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.

Bouncy Babes and Inflatable Egos

We were so innocent.

Let's talk about terrain. Okay, I'm not really qualified to talk about terrain, but I thought it would be a great segue for what I want to talk about...which is sand. Yes, sand.

Living at the beautiful Jersey Shore, I've grown up with sand. It's a staple. It's home. It's the coolest thing when it's covered with snow. I think I always took it for granted, because typically when walking on sand it is short distances to plop down in said sand...or to get to the packed sand along the shore line.

At least that was until this September.

Caught up in good peer pressure and the excitement of friends, including Her Royal Sassyness and Her Royal Fierceness, I signed up for the Insane Inflatable 5K race in Seaside Heights, NJ. I figured the bulk of activity would be bouncy houses, so it wouldn't be so much a running race, as much as a walking obstacle course. After I paid my registration fee, I forgot about it.

This was the final straw. Literally.

The day before I saw some posts go up teasing about the inflatable obstacles. Then I looked closer. The 3.1 mile course was on the beach. In the sand.

I knew that would make it very difficult. As soon as we got over the "start" obstacle and took our first steps in the sand, I realized it might very well be impossible. I was exhausted after five steps. Oh, and although it was the weekend after Labor Day, it was about 98-degrees out. Right.

Many people shared my anguish over this course. Many people went up and walked on the boardwalk and then came down only to do the obstacles.

I was not one of many. I did not go up on the boardwalk. I said through my clenched jaw that if we are doing it, we are doing it right. 

Let's just say I suffered through that course. I cursed my friends. I sweated. I ached. I cried. I completed all obstacles but one. I finished the race.

Yes. I finished. In the sand.

One day one of these is going to be chocolate. I just know it!

It was not easy. It felt impossible. I hated it. But I completed it. I did not quit. None of us did. I guess we really are capable of things that seem unfathomable.

This is a spectrum of kick-ass ladies.

I will begrudgingly admit that once I completed the race I felt so amazing. I will also admit that although we walked the entire thing, once we finished ToniAnn and I then RAN down the beach and jumped into the ocean. That was pretty priceless.

Also priceless? Our fantastic friend and cheerleader Lora. She came to support us and ended up hanging around in the heat as we realized this was going to take a bit longer than we thought, and cheered us on the entire way. 

Jersey Girls Never Quit.

This race also featured Cheryl (orange), Adriane (brighter orange), and Veena (purple). 

One of the biggest takeaways from this race for me was at the end when we all started saying "If we had more water we probably could have done better...." or "If we did this, maybe it would have been quicker..."

Her Royal Sassyness paused and said, "Ladies, what are we saying? We completed it. It doesn't get much better."

Truer words were never spoken.

A Tale of Two Color Runs

Reality is setting in. I’m signed up for the Biggest Loser 10K at Six Flags Great Adventure on November 2^nd. The goal is to try to get a time so that ToniAnn and I can get into an earlier corral for the Glass Slipper Challenge. I know ToniAnn can do it, but I’m not sure about myself. 

Anyone else ever get in a funk? Yeah, I’d probably tell you to snap out of it because you are so fabulous..so maybe I should listen to myself!

However, I've had a few more races under my belt since the last time we chatted. 

In September I walked/jogged the Central NJ Color Run. I did this with ToniAnn and our friend Lora. I had no intentions of jogging at all, in fact my Taurean stubbornness pretty much dictated that I would not, so don’t even try me. This is Her Royal Whineness at her best!  Yet, ToniAnn and her Fierceness could not be stopped..and as she jogged around me…not necessarily taunting me per say…her fierceness kind of swept over me and I ended up jogging way more than I ever thought I could have. Yes…could have.

Colors of success!

Meanwhile, I just did my second Color Run in Atlantic City this past weekend. It was windy, rainy, cold and just terrible. TERRIBLE! But…I did it. I did not take any shortcuts. I even jogged a little, but in those conditions it was more about finishing than excelling. And you know what…that’s okay.

You don’t wake up one day and suddenly you are a runner. It takes time, it takes overcoming hurdles..and sometimes the biggest hurdles are your own doubts.

I haven’t failed at anything I've tried yet on this journey…so I guess I have no actual reason to feel like I can’t make something happen in three weeks at Great Adventure. So there!

This is just the beginning.......

Welcome to my first post! I feel like I've been running 5ks for years but I've never felt like I  needed to do anything more. I've always had a hard time pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I joined Weight Watchers 4 years ago after having my son and it has taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to. I've also met the most amazing people. Now buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy and an amazing ride! 

 Let's go back to 2013 when my husband and I decided to take my son to Disney in May. We happened to be there during the weekend of the Expedition Everest Challenge. The day after, everyone was talking about how much fun they had and I decided that if we were in Disney again during that race, I would sign up. I think it was December 17, 2014, I received a message from Eric (an amazing runner and fellow WW friend), reminding me about registration opening up. Thanks to him I registered that night!

Expedition Everest Challenge was on May 3rd this year and it was such a great experience for me. I ran alone but in a runDisney race, it was hard to feel alone. It was raining hard at one point but it did not ruin the vibe that this race gave off. I was nervous but knew I could do it! I've done 5ks before but this was different. It was a different feeling and it was so much fun! 

When I came back, I stared at the really cool medal and knew I wanted more. So now it's off to Disney World in February 2015 for the Glass Slipper Challenge. I am excited to see the changes in my mind, body, and soul during the training. 

I will be following Jeff Galloways training program which officially starts on 10/21/2014. The first step in this journey will be the Biggest Loser 10k on 11/2/2014 that Courtney and I will be running so we can submit a time for the Disney race to get a better corral for the 1/2. 

You can follow me on Instagram at mrst9. I can promise you that we will not disappoint!

XoXo

ToniAnn

2015 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend? Sounds like Rundue Fundue!!!!

It's amazing what happens when friends get together over fondue. One might say the cheese brought out the camaraderie in us that night, but I know what it really was...it was the s'mores chocolate.

The crushed graham cracker, melted marshmallow, and milk chocolate swirled into a magical combination that had us oohing and ahhing and commenting how we felt like royalty.

Which led to talking about princesses, which naturally led to Disney World, which then led to talking about the 2015 Disney Princesses 1/2 Marathon weekend. Caught in a spell of chocolate, the three of us exclaimed through our chocolate filled mouths, "We should totally do that!!! We should dress up like princesses and run." I silently added, "or you know..walk really fast."

Three months later we are registered and ready to blog about it--because it's not real if we aren't blogging about it.

I'm your blog hostess, Courtney aka Her Royal Whineness. I'm the least ready of the group. I'm not a runner, I'm barely a walker right now. I signed up for the Glass Slipper Challenge...a 10K on Saturday and the 1/2 Marathon on Sunday..because that's how I roll. If I'm going to do it...I'm going to do it big!

Amy aka Her Royal Sassyness is signed up for the Disney Enchanted 10K. She's pretty incredible and I can't wait for you to get to know her. This is her first 10K and she wants to do it the right way. Meaning she's going to look fabulous and smile the entire time...because she's worked so hard to get here! She's going to dominate this race!!!

ToniAnn aka Her Royal Fierceness is also signed up for The Glass Slipper Challenge. She's an actual runner, with running skirts and medals to boot!!!! She's a super inspiration and I can't wait to watch her run through Cinderella's Castle..because she'll be doing that wayyyyy before I reach it!

The three of us will take turns posting on this blog, so you'll get to experience this journey three ways.

So, let's not waste any more time...

Once Upon A Time....

Amy, Courtney, ToniAnn