of sleep and sweat

(and a cool giveaway...you just have to read through all of my rambling first to get there)

So, guess what? I've finally gotten back to running as much as I talk about running. Ha! This week will be the first week I've logged over 30 miles of just running since November. (And according to dailymile, I also ran a martahon that week, so I'm not sure that really counts as consistency, haha.) And not to mention 3 of those days this week were biking and swimming. So who do I have to thank for the energy to get the work done? Two little toddler men.

You see, a crazy thing has happened here in the G-T household. Something I daydreamed of, fondly remembering from what felt like a lifetime ago. Something I not so quietly envied of others. Something I thought I would never see again.

Until now.

And I hate to tell you all about it, for fear of jinxing my luck, but frankly I still believe it's too good to be true, so here it is:

My kids are sleeping through the night.

And no, not the "new parent sleeping through the night" which refers to about 4-5 hours, we are talking adult standards here. As in, I put my kids to bed at 8 pm (they willingly go!) and they don't make a peep until 8 am. And it feels like heaven. I am sleeping, actually SLEEPING, sprawled out across my very own, toddler free bed, for 8 hours a night. And all it took was a major renovation of our house and bedroom assignments. Turns out I have one kid that will fall asleep anytime and anywhere, and another one (the baby) who has set a very rigid sleep routine, and when it's time for bed, gives you a dirty "GET OUT OF MY ROOM NOW" look. Huh.

No more trying not to fall asleep in class! No more feeling too utterly exhausted to train! This is FANTASTIC! Well, except, there is a tiny predicament I've been facing with this new schedule. I set my alarm for somewhere around 5:30 am to try and squeeze my workouts in before the kids are up and before I have to go to school. But when that darn alarm goes off, I just don't want to get out of my nice warm cozy bed. I don't want to give up this fabulous thing I've FINALLY been reconnected with-sleep! (ducking from the evil glares of sleep deprived new moms and dads everywhere). I know it sounds crazy but in some ways it's easier to get out of bed when you don't sleep much, because you've come to accept the fact that you just aren't going to get more than 4 or 5 interrupted hours a night. You deal with it, because frankly it's more painful to try and fight the exhaustion. But now, when no one other than a little piece of obnoxiously beeping technology, is telling me to get out of bed, it's hard to fight of the "just 30 more minutes won't hurt anyone" mentality.

Except to bring this blog post full circle, it hurts my training. Ok the sleep HELPS my training, the sleeping in hurts my training. One way to find the motivation to get up off your butt is knowing it's now or never. Now that my training is getting a little more intense it's getting harder to squeeze it between classes or take the kids with me. Yasso 800's with the jogger aren't as fun as they used to be, now that it feels like the tots have gained a good 20lbs between the two of them. But when the bed is so warm and cozy....oh man it's so hard to get up!

So to fight this awful alarm clock turmoil, I've got to dig deep. Deep down into that piece of me that wants a marathon PR more than anything. The part of me that finally wants to put in the time and effort to properly train for a full marathon, so I'm not hobbling/shuffling/walking along around mile 20 thinking "oh look, I half assed my way through another one!". Last week I came across this quote: "Before you make it to the finish, you have to make it to the start" and it really struck a chord with me. Lately, I've been full of little quotes that give me a good kick in the rear every time I repeat them to myself. Another one, care of Coach Ed via Gina by way of my sister Holly's Team Z triathlon team..."Trust in the Training". That one works really well when I'm grumbling to myself "zone 2 sucks".

But the one that now kicks me out of bed in the morning comes by way of a neat little company called "inperspire". Inperspire makes little gym towels with awesome sayings on them. Something so simple, but so motivating. When Dana with inperspire contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I'd like to try one out and review it, I said of course. I looked around at their site and picked this one:



And unfortunately, I can't review how well this towel wicks away sweat or keeps me motivated in the gym. Because I tacked that sucker on the wall directly across from my bed. And I can tell you, it has done a great job at getting my butt out of bed and ready to run when the everyone else, including the sun, are still fast asleep.

Motivation is EVERYWHERE my friends! And have no fear, the little towel is not destined for a life of wall tapestry, I'm taking it to transition at my first triathlon (23 days, ack!)

