Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Expo Recap!!!!

This week has completely flown by and not in a good way! Last week I went to California....Disneyland to be exact to run in the Disneyland Half Marathon! This is one of my all time favorite races, not only was it my first runDisney race last year but it also takes place in Disneyland and it just doesn't get much better then that!

I am going to recap the race in three parts so bare with me on this haha! First being the expo, next the 10k and finally the half with my final thoughts between this year and last year. If you want to read my reviews from last year here is part 1, part 2, part 3 oh and don't forget part 4! That should hold you over while I get these next three up!

Ok where do I start......We left Boston on Friday morning, our flight ended up being delayed an hour which I was not happy about but was so excited to get there that I didn't let it bring me down! We landed in LA around 11:30 and headed straight for Disneyland! While we were in the cab I realized that I hadn't signed my Mom and I up for the virtual que to get our Minnie shoes so did that quickly! This was something I might have been stressing about just a bit since at Princess it was very challenging to get the shoes! The que filled up in about 5 seconds. I was on right at 6am during Princess and it filled up minutes later. This time 6am PST I was mid flight so just hoped for the best. After I signed us up I received our text messages that we should report to the new balance booth at 2pm! I was pumped, perfect time since that was around the time we were going to be at the expo and they still had our size in Minnie's!

We got to our hotel, Paradise Pier and checked in. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel last year and I think I would say I prefer that one over Paradise Pier but was full when I ended up finally booking a room. All the hotels are very close to the park and downtown Disney and are all great hotels, but I think I just liked the location a bit better at the Disneyland hotel. More on that in a bit! Once we started checking in the rooms somehow got all messed up and they ended up sending us to a room that was still dirty. It was a bit of a hassle checking in, I guess the problem was that rooms kept coming up in the system as clean and they were actually dirty. We ended up having to wait about an hour for our room, which was fine since my Mom's room was ready we were able store our luggage in there and headed to the expo. We were told we would get a call when our room was ready but that we didn't have to hurry back.

As soon as we headed to the expo I got the phone call our room was all set but we decided to go back after we were finished there. We went down and got our numbers and park tickets first. That was smooth sailing. Last year we went the first day and it was completely insane! People everywhere, lines super long. I will never do that again! We had the boys come with us to get our park tickets to make sure they didn't need to see their ID's and then they left us to go to ESPN for some food or beer (ha-ha!). My mom and I had certain things we wanted to get so we had somewhat of a plan of attack. We grabbed our numbers checked out the Dooneys to make sure we didn't want one of those. Went upstairs grabbed our race shirts (thank god they were in women's sizes this year) then we headed over to the runDisney booth. I wanted to get a few Dumbo things a key chain, sweaty band and a magnet for my car. I really wanted the sweaty band and was nervous I wouldn't get one since they sold out super fast at Princess but luckily they had maybe five left when I got there! I grabbed that and the other things I wanted and went to check out. My Mom also got some half marathon stuff, we were out of there in no time. No lines no waiting! Next we headed over to the Raw Threads booth and grabbed a few shirts and stickers. That booth was very busy but I also ended up getting everything I had wanted there! I was really making out at the expo. I also scored one of their 19.3 stickers which I was happy about because I am always afraid to put the runDisney magnets on my car as everyone says they get stolen, so a magnet for the fridge, sticker for the car! Enough with the rambling......Next we grabbed our lasting commemorative cards and it was about time to go to the New Balance booth!!!

Once arriving at the New Balance booth we had to wait in line to show our text message saying what time to come back. Once you got through that part you got a sticker that said "I survived the NB Virtual Que" you then waited in another line for a NB employee to meet with you and grab your size shoe and start the fitting process. This whole waiting in line process took about 15 minutes there were a lot of people so it seemed like it would take forever but it was fast. We were then in trying on our Minnie's! The NB guy that helped us was from Boston how weird! My Mom and I both have Cindy's and really wanted to get the Minnie's so we were glad we were able to snag some! Once we got our shoes we went to check out and they were having a deal on water bottles ones that matched the color of the Disney shoes for $5 each. We both grabbed one which ended up saving us a TON of money in the park buying waters because all the food stands will fill your water bottle for you! I spent a small fortune on water last year so this was awesome! 

Once we were done with the NB booth we were out of there. We didn't go through the entire expo just hit the booths that we knew we wanted things at. Plus the boys were waiting and we still wanted to get to the park that day. We spent about an hour in total getting everything and waiting in any lines we had to. All in all it was a very successful expo. It went much smoother then last year it wasn't so crazy and I didn't feel over whelmed. I am glad I had a plan of attack that way I didn't waist time moseying around and buying things I didn't need.

