The Long Road to Run Disney

Congrats! I've always thought about doing that race because I love the uniqueness of the medal!
 
Congrats! I've always thought about doing that race because I love the uniqueness of the medal!

The course is super hilly, but the support is amazing! There are around 300 people every year, so it's definitely a small race. You should totally do it!
 


I wanted to come back and share a few pictures from the Magnolia Half. I was running late and barely had time to park my car and use a porta-potty before they finished the national anthem :scared1:

A few form the start line: This was my first time to throw away a jacket, gloves, and ear muffs.

The really tall man in this shot was 7'2". I know because I asked! I chatted with him for about a mile, and he was super nice. This was his second half marathon, as well, but the hills really took him by surprise.

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I'm in purple :goodvibes which is fitting because this race raises money for alheimers patients.

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This is me following my new friend Lisa through one of the water stops. She was so encouraging!

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And one more, about a mile before the finish line.

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I desperately need to lose some weight. I plan to start doing a lot more cross training and start back watching what I eat.
 
Great pics!

I've got to imagine that 7'2" runner has to be close to the tallest person to ever run a half marathon. I wasn't able to find anything on the internet though.
 


I looked really hard at The Mississippi Blues Half on February 29th. Running on leap day is appealing to me for some reason. This is a race I've wanted to do for several years, but there was a change in management last year which resulted in some horrible reviews. I decided to shelve this race for now.

I have registered for the Hattiesburg Half Marathon on April 4th. I'm trying really hard to convince my cousin Marie and Aunt Stephanie to run it as well. Neither of them have run farther than a 5K, but I think Aunt Steph will probably be faster than me! This race was voted the best half in Mississippi this year on Race Raves. Here is the complete list. It's also a much flatter course which should help me get a faster proof of time for Disney.

Speaking of Disney, I am fairly confident that Princess 2021 is not going to happen for me. Wine and Dine might, but it's also possible I could wait until Princess 2022. I'm not going to change my training journal title until I have firmer plans.
 
I looked really hard at The Mississippi Blues Half on February 29th. Running on leap day is appealing to me for some reason. This is a race I've wanted to do for several years, but there was a change in management last year which resulted in some horrible reviews. I decided to shelve this race for now.

We have a wedding in Hattiesburg this same weekend, so I had thought about it too. But reading this may have changed my mind. LOL
 
Have you looked at their Facebook page? That's really what is turning me off.

No, but I just did so I think that one is a no for me. I already have Mississippi checked off anyway so I guess I should save funds to apply to other states.
 
No, but I just did so I think that one is a no for me. I already have Mississippi checked off anyway so I guess I should save funds to apply to other states.

I wish I had the money to try for all fifty states. Adulting is expensive! How many have you done so far?
 
I wish I had the money to try for all fifty states. Adulting is expensive! How many have you done so far?

LOL, I don't really but I figure I have plenty of time to do it. I have done 8 so far (AL, GA, FL, LA, MS, TN, NC, and SC). Hoping to knock out KY and possibly OH next year. I am trying to do the ones where I don't have to fly first, because I hate flying.
 
I'm looking back at my goals for this year. Despite not meeting a lot of them, I'm still pretty happy with what I did accomplish and I have some goals in mind for 2020.

I ran more miles every month in 2019 when compared to 2018, with the exception of May, which I missed by only .8 of a mile. There were several months in 2017 that were higher mileage compared to this year, but I'm still counting this as a win. I will attempt beat my monthly mileage from this year in 2020. This really seems to help motivate me to get out the door.

I did not manage a new PR in the 5K distance. The right race/circumstances just never worked out. I had to push a stroller in the March race. The race in May was just HOT! The race in October was super hilly. I will try again this spring. There are two races in March that I'm eyeing. I desperately want to run a 5K in less than thirty minutes!

I surprised myself with a Half Marathon PR. I am signed up for the one in Hattiesburg in April, as this is supposed to be a much flatter course than the one in Meridian. This race has some great training resources including a Facebook group managed by the winner of the race for the past few years. https://www.hburghalfmarathon.com/training I'm hoping for another PR here as I have yet to get a good enough proof of time for Disney.