Dana graciously offered to give away one of these cool towels, with design of your choice, to one of my readers. They are 16"x25", 100% cotton, and come in 28 unique designs/sayings.

So you want to win? Go to http://www.inperspire.com/ and tell me, in a comment here, which design you would pick. For a bouns entry, leave a separate comment with a quote/saying/motivator that you would like to see on a towel. Bonus entry # 2, tweet, blog, facebook, whatever a link to this contest, and let me know. Contest ends next Sunday at midnight, and I'll randomly draw a winner Monday 4/5/10 (one week). Good luck!

Happy running, stay motivated!

Coach envy

Dear friends at Garmin Ltd.,

In March of 2007, I ditched that Nike+ sensor that died in less than a month for a Garmin Forerunner 305. As brand new runner, having just crossed the threshold from "new mommy trying to loose some weight" to "wow, I really like this running stuff", it was a huge leap of faith on a pricey purchase. But from that very first run with my Garmin, I never, ever second guessed my purchase.

Garmin, shortly thereafter named "Coach Garmin" and I have been through a lot together. From my first age group award at a local 5k, all the way to my first marathon, and all of the training in between. Then came marathon #2, 3, and 4. And lets not forget the day I wore Garmin to work, to see just how far I walked back and forth all day as a waitress at a tiny outdoor cafe (5.41 miles in a 4.5 hour shift). Coach Garmin and I have had our ups (holy cow did I just run a 6:46 first mile of this 5k?) to our downs (quit beeping at me, I KNOW I'm not in the right heart rate zone) and through it all, we've been a team.

Until the last few months.

You see, I've been wanting a little bit more from my running. Someone to push me, and to tell me exactly what workout to do on what day so that I can finally finish my first triathlon and maybe, just maybe, achieve these Boston Marathon qualifying dreams. So I hired a running/triathlon coach.

And that my friends, is where this fairytale takes a turn. It seems that Coach Garmin is quite jealous of Coach Jeff. I know it sounds silly, but really, I can't think of any other explanation for recent events. Let me dive into this drama a little further...

Coach Jeff and I had a rough start. Well really, it was all me. Two toddlers, full time course load at school, work, studying, and just life in general got the best of me. I skipped more workouts than I completed. There were a few times when I got on a little bit of a roll, and it always seemed like something happened to Coach Garmin. It wouldn't upload. The heart rate reading went progressively down as my workout intensity went higher (as much as I'd love to have a heart rate of 38 bmp while spinning my butt off on the bike, I had a feeling Coach Garmin was lying to me). But then, I'd fall off of Coach Jeff's training plan, and Coach Garmin was back to acting like nothing ever happened.

Well, after two weeks of being completely out of the game, I'm finally back. Back with avengance. I want to reach my goals more than I ever have before, no matter how much work it takes. And as if the timing could be any worse, I think Coach Garmin just broke up with me.

Today's workout called for a ten mile progressive run. Last night before bed, I programed the workout and charged Coach Garmin until he told me he was complete (oh how you complete me too Coach Garmin!). I spent a long day at school, and coerced my little sister to come babysit so I could squeeze in my run before the sun went down. I was on cloud nine, ready to go when I turned Coach Garmin on and....BEEP BEEP- LOW BATTERY. Huh? How is this possible? I charged you all night Coach Garmin! YOU told ME that you were fully charged! OK OK, thanks to daylight savings time, I realized I had an extra hour to spare of sunlight. I plugged Coach Garmin back in, who told me he was charging again, and left the room.

The next two hours went something like this:

Coach Garmin refused to accept a charge for a good 30 minutes. I sweet talked him into it. An hour later, I had just enough to run on. We took off, not 30 seconds into the run, Garmin started the back talk. "Oh yeah, well my memory is full. You have to delete your previous workouts if we are going to go anywhere today". *sigh* Yes Coach, whatever you say. Deleted runs, went on our way. About halfway through the planned workout, I barely, I mean BARELY brush Coach Garmin against my hip and *BEEP BEEP* starting new lap! WHAAAAT? We haven't even gotten halfway through this 3 mile set! UGGH ! So I spend the remaining 45 minutes of my run guessing, and ignoring Coach Garmins incessant beeps letting me know I'm in the wrong heart rate zone. I know smart ass, you are the one who had to be so touchy today! Stick with the plan!!

