Eat, Sleep, Run Disney

Wine & Dine Half Marathon and WDW Half Marathon Sell Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:47:00 +0000

Looks like runDisney races are getting more and more popular!

I know the races always sell out at some point before race day, but the WDW Half Marathon sold out in only 35 days. Yea, it's not like the 2 hours it took Marine Corps but it's still impressive, considering how many race weekend runDisney has. That's CRAZY! I'm sure Dopey and Goofy participants had a hand in helping that along and it just goes to show how popular these races are getting. Oh, and the day before that race sold out? The Wine & Dine Half Marathon also sold out!

If you guys are interested in running in another runDisney race soon and haven't registered, better get to it!

Disneyland 10k: Sold Out
Disneyland Half: Sold Out
Tower of Terror 10-Miler: 81%
Wine & Dine Half: Sold Out
WDW 10k: Sold Out
WDW Half: Sold Out
WDW Marathon: 62%
WDW Goofy: 64%
WDW Dopey: Sold Out

I'll be heading up to Boston tonight to go cheer on everyone at the CrossFit North East Regionals! Look for a ton of pics when I get back! :)

Adventures in Paleo Cooking, Part 6

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Back with some more recipes I've been loving lately! Since my friends and I are jumping back onto the Paleo bandwagon and tying ourselves down so we don't fall off again, I need to start posting more recipes for you guys!

Here's a few that I can easily make on a regular basis.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus (The Food Lovers Kitchen)
- So easy to make and I accidentally ate a whole pound of asparagus in one sitting...oops. Do NOT add extra salt like the recipe says to though. Especially with the salty prosciutto!

Paired this with some honey mustard chicken. Nomnom.

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins (Carrots 'n' Cake)
- OMG I'm in heaven. These are pretty much perfect in every way. Awesome texture and flavor, and really easy to make!

Photo from Carrots 'n' Cake - I ate them too quickly to take my own photo! Oops.

Scotch Eggs (The Clothes Make the Girl)
- Perfect breakfast! I tried to make my own sausage seasoning and it turned out pretty well. Need to tweak it some more though and look up other spice mixes. So filling!

Smokey Burgers w/Pineapple Teriyaki (Civilized Caveman Cooking/Practical Paleo)
- I thought these were slightly too salty but I'll def make them again and just cut that back a bit. Easy to make and the pineapple teriyaki sauce is a great compliment.

Spice Rub Crock Pot Chicken (Everyday Paleo)
- Quick to prepare and it's ready in the morning! Paired with bacon balsamic brussel sprouts.

Photo from Everyday Paleo. I can't find the pic I took!

Thai Chicken Curry (She Cooks He Cleans)
- OMG so good! Used boneless, didn't cook prior (1st step). Used carrots instead of broccoli, baked everything together at the end, including carrots & cashews. Also added in a can of water chestnuts. Cook for 30 mins. YUMMY and fairly easy.

Photo from She Cooks He Cleans

Weekly Recap, 5/6 - 5/12

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:40:00 +0000

Monday, 5/6: CrossFit

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 25 mins:
- 1 snatch (max weight)
then 3 rounds of:
- 5 pullups
- 10 wallballs, 14#

Freakin ripped my hand at the very end. Ugh!

Started the snatches at 65#...worked my way up to 85# going up by 5
Total score is total amount of weight snatched... 375!

Tuesday, 5/7: Rest Day

But did make a fabulous dinner and had to bust out the runDisney glasses I received awhile back!

Wednesday, 5/8: CrossFit

Miserably rainy day in NYC but I did get this view at an all morning meeting I attended by Grand Central!

WOD:
Back Squats 5x5

I was trying to be a baby and not add any weight for my 5x5 back squats. I wanted to stay at my last PR of 175#. Then the owner called me out on it and pushed me to try 180#. And? Did them all at 180! It was freakin hard and it knocked the wind out of me, but I did it. Yay! Woohoo, new PR!

Then....
7 min AMRAP:
- 5 air squats
- 10 pushups
- 15 superman

I got through 6 rounds and 10 pushups

Thursday, 5/9: Rest Day

Friday, 5/10: CrossFit

AMRAP for 12 mins:
- 10 shoulder press at 75#... I used 65#
- 15 GHD situps
- 30 Kettlebell Swings 55#... I accidentally used 35#..didn't see it said 55! :(
- 50 Hang Power Snatch at 45#

This workout sucked so bad. I only got through 1 full round and 4 shoulder presses. Ugh!

But later that night at dinner, I think we found maybe one of the most amazing desserts ever? A donut stuffed with canoli cream filling??? Woah. Yes, I know...not Paleo..shhhh.

Saturday, 5/11: Rest Day

Fun morning at a friends bridal shower and then some relaxing!

Sunday, 5/12: CrossFit

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there! :)

Worked on the Squat Snatch at open gym. Finally asked someone to video tape me so I can see what I'm doing and how to improve. I def bring my arms out too far in front of me when I'm trying to drop under the bar. Any suggestions?

Below is the squat snatch at 55#. I dropped down to this weight and just wanted to work on my form instead of trying to PR.

Oh! And starting much stricter Paleo again starting this Monday! Wish my friends and I luck!!

What's Beautiful?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Some of you might have already seen some hint of this campaign making its way around the interwebs. Under Armour has kicked off their What's Beautiful 3.0 Campaign, which is a competition born from a mission to redefine the female athlete. It's to inspire women to step out of their comfort zone, push their boundaries, achieve new goals.

I am excited to announce that I was chosen as one of the FitFluential Ambassadors to be a part of Under Armour's What's Beautiful Challenge!

Before I was asked to participate in the campaign, I had actually done an MBA project last semester about the Under Armour Women's line and our goal was to come up with new ways that UA could improve their business. Surprisingly? My MBA group came to the conclusion that UA needed to make their advertising and message geared more towards the "normal" woman athlete instead of using all of the superstars that we see today on tv.

The What's Beautiful Campaign does just that. It's to show everyone out there that normal women can be athletes. They can be strong and powerful, and still be feminine and beautiful. I love that they are empowering their customers to push themselves and prove that "beautiful" isn't just the skinny models walking down the runway. I've always been fairly athletic, I've never been model skinny, and in the past have been told I was "bulky" or "too muscular". Those comments used to bother me. But now? I just say "thank you" and know I worked hard for the body that I have.

But back to the campaign....This new round of competition steps up Under Armour's previous campaigns. Under Armour wants you to publicly state your goal, no matter how big or small, and go after that goal with everything you have. Whether it's to run a mile non-stop, get your first unassisted pull-up, or something extreme like running your first full marathon, no goal is too trivial or too large.

To make it even more exciting, these goals can be shared among friends, internet buddies, etc and you can complete your goals together. After you join, you then document your journey by posting videos and photos that tell your story from start to victory. You can also join groups of women with common goals and post and motivate each other along the way.

Every week UA will give away Under Armour Swag Bags full of gear to women who are seriously getting it. After 8 weeks, 10 finalists will be announced who've documented the most impressive, motivated, monumental stories. The final three winners will then be flown to Costa Rica to attend a four-day yoga and surf retreat. HOW amazing does that sound? Some serious motivation right there!

Everyone can sign up and set goals... push yourselves, ladies! Show everyone else out there What's Beautiful! Sign up for What's Beautiful here!

What are my goals? I have a ton! I know many of them are pretty lofty but I'm taking them one at a time, and will NOT get overwhelmed!

My Goals
- 200# deadlift
- run a half marathon in under 2:00
- break 200# backsquat
- 135# cleans
- 90# snatch
- complete one muscle up

For all of you CrossFit ladies out there, I created a CrossFit Strong group. It's for any and all of your CrossFit related goals. Like I said earlier, no goal is too small! Whether it's adding 5# to a lift, getting double unders, muscle ups, anything! Go ahead and join, and I'll approve you as soon as I get back to a computer!

There's also a ton of other groups out there, for walking, running, yoga, overall fitness, etc. Take a look and browse around! Start setting those goals ladies and say #IWill! Let's show everyone out there what beautiful really looks like.

** This post is sponsored by Under Armour & FitFluential. However, all opinions and experiences are my own, and I am not being compensated for this post. **

New Disneyland Medals Revealed!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:18:00 +0000

I know I'm a little late to the game with this and that most people posted about them yesterday but an all day meeting at work kinda hindered me from getting to a computer!

runDisney revealed the entire medal collection for the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend coming up! The medals includ the Dumbo Double Dare, Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K and Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K.

