A Pink Pixie Princess - Complete!

[pxefig]

I totally did drop it, I'm so clumsy like that!

At least you didn't drop it like it's hot

 

[Ariel484]

At least you didn't drop it like it's hot

Only way I know how.......








...............KIDDING!!!

 

[roxymama]

This will only be funny to me, but I was not signed in and so there were ads and the weird "not signed in format" when I was reading this...

Well looky here...

Faith, Trust, And 58% Less Pixie Dust: A 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

Continued in Next Post

And below it was a giant ad for Flo-Nase with a picture of it. And my tired brain was like "Why is Ariel showing us Flo-Nase" and then I clicked out and only a little later when I saw your post in the Tink weekend thread did I realize that you were not showing us Flo-Nase.

I think maybe coffee #2 for the day is needed.

 

[Ariel484]

This will only be funny to me, but I was not signed in and so there were ads and the weird "not signed in format" when I was reading this...


And below it was a giant ad for Flo-Nase with a picture of it. And my tired brain was like "Why is Ariel showing us Flo-Nase" and then I clicked out and only a little later when I saw your post in the Tink weekend thread did I realize that you were not showing us Flo-Nase.

I think maybe coffee #2 for the day is needed.

That's hilarious!!

PLEASE NOTE: I cannot personally vouch for the effectiveness or lackthereof of Flo-Nase Nasal Spray.

 

[dancingtodisney]

Well looky here...

Faith, Trust, And 58% Less Pixie Dust: A 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

Continued in Next Post

Haha... Smooth!

 

[Ariel484]

Haha... Smooth!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Even your Minnie Avatar looks like she just "dropped the mic". Awesome!

 

[Ariel484]

Even your Minnie Avatar looks like she just "dropped the mic". Awesome!

She the perfect avatar for so many reasons!

 

[Ariel484]

Pre-10 Miler Training - Week 1
Monday, May 9 - Sunday, May 15, 2016
11.3 miles completed

Monday, May 9 (rest/travel)
WAHHHH!! This was a looooong day! I am not impressed with United. I'll write more about it in my trip report (shamless plug ).

Tuesday, May 10 (3-mile run)
I got home super late last night...er, this morning. Thankfully my job is super flexible, so I was able to work from home today and get a bit of extra sleep. I had unpacked before I went to bed (because I’m weird like that) so I got laundry started and got my run in between working.

For whatever reason, today I decided to try :90/:30 intervals, a la @ZellyB. Because it’s a great idea to change up intervals the week of a race, right? This went okay...first half was great, second half was tough!

Streeeeeetch!

Total time for this run was 32:02, 10:42/mile pace! Not bad! Not sure I could keep this up for my 10K this weekend though. I felt pretty stiff during this run, probably due to the looooong day of travel I had yesterday.

Later in the evening I got a message from the other InB Ambassador that lives in my town asking if I wanted to run a few miles the next morning...eek! Okay then!

Wednesday, May 11 (2-mile run)
Met up with my fellow InB Ambassador for a 2-miler...this is the first time I think I have ever done a training run with someone else. I really prefer running by myself, but this was a nice change of pace.

We met at a local coffee place at about 5:30 and did a 2-mile out-and-back...I think she's in better shape than I am! At the halfway point I had to ask for a walk break, so we walked for a minute and ran back. Total time for the run was 22:52...we actually went 2.07 miles. Pace was 11:01/mile. This was tough, I think because I didn’t do the 3/1 intervals I’d been using both yesterday OR today, but it was nice to catch up with my new friend!

Fail #1: the coffee place didn’t open until 6:30! Boo. I had to leave for work before then! Oh well.
Fail #2: I’d been feeling some pinching on one of my toes during the run. When I got to the rec center at work (to use the shower) and took off my sock, it was bloody! My toe was bleeding, I guess from the nail on the toe next to it. I’ve had this happen before...apparently I need to be better about toe maintenance. Cool story, right? Ugh!

But that’s it for me for the rest of the week until Sunday’s 10K, unless I decide to do to yoga on Friday (which I am leaning toward doing). Not really looking forward to this 10K, just because I’m sure it’ll be a non-Disney PW (Personal Worst) for me. Oh well!

Thursday, May 12 (rest)
Rest day, and man did I need it! My legs were talking to me this morning as I climbed the steps to go into work: “you ran two days in a row and didn’t stick to your intervals! You’re stupid!” I’m shutting it down for the rest of the week, which includes yoga - I realized that I won’t be able to go since I have my annual physical scheduled for tomorrow. Oops! That's a LOT of rest days!

