Reasons Why We Run: Ice Cream.

Amy and ToniAnn told me that once we finish the half marathon, we can have this dessert. I swear to a higher power, if they try to sweep me, I will sweep the leg...Cobra Kai style.

No one will get between me and this....not even me.... (see what I did there?!)

Mmmm. Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream.

6.2 Miles of Cold, Wind, and FUN!!!

Race Recap: 11/2/2014 Biggest Loser 10K

Waking up at 5am is new to me, but I knew I needed to eat before trying to run my first 10k. This will be the first time that I would try to run this distance. I had everything ready to go. I packed my clothes the night before and made myself a peanut butter sandwich on an English muffin. As I hate my breakfast, I was starting to get nervous and doubt myself that I could do this. It was cold and windy and I knew I would be fine once I started running. Courtney picked me up and we headed to Six Flags Great Adventure. Walking from the car to the big blue tents, I started to get excited. Then, you see this long line to pick up bibs and it was for the 5k. The 10k line was like 3 people deep which then made me think I was crazy. Then, it was time to get my costume on and wait for the start time. We got dressed and headed to the starting line, after taking some pictures of course.

The wind was blowing as the national anthem was sung by the biggest losers own Dan Evans. The race was starting and the excitement came over me.

The first mile seemed like forever because it was a lot of dodging people and trying to find a comfortable groove of a run/walk ratio. Shortly before mile 2 was a water stop and Courtney was behind me. The course was a lot of mud, rocks, and leaves when we weren’t in the theme park. I got to mile 3 and realized that I could not see Courtney anymore and that this was now up to me to motivate myself (which was always really hard.) The 10k course was a double loop so when we got back to the start/ finish line, we had to do the course over again. At this point, my anxiety kicked in that I had 3 more miles to go. I walked a bit to catch my breath and started to focus on my intervals. I have learned that taking a 30 second break to breath and walk is the best thing I can do to keep myself strong.

At this point, not many people were on the second loop because there were not that many people doing the 10k. I felt like I can focus and really clear my head. I had this moment when I didn’t hear my music anymore and I talked to myself a lot.

I had a goal to finish in 1:15 because I wanted to make sure I was under a 15 min mile. Needless to say, my math was WAY off and I have no clue why I messed that up. As my runkeeper app told me that I was at 1 hour, I didn’t think I was going to make my goal so I decided to have some fun. I started dancing and singing and asking siri to play all of my favorite songs. The course took us through the back of the park and at one point, a dozen or so baboons were staring at us running. I crossed the finish line and got a high 5 from Pam Geil from the Biggest Loser and then I didn't want to fall. 

I received my cool medal and all I had to do was wait for Courtney now. I felt myself getting emotional because I felt strong at the end but nothing was as emotional as when I saw Courtney rounding the corner to the finish. I was SO happy for her. We stood in line for pictures and then I saw my time. I finished in 1:18 with an average pace of 12:37 per mile. I did what I set out to do and did better than expected. I now feel confident that with the proper training and dedication, I can do anything.

 XoXo

ToniAnn
@MrsT9 on Instagram

A 10K Through Pictures.

Last Sunday I forced myself to get out of bed at 6:00 AM to get dressed and out of the house to run/walk my first timed race, the Biggest Loser Run/Walk at Great Adventure.

Grumpy Courtney.

Originally I planned on dressing like She-Ra, however the temperature dropped overnight and Sunday turned out to be the coldest day we've had yet this season. She-Ra went out the door and instead I ended up looking a little more Bag Lady Rocky, but that's actually pretty fitting.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

Then I went and picked up ToniAnn, who was dressed like Rainbow Bright and utterly adorable and not grumpy. Not grumpy at all. We arrived and took the obligatory "We are Here!" picture.

We are here!

Then we stood in the cold. That wasn't so fun. Then the race started. That wasn't so fun either, if we are being honest, which I've pledged to always be during this journey. However, it wasn't fun while I was walking/jogging at 10K..so let's keep some perspective. While it pains me to share these, if there aren't pics, it didn't happen, right?!

Ummm...

I really thought...

I was going to magically look amazing while running.

So, that was me running. As you can see, I was yucking it up there out on the course! Just a super positive runner...in my grumpy hat...and huffy face.

However.... I finished!!!!!!!!!!!

So shiny!

