Run Disney: Ursula Costume Idea

I keep thinking how cool it would be if Disney put on a Villains themed race. I know, I know, I have yet to even compete in my first Disney race, and I am thinking of future races! But I bet if the Princess race is successful, I will soon get addicted and have to start planning my next race.

 Even without a Villains themed race, Ursula would be a great outfit for any Disney race! Especially the Tower of Terror 10 miler! There are very few villains more scary than Ursula! They weren't kidding when they called her, well a witch.

Here is my take on her for race day:

1. This awesome I've Been Bad shirt. Found HERE.

2.  This Ursula Themed Race Day Tutu. Found HERE.

3. You can have your very own replica of the necklace used to capture Ariel's voice! Found HERE.

4. These faux, gauge earrings are very suitable for an Ursula costume. Found HERE.

5. This bow is a nice nod to Ursula's stint as Vanessa in order to woe Prince Eric away from Ariel. Found HERE.

6. And of course, a nice pair of purple running shoes to complete the ensemble. Found HERE.

There you have it my Poor, Unfortunate Souls,

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

BEST DAY EVER...After my run that is...

You know when you have just one of "those" days? Well I've had one of those weekends that led into week. I got home Friday night to it raining in my kitchen. That's not an exaggeration either. Water pouring into my apt from upstairs. I was NOT happy and it took until Sunday night at 6:30 to get it fixed! Woke up 15 minutes before I had to leave for work on Monday and was in a grouchy mood at work. During planning, I felt like I snapped at my team members so I sent them all an email to apologize and chose to have a better day. Today was a similar day. I woke up to water on my kitchen floor AGAIN (even though the guy said he had fixed it) AND a kitchen full of black ants! Where they came from I have no idea! I got to work and it was a rough day with too much to do and not enough time to get it done. I felt like I couldn't get out of this funk until...I went for one of the most epic runs of my running career!

I BEAT MY PR FOR MY FASTEST MILE EVER BY 15 WHOLE SECONDS!!!!! When I started this journey little over 2 years ago I could barely do a mile in 21 minutes. Today I ran a mile in 13:30! My fastest time to date was 13:45. For someone who has never been a "runner", I'm claiming it today! The best part of the whole thing? All of the frustration and the anxiety and the being upset completely evaporated as soon as I hit that first mile in 13:30 and then was REALLY gone at mile 2 with the same time. I am so blessed and excited that I'm FINALLY seeing results in my speed! My goal by Disney in February is a consistent 12 minute mile. I'll gladly take anything less, but I'm striving for 12. :)

I just had to share! I hope that everyone is having a WONDERFUL day and reminding you to never give up on your goals! Eventually you will reach them! I did today and I couldn't be happier!

Much Love,

J

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

It's TIME!!!!!!!!!!

One more day and we are OFFICIALLY 6 months out from our trip! I cannot even fathom that we are THAT close! We are booking the trip today and I can't wait! Not only do I get to run a race in the Happiest Place on Earth, but I get to do it with my best friends and boyfriend...on my birthday week! I am so excited!

We are planning on doing a week long trip because how often do you get to do Disney? And honestly, only spending a few days there wasn't going to cut it. I'm really excited about doing the parks, but I think Be Our Guest on my birthday is going to take the cake! I can't wait for us to get this trip fully booked and know that we have everything reserved! I'm jumping up and down inside just thinking about it!

I know the camaraderie is going to be amazing in the park and it's going to be so exciting to see everyone's costumes! If you are racing, let us know and maybe we can do a fun blog meetup for the race! :)

Wishing you all the best of luck,
Jana

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

Elsa and Anna RunDisney Costume Ideas!

One thing I have loved about training for this half is getting to check out all of the amazing costume ideas that I can choose from. Had you asked me 2 years ago to do a race and dress up to do it, I'd have laughed in your face. The thought of even doing 13 miles in a single day would have had me rolling on the floor. Now, I feel completely different. I'm hoping that I finish in adequate time!

This week I decided to tackle Elsa and Anna. Being the newest Disney Princesses, it seemed only right that we give them an opportunity to take the floor. Plus I get to do double, which is a plus! :)

How adorable is this Anna inspired sparkle skirt? Find it here

And what about this Elsa inspired one? Cuteness overload! Get it here

I love this Anna inspired tank top. "Do You Want to Run a Half Marathon?" Find it here

I'm also loving this Elsa tank! If only it came in adult sizes. Get it here

Anna is always so fresh in this necklace! Check it out here

A girl has GOT to have accessories! I am loving this Elsa inspired necklace! Find it here

A girl has GOT to have running shoes to finish the big race! I love these! Even though they say they are Cinderella inspired, I think they would work for Frozen as well!