Photo Courtesy of runDisney

The Disneyland Half medal has always been one of my favorite runDisney medals. I think the 10k is really cool as well since it's Alice and the tea cups! The Dumbo medal is cute! I love how it's in color with Timothy on the ribbon.

What do you guys think? Who's going to be getting all 4 of these beauties?

Weekly Recap, 4/29 - 5/5

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Didn't get nearly as many workouts in as I wanted to but ran in one of my first trail races in YEARS and had a busy week celebrating birthdays as well as the end of the semester. :)

Monday, 4/29: CrossFit

5 Rounds For Time (25 min cap):
- 20 hand stand pushups (had a 25# plate underneath to scale)
- 10 pullups
- 20 box jumps (20" box)

I got through 4 full rounds and then 6 hand stand pushups. I think my arms are STILL sore! Ouch!

Umm..and maybe my new favorite burger for lunch....Bulgogi Korean burger...Paleo-ish, right?

Tuesday, 4/30: Rest Day

Had my final presentation of the semester!! WOOHOO! So glad that class is over with. Had a few celebratory beers and wings with friends.

Wednesday, 5/1: Rest Day

I had a slight sick day from work to get through some of my annual doctors appointments. Then had to head to campus to pick up my cap & gown and tickets for graduation!! AHH!!!! Not sure if I mentioned it enough on the blog yet but I officially finish with classes in August but since they only hold a graduation ceremony in May, they're allowing me to walk then and then finish up my classes after. The countdown has begun!

Then wandered with the bf around some of the stores in our area. I might have to buy some of these as gag gifts for friends. I mean, who wouldn't want a Ryan Gosling coloring book!?

Thursday, 5/2: Rest Day

Went with a co-worker to a sake tasting she won in the city and had a great time tasting all the different varieties. Then ended the night with one of the best Korean BBQ dinners I've ever had. So good!

A little sake after work...

...which then led to one of the best Korean BBQ dinners ever!

Friday, 5/3: Rest Day

To celebrate one of my BFF's bday, we headed over to Yankee Stadium to enjoy the Yankee game. If only the Yanks won...*sigh*

Saturday, 5/4: North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay

Myself and 3 of the guys from CrossFit decided to register for a marathon trail relay. Team of 4, 6.5 miles each...and did I mention crappy crappy incline and terrain? I haven't ran a trail race in YEARS so this was entertaining. The mountain def kicked my butt but I think we all did really well! Holy elevation gain! And glad I only had to run 6.5 miles and nothing more. :)

North Face hasn't posted the photos yet so unfortunately I can't show you guys any of the course. Definitely didn't bring my camera or phone for fear of falling and breaking either.

Even Dean Karnazes was there!

The start line

Sunday, 5/5: CrossFit

A little fun during open gym... Happy Cinco de Mayo!

WOD:
- 1 squat clean on the minute
- 10 burpees on the next minute

Add 10# for each squat clean. Your workout is over after you fail 2 squat cleans in a row.

Started at 65# for the cleans. Got up to 115# pretty easily. Then I failed twice at 125. The burpees killed me! So I think that was about 80 burpees in total. Not fun. Those minutes went by FAST!

*sigh* thanks, Ryan!

Ended the night with a little beer tasting :) I'll admit this is better than their maple bacon one from last year... but not sure I can drink much more of this!

Weekly Recap, 4/22 - 4/28

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:26:00 +0000

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I seriously need a vacation from all the busy weekends I've been having lately. I feel like sitting at my desk is the only time I can kinda relax. Yikes! But...the semester ends TODAY!!! Then I have a couple weeks before the summer semester starts up again. Can't wait to not have to worry about ANYTHING school related for a bit.

Monday, 4/22: Rest Day

Tuesday, 4/23: CrossFit

WOD:
Snatch Balance, 7x1

45x5 warmup
65x3 warmup
70x2 warmup

75-80-85-90-95-100-105

All about finding that balance! My previous PR was 95#...and this felt good! I didn't drop as quick as I should have but I felt stable. I'll take it!

Not Me! :) Photo from allaroundjoe.com

Wednesday, 4/24: Rest Day

Thursday, 4/25: CrossFit

WOD:
Overhead Squat, 7x1

45#x5 warmup, 65#x3 warmup, 85#x2 warmup

Wooot! I think something finally clicked with my overheads! 95# was my PR but that was way back in September. I knew I could easily do more so the coach and I decided I should just start my working sets at 95 and go from there.

95 - 105 - 115 - 120 - 125 failed - 125 - 130!!!

Holy crap even I surprised myself. The first 125 I was SO wobbly I had to bail out. The second 125, I was very wobbly trying to stabilize but then heard one of the coaches call out and tell me to lock my shoulder blades back and for some reason, that made everything click. I always thought I was but I guess I wasn't enough. The minute I did, I felt so much more stable. 130 was actually one of the best squats I had. Felt SO much more stable than the 125.

WOOTT!!! Happy dance!

Friday, 4/26: Rest Day

Saturday, 4/27: Rest Day

Today the girlfriend of one of my best friends threw him an all day surprise party. Started off with go-kart racing (unfort I didn't get a chance to join them), then a few hours in a trampoline gym, and ended up at our favorite local bar. To say we had a good day is an understatement. I mean... how could you not have fun doing this....

That was supposed to be a flip...I failed....

And then while at the bar...attempting to attack a candy filled pinata... (we were in charge of decorating the bar before he got there and went a little crazy with the decorations..)

We named him Donkey

Sunday, 4/28: Yoga

Went with the bf to a lulu yoga event at the winery in our area and finally got a chance to do yoga for the first time in YEARS! Def need to do it more often. Plus it didn't hurt that it was at a winery so some wine, cheese, and yumminess was enjoyed after.

Our half eaten cheese & fruit plate...oops...

Made friends with the horsies at the winery....

And then went to my other bff's house right by the winery to celebrate his twin son's 2nd birthday (sorry grammar police...I can't figure out how to write that grammatically correct)! Yes, I'm trying to convert them into Disney fans young....

Hope everyone had a great last week!

runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Adds a 10k, a New Challenge & New Medals!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:58:00 +0000

Serious jealously for everyone that will be able to attend Princess weekend next year!

runDisney just announced that they're spicing up Princess Weekend a bit by adding in a 10k, the Disney Glass Slipper Challenge, and fancy new medals! And, if you run both the Tink half and the Princess half in 2014, you get a special edition Coast to Coast medal. Very cool, runDisney. Very cool.

The new special edition Coast to Coast - photo courtesy of runDisney

From their press release....

The Princess 10K gives runners of various levels more opportunities to run through Disney theme parks and receive a specially-designed finisher medal. And runners looking for an even bigger challenge can sign up for the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday (19.3 miles total) to earn the inaugural Disney Glass Slipper Challenge Medal to go along with medals from each individual race.

The Princess Half Marathon Weekend, scheduled for Feb. 20-23, is one of two women-focused runDisney events. The other is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in January at Disneyland Resort in California. Both races are among the largest women-specific running events in the country and focus on healthy active lifestyles for women and girls. For instance, after nearly 7,500 runners ran in the inaugural Princess Half Marathon event in 2009, the popularity of the race has grown considerably with more than 26,000 registered runners for last year’s race.

Also new in 2014 is a special edition runDisney Coast-to-Coast Race Challenge Medal for runners participating in the 2014 Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland in January and the 2014 Princess Half Marathon five weeks later at Walt Disney World. Finishers receive the coveted medal featuring the likeness of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse with a pink overlay and lanyard.

