Pre-Dawn Run

I am never ever ever able to get up early for my Tuesday and Thursday runs, even though I always go to bed with the best of intentions the night before. I even try to get to bed early for that very reason!

I set three alarms; one for 5:30am (so I could hit snooze 1x or 2x), another for 5:45 a.m. (the time I needed to get up to run), and one for 6:30 a.m. (the time I get up for work). I was fully expecting that the only alarm I would heed was the 6:30 one!

I slept kind of fitfully last night, waking up at 12:30, 1:30,  and 2:30. Finally, I woke up at 4:30am, and I was unable to fall back to sleep. So I decided to get up and knock out my run. I took a few moments to decided whether I wanted to run outside or on the treadmill. But since I find the treadmill particularly hard in the morning (maybe because I'm not already pre-warmed up from walking around all day?), I decided to hit the neighborhood.

Man oh man, I'm loving this Fall weather. When I stepped outside it was soo cool and lovely, perfect for a jog.  It was also pitch dark, and it was beautiful with the stars & moons overhead. I set up the podcasts I wanted to listen to, did some walking & high knees for a warm-up, and then I took off.

During my last 5k, I minimized my running app and paid no attention to my time, speed or distance till the end of the race. I really liked doing that because when I  pay attention to my app, it all goes by so slowly, and sometimes I get discouraged if I'm not going the speed I think I should be going, or I feel overwhelmed by how much longer I have to go.  I decided to do this morning's run without looking at the stats just to see if I could estimate speed and such by paying attention to how hard I was pushing it.

I was so happy when my app told me I had completed a mile in 13:20 (my personal record is 13:18). My second mile was 13:38. I was so proud because that is the first time I've done 2 miles with both being under 14 minutes!  Woot, woot!

I do wish I could start getting negative splits (reducing time every mile instead of adding it), but I think I just hit it so hard when I was start, that it it natural that I slow down a bit. As I start upping my mileage, I may work toward getting negative splits! 

Sometimes I get so anxious to be faster or better, not realizing how I have improved. I was looking at my stats from past work-outs, and I found out that the first mile I ever ran a few months ago was 17:30! That is a 4 minute difference. So I have nothing to worry about truly. 

Unfortunately, when I stopped running, I ended up not feeling so hot. A lot of awful cramps, so I'm taking a sick day. I don't think it has to do with the run but I really don't know what is going on. It is so random.

Oh well, I'm sure I will feel better tomorrow, and I will have a lot of pre-dawn runs in my future!

Brittany

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

The Weekend Report

We have had a wonderfully simple & just perfect weekend for us, so I just wanted to do a little bit of a recap.

Before Adam and I met in person, we were just teens chatting on social media. During one of these chats, I promised Adam I would cook him spaghetti. I'm pretty sure I was just talking out of my butt because I did not know how to make spaghetti at the time. But when we finally met, I made him spaghetti. He loved it, and I used to make us spaghetti almost every Friday night. But since weight loss surgery, I haven't made it much at all because I really don't eat pasta. But this Friday, I decided to cook him some spaghetti just for him as a treat.I got to use our new stove for the first time and he got his favorite meal. That's a real win-win.

After dinner, I watched a movie I had been excited about for a while, As Dreamers Do. It is all about the early life of Walt Disney. It was a little bit of a cheesy movie, probably a little bit too simplistic. But I liked the movie regardless. No different than a lifetime movie or a hallmark movie, and I always stick those out to the bitter end (like the Brittany Murphy Story, so awful!). I enjoyed sticking this one out though.

I signed up for a local 5k on a whim last week. I always wonder why I do this to myself because setting an alarm for 6:30 on a Saturday is so not cool! But I'm always glad I did. It was uber cold on Saturday morning, feeling so much like Fall! Although I was cold pre-race, I knew I would warm up once the race started. This was a smallish race (maybe 70-100). I was nervous as always, worrying my legs would fail me. But they didn't! I finished the race in 44:20! That is 3 whole minutes off my last 5k time!  And can I say that run has me so excited for Fall weather running? Bring it on!

 

Adam did some yard work around the house on Saturday. I love watching my husband do manly, man things (not that women can't do them too, but I'd just rather not).

 

(BTW, I'm lovin' my fuzzy hair, and Carlee our weekend house guest resting on my lap in this picture). Adam recently remembered that he has an Atari (how he forgot this I will never know). So we went to the Athens-Limestone Flea Market to browse some classic video games. He bought a whole bunch of Atari games. He also picked up his favorite Nintendo game, Duck tales, and my favorite childhood game, M.C. Kids. It is a game that was basically made to advertize McDonalds (yes that McDonalds), but it is so fun and surprisingly difficult. We had fun messing around on those for a bit. 

Of course, no fall weekend would be complete without a little Packer's football. This was our first public outing in our cheeseheads this year, and we checked out a new sports bar that we liked a lot! We got a rough start, and the gamed looked awful during the first half, but we pulled off the win anyway! So that's a good game day!

