Re-Cap Attempts and Well Wishes

Raise your hand if your intentions and follow-through don't always see eye-to-eye. Insert vigorous hand waving here! When Veronica and I started writing this blog, we had every posting at least 2-3 times a week, if not more. Leading up to Princess Half Marathon Weekend, we did. Then - a culmination of months of waiting, registering, freaking out, costume making and training collided into an amazing Disney-filled weekend that left us with an overwhelming sense of bittersweet-ness (I know that's not a word, but I don't know how else to explain it!) Long story/apology short - it's taken us much longer than planned to re-cap our RunDisney experience.  There have been attempts to start, I swear!

The proof is in the pudding or draft posts and you can see below:

Last weekend, my Facebook and Instagram timelines were flooded with photographs and statuses from Disneyland's Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend.  Fairies, princesses and other Disney characters running in the Tinkerbell 5K, 10K and half-marathon were EVERYWHERE. I loved it! My younger sister LOVES Tinkerbell and we've talked several times about doing this race.  While I'm not a die-hard pixie fan, I love Tink's spirit and even her newly discovered sister, Periwinkle. We donned homemade tutus and ran as Periwinkle and Tink in a winter 5K this past December.

Maryland Princesses for the Half

I don't know if or when I will run the Tinkerbell Half Weekend - I love the costumes and magic, but also think Star Wars Weekend might be up my alley more so...either way, all the posts left me reminiscing over Princess Half Marathon weekend.  Three months have passed and I still have not written about the races themselves and I'm SO overdue - I apologize.  I also haven't posted in over a month, so I apologize for that as well. Life at home had become a bit over-scheduled and I am working to get reorganized and writing again.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend - tens of thousands of runners racing throughout the parks. Tens of thousands of runners who need to pick up their packets. How does Disney do it?! Having only attended one Expo myself (all other races were small enough for same-day pick-up or a friend picked up my packet), I had a fraction of an idea of what to expect.

oh to be Dory again...

Tinkerbell Half Marathon has come and gone and now its mid-July and a day before open registration begins for Disney Princess. I can't go next year for a million reasons and yet there's a TEENY TINY part of me that is already planning costumes (Pinterest = not helping) and wishing I had the bank roll to do it. BUT - I don't. I won't. Instead, come registration hour tomorrow, I'll be thinking of all my fellow Disney Princesses and wishing them luck! In some ways, just getting through the registration process is an event in of itself. So - while I won't be running in Florida next winter, I will instead look ahead to when I will plant my feet on the West Coast and experience Disneyland among fairies or storm troopers.

Our Maryland Mickey Ears will run again!

What about you? Are you running Disney Princess in 2016 or another RunDisney event?

Glass Slipper Challenge Re-Cap: Disney Bound!

Spring is here and along with it, the sunshine, warmth and cool evening breezes.  I love this weather second to the fall.  I find myself wearing t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops again.  I find myself running outside more than on the treadmill.  I have not been able to do so since mid-February, when I found myself in Orlando, Florida facing RunDisney's Glass Slipper Challenge.  Several points along the way, I was not sure I would make it.

January and February brought on the toughest months of winter - freezing temperatures, snow and more snow, ice, and snow days.  As a child, I loved snow days - staying home, watching movies and reading old books.  I still enjoy them as a teacher - BUT - give me too many and I'm done. DONE.  Over it.  Miss enough days of school and it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain any sense of routine or intended instruction.  Things were getting increasingly chaotic at school and at home, the countdown was underway.  I was doing as much as I could to prepare myself mentally and physically - running on the treadmill, getting all of my necessary paperwork together, confirming substitute coverage and coordinating the details with childcare (a la the grandparents) and still, the weather bothered me.  The week leading up to the event slammed us with several school closings and reports of flight cancellations and delays. I crossed my fingers and toes and prayed we would still be getting out on time.

