Unforgettable Disney Moment

Throughout the years, I’ve had a bucket full of unforgettable Disney moments – from special moments during our honeymoon trip, to crossing the finish lines of my first half and full marathons, to unexpected Disney surprises with friends…the list goes on and on!

However, there’s one moment that will stand out in my mind as one of my top favorite life moments…pretty much ever.

Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is:
Unforgettable
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic

(Ok, this isn't completely wordless because I have to set up the backstory….and go….)

The year was 2013 and I was up for my first Coast to Coast Challenge. I knew that Joey Fatone (of my favorite boy band NSYNC) ran Goofy’s Challenge in Walt Disney World that January (as did I), and I was incredibly sad that I never saw him during that event. Imagine my excitement when I found out that he was also running his first Coast to Coast for the Inaugural Dumbo Double Dare!

That trip seriously turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life!

• Sunday night, NSYNC reunion on the VMA’s (OMG I still can’t believe that happened)
• Thursday night, I celebrated my birthday with friends at Storytellers in Disneyland
• Friday, I met Joey Fatone in Downtown Disney
• Sunday, I was photo bombed by Joey during the Disneyland Half Marathon

What an amazing birthday week! I love unforgettable moments and magical vacations!!

------------------------------------------------------------

Want to participate in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday? Click on the button below for more details!

------------------------------------------------------------

What’s your unforgettable Disney moment? Please share, I want to hear all about it!

Glass Slipper Challenge x 2 Complete!

Happy Monday, everyone!

This past weekend, I completed Disney’s Glass Slipper Challenge for the second time and had so much fun along the way!

I’ll be out for a few days (having a little fun at sea), but I’ll be back with plenty of recaps and race vlogs soon!

Source

I am a little nervous and excited at the same time about our cruise – this will be our first time onboard the Disney Dream! I feel like I know the layout of the Magic/Wonder really well but the Dream…not so much. It will be an adventure for sure…I can’t wait!

Up next: runDisney’s Castaway Challenge!

If you cruise, do you tend to stick with the same cruise line/ship or do you like to change things up every once in a while?

Fitness Friday–2/20

This week, I began tapering for the Princess Half/Glass Slipper Challenge which is happening this weekend! It’s hard to believe it’s already here!

Currently training for:
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon (Glass Slipper Challenge)
Disney’s Castaway Challenge
Divas Half Marathon

Saturday –  6 mile solo run
Sunday – Rest Day
Monday –  Squats/Lunges routine – 10 sets of each x 3 rounds
Tuesday –  3 mile run & Squats/Lunges routine – 10 sets of each x 3 rounds
Wednesday – 2 mile run & Squats/Lunges routine – 10 sets of each x 3 rounds
Thursday – Travel Day
Friday – Park Time & Squats/Lunges routine – 10 sets of each x 3 rounds

Since the Louisiana Half, I’ve been battling with pain in the bottom of my left foot and left calf. After discussing the issues with my coach, I think I’ve figured out the problem and am working on a solution. (I have a giant knot in my calf which is causing irritation.) In the meantime, I’m trying not to aggravate my foot in any way, shape, or form.

For this past Saturday’s run, I decided to try a run/walk method. The night before, I researched Jeff Galloway’s recommendations for run/walk ratios. In the end, I combined Jeff’s advice with a few thoughts of my own and formulated a plan to run a 10:1 ratio (10 minute run/1 minute walk).

Thankfully, the run went better than expected and I found myself looking forward to the walk breaks as they really helped my overall performance and muscle fatigue! Also, I didn’t have any pain! YAY! No pain=happy Karen!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! If you’re running, have a great race!

What are your weekend plans? Anything exciting happening?

Travel Day!

Travel day has finally arrived!

Today officially begins the start of the Princess Half Marathon Weekend – I can’t wait to share all of the excitement and fun times this weekend has in store!

If you’re running in one of the races this weekend, I wish you all the best and I hope you have a magical time!! Be sure to say hello if you see me around! :)

Ways to follow along in the fun:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

See ya real soon!

(By the way, my house is being watched so don’t even think of trying anything funny….) #HadToPutItOutThere….

-----------------------------------------------

Are you attending Princess Half Marathon Weekend?

Action! - Disney Cruise Line

Happy Wednesday! The week is halfway over and for those of us travelling to the Princess Half Marathon this weekend, it’s almost time! Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is “Action”.

The thought of the word “action” brought around memories of my time spent in New York which was (of course) because of a Disney Cruise…so I decided to share a few of our New York Disney Cruise Line photos with you guys today! We sailed on the Magic and our itinerary included two stops in Canada before returning back to port in New York.

Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is: 
Action!
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic

Want to participate in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday? Click on the button below for more details!

------------------------------------------------------------

Do you enjoy cruising? We love it because it’s a great way to visit a lot of different places in a short amount of time!