And now, we are home. I've tried for the past hour to coerce Coach Garmin into a) accepting a charge and b) uploading anywhere-Garmin connect, Dailymile, Garmin Training Center. Nothing, nothing, nada. No device found. Anytime I put him in his little charging pod, he turns on automatically and starts beeping. Low battery! No satellite! I KNOW ALREADY, JEESH! I turn him off, he turns back on. Off, ON! No...off-ON!

So here we are. Coach Garmin knows that I already blew this years running funds on registration fees for marathon #5 and #6, and triathlon #1 and #2, as well as a bunch of other fun runs in between. Oh yeah, and that new road bike that I'd been saving up for for years now. He knows that I can not replace him. I think if he did fear for his place in my heart and knew I'd kick him to the curb for that sharp looking 310XT if I could he wouldn't be acting up with such resentment and attitude.

So, friends at Garmin Ltd....any suggestions on how to deal with a jealous, ornery Forerunner? I could use any advice you might have. Because I've run out of ideas. And he just beeped at me, again.

Thanks a bunch,

Heather

p.s. if he keeps it up, his days are numbered. You hear that?? Next ice bath is YOURS Coach Garmin!!

(nothing says RUNNING MOM like an ice bath full of toys...)

A saga of the closed pool

Monday morning, 11:30 a.m. I paced back and forth in my own house. Laundry was folded, dishes were done, the house in a rare state of clean. Even the kids were busy with "kids only" playtime, according to the toddler in charge. I looked at the time on my phone for what felt like the millionth time that morning. 11:31. Rich was still fast asleep. The night before, baby Kain had put up a protest and was wide awake from 3:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m. It was my turn to be the lucky parent, and I got to sleep. Rich chased the crazy kid around until daylight, and crashed around 8:00 a.m when I awoke to take over the parental duties.

11:35. The debate inside my head was raging. Don't wake him up. Wake him up. Don't wake him up, he needs rest too. Wake him up, you need an endorphin fix in the worst way. Don't wake him you crazy addict. Wake him up, for goodness sake, if you don't get in a workout before you face the hoards of spring breakers wielding fake ID's at work tonight you know you'll have a one way ticket to the psych ward. Don't wake him up, you s....Heeeey, Rich is up!!! Look kids, Daddy's awake!!

All of my inner voices let out a collective sigh of relief.

Last week physically knocked me out of the game. The week before mentally knocked me out. My training plan was pretty much shot , I had more than one "where did you and what are you doing" email from coach, and I felt like giving up. Yeah, I said it. In a moment of weakness (more like withdrawal), I questioned my sanity. But as soon as I started feeling back to normal, my sanity returned. You know, the sanity that makes things like a 140.6 mile triathlon seem like a swell idea, and the sanity that wishes I had the guts to attempt a 100 mile ultra like my friend Tara. In other words, the version of sane that others roll their eyes at, haha.

My training plan (being repeated for week #3, since I've been so slack) called for a swim. So I packed up my gear, and with the blessing of Rich and the boys (who could care less where I was going, it was lunch time and there was Pirate Booty involved) I headed to the pool.

I was pumped the entire car ride to campus. Rocking out to the music (I love car karaoke!) and envisioning a strong, solid swim workout. I needed this, and it was going to be fantastic! I was practically dancing on cloud nine, when I walked up to the door of the gym and saw the big yellow sign:

"Pool Closed until Sunday 3/21"

What. The. Fartlek.

I don't know why, denial perhaps but I walked inside to confirm with the girl behind the desk that this was true. It was true. There was no hidden exception for my desperate situation. There I stood, at the gym in flip flops and a bathing suit, with no pool to take my non-training frustration out on, and no backup plan. I calmly turned around and headed back to my car, but threw a toddler worthy temper tantrum in my head.

I proceeded to head to Walmart, my planned trip for AFTER my swim, to pick up a few items we needed, such as milk and staples for the staple gun (never a dull moment in my house). I stomped around the store, angry that I started ANOTHER week of training off on the wrong foot, angry that the workout gods seemed out to get me, and angry that I was stomping around walmart in my over sized hoodie, neon green shorts and neon orange flip flops, looking a hot mess. Now, post workout I would have skipped through the aisles, not caring in the slightest about my frightful appearance. Laugh all you want, wal-mart shoppers, I'm training for a triathlon, I'm pretty kick butt. But two weeks without working out has left me feeling awkward, and now I was more self concious than a 7th grader with a massive zit.