Registration for the 2014 Princess Half Marathon opens June 11 at www.runDisney.com. A limited number of runners will have the opportunity to register for both the Princess and Tinker Bell Half Marathon at that time. Those not securing an early registration for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon will have a second chance when on-line registration officially opens on July 9.

~~~~~

Seems like they hit a home run with these 10k's, so I'm guessing we'll be seeing more added throughout every race weekend!

Who's excited for the race and medals? Anyone going to do both Tink and Princess for the pink Coast to Coast?

Weekly Recap, 4/15 - 4/21

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:22:00 +0000

Oops...didn't realize I never scheduled this to post yesterday! Lots of workouts, a concert, a wedding, a CrossFit competition. Not a bad week. :)

Monday, 4/15: CrossFit

- 800m run warmup

WOD: 20 min cap
- 75 burpee box jumps, 20" box
- double unders for the remaining time

Got in 172 double unders. holy crap this wod sucked! I think I finished the burpee box jumps with like 8 mins to work on double unders. They're starting to get slightly easier!

Tuesday, 4/16: Rest Day

Yayyyy fun day of work and school! Only a couple more classes this semester! WOOT!

Wednesday, 4/17: CrossFit

WOD: Split Jerks, 7x1 (with bar starting on your back)

95#x5, 115x3, 125x2 for warmup

135# - 145 failed, 145 failed, 145 failed..140 failed...135 failed..135 failed...

*sigh*...yup...lots of fails in there. The first 135 was slightly wobbly and I should have done it again but didn't. After that, kinda lost my confidence and then just started getting tired. Starting with the bar on your back also threw me off, not a fan of it at all!

Post WOD:
- 1 mile run

Thursday, 4/18: CrossFit

Pre WOD:
Backsquats 5x5...did all at 150#

WOD:
"Cindy"

AMRAP for 20min:
- 5 pullups
- 10 pushups
- 15 squats

I THINK I got in 10 rounds and 3 pullups. It MIGHT have been 11 rounds. I lost count :(

Friday, 4/19: CrossFit

WOD: (20 min cap)
3 rounds:
- 10 clean and jerks - 95#
- 50 double unders

Ughhhh... this one sucked big time for me for some reason. The clean and jerks at 95# weren't horrific, but they tired me out. The first round of double unders I could NOT string them together! But I did get 25 in a row in the 2nd round. Go figure. Total time: 19:36

Post WOD:
- 1000m run

And later on in the day we went to see Muse in concert...and they were amazing!!

Saturday, 4/20: Boston Tribute Run

A bunch of us from CrossFit went to the park to run at least a cumulative 26.2 miles. Nice way to start the morning. We all pretty much ran a 5k, for a total of over 40 miles.

And then proceeded to drink many of these at my good friend's wedding :)

Sunday, 4/21: CrossFit - Mayhem in the Meadowlands

Slightly hung over from the wedding...we headed to MetLife Stadium (aka Giants and Jets Stadium) with a bunch of people from our box to compete in the Mayhem in the Meadowlands. 300 teams of 3, 3 workouts throughout the day, overall a great day. And we got to workout on the field! How many people can say that?

My team ended up exactly middle of the pack. We could have done a little better in one of the workouts, but we definitely worked our butts off!

Weekly Recap, 4/8 - 4/14

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:30:00 +0000

Unfortunately this post was pushed back a few days after the events on Monday, and I just had the motivation to post it today. I'm trying to throw in more stuff other than training since I feel like that can get slightly boring after awhile! Although I swear all I feel like I've been doing lately is working, eating, sleeping, CrossFit, and school. My life hasn't consisted of much else. Trying to work on that now that the weather is getting nicer! :)

Monday, 4/8: Rest Day

I was SO sore from the competition the day before that I took a few days off. Ouch!

Tuesday, 4/9: Rest Day

Yes, I played hooky from school. Shhhhhh. A few friends and I went to a comedy show in NYC after work down in the Village. Lucky for us, Colin Quinn (I remember him from SNL) was there and got on stage for a little bit. On the way out we got to say hi...

Yup blurry...oops.

Wednesday, 4/10: Rest Day

Rest Day only b/c I got to go to the Rangers game with a few familiar faces of Eat, Sleep, Run Disney! Danielle, Patrick, Daniel and I finally caught up again and enjoyed some hockey. I haven't been to a game probably since I was 12! And I'm loving the newly renovated (well, new for me...) Madison Square Garden. Fancy.

Thursday, 4/11: CrossFit

Pre WOD: Backsquats 3x5...did them all at 150#

3 Rounds for Time (20 min cap):
- 800m run
- 50 weighted situps (women used 25# plates)

I only got through 2 rounds and then up to 3 situps before time was called, but I finished out the 50 situps on my own.

Friday, 4/12: CrossFit

For time: (20 min cap)
- 5 rope climbs
- 5 power cleans 135#
- 4 rope climbs
- 10 power cleans 95#
- 3 rope climbs
- 15 power cleans 65#

I knew I couldn't do 135# so I dropped it to 115# to try. Got 115# in practice without a problem but then when the wod came around? I kept failing. Dropped that to 105# and then stuck with the rest of the prescribed weights after that. Total time: 19:36

Saturday, 4/13: CrossFit

Partner WOD: 4 rounds (20 min cap)
- 400m run (with odd object...we used a log)
- 20 squat snatches @75#...we used 65#

Sunday, 4/14: CrossFit and a smidge of hiking

Just went to stretch a bit and worked on all of the movements and weights that my team will be doing in a competition this upcoming Sunday.

One of the movements? A nice little team deadlift hold at 225#. Easier than it sounds with two people. We just have to work on timing. :)

I then had to run to my cousin's engagement party but after that I met up with the boy and we went for a little hike. There was actually a horse stable up there so I wanted to check it out since I NEED to start taking lessons again soon. After that we just wandered and made friends with a few deer along the way.

No Words...

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

As I was sitting at work yesterday morning, I was enjoying all of the updates that Patrick was sending to our group chat about his first volunteering experience at the Boston Marathon. Then around 3pm, Danielle sent a group text mentioning that there was an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Like most people did, I'm sure, I quickly wrote it off as some fuel leak, an accident, and definitely nothing serious. I didn't bother going online to look at the news, I kinda just went along my business and continued working. A few mins later, new texts came in from Danielle and also Patrick and I realized this was much more serious than I had hoped.

I watched in horror from my desk at work. This was supposed to be people's shining moment, this was THE Boston Marathon. An event that most people only dream about completing and now it was being ripped away from them. This wasn't supposed to be happening. I was, and honestly still am, at a loss for words.

Luckily everyone I know that was up in Boston to enjoy the race is home safe today. It breaks my heart knowing that people can be so evil in this world and that we have to be reminded of that evil on a regular basis.

Runners are a close-knit resilient group. We'll bounce back, Boston and the Marathon will bounce back. From the stories of the NYC Marathon and Marine Corps Marathon in 2001 right after September 11th, up until now, it still amazes me how runners always come together in a time of need and help each other out. We all share a common passion for the sport, and there's a bond formed between all runners, regardless of ability. We've all had our share of horrible training runs, of amazing accomplishments, of crossing that finish line. Not everyone understands the feeling we get while out there putting one foot in front of the other, but we know the person running next to us gets it.

Is this going to change the face of running? I'm sure it will. But I know that, as runners, we'll keep chugging along. This won't stop us from pursuing our goals and dreams, whether it's your first 5k or if you're trying to qualify for Boston next year. Whatever that goal is, throw on your sneakers and hit the pavement running. Run strong.

How Did This Happen?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:39:00 +0000

I'm pretty sure I was fairly adamant that I didn't want to run the Dopey Challenge in January. Yes, it sounds awesome and amazing.... and the medals! But I remember what it was like waking up 3 days in a row two years ago to run the unofficial Dopey and pretty sure we all swore we wouldn't do that again.

Well???? This happened......

Damn peer pressure! A bunch of my friends will be suffering with me so I somehow got convinced as well. Looks like I better start running again, eh? Why didn't someone talk some sense into me before I entered my credit card???

Who else registered and is going to be just as Dopey with me? :)

CrossFit Open WODs 13.4 & 13.5...And Final Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:00:00 +0000

It's been a whirlwind 5 weeks! I can't believe the CrossFit Games Open is already over. We all were definitely pushed to our limits and even were able to surprise ourselves.

Since I haven't had a chance to post about the last two workouts, I figured I'd wrap them all into one post.

Open Workout 13.4

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar...
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

I knew I could do the 95# weight required for the clean and jerks, but that it would get tiring really quickly. Not to mention I hate toes to bar and can usually only string one or two together at most.

To make the workout fun though, my CrossFit bestie and I decided to do this one together, and have a face off of sorts... :)

And in 3....2....1... Go!

The faceoff!

Synchronized toes-to-bar

Yayyyy clean & jerks!

In total I got 44 reps... so 8 clean & jerks into the set of 12. I definitely wanted to finish the round but my forearms just were NOT having it! Def happy with my score though.

