Disney Marathon 2014 Recap

Oh Disney Marathon, why do you tempt thee?

The Disney Marathon was my first marathon last year in 2013.  It was a fun race, if you can ever say running 26.2 miles is fun.  We stopped for pictures, took walk breaks, and enjoyed the scenery.  The course is not my favorite because of the different terrains, twists, turns, slanted streets and overpasses. This race, marks my 3rd marathon.

This year I had a time goal in mind.  I wanted to finish the marathon in under 5 hours.  If I did, it would be a 25+ minute PR for me.

I headed to Orlando on Saturday with my fellow runners and MBs (marathon bitches).  We picked up our race packets and browsed the expo at the Wild World of Sports.



Marie, Chrissy, Carly - marathon runners

Michelle, Marie, Chrissy, Carly, Maribel and Faith - runners and MBs

After the expo, we went to Downtown Disney for lunch and shopping where we met up with two more friends, Daffodil and Mica, who were volunteering at a water stop the next day.  I love these ladies!  We always have a great time together!

3:00am came much too early for this night owl. But I got up and got ready to run my 3rd marathon. We found the signs our MBs made for us.

We got to the start area at 4:00am and had plenty of time to spare since the race didn't start until 5:30am.

Marie and I, in our Minnie costumes, decided to try and stay together during the race, unless one of us was hurt or needed to take more time for the race.  We ran a similar pace and trained together so it was a good match.



Mile 8 on the Disney Speedway

This was a tough race for me because I just wasn't feeling the run.  Runners have good running days and bad running days.  It's never a good thing when a bad running day falls on race day.  On this day, I was ready to be done at mile 10 which is unlike me.  The half marathon's 13.1 miles is my favorite distance and I wasn't even there yet.  About this time, my feet started to hurt and I felt blisters forming on the bottom of my toes.  Another anomaly, as I usually don't get blisters on my toes.

We pushed through and I felt better after we reached mile 16, knowing we only had 10 miles left.

It was so nice seeing Daffodil and Mica volunteering at the mile 18.3 water stop!  At this point, Marie and I were both feeling various pains. My left knee was hurting and Marie's hips were bothering her.  We knew we'd see friends at this water stop so it was something to look forward to.



Mile 18.3 water stop with volunteer Daffodil

Then we saw our MBs at mile 19 inside the baseball field at the Wild World of Sports.  We stopped for a quick picture but quickly got on our way.  Starting back up from a stop or walk was hardest on my knee.



Mile 19 in the Wild World of Sports baseball field

As we left the Wild World of Sports with only 6.2 miles left, I told Marie we could make the under 5 hours goal if we kept going at the same pace.  Unfortunately, Marie's hip pain was too much and she had to take some walk breaks.  I decided to push on ahead and try to meet my goal of finishing under 5 hours.

I was exhausted and my pace was getting slower and slower but I knew I would be so close to 5 hours and I really wanted it, so I pushed!  There was no sprint left in me at the end but I made it to the finish line in 4:57:56!




Done and looking swollen!

Our friend Carly came in at 4:10 and Marie came in at 5:03.

I had a fun race and even more fun with friends! I did end up with 3 huge blisters on my toes.  UGH

Div Place: 483/1650
Gender Place: 2488/9697
Overall Place: 6768/19198
5 mile split: 51:36
10 mile split: 1:45:01
Half split: 2:23:49
20 mile split: 3:48:10

Chip Finish time: 4:57:56

That's a 27+ minute PR over the Clearwater Marathon last year.

Have you even run a Disney race?

Space Coast Half Marathon 2013 Recap

The weekend after Thanksgiving (and of course after Black Friday shopping), I ventured over to the east coast to run the Space Coast Half Marathon.  I must admit that I signed up for this race after seeing the medal.  The race bling was fantabulous!  I loved the space shuttle medals!

Denise, Mica and I drove over on Saturday, hit the expo at the Kennedy Space Center to pickup our race packets and bibs, and settled into our hotel.  The Space Coast Expo is nothing to write home about so we didn't spend too much time there.



Chrissy, Denise, Mica


We were up bright and early the next morning ready to race in our matching outfits we called "Starry Night".  By the way, I made my running skirt instead of buying it online. I was so proud of my first big sewing accomplishment and I saved money!

 

The half marathon started at 6:00am so I had an hour of cool weather before the sun and temperatures rose.  I felt great at the start of the race and kept a nice pace.  I wanted to beat my PR from Frankenfooter and someday run a half marathon in under 2 hours.  Denise and I ran together for the first couple of miles but I eventually pulled ahead to take advantage of the cool dawn weather and great pace I had going.

The Space Coast Half Marathon was an out and back course along the Indian River with beautiful views and gorgeous houses.  It was a mostly flat course with a couple of dips and rises along the way.  I still felt great at the half way turn around and continued back to the finish line.