By the way, this is the face you make after celebrating two Randall Cobb touchdowns, just to be reminded your opponent in your Fantasy league is playing Randall Cobb. The cheesehead of shame!

Brittany

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

How I Am Planning Our Disney Trip

We are a little under 6 months away from the Princess Half Marathon and our Disney world vacation now, and I am so stupid happy about it all. Jana and I text back and forth non-stop about all the little things we are looking forward to doing. I really think this trip is going to be epic.

One of my favorite things about traveling is planning the "perfect" trip. There is soooo much information out there about Disney world that I am really enjoying sorting through. I thought I would share a little bit about my trip planning process here. Maybe it will only be fun for me and not fun for y'all at all! But it is our blog, so I can do what I want! So there (just kidding).

1. Reading a Guidebook

My first step in planning a major trip is buying a guide book from an actual book store! Yes, it might be a little old fashioned in the internet and digital age, but there is nothing like having that book in my hands. This book is 700+ pages long, and other than skipping a section here and there on parks we are not going to, I read the whole thing. 

2. Podcasts! Podcasts! Podcasts!

There are so many Disney loving podcasters out there that I am listening to weekly. My favorite is definitely WDW Happy Place (a married couple who talk all things Disney, they even mentioned me on their 9-2-14 podcast), Capturing Magic (about documenting your trip), and Disney Dream Girls (to hear about all their Disney Shenanigans from two seriously funny British ladies). 

3. TouringPlans.com 

I actually learned about touring plans from my guidebook. Basically, touringplans is team who have scientifically studied the crowds and line formations at the Disney and Universal parks. For a small fee, you can plug in everything you want to do in each park, plus your reservations and fast passes, and it makes a schedule for you that will minimize waiting and walking time. I can't wait to try it, so many people speak so highly of it!

4. WDW Tools

One of the main things we want to do at Disney is eat at the newish Be Our Guest restaurant. But the reservations are super hard to get! So even though I got up at 4:45 a.m., 180 days in advanced of when we will be eating at the restaurant, as you are supposed to, the reservations for 4 were all gone. I was so devastated! But somewhere I heard about WDW tools. WDW tools is a website that watches for reservations for you (for ten dollars), and it texts you as soon as one becomes available, so you can snag it! With the help of this feature, I was able to snag the reservation for 4!! I'm so excited. This site is soooo good. It has actually found 4 reservations for me this week at Be Our Guest (although I only used one). I highly, highly recommend trying it if you are struggling to get a reservation.

5. Tripadvisor

I use tripadvisor for planning all my trips, even small weekend ones. I have been using it this trip to look at reviews for restaurants to see where we want to eat.  Not only can you read reviews, you can look at pictures of the restaurant. Although after looking at some pictures of Be Our Guest, I had to stop, because not only was I getting too excited, I didn't want to ruin it for myself!

If you have any trip planning advice, I am so open to suggestions!

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

A Lunch Time Run

I find it so difficult to get up 45 minutes early just so I can go for a run before work. I can literally only think of a handful of times that I have manged to drag my butt out of bed to work out.  I usually just decide to cancel the workout and rely on the 2nd alarm I set just in case I stay in bed. I am super proud of myself when I do get up however, and those runs give me so much energy throughout the day.

This morning I attempted to get up early yet again.  I failed miserably. This was unfortunate, because I needed to get home after work at a decent time to catch the Packer's game (ugh that loss was so heartbreaking). But I took my clothes to work anyway, determined to get off work on time, so I could get my run in before heading home for the game.

This was an usual weather day for Alabama though. Lately, it has been nothing but hot, hot, hot! But today was in the low 80's and overcast. Just perfect. Since I had my work-out clothes with me already, I decided to go for a lunch time run instead. I was worried about sweating during my work-out, only to have to get back to work to finish out the afternoon. But I decided to do it anyway.

I got to the local trail a little after 11, did my warm-up, and started running. The trail was so empty! I usually have to pass many people or am being continuously passed by others (which tends to make me nervous). But I only saw one person in the park during the whole run! It was lovely.

I did two miles total. My first split was 13:18 (fastest mile ever) and then my second was 14:15. My current goal is to get all my miles under 14:00 minutes. Right now, I'm just running 2-3 miles until my training for the Princess starts officially.

It is funny. I always assume a run will drain me for the rest of the day but it is the total opposite. It gives me such an energy boost that doesn't wear off till bedtime! I was able to power through the rest of my busy afternoon. Plus, it is nice to know you already have your work out done, and you won't have to squeeze it in later.

I love what running is doing for me lately. It is making me happier and healthier. And I'm hoping to get in some lunchtime runs in the future! I get ancy now if I go too long without running, my body starts craving all those endorphins. Man, I'm becoming so obnoxious lately with my, "I love to work out!" mantra! Just like the people I used to hate!

Over and Out,

Brittany

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