Fitness Friday - 9/28

What a week! After Friday night's Gleaux Run, I was worn smack out. My fitbit calculated about 8 miles for the evening and Saturday was spent catching up on rest. Let's see how the rest of the week went...

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Cowboy Gallop 10K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Sunday - Rest day
Monday - 4 mile run
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - Orangetheory ESP workout
Thursday - 3 mile walk with a friend
Friday - Orangetheory

Remember that cool front I was talking about that was supposed to hit this weekend? Yeah, well...it disappeared. Another front was coming through and pushed it out of the way. Sad times. It's like the groundhog in February, except it's as if we're going to have 8 more weeks of summer. Whomp whomp.

Anyway, I decided to hit the road on Monday for a 4 mile run after taking the weekend off to recuperate from Friday night's event. That time off was just what I needed and the run felt great!

See what I mean about the weather? UGH.

I felt great during this run and even managed to achieve negative splits! The first mile was a 9:20, the second was a 9:11, the third was 9:02, and the last was 8:49 - all of this was the result of a solo run (minus the Bob...and the 30 pound toddler)!

Wednesday's workout was a super difficult but great one as well! We had an ESP workout at Orangetheory and it seriously encompassed all areas of endurance, strength, and power.  For the last all out, I even managed a 30 second sprint that was a little higher from my norm. We also used power bands which killed my legs, but it was an overall amazing workout! I just love those!

I also got off of work early which means I arrived early and was the first one there. I thought it was hilarious to see my name by itself on the screen...naturally, I had to snap a picture! Nerd...yep.

Not fitness related at all, but super fun...our DVC kit arrived in the mail this week! Talk about magic mail at its finest! :)

Today, I'm headed back to Orangetheory for another session. I absolutely love working out first thing in the morning. Having a shower at the gym also helps, because I can go directly to work after the workout!

We don't have many plans this weekend and I'm 100% ok with that! I hope you all have a great one!

Disney Cruise Day 4: Another At Sea Day (& My Birthday!)

Up next on our recent Disney Fantasy cruise was yet another at sea day. This day was a little extra special, though - it was also my birthday!!

My only major plan for the day to go for a 3.6 mile run (in honor of my new age) and brunch at Palo which I planned to thoroughly enjoy. This restaurant is definitely one of our favorites!

I love the jogging deck on the larger ships because I don't have to count as many circles to equal a mile! :)

Lo and behold...while out for my run, look who I "ran" into! The mouse himself!

I'm pretty sure he was headed to a character breakfast because Doc McStuffins was also out there with him. A quick selfie HAD to be taken because how often does that happen?!

Thankfully, my fit bit helped me keep track of mileage!

After the run, I went up to the Quiet Cofe Cafe for my first (and definitely not last) cold brew of the trip!

Our room door also had a few extra special decorations in honor of the special day!

After breakfast, we played a little Disney trivia and won! Yay! 

Before long, it was time to get ready for Palo.

We were seated in a corner booth overlooking the ocean.

Our waiter was fabulous! He really really did a great job!

Palo brunch operates with a small plate and menu option variety. Guests begin with three tables - the one to the right is pastries, the one in the middle is seafood, and the one on the left is hors d'oeuvres. 

I might have made a couple of trips here!

In the mean time, we were offered a menu which included breakfast and lunch items. We were encouraged to split the items so we could eat more. Logic, duh.

The eggs benedict were amazing!

I only had a slice of the flatbread, but it was pretty tasty!

My most favorite item here though is the lasagna. It's seriously the best I've ever had!

After way too much food, we were talked into trying the steak. 

It was good, but I was trying to save what little room was left for dessert.

Dessert was served in a similar appetizer fashion.

There were so many delicious ones to choose from!

At the end of it all, this awesome dessert plate was brought to our table along with a rose!

We loved our time here!

In true form of tradition, Jason had to change Palo to "Halo", even though he doesn't play Halo anymore! (We've taken this picture on every single cruise since 2009!)

After a really long nap, I woke up and asked Jason if he wanted to attend the DVC preview, "just to see" what was new and put our name in the hat for the $200 on board credit. He agreed and off we went.

Well, needless to say, we drank the koolaid and ended up buying into DVC on this cruise...but more on that later!

Dinner for this evening was served in royal court. I was so surprised to see a sweet little note from our server!

Isn't that precious?!

Dinner was good, although I was still a little full from Palo.

They wait staff also sang happy birthday that night.

Our blanket animal that night was a shark!

I had a great day celebrating my birthday on board the Disney Fantasy and received so many happy birthday wishes from cast members and guests alike! It really was a fun day!!

Up next: Beaches and Swimming in Tortola!

Gleaux Run 2018

Well, another Gleaux Run 5K benefiting the American Cancer Society is in the books!

This was our 4th Gleaux Run and although turnout was a bit less than previous years, we still had an amazing race and a great time! I love volunteering with the American Cancer Society and events like this make all the extra time and energy worth it! Check out previous year's recaps here, here and here.

For starters, it rained almost all day long on event day. We kept praying it would pass through by evening time and although it seriously looked ominous with lighting off in the distance, we had a local meteorologist out there on our team and he reassured us that all would be ok (and it was)!


