T20:16:12.133-06:00Luck O'the Irish<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We might have dropped the ball in 2012 as far as distance running, but St Patrick's Day 10K marked our first race of the year! It seemed like the perfect race for us since it encouraged costumes, was sponsored by <a href="http://www.steamwhistle.ca/">Steamwhistle</a> beer, (the race included a random draw to win your weight in beer) as well as post race goodies by <a href="http://www.cobsbread.com/home/">Cobbs Bakery</a>. Basically, all the fun stuff that has nothing to do with the actual run itself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Side note: I'd like to say I bulked up to increase the number of beers I could win, but to be honest, I just like pizza. At least I know how to motivate myself to run?</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">Anyways, St Pat's dawned sunny, clear, no rain/flurries like the forecast had called for and about 2C. I've discovered recently that 2C is probably my perfect running temperature; a bit chilly at the starting line, then nice and cool all the way through the run. We donned our green argyle socks, St Patrick's Day shirts, green boas, green wigs and shamrock headgear and we were ready to go! Too bad neither of us had run more than 5K in the past 2 months...nonetheless, we were here to have fun and hoping only to finish in under 70 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">The race started right on time without much fanfare---I guess this is why this race was a quarter of the price of a Disney races. To be honest, I was a smidge letdown at the starting line, I like me some pre-race fireworks, music and characters! Anyway, we thought we looked awesome and the crowds of people at the starting line let us know they agreed.</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">It felt like the the first and second kilometers flew by and my confidence grew. Training, schmaining, a 10K is easy I thought to myself as we easily kept pace. Plus I was all excited to see Daryl Janz at the Steamwhistle truck shouting numbers as people ran by (I never figured out what they were for, come to think of it?) In fact, the first 5K felt pretty awesome, the kind of run that makes me LOVE running. I started having fantasies of breaking an hour. By 6K, as the runners starting spacing out more, I was faltering a bit. I'm pretty sure they were spacing the markers further and further apart and I was getting a bit tired as we chugged past 7K. Somewhere around this point I started hating the wig as it filled with sweat and the boa as it kept flapping in my mouth or slithering off my shoulders. I think around 8K I started whimpering involuntarily and Christi was forced to dust off her Disneyland 2011 Mile 12 Peptalk (patent pending), bless her heart!! I cursed myself for double knotting my shoelaces so the stupid things couldn't come undone and earn me a quick "break".</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">We turned the last corner at about 9.5K and there it was...the finish line. Right in front of us. Like, just down the street. I knew we only had maybe 3 more minutes of running, but I was dying---I felt like my quads had been beaten with a cane and I SWEAR the finish line was actually getting further away instead of closer.Once we got close enough to see the timer and realized we had a darn good chance of breaking 1:04, I was able to finish in what felt like a pretty strong finish.</span><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">I didn't realize we got medals, so that was pretty exciting to see what was quite a nice 25th anniversary metal shamrock. Post race, we were treated to Irish stew, CHOCOLATE CHIP MINT SCONES and Lucky Charms, which I may have never tried before because I'm pretty sure I'd remember such tasty little sugar nuggets!! We didn't win our weight in beer, but the post-run awards and prizes were really fun. And those scones were too delicious to stick to just one.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jmNX_Uf38-aJXyUvWtCaL60VQlqYyfeitKWaZCLtwIsDmD_rbqRZ5NQndQ3vFEHveRBJpmAxoU58SFwk3fbhdDlydP5SxESQi2HWNPg3ObjXkC6zb3lD4f4AGrYINyl7SJMhmuCQTDA/s1600/st+pats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jmNX_Uf38-aJXyUvWtCaL60VQlqYyfeitKWaZCLtwIsDmD_rbqRZ5NQndQ3vFEHveRBJpmAxoU58SFwk3fbhdDlydP5SxESQi2HWNPg3ObjXkC6zb3lD4f4AGrYINyl7SJMhmuCQTDA/s320/st+pats.