I got the necessities, and found my way home. As soon as I stepped in the door Rich took one look at my face and asked what happened. I told him the pool was closed, and launched into a huge shpeal about how I just can't catch a break. Without skipping a beat Rich said "Baby, go for a run". Does this man know me or what? When I first started running, I wished that he was was a runner to. I tried to convert him (still occasionally do) to no avail. But as the years have passed, I've realized having my partner be 100% supportive of my running is way more important than sharing the passion. I am so grateful.

So I ran. And I ran and I ran. And it sucked, sucked, sucked. It's amazing how much fitness you can lose in a mere 2 weeks. Last month I was whining about my zone 2 runs being so slow. Now, I was sucking wind and feeling lethargic at an almost 10 minute per mile pace, normally painfully slow for me. I hated just about every second of it, until it was done. 4.5 miles later I sat down on my back deck to stretch, and felt the euphoria that is the runners high start to creep up on me. And just like that, everything was alright in my world once again.

I really think it's no coincidence that I ran my first race just before having kids. As if God knew I needed this. I know I'd still be a good mom without running. I'd get the job done, no doubt about it. But those endorphins, those miles and that hour alone out there...they just make the job so much easier!

Today I hit the pool a day late. I was dreading it, I'm not going to lie. I haven't been in the pool in quite sometime. But it went surprisingly well. My body is weak but it's rested, and so is my mind. I fell into a zone and just swam. 1450 yards, and consecutively swam 300-the length of my first tri. It was a huge confidence booster, one desperately needed. I'm ready for this.

33 days until my very first triathlon. Game ON my friends.

in the dog house

Becoming a mom and becoming a runner happened pretty much at the same point in my life. Going back to school happened very shortly there after. Rowen, my oldest, was only about 8 or 9 weeks old when I went for my first run that eventually led to this madness. People often ask me how I juggle everything, but the truth is, I really don't know any other way. Since it's become a big part of my life, running has always been something that gets scheduled around nap times or classes, is sometimes dependant on babysitters or final exams, and often includes jogging strollers, sippy cups, or showing up to class drenched in sweat. I can not even fathom the life of an elite/professional athlete, whose training and job are one in the same. (I am, however, still holding out for that sponsor looking for a middle of the pack mom to travel the country in her 50 states marathon quest and document it on this bright pink blog. Don't worry, I haven't quit my day job yet)

I like to think that I do a good job balancing my life given the circumstances (working, working on my degree, and chasing my crazy toddlers) I often hear "don't forget to slow down and take time for yourself", and believe me I do. It's just that my version of slowing down is in a pair of Nikes at a 9:40 min/mile pace. I'm telling you it doesn't get more relaxing than that! So while I like to think that I do a pretty good job of balancing my life, I've always secretly wondered when and if I would crash and burn. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one wondering.

Well my friends, the time is here. Who placed their bet for the week of March 7-13th 2010? Congratulations, it finally happened. My body has utterly rebelled. Who knew the wonderfully magical world of Disney would be to blame? And yes, I blame them and their ridiculous wake up calls for their irresistible races, haha. Four days in a row of 4 hours or less of sleep (two days for races, two days for driving) caused my immune system to go on strike, and now I'd like to self diagnose myself with the flu. A couple days of puking, a couple days of fever and chills, and now a general feeling of crap. Maaaybe the two weeks of school before the race, where I was freaking out about a paper or test on just about every day of the week had something to do with it.

And to add insult to injury? I MISS RUNNING. I miss training. I've fallen SO far behind on my training schedule that coach is probably going to have to repeat this week's schedule for the 3rd week in a row. That is if we don't just have to go back to square one. I couldn't have gotten sick during one of those weeks when I felt mentally burnt out and just needed a break from training. Nooooo. Instead, I get sick on a week when I'm mentally burnt out and desperately need to run to clear my mind. And did I mention, it's kinda nice outside lately?

What's more, I start to think about my very first triathlon, 5 weeks away, and I start to panic. A mere 300 yards in the swimming pool still scares the crap out of me.