2015 Rock n Roll New Orleans Vlog

It’s been a few weeks, but I didn’t want time to slip by without sharing a video of the Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon I ran at the end of January!

Rock n Roll New Orleans is a favorite race of mine and I enjoy returning each year to run through the city!

Missed any RnRNOLA blog recaps? Check them out!

• Rock n Roll New Orleans Expo
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon Recap

Here you’ll find a vlog recap of the Expo and race itself. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for watching! Happy Running!

Have you ever participated in a Rock n Roll Event? If so, which one/what’s your favorite?

Princess Enchanted 10K Costume

After last year’s Princess Half Marathon (where I ran the race dressed as Snow White), my friend Melissa and I decided to dress up in joint costumes for this year’s Princess Enchanted 10K! She usually runs Disney races for time, but she decided to hang back with me for this one, have fun, and take pictures with characters along the way!

Since we decided to run together, we needed costume ideas, right? Well, we occasionally (and randomly) text each other “Do you wanna build a snowman?”…which led to the idea of us dressing as Elsa and Anna for this race (she’s Elsa, I’m Anna)! We both also love the movie Frozen, by the way…as does most of America. :)

I had so much fun putting this costume together, I decided to share my process with you!

Supplies

For this costume I used:

• Black Champion tank from Academy
• Light blue BCG tank from Academy
• Sparkle Skirts royal blue headband
• Gold glitter ribbon for trim (and now there’s glitter all over my house!)
• Sparkle Athletic royal blue skirt
• Black Running Skirts skirt underneath the sparkle athletic skirt
• Dark Silhouette iron-on transfers (for use with the Silhouette Cameo)
• Black Zensah compression socks
• Sparkle Skirts cape
• Light blue East Bay arm warmers
• Stuffed Olaf I found at Books A Million

A good part of my weekend was spent sewing pieces and parts together!

For this top, I sewed gold ribbon trim around the neckline and very bottom of the shirt. I also hand stitched the light blue tank in place underneath the black tank.

The Silhouette Cameo was a huge help with this costume. Most of the online guides I found gave instructions on painting the flower design onto the shirt…..and I knew that would be a disaster for me! Thank goodness for the Cameo – I was able to print the design on my printer, then use the cutter to cut out the design. I also decided to add a black background to the image after practicing earlier in the week on a white sheet of paper. There was a bit of white margin around the flowers and I didn’t want white to show on my black tank top – so the black background made a world of difference!

The process of laying the pieces out was a bit tedious, but I loved the finish product in the end!!

SO excited to see how it all came together!

Now, without further adieu, here’s my version of an Anna costume for the Princess Enchanted 10K!

I can’t wait to run this weekend! This is by far one of my favorite costumes to date! :)

What do you think of Frozen? Are you a fan?

Fitness Friday–2/13

It’s Friday and incredibly hard for me to believe this, but……..in less than 1 week, I’ll be in my happy place!! Bring on Princess Half Marathon weekend and all the fun it has in store!

Currently training for:
Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon (Glass Slipper Challenge)
Disney’s Castaway Challenge

Saturday –  8 mile solo run
Sunday – 4.5 mile trail run with Kenzie 
Monday –  Rest Day 
Tuesday –  Squats/Lunges routine – 10 sets of each x 3 rounds
Wednesday – 3 miles with Jason
Thursday – 4 mile run
Friday – 3 mile run

This weekend, I plan to run 3 miles on Friday (today) and 6 on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be beautiful again, so that’s definitely a plus! :)

I’m also going to work on my 10K/Princess Half costumes since yeah…it really WILL be here before we know it! I have all of the pieces and parts, I just need to put them together.

It’s also Valentines Day Weekend! Happy Valentines Day, y’all! Any big plans? Jason and I are celebrating on Sunday night because of work commitments. I do have a group of girls I’m getting together with on Saturday night and we laughed because we feel like Jessica Biel’s character in the movie Valentines Day with her haters club! (That’s literally one of my favorite movies, by the way…love it!) It’s going to be a fun weekend, I can’t wait!

As a little throwback, here’s a Valentine from me to you! :D

Have a great weekend, guys!

What are your weekend plans? Any Valentines Day plans in store?

(run)Disney Love

I love my family….that’s no secret. I also love runDisney…again, no secret at all. Combine the two and what do you get? Pure magic! (…and lots of love)

Over the past few years, various members of my family have completed runDisney events with me (mostly 5K’s) and they’ve all had a blast (except the time my mom ended up with a broken tooth and almost needed stitches…but she still managed to have a good time)! :)

Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is: 
Disney Love…with a little twist! :)
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic

------------------------------------------------------------

Want to participate in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday? Click on the button below for more details!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Does anyone in your family enjoy running? Have y’all participated in running events together?