Then the following week.....

Open Workout 13.5

4 minute AMRAP of:
15 Thrusters (100 / 65 lbs)
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
*4 minute bonus for every 90 reps (3 rounds) completed.

This WOD worried me, no lie. I knew I could easily do the 15 thrusters at 65#. But chest to bar pullups? I had never attempted one, let alone successfully completed one! Upper body stuff like this is my weakness so I knew I'd struggle.

The morning of the workout, I went to the box for some backsquats and tried for a good 5-10 mins beforehand to get in ONE chest to bar. NOTHING. I got close, but no cigar. Def disappointed and slightly heartbroken.

Fast forward to later on in the night. I went back to the box after work to do 13.5. I got a few tips from coaches and friends that were hanging around and I decided to try again but with a reverse grip...and to kip/kick the HECK out of my legs to force my body to that stupid bar. And you know what? I got ONE! Jumped off the bar and decided to not try again until the actual workout so I don't tire myself out.

The clock started and I quickly busted out the 15 thrusters in under 40 seconds, then walked up to that stupid bar. Boom! 3 chest to bar pullups in a row, even though I had to step completely off the bar each time. I'll take it. I started getting no-repped after that as my arms and body started getting tired (my chest just was NOT hitting the bar no matter what I tried). But within the remaining time, I was able to eek out 6 total chest to bar pullups and I was thrilled! I didn't care that every other girl that could do the pullups kicked my butt, I had done a hell of a lot more than I ever expected!

And with a score of 21 for 13.5, the Games were officially over.

Overall

I know I've seen a ton of other blogs sum up the Games the same way, but it's true. The workouts pushed everyone that competed. I pushed myself, everyone else at the box pushed themselves. I saw people cry out of pure frustration and I saw tears of joy when a 95# clean and jerk was finally successful after a full 7 minutes of giving her all. The friendly competition that the Games created at our box added excitement over the past few weeks. We were all in this together yet we all were eyeing up the leaderboard to see how we ranked against our friends. Friendly jabbing and jokes lightened up the mood the entire time but we meant business! Not only that but the coaches wouldn't take no for an answer. Every coach in our box screamed and cheered and motivated everyone doing these workouts like I've never seen before. It was definitely with the help of their motivation that many of us were so successful.

Out of the entire North East Region, I came in a measly 1,635 out of 3,480 women. A little better than 50% of the pack. Having only started CrossFit about 10 months ago? I'll take it! And I can't wait until next year to see how much I've improved!

Weekly Recap, 4/1 - 4/7

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:59:00 +0000

Working on recapping the last two CrossFit Games Open WODs in one post so that should be hopefully tomorrow. In the meantime, last week I didn't workout much but when I did, they were pretty brutal workouts! Had a great time during a fundraising competition our box/gym hosted on Sunday too so that recap coming up soon.

Monday, 4/1: CrossFit

Thrusters, 7x5

35# x 5 light warmup
Then went into sets of 5 of: 55# - 65# - 75# - 85# - 95# - 105# (failed after 3 reps) - 105# (hit all 5!)

My 'minor' goal was to hit 105# easily. My 'lofty' goal was to hit 110# or 115# but knew that would be rough. My mind just wasn't in it for the first set of 105# and I was sloppy and couldn't keep the bar steady so had to bail. After taking a few mins I went back at it and the second set at 105# felt stable and good!

Tuesday,4/2: Rest Day

Wednesday, 4/3: Rest Day

Thursday, 4/4: Rest Day

Friday, 4/5: CrossFit in the AM, CrossFit Open 13.5 in the PM

Yeah, a mini double session, but not bc I wanted to. Our box was hosting a competition on Sunday so we all wanted to get the Open WOD over with so we had a rest day before the chaos!

Morning Session: Back Squats, 5x5

My 5rep backsquat PR is 175# but I only did one set at that weight so I wasn't sure what to do all 5 sets at. The coach suggested trying 175# for all of them and I looked at him like he was crazy but decided to go with it and give it a shot anyways. I mean, he knows best, right? :)

And honestly? It worked. The first 3 sets felt really good. The last two sets felt good too but it was definitely a slight struggle. Guess I should listen more often.

Evening Session: Open WOD 13.5

4 minute AMRAP of:

-15 Thrusters (65 lbs for females)
-15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
*4 minute bonus for every 90 reps (3 rounds) completed.

Will go into this more in my next post but OMG I GOT MY FIRST CHEST TO BAR PULL-UP! Happy Dance!!!

I've renamed this move "The Frog"

Saturday, 4/6: Rest Day

Sunday, 4/7: CrossFit - Lift for Lungs

Awesome day! Our box hosted an all day competition fundraiser which seriously pushed me, and everyone else, to our limits. It consisted of 3 workouts and competitors can register for either Rx (Prescribed Weights) or Scaled Divisions. One of my good friends at the box somehow crazily convinced me that I should do the Rx (aka insanely hard) division with her since I'm strong enough. The only thing that worried me was the 25 Hand Stand Pushups that were in the 2nd workout. I've always had issues with them and NEVER even came close to doing 25 of them! But I sucked it up and agreed. What's the worst that could happen... I come in last in the Rx division, right? But I was totally ok with that happening since I knew that if I did scaled, I'd be cheating myself. Overall it was an amazing day. Will recap this in a separate post too.

yayyy hand stand pushups!

WDW Marathon Weekend Registration Officially Open

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:02:00 +0000

It's been all over the interwebs today but this is the first I've been able to get to the blog to post about it! I'll resume my training recaps tomorrow. :)

WDW Marathon Weekend registration is officially open and if anyone is thinking about registering for Dopey, I suggest you do it TODAY or else you run the risk of it being sold out. As of this post, it's already at 73% capacity....yikes!

runDisney has been listening to runners over the past few races and decided to make a few changes for marathon weekend, all which seem like great tweaks!

Reducing the number of runners that can register for the weekend, in an effort to allow more space on the course.
Asking the vast majority of runners to provide proof of time (if they have it), so we can accurately place runners of the same pace in the same corral.
Adding additional corrals, with fewer people in each corral, to spread the runners across the course.
Keeping the marathon course that was introduced last year for the 20th anniversary.
Now will be offering women’s cut tech shirts (in addition to the men’s cut) for the 10K, half, full, Dopey Challenge and Goofy Challenge.
All new medals for the six races for the weekend!

My thoughts? I love all of the new changes!

I honestly never experienced very crowded courses during marathon weekend but I've heard some stories from runners that start in slower corrals. As for requiring proof of time for corral placement? YES! PLEASE! I'm all for this change and hope it clears up people staring in incorrect corrals and risking injury to themselves and runners around them. Adding more corrals will also help alleviate that congestion.

The 20th Anniversary marathon course was a fun one. I didn't think I'd like it as much but the change of 'location' almost every 3 miles helped pass the time quicker. In the past I felt like we were on one road or area for 5+ miles sometimes and that got monotonous.

Of course I'm thrilled about the women's tech shirts too. The men's ones always fit me incorrectly so they've all been sitting in my drawer collecting dust.

And new medals??? WHO doesn't like new bling??

To register, go to www.rundisney.com and follow the links to WDW Marathon Weekend! Hurry!

Training Recap, 3/25 - 3/31

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:45:00 +0000

Two of my grad school classes are finally wrapping up (they're less credits than a full semester course) so I can slooowly see the light at the end of the tunnel for this semester! I was also able to train 4 days this week, which I'm pretty happy about.

Monday, 3/25: CrossFit

WOD:
Clean & Jerks, 3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

The clean (getting the bar from the ground to your shoulders) is probably one of my favorite moves in CrossFit. The jerk (pushing it from your shoulders to overhead)? Not so much. But today was a pretty good day!

65x5 (warmup), 85x3, 90x3, 95x2, 100x2, 105x2, 110x1, 115x1, 120x1, 125x1, 130x1 (cleaned but failed the jerk)

Was SOOO close to getting the 130#! I cleaned it easily but was totally off balance when I tried to push it overhead. Ugh. Oh well. Serious PR so I'll take it!

Photo borrowed from Running at Disney

Tuesday, 3/26: Rest Day

Wednesday, 3/27: CrossFit

20 Minute AMRAP
- 3 Pullups
- 3 Rollouts
- 1 Rope Climb
- 6 Pullups
- 6 Rollouts
- 1 Rope Climb
- 9 Pullups
- 9 Rollouts
- 1 Rope Climb

- keep adding 3 until time runs out

I hate roll-outs. A LOT. For some reason my abs just don't work at all with this. I'm pretty sure I face planted a few times. Oops.

Got through the round of 15 pullups and 11 rollouts

DEF not me! Photo from CF Rubicon

Thursday, 3/28: Rest Day

Friday, 3/29: CrossFit

Snatch, 7x1

A month or so ago I thought I had this stupid movement figured out. Not so much apparently.

What it's supposed to look like...

Just to get comfortable with the weight we did a set of 10 with a reallly light weight. I used 35#. I think it was too light though b/c I couldn't balance under the bar.

Then warmup at:
65# x 5
75# x 3
80# x 2

