Fitness Friday–1/30

Currently training for Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Disney’s Glass Slipper Challenge 
Disney’s Castaway Challenge
Saturday –  Travel Day!
Sunday – Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon (race recap coming soon!)  
Monday –  Rest Day 
Tuesday –  Stretching and foam rolling
Wednesday – More foam rolling – also a few upper body exercises
Thursday –  Rest Day
Friday – Going to attempt a run for the first time since Sunday



I’m not going to lie, I had a reaaaally hard time with the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon this past Sunday. My body was tired, sore, and I seriously hurt from the previous weekend. I honestly felt as if I had just run a Full Marathon the weekend before (the Louisiana Half where I ran for 2 hour straight without stopping) and was trying to run another half the following weekend. What was my body’s deal? It was only a half the weekend before, so why did I hurt so much 7 whole days later?
My stubbornness showed itself during the Louisiana Half……but this time, I actually decided to listen to common sense. You know, the old saying “listen to your body and what it’s trying to tell you”? Yeah, I finally decided to listen to that one. I’ve run 5 full marathons altogether and although I wasn’t as sore after the recent Louisiana Half as I’ve been after my other full marathons, I decided to treat my recovery as if I ran a full marathon anyway. That’s what I felt my body telling me to do, so that’s what I’m going to do.

I met a really nice man and his wife after RnR NOLA as we were checking out of our hotel. He was 80 years old and his wife was 75 and they came to NOLA to run the 10K! He told me that they used to run full and half marathons in the past but have cut way back on them as they’ve grown older. His wife told me that the true secret and key to running for a long time is listening to your body. I knew her advice was truly meant for me and I told them that I appreciated it more than they’ll ever know. I still want to be able to run when I’m 80! How cool is that?



How sweet is this? On our running group’s website, our coach acknowledged those who ran the past two weekend’s in New Orleans and Baton Rouge!



I really enjoyed the Rouse’s King Cake I purchased while in New Orleans! PJ’s Southern Pecan coffee is delicious, too!

This was a fabulous week for the Princess Half Marathon!



Waviers were released….



…and I received my Magic Bands, Sparkle Skirts gear, and ME tags/DCL documents in the mail! Guess that means I really need to get the ball rolling on my race costumes! Can’t wait to share with all of you! :D

Speaking of the Princess Half, don’t forget about the giveaway happening right now for an adorable Princess themed running top!  Giveaway ends on Monday, so enter before it’s too late!
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How do you handle recovery after a difficult race? Have you learned to listen to your body and what it’s trying to tell you?

Pinterest Pins & A Giveaway

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been loving these Disney Wordless Wednesday posts because they really throw a fun element into the middle of the week!

Today’s theme is: Pinterest Pins
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic
As another runDisney race weekend (Princess) draws closer, my Pinterest board has once again been over run with costume ideas, funny images, packing lists, etc! Here’s a few of my favorite Pinterest pins as of late….and you might find a giveaway here somewhere that’s perfect for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, so stay tuned! :)

















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Speaking of runDisney and costumes, how about a giveaway? :) Amber of Chic by Amber recently reached out to me about her fun Princess themed costume tops that would be the perfect addition for any Princess Half Marathon/Enchanted 10K/Royal Family 5K costume (or any runDisney event for that matter)! She’s offering a giveaway for one top in the style/size of the winners choice between the four that she offers below:



Source

Aren’t they so cute? Enter via Rafflecopter below. One lucky winner will be chosen on Monday, February 2nd.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck and happy running!
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Want to participate in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday? Click on the button below for more details!

2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Expo

After arriving in New Orleans on Saturday, my posse and I headed straight for the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans race Expo. The Expo was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and we parked in the lot across the street (for a small fee).

We were all so excited – I love Expo’s and couldn’t wait to discover what it had in store!

This was also most of the group’s first expo and I was excited for them to experience it!

Gotta love the red-carpet entrance! :)

I was in corral 7. Rock ‘n’ Roll divides their bib pickups by number sections, so it was super easy to find mine!