Our flight out of Washington, DC to Orlando was booked for Thursday, February 19th with a 6:00 AM take-off.  With President's Day on Monday, I had anticipated having a short week - Tuesday, Wednesday, flight.  With the foul weather, it ended up being only Wednesday. Our Tuesday consisted of another day spent at home and packing for our trip.  Wednesday, I went to school and spent the day finalizing my lesson plans for my substitute teachers, sending emails and setting up my room for my three-day absence.  As any fellow teacher knows, taking time off from school involves significantly more work than simply going in.  I left my classroom Wednesday and headed home to meet my mom, who would be watching the boys while we were away.  I had "sub plans" for her as well - all of the boys' school information and such.  Between getting everything ready and the building anticipation, I did not get to sleep until after 11:00 PM.

Three hours later...it was time.  I had set my alarm to go off at 2:00 AM in order to shower and have a quick cup of coffee before heading to the airport.  It also helped to get a head start on an early wake-up, since we would need to board our buses to Epcot on Friday and Saturday close to 3:30 AM, but more on that later.

Dennis had gone into work his standard overnight shift, coming home shortly after 2:00 as well.  We made sure we had our bags packed and re-shoveled parts of the driveway given the previous show and cold temperatures.  We kissed our sleeping babes goodbye and headed to meet my father, who would drive us the rest of the way.

For those of you who know anything about the greater Metro area surrounding Washington, DC know that the morning and evening commutes on the Beltway (I-495) and I-270 are quite hellish.  I avoid them at all costs, preferring back roads to stop and go traffic.  However, at 3:30 in the morning, it's a ghost town and the best time to drive.  Within an hour, my father had us at Reagan National. The ghost-like feeling followed us into the airport; online check-in took only moments and we arrived to the security check-point to find it not yet open and surrounded by fellow early morning travelers. So far, so good.  We were almost there.





Having flown out of Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International so often in the last years, I had forgotten how small of an airport Reagan is.  It took us less than 10-minutes to travel through security and find our gate.  Armed with a little bit of coffee and a blueberry muffin between us, we soon boarded the first of two flights, heading to Atlanta.  Having worked overnight and only sleeping four hours the previous day, Dennis was exhausted beyond means.  I alternated between sleep, reading and reviewing the Glass Slipper Challenge guidebook I had printed, making notes and additional lists.  Even on a run-cation, I make my lists.

We left the land of cold and ice, landing in a chilly Atlanta, to be greeted by fellow princesses at the gate for our connecting flight.  We fueled up with a "mandatory" and much-needed caffeine fix at Starbucks and soon boarded the plane.

We would land in Orlando at approximately 10:35 AM, greeted by sunshine, palm trees and dozens of princess runners.  It would be nothing compared to what we would encounter tomorrow.  Dennis and I caught the Magical Express to the Art of Animation (our new favorite resort), checked in and waited for everyone else to arrive.  My grandparents and aunt would be driving in from South Carolina and Veronica and her husband Riku would be landing after 5:30.   For the first part of the afternoon, I walked parts of the resort, in love with the Finding Nemo pool and our room in the Little Mermaid section, guarded by King Triton.  I was in awe, and still am, that we were finally here and tomorrow, one step closer to fulfilling a dream.

Next up? The Disney Princess Expo and Glass Slipper Check-in! 

Pinterest Love and Running Costumes: Part Two

I'm In my previous post about our costuming adventure, I mentioned hailed Pinterest for its collection of costuming ideas and more importantly, tutorials.  My mom's amazing sewing skills gave us beautiful blue sparkle skirts fit for a fish for a fraction of the cost.  When it came time to brainstorm our outfits as Maryland princesses, no sparkle skirt needed - we had our red, black, yellow and white tutus leftover from our Diva Dash days.  We knew our outfit would be a display of our Maryland pride - red shirts emblazoned with custom embroidery, black knee-high compression socks, Maryland flag sleeves and a red headband.

