Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

It’s About Quality, Not Quantity

March 24, 2016

I was out on a walk recently and listening to my friends’ podcast, You may have heard of them #runalltheraces? Ironically, they were talking about something that I am working on this year. Finding Joy in my running.

I am working out with weights again a little bit to ease back into it, and while I was in our work out room I hung up my 3 most recent medals from runDisney. These were the Princess Glass Slipper Challenge medals. I have a lot of medals hanging on the rack and they are all important to me. But this year I think when I register for a race, it has to mean something to me. Or I have to be prepared for it. I went to the Marine Corp Marathon unprepared last year and I paid for it. It was not a pretty race in my books. I got it done and I earned every bit of that medal but I did not do my best. I am better than that. So now I want my races to be about the quality and not how many races or medals I earn in a year.

Today the registration opened for the lottery for Marine Corps Marathon. I did not get accepted into the NYC Marathon, which was on my bucket list and I chose not to put my name in the hat for the Chicago marathon. I wasn’t planning on registering for the Marine Corp Marathon either; but something tugged at me when I saw that my friend Kimberlee, who was one of the two others that I ran that race with, posted to Facebook that she registered.

I need redemption. Now that I know what to expect for that race I can prepare for it, the key word there is prepare. Mentally, and physically. I know the logistics of getting around the area so I can book a hotel room again and find my way around easily. I know what the course is like so now I won’t go into it blind to the fact that it is hilly, it doesn’t run through the front lawn of the White House like I was expecting, and I ran through conditions that were less than ideal and almost threw up 3 times, and I almost didn’t beat the bridge. So how bad can it be if I were to do it again? Like I said, my races this year need to mean something to me. And I think it would be important for me to have a re-do of this race.

I haven’t registered for the new Wine and Dine Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge, and it doesn’t look like I am going to either. I am a little disappointed that I won’t be participating in another inaugural race. But I can’t afford to keep doing these inaugural races and then try to remain legacy status for them as well. And with the new changes in the times of the race, it kind of lost its appeal to me. I did enjoy the night-time race, even if the first year I ran it, there was a torrential downpour, and last year it was cut short. I still really liked the night races at Disney.

For my 2016 races, I have my eye on a few. There is a duathlon that takes place in CT in May that I may want to try. It consists of two 5K runs and a 26K (16 mile) bicycle trek through Glastonbury. I have to get out on my bike and start putting in some miles if this is something that I want to be serious about. I also have to do research on the races results from previous years to find out what the slowest time was for the last place participant so I know what I am up against for time. I had been interested in this race for two years; but it always fell during the time we were on vacation.

Another race I may want to try this year is the Iron Horse Half Marathon in Simsbury. This race takes place in June. June is a hard month for races; because with the kids we have events going on every single weekend, both my son and husband have birthdays, and Father’s Day is during that month. But again, this has been on my list so I hope to get to this one.

And there is one more race that I really want to get my feet into. It’s the Summer Solstice Trail Run in Hebron. My intent was to start doing some trail running in hopes of maybe participating in the Bimblers Bluff 50K. I haven’t done any trail running yet so I am in no position to even think about doing a 50K trail run, let alone a 50K. But the Summer Soltice Trail Run will be a nice introduction to a trail race if I can get out and run in some trails near home as well.

So what have I been up to? I have been running regularly; but recently I am having trouble with my left hip. I blame my back for that. i think I had been overdue for my appointment with my chiropractor and so I was running with unbalanced hips. Then last weekend I tweaked it slightly but went to see him and am rectifying the situation. However, my hip is still giving me grief. Hopefully after a few more visits that will be gone. But I have been regularly on the road and when I am not running, I do get out there for walks. I haven’t let the winter cold hold me back either! I have been getting out there no matter what! I need my fresh air fix. I have also been including the kids in my walk or bike rides so that we are all getting out and being active.

My average speed has been pretty slow; but today I started doing some speed work. I picked up the pace and had a 3 mile run with an average of 11:21 per mile. My running has been for pure enjoyment and not so much about a particular distance or speed. So I haven’t been hung up on my pace. But I am running the runDisney Dark Side Challenge in 3 weeks so I do have to increase my mileage a bit to prepare for that. Once we get back from vacation I will focus on my plans for training for these new races I am interested in. Registrations are filling up fast though, so I need to think about what I really want to do.

Planning Our Disney Vacation This Spring

March 15, 2016

I don’t usually create a schedule or put together a to do list when it comes to what we will do on our Disney vacations; but this year we are going during a time of year we never went before and I am a little nervous about it. We never go during school vacations because it’s school vacation time and the whole world seems like they are in Disney during that time of year (besides Christmas). But I did some research tonight and am printing out some information and getting my bearings to help make some decisions and plans.