Our rescheduled Universal trip is only a month away. I'm hoping to get in a few miles while on vacation.

As much as it pains me to say, unless we win the lottery, I will not be running the Princess Half in 2021. We have started enclosing our carport to turn it into a garage, but we still have to have doors installed. We also need new mattresses for our bed and Madilyn needs braces. I will finish my classes at the community college around this time next year. I am now looking at attending The University of West Alabama instead of Mississippi State University because their program is 100% online. UWA will allow me to start in the spring of 2021. If I wait until 2023, we should be able to plan a nice, long family vacation around either Princess or Wine & Dine weekend. I will continue to post here, but my first Run Disney experience has been delayed.
 
Happy New Year! I've got ten miles under my belt already including my first ever trail run! I ran 2.4 miles on January 1st with my older daughter (she says she wants to run a 5K ASAP!). The 12.5K trail run showed up as 7.6 miles on my Garmin watch, which is a bit shorter than I figured it would be.

It rained for two days straight before the Great Scorpion Trail Run, so it made for a very wet and in some places very slippery trail. The course was absolutely beautiful and I met some amazingly nice people, especially a young woman from Birmingham named Rheanna who I chatted with for most of the run. With all that said, I'm not sure how I feel about trial runs. I had no idea I would be so much slower! I finished with an average pace of 16:12 per mile. The single track portions of the trail felt a bit like being in a congo line. The roots, stumps, logs, steep inclines, and slipperiness made this a pretty intense work-out! I've also never run so far with soaking wet feet. My street shoes are apparently not quite right for trails. I feel like this was a fun work-out, but my competitive side is also frustrated.

Starting line: I'm in all black on the far left.

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Beautiful course at Bonita Lakes Park:

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I've been really slacking over the past two weeks. It's been raining non-stop for almost a week and some of the roads are flooded. I also started three new college classes this week (Business Calculus, Physical Science 1, and American Literature 1) and I am struggling to stay ahead! We are flying to Orlando from Birmingham, AL bright and early tomorrow morning for our first ever trip to Universal! I am so excited! I didn't necessarily intend to sign up for the Magnolia Half this fall, but they are running a one day special for $19 (can't beat that!) and my cousin signed up for it as her first half, so I agreed to run with her.
 
I have only run once since The Great Scorpion 12.5K trail run on January 4th. I did manage to beat my January 2019 mileage by 1/4 mile so I'm going to spend the rest of this week on the couch and get off to a better start on February 1st. The Hattiesburg Half Marathon is on April 4th, so I need to get my tail in gear!

We had a great time on our Universal vacation. I failed to run any while we were in Orlando. If anyone is interested in that trip report, here it is: Hard Rock with a Tween & a Toddler.
 
I am a little disappointed in myself. I ran 17.6 miles in February, which was 5.4 miles less than last February, even with the extra day! It rained here for fourteen days last month and I don't just mean a drizzle. The Pearl River crested three times last month and flooded areas that haven't been flooded since 1983. Of course, I'm just repeating what the newscaster said, I wasn't alive in 1983. :laughing: I still feel like I should have found a way to work around the weather.

I am also struggling with a couple of my college classes. Physical Science is tough because the instructor doesn't give quizzes. He just says to read the book and then makes a test from five or six chapters with a hundred questions. I'm holding an A, but the labs and studying are so time consuming. I should make it through English Literature with an A. I'm afraid Business Calculus might be the one to knock down my 4.0 GPA. Limits are confusing!

We bought a new mattress last weekend, but went back to the store yesterday. They believe the one we got is defective. It is sagging worse than the ten year old one we had! I have not slept well at all! The store is letting us replace this one with a different model, but they had to order it, so we are stuck with this one for another week.

I made the decision this week to email the race director of the Hattiesburg Half Marathon. She is going to let me drop back to the 10K distance. I feel like this is the right call at my current level of training. I have mixed feelings: relief because I have so much going on, disappointment, and excitement because I've never actually run a 10K.

My daughter and I are also registered for a 5K at the end of March. This is the course I PRed on in 2018, but had to push a stroller during last year. I'm hoping my husband will have the day off so that I don't have to push the stroller. Fingers crossed!
 

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