One thing I did today (and I’ll talk about this more in my trip report - another shameless plug! ) that is Disney-related - I got my big camera switcheroo started. I packed up my camera body, lenses and lens hoods and mailed them to a photo company (they’ll be cutting me a check at some point) and put in an order for a new, smaller camera - the Canon G7X Mark II. Hopefully this will make future Disney trips way more enjoyable!

Friday, May 13 (rest)
Another rest day! Today I had my annual physical (which was fine) and went to the expo for the 10K I am running on Sunday.

I was hoping to sign up for a couple of races with a discount at the expo, but they weren’t offering that. I found a 10K that is going to fit in perfectly with the training plan I am using for the 10-miler that I have scheduled for September, so I signed up for that and the 10-miler today when I got home. Race calendar is filling up!!

Saturday, May 14 (rest)
Rest day #3 in a row! Yikes!

We ran some errands today and I put the rest of my camera stuff on eBay (tripod, camera bag and lens case). MONEY PLEASE.

BIG NEWS: We watched "The Force Awakens" today!! Finally! We both really liked it, but I feel like we should have watched the original trilogy first (but we could get TFA on iTunes and don't have access to the trilogy right now). I wore my BB-8 hoodie while watching.

I went to bed way too late (11:30) for my 5AM wake-up call!

Sunday, May 15 (10K Race)
I think this is the 6th year in a row that I have participated in this race weekend. This is the race where I originally signed up for the marathon...then dropped down to the half...then dropped down to the 10K. And MAN am I glad I did that!!

I got out of bed, made coffee and grabbed a bagel with peanut butter. The weather forecast had been calling for rain and temperature in the low 40s! Freak cold snap! As I was loading up my car to head out, I noticed it was hailing outside! Not good!

I was heading downtown by 5:40, driving in what I think the weather people call "a wintry mix" - rain, snow, sleet - yuck! The drive was about 18 miles and I passed 4 car accidents!! They were all single car accidents (people who had spun into a guard rail or whatever), so I slowed my speed way down.

The start and finish lines of this race are about 1-1.5 miles away from one another - I decided to park closer to the finish line so I could make a quick getaway. There was a long, non-moving line of cars waiting to get into my chosen lot. Turns out there was no one working the toll booth, so the guard rail thing wasn't raising up to let cars in. ??? Eventually a couple of super awesome ladies got out and held it up so people could go in. And on the bright side - free parking!

I'd brought a garbage bag from home, so I ripped a hole in the top of that and put that over myself to keep somewhat dry. At this point it wasn't raining or snowing much, but it was windy.

I headed to the starting area on Ontario in front of Quicken Loans Arena (GOOO CAVS!!! #ALLINCLE) - the walk was about a mile from my car and I arrived around 6:45. I thought this would be enough time for a bathroom stop before the 7AM start - NOPE. This race never has enough porta-potties. Maybe 30 or so for 15,000 runners who, let's be honest, all want to "get it all out" before the race begins. Boo!

So no pre-race bathroom stop for me. I pulled off my garbage bag and headed to the starting area. It wasn't precipitating at all by now, and I was really hoping that would hold up for the next hour or so.

The race began right on time and we were off!

So, obviously this has been sort of a difficult year for me so far with running. Unfortunately it has been hard for me to keep that in mind leading up to/after this race. The first time I ran this race (still my 10K PR) was after great training and decent speedwork. The second time was after Dopey, so no speedwork, but I still was in decent shape. As much as I tried to remind myself that I am still sort of on a comeback, it's been pretty difficult to be satisfied with my performance today, knowing what I am REALLY capable of.

The first mile was way, way too fast - it felt good but I knew I was setting myself up for disaster.
Mile 1 - 9:35 (!!)

I told myself to rein it in, and if I felt good after this next mile, maybe I could try to get my pace back down.
Mile 2 - 10:31

Then it started to rain/snow/sleet/hail again (I can't remember the order of when all of this happened, but we had a little bit of everything for the rest of the race). And it was windy. The weather was just crazy today. My pace continued to slow.
Mile 3 - 10:51
Mile 4 - 10:46 (5K split in here was 31:30ish??? I can't see how to see that in Garmin Connect)

The 10K runners split from the marathon and half marathon runners during the next mile, and the thought that crossed my mind every year that I participate in this race weekend came again - "I am SO glad I am not running the marathon or half!!" Seriously, I'm just sticking to the 10K for this race weekend from now on!