We are also doing things a little different this time. My Star Wars Dark Side Challenge races conveniently fell during the same time we were taking this trip; so some of my park touring may be altered slightly to accommodate my early wake ups for the two races. But we also didn’t purchase an annual pass this year like we always due. Last October the price of the Annual Pass increased to an amount that just wasn’t going to work for us. When we went in January for marathon weekend we were able to purchase park passes with my Dad’s military discount. This time we are going to purchase multi-day park passes through an employee discount website so we can purchase as many days necessary and we will just factor in some non-park days to this trip. All in all we won’t lose much. We just won’t be able to hop on the monorail some nights to go for a spin around the park on the train and do some rides at night. But since we are staying in resorts on the monorail loop we will take advantage of watching the fireworks shows from the beaches.

There are things I would like to do on this trip that we have never done with the kids before. Surprisingly, we haven’t taken them to the following attractions. Don’t judge, there never seems to be enough time and they always want to do their favorites! So here are a few of the attractions that are a must do on the trip list this year:

Enchanted Tiki Room
The Country Bears
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Indiana Jones
Star Wars Launch Pad
Jedi Training Academy for Adrienne
The New Star Wars Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks show at Hollywood Studios

And I would REALLY love to try to be at the Magic Kingdom for rope drop to see the welcome show. I also want to do a water park and this year I found some great discounted tickets for Aquatica. Since we have done Blizzard Beach twice in the past, I am not opposed to trying something different. Again, this trip is about being cost conscious. We will do our grocery shopping and stock up our room with the essentials, water and alcohol to save on the cost of drinks and food and pack our lunches for the parks and mainly eat our dinners in a park or resort. We have a few reservations for some restaurants that we know we want to go to for sure.

The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival will be in full bloom during this trip so I will be doing my research and posting on my blog some great resources for what is happening for kids this time of year at Epcot. I heard that there are a lot of great kid-centric activities going on this year. I also want to have the children go around to each country and have their name written in the language of that country to put into their journals.

I am also planning on participating in Dapper Day and dressing up for the Magic Kingdom. Diana and Mandy and I are going to get all dolled up in cute dresses after the 10K and take pictures in the Magic Kingdom. Dapper Day celebrates “stepping out in style”. There is no specific period of time that is recreated; but the looks are vintage-inspired. Active and retired military are encouraged to wear their dress blues or service uniforms. I have never been a part of this before so I am looking forward to seeing what everyone looks like!

One last thing that I am hoping we will get to see is the Rivers of Light Show at Animal Kiingdom. This show is debuting in April and rumor has it, that it will be opening on Earth Day , which is April 22. So I am keeping an eye out to hear more about it and how we can participate in this event when it starts showing. It would be so neat to be one of the first people to see this new show! I will also blog about this new feature separately, so stay tuned! Despite all of the construction going on in Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, there is still enough for us to do in Hollywood Studios to keep us busy for a few hours that day and also allow us time to rest for the afternoon and then head to another park for the evening.

So as you can see, this trip is going to take a little bit of planning. I’m going to have to figure out which days will be park days, which days will be relax by the pool days and I also have to get to the Expo and fit my races into the vacation. It’ll all work out, this is nothing compared to Marathon Weekend in January! But I also do want the trip to be so busy with activity that it goes by in the blink of an eye either.

What else do you recommend we try on this trip?

Yoga Class Week 4 – Purity Through Breath

March 14, 2016

This week’s class theme was about Purity or Saucha. Each week our instructor has been providing us with a theme or a word related to the Yama and the Niyamas. These are ethical codes that make up the first two limbs of the eight limbed path of yoga. All of the paths work together to help us enter a state of yoga or union with the mind, body and spirit.

The Yamas Include:

Ahimsa ~ Nonviolence

Satya ~ Truthfulness

Asteya ~ Nonstealing

Brahmacharya ~ Nonexcess

Aparigraha ~ Nonpossessiveness

The Niyamas include:

Saucha ~ Purity

Santosha ~ Contentment

Tapas ~ Self-discipline

Svadhyaya ~ Self-study

Ishvara Pranidhana ~ Surrender

The other six limbs include the postures, breathing exercises, going inward, concentration, meditation and enlightenment. Margie recommends this great book about The Yamas and the Niyamas.

Last week we talked about letting go of things that weigh us down or not worrying about things from the past or coming up in the future. Today we talked about purity and how to rely on our breathing to help us relax. She taught us to focus on diaphragmatic breathing so when we encounter a stressful situation we can stop holding our breath and scrunching up our shoulders and focus on our breathing. No one needs to know that we are doing it either.