On the way back, there was a very strong wind that nearly blew my visor off multiple times but I was determined not to let it slow me down.  I thought I might actually finish around 2:05.  With a goal in mind, I pushed myself to get it done.

I ended up finishing in 2:06:19 and setting a new PR!  I had an excellent race all around.

Look at this bling with the beautiful Columbia Space Shuttle!  This was the first year of Space Coast's Big Bang Series.  I plan to be back next year for the Challenger medal.

Age Div: 40/316
Overall Place: 483/2943
Average Pace: 9:39
Chip Finish Time: 2:06:19

Ringling Bros & Barnum Bailey Circus Review

The Greatest Show on Earth from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents a new show called Legends at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, January 1-5, 2014.

My family and I got to see the show on Friday night and had a great time!  This was Dylan's first time at the circus and Jared's second time, although he doesn't remember the first time.  My boys love the stunts and acrobatic performances.



Motorcycles in the ball were Jared's favorite.



The Pegasus

Girls hanging by their hair!

Motorcycle on a tightrope

The trapeze artists were my favorite.

I loved the live music throughout the circus performances.

Dylan with a clown

It was fun for the entire family!  We each had a different part of the show as our favorite.

Click HERE to purchase tickets online.  Save $4 on select performances using promo code MOM4.  Offer not valid on Front Row or Premium seats. Not valid day of show. Only valid for these performances: Thurs 7:30pm, Fri 7:30pm, Sat 11am, and Sun 5pm.

Visit the Facebook page or follow them on twitter, #RinglingTPA.

Disclaimer: I was given tickets to the show in exchange for promotion and review.  All opinions are my own.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes Review

This show was amazing!  I've always wanted to see the Rockettes perform live on stage.  They were everything I imagined and more in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  I think my love of the Rockettes started with the 1982 movie Annie when she, Daddy Warbucks and Grace visited a show at Radio City.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular started off with the dancers in adorable reindeer costumes. I must say, all of the show's costumes were absolutely incredible.  Santa's reindeer danced to "Sleigh Ride" in this opening scene.

Santa introduced "The Twelve Days of Christmas" by lifting the curtain just high enough to see the Rockettes' famous legs.  The audience got quite a kick out of that move.  With the curtain up and out of the way, the Rockettes tapped out the twelve days of Christmas with a different dance movement to signify each day.

The Nutcracker scene was performed by dancing animals or rather dancers in full clown, teddy bear, ragdoll, and mice costumes.  It was unique.

"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" was my favorite scene! The dancers were in complete synchronicity as they marched, turned and fell after a cannon's boom.  Their billowy hat feathers shook with every meticulous, straight-legged step. Such precision! 

 

In "New York at Christmas", the Rockettes boarded a life size double-decker tour bus, taking the audience on a guided tour through the streets of New York City, including Central Park and Time Square. The bus and background moved enabling the audience to feel as if we were actually in New York City sight seeing with the Rockettes.

 

I also very much enjoyed "The Living Nativity" scene.  It featured some of my favorite Christmas songs while telling the beautiful story of the first Christmas using pageantry, music and scripture.

"Let Christmas Shine" featured the Rockettes and the entire company with a touching message of hope and love for the Christmas season.  The Rockettes performed their signature kick line with head-high kicks.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Radio City Christmas Spectacular performance. It was a fantastic show suitable for the entire family.  Even my 12 year old son said he'd go see the show!

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes is performing at the Straz Center in Tampa, December 12-29.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Straz Center online.

Disclosure: I was given two tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The Greatest Show on Earth from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents a new show called Legends at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, January 1-5, 2014. I'm excited to see this new show with my family.


Fun Facts!
-  The name "The Greatest Show on Earth" was used by P.T. Barnum in 1872.

-  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey holds "Winter Quarters" each year in Florida.

-  Barnum purchased a large elephant named Jumbo in 1882, giving Americans a new word for "large in size".


Click HERE to purchase tickets online.  Save $4 on select performances using promo code MOM4.  Offer not valid on Front Row or Premium seats. Not valid day of show. Only valid for these performances: Thurs 7:30pm, Fri 7:30pm, Sat 11am, and Sun 5pm.

Visit the Facebook page or follow them on twitter, #RinglingTPA.

Disclaimer: I was given tickets to the show in exchange for promotion and review.  All opinions are my own.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

I love turtles...of the chocolate, caramel and pecan kind.  This simple recipe recreates the flavor of the sweet, gooey candy turtles.

 

Rolo Pretzel Turtles Ingredients: 1 bag of Rolo candies 1 bag of pretzels (I used the square type) 1 bag of whole pecans parchment paper Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F.  Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet Lay pretzels on cookie sheet and place one Rolo on each pretzel Heat in oven for 3 minutes, then remove Gently press one pecan into each Rolo Let cool on the parchment paper Recipe by Chrissy @  Loving Life http://lovinglife27.blogspot.com/2013/11/rolo-pretzel-turtles.html

What's your favorite candy?