Everything went to $^&* during the 5th mile - not literally, thankfully. I suddenly had pain in the outside of my left hip and knee. I'm pretty sure this was IT Band pain, and didn't have anything to do with the sciatica - but it was SO disappointing. I almost never have IT Band issues, yet here it was. I have a follow-up with Dr. Spine next week and am going to ask if he thinks it's related to the sciatica (again, I don't think it was, but couldn't hurt to ask).

So that was it - any hopes of a somewhat decent (for me) time were gone as I had to take extra walk breaks over the last 2 miles. My goal became to keep my average pace under 11:00/mile.
Mile 5 - 11:17
Mile 6 - 11:36

Official time: 1:08:13, 10:58/mile pace (6.33 on the watch...I thought I'd done a good job not weaving, but apparently not)

So, yeah, not happy with this time. It's 11 minutes off of my PR, and a little over 5 minutes slower than my time from last year. I think it's extra disappointing because this is the first race I've done this year where I actually "tried" to go fast (if you read my Tink report...yeah, I frolicked through the parks and took my time, as I do with all Disney races). So today was definitely a wake-up as to how much my pace has really suffered.

And I know that I should be happy with this, considering how badly I was hurting in January/February, and how I've been doing 3 days per week of running instead of my usual 4, and how I didn't do speedwork for this, and how this was only the 3rd time this year that I have done a run of 6 miles or longer...but I am a numbers person, and I can't lie, seeing the numbers is incredibly disappointing. And WHAT is going on with the IT Band pain?? So annoyed about that. I'm not super sad or anything, just disappointed.

Here's hoping I do better at my 10K that I signed up for in August...at least I have some training paces to go off of now for 10-miler training (I can't find my exact splits in Garmin Connect, but I think I said my 5K was 31:30ish, so I'm going to go off of that)...sigh.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Sailormoon2]

I completely understand your frustration with your time. I don't think it matters what your actual time is, if you know you can/have personally done better, it is so hard to accept anything less, even with extenuating circumstances.

I too have just recently returned to running after battling an extended injury. I typically run a 55 min 10K and have my W&D pot race coming up at the end of this month, where I know I'm likely to finish in 1:05 (based on training runs). It's not a bad time, but incredibly dissatisfying for me, and I am trying to make peace with that (and the resulting corral placement) ahead of time. So, I completely sympathize...luckily you have a solid training plan and clearly strong work ethic so you will be up to pace in no time

 

[Ariel484]

I completely understand your frustration with your time. I don't think it matters what your actual time is, if you know you can/have personally done better, it is so hard to accept anything less, even with extenuating circumstances.

I too have just recently returned to running after battling an extended injury. I typically run a 55 min 10K and have my W&D pot race coming up at the end of this month, where I know I'm likely to finish in 1:05 (based on training runs). It's not a bad time, but incredibly dissatisfying for me, and I am trying to make peace with that (and the resulting corral placement) ahead of time. So, I completely sympathize...luckily you have a solid training plan and clearly strong work ethic so you will be up to pace in no time

Thank you so much for writing this - this is EXACTLY how I am feeling right now. MY PR 10K time was 57ish minutes, so to run a 1:08 today (after a 1:02 last year) was pretty disheartening, even though I know WHY it happened. And I had the same thoughts as you with the corral placement. What I bolded in your reply is exactly what I was thinking, but I'm not sure I expressed it as well as you did.

Thank you again for posting, it makes me feel a lot better that someone understands. I hope your 10K and your recovery go/are going well!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm very entertained that you wore your BB-8 hoodie while watching The Force Awakens. Very appropriate!
(I still haven't seen it ... don't know if I ever will ... I'm working on the Marvel movies (and TV/Netflix shows) right now, we'll see if I decide to move on to Star Wars after)

That weather today ... crazy! Snow in May? Is that even legal?

In terms of the race ... yes, it's definitely rough not to reach your goals. It sucks that you couldn't get the time you wanted, especially because you've had a lot of success with this race in the past. I completely understand the disappointment, and I'm sad for you because I know you were hoping to do well at this race. It sucks, and there's no way to avoid that fact.
But ... you've only been back to "racing" for a little over a week ... so it's understandable. This race may not have been what you wanted, but you can learn from it and hopefully set an awesome shiny new 10K PR at your August race. The good thing about a bad race is that there's a lot of room for things to get better from here!