Ugh.

Don't worry, I am listening to my body. Despite the fact that my dailymile profile weekly training chart is starkly white and blank, I've been sitting around on the couch with my babies, catching up on my Wonder pets and Spongebob Squarepants (or Sponge Bob Yellow Rectangle, as my 3 year old prefers to call him). While I did manage to shuffle in, un-showered and totally disheveled, for a few classes, I did suck up my guilt and skip a few days worth of school and work. But oddly enough, even though I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck, the lack of chaos is driving me crazy. I think I have a wandering running spirit, it hates to be tied down.

Times like these are to be remembered on those perfect days when everything fall into place.

Run strong and stay healthy my friends. Not even magical Disney Tinkerbell fairy dusted princesses are immune from burn out.

Oh, and if you are wondering why I'm in the dog house...I forgot my blog's anniversary. One year ago yesterday. Sorry blog. I didn't get you anything.

2010 Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend

Well I might as well go ahead and warn you that this isn't really a blog post, so much as the preliminary manuscript to my new book "why I will always pay whatever Disney asks of me just for the opportunity to run through their castle". Just kidding (about the book, not forking over the money), but what I mean is, it's a long post. Grab a drink, don't forget your homework and use the bathroom, because I'm not turning this car around.

heh.

My 52 hours in Disney World were amazing, despite the fact that Mother Nature basically laughed in my face about the previous blog post begging for warm weather. At least it didn't rain (or snow).

The drive was uneventful, and I arrived in the hotel lobby just in time to receive a phone call from my sister saying "I just watched you answer your phone" as the bus carrying her and my mom rolled up. I promise it wasn't as creepy as that sounds, haha. They got off the bus and we jumped up and down for a few seconds in the lobby with the "we're in Disney world!!!!" song and dance. We checked in, met up with my awesome running mom pal Bethany and her mom, and headed to the Fit for a Princess expo.

Let me just say, I am far from a girly girl. I've always been a bit of a tom boy, and only break out the makeup on the occasional night on the town or wedding. I'm lucky if I wear a dress twice a year. But when it comes to running-watch out. I can't get enough pink or running skirts, oddly enough. So needless to say, I had a field day at this expo. The race shirts in the packets were ok...

... buuuttt I did pick up a few more things!

Actually the bag and *hot* pink socks were part of the half marathon packet. I swear my world (blog and dailymile page included) are starting to turn so pepto-bismol pink I'm not sure what's coming over me lately! That's Kain in the top right hand corner. He did not come in the race packet.

Friday night I met up with a handful of moms from the cafemom running group. These girls were awesome, I felt like I was spending the night chatting over drinks with old friends. What an amazing opportunity that we finally got to meet! I am certain that it won't be the last time.

Saturday morning the alarm went off early, about 3:50 to be exact. Mom, Holly, and I donned our running gear and headed out in the freezing (ok, slightly above freezing, but still in the 30's) cold to hang out for a few hours at the race start for the Royal Family Princess and the Frog 5k. It would be my moms first 5k race and we were all very excited for her.

What wasn't so exciting, was the fact that it was cold. I know I know, some of you scoff at high 30 degree temps. But after all, we were in FLORIDA in MARCH. Forgive me for having warmer expectations, haha. I shivered my way through the start, and then Holly and I walked my momma to the finish of her first race. Of course I stopped to cheese for the camera as often as possible. Seriously I have so many pictures from this weekend it was hard to choose just a few to share!

Did I mention both of my sisters were there? Real-life little sister Cathy was registered for the 5k but wasn't able to make it down to Florida. So big sister Holly brought a fill in, lovingly referred to as "Cathy on a stick". Cathy on a stick caught the attention of many people, including Creigh Kelley, the emcee of the Disney races. We had a little chat with Creigh and the video cameras, and when he asked my mom if she was proud of her daughters she said "Actually, I'm pretty darn proud of myself right now, I just finished my first race!" I love it!