Lastly, you have to have the right hair accessories to keep your hair out of your face on a good run. I really like this one that doubles for both Elsa and Anna. :)

Hope this inspires you to get out here and make your dreams come true!

Always,

Jana

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

Running of the Bulls 5k

Last weekend on a whim, I decided to sign up for a fairly local 5k, The Running of the Bulls, just because I love a good race. Plus, it has been a while since my first full 5k running a few months ago, and I wanted to see if I could do better on my time.

Adam decided to come with me, although I told him he certainly didn't have to. Just because I decided to get up early on a SATURDAY, didn't mean he needed to be tortured as well . But he really wanted to support me (and I love him for it). Although, every time I metioned what time we would be getting up (5:30) he made sure to tell me he, "hated me."

When the alarm went off, I was ready to go. The 5k was not as local as I thought it was though, and it took us 45 minutes to get over to the race area. But the GPS failed us, and we could not figure out where to go at all! This made me anxious, as we drove all over the place, just trying to figure out where we were supposed to go. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we finally found the location for the race, and it was one of the first locations we stopped at. I don't know how we didn't see the finish line the first go round!

We got there at 7, I knew the race started at 7:30. This barely gave me time to use the bathroom, pick up my packet, pin on my bib number, and get a proper warm-up completed. You know how I said the race started at 7:30? Nope, I was dead wrong, it actually started at 8! I was a total nincompoop that morning. 

Once I realized I had some spare time,  I stopped to pose for a picture with the school mascot. It reminded me of being back in NYC on wall street with the bull market statue.

It was so hot and humid that morning, and I was worried about being properly hydrated. I was dripping in sweat even before the race started. Luckily, the course was a nicely, shaded trail. 

I felt really good throughout the race, even from the beginning (my least favorite part). I could feel the progress I had made in the last couple of months! I was actually passing people! I have never been able to pass people, I was always the one being passed! 

When my app announced I had gone a mile, I was SHOCKED to learn I had completed it in 13:53. I have never done a sub 14 minute mile.  Before this race, my fastest mile was 14:30.  I was so incredibly proud in that moment.  My next splits slowed down a bit (14:23 and 14:59). All under 15 minutes!  I think I'm going to be in such good shape for Disney!

The last little bit of the race had a short but steep incline, followed by a brief downhill stint. When I rounded the cornor, I could see Adam cheering me on. I crossed the finish line at 47:30. That is my best 5k time to date! .

That post race watermelon was possibly the best food I ever tasted. 

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

My Disney Princess Training Plan

 I've been doing mental gymnastic the last couple of months trying to figure out exactly how I wanted to go about my Disney training. Did I want to follow a plan? Do I want to make up my own plan? How many days should I run? How long? How far? It was a lot of issues to think about.

The runDisney website has their own training plans developed by Jeff Galloway. I have heard several good things about these training plans, most notably on the Mickey Miles Podcast. I have been perusing the 22 week beginners plan, that officially kicks off September 30th, 2014.

I like how the plan is laid out. It asks for a 30 minute run on Tuesdays/Thursdays. I usually do not run on Tuesdays/Thursdays because it is my long work day, but since it is ONLY 30 minutes, that is a commitment I can make. I figure since those runs are always 30 minutes long, I can gradually work toward increasing my speed on the weekdays.

Saturdays are the distance runs, that will gradually increase in mileage, with some "weaning/resting" weeks in between. The plan leads right up to marathon weekend and seems so doable. My goal is following the plan to a tee and updating you guys along the way.

I also plan to run a 10k in November it order to possibly get a better corral placement.

In the meantime, I plan on running 30 minutes on Tuesday/Thursdays (as I did this week) to get used to the running schedule, and then I will run no more than 3 miles on Saturdays (since the first official Saturday run is only 2 miles!).

I can't wait to see how this plan goes.  I think it will be fantastic for me. I always do better with a plan. Just hope to stay motivated!