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly this is the first half as I'm still smiling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial;">What next? Guess I'd better take this lesson to heart and start running more than 5K stints. And we're planning to register for a few runs this week to get us motivated and our training on track!!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-41878287570530060802012-03-13T17:02:00.001-06:002012-03-13T17:02:18.258-06:00Winter Cross training, eh?<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week after a huge dump of snow, we decided to go snowshoeing for my friend's birthday. As we go closer and closer to Saturday, those darn Chinooks came in and gobbled up our snow. Fearful of having to mudshoe, we waited until the last minute to rent and then headed way out of town to Kananaskis. After nearly an hour of driving on dry pavement past brown grass towards what looked like snowless mountains, we finally saw the white stuff...</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">We did a 4.5K loop of Hogwarts in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and it was glorious! The sun was shining, it was warm enough to skip jackets and there was about 4 feet of snow to tromp around in. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-kOFGNpa22niCw7Mixe48Atp1cdTkXGqSh-ixN4gnjV0aSfQYuqRhyB8CIMO86Un_8br-WlbvKnftvy_1Bax2pkHcYNzdcS3lXnbW0oBTXUdU3v1Jk2cZKdI_BHD74eVjZkYP-KKsVw/s1600/snowshoe5.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-kOFGNpa22niCw7Mixe48Atp1cdTkXGqSh-ixN4gnjV0aSfQYuqRhyB8CIMO86Un_8br-WlbvKnftvy_1Bax2pkHcYNzdcS3lXnbW0oBTXUdU3v1Jk2cZKdI_BHD74eVjZkYP-KKsVw/s1600/snowshoe5.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not kidding about the 4 feet of snow</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2MP52U0iI4FPaEaRLFGl4pzeldfofa7c0pwqaqkZ4u87nMmwtH2PLFLCddQp2c2-7EQ7vXk-fGH_iPS2lLCiOO_miSZXtVQoUEi5Og-ngr0axuI1KvQPYgPPwywJxPmNVnMzTQIIsEc/s1600/snowshoe4.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2MP52U0iI4FPaEaRLFGl4pzeldfofa7c0pwqaqkZ4u87nMmwtH2PLFLCddQp2c2-7EQ7vXk-fGH_iPS2lLCiOO_miSZXtVQoUEi5Og-ngr0axuI1KvQPYgPPwywJxPmNVnMzTQIIsEc/s1600/snowshoe4.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So far so good...most of us go the shoes on...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0kCLcSTjkFWrls3jwHVXsHVWfF3mndhPx6R0EICiYnQyb7IfiX7ViTYSbr-OHM90sqWMYS45wovjznjxjmuNsFL9ZwOkRLMwTiwb0G7pqx4XnR9Teyin4BxgkF5wa1anHwbkYs1508I/s1600/snowshoe3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0kCLcSTjkFWrls3jwHVXsHVWfF3mndhPx6R0EICiYnQyb7IfiX7ViTYSbr-OHM90sqWMYS45wovjznjxjmuNsFL9ZwOkRLMwTiwb0G7pqx4XnR9Teyin4BxgkF5wa1anHwbkYs1508I/s1600/snowshoe3.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing this hill = exhausting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL1mFRSe04AWai9IH84lUV5N1PZDCfDUjxI1RdMlpI1mB9W1vqaFhxDjriA0cl08p7gI9fWypw4KlAqHglk2xKEGe4EAWB_g0Q2XYaTMV3L5viW3hgZM05phIlz5M4wJ9nft1cBgEQas/s1600/snowshoe8.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL1mFRSe04AWai9IH84lUV5N1PZDCfDUjxI1RdMlpI1mB9W1vqaFhxDjriA0cl08p7gI9fWypw4KlAqHglk2xKEGe4EAWB_g0Q2XYaTMV3L5viW3hgZM05phIlz5M4wJ9nft1cBgEQas/s1600/snowshoe8.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jumping in showshoes is way harder than in regular shoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total success! We stayed on the correct path (a first), met a lot of fun snowshoers and dogs, got in a great workout, and ate a LOT of Butterfinger easter eggs. I didn't realize how much work it was until we were done and I realized how sore I already was...it took a couple of days to recover, but I can't wait to go again sometime!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-69014673201406599442012-03-08T18:56:00.000-07:002012-03-08T18:56:16.098-07:00Everybody! Socks! Socks! Socks-socks-socks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="225" id="il_fi" src="http://thefinancialite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Target-Heart.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="225" /></div><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Palm Springs was a complete success! It was gorgeous and sunny and I managed to get up at 730 on a Sunday to run 5K in the desert before the thermometer hit a billion. It sure was a refreshing change to run beside cactusaii and sand without a coat on, even if my persistent cough slowed us up a little. Our post-run Jack in the Box breakfast sandwiches never tasted so good! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">We also went to the outlet mall and Target, where I got all sorts of deals (on non-running shoes) and a pack of sports socks that have turned out to be totally awesome...padded in the right places, absorbent, and with those little thingies on them that keep them from slipping down into your shoe while ensuring you don't get a funny ankle tan if you run in them all summer. Plus I got a range of colors in the pack---OK, black, white and grey are colors, it just means I don't have to throw white socks in with dark loads all the time...</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Came home to back-to-back dumps of snow, so we were forced onto the treadmill a few times. This means we did some speedwork AND hillwork in an effort to not die of boredom. Hey, look at us, we sound like we're training for something!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-89469035959102221942012-03-02T21:53:00.004-07:002012-03-02T21:55:30.491-07:00In like a lion...<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're at the end of the first week and still totally keen! We ran three times this week-once on the treadmill and twice outside...in the morning, in the dark, in the snow, by the airport...with a few walking breaks. But we did it! Winter here in YYC has been unseasonably warm, but both runs this week were in -10C through icy shoulders of the service road or the unplowed running path of the NE. Chilly, but it sure felt nice to be back out there...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="320" id="il_fi" src="http://www.comicbookbrain.com/_imagery/_2009_07_21/old-man-winter-erik-weems.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="209" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, but I'm still blowing him off this weekend...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Still, I'm heading to Palm Springs for the weekend to catch some REAL sun and enjoy the 25C they're forcasting for the weekend. I'm bringing my running stuff, so I'm going to get in at least one run somewhere warm, sunny and at sea level, which should certainly help with my training! Plus since I'll be near a Target AND an outlet mall, I'd say the chances of buying some snappy new running gear are pretty good...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="193" id="il_fi" src="http://www.tutordoctor.com/sites/default/files/sunshine_021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="216" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't wait to see you Mr Sun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-87129049172361479102012-02-29T17:03:00.005-07:002012-02-29T17:07:45.638-07:00Happy Leap Day!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to a study conducted by Harvard in the late 70's, new graduates who wrote down their goals and plans to accomplish them were something like a bazillion times richer and more successful than those who did not. I'm starting to think that this is true. If I write something down I am WAY more likely to stick to it than just saying or thinking it. So here goes my LEAP!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">In 2012, I am going to run FOUR Half Marathons. We've been searching for suitable options and here are a few of the really fun looking ones...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">-Calgary or Edmonton Half Marathon (TBD)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">-Kelowna Half Marathon (TBD)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/chicago">-Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.seawheeze.com/">-Lululemon's SeaWheeze</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">-Nike Women's Half Marathon (TBD)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/wine-and-dine-half-marathon">-Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">We're trying to space them out every couple of months which should hopefully keep us in shape and motivated all year long. We're also trying to find a balance between "fun" and "affordable"...I recently figured out I spent over $500 on race fees last year, to say nothing of the trips I took to get there! But I just can't say no to those awesome Disney races!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Any suggestions?