I have to say my only complaint about this weekend (besides of course, the weather) was the 5k shwag. I've seen the other 5k race medals, the 3D rubber/foam ones, and they are really cute. This one...well not to sound like a medal snob, haha,but it looks like something they give you for free at Blockbuster video. There was even an advertisement on the back of the medal. Come on Disney!! ( I added the pins. I am telling you, Disney could sell ice to an Eskimo, and my life didn't feel complete until I had a Figment dragon pin, haha)

Since this is a running blog, I'll spare you the minute by minute details of our day in Disney world. It was SO fun. But I will tell you , if you are going to Disney, try and make reservations for the Spirit of Aloha Dinner show at the Polynesian village resort. Despite the fact that I froze my booty off (outdoor show at night!) it was amazing!

The only thing I wouldn't recommend about the luau is going to the 8:00 show the night before a Disney race. Because we didn't make it back to the hotel until almost midnight...and the alarm clock went off at 3:00 am. I was TIRED.

But we woke up, donned our tutus and tiaras, and hopped on the bus around 3:30 a.m. Gotta love it. So you know how I mentioned it was cold for the 5k start? Well it was even COLDER for the half marathon start. I had on an underarmour cold weather gear long sleeve, a hooded sweatshirt, and a mylar space blanket, and I was still shivering like mad. If we were all lost in the woods, I'd be the one you'd have to eat for dinner, as I probably wouldn't make it through the night. I hate being cold. We stood around and chatted with some other runners, all while I felt like an idiot for forgetting my bright pink dailymile sign. Sorry ladies!

Eventually we wandered our way to our corrals, and I couldn't believe where I wound up. Maybe about 15 feet from the starting line? Seriously, only in a Disney race, or a local 5k containing less than 150 people can that happen. Apparently a sub-2 hour half marathon makes you a speed demon in this magical kingdom. Just as I was working up the courage to ditch my layers for the start, someone walked up to me and asked if I was Heather. Turns out it was Holly (not my sister, another Holly) from the cafemom running group! It was crazy that in the sea of 14,000 runners , all wearing pink and tutus, that we found each other. I knew Holly and I shared the same pace, and I was instantly happy to have a running partner.

Here's a video of the magical start. You can see how ridiculously close to the start I was (and I love when the fairy godmother says "That way, keep going..." as if anyone questioned?!?)

It was about a half mile into the run when we spotted a pirate ship and Captain Jack Sparrow. Instantly Holly and I merged to the side of the road to stop for a photo. I think it was at that point we both decided "screw a P.R. this is going to be a fun race". Alas, the captain was whisked away before we could get in a photo with him. No idea why they did that, it wasn't like he had been out there more than 5 minutes. So we got back on the road and kept running. It was around this point that my tiara fell off and smashed into pieces on the ground. Oops.

We then proceeded to stop at just about EVERY SINGLE character we came across for pictures, no matter how long the line. It was so fun. I'm telling you, the second you enter Disney property, it's like you revert back to 6 years old. Magical! I even stopped looking at Garmin or even caring about my pace. We stopped for pictures, water, and porta potties with no concern as to how long they were taking. Around mile 4, a woman came up on my right and said "I know this is going to sound weird, but are you Heather?" Of course it didn't sound weird, I posted my race outfit days before online for the whole world to see, haha! It was Christine, yet another mom from the cafemom's running group. We ran together for a mile or two, and then she ran ahead when we entered the Magic Kingdom and started getting picture crazy!

Let me tell you...the freezing cold weather, the ridiculously early wake up call, the hours you have to sit around waiting for the start, and the fact that 3/4 of this race is run on boring access roads...it ALL disappears the second you round the corner of that parking lot and enter into the magic kingdom. People line the sides of streets as far as the eyes can see cheering for you, and you have views like this:

Like I said, you revert back to your 6 year old self and it's just magical! Holly and I stopped and waited for pictures with everyone, and at one point, even ran backwards for a photo op. That one pissed of my Garmin for sure. Here are just a few of the pictures from the race.

We found Captain Jack on the way back through!!

The furthest I have run in a long time is 9 miles, so around mile marker 11 my legs did start to get a bit sore. Regardless, I couldn't believe how fast this race went by. We approached the 13 mile marker and I thought to myself "SERIOUSLY? It's over already?" That's why I don't have more to say about this race. Because, it went by so fast, I hardly remember anything. I felt like I frolicked through the course, haha.

Of course we had to stop for one last photo right before the finish line ....