 

[rteetz]

Weather has been crazy here in Wisconsin too. Yesterday we had the rain/sleet/snow/hail thing going on. It's May I want 60+ not 40 and below with snow!

It's never easy not reaching the goals you set out but there is always next time. I'm glad you finished despite not finishing how you wanted. I think we all know you'll be back to yourself in no time!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sorry to hear things didn't go as well as you had planned. I guess try and look at the positive side. You're able to run again and mostly pain free (except for that darn IT problem). You're first split was a 9:35 which is pretty quick and not too far off your 10K PR. Ignore what happened after that. How did that mile feel? Did you know you were going that fast or did it feel easy? If you weren't huffing and puffing it says to me that you're cardiovascular fitness is still there to run that 10K PR. You just need more time to get back into that shape via leg muscle endurance. It's coming, just keep it up. It'll take time to get back there. The lows just make the highs feel so much better.

As for the Garmin Connect, I find my interval splits by doing this:

Go to the workout screen:



And make sure the setting is set to "Over Distance" and find the 3.1 mi mark. Then write down the elevation, pace, and cadence at that distance.



Then change to "Over Time" and find the matching elevation, pace, and cadence in the same area where you believe the 5K mark should have been. And wa-laa there is your 5K split. At least that's how I do it. Maybe someone else has an easier method.

 

[cavepig]

I know how you feel not being where you want your times to be...but as other's said you just started back. It takes time to get those muscles built back up to going the speed you have in the past. Your time is still very respectable coming off an injury with no speed work and less mileage! I've never had IT problems with my sciatica problems, could be your muscles were just over worked at the start causing the knee pain. You need to "Awaken" those muscles again! Those weather conditions for May is crazy! In Nebraska we've had lots of rain/hail and cooler than normal temps, but luckily no snow..nuts! Keep up the training and you'll get those times back!

 

[ZellyB]

I completely understand your disappointment, but it seems to me that overall you actually did quite well under the circumstances. Hello? Rain, sleet, HAIL!!!!! What the heck and then factor in wind??? All things considered, I'd say that was actually a pretty good race after all your time off. I know that doesn't help when you had a goal that you didn't achieve, but I'm proud of how well you have done coming back and as @DopeyBadger said, that first mile was great and shows all that fitness is just lurking under the surface. You'll be back to your old form soon, I'm sure!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm very entertained that you wore your BB-8 hoodie while watching The Force Awakens. Very appropriate!
(I still haven't seen it ... don't know if I ever will ... I'm working on the Marvel movies (and TV/Netflix shows) right now, we'll see if I decide to move on to Star Wars after)

Our house is on a slab, so it's always sort of cold downstairs, and I usually wear some kind of sweatshirt...BB-8 seemed like the obvious choice!

We did like The Force Awakens - unfortunately we'd both been spoiled on a couple of bit plot points (which, I mean...the movie has been out for months, so that's our fault) but despite that, we enjoyed it. I like the main character, Rey, a LOT. Great to have a strong female character leading that movie!!

That weather today ... crazy! Snow in May? Is that even legal?

Right??! WHAT EVEN.

In terms of the race ... yes, it's definitely rough not to reach your goals. It sucks that you couldn't get the time you wanted, especially because you've had a lot of success with this race in the past. I completely understand the disappointment, and I'm sad for you because I know you were hoping to do well at this race. It sucks, and there's no way to avoid that fact.

It does suck. I do think that I went into it with unrealistic expectations...I honestly don't know why I was expecting to do so much better than I did!

But ... you've only been back to "racing" for a little over a week ... so it's understandable. This race may not have been what you wanted, but you can learn from it and hopefully set an awesome shiny new 10K PR at your August race. The good thing about a bad race is that there's a lot of room for things to get better from here!

That is true, I definitely have room for improvement! I'm hoping that August will go way better and I can look back on yesterday's effort and be a little more proud of it by then. Thanks, Sarah.

Weather has been crazy here in Wisconsin too. Yesterday we had the rain/sleet/snow/hail thing going on. It's May I want 60+ not 40 and below with snow!

Terrible!! I'm hoping that this means we will have an awesomely mile summer...I can dream.

It's never easy not reaching the goals you set out but there is always next time. I'm glad you finished despite not finishing how you wanted. I think we all know you'll be back to yourself in no time!

Thanks Ryan, I appreciate that!

