Fitness Update - Week 34

Sunday September 21--Fitbit log 2,394 steps

Monday September 22--Fitbit log 0 steps

Tuesday September 23-- 2.80 miles 42:35 (LS) Fitbit log 6,708 steps

Wednesday September 24--Fitbit log 5,385 steps

Thursday September 25-- 2.69 miles 40:28 min (LS) Fitbit log 6,432 steps

Friday September 26-- Fitbit log 4,460 steps

Saturday September 27--Fitbit log 1,574 steps

Fitness Recap - Week 33

Sunday September 14--Fitbit log 4,166 steps

Monday September 15--1.0 mile 19:55 min (LS) Fitbit log 12,395 steps

Tuesday September 16-- Fitbit log 5,667 steps

Wednesday September 17--2.0 miles 35:07 min (LS) Fitbit log 9,957 steps

Thursday September 18-- 1.0 mile 19:55 min (LS) Fitbit log 5,714 steps

Friday September 19-- Fitbit log 4,362 steps

Saturday September 20--3.0 miles 47:35 min (LS) Fitbit log 9,579 steps

Disneyland Tips & Tricks

My favorite vacation place to visit is Disneyland in California.  I have been there many times throughout my life.  I am often asked questions about Disneyland.  For example, what hotels do I recommend, what time of year do I usually go, how to make the most of the days in the parks, etc.  So I thought I would add a series about my Disneyland Tips & Tricks for anyone who might be interested.  This is only my opinion and I am not affiliated with Disney or any Disney travel sites. 

The first part of my series will be the best times to go from my experience.

Least crowded times

September:  Once school has started and after the Disneyland Half Marathon which is usually the last weekend in August and sometimes runs into September.  There will be a few rides closed since they tend to do maintenance during the off season.  Haunted Mansion will be closed as they prepare it for Haunted Mansion Holiday.  If you go later in September you may start to see the Halloween decorations as well. 

May:  The first part of May before school ends. 

January:  Avoid January 1st but the rest of the month is not crowded.  There will be a few rides closed as they take down the holiday decorations:  Haunted Mansion and It's A Small World

Other good months:  February, March (Avoid Easter weekend if it falls in March) April (Again avoid Easter weekend if it falls in April)

Least crowded during the Holidays.  My favorite time to go to Disneyland is during the Holidays. 

October:  If you enjoy Halloween go at the beginning of the month.  It gets more crowded the closer you get to Halloween.  As I mentioned above you can sometimes see the Halloween decorations at the end of September as well. 

November and December:  They usually start decorating for Christmas the second week of November.  This is also one of the best times to go.  Day after Veteran's Day to the week before Thanksgiving is the best time for November.  December 1-December 17 is best for the month of December but avoid the first weekend in December when they do the Candlelight Processional.  It is packed that weekend.  It is a really neat thing to see though if you can get in.

Times to Avoid if possible

June, July and August:  It is packed in the parks during the summer.  Yes, you can still enjoy yourself but plan to stand in line and plan to be hot. 

Holidays:  New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Long school break weekends or weeks:  UEA (Utah Education Association Break) and Arizona's education break tend to be pretty crowded weekends.  They often fall at the same time.

Race Weekends:  You can go to the runDisney website to find out when they have Race Weekends.  It gets very crowded during these weekends as all of the out of town runners stay in the parks.  I was there recently August 29-September 1.  It was packed.  I have never seen the parks that crowded before but I have also never been in the middle of summer.  I don't like to go when it is crowded.  I still had a lot of fun while I was there because I have learned a few tricks on how to enjoy the parks when it is crowded.  In one of my later posts I will share these tricks since I understand that not everyone can go during the off-season times due to children in school, time off of work, etc. 

I hope this helps a little with your planning.  My favorite time to go is November 12-November 20 because the Christmas décor is usually up or will be by the end of that time and it is not crowded.  The weather is also usually perfect this time of year.  My second favorite time to go is in April either before or after Easter break.   Stay tuned for more tips and tricks.