Our time was 2:20:55. FAR from a *time* PR, about 22 minutes off to be exact (for me). But if there is such thing as a *fun* PR, this race takes the prize. This was one of those races that reminded me why I LOVE to run. 13 seemingly effortless miles. Who doesn't love that? Just another reminder of how far I've come. And a reminder of why I love this sport, and that it's not ALWAYS about the time.

Holly and I collected our medals, which were beautiful! Thanks to Bethany for this picture (I totally stole it off her facebook page, my medal is already covered in toddler fingerprints, haha).

We meandered around getting snacks and stuff, and then I met up with my mom in the ChEar section just in time to see Holly come across the finish line. The sun was starting to warm me up (finally) and we were set for a beautiful day in Florida (finally!) Another successful half marathon, complete!

I absolutely HATED that I had to leave so soon. I'm counting down the days until we go back...2013 we are going to "Dopey" - that's the new term apparently for adding the 5k to the Goofy Challenge. For those of you not in the know, that means Friday-5k, Saturday-half marathon, Sunday- full marathon. I can't WAIT! In fact, I wonder if I can really wait another 3 years before going back. Tower of Terror 13k next year? hmmm.....

Have a magical day my friends, run like a princess!

And you're to blame...

Dear Mother Nature,

I really hate to point fingers, but I seem to be noticing a trend. A weather trend. One that seems to be coupling highly anticipated races with crappy weather. I hate to come at you with such heavy accusations, but I was told Jim Cantore isn't at fault, so basically that leaves, well, you.

If you recall, the Myrtle Beach half marathon this year was canceled due to a snowstorm. Heather's birthday 5k yesterday? POURING rain and just hovering in the 30's over the freezing mark. I didn't get a chance to run. On my birthday. Not how I wanted to start year #28 but it is what it is. But last week on a scheduled day off from exercise? Beautiful sunshine and warm weather. *sigh* Mother nature, what gives? Did I do something to upset you? Was it the Styrofoam cup I had on Monday? I know it's bad for your ozone and all, but Chik-fil-A doesn't give me any other options. I became weak in my moment of thirst, I'll bring my own cup next time, I swear.

I'm sorry, I really am. Just hear me out for a minute. I keep hearing from my Florida friends that the weather forecast for the HIGHLY anticipated (by me) Disney Princess half marathon this weekend might be less than ideal March in Florida weather. I've heard "bring pants" more than once today. It's not what I've been wanting to hear.

And speaking of pants, my new Sugoi Piston 200 compression tights showed up on my doorstep today (thank you Sugoi!). But the problem is, I can't tell where compression ends and "face it these pants are too small" begins. Really, it's an odd situation, you'd have to see it to believe it (though I'm not quite sure you'd actually want to...) Like the legs are *tight* but tight in the good compression way. My hips, well, let's just say these babies are storing a semester and a half's worth of comfort food, and there is a little more to compress here than in my legs. I put them on for a good 30 minutes to see if I lost circulation anywhere. My feet were still warm and fully functioning, so I figure they are OK. However, sitting in them, welllll that's a whole different story. Now I imagine how Jon Bon Jovi (also shared a birthday with me yesterday) must have felt in the 80's. These are certainly comparable to those jeans you have to lay on the bed to put on, maybe even use a pair of pliers to zip up, no doubt about it. Let's just say they give muffin top a bad name (bad name!!).

OK I see you aren't laughing at the bad Bon Jovi reference. The point is, I'd really love to wear *shorts* under my kick princess booty tutu, mainly because I'm still debating the fate of the compression tights. I'd hate to be forced to wear them and risk cutting off blood supply to my small intestines.

Yeah, yeah, I have other tights to wear, I'm just trying to make a point.

PLEASE, PLEASE, oh PLEAAASE I'm pleading with you, can it NOT be freezing at 4:00 am when we are required to sit around in the corrals and wait for the start? Really, I don't know why Disney forces us to sit in a cold parking lot for 2 hours before the race start. I don't question their magical authority. I just want to have a memorable (in the good way) fun race, meet up with my awesome running mamas and dailymilers, and not sit there shivering my (not so little, according to the compression tights) butt off.

Anyway, thanks for your consideration Mother Nature. I promise to never skip the recycling bin ever again. And now, I'm off to plant a tree in your name.

Love always,
Heather (who really just wants to see the *warm* sunshine!)