After the expo we went and found the guys and headed back to the hotel to get everything squared away with our room. The cast members were great once we checked in and everything was all set and they even gave us some fast passes to use on any ride we wanted! This was a really nice bonus and made up for all the confusion we had gone through in the beginning.

Tomorrow Part 2 the 10k will be up so stay tuned!!!

QOTD: Do you make a plan when going to the expo or do you just like to take your time and walk around or does it depend on the race?!?!? 

Summer....Where have you gone!?!!?

Summer is over...... and let me just say this summer flew by and I am not sure where it went or how I feel about it going by so fast. I feel like May was just here and now it is September. Even though technically summer is still going on and it feels like summer, here on Cape Cod it is now Fall. Great things come with Fall though, the coolness in the air, boots and sweaters and fall race PR's. As much as I am sad to see another summer pass us by I do enjoy the more relaxed mood in the air that fall brings. 

Over the past few months I have been more then busy as you can tell with the lack of blog posting. First off I've become a travel agent! So please contact me for a free quote on any type travel! I am specializing in Disney travel but of course can book just about anything your heart would desire! You can click the travel button on the banner of my blog for a bit more information, also please go Like my facebook page! Second I have had such a busy race schedule this summer. Some of them I have reviewed and some of them are still on the list to be reviewed but I will work on getting those up as soon as possible. I had the opportunity to run some pretty awesome races this summer and want you to hear all about them!

Before I get into anything else though I will review my Dumbo Double Dare experience! I just came home from Disneyland and while that is fresh in my mind I will tell you how I felt about it! I ran the half last year and decided on the Dumbo this year and will let you know which I liked better. Hang tight everyone there will be many more blog posts, reviews and giveaways!!!!

Exciting News To Come & Shipyard Old Port Half Recap!!!

Hello everyone! As you can see I have changed a few things on the blog, updated some things and the color is looking a little different! If there is anything you think I should change please let me know I am always open to suggestions!

 

I have some exciting things going on right now, and once I finalize everything I will fill all of you in! New adventures are always fun right! But in running news I wanted to recap the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon I ran a few weeks ago in Portland Maine!

 

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to run this race with my Mom, this was her first Half (She did great and loved it!) and I will say a few days before the race we both weren't feeling it. She was nervous of the distance and I just wasn't feeling great. Even the morning we were suppose to leave we were still up in the air. We decided we were going to go. We had signed up and we weren't backing out. We drove from the Cape to Portland about a three hour drive make that three and a half there is a sonic on the way so you know we had to stop there on the way and also coming home haha! There slushies' are delicious!

 

Once we got to Portland we went straight to get our numbers the expo closed at 6 and we were kind of cutting it close with time so we went straight there instead of checking into our hotel. Parking was not super convenient for this, We ended up parking in some lot for $20 which we thought was a bit steep but there was really no other place to park. It was about a five minute walk to number pick up. We went and grabbed our numbers and they told my mom about the beer garden not me though I must not look 21 haha and then we walked around the expo a little. There were not a ton of vendors maybe a handful and nothing I was too interested in. One thing about the number pick up and race that I am not sure if I liked or not was t-shirts were not included. You could pre-pay for one with your registration or chance getting on at the expo. I got one there it was only $12 and it was a nice form fitting tech shirt but I don't know I almost felt like it should have been included. They were also offering for $30 or $35 a really nice singlet that you pre ordered and then it was shipped to your house at a later date. Had they had those there without them getting shipped later I would have bought one they were really nice.

 

Anyways moving right along we walked around old port for a bit hitting some shops, they have some very cool shopping and TONS of restaurants and then we headed over to our hotel to check in. We stayed at the comfort inn, it was about 10 minutes from the start line and had a shuttle the next morning to and from the race which was great. I do wish they had an expo shuttle too that way we wouldn't have had to pay so much to park but that's ok. We checked in went and grabbed something small to eat and then headed to bed we had an early wake up time.

 

We woke up around 4:30 our shuttle was leaving for the race at 5:30. The hotel was great they had coffee and granola bars and such for the runners down in the lobby so we didn't have to worry about getting anything the day before for breakfast. We then headed down to the start line. We were probably one of the first people there but it was nice we were able to use the port-o-potties without waiting in line forever and relax before the start of the race. Pretty soon it was time to go!