</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-31778425486374049802012-02-26T15:04:00.004-07:002012-02-26T15:06:02.851-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="506" id="il_fi" src="http://haildubyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/2008-02-14were_back3.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="420" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though it's nearly March, this is like a New Year's Resolutions list of sorts.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">1. Start blogging about running again (check!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">2. Pick a few runs to do this year to keep us motivated (check!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">3. Start running.....*crickets, crickets*</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Yes, it's been months since any updates, and the truth is, there hasn't really been any. Pretty much a full stop on running, and I for one have filled that void with pizza. Needless to say, taking up running again won't be easy....but I'm happy to report Princess Chris and I went for our first run together this year yesterday at the Reservoir in spite of -5C, snow and howling winds. While it might not have been the most pleasant run ever, it sure felt good to be back on track and getting some running goals together for the year. Yes, it was a very difficult 5K as we gasped along the icy trail, but we DID IT. And we have concrete plans to run twice so far this week. And compared to so far this year, that's a pretty good start.</span></div>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-6248356278754683002011-09-13T18:23:00.000-06:002011-09-13T18:23:45.168-06:00WE DID IT!!!!!!!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another successful Disney run DONE! And finally, some pictures to go with the blog...</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived in Anaheim last week and since our hotel wasn't ready for check-in, we went straight to the expo to pick up our race packs. We were delighted to find the unisex shirts were actually quite nice, bought some cool new headbands guaranteed to keep sweat out of our eyes, and won Angels ballcaps. After the expo, we headed to Jack in the Box and Target to stock up on delicious food and buy bottled water and cute new clothes. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQRLn6EcZsh7WDUs0dVH6vJJdAZIyf5aIAZTJe2vfriHsjvdmeGt3AYA59Sf2VP1QdGEuFPmacwNsVk7Qrga2E0_VMVukzMr_TkrnliSYZ37-mYMrNZFO3fTxj9SciC13A1xQXDOY_pA/s1600/100_4732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQRLn6EcZsh7WDUs0dVH6vJJdAZIyf5aIAZTJe2vfriHsjvdmeGt3AYA59Sf2VP1QdGEuFPmacwNsVk7Qrga2E0_VMVukzMr_TkrnliSYZ37-mYMrNZFO3fTxj9SciC13A1xQXDOY_pA/s200/100_4732.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And they'rrrrrrre OFF!...to the Expo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-lffXvFW7N8cbWXPSiqPKkZ0BkA5vmf7RQO7ORA5IcGxYAJ5cKRXT09Y4h2amUYLmnZQwxfi9JRc24hBWcdu46rXkIEgqQo74knlc7yJsGH1RtlJgdBuyTTsjOk0xfFy4OvCRMLdQsA/s1600/Disneyland+.11+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-lffXvFW7N8cbWXPSiqPKkZ0BkA5vmf7RQO7ORA5IcGxYAJ5cKRXT09Y4h2amUYLmnZQwxfi9JRc24hBWcdu46rXkIEgqQo74knlc7yJsGH1RtlJgdBuyTTsjOk0xfFy4OvCRMLdQsA/s200/Disneyland+.11+004.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a false start, we end up in the right line and pick up our bibs!</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">On Saturday, we headed to Disneyland for a half day...checked out the new Star Tours (awesome) and went on a bunch of rides before heading back to the hotel to relax by the pool, then head to Cheesecake Factory for a pre-race dinner of pasta and...cheesecake. We also decided that CF would be always our new pre-race dinner since it's worked so well for us the past 2 times. Since we had to get up at 430, it was lights out at 8pm...</span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2gisde7EEr7A9mLVxK_P8tQ-MD2Z_eBHfU6U8wSAk4MKMb6as9DQpmkglYN9l29CUXjbTaDjY4DDqmTAjVdQylAEX8KLu5Zxyb9u8-KjqruPVBSP3c-aQxvCvzm4_6hNseORY4EYafQ/s1600/100_4761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2gisde7EEr7A9mLVxK_P8tQ-MD2Z_eBHfU6U8wSAk4MKMb6as9DQpmkglYN9l29CUXjbTaDjY4DDqmTAjVdQylAEX8KLu5Zxyb9u8-KjqruPVBSP3c-aQxvCvzm4_6hNseORY4EYafQ/s200/100_4761.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I photoshopped out the beer and cheesecake, suckers!</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><strong>RACE DAY!!!!!!!!</strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">We jumped out of bed and dressed quickly, shrieking over how cute we looked in our outfits. We headed over to the starting line, where after some confusion, we got into the correct corral and....waited.....to....start....after the anthem and some fireworks, and the first 3 corrals, we were OFF!!! We managed to snag pictures at EVERY mile marker too! Here are some of the best pictures from our run...</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xLueQP51uWkJccJ5jBnecWGdOUXoXTA40SCin3TO0oZQKpbHM20CNw3S1NQUoHNYAhHKD488chlpl82FwGCFwBAAsuV0mu_yG3qk9UT3ZFfntN4GFeI5kTxSUAvACX2DeeZuNmWylKA/s1600/Disneyland+.11+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xLueQP51uWkJccJ5jBnecWGdOUXoXTA40SCin3TO0oZQKpbHM20CNw3S1NQUoHNYAhHKD488chlpl82FwGCFwBAAsuV0mu_yG3qk9UT3ZFfntN4GFeI5kTxSUAvACX2DeeZuNmWylKA/s200/Disneyland+.11+044.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling good...for 5am</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU-gZrhws6TgE-_ETW6CMyNFz2It0UtrzcYRMdugcdxjJWUBhNXjrau52QmX0haEcsQ6EOrKu1H6AqjsabHiD8GbXTZyBHr67NXPWNJRzpoS2oAGduD0amOcyAf4nrBM_SAoZrPG9X9s/s1600/Disneyland+.11+058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU-gZrhws6TgE-_ETW6CMyNFz2It0UtrzcYRMdugcdxjJWUBhNXjrau52QmX0haEcsQ6EOrKu1H6AqjsabHiD8GbXTZyBHr67NXPWNJRzpoS2oAGduD0amOcyAf4nrBM_SAoZrPG9X9s/s320/Disneyland+.11+058.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minnie Mice at the Castle</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEoY5Cj4MaSa8ZnfUq2NokXvVVYNwoYTk7etHFzTGnSy2dEu2dUQHUR0CtJHy9SF26ho94la4MXR06cEJMA3M2G7vlikojHPTGondl275C5axvfOviRXpfjk8rrit8iubvphjd7y2Qjs/s1600/Disneyland+.11+068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEoY5Cj4MaSa8ZnfUq2NokXvVVYNwoYTk7etHFzTGnSy2dEu2dUQHUR0CtJHy9SF26ho94la4MXR06cEJMA3M2G7vlikojHPTGondl275C5axvfOviRXpfjk8rrit8iubvphjd7y2Qjs/s320/Disneyland+.11+068.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this make out butts look FAST?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIvo0VyN1wyCy2KK8mhRZm8y1WJn_8NejeAvoK7j-uYB77ETALCOuf2cG7rPWcBk5MAc745O94dbXnH6dBFc4gT8zqqhy3nnuLzWpzTuBzbiS26aDlhq9DaIujsp5WN3HRjyQBWe-MfU/s1600/Disneyland+.11+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIvo0VyN1wyCy2KK8mhRZm8y1WJn_8NejeAvoK7j-uYB77ETALCOuf2cG7rPWcBk5MAc745O94dbXnH6dBFc4gT8zqqhy3nnuLzWpzTuBzbiS26aDlhq9DaIujsp5WN3HRjyQBWe-MfU/s320/Disneyland+.11+079.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're only smiling because it's almost over...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHJgtDoOWa5b3XvEzI138zC2gNQhxuJRbXnCzsaQrm6BEc-kcdJaPyr2NTd-tj99hYGj7au6v3Exin2_IOhAg9KUgX5SoJmM7yx6oxdlaHemrxn2h_Bna7EgkQUub_ZmyALaHuLRCd4k/s1600/Disneyland+.11+081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHJgtDoOWa5b3XvEzI138zC2gNQhxuJRbXnCzsaQrm6BEc-kcdJaPyr2NTd-tj99hYGj7au6v3Exin2_IOhAg9KUgX5SoJmM7yx6oxdlaHemrxn2h_Bna7EgkQUub_ZmyALaHuLRCd4k/s320/Disneyland+.11+081.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't move out of the finish chute quickly, I need a picture. <br />
And some aspirin please</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHQ-DTSnt_pWJWYs7s0ayumpLUULCVgMtGEx1ym8i9hyphenhyphenl1ZAggEsFymukhYOQVdoJ62lfjka8bPzgf9aVYPzbydQk5kEy1w171U6reSpMHBHB9XhXia_ltF_IOFRW6NiXWQyeMcDjQ9o/s1600/Disneyland+.11+101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHQ-DTSnt_pWJWYs7s0ayumpLUULCVgMtGEx1ym8i9hyphenhyphenl1ZAggEsFymukhYOQVdoJ62lfjka8bPzgf9aVYPzbydQk5kEy1w171U6reSpMHBHB9XhXia_ltF_IOFRW6NiXWQyeMcDjQ9o/s320/Disneyland+.11+101.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COAST TO COAST BLING!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Final time was 2:35:32, which means we were 12 seconds faster than Disneyworld and proves that when I say I only have one running speed, I ain't kidding. I am nothing if not consistent. Plus, since we had run a race at each park, we received the Coast to Coast medal, so we had very satisfying clinking noises as the two medals clanged together on the walk back to the hotel.</span></div><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Post race, we had a quick soak in the hottub before heading to the Angels game for hotdogs, beer and relaxing in the sun. Angels win, and we head back to the park until midnight...then the next day we were at the park from 8am-midnight. Squeezed out every drop of fun, but maybe was a bit too much...I was so sore on the flight home the next day, I had to take the Folkswagon from the gate to customs because I didn't think I could handle the 6 minute walk...