As time passed and the race grew closer, I felt our outfits lacked something.  It was all the appropriate colors and clearly displayed our pride.  We had the tutu and felt like princesses. Our headbands, however, did not seem enough.  In fact, our costume, while unique needed a bit of a Disney touch.  We didn't want to don tiaras or fairy wings, because, let's face it - how would that work? What could bring an even more special and yet, Disney touch to the ensemble? What type of headgear frequented the hundreds of RunDisney costumes and other visitors to the parks? When we picture Disney - who is the first character and most iconic of all? Mickey Mouse. <face palm>

I can still remember my first pair of ears - the traditional black felt cap with plastic ears, Mickey Mouse's face emblazoned on the front and my name embroidered in gold thread across the back.  Since then, I've also owned a headband set with Minnie Mouse's bow and a Santa Minnie hat with ears.  Today's Ears have evolved - there are felt caps and headbands for almost every individual character, princess, hero and villain alike.  I have seen more elaborate headband sets involving glitter, features that light up, or practically rebuild the entire character itself.  There are independent designers on Etsy who can custom create Ears for you as well.  However, given my artsy fartsy background (I have a degree in Art Studio-Art Education) and often shop with the motto, "If I can make it, I don't need to buy it".

the quick sketch I sent Veronica via text

I texted Veronica mid-day about six weeks prior to the race and asked, "what do you think about some Maryland Mickey Ears?"  Her response, "YES!!!" as if I had to ask.  So, I sketched and scoured Pinterest yet again and discovered several tutorials for creating homemade Mickey Ears before settling on A Happy Mum.  Several trips to the Dollar Tree, Michael's, Walmart and AC Moore, I had my supplies in hand:

• two headbands (Dollar Tree)
• three sheets regular black felt (Walmart)
• one sheet black STIFF felt (AC Moore)
• pack of mixed foam sheets (Dollar Tree)
• hot glue gun and glue sticks (AC Moore)
• mini glitter: red, white, black, gold (Walmart, Michael's)
• Modge Podge (Walmart)
• roll of wide black satin ribbon (Michael's)
• bonus materials: two small crab iron on patches and blue glitter (JoAnn Fabrics)

supplies and stencils assembled

Using the tutorial and YouTube video, I began to construct the ears.  This was fairly easy and the hardest part was controlling the hot glue so that it didn't seep out of the edges too much and burn my fingers. As with any hot glue project, I usually have quite a few singed fingers, but I'm getting better.  Once the ears were constructed and dried, I pulled up an image of the Maryland flag and sketched out two ideas for Veronica's approval - to split the flag onto both ears or represent it on each.  After a little discussion regarding the glitter and space available, we decided it'd be best to split the flag between the ears: one ear would be gold and black and the other, red and white.  

Construction begins...

Construction completed and awaiting decoration.

The first stages of glitter and Modge Podge

I grabbed a white colored pencil, sketched the outline onto each ear and began to apply Modge Podge and black glitter.  I would follow suit with the remaining colors and several layers of glitter and Modge Podge. I completed each color individually over several days.  The entire application of glitter and Modge Podge took approximately 4-5 evenings (I was also working full-time). Overall, I applied 4 layers of glitter to each color with the exception of the white glitter, which was more transparent than the rest; this took 6 layers.  Then a final coat of Modge Podge was applied to prevent any leaks.  My kitchen became infested with glitter.

The final layer of Modge Podge dries after TONS of glitter. 

Once the design portion of the Ears was completed, I created a simple black bow by folding the black ribbon and tying it secure following the tutorial.  This was embellished with a handcrafted Maryland Blue Crab by coating a mini-crab iron-on patch using bright blue glitter and Modge Podge.  This last piece was glued onto the final bow and attached using leftover ribbon.  Once complete, I was beyond amazed - using basic arts and craft supplies, a little time and creativity, we would don Maryland Mickey Ears not found elsewhere. 

At the Princess Half-Marathon, we received compliment after compliment from fellow runners and spectators.  We were even asked where we had purchased them. We thanked everyone and grinned knowing we had a unique accessory to our costumes and a great souviner.  As we speak, my Ears are on display on a shelf beside my collection of Cinderella snow globes above my race medals.  They will forever be one of my favorite race costume accessories.

The finished Ears sent with a manadatory Duck Face to V for inspection.

The Maryland Mickey Ears outside of Cinderella Castle! 

What's one item you've created or would love to create for a race costume? 