 

The Corrals lined up down this pier which was very neat, I was scared I was going to fall in the water though so I stayed away form the edge. They had pulse starts which was great and fast and pretty soon we were running. The route is kind of like an out and back but a little different. You head out and then weave your way back through. The first three miles are pretty hilly I mean there were some huge hills but there was also significant downhill's with every terrible uphill so you had time to recover. We passed the start line around mile 6 which was a bit of a tease and then we headed up a GIANT hill, it was not fun. After that it was a very flat course, just a few small inclines but nothing like before. Around mile 8 you head around this big lake, it might have been the ocean, I am not sure, it was a large body of water haha! That was nice and flat but a little dusty because parts of it were dirt, once you went around that you then headed back towards the finish but first you went by this sewerage plant that smelled awful, not something you want to be smelling 11 miles into the run. The last mile is down a bike bath and then you head into the finish.

 

This race was a great race a bit challenging but not hard enough that you felt you couldn't finish. There were a few things I didn't like about the race however. First thing being there was a serious lack of water at the finish. This should NEVER happen! Water and Gatorade are the most important parts of a race I think so there should be more then enough. I was able to get one water bottle but they were gone once my mom finished about 20 minutes after me. In saying that there were a good amount of water stops along the way. Next and this comes from my Mom, there were not enough port-o-potties around the race course. There were only a few and the lines seems to be long at them. Hey when you gotta go you gotta go. Lastly the finish was very crowded, I felt like I couldn't move around and just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. It was a small area but I think the area the bathrooms were in was larger, maybe a different set up would help with this.

 

All in all I enjoyed the race, it was a beautiful course and like I said challenging but not too bad. The medals were very nice and the t-shirts were nice even though you had to pay for them. I do think I would put this race on my race calendar again.

 

 

 

 

 

"Disclaimer: Although I was provided with a number all opinions are my own"

 

QOTD:Did you run the Shipyard Old Port Half and did you like it??!?!

It's been a while.....

First off let me just say I can't believe it is almost August! Where has the summer gone?? For some reason in my head I feel as if it is still the beginning of June and then I am quickly reminded it is nearly August! Only good thing about it almost being August means we are that much closer to Dumbo Double Dare!!! That being said I have been more busy then I ever thought I would, lets just say I moved in May and I am still moving in (haha!) With work, racing, training, eating and sleeping (and trying to move and organize) I haven't had a lot of free time! 

Over the next few weeks I am going to be updating my blog a bit as you can see it is starting to look a little different! I am also struggling with a possible name change if you have any ideas please comment below! I want to thank all my followers for sticking around also you guys are the best! Don't worry I will be back soon with more race reviews, giveaways and much much more!

QOTD: Do you have any blog name ideas for me?!?!???!!!

Old Sandwich Road Race Half Marathon Recap!!

So sorry it has been a week since I have written a post, I was away for a bit and have just gotten around to catching up on things! Thank you for all of you who entered my giveaway on the pro compression socks. I am always so blown away on how many people enter so thank you for visiting my blog and for taking the time to enter my giveaway! There are more to come I promise! The winner of the pro compression socks was  Liz D.! Congratulations!!

 

Moving right alone a few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to run in the Old Sandwich Road Race Half Marathon. I had written a blog about this three race event which you can read here. This race consists of a half marathon, a 10k and a 5k. I ran the half.

 

Just a short recap of the race, it is run in Plymouth, MA and runs along Old Sandwich Road, one of the oldest roads in Plymouth. Most of it a dirt road the winds through farms and fields throughout Plymouth. A very scenic route if I must say so.

 

This was my first time running this race so was unsure of what to expect. You park at the finish line and you are bused out to the start for the half. (This will be primarily about the half because I did not run the others.) The start line is the beginning of Old Sandwich Road, which you have to take the highway several exits to get to. Something that can be a bit intimidating especially if it is your first half. We were dropped off and there was place to use the bathroom and get some water. They also had portable lockers where you could store your stuff if you wanted to and then those were driven back to the finish line. It was a pretty warm day so I didn't have anything that I needed to get a locker for such as extra clothes. The race started a little bit later because some people were late getting to the bus so we ended up starting about 10 minutes late which bothered me a bit. I want everyone who is signed up to be able to run but get there with enough time to spare.