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

B's Top Ten Plans for the Disney Vacation

Ok everyone, we are about 6 months out from Jana and mine's Disney vacation. To say we are excited would be a huge understatement! We talk about it at least once everyday, and I am listening to about a million trillion podcasts on Disney world (my favorites are Disney Dream Girls & WDW Happy Place by the way).  I thought it might me fun to do a top ten list of what I'm most looking forward to doing (outside of the half marathon of course):

1. Be Our Guest Restaurant
This is my absolute ONLY must do for Disney! I have made no secret that my favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast. Now they have a whole restaurant based off the movie. You can even order the grey stuff (like the song). If I don't get to do this, I will be crushed. I plan on getting up early the day you can begin booking the reservations, just to be certain.

2. Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios

I have wanted to ride this ride since I first saw it on a travel channel special years ago! I think it will scare the pants off me, being as it is a free fall ride. But I love, love, love a good thrill ride.  So bring it on Disney. 

3. Dole Whip

Ok, so post weight loss surgery I eat almost zero sweets (maybe some frozen yogurt from time to time). But all the people on my podcasts rave about the dole whip. So I'm thinking even if I can only have a bite or two, I just have to try it. 

4. Meet Anna & Elsa

This comes with the caveat that we only do this with the Fast Pass, because come on, I really want to meet these two. But I do not want to spend three hours in line with screaming children. But I do, I do just love Frozen.

5. Epcot World Showcase

When I was younger, I had some kind of Barbie VHS tape where Barbie went to Disneyworld (or some other such nonsense). I remember being really blown away by how cool the world showcase looked in the movie. I guess I had the travel bug even as a little girl.  So I'm excited to check out all the countries, and maybe even do a little drinking around the world?

6. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride
This is one of the newer rides in Disneyworld, and it sounds so fun!  We will get to ride in little mine cars and be immersed in the world of the Seven Dwarfs. Rockin'.

7.  The First Time Seeing the Castle

I have seen Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland, and that was really such an exciting moment. I think seeing Cinderella's castle for the first time will be even more thrilling! That will mean the trip has begun!

8. Parade

I feel like this one is kind of self-explanatory. Floats! Characters! Bands! Mickey! Need I say more?

9. Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid Ride

This one goes out to my homegirl, Jana! Since her favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. But who wouldn't want to ride in a clam shell and go Under the Sea (Probably my husband, but he is going anyway!).

 

10. Firework Show

I love a regular hometown Firework show, so I'm guessing a Disneyworld firework show has to be epic right? Well, I guess we will see!
 

I just can't wait y'all, I just can't wait,

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

A Week of Moving and Semi-Slacking

I have been off track running wise since I went on vacation, I have just been so tired! When I got back from vacation, I immediately went back to work, and then that Friday we moved! Is there anything more exhausting than moving?

All that packing your stuff, then transporting your stuff, just so you can unpack your stuff all over again. It makes me feel like I have way too much stuff, or that I should run off into the wilderness and become a stuff-less, naked, swamp hermit. And let us not forget the having to clean your prior place! Ugh, I'm exhausted. Add working to the mix, and you have a good idea of how I'm feeling. 

It is hard to find the motivation to work out.  When I step on the treadmill, I'm surrounded by a mountain of boxes, and all I can think is, "I could be unpacking right now." I'm getting extremely paranoid I won't get back on track. Just because that has happened to me in the past. I'm also fearful I will lose all my stamina.

I have made a deal with myself and Jana to get running again on Saturday. I am tentatively thinking of doing the Watermelon Run 5k in Cullman, Alabama, just to guarantee I run that 3 miles on Saturday. I'm also just itching for a good race, it has been a while. But I will see how the rest of the week unfolds before I decide.

For now, I'm just working, packing, and trying to catch some sleep inbetween.

Here is to getting back on track,

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

Run Disney: Maleficent Costume Idea

I really enjoyed the movie Maleficent that came out a few months ago. I love when there is any kind of retelling of classic fairy-tales!  That is why I also love the play Wicked so much. I think Maleficent would be fun for a Run Disney event. Who doesn't like to pretend they are a little evil from time to time? MWHAHAHA (that is an evil laugh, in case you didn't pick up on it)!

So here is my take on Maleficent:

1. I love this Maleficent themed glitter running skirt with fire embellishments. Find it HERE.

2. Just say yes to Maleficent themed running ears! Find it HERE.

3. This purple and black feather necklace would be a great way to imitate Maleficent's Cape. Find it HERE.

4. If the feathers are too much, you might want to try this sleeping potion necklace complete with the spinning needle of doom. Find it HERE.