Now... 85# was my PR, and I know STARTING my working set at 85 wasn't a good idea but... I felt good. All the other warmups felt good, even 80#. What's another 5 pounds, right? ha!

I did 85# 3x but it was ugly. I couldn't balance under it correctly, I was power snatching it instead of squatting it, blah. All diff types of problems. So the coach suggested I drop back down for a few and just work on form. Dropped to 75# and did it perfectly, then went up to 80#... another perfect. Hmm...

Went back up to 85# and 3x it was just wobbly and funky. Called it a day after a few more disasters. Until next time squat snatches... I'll master you!

Saturday, 3/30: Rest Day

Sunday, 3/31: CrossFit

CrossFit Open WOD 13.4

7 minute AMRAP of:

3 Clean and jerk
3 Toes-to-bar
6 Clean and jerk
6 Toes-to-bar
9 Clean and jerk
9 Toes-to-bar
12 Clean and jerk
12 Toes-to-bar
15 Clean and jerk
15 Toes-to-bar
18 Clean and jerk
18 Toes-to-bar...etc

Loads: 135 pounds for men / 95 pounds for women

Pretty happy with my score, wish I could have done better on the toes to bar but I didn't get any no reps!! Score! I'll go into more details about this WOD tomorrow. :)

CrossFit Open WOD 13.3

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

So we're now more than halfway through the CrossFit Open Games! I'm not sure if I'm happy with that news, or kinda sad. The Open has been awesome in terms of pushing yourself to new limits, and a great bonding experience for everyone at the box/gym. We all look forward to seeing what the workout of the week is, and then we all suffer through the same workout during the weekend, motivating each other to do better.

This week was definitely a hard workout and I can happily say I'm glad with how the results turned out. I'm also thrilled I don't ever have to do this workout again...unless they bring it back next year. Ugh.

WOD 13.3:
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:

- 150 Wall Balls (14 lbs to 9 foot target for women)
- 90 Double-unders
- 30 Muscle-ups

Wall Balls are one of the more basic movements in CrossFit, but, like burpees, everyone usually hates them. I'm no different. After about 20 in a row, I want to keel over. 150 in a row?? Not one part of that sounds fun.

Double Unders I have a love/hate realtionship with. If you haven't heard of a double under, it's just jump roping, but the rope goes around your body twice for every one time you jump in the air. Quick wrists, which speeds up the rope...but then causes horrible whip marks if you don't do them correctly. I seriously look like I get beaten to death when I'm done attempting them. It's ugly. I'm still trying to perfect my form and technique so at MOST I can get about 15 in a row. But lately I think I'm regressing and haven't been able to get more than like 10 in a row, usually a LOT less than that.

As for Muslce Ups? I knew I wouldn't even get to them so I didn't really worry about not being able to do them AT ALL! Moving on... :)

So Saturday came around and I went to the box/gym to watch and cheer on some of the other members that were completing the WOD that day. While I was watching them, I got the itch to just do the workout that day instead of waiting until the next morning. After a pep talk from one of my friends, I quickly warmed up and was one of the last groups to go.

Watching everyone before me, I knew I couldn't burn out too quickly in the beginning and had to pace myself. I decided to start out with sets of 15 for 2 rounds and then drop down to sets of 10, and then sets of 5. It worked great, but I think I rested a little bit too long in between sets. I was definitely tired and gasping for air towards the end, and finished the wall balls in 10 mins flat. Was pretty happy.

I then grabbed my jump rope and tried to get as much air in my lungs as possible before starting the double unders. I hated double unders before...but after 150 wall balls?? OMG they sucked! My legs were jello and I couldn't string more than 2 together AT ALL. I had 2 mins to get as many as possible and ended up with 27. After collapsing in a heap when time was called, I felt pretty happy with my time... for now. Total score? 177 reps.

Fast forward to later in the night and I was starting to rethink the workout. I knew I did fairly well but part of me knew I should have done better. I didn't breathe right during most of the the wall balls which tired me out, I took too many breaks, etc. After talking it over with one of my other friends, we both agreed that we would attempt this beast of a workout again if we didn't feel too sore the next morning.

The alarm went off and I quickly jumped out of bed. Moved my legs around a little and? Not really sore! Hmm...it's a good sign! Texted my friend and he also wasn't that sore. Either way, I got dressed and headed to the box to at least cheer people on. I sat around, cheered, and stretched for a few rounds and finally decided that I'm definitely attempting this workout one more time. People absolutely thought we were crazy!

So during the last round of the day, a bunch of us lined up against that wall and waited for the clock to count down and start. I told my judge, who also thought I was crazy, that I needed to beat my wall ball time of 10 mins and he said he'll help call out times to make sure I keep on track. I pretty much had to do more than 15 a minute to break that pace.

If I remember correctly, I finished 25 or so in the first minute, 50 in the first 3 minutes or less. I was flying through the wall balls but knew I couldn't keep that pace up. I did my first set at 20, then sets of 10. Then I dropped down to sets of 5 because I realized I could take a much shorter breather break if I did less wall balls at a time. It definitely worked! At 9:34, I finished the 150 wall balls, 26 seconds faster than the day before!

And then came double unders....

I was determined to get more than 27 this time, and I refused to stop and take any breaks, other than to reset the rope. 39 double unders later, time was called. I had done it! I finished the WOD with 12 more reps than the day before and put my all into that workout. Total score? 189! Officially happy!

Yeah, had to kick my shoes off bc they came untied, ugh!

Everyone kept telling the two of us that repeated the workout that we'd be insanely sore, especially since we did this workout twice. The people that only did it once can barely walk! Honestly though? I've been way more sore after a half marathon or crazy leg day at CrossFit. Yea, I'm definitely sore but I can walk effortlessly, and go up and down stairs without cringing. :) I might have a different feeling though tomorrow morning when I wake up...will let you know.

Training Recap, 3/18 - 3/24

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:27:00 +0000

My plan was definitely to workout a little more than I did but the workout on Wednesday left me SO sore that I had to take a few rest days before attempting the CrossFit Open 13.3 workout over the weekend! Yikes!

Monday, 3/18: Rest Day after the Half Marathon

Tuesday, 3/19: CrossFit

As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP): 30 minute cap...
- 20 Toes to Bar
- 10 Squat Cleans, 115# was women's weight
- 20 weighted sit-ups, 25# was women's weight
- 10 pullups

Toes to bar...I hate that movement. I can do them but very slowly and can't string more than 1 at a time together, which makes me take FOREVER. Pretty much you hang from a pullup bar and... bring your toes to the bar, not fun.

For the squat cleans, I knew I could clean 115#, but when I have to throw a squat in there? I struggle with balance. I did a few in practice but then during the workout, I had to drop down to 105# bc it was just too ugly. But I did do all the pullups without a band, yay! I only got through a little less than 3 rounds.

Squat Cleans in Motion - Photo from The Rockzone

Wednesday, 3/20: CrossFit

Ohhh, the workout that kicked my butt, literally.

6 rounds for time:
- 50yard Overhead Walk, 25# plate for women
- 25yard Walking Lunge, 25# plate for women
- Farmer Carry, as heavy as you can go with kettlebells (I used 55# or 70# depending on the round)

This didn't seem so hard, until I tried to get out of bed the next day. OMG the soreness!! I was seriously sore for days. Ouch!

Thursday, 3/21: Rest Day

Friday, 3/22: Rest Day

Saturday, 3/23: CrossFit Open WOD 13.3

I'll write another recap for tomorrow about the CrossFit Open but this one was pretty miserable! Lots of wallballs and double unders. But I wasn't really happy with my score so.....

Sunday, 3/24: CrossFit Open WOD 13.3

Yes, I did it again the very next day. Crazy, I know. Will post about it tomorrow! In the meantime, a quick photo of me attempting stupid double unders :)

Double Under Hell

WDW Marathon Weekend runDisney Meetup & TweetUp

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:47:00 +0000

To kick off Marathon Weekend in January, runDisney held another one of their awesome Meetups. This time around though there were over 100 people in attendance, the most out of any meetup!

I woke up bright and early and tried not to wake up the rest of my hotel room and met up with Sarah from Running at Disney at around 6:30 to walk over to Hollywood Studios. We quickly checked in, received our 20th Anniversary Marathon runDisney tee-shirts and bummed around for a bit catching up with a few other familiar faces!

Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were also all in attendance prior to the event starting so people quickly formed lines to get their picture taken. Sadly I didn't make it over to Donald in time. How CUTE are their track suits??

The meetup was officially kicked off by a welcome speech from Tony, Bob, and Darrel from runDisney and they went over how the rest of the morning was going to unfold. First up was the run portion that everyone was excited for. It was roughly 2.5 miles and they were going to split up the gang into 2 separate groups. One group would be for strict runners, who would keep roughly a 9 minute pace with Bob Hitchcock (from runDisney), and the other group would be the run/walk group led by Jeff Galloway (obviously!) at a 30 second run/walk interval.