Pinterest Love + Running Costumes: Part One

Pinterest is a dangerous vice of mine.  It's how I hoard...online.  I have over 5,000 pins in numerous categories: school, home, running, crafting, you name it.  "Hi, my name is Laura and I'm a Pin-aholic."  I can't help it.  Pinterest is a mecca of ideas and downright time-consuming.  As we speak, I'm pinning. However, with great power comes great responsibility. Wait - that's from something else. But seriously, with the right idea and follow-through, you can come out with some great stuff.

But - I digress. The reason for my gushing over Pinterest is this: it is an AH-mazing resource for costumes. Not just Halloween, mind you - running costumes as well!  Search for any possible costume or character and add the word 'running' and BAM!  Type in 'Princess Half Marathon running costume' and be prepared to lose several hours of your life. Well worth it, I promise.  At least, I thought so.

In the planning of our Dory and Maryland Princess costumes, one common accessory made its presence known - sparkle skirts.  Sparkle skirts are just that - sparkly skirts.  I first stumbled across them via a cute photo of Kelly from Sparkle Athletic/According to Kelly donning several colors as various Disney characters and I grew curious. Then - I wondered some more and decided to Google Sparkle Athletic. Lo and behold, I discovered an overabundance of sparkly skirts and other accessories.  Beautiful sparkly sparkles in an assortment of colors, fit for a princess or cute fish.  I wanted to own them all..but I was not fully prepared to pay the $25 they cost. Which is a fairy reasonable price but given the amount of cash we were already forking over to do the Glass Slipper Challenge, stay at a Disney Resort, flights, etc... I wanted to find ways to be frugal when possible.

Armed with an idea and Pinterest, I sought out Do-It-Yourself tutorials and enlisted the help of my mother and her faithful Kenmore sewing machine.  The tutorial we used was from a blogger/runner at Beauty Still Remains - great explanations and pictures. First step, a trip to our local JoAnn Fabrics with a list for thread, elastic and confetti dot fabric.  We soon discovered that the online inventory is sadly not always accurate and our dreams of sewing that afternoon were quickly put on hold and instead, we ordered the royal blue fabric that would be Dory online.  We waited. We waited. Finally - a mere two weeks later, we were rewarded for our patience and yards in hand, we began to analyze the tutorial I found and we sewed.

the sewing begins!

the confetti dot fabric being cut into strips

Well, my mom sewed and I played assistant, bringing her drinks and pinning when instructed, and so on.  From start to finish, the first skirt took us an hour and a half.  We didn't want to waste any fabric or make any mistakes and often re-read the directions to be on the safe side.  Several skirts later, my mom can now whip these out within a half-hour.

attaching the elastic band to the skirt

I cannot thank my mom enough for sewing our sparkle skirts and honestly, several more. Since the first skirt, we've collaborated to create several more in various colors. She made several for a local 5K for herself and some of her friends, which has led me to create a wish list for more colors of my own.  For the Enchanted 10K, Veronica and I donned black shorts or capris under our sparkle skirts and a matching ensemble of blue wigs, yellow fins fashioned from tulle and elastic and a beautiful tech-shirt custom-embroidered (but more on that later).  Our completed Dory costumes were quite original and stood apart from the hundreds of tutus and princess costumes that day.  If I recall, we only encountered one other Dory during the race in a sea of 10,000 runners.

our homemade sparkle skirts a la Dory! 

I have worn my skirt again for other local races and even on some random training runs because hey, who doesn't love a little sparkle?  Keep an eye out for another costuming re-cap involving the custom Mickey ears I created that were inspired by the Maryland flag!

What's a Princess to Wear?!

Picking out an outfit in the morning is hard enough. Partly because there's a small child usually asleep in my bed and I'm trying to get dressed without waking them up AND be sure my outfit is somewhat coordinated while still using the least amount possible. Getting dressed by flashlight AND you're not camping? Mini-adventure! Now...getting dressed for a race - somewhat easier. I typically go by the day's weather and try to somewhat coordinate my outfit but mostly go by comfort. Deciding you're not just getting dressed for a race but going in costume??? That presents a whole new series of challenges. Not to mention where there are TWO races and you want need costumes for both.