5. You know you are going to want to take a ton of pictures race day, most likely with your phone, so you might as well have a phone case that compliments your outfit. Find it HERE.

6. Last but not least,  some great purple and green running shoes, so your feet can match your ensemble! Find it HERE.

May You Never Require True Love's Kiss to Wake You From Your Nap,

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

Just Beachin'

I just got back from a much needed vacation to the beach. I am finishing unpacking my bags (which involves dumping out handful of sands), and I'm already missing the sun, sand, and waves. I could of used a couple of more days to get a little more tan and a little more relaxed. Don't vacations always end too soon? I am already missing my nieces terribly!

It really was a great vacation. The first night I got there I was having tons of anxiety about food. Food post weight loss surgery is so much more complicated than food pre weight loss surgery. The problem was I was staying in a condo with 8 other people, and that kitchen was stacked to the brim with snacks. Snacks I would have loved before my surgery!  Like Banana Split Oreos! Where were banana split Oreos when I still weighed in the 300s?  Or the banana taffy sonic slushie with nerds? I would have lost my mind over those a few months ago.

I'm  pretty much at a point with my surgery, that I can have a bite of almost anything, and I will try things because otherwise I would lose my mind. But for the most part I have a routine with food, that I find comforting. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle all the temptation.

I did pretty well. I do think I snacked more than I would in a regular week, but I didn't eat the unhealthy stuff. But I did have bite of the Oreo, and it was crazy good!

I stayed pretty active, I went for a 3 mile run one evening in the gym, while people stared at me from the pool. I was less embarrassed that I was sweating like a pig in front of a pool of teenagers, than I was that I was watching the Real Housewives while doing it! I swam non-stop, and I am participating in a crunches challenge for the month of August.

When  I got home, I was scared to step on the scale, I don't know why. It is just that being out of my routine scares me, I was BLOWN away to discover that I lost 8 lbs this week. BLOWN AWAY. So proud and so happy. I weigh in the 230s now, I am so close to ONEDERLAND.

Also, while we we were on vacation, Adam and I went parasailing. Parasailing has been on my bucket list for a while. Years and years ago, when I would go on beach trips with the church youth group, they would take people out to go parasailing. I would always act like I didn't want to go, but really I wouldn't go because there was a combined weight limit, and I doubted there was anyone I could pair with that wouldn't make us heavier than the weight limit. So I didn't even try. Just one more way my weight has held me back over the years.

But now that I've lost some weight, I could ride with my husband. So we went parasailing not once but twice last week. What an amazing experience! Not only was it fun and beautiful, it was just so amazing to be able to do something that my weight used to keep me from doing. 

Losing weight lets you have adventures. 

Tomorrow it is back to the grind, and we are moving into our new house on Friday! I'm hoping to get a run in tomorrow before work, so I can finish up some packing in the afternoon.   This weekend is going to be hectic and full of unpacking boxes and cleaning. I'm hoping to run a 4 miler over the weekend!

Catch you later,

Brittany

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!

J and B's Runiversary

July 29, 2014 was mine and B's 2 year runiversary. It seems so surreal looking back over that amount of time and how far we have come. I didn't even realize it until August 1 and of course I had to send her a message to let her know we had missed it. She and I both agreed that it would make for a good blog post, so here we are. :)

I know we post a lot about our running and how far we've come. I just want to say, I'm so proud of B! She had a 14 minute mile the other day! And not just 1, but 3 of them! When we started this journey I know I could barely do a 20 minute mile. The fact that we are up to 14 minute miles speaks volumes about our journey and we are hoping to only get faster the longer we practice.

Instead of writing all about our journey, I want to share a few pictures instead. Please bear with me as this will be a photo heavy post. :)

 These were taken after we finished our very FIRST 5K in September of 2012. We finished in under an hour and we were the last two to finish, but we finished! So blessed I had this girl in my corner. 

 Fun times at our very first foam race! As you can see, we enjoyed the face painting. :)

 Of course I had to throw in a few college throw back pictures. :) As you can see, we had a lot of fun. 

 When Brit and I started our running journeys, we inspired several others to join us for the Color Run in Jackson, MS. As you can see, it was a blast!

 Our very 1st 10K in Auburn, AL (War Damn Eagle!)

Random pics from Days Gone By!

I'm so looking forward to many more adventures with this girl and I can't wait until we get to post all about our experience at the Disney Princess Half Marathon! :D

Until Later,

Jana

Click here! to follow us on bloglovin & keep up with all our posts!