After collecting bibs, we were directed to another area (straight ahead) for bags and shirts. In exchange for a shirt, a little tag with our printed shirt size was torn off the bottom of our bibs. Again, a super easy and smooth flowing process!

Yay! Ready for a fun weekend ahead!

We spent a good bit of time in the merchandise area!

Great job with the theming, Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Kenzie decided to get a shirt and wanted to try it on. Well, the fitting rooms looked like this!

Appropriate for a running event, yes? Hehe!

A new addition to the floor this year was the Brooks Smile Machine. Brooks set up a green screen with props where runners/expo event goers could have their picture taken AND receive a printed 4x6 of it right there on the spot!

Kayla and Mary getting set up!

This is how mine and Kenzie’s turned out! I apologize – it’s a picture of a picture because the digital image isn’t uploaded yet.

I was holding up my number also, and the finger said 13.1…but I couldn’t tell that it wasn’t in the shot. Haha whoops. Fail.

Before leaving the Brooks official merchandise area, we took our usual finish line photo!

We walked around the Expo floor for a long time and I sent Heather a text to let her know we were there. She text back that they just arrived, so we were able to meet up for a few minutes!

Yay friends! It was good to see her!

As we walked away, I heard my name and it was Fred! So good to see and chat with him again, too!

We talked about upcoming Disney events for a few minutes, then said our goodbyes.

After snapping a few final Expo shots, we were on our way!

I really enjoyed the Expo this year, although I feel as if it lacked something. There were no speaker series or seminars this year which was really different to me. I wonder if Rock ‘n’ Roll is cutting those out altogether or if it was just for this event?

Anyway, we had a great time and enjoyed seeing the vendors and what they had to offer. The Expo helped us get even more excited for the races ahead!

Stay tuned for a full race recap later this week!

What’s your favorite part of a race Expo?

New Orleans Weekend

This past weekend, a group of friends and I spent a bit of time in New Orleans for the Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon!

Tomorrow, I’ll continue on with the Expo and race recap later this week but today, I’m going to share some of the fun/interesting things we were able to see and do while visiting the city!

We woke up on Saturday morning bright and early to begin our 3+ hour drive to NOLA.

After the Expo, we checked into our hotel, then walked around and found a spot for an early dinner. I’ve had issues in the past with dinner locations in New Orleans the night before the race (crazy long lines and wait times of 2+hours), so I knew an early dinner was a must for us!

Our dinner was at a place called Pie. It’s in the warehouse district of NOLA and is a delicious pizza joint. It’s literally a hole in the wall and if you aren’t paying attention, you’ll miss it.

I do believe this was one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever eaten!

After dinner, we walked around the French Quarter for a while, then made our way to Café du Monde for dessert!

If you ever go to NOLA, you need to have beignets…it’s a must!

…but don’t sneeze or exhale while trying to take a bite…if you do, you’ll have a ton of powdered sugar all over the place!

We also walked through Jackson Square and shopped around a bit before heading back to our hotel.

Oooh lala!

After the race, we cleaned up at our hotels and checked out, then walked over to Walk-Ons for a post-race lunch!

I had a turkey burger and it was SO good!

For running the Louisiana Half Marathon last weekend and Rock n Roll New Orleans this weekend, I also received the Louisiana Double Down medal! <3 It’s so pretty!

Funny story – I posted this picture on instagram and a Facebook/instagram/runLouisiana friend saw it and said “We are here too!” I started looking around and they were two tables behind us!

It was so nice to finally meet Jessica! I also got to meet her friend Deloris and several others at her table – some are runDisney fans and are even running Princess next month! I love the running community!  :)

I was so proud of my friend Mackenzie! She ran her first 10K and did a great job!!

On our way out of town, we stopped for King Cake at Rouses and I ordered a King Cake Latte at PJ’s Coffee!

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the weekend! I was so happy that the weather held up for the races and it really turned out to be a gorgeous weekend!

Stay tuned for Rock N Roll New Orleans Expo/Race Recaps this week!

Have you ever been to New Orleans? What’s your favorite thing/place to visit if you’ve been?