Fitness Recap - Week 32

The first half of the week I was still recovering.  My blister was finally starting heal.  My legs were no longer sore and I could walk up and down the stairs like normal again.  Finally on Wednesday I decided to try a long walk again.  I had to cut it a little short because my foot started to hurt but it felt good to be out again.  I did a short walk indoors on Thursday and then I went back out on Saturday for a shorter walk again.  I am hoping that next week I can get back to my normal workout schedule and add on my new fitness plans which include a new eating plan and some cross training.   

Sunday September 7-- Fitbit log 4,940 steps

Monday September 8--Fitbit log 7,504 steps

Tuesday September 9-- Fitbit log 4,791 steps

Wednesday September 10--1.78 miles 37:44 min (ON) Fitbit log 11,978 steps

Thursday September 11--1.0 mile 20:06 min (LS) Fitbit log  8,583 steps

Friday September 12-- Fitbit log 6,725 steps

Saturday September 13--1.64 miles 31:08 min Fitbit log 11,710 steps

Post Half Marathon Fitness Update

I have decided to continue to post my workout information.  It is a fun way to see my progress and to keep track of my exercise.  I am not currently training for anything.  I am just wanting to get healthy and lose some weight in the process.  I didn't lose as much as I had hoped before my Half Marathon.  I still have a long way to go and I need to step it up.  One day I will probably do another Half and I hope to PR next time.  I plan to do a couple 5Ks and 10Ks first and then I will look at doing another Half.  In the meantime my focus is just to get my weight and health in control.

Sadly because of the horrible blister on my right foot I was not able to maintain my walking like I had hoped.  I stayed in California for a couple days after the race.  We went into Disneyland about 2 hours after I finished the race and I could barely walk.  I knew I needed to keep moving so my legs didn't cramp up so I managed to walk around for several hours before I headed back to my hotel to rest. Monday morning I woke up very sore.  I had to change my plans because walking really hurt.  I went to the store and picked up some band-aids and moleskin and covered my huge blister and the few smaller blisters on the sides of my feet so that I could do a tour of the Queen Mary in Long Beach.  I had planned to go to The Grove in LA later but I was in pain after the tour so I went back to my hotel and just rested again. I watched the fireworks from my hotel room and then fell asleep early.  I slept better than I have in a long time.  Tuesday I went to Disneyland by myself.  It was my personal celebration day.  I was feeling a little better and lasted a little bit longer then the previous day.  I decided to head back to my hotel around 5:00 and pack up to go home the next day. Once I got home I decided that I needed to rest my foot because the blister just wasn't healing.  I stayed off of my feet as much as I could.  I was a little sad because I wanted to get out and walk.  I had hit that runner's high and I didn't want to lose it.  I also knew that the longer I stayed away the harder it would be to get back into the routine.  But it was more important to heal so I stayed off of my feet and decided I could wait a week. 

Sunday August 31-- HALF MARATHON 3:51:02 Fitbit log 50,267 steps

Monday September 1-- Queen Mary Tour Fitbit log 12,353 steps

Tuesday September 2--  Walking around Disneyland Fitbit log 14,653 steps

Wednesday September 3--Fitbit log 5,695 steps

Thursday September 4--Fitbit log 4,442 steps

Friday September 5--Fitbit log 10,121 steps

Saturday September 6--Fitbit log 9,742 steps

Disneyland Half Marathon

I did it!  I finished my first Half Marathon.  What an amazing experience!  I can't believe I actually did it.  It was super hard but it was also very fun.  Sunday morning I woke up at 3:00 am to start getting ready for the race. We had to be to the corrals by 5:15 am because the race started at 5:30.  I was in the very last corral so I didn't actually start until close to 6:30.  I was nervous and excited at the same time.  I got my race outfit on and ate my protein bar and drank some water so I would be hydrated and fueled for the start.  We walked over to the corrals and I went my separate way to the last corral.  The excitement and mood was unlike anything I have ever experienced.  I did my stretches and a little dancing while we waited for our turn to start.  After hearing Let It Go 7 times and hearing the same jokes over and over it was finally Corral J 's turn. 