Prior to registering for the Glass Slipper Challenge, I had never wanted to nor felt comfortable wearing a costume during a race. Not to say I haven't seen my fair share of costumed runners: a turkey and pilgrim, the Super Mario Brothers and a personal favorite: Buddy the Elf, to name a few. In my "research" leading up to the event, I came across several blogs and Pinterest pins of costumes for various RunDisney races and knew I could NOT run Disney in my old capris and pull-over.  I had to dress up! But as who???  With so many characters and favorites to choose from, how could we narrow it down? I debated over Cinderella (my first princess), Vanellope Von Schweetz, Dory and countless others... I even looked at several of the Villians: Ursula, Cruella and Maleficent (who, coincidentally have teamed up on Once Upon a Time - but that's another story).  I didn't want to look like the thousands of other runners but also wanted a costume that was special to myself, my family and my running.

What Disney character could truly sum up all of this? What Disney character would I continually come back to in my Google searches and find inspiring without realizing it? Who did I often quote during the hardest moments of my long runs? That little voice that would tell me, "just keep running" in her most uplifting tune - "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." Face palm: Dory. She would be the inspiration for the Enchanted 10K.  A little fish with a big voice.  Not to mention one of preferred movies on rotation in our household. 

Our "Flat Dory" costumes side-by-side prepped the night before the 10K.

One costume down, one to go.  For the Princess Half Marathon, the question of what to wear may have begun as a difficult decision but was answered quickly.  Given that we would be running side by side and celebrating our journey as runners, we had been reflecting upon our experiences to date including our first costumed race, the Shape Diva Dash.  Veronica and I became friends during our freshman year of college at the University of Maryland, born and raised in the land of blue crabs and Old Bay.  For the Shape Diva Dash, we crafted tutus in red, yellow, black and white - the colors of our home state.  Since the Diva Dash, our tutus had been hanging in our closets begging to be worn again.  Over several text messages and I'm fairly certain, a conversation no longer than five minutes, we knew we'd be dusting our skirts off and creating our own princess ensemble.

Our "Flat Maryland Princess"

Ideas in hand, sketching and crafting was underway - we continued working on our costumes up until the very week of the races.  With the help of my mother and her sewing machine, a colleague/friend of Veronica's who does embroidery and some of our own handiwork, I think we managed to create costumes that were meaningful and truly unique.  

Post-Enchanted 10K - We just kept swimming!

Maryland Pride - Pre-Half Marathon (3:15 AM)

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...

...and Disney makes possible.
We know it's been awhile since our last posting and we apologize - upon our return from Disney our schedules were disrupted by matters at home and at work. Thank you for being patient as we catch up and re-cap our experiences with the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. We'll be looking back on our trip from beginning to end. For starters, how did we get here?! 

With all of our recent snow days, I'm wishing I lived where it was warmer.  Okay, confession: I wish I was back at Walt Disney World.  It's been almost two weeks since Veronica and I completed the Glass Slipper Challenge.  One moment, it was a frantic afternoon in mid-July trying to get through the registration process and the next, we're home again, medals in hand.  Princess Half Marathon weekend has come and gone, leaving me begging for more.  So much went into preparing for this event - physically, mentally and costume-y!

I often say, "who is this girl" and "I can't believe I did this," when reflecting back on my running journey.  It's true - comparing myself to my pre-running self, you would not have seen me running except in case of an emergency.  You would not have seen me consider forking over any amount of money to run (Who pays to do that?!), purchasing inordinate amounts of confetti dot fabric and glitter for running costumes, or simply scrolling though fellow blogs looking for exciting races to join.  But.. "Runner" Laura, does just that.

Shortly after completing our series of back-to-back 5K races and Veronica moving across the country, I was excited to tackle more, but didn't know where to begin.  I googled fellow runners' blogs, looked online and scoured Pinterest.  It was there that I stumbled across a pin for Disney Princess Half Marathon. What?! Disney does races?! This I had to see.  A slightly wasted lunch-hour later, I was hooked.  I knew I needed to get to Florida and run among fellow princesses.  I talked it over with Veronica and we set a goal - we would run in 2015.  She had her upcoming wedding in March plus moving to adjust to and there was also the nitty-gritty of training to be done.  We marked July 15th on our calendars for registration and we waited...