I decided to join the strict running group (which also included a few of the elite athletes) and right as we started, I realized the 9 minute mile was more of an 8 minute mile. Should have known!! Bob!! Not to mention it was like 99% humidity even that early in the morning so we started taking it easy. Heather, her husband, and I started hanging back and taking photos, possibly cutting some corners along the way. Shhh!

Nice blurry Tower of Terror

Photo courtesy of runDisney

When we got to Toy Story Mania, Woody and Buzz were waiting for us to snap a few group pics. After that little break, it was back to sprinting along the pavement towards the Lights, Motor, Action theatre. Water, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches were provided and everyone hung around trying to catch their breath and dry off for a bit before the rest of the event started.

Photo courtesy of runDisney

While I waited for the rest of the meetup to begin, I started talking with Desiree Davila (2012 London Olympic Marathon runner) for a little bit and she was the sweetest! She talked about how she was recovering from an injury so wouldn't be participating this weekend but hoped to be running crazy distances again soon.

After getting ushered to the stands, Tammy Jacobson and Bob Hitchcock from runDisney introduced themselves and welcomed everyone to the meetup again. It was only a few minutes (seconds?) into their spiel when there was a raucous in the background and Joey Fatone came flying out standing on the back of a truck. I'm pretty sure almost every woman at the meetup reverted back to their high school days and got just a tad giddy. No comment if I did or not. :)

Joey jumped off the truck and headed up to the stands where we were all sitting and talked about how he's freaking out about running the Goofy Challenge. Apparently his wife was supposed to run but injured her foot/ankle and had to drop out. Joey was originally only going to run the 5k but graciously decided to take her spot...even though he's not a runner.

He started answering a ton of questions from the gang about how he's been training (he hadn't really trained...oops! But Dancing With the Stars helped kick start his cardio training.), the beer he wanted to drink on the course every few miles (I KNEW I liked him!), and how he's going to attempt to tackle the 39.3 miles (he was going to walk the half marathon with his wife and then definitely implement a modified Galloway run/walk method for the full). Joey mentioned that if it wasn't for Dancing with the Stars, he would never even have considered running these events. And just so everyone knows, N'Sync will NOT be getting back together. *sigh* A girl can still dream... right?

Before the next guest was announced, the runDisney staff made sure to point out that this year's Walt Disney World Marathon had more women running than men, which is a first for any marathon in the world...EVER! How awesome is that!?

Members of the New Balance team then took the stage to talk a little bit about the new partnership they have with runDisney to create the now infamous shoes that are near IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere. New Balance completely underestimated the demand for the new shoes! They usually only sell a few hundred pairs of promo shoes during a normal race weekend (think something along the lines of the NYC Marathon promo shoes) so when they made 1000 runDisney shoes, they thought they'd be ok! Umm...those 1000 sold out by noon on the first day of the expo. NUTS! During the meetup it was announced that more shoes were getting shipped from the Disneyland expo that was going to be held the week after.

They also discussed what runners need to look for in finding the proper running shoes and explained the different varieties that they offer. The New Balance team then raffled off a few pairs of the runDisney sneakers, which was awesome!

Up next were the running legends and experts: Jeff Galloway, Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, New York and Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers, Runner’s World columnist Bart Yasso, TV host Dick Beardsley, and Olympic marathoner Desiree Davila.

Jeff Galloway spoke first and made sure to point out his ring to commemorate his 20th running of the WDW Marathon, he's ran it every single year! Very cool. He talked about how his 20 years of running Disney allow he and his family to all come together in one place and enjoy the weekend.

Bill Rodgers agreed with Jeff when he started discussing why he loves to run Disney races. You always find a way to have fun one way or another! So true, right?

Joan Benoit Samuelson took the mic next and talked about how she loves that Disney supports running and the marathon. Someone asked how she prepares for running and she says she always runs depending on how she feels that day. She also talked about how women need to keep each other in the sport and loves how it's caught on.

Dick Bearsdley went on to talk about how it was his second year running runDisney events and that his wife always dresses up in costume. He then laughed and asked how many other races can we think of that you can ride roller coasters while on the course? So true!

The always funny Bart Yasso had everyone laughing from the start of his speech. For runDisney races he loves to just go out and enjoy what the races are all about, no need to go crazy! He also pointed out that he doesn't mind that he's getting slower in his older age, it means that he sees all the beautiful women running around him in running skirts and he loves it! On a serious note though, he did give credit to Joan for helping women become such a big part of the sport.

Des Davila was the last of the speakers to speak to the meetup participants and definitely had a few jokes about her young age versus the more 'seasoned' runners of the panel. I loved how laid back everyone was and how they all joked with each other. Des was definitely bummed that she couldn't run due to her injury but was living vicariously through all of the other runners. And she pointed out that runDisney is the only place where you'll hear someone say "I'm only doing the marathon!"

Photo courtesy of runDisney

Former NFL linebacker Eddie Mason took a seat after the running speakers finished up. His main message was that everyone should work on building their core strength and how it plays such an important role in keeping in shape. Cigna had an area at the expo to help people with their core and explain the benefits. They also had an area where you could play some casual football with a few legends!

Last but not least, Drew Carey surprised the gang and came out to speak for a bit. He was supposed to run the full marathon but was recovering from a broken collarbone. I actually broke my collarbone falling off a horse while on the equestrian team in college so I knew all too well how annoyed Drew must have felt!

Drew joked the entire time and talked about running the Disneyland Half last year and some more of his racing experiences. He then broke off a little bit to joke about the Price is Right (if you want to win at Plinko, drop the chip in the middle of the board!) as well as Sounds Dangerous at Hollywood Studios (which he appears in). Just like the rest of us, he agrees that the show is horrible and boring and it needs to be replaced! haha!

Right before the meetup ended, Bob brought up Adriano Bastos to say a quick hello to everyone. Adriano is from Brazil and had won the previous 7 WDW Marathons (now 8...he won this year too!). He has a ton of Disney tattoos and every time he wins another Disney marathon, he adds to the Mickey tattoos on his arm. Very cool. At the end of the meetup I quickly went up to him to ask if I can snap a quick pic!

With that, the meetup ended and all of the speakers hung around for more questions and photos. Can you guess who had the longest line for pics? I told Joey that I'm also running Goofy and he asked that if I saw him along the course to pick him up and help him to the finish! Later that weekend during the full, I actually did run into him at Mile 2 of the marathon and we chatted a little bit more. Heard he had a great running weekend!

Another pic with Goofy for the Goofy runner :)

I know I've mentioned it during all the other meetup recaps but runDisney puts on a great event for participants. The meetups are always changing and being tweaked and vary depending on what race weekend it is. I thought this one was a nice mix of fun and educational speakers and it was open to a lot more participants than in the past. Honestly the ONLY thing that I heard people wishing for was different/additional breakfast food options from the food truck. A few people at the meetup had food allergies and there wasn't much for them to eat. Small request for such a big event so definitely a success overall!

** All photos are my own unless captioned that they were courtesy of runDisney. I was able to attend the meetup as media thanks to runDisney, however, all opinions are my own.

Dopey Challenge Added to Marathon Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:05:00 +0000

Well I didn't want to say anything until runDisney made it official and it looks like they just did! Looks like Dopey is officially Official...with an added 10k thrown in for fun! Who's Dopey enough to try to pull this off?? :)

** Edited to add more detail at the end of the post from the official press release. I also added prices for registration below that! **

From the Disney Parks Blog...

Today, runDisney reaches another milestone as we expand the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna with the addition of the Walt Disney World 10K, the Dopey Challenge, new medals and the return of the popular Runner’s World Challenge.