 

 

We were off and the race began.  I did really well for the first three miles.  We ran through  Downtown Disney and then into California Adventure.  The cast members cheered us on as we ran through.  It was exactly the motivation I needed.  As we entered Disneyland I got even more excited.  I ran through the castle and kept telling myself that I could do this.  As we reached the 5K mark around Big Thunder Mountain I was 4 minutes ahead of the pace and I had run my best 5K ever 51:33.  I was feeling great!  I stopped to get a picture in Toontown with two green army men from Toy Story. 

 

 

We left the parks and headed out the backlot to the streets of Anaheim.  I knew that the one and only big hill was coming up so I prepped myself for it.  As we approached the overpass (THE HILL) I  just repeated to myself: I can do this, I can do this.  It was easier then I thought.  Thank goodness for the training in my hilly neighborhood.  I ran down the other side and continued on.  I was finally at the 10K mark and when I saw my time 1:45:50 I knew I was still ahead of the pace time.  It was my best 10K!  I was still feeling great.  I made it another mile and a half and then I hit the wall.  Around mile 8 1/2 I felt a blister starting on my right foot.  I couldn't stop thinking about it and I started to slow my pace.  We hit mile 9 and I saw the final pacer women right behind me.  I panicked.  We had to stay ahead or right with the pacers or we had a chance of being swept and pulled from the race.  I did not want to be swept so I pushed myself to stay ahead.  I knew I had 1 mile to go and I would be safe.  The pacers had mentioned that at mile 10 they add a little extra time before sweeping anyone.  I started to drag and fell behind the pacers.  I was so nervous but I was also super sore at this point.  I just wanted to give up.  Thankfully right when I needed it we entered Anaheim Stadium.  I absolutely love baseball and the Angels are my second favorite team (Red Sox are my fave.) It was so amazing to be able to run through the stadium.  It was filled with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts cheering us on.  I saw myself on the Jumbo Tron and I picked up the pace.  The 10 mile mark was just outside of the stadium.  I had just barely made it past the last sweeping point so I knew I was cutting it close.  As I left the stadium I could still hear the cheers and I saw mile 10.  I pushed myself to get ahead and thankfully never saw the sweeping flag.  I had made it.  By this point I told myself that I was so close that I was not going to give up.  Around mile 11 my blister was so painful and I could feel it moving between my big and second toes.  I just prayed that I could finish.  I thought about all the people who had been cheering me on at home and throughout the race.  I felt everyone pushing me to finish.  As we approached the parks I knew I could finish the race.  I ran past a woman who was really struggling and ready to sit down.  I pulled her up and said "Don't stop we can do this."  She walked with me for a few minutes and we pushed each other along.  She thanked me and said she would be fine.  She slowed down a little so I went on ahead.  I will never forget the last mile.  We were running through the parking lots and there were cheerleaders from the local high school along the paths cheering as loud as they could.  It was the final motivation I needed.  We got to a crosswalk where people were waiting to get into the parks and they cheered us on.  We were the last group of runners. It was so cool to have people cheer for us and tell us we were so close and that they believed in us.  I just wanted to see the finish line.  I was exhausted and so ready to be done.  I finally rounded the corner and saw the finish.  I really wanted to run across but my right foot was so sore that I just couldn't do it.  As I crossed the finish line I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.  It wasn't until they put the medal around my neck that tears came.  I had finished! I had run/walked 13.1 miles.  It really was an amazing experience.  It was extremely hard and I probably won't be doing a race that long for quite a while. My race time was 3:51:02.  My only goal was to finish but now I have a time goal to work with for any future races. I truly believe that if you can dream it you can do it. Dreams really do come true!  

Training Update - Week 31 Final Training

It's my final week of training before the big day on Sunday.  I cut back so I will be ready for the big race. 

Sunday August 24--  Fitbit log 4,289 steps

Monday August 25-- 2.0 miles 35:14 min Fitbit log 7,648 steps

Tuesday August 26-- 1.0 mile easy walk Fitbit log 6,784 steps

Wednesday August 27--1.0 mile easy walk Fitbit log 6,441 steps

Thursday August 28--Fitbit log  1,129 steps

Friday August 29-- Walking around Disneyland Fitbit log 17,962 steps

Saturday August 30 -- Walking around Disneyland Fitbit log 16,761 steps