Setup began around 3 p.m. and having plenty of hands out there to help made the process a breeze!

One major change we made this year was the registration table - we moved it closer to our stage to keep everything and everyone centrally located. This helped a ton with the crowd at the stage for opening ceremonies. In previous years, we've had registration a bit further off from the stage and runners missed a lot of the announcements and parts of opening ceremonies.

Another major change we made this year had to do with the mile marker signs. In the past, runners told me that the signs were not visible at all. With this being a night time race, this route can be dark and although I've used glow in the dark paint for the mile marker numbers, they still weren't seen once the sun completely set.

We've also used glow sticks inside of balloons in the past which didn't work at all either.

So, imagine my surprise when I saw a pack of balloons at Walgreens (of all places) that were MEANT to glow. Each balloon had a tab inside and once pulled, the light was activated. These balloons glowed for hours (as a matter of fact, they were still glowing the next day) and runners said the balloons were highly visible on the route! It felt great to finally have a victory with these signs after the third year of trying! I also used white lettering on top of a black background which also made a world of difference.

Our group of volunteers were amazing this year, including our local university softball team. When I say they are some of the best volunteers I've ever worked with, I mean it!!

So grateful for them!

Our children's pastor led the prayer before the race and he prayed for no rain and no potholes! Both prayers were answered! :)

When I saw these dedicated Mickey glow ears at Target this summer, I knew I had to snag a pack for the race! So fun!

We were advised that starting the race 10 minutes early would be wise because of the weather and the Marshal ok'd it. Most people had already picked up their race packets, so we made a last minute decision to be safe and kick the race off early.

Runners lined up beneath our arch with luminaria bags lining the way. Each bag was created in honor of a loved one battling cancer or in memory of a loved one who has lost their battle with cancer. It was a really neat visual to see them all lit up at the start and finish line.

My friends all completed the race together and said they had a great time out there!

Although we didn't have medals for every runner this year, we did have medals for our first, second, and third place male and female!

Cleanup this year was a breeze, thanks to all of our amazing help!

By the end, my legs were tired and even though I didn't officially "run" the race, I still had plenty of miles under my belt for the day!

Our major hiccup this year had to do with the arch. This is only the second time I've used it and wasn't responsible for it last year, so I wasn't even thinking about extension cords. This was a total face palm moment for me because...hello, Karen..duh. Thankfully, our local running store owner was out there and came to my rescue. He was so kind and let me borrow two of his extension cords which seriously saved the day!  I was so thankful for him.

...and that's a wrap for the 2018 Gleaux Run! I am ready and excited for next year's event! Bring on 2019!!

It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty. 

Fitness Friday - 9/1

Another week has come and gone! Although tomorrow is officially the first day of fall, it doesn't feel like anything has changed here. Thankfully, we have heard talks of a possible cool front next weekend which should leave temps in the upper 60's!! I cannot wait!

How did this week go? Let's take a look!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Saturday - 5 Mile Run 
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Orangetheory Power Day (OUCH)
Tuesday - Rest Day (my legs were so tired from OTF the day before)
Wednesday - Orangetheory Run to Row
Thursday - Walk at the Park with Brayden
Friday - Gleaux Run 5K

As I mentioned earlier, this week was HOT with no sign of fall anywhere. On Saturday morning, I made a dumb mistake and thought I could run a little bit later in the morning since it was "cooling off" outside. WRONG. By the time we finished our 5 mile run, the temps were "feels like 100 degrees" and I was so drained of all of my energy.

I definitely won't make that mistake again!

After a much needed rest day on Sunday, I returned to Orangetheory on Monday morning for a class with my favorite coach. It was power day and we seriously had like 12 all outs on the treadmill or something crazy like that. TWELVE. If you aren't familiar with the Orangetheory lingo, that's 12 times that we had to run our hardest for a set time (1 minute x 4, then 45 seconds x 4, then 30 seconds x 4). My hips were so sore by Tuesday morning!

After another rest day on Tuesday, I returned to Orangetheory on Wednesday for an endurance and upper body workout.

This one was a run to row (where we ran on the treadmills, then rowed - back and forth a few times). We also did an upper body workout which involved a bunch of pushups. My weakest area is my upper body, so to see slight improvements in the way I move and weights I can lift is really great!

On Thursday afternoon, Brayden and I went to the park for a quick walk, then I chased him around while he played between the splash pad and the slides. Chasing a toddler around is serious cardio, y'all. I'm not joking, either!

So much fun at the park!

The remainder of my week was spent planning Gleaux Run things! This will be our fourth Gleaux Run and I'm so excited to see how it all turns out!

I love volunteering with the American Cancer Society because I know my time, effort, energy, and dollars are going to a worthy cause.

If you'd like to follow along with the progress of this year's Gleaux Run, check out my stories on instagram - I'll be posting there throughout the day starting around 12 noon central time. :)

Last but not least, we had several good eats this week! For lunch one day, I visited my favorite salad place with my coworkers! I always order the China Town and it's delicious! 

Jason also cooked his mom's vegetable soup recipe and that was delicious as well!

I hope the first day of fall will treat you better than it's treating us! Have a fabulous weekend!

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?