In 2006, the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend had a big year. The races had become so popular, the half marathon and the full marathon now had to be held on two separate days. This race day bifurcation led to another interesting development. It was now theoretically possible for a runner to run both races, so the team decided that if someone was goofy enough to do that, they deserved a medal. And thus, Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge was born with just over 2,300 runners receiving the first Goofy medal for their 39.3 mile accomplishment.

Through the years, “the Goofy” has been a favorite with our runners as well as a unique offering in the running industry. Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This next year, runDisney is adding a 10K race to our Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend line-up, joining our already popular 5K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon. And you guessed it (we couldn’t help ourselves), we are now offering the Dopey Challenge to those runners who conquer ALL FOUR of our races. That’s right…completing the 5K, the 10K, the Half Marathon and the Full Marathon in the four consecutive days will earn you the Dopey Challenge Medal. That coveted piece of hardware will be clanging around the necks of our finishers with the Mickey Marathon medal, the Donald Half medal, the 5K Family Fun Run medal, the Goofy Challenge medal, and the new Minnie 10K medal.

Six medals for 48.6 miles over four days. I think I am just Dopey enough to do it. Come join me!
I hope you will accept this invite:

Official Press Release:

Four-race Challenge will produce six-medal opportunity for runners; New Walt Disney World 10K expands weekend event to five days; popular Runner’s World Challenge returns

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (March 22, 2013) – After celebrating its 20th anniversary earlier this year, the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna is getting even bigger next year and is offering runners another challenge that will be, well, Dopey.

The 2014 Disney Marathon Weekend, Jan. 8-12, will expand to five days and will include a 10K, along with the Family Fun Run 5K, the Disney Half Marathon, the Disney Marathon and Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. That creates the opportunity for an unparalleled proposition in the running industry: The Dopey Challenge – running all four timed events in successive days (48.6 miles) for the chance to earn an unprecedented six medals.

After the Disney Family Fun Run 5K on Thursday, runDisney’s new Walt Disney World 10K, a 6.2-mile timed event, takes place Friday, at Epcot. Runners completing the race will receive a Minnie Mouse inspired medal.

As in past years, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon will be run on Saturday followed by the Walt Disney World Marathon on Sunday. Runners who complete both – Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge – will receive a special Goofy-themed medal. Add on the 5K and the 10K and runners can earn four medals, one for each race completed, plus the Goofy and new Dopey Challenge medals, for a total haul of six medals.

In addition to those four races, the Disney Marathon Weekend will feature runDisney Kids Races and the Mickey Mile, which both take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Special ticketed breakfasts with characters will be Thursday and Friday following the Family Fun Run 5K and 10K at Epcot, Pasta in the Park parties at Epcot and runners can celebrate their accomplishments from the weekend at the Cool Down Party at Downtown Disney on Sunday.

The expanded five-day race weekend begins on Wednesday with the start of Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo, giving runners extra time to pick up race packets, shop for the latest running apparel and technology, and meet experts such as runDisney official training consultant Jeff Galloway and runDisney nutritionist Tara Gidus. The expo is free and open to the public.

Online registration for all Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend events opens April 9, but runners can enter early by signing up for the Runner’s World Challenge starting April 2. This limited opportunity allows runners to register for the Half Marathon, Marathon, Goofy Challenge or Dopey Challenge, receive customized training plans from Runner’s World magazine editors and enjoy VIP experiences throughout weekend.

For more information and to register for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend events and other runDisney races, go to www.runDisney.com.

Schedule of Events

Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo
Jan. 8 – 11
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Disney’s Family Fun Run 5K
Jan. 9, 6:30 am
Epcot

runDisney Kids Races and Mickey Mile
Jan. 9, 10 & 11
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Pasta in the Park Parties
Jan. 9, 10 & 11
Epcot

runDisney Family Reunion Breakfast
Jan. 9 & 10
Epcot

Walt Disney World 10K
Jan. 10, 5:30 am
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Walt Disney World Half Marathon
Jan. 11, 5:30 am
Epcot

Walt Disney World Marathon
Jan. 12, 5:30 am
Epcot

Cool Down Party
Jan. 12
Downtown Disney

Entry Fees and Deadlines:

Walt Disney World® Marathon
$160 by June 18, 2013
$175 between June 19, 2013 and August 13, 2013
$190 on or after August 14, 2013

Walt Disney World® Half Marathon
$160 by June 18, 2013
$175 between June 19, 2013 and August 13, 2013
$190 on or after August 14, 2013

Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge
$340 by June 18, 2013
$370 between June 19, 2013 and August 13, 2013
$400 on or after August 14, 2013

Walt Disney World® 10K
$95 by June 18, 2013
$110 between June 19, 2013 and August 13, 2013
$125 on or after August 14, 2013

Disney Family Fun Run 5K
$60 per participant

Dopey Challenge
$495 by June 18, 2013
$525 between June 19, 2013 and August 13, 2013
$555 on or after August 14, 2013

runDisney Kids Races
$15 per child

Mickey Mile
$30 per child

Race Retreat Packages
$120 Half Marathon Package
$120 Full Marathon Package
$200 Goofy's Challenge Package

CrossFit Open WOD 13.2

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Week 2 of the CrossFit Games Open has come and gone, and while this workout sucked big time, I think I liked it better than Week 1.

Recap of Workout 13.1 can be found here.

When I first saw 13.2 posted last Wednesday night, I actually thought it didn't seem too bad.

WOD 13.2:

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
- 75 pound Shoulder to overhead, 5 reps
- 75 pound Deadlift, 10 reps
- 15 Box jumps, 20" box

** Men's weights were 115# and they had to use a 24" box instead.

I knew I could do the weight prescribed fairly easily. The shoulder to overhead at 75# would definitely get tiring after awhile but it was doable.

The only problem I had was trying to figure out WHEN to do the workout. Usually I would have waited until Sunday, but I had the NYC Half Marathon that day. So it was either Friday or Saturday for me. Since I didn't know how my legs would feel after all that, I figured I should try making it after work on Friday. Left work a few mins early to make sure I made it on time and sprinted to the box. After warming up, it was my turn for the workout.

I got a few practice reps in to make sure I had correct form and the 5 shoulder to overheads I did made me realize that this was DEF going to be harder than I thought. A few of us also tried to strategize about the box jumps. It takes me FOREVER to do box jumps. I hate doing them, they kinda scare me, and I'm just slow at preparing for the next one. In the rules it said that step-ups were completely legal so I tried a few of those and realized I did them SO much quicker than box jumps. Mind was made as to which route I was going with those!

The clock counted down and the workout started....

Deadlifts

And some more deadlifts

I think the ONLY box jump I did the entire workout

Moving to step ups

Shoulder to Overheads

In the end I finished with 213 total reps...so 7 full rounds and 3 shoulder to overheads. I was a little annoyed with myself though b/c at one point, I think the 6th round, I didn't have a good grip on the bar during the overheads and I had to drop the bar, which wasted some time. My forearms also started getting SO tired from the deadlifts that I had to put the bar down once each round towards the end to adjust my grip. If only I had a chance to do the workout again!

Definitely expect the next workouts to start getting more technical. Dreading when they throw pullups and muscle ups into the mix.

How did everyone else like 13.2?

Training Recap, 3/11 - 3/17

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Last week was pretty much a total rest week, only because my schedule was so busy though. Between exams and staying at work late a few nights, I didn't get much activity!

Monday, 3/11: CrossFit

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 15 minutes:
20 Wallballs 20#/14# (I used 14#)
50 Double Unders

Total: 4 rounds and 35 Double Unders

Finally starting to string some more double unders together. One of the coaches suggested a slight tweak and I think it's working. Now I just have to practice it!

Tuesday, 3/12: Rest Day

Wednesday, 3/13: Rest Day

Thursday, 3/14: Rest Day

But I did go to the NYC Half Marathon Expo to pick up my race packet. Oh, did I tell you guys I was running it? :) More on that in another post. I think the expo was kind of a dud. Or maybe I'm just used to the insane expos from Disney. But you'd think the running group that hosts one of the biggest marathons in the world (NYRR - New York Road Runners), would be able to throw together a great expo every time. There weren't a lot of vendors at ALL and it was such a maze in there to find anything, I gave up. Only organized area was the bib/shirt pickups.

Friday, 3/15: CrossFit

Since I had the race on Sunday, I wanted to do the CrossFit Open WOD 13.2 Friday if I could. I snuck out of work a few mins early to ensure I caught an early bus and luckily made it to the box on time.

This was a KILLER! So much harder than it seemed on paper. I got 213 reps... a little more on that in another post.

Saturday, 3/16: Rest Day, but I did go to the box to watch everyone else suffer through the 13.2 Open WOD!