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQgsKz-TJI7TuDIAplMfuZs5689VENaS_Jh-06Hk7ZgAjqo4cR3wnb8SpoG4OBhMjeOJgTapBQLueqYkVmGL4Ru4xAvtX-B0WRE62LHKzNT34ZeZQDzuysjSEn5Q8RC93MmL6b8TYm5Y/s1600/Disneyland+.11+107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQgsKz-TJI7TuDIAplMfuZs5689VENaS_Jh-06Hk7ZgAjqo4cR3wnb8SpoG4OBhMjeOJgTapBQLueqYkVmGL4Ru4xAvtX-B0WRE62LHKzNT34ZeZQDzuysjSEn5Q8RC93MmL6b8TYm5Y/s200/Disneyland+.11+107.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post race beer and chili cheese dogs at the Angels game...Angels win!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEd45a_kM2A10kUNZT6rFLgQZT9oLf4TopqG8QzAcahquVtL6-1L9KIghS-gjVe0v9f38rxsHm8FzXq6cw4jGlMCtTAvU677wRUx5sfywiqCVZ4DUvAimtRpKCbDvIkvQ570nZsi2MJo/s1600/Disneyland+.11+115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEd45a_kM2A10kUNZT6rFLgQZT9oLf4TopqG8QzAcahquVtL6-1L9KIghS-gjVe0v9f38rxsHm8FzXq6cw4jGlMCtTAvU677wRUx5sfywiqCVZ4DUvAimtRpKCbDvIkvQ570nZsi2MJo/s200/Disneyland+.11+115.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually, yes, we DID plan the outfits--Twins game, get it??</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_fmsWog9Cxo4MU5zOj8P0Is9RVgnfK-zXBFrBtZ3teB3aWuOEWVl2HAcID5-8OjK4FhgxgH0bqkW9esck_FZBakx-A4Y218LZUli5wkpMqvS8hJ7PkpVOAccDtvovzHpxeb9Xg3FmHQ/s1600/Disneyland+.11+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_fmsWog9Cxo4MU5zOj8P0Is9RVgnfK-zXBFrBtZ3teB3aWuOEWVl2HAcID5-8OjK4FhgxgH0bqkW9esck_FZBakx-A4Y218LZUli5wkpMqvS8hJ7PkpVOAccDtvovzHpxeb9Xg3FmHQ/s200/Disneyland+.11+137.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fairy Godmother flies coast to coast too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xqQb2lH78Pc7V5AluOOrL_uPWy-cBH1PIh2ld93iPhi2ETNVE88Bbwbnt9celKvQzt6roK0MroS9H5yGABXJ2OqmcRwvPq4raGxBSSL772fvyKGtrqQ1vybgCtgo7TjenubigHfqh7I/s1600/100_4754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xqQb2lH78Pc7V5AluOOrL_uPWy-cBH1PIh2ld93iPhi2ETNVE88Bbwbnt9celKvQzt6roK0MroS9H5yGABXJ2OqmcRwvPq4raGxBSSL772fvyKGtrqQ1vybgCtgo7TjenubigHfqh7I/s320/100_4754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best. Day. EVER!!!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">We had an awesome time, the weather was great, and all the new stuff at Disney was amazing (World of Color, Star Tours, Little Mermaid, Captain EO coming back) and the race was great. </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Our New Years resolution was to complete four half marathons in 2011, so we have one to go...</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406909954989326857.post-60430510364551620132011-09-01T13:07:00.011-06:002011-09-01T13:16:26.340-06:00Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to Disney we go!<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's the glamour life for me...I returned home from Mexico late last night and today I'm doing laundry and repacking my bag for Disney leaving tomorrow morning, HURRAY! <span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Am already checked in and since half my travel stuff was already packed, I basically have to just swap out beach coverups for running shoes and make sure I remember to pack painkillers and bodyglide <a href="http://www.bodyglide.com/">(which isn't as creepy as it sounds</a><span style="color: blue;">)</span><a href="http://./"><span style="color: blue;">.</span></a></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just don't call me Dopey!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you're wondering, I did not get to enjoy any sunrise running along the beach on this trip to Mexico. But the schedule did call for "tapering", easily the best part of training for a long race. Tapering means total rest for your legs, no running at all for the week before a race because the rest will get your body all ready for a long run. And, oh, how I tapered in Mexico! Now, I don't think the athletic community means "sit your Hawaiian Tropic bottom down on a lounger for 8 hours a day while sucking back any blended drink that wanders by" and ending every day with room service club sandwich with fries please regardless of whether you were actually hungry or not. But I think every athlete is unique and requires slight modifications to best suit their lifestyle and this was definitely mine! Hopefully my diligence pays off on Sunday!</span>PrincessFlisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13346635006875847752noreply@blogger.com0