 

Once the last bus arrived we crossed the street to Old Sandwich Road and we were off. The first 5 miles were dirt road and pretty flat. The one thing that did bother me was when cars drove by us it got very dusty around you. You then were breathing in dirt for a bit. Also there were little rocks throughout so you really had to be careful where you stepped. We came out of the dirt road and were then on pavement for the remainder of the race. This was a bit of an adjustment on your legs since the dirt was so soft to run on. The mile markers at this point got a little screwy which you will later find out why. It was starting to get very hot so I had to slow the pace down it seemed like the rest of the race was in the bright sun too little to no shade. At the first mile I had team up with a girl who was running her first half marathon and paced with her for the remainder of the race which was really nice because I am telling you the heat was getting to me and I wanted to stop. We chugged along and got to a water stop and they said your at mile 10. My watch only said 9 and I knew my watch was not that off since it had been right on with every mile when I started. We kept going and then stopped at another water stop and the guy said just around the corner and you are done. I said my watch only says 11 miles and the man said they messed up the half route so it is short. We finished running and it ended up totaling about 11.5 miles, not quite a half marathon.....

 

Now I understand things go wrong at races and I get it, there are a lot of people doing all different things but a race distance is something that should be right on point. It was getting hot and I will admit I wasn't pissed I didn't get the last mile and a half in but if I hadn't raced the day before and it had been my first half marathon I would have been so aggravated!

 

A few days after the race I did receive an email from the race director offering all of the half marathoners a spot for next years race or if they wanted a free entry into any of the other races the company puts on they could do that . I was happy they were trying to make good on this.

 

All in all the race was a nice it had beautiful scenery through out but was very hilly in spots. Everyone got a medal no matter the distance and everyone got a tech shirt. I would recommend this race for intermediate runners. Not sure I would want this race to be my first half but those who have been running a while and are familiar with halves will enjoy the small challenge and the beautiful scenery.

 

Disclaimer: Although I was provided a race entry all opinions are my own.

Pro Compression Sock Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

Several weeks ago I was given the opportunity to try out Pro Compression socks. I have wanted to try theses for a while but was always afraid they would be super uncomfortable or restraining on my legs and calves so when Pro compression extended this offer to me I was all over it and couldn't wait to try these out!

As some of you may know compression socks can be worn during and after a workout. They speed up recovery and enhance performance. Who doesn't want that right!

A little about the sizing they come in XS, S/M and L/XL. I recieved a pair of the S/M and they fit great! I wear a size 8.5 shoe so I was right in the middle of the S/M size. Below is a size chart.

I found the size to be just a tiny bit big on me but the XS would have been too small. I have pretty short legs so the biggest concern was how long they were but they felt great. I will say I was nervous that they were going to be incredibly hard to get on. I have heard stories of it taking up to ten minutes to get your socks on and to me that sounds insane and like something I DO NOT want to be part of. Not to mention that has to be wicked comfortable right?! If it takes that long it must be incredibly tight which sounds AWFUL! Pro Compression socks are not like that at all. I literally pulled them on like a sock,maybe took a little more effort but nothing serious. I didn't have a workout before my workout putting these socks on that's for sure! The material of these socks is awesome as well. They are smooth and soft and feel great on your feet! I have also washed them and hung dried them and also by mistake thrown them in the dryer and both ways they came out fine and didn't shrink at all when put in the dryer.

As for the colors of these socks you can pretty much get them in any color and pattern. I got marathon pink of course and I love them. I also bought the Ragnar ones during Ragnar Cape Cod which are pink but hey I can't get enough! They also make sleeves too if you don't want the full sock. You may have a lucky pair of socks you need to wear so don't worry you can still wear them and get the sleeve.

Moving right along to performance,The first time I wore them I felt great and had an amazing run. My legs didn't feel tired and my calves didn't feel constricted like I thought. I was hooked. Since them I have been wearing them off and on and still love them! I like them when it is kind of cold but you want to wear shorts and not capri's too because they really do keep your legs warm. I have worn them for short three mile runs and longer nine mile runs and they are equally great each time.

All in all I highly recommend them for all runners. My mom finally bought a pair and will not run with out them now. I haven't worn them yet for recovery but might try that out this weekend as I have back to back races in the same day! YIKES! But I will let you know how that goes!

Pro compression has been nice enough to let one of my readers win a pair for themselves! Enter to win below!!!!! Also go check out their website they have lots of choices for compression socks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclaimer: I was provided a pair of Pro Compression socks to review however all opinions are my own"

Warrior Dash Recap!!!