Well, sort of. The whole idea of running through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom overwhelmed me so much that I had to find out more. Following reviews and re-caps of fellow princess runners, I discovered the Glass Slipper Challenge: run the Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the Princess Half-Marathon on Sunday. Your reward? Not one, not two, but THREE shiny medals, including one emblazoned with a glass slipper.  As a girl who was nicknamed Cinderella at a young age (I protested about some chores), I HAD to have it. It took a little (barely any) convincing to get Veronica excited, and we decided we'd "go big or go home!"

Fast-forward to July 15th and we found ourselves counting down to registration opening at 12:00 noon (9:00 AM Pacific Time).  I was teaching summer school and had just sent my students home for the day.  Armed with our phones and the registration page loaded, we were ready.  Disney and Active, however, were not.  For anyone who is familiar with registering for a RunDisney race -- they sell out. FAST.  Right from the start, we encountered difficulty with the Active website and struggled to get through for over 45 minutes.  After several emails with RunDisney, who assured us they were working on the issue, I bit the bullet and hurried home to try registering from my own computer and hoping the glitch would be fixed.  By the time I arrived and logged in, the Glass Slipper Challenge was sold out and the Princess Half Marathon was 95% full.  Frustrated and beyond upset, we registered for the half marathon, feeling half-defeated.

However, we decided not to give up. Having already been in communication with RunDisney regarding the registration, we both followed up separately asking for any consideration to be allowed to complete the Glass Slipper Challenge.  As the day passed, we continued to hope and several hours later, an email response came through.  RunDisney apologized for the technical issues and our inability to register for the Glass Slipper Challenge as planned.  True to the magic that is Disney, they granted our wish: we were going to be able to participate in the Glass Slipper Challenge! Ecstatic beyond belief, I called Veronica and shared the good news.  In less than a year, we would be running together again surrounded by thousands of other princesses in the most magical place on Earth.

Now - costumes?!

Disney Princess Training [finally] Begins!

Last Saturday I had my best friend over for dinner.  This might not seem like much, but to me, it's huge. I have not seen her in the flesh since mid-March.  While I appreciate all that Facebook, Face Time and other social media outlets have to offer, actually being able to interact with her in real-time was exactly what I needed.

As some of you already know, we are registered to run the Disney Glass Slipper Challenge this coming February. What you may not know, is that I have not been sticking to my training schedule as well as I should.  As part of the Glass Slipper Challenge, we are running the Enchanted 10K on Saturday February 21st and the Princess Half-Marathon on Sunday February 22nd.  Running back-to-back races is no simple feat, regardless of distance.  However, when faced with the prospect of earning three medals and running through the parks filled with various characters from our childhood?? Take our money, RunDisney! 

In order to prepare, RunDisney provides training plans designed by Jeff Galloway for all of their races, including the challenge events.  In my registration excitement, I downloaded and printed a copy of the Glass Slipper Challenge training plan which covers 19-weeks and has you running twice weekly for approximately 30-45 minutes, with long runs on the weekend.  Looks easy enough.  However, throw in a full-time job, a long commute, a husband working overnights and two little guys under the age of four and this momma is lucky to even get time or the energy to think about running.  Which, let's face it, sometimes just thinking about running is my exercise for the day.  However, thinking and doing are entirely two different things.  Especially when I should be in week 5 of my training and have barely done anything beyond a few short runs and a 10K.  

Reasons and excuses aside, I know I need to step it up - so Sunday, I did.  It took a kick in the pants from my husband and ignoring the guilt every mom or woman faces: "but, I need to..." and just going out to run.  I ran. I ran and I didn't stop until I hit 3.1.  Three miles...and just a little more. Three miles, three months, three medals.  I've got this - whether I feel like it or not, I've got (to do) this.

What about you? Are you struggling or kicking ass with your own training? Even if you're just working on incorporating more regular running...are you running as much as you're thinking about it? What motivates you to get out the door - do you need a reminder on your Google Calendar or are you like me and need your husband (or whomever) to physically push you out the door sometimes?