Finding My Motivation

Whoops, it's been a while! But I've been hard(ish) at work for the past month!

Unfortunately, most of what I was doing was not running.

A week of camping in the wilderness, some strep throat, and a wedding and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things. I did have a lot of time to plan my outfit for the Princess Half Marathon, and will be sketching out a few concrete ideas soon. I finally decided on Elsa, because I am going to be the last person to get over "Let It Go."

I was having a hard time deciding between her coronation dress and the ice queen gown. The coronation dress is so underrated. But can you really be Esla without the badass ice dress? In my feverish streppy state I remembered Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway...

 

+ =????


... and I'm obsessed with making this work. I've been spending some quality time on Pinterest looking for ways to make this work with my newly inherited sewing machine. I can't actually sew yet, so most of my sketches involve velcro and prayer. How amazing would this be to do at the 7 mile marker? I'm hoping the song is "Let It Go" again.

I have also decided to register for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, which will make me eligible for the Coast to Coast Challenge! I was incredibly excited when I signed up, but now that I'm getting back to the gym after a break, I'm a little worried about what I've gotten myself into. The races are three months apart, so I rationalized it by saying that I'd already be in running shape from the Princess Half. It makes sense right? But then I looked down at the timer on the treadmill (while watching Mad Men!) and realized I was huffing and puffing fifteen minutes into my workout. I restarted at the walk five, run five part of the plan. I finished it today, but it feels like I have so far to go. It's hard to keep myself motivated, but I really think this outfit idea is helping. I'm much better at art than I am at sports! Joann's Fabric has a few fabrics that might work in their Performance section, but not at the store closest to me. I'm trying to hold off until I have something like a pattern, and Joann's has something like a sale...

My mood is either excited or discouraged, but now I get to come up with more outfits! I'm going to be looking for some runs to do to keep me going, but my work schedule has been so crazy lately. But I'm gonna let it go.

"Please stop making puns!"

Castaway Cay Challenge and Bomb Girls

I'm taking it a little slow in my training for this week, but I'm still working! I've started watching Bomb Girls on Netflix while I run (or walk... but I use the incline!) and I'm addicted. I accidentally binge watched the first season, but I'm trying to pace myself starting season two. There are only two seasons on Netflix and I'm a little afraid to Google it in case of spoilers. One of the actors was on Orphan Black recently though, so I'm afraid there might just be the two. I'm in love with the retro style of this show, and taking it slow this week has made me realize what a serious case of hair envy I have.

The show is about women of different backgrounds working in a munitions factory in Canada during World War II. Gladys, top left, is a grocery heiress who feels the need to provide more than just office support for the war effort. Kate, on the right, is starting a new life working in the factory on the run from her past. Lorna, on the bottom left, is in charge of the ladies on the line and her story is just starting to get scandalous. Then there's Betty, who is awesome. Season one didn't end well for her, but I believe in Betty. YOU GO GIRL, YOU BUY YOURSELF A HOUSE! 

Oh, right... headphones.

Anyway, back to the races.

Registration for the Castaway Cay Challenge opened today at noon. From the website;

 "The all-new Disney Castaway Cay Challenge is an ultimate running adventure, combining one magical 5K event or longer during the 2015 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend (February 19 - 22, 2015) with a Castaway Cay 5K on Disney Cruise Lines' private tropical island in the Bahamas the following week." 

It's an interesting idea, but a four-night cruise plus $65 registration in addition to the half marathon is just a little much in terms of expenses. I'll be skipping it, but the part of me that wants to collect everything is filing it away for later. Like when I win the lottery. From what I can tell, the new challenge differs from the Castaway 5k offered before this year in a few ways. From the registration page, it appears that this year this will be a timed event rather than a fun run, with the 16 minutes per mile rule in effect. It also appears that participants will be entitled to special perks on board the cruise. I'm interested to see how this turns out!

Couch Potato to 5k

I've been a little sickly the last few days, so I haven't been to the gym in a while. I think I'm allergic to the cold. Im hoping to start training this week using the Couch to 5k training plan. I used this when I started training for the Tinkerbell Half, and it's honestly murder. But it does get better! It's basically three thirty minute runs a week for nine weeks where you alternate between running and walking. For each workout, you run a little longer and it gets easier. By the end, you're running for 30 minutes straight and completing a 5k!

I prefer doing the Treadmill version. I know, I know. "But you're not pulling your weight forward." "It's going to be harder when you actually have to run outside." "So that's why you're so pale." I just really prefer the treadmill. Partly because I can use the gym's wifi to watch Netflix, but mostly because it's easier to tell how fast I'm going, how far I'm going, and how much time I have until the next running or walking stage.

I'm still debating the Salt Lake City run. On the one hand, I have almost no time to train. On the other hand, whenever I start debating it, my lady of Lourde comes on.

                                  It's not blasphemy if she has the voice of an angel.

I think I'm going to take my chances for the sake of adventure. The location of this race is perfect (because The Man says I'm too young to rent a car) and the last time I visited SLC was as a tiny child. I vaguely remember almost dying of heat stroke in 190 degree heat and visiting the actual salt lake, which was covered in tiny black flies. I'm due for a do-over, basically. I hope I can get some training in soon!