When I hit the 5K mark, I saw my time was around 49 minutes. I won't lie, I felt kind of disappointed. I really wanted to be at 45 minutes. That got me down for a bit and then I realized I didn't start exactly when the clock went off, so maybe I had a few minute grace period. My final race time was 1:36. That's not too bad when you consider I haven't really started training hard and this is my starting point. I submitted it to RunDisney and they put me at finishing the 1/2 marathon at 3:31. Also disappointing as the max time is 3:30. However, I need to shake that thinking off.

Vision quests aren't easy. There are hurdles. And I plan to stomp on those mothereffin' hurdles.

More honesty..I have no idea who these people are.
I don't watch the show. Super nice though!

Let me introduce myself!

Well I know that my fabulous girls have introduced and shared their experience on how we all got here! You all know what happened that fated night over boiling pots of cheese and chocolate, PRINCESSES, RUNNING and DISNEY!!! 

So let me tell you about myself. 

My name is Amy! I am a fabulous 43 years old and a mother to 2 amazing boys and Wife to El Jeffe!

So how did we end up signed up for 10K's and half marathons you ask? How did we end up eating 

fondue? How did we end up together?

I can tell you that 2 1/2 years ago on June 23rd 2012 I walked into Weight Watchers at 268 lbs and ready for a change. 2012 was a year of change for me as I lost my mom in February and it turned my world upside down, but in a good way. I found the strength in her to go on and become who I am today. 

In that WW meeting room I found a group of women that all struggled and struggle with this thing called LB'S! But we came together in that room slowly month by month we started to move closer (literally) in both the meeting room and outside. We are each others rocks and cheerleaders and I am so privileged to say Friends!!!

So after 2 years I reached my goal of 160 lb.'s on June 28, 2014, almost 2 years to the day that I walked in. 108lb's gone and a new love of so many things. 

Soooooo......that night at the table came the bucket list and my reveal that I want to run a Disney race and here we are working towards our February Princess weekend!!!  (can i tell you I am so excited to get to do all things princess, since i have boys it is all Star Wars and Roller Coasters)

That's a little bit about me and I will share more as we go along, so off to bed i go and this week will be the start of my training for the 10K. (I am a week behind but I will be ready!!!)

Just a little eye candy for you here is a before and after of me and my youngest.

Till we meet again!!

Scenic Tales: When the Clouds Clear

Boardwalk after the rain. Night.

Recap from my Week One of training

So the Glass Slipper Challenge training started this week. If anyone doesn't know what the Glass Slipper Challenge is, it is a 2 day challenge in Walt Disney World. We run a 10k on a Saturday and a half marathon on the Sunday. I am a little nervous about doing this but I know of I train according to the schedule, I will be fine. I hope to get stronger every day. 

Training starts out with 2 weekday runs and then a longer run on the weekend. Looking through the plan, it is a little scary seeing the longer runs and thinking I can't do it. I can easily psych myself out of things so I need to just trust the training and go for it!

Week 1 was a crazy week for me. On Tuesday, I did my run on the treadmill and I realized how much I HATE the treadmill when I have a goal in mind. It's just so boring and I can't push myself the way I can outside. I planned to run on Thursday but there was a school event for my son Timmy so I forced myself to get up early on Friday morning and I hit the treadmill. After our Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday, Lora and I went for a 3 mile run outside. It felt great! 

I learned two things this week:

1. I hate the treadmill and want to run outside more.

2. I need to invest in some more cold weather gear for outside runs this winter.

I Want to update this every week so I can keep myself accountable but so you can also see how determination and dedication can go along way. I need to prove to myself that I can do anything I put my mind on. 

Next week, Courtney and I will run the Biggest Loser 10k with our friend Lora so we can submit a time for the GSC. 10k will be the longest distance we have ever run and it's scary but I believe that we can push each other and reach our goals. I have a time goal in mind and then I get this email to motivate me!

Have a great week everyone!

Xoxo

ToniAnn

Instagram- @mrsT9

And My Feet Were Runnin', Runnin'!

Every sign of strength is a new victory. Tonight during my board"walk" I jogged a bit. That felt good...what felt great was when this song came on the rotation...and I jogged the entire length.

That's almost 4 minutes non stop jogging, plus a little into the next song. Walked and then jogged a few more steps to boot.

I don't know what will happen on Sunday. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up and make the time to get that better corral for February.

I do know...that actually come February..I'm going to be so much stronger than I ever thought possible.