Sunday, 3/17: NYC Half Marathon

OMG I PR'd by 2 whole minutes! 2:02:48.. Insane! I'll recap the race next week but I officially know that I HATE the stupid hills in Central Park. If only those hills weren't there, I MIGHT have been able to break the 2 hr mark.

WDW Marathon Weekend Family Fun Run 5K Recap!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Oh you guys were expecting immediate race recaps from WDW Marathon Weekend way back in January? That's how it's supposed to work, right? I seriously apologize and promise that by the time the next runDisney race weekend comes up that I'll be attending (Disneyland!), I will be officially an MBA graduate and won't know what to do with ALL that extra free time.

Last year Daniel, Patrick and I (and a bunch of our friends) decided to be Dopey and run the 5k the day prior to Goofy officially starting. By the Sunday of the marathon, we kinda realized that waking up 3 days in a row at 3am was CRAZY but are totally glad we did it. The three of us decided to take this year off from the 5k but our other crazy friend, Danielle from Live, Run, Grow, ran her first Dopey weekend!

You've all read Danielle's awesome guest posts before so when she asked if I needed a race recap of the 5k, I quickly said yes. And then school happened. And work. And this poor recap sat here in my drafts since the week we returned from Florida. Sad, I know.

But without further ado... take it away, Danielle!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Eat, Sleep, Run Disney readers! It’s Danielle and I’m back for another guest post to tell you about Disney’s Marathon Weekend Family Fun Run 5k! This was my first year doing Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, so I figured why not throw in the 5k and go for the unofficial Dopey! (Jenn smartened up this year and realized that getting up before 3am three days in a row is just crazy!)

My mom, sister and I were all doing the 5k (my dad was supposed to be running as well but he was sidelined with a knee injury so he became our personal cheerleader / photographer and took the start and finish photos below).

Our alarm went off at 3:30am and we all showered, got ready and were getting on the bus to the starting area by 5am.

Photo courtesy of Danielle

One of the things I immediately noticed when I picked up my 5k race bib at the expo was that there was a letter on it…like a corral letter. I did some quick research in the 5k final instruction pamphlet and saw that runDisney must have listened to some of the feedback from previous events and there were actually assigned corrals for the 5k this year! In the past it was sort of a “first come, first served” free for all and people just jammed into whatever corral they could get into when they arrived…this was a MUCH more organized way of doing it!

Photo courtesy of Danielle

We made our way into corral A and at 6:30am sharp the first fireworks went off and we were on our way!

Photo courtesy of Danielle

We began in the parking lot outside Epcot and the first mile or so of the race was outside the park. Shortly after the mile 1 marker we turned into Epcot entering by Mexico for a lap around World Showcase. Since the 5k is untimed (and totally family friendly!) the lines for the characters get long pretty quickly, so we didn’t stop for too many.

We did see Goofy literally running to take a quick break…

Photo courtesy of Danielle

…we stopped to see Pluto in France…

Photo courtesy of Danielle

…and I made a quick call in the United Kingdom!

Photo courtesy of Danielle

Exiting World Showcase we ran towards Spaceship Earth where we stopped for one more last picture…

Photo courtesy of Danielle

…before exiting Epcot and heading towards the finish in the parking lot!

Photo courtesy of Danielle

And with that the first 3.1 miles of my 42.4 mile weekend were complete!

Photo courtesy of Danielle

This was my first Walt Disney World 5k (I did the Disneyland 5k this past September) and from talking to a few people it sounds as if the addition of the pre-assigned corrals really helped. While I’m not sure I’d do the Marathon Weekend 5k again (only because getting up that early 3 days in a row is crazy!), I had a really good time running it with my mom and sister and I’d definitely do another runDisney 5k at a different event!

Training Recap, 3/4 - 3/10

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:54:00 +0000

Monday, 3/4: CrossFit
"Grace"
- 30 Clean & Jerks for time

I used 95# (finally went Rx!) and finished in 6:55. Awesome improvement from last time I did it at a lighter weight. Felt good!

Tuesday, 3/5: CrossFit
"Zeus"
Three rounds for time (40 min cap) of:
- 30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball (14# for ladies)
- 75 pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 30 reps (55# for ladies)
- 30 Box jump, 20" box
- 75 pound Push press, 30 reps (55# for ladies)
- Row 30 calories
- 30 Push-ups
- Body weight Back squat, 10 reps (135# for me)

This was MISERABLE. Thought I was going to vomit mid-first round. Got through 2 full rounds and 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls

Wednesay, 3/6: CrossFit
Deadlifts, 10x2

Deadlifts are my nemesis and I hate them. I just can't get it to click. Got to set 8 at 175# for 2 reps and then we ran out of time. But my body was shot anyways.

Thursday, 3/7: Rest Day

Friday, 3/8: CrossFit
This was a pretty blah day at the box. We were supposed to do 30 muscle up attempts but I just was NOT feeling the workout so unfortunately half-assed it. Don't feel good about it, so I'm not really counting it.

Saturday, 3/9: CrossFit
Another kinda half-assed day. It was the 3 year anniversary of our box so there was an anniversary WOD. But there were other people doing the CrossFit Games Open WOD so I was trying to watch them too. Did 1 round of the anniversary WOD and then decided to watch the competitors.

Sunday, 3/10: CrossFit
CrossFit Games Open WOD 13.1

I already went into detail about the workout here.

Surviving CrossFit Open WOD 13.1

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:02:00 +0000

So I've officially survived my first CrossFit Games Open WOD! To say it was a killer is an understatement.

Quick recap of what the workout was...

17 minute AMRAP of:
40 Burpees
30 Snatch, 75 / 45 lbs (men's weight / women's weight)
30 Burpees
30 Snatch, 135 / 75 lbs (men's weight / women's weight)
20 Burpees
30 Snatch, 165 / 100 lbs (men's weight / women's weight)
10 burpees
Max rep Snatch, 210 / 120 lbs (men's weight / women's weight)

When I first saw the workout, I knew it was going to be miserable. I might be a long distance runner, and can run for 5 hours straight, but burpees are a totally different beast for me. They kill me. I get winded after 10 of them so seeing that I might have to do 100??? I cried inside a little bit.

Snatches for me aren't too bad. My PR is 85# so I knew (or thought) I could do the 75# snatches without a problem. The 100# ones, if I had time to get to them, would be the issue. So my secret lofty goal was to do everything up until the 100# snatches and pray to the CrossFit gods that MAYBE I could get at least one at 100#. Def asking for a miracle but stranger things have happened.

And then? I started watching the girls at my box/gym do the workout before me. Girls that easily can throw weights around and are a milliion times stronger than me. They struggled where I didn't think they would struggle. 75# snatches after doing 70 burpees and 30 lighter snatches were wearing people out. Not one girl at the box successfully hit 100#. Quickly adjusted my goal to get through as many 75# snatches as possible and hopefully finish them.

Fast forward to my turn Sunday morning. I was nervous! Luckily I was doing the wod at the same time with one of my CrossFit BFF's and she was behind me screaming motivation while she tried to do her best too. While warming up, I wanted to see how bad 75# snatches would feel so I quickly did 5 in a row without any problem. Made me feel a little better.

When the WOD started, I actually surprised myself with the burpees. I made sure to repeatedly tell myself to pace these babies and breathe correctly. I got through 20 completely unbroken, and then broke the next 20 into sets of 10 with only a few second rest in between. Honestly? I've NEVER done that in any other workout. Usually I'm gasping for air immediately.

Burpee Hell.

Oh we had to jump & touch a bar 6"
above our outstretched arm. Fun.

Got through the 40 burpees in a little over 3 minutes and quickly got through the 30 snatches at 45#. Then it was back to burpees. They weren't as smooth and effortless as before but I could hear other judges counting out loud for other people and I was keeping up pretty well.

Setting up at 45#

45# and I look miserable

I think my face explains perfectly how I feel about burpees, ha!

And then the 75# snatches came. Remember how they were a piece of cake in warmup? Well my arms now felt like jello and putting the weight on the bar felt HEAVY. I got ready, grabbed the bar, and snatched. Or tried to. Could barely get the bar to my head. Fail. I tried 2 more times, both failed. Uhoh.

My judge and all my friends around me told me to take a second and catch my breath. After 10 seconds, I walked back up to the bar and completed one successfully. After that it was smooth sailing, for the most part. But the 3 fails def messed with my head.

Getting some air throwing up 75#

Towards the end the 75# snatches weren't looking pretty, but I was getting them done. My arms were literally shaking as I held onto the bar. Total jello! As time kept ticking, I tried to take less rest between each rep but I was only able to get 24 reps at 75# for a total of 124.

Success!

Definitely happy with the end result but also wish I could have attempted it again the next day. Can't wait to hear what 13.2 is when they announce it tonight!

Trying to get some oxygen into the lungs.

Oh, and if you want to see exactly how miserable I felt towards the end of the workout... enjoy this horrible video. Crappy crappy form towards the end!