In yoga, the breath is described as the essential, life-giving flywheel of the nervous system. What does that mean? Your nose cleans and warms the air before it enters your body. It enters and exits your body to sustain your life. Breathing through your nose helps you reduce the speed and efficiency of breathing. Smell is also a major element when it comes to breathing. When you breathe through your nose, you smell the odors and it improves the sense of taste.

Surprisingly, breathing stabilizes our emotions and nerves. Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed you are breathing shallow from your chest? If you feel uptight, take 3 deep breaths to lower your heart rate. If you can’t fall asleep, focus on taking deep breaths into your abdomen.

So to sum up the definition of Saucha, it is the practice of knowing very well what is our objective in this particular moment in life.

We did some warrior poses in tonight’s class, the chair pose, the bridge and several twisting poses. She told us that twisting is a great form of detoxifying our body. I like that feeling of stretching out and opening things up during a twist. It pushes me beyond my limit is such a gentle subtle way where there is no harm.

At the end of class we participate in Savasana and today Margie played Liquid Mind music which immediately brought me to when I was in labor with Kevin for 3 days. I played that music in the hospital and it was very peaceful. I felt like I went back in time almost 9 years! It was very strange, emotional, yet relaxing at the same time. I felt emotional because I couldn’t believe that it was already 9 years ago that he was born. Time is going by so quickly; but I didn’t think about things that we haven’t done yet or had any guilt. I just realized the time and let that thought float by. A couple tears were shed because I miss the baby years and that music has a very strong connection with me and my babies when they were younger. Sometimes the older years are hard; but the newborn days weren’t the easiest either! Being a mother, parent, wife, employee, daughter, person isn’t easy. As I learned tonight, the objective is to be aware of where you are in this moment in life.

This year I have been focusing on mindfulness, wellness and finding joy. I think the yoga has been a very helpful tool with mindfulness. My essential oils are also helping me find balance and wellness.

I can’t wait to find out what we will learn about in week 5! Sadly, the instructor will be on vacation next week so I may need to resort to a youTube version of a yoga class next week to keep me grounded!

runDisney Wine & Dine Changes Confirmed

March 11, 2016

Isn’t he expression that rumors are usually true, correct? Well, I think it is most of the time. This time it was true. All of the chatter surrounding the changes with Wine & Dine were confirmed today when runDisney announced their new race challenge taking place during Wine & Dine race weekend. They are adding a 10K, in addition to the 5K and half marathon and the challenge is completed when you run the 10K on Saturday morning and the half marathon on Sunday morning. It’s called Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge. This being a Beauty and the Beast themed challenge.

The biggest change, besides adding a 10K to the weekend is that the half marathon is no longer taking place on Saturday evening. The fun about that race weekend in the past for me had been the night race. I still haven’t had a spectacular experience at that race weekend because the first year I ran it, it was pouring rain so most of the characters weren’t out for pictures, and we didn’t stick around for the after party because of the weather. The second year I ran it (last year) it was cut short due to the bad weather in the area. But I did stay for the After Party with Dale Martin and Dave Dunkowski and had a great time!

The 10K is beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, and if you do the 5K, it will take place on Friday morning at 6:30 a.m. at Animal Kingdom. The 5K used to take place at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. That was nice because i was able to fly in on Friday night, pick up my bib Saturday morning before the race and still participate in the race.

This year they are changing the Wine and Dine Half Marathon to begin at 5:30 in the morning and then you will attend the Post Race Party with your $15 gift card at the Epcot® Food & Wine Festival on Sunday night from 8:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. Friends and family members who want to attend the Post Race Party will have to purchase tickets separately.

If I do decide to register for this challenge, which I am already leaning towards not doing, I won’t be able to run the 5K, which is also called the Mickey’s Holiday 5K instead of the Jingle Jungle 5K, and I won’t be participating in the Post Race Party because I will have to fly home Sunday immediately after the half marathon. This trip would mean two very early wake up mornings and then fly home. So it’s not as appealing to me. It’s basically a carbon copy of Princess weekend.

They are also changing the course; but the actual course is yet to be determined. Especially since Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be under construction due to Start Wars and Toy Story lands. And there are no longer the Osborne Lights, which was the highlight of that night time race. So for me, the draw just isn’t there. I know I love my Disney races and it bugs me to think that I won’t register for this race and miss out on an inaugural challenge. My kids have that Monday and Tuesday off from school and it sure would be fun to try to make a mini vacation out of it; but I’d be waking up early for two of those mornings and I am just not sure we will be shelling out the money for this weekend.

I also have to mention that there are kids races taking place at ESPN Wide World of Sports both Friday and Saturday morning. The expo will open Thursday morning and will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The hours have not been posted yet.