Sorry to hear things didn't go as well as you had planned. I guess try and look at the positive side. You're able to run again and mostly pain free (except for that darn IT problem). You're first split was a 9:35 which is pretty quick and not too far off your 10K PR. Ignore what happened after that. How did that mile feel? Did you know you were going that fast or did it feel easy? If you weren't huffing and puffing it says to me that you're cardiovascular fitness is still there to run that 10K PR. You just need more time to get back into that shape via leg muscle endurance. It's coming, just keep it up. It'll take time to get back there. The lows just make the highs feel so much better.

Yeah, *** with the IT Band? That was a nasty little surprise.

From what I remember, Mile 1 felt pretty good - I think that was when I really started thinking that I could end the 10K with a good time. I think it felt easy but at the same time I knew that I was going too fast, if that makes any sense - so sort of both?

I'm glad you posted this, it's helping me think through it a little better. It also may explain the IT Band issues, like @cavepig is alluding to below. So thanks for that!

As for the Garmin Connect, I find my interval splits by doing this:

Go to the workout screen:

View attachment 168703

And make sure the setting is set to "Over Distance" and find the 3.1 mi mark. Then write down the elevation, pace, and cadence at that distance.

View attachment 168704

Then change to "Over Time" and find the matching elevation, pace, and cadence in the same area where you believe the 5K mark should have been. And wa-laa there is your 5K split. At least that's how I do it. Maybe someone else has an easier method.

Ah, that totally makes sense - thank you! It's annoying though, because it's like...you KNOW the watch records that information (since it tells you if it's a 5K/10K PR) and it seems like it should be easier than that! Or maybe I'm lazy.

I know how you feel not being where you want your times to be...but as other's said you just started back. It takes time to get those muscles built back up to going the speed you have in the past. Your time is still very respectable coming off an injury with no speed work and less mileage! I've never had IT problems with my sciatica problems, could be your muscles were just over worked at the start causing the knee pain. You need to "Awaken" those muscles again! Those weather conditions for May is crazy! In Nebraska we've had lots of rain/hail and cooler than normal temps, but luckily no snow..nuts! Keep up the training and you'll get those times back!

I think you may be on to something with the IT Band pain...that is definitely a possibility. And I know it wasn't a BAD time, exactly...I think I was just expecting too much! I am SO glad I didn't run the marathon or half though, in that weather!! Blech!

Good Star Wars reference.

I completely understand your disappointment, but it seems to me that overall you actually did quite well under the circumstances. Hello? Rain, sleet, HAIL!!!!! What the heck and then factor in wind??? All things considered, I'd say that was actually a pretty good race after all your time off. I know that doesn't help when you had a goal that you didn't achieve, but I'm proud of how well you have done coming back and as @DopeyBadger said, that first mile was great and shows all that fitness is just lurking under the surface. You'll be back to your old form soon, I'm sure!

Thanks Gisele. I would say this was the second-worst race, weather-wise, that I have participated in (the worst was a 5K in November 2014...same area of Downtown. Running right by the lake is tough!). 17-20 MPH winds yesterday. Yikes!!




Really appreciate the support from all of you, thank you!!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Congratulations on your finish! But that disappointed feeling is no joke, I know! The good thing, is that you can take those feelings and just put them into your training. Running is so awesome, because you always have another race on the horizon to beat. I know weather for me impacts my time in a major way. Those conditions sound pretty miserable.

 

[roxymama]

I understand how you feel about the 10k time. When I finished my 8k at just about 10min mile pace; my brain said ok...10k should be "just add 10 min more on to that"...but then it didn't work out that way when I got side-lined by my stupid cold. And instead it was an added 17ish min. instead. Actually our 10k times are pretty similar. So we can be "slower than we hoped" twins? Maybe both of us by our next big race can be "crushed it" twins???
But I actually was ok with my time for the circumstances with my training. Once this foot-annoyance clears up for me I know I will be in your shoes again with hoping for the real good times based on my past performance.
I think you did awesome, but I know internally how you feel.

Side note: is that a sparkle athletic visor? How do you like those? I have a lot of the skirts but never bought the visor and I think I may want a visor for this summer.

 

[girliea]

BIG NEWS: We watched "The Force Awakens" today!! Finally! We both really liked it, but I feel like we should have watched the original trilogy first (but we could get TFA on iTunes and don't have access to the trilogy right now). I wore my BB-8 hoodie while watching.

I am so proud of you! Watching TFA--all it took was an InknBurn BB8 hoodie!

On a more serious note though, about your race and the paces you had-you've come such a long way in a short time! I'm with Rteetz, you will be back to your old self and paces in no time!