On Saturday my Mom and I had the opportunity to run the Warrior Dash up in Amesbury, MA.Originally the location for the race was Bridgewater, Ma but got switched last minute. A bit of an inconvenience and about an hour and a half difference in travel time but I will tell you it was definitely worth it! 

First off I have wanted to run one of these races for some time now. I knew it would be a blast and a bit challenging but so much fun. I have only heard great things about them so needed to get in on the fun!

 A little background on the race each warrior dash is around 3 miles long and it can be through trails or woods and there are roughly 12 obstacles through out the race ranging from climbing over 20 feet structures, crawling through the mud and swimming through mud pools. Beware there is a lot of mud involved and I mean a lot. They have the races all over the country and in my opinion  you get a lot for your money.

The race cost around $40 if you sign up when the race is announced and the price increase the closer it gets to the race like all others but you get a lot for that. A t-shirt, a warrior helmet, a kilt coozy, a bottle opener medal, free beer (for those that are 21 and over), pictures through out the race and a finishers picture that can be uploaded right to your facebook after taking it. Not to mention an awesome 3 mile course of mud, obstacles and fun!

We got to the race around  8:45am checked in got our bib numbers, shirts and warrior helmets, then got ready for the race. Our start time was at 9:30am, They have start times every 15 minutes. We started off up a steep, steep rock filled hill. At first it was slow getting started a lot of stopping and walking and I thought is it going to be like this the whole time. I think the guys in front of me were feeling the same way because they kept saying things like "Just jumped a rock, must be the first obstacle" but then things got interesting. We curved around and up and down hills in the woods for a while and then hit our first two obstacles crawling over things and climbing up big dirt piles. We then headed back into the woods down an incredibly steep hill jumped over some trees that had fallen down and through TONS of mud puddles (beware of the mud sucking in your shoe!) Some people were going around the mud, I was running straight through my goal was to get as muddy as possible, hey that's why I was there right! This continued for a little bit making us extra tired then we hit some more obstacles, ones where you had to climb up and then swing your body over and climb down. I am afraid of heights so the biggest thing for me was not looking down but I still got freaked out a bit. There were lots of obstacles like this but the end ones were my favorite! Before the last few obstacles we had to jump over this line of fire, which dummy me stops in front and says to the guy "Are we suppose to jump this?" He said yes patiently, had I been him I would have answered to myself "No idiot walk through it see how that goes" but legally I think maybe they aren't suppose to say that. Anyway I backed up a bit and ran and jumped over it screaming while they took my pictures and then headed toward the mud pool. Everyone seemed to be swimming through so that is what I did. I crawled out covered in more mud then I have ever had on me in my life and then climbed up the last obstacle where you then slide down this pretty large slide into a pool of muddy water. This is where all the mud from swimming in the mud pool gets washed off. Once you finish with the you then run down a steep hill that I almost face planted on thank god it flattened out and then you are finished and soaking wet with mud in areas you really didn't want there to be mud. 

The down hill finish

My mom and I stuck together the whole race and finished pretty much the same time.It was by far the most interesting and fun race I have run. I literally laughed through the whole thing. Not to mention the people who were out on the course running with you were so nice and helpful. I had gotten to the top of an obstacle and was unsure of how to get down so a runner ahead of me climbed back up to assist me down. I love when I run races and have awesome strangers around me! 

Following the race you can go get your picture taken on the warrior dash cut out that they upload straight to your facebook. This I thought was very cool I had not encountered this at a race before and I really liked the idea. Following that we went and changed into clean clothes,  you can rinse off but we just changed our clothes and stayed muddy. We then went over to the merchandise table which was also great, all registrants got a free kilt coozy and we also bought tank tops which were only $12! What race can you buy a cute shirt for $12....none of them $25 maybe but not $12! We headed over got our free beer, bought some food again which was really reasonably priced and they had a pretty wide variety of things ranging from veggie burgers to pulled pork, hot dogs and cheese burgers. We sat on the AstroTurf field for a bit in the sun then headed home in desperate need of a shower....I also had to wash my hair several times to get all the mud out! 

Finisher Photo

Take top I bought

This to me is a race that even if you are not a runner you can do. If you can walk three miles and handle some obstacles you will have an absolute blast. I am definitely going to sign up for this next year hopefully with a group because it is a race that everyone will enjoy. Well done Warrior Dash I can not wait for next year!

The aftermath of dirty clothing

Disclaimer: Although I was given a race entry for free all opinions are my own.

QOTD: Have you done an obstacle race if so which one and did you like it?