Halling Go To Alaska

So I did it.  Tuesday the Disneyland Half Marathon opened for registration.  I was considering doing the Dumbo Dash, which is the 10k on Saturday and the half on Sunday.  But it sold out in less than an hour.  By this morning the half marathon was sold out.  Thankfully Barb mentioned yesterday afternoon that the half was already at 75% full, so I just bit the bullet and signed up.  I'm so glad I did.  I figure this is truly my only chance to get my Coast to Coast medal.  With a huge change in mentality that has happened for me in the last six months, I've realized that I need to plan better for what I want in 15-20 years down the line.  I equate this realization to how some people just all of a sudden have that moment where they get the eating right and exercise and it stops feeling like an uphill battle.  I'm in a better place emotionally and intellectually.  I've gained ownership over what I want in my life and for my future.  That means that trips across the country

Okay, so let's go back to June 2010.  Rock and Roll San Diego.  Team in Training.  Ms. ChristieO.  "I am running the Walt Disney World Marathon in January...you should run it too."  Uhm...a marathon? Really.  You mean the full 26.2?  Uhm...maybe.  Then there was a booth at the expo...where you could sign up for that race.  And I convinced the ex that I should sign up.  He said, you sign up? I'm signing up too.  So we forked over the cash and made the committment to train for 26.2. September through December 2010 - hardcore training plan.  Injuries.  Fears.  Horrible runs.  Fabulous runs.  Cold and snowy runs.  Treadmill 20-milers. January 2011 - Florida.  Running 26.2.  Feeling really good for the first 22ish miles and then my legs just wanted to be done.  That was the longest 3+ miles of my life.  When I crossed that finish line I cried.  Sobbed like a little baby.  I couldn't believe that I had just crossed the finish line of my first marathon.  I wore that Mick

Thursday Coffee in Vegas Outside the hotel. :). Friday EXPO!! Me and Barb!! Her first half!! Three-shirt weekend One of my favorite people Saturday Pre-race coffee. Delirious and on the bus to the start line. She did it!!!! #sheblamesKirsten Necessary evil Sunday Extra tired. Nervous. Castle day 2 Halfway - 2/3 of the way through Goofy. Was craving a banana. Turned the corner and there were bananas. :) I look like I'm grimacing. But it's only from the sun. I'm giddy at this point because I had just seen Christie and I still felt amazing. Mine. Dinner. Milkshake with booze. :) Recovery On my way home. Proud 39.3 finisher. Right where I belong. Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm not sure how to recap last weekend.  I went into this race weekend feeling woefully undertrained but determined to cross the finish lines upright and hopefully not in too much pain.  I logically knew what I needed to do, but wasn't sure I would be able to accomplish it.  Problem number 1: Training with one to two training runs per week.  Yeah.  Perfect way to train for two back-to-back endurance races.  WTG, Kirsten. Problem number 2:  I usually am not hungry after long runs.  I needed to not get into a calorie deficit between races.  Problem number 3: Time change of three hours.  I would be sleep deprived for two nights in a row and expecting my body to perform.   Problem number 4:  Heat.  Our temps here hadn't been above 40 in close to a month.  Predicted temps in Orlando? Lows in the low 60s and highs in the high 70s/low 80s.  Ugh x10. So how to solve these problems?  Number one: There was nothing I could.  It was waaaay too late to do anything about my crappy traini