I am disappointed that this race is no longer a night race. With the Tower of Terror 10 miler no longer being offered (or at least until further notice), there are no more night races. I enjoyed a night race. That is what made the Wine & Dine half marathon fun. It was different. It was fun running at night, and I liked doing the 5K that morning and then running the half marathon that night and then staying for the Post Race Party until it closed. I was up for 24 hours and it was FUN!

So what do you think about the changes? Will you still attend the races?

runDisney Wine & Dine changes?

March 9, 2016

Tuesday, March 8 was supposed to be the early Annual Pass and DVC member registration date for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon taking place in November. March 8 was also the date that the NYC marathon announced who will be chosen from the lottery for the NYC Marathon, also taking place the same weekend of Wine & Dine.

I was concerned about registration for Wine & Dine because I didn’t know if I was going to be selected for NYC and if by chance I was, I didn’t know what time I would receive that email. Well, as of Monday runDisney had a “special update” that the registration was being pushed off for a week, and then later on that was changed to 2 weeks. The dates are now March 22 for AP and DVC members and March 29 to the general public.

This is the actual announcement:

“We are putting the final touches on the 2016 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, which will now open to Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members on March 22 at noon ET and general registration will open on March 29 at noon ET. Also, registration for Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend will now open for AP and DVC Members on April 5 at noon ET and general registration will open on April 12 at noon ET.”

So what is going on? Why are they pushing this date? According to all of the chatter going on in social media, the rumor is that they are extending the weekend to include additional races or an additional race. During the Wine and Dine race weekend which includes the Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K (which I did for the first time last year) on Saturday morning and then the Wine & Dine Half Marathon that Saturday night. People are always looking around just prior to registrations to get the early registration link from Active.com, and this image happened to circulate around social media. It came up prior to the announcement from runDisney so the rumor going around is that runDisney may be adding a challenge to the Wine & Dine race weekend. This would include the addition of a 10K to the weekend.

So now the challenge, another Inaugural event! If I keep joining in on these firs time events in hopes of being a “legacy” runner with these events, I am going to go even more broke! Well, I didn’t get into the NYC marathon and now I have to wait and see what runDisney announces for Wine & Dine weekend. Add to it, the fact that my kids have that Monday and Tuesday off from school and now I want to make this a family trip! But with the recent increase in price with the park tickets, we just can’t afford to go as a family of 4 to the parks. But we could make a weekend of it and enjoy the local attractions, perhaps a water park and being out of CT for a weekend. Decisions, decisions…..

Will you be participating in a new event if runDisney adds a challenge?

Yoga Class Week 3

March 7, 2016

Life has been pretty busy lately. But I always have my hour and 15 minutes of truthful, mindfulness time to myself at my Monday night yoga class, and I really look forward to it. Our instructor, Margaret Dunn gave us some information sheets to take home today with helpful tips on how to be still and quiet at home for a period of time to prepare yourself for meditation or even just to learn how to sit silently. I had been trying to do this with the kids and even just myself with an app called Calm from the iTunes store.

She reviewed for us the importance of yoga and why we do it. One is to be non harming, truthful and unattached. Each week she has mentioned a word and this week’s word was unattached. It didn’t mean to be physically attached to something; but to detach yourself from anxiety from the past or regret, or from worries of the future and stress of things coming up during the week. It is about being in the present and yoga is important to help you be present in your breathing and in the poses that you keep. You have to be present to think about the position you need to be in and keeping your balance, so it is important to not be attached with the clutter and chit that goes on in your brain. She also shared the 50 health conditions that are benefited by yoga.

Before today’s class I was having an emotional challenge and I was afraid my heart wasn’t going to be in the class. But I also knew that I always feel more grounded and at peace after class. I would never skip a class; but I was afraid that the clutter in my head was going to get in the way. Her brief talk with us prior to class is a great way to prepare us for success.

Today we worked on poses we had done the previous two weeks and added in a few new ones or variations of other poses. Below are some images that demonstrate what we have done in the past 3 weeks. These photos are from the yogatoday.com site. This is a great site if you want to learn more about yoga and to see how the poses are done. We start with warming up our body with fluid movements of arm swings and rotation of our upper body to get the blood flowing and to open up our posture. Then we begin our poses. These are just a few of the poses that we have learned so far. Another great resource for yoga information is from the Positive Health Wellness site, which also offers a lot of great information about yoga, wellness, recipes, and nutrition.

Chair Pose

Warrior Pose

Tree Pose

Child Pose

Locust Pose

Cat and Cowl Pose

Forward Bend Pose

Bridge Pose

Mountain Pose

We always end our class in the corpse pose and then fetal position to have a quiet time of reflection and thanking ourselves for giving this treat to our bodies for the past hour.

Corpse Pose

This has been a great recommendation from my chiropractor Dr. Pat of Modern Chiropractic and an awesome addition to his services that his practice offers. I already signed up for the next session and a friend of mine has also joined!