Disneyland Was A Blast!

 I had the best time at Disneyland! I got to see and meet so many wonderful people and experienced so many really cool things, I don't know where I am going to begin to tell you all about it! I guess for now I will give you a couple of my favorite photos from the trip until I have more time to write down all the details.

 

First time at Disneyland!

In California Adventure during the Disneyland 10K.

 

 The finish of the Disneyland Half!

 

 

Of course, these are just a few of the nearly 600 photos I took while at Disneyland, so it is safe to say there are plenty more coming!

 

 

Excitment and Anticipation

I can hardly control my excitement because tomorrow is the Big Day!

It has been over six months in the planning, with to many training miles to count, but the day is finally here!

 

I am going to DISNEYLAND!

 

 

What is even better than going to Disneyland? Running 19.3 miles through Disneyland, California Adventure and the surrounding Anaheim area, of course!

 

 

If you would like to see more photos, comments and updates, please visit my Facebook page at Kim Runs Disney all throughout the week. Plus, don't forget to check back here in a few weeks for all the nitty gritty details!  

 

 

10 Days and Counting!

In less than ten days I will be heading west to the beautiful Golden State! It has been quite some time since I have had the opportunity to visited California, but this time is extra special for me. I am going to be running a two day race totaling 19.3 miles and finishing my final leg of the Disney Coast to Coast Challenge in the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! 

Surprisingly, this will be my first visit to Disneyland, so I am super excited! I am a huge Disney fan, and I grew up going to Walt Disney World more times than I can count, but to actually be in the place Walt created and spent 11 years enjoying, is like a dream come true for me.

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my first visit to this happy place, than to run down Main Street and through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, plus earn four different medals during the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend.

Now, time to get packing...

Have you been to Disneyland? What is one thing I shouldn't miss while I am there?

Magical Meet-Ups

This week is turning out to be full of excitement! Yesterday, a teaser announcement for the Disneyland Half Marathon Meet-Up was posted on Twitter, putting us die hard runDisney fans into a total frenzy. The tweet stated, this is the week for the official announcement! I am so excited about this event and will be trying my best to get in this year. If you are familiar with this runDisney event, you know what this means, right?  

It is time for some Disney stalking! 

This is what runDisney stalking looks like!

If you are not familiar with the runDisney Meet-Up or maybe you have heard of it, but you are not real sure why anyone in their right mind would waste a week of their life stalking Disney websites, twitter accounts and emails, well let me give you a little insight. In November 2010, runDisney decided to enhance their already popular race weekends with an exclusive meet-up. This FREE Disney event kicks off each race weekend by letting a select, chosen few to meet and run through a Disney Park with the Official runDisney Training Consultant and Olympian, Jeff Galoway. As you can imagine, this event has become very popular over the years and of course very competitive to get into (Did I mention their are celebrities, exclusive character photo ops and even runDisney gifts at these meet-ups?). Are you getting as excited as I already am and wondering how you can get one of these elusive golden tickets? Well, you better have your fast little fingers ready, you have to be one of the first people (number of slots are determined by the race weekend, but usually around 50) to see the official announcement posted on either the runDisney Twitter Page or the Disney Parks Blog website and submit your name to the email address that is included in the message. That doesn't sound too hard, does it? Well, good luck to you and lets all keep our fingers crossed we get to experience the magic of the runDisney Meet-Up!

Have you ever tried to get into a runDisney Meet-Up? If so, tell me all about it! 

The Latest Running Craze

It is are all the craze right now, everyone is doing it, it's easy, it's fun, and best of all, you get a little something special to show off you did it! What is this latest craze that is taking the running world by storm...  Virtual Races, of course!

 

What isn't there to love about the virtual race? You can do them anywhere, at anytime, for a fraction of the cost of a traditional race, and best of all, you still get an awesome medal to commemorate your accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I love to go to traditional races, the excitement of the crowd, the motivation of the other runner, and the celebration with friends when you finish is priceless, but with the increasing cost of races it is so nice to have the motivation and accountability of a virtual race in between a regular race schedule. 

 

So, are you ready to join this latest craze?  Well, I know I sure am and this week I have signed up for a virtual race from Jost Running! If you haven't heard of this Virtual Running Company yet, it was recently born from a mother and daughter team, Cynthia Murray-Elder and Courtney Klein who love to run. This month they has teamed up with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association and a potion of every registration will be donated to this debilitating disease. Plus, this months race series, which consist of a 5K, 10K, Half & Full Marathon, is in honor of Lou Gehrig, the baseball player that put ALS on the map. You know what that means, fun baseball themed finisher medals!

If you are looking for a virtual race, why not check out Jost Running too.You can even get 15% off your registration this month by using promo code BaseRun. Happy Running!

Have you ever done a virtual race before?  What was your favorite and why?

 

Dumbo Update

 

Today there was some exciting news put out over Facebook & Twitter for those of us planning to run the Dumbo Double Dare in California starting August 30, 2013. 

Our official race number (bib numbers) our out!

 

 I don't know about you, but I just loving getting my number. It not only get me super excited that the race is getting closer, but I think it is so fun trying to figure out where your number will end up placing you in the start corral for the race.  

 

My number this race weekend is 22437, so let's hope it is a lucky one!

 

Do you enjoy finding out your bib number? If you are running at Disneyland Half Weekend please share your bib number.

 

 

Independence Day Fun

 

The Forth of July has never been one of those holiday's that I just love. Sure, I appreciate what the holiday stand for and I even enjoy getting the day off work, spending time with my family, and eating hot dogs & watermelon like every other American, but sitting around all day, stuffing my face, while waiting for the nightly fireworks show, has never been my favorite past-time. Don't get me wrong, I love a good fireworks show (especially a Disney one). Maybe it is because my families idea of a Forth of July fireworks show means my husband buying the most dangerous and expensive fireworks made, my boys so hyped up with excitement that they almost burn the place down with the punk to light them, me running after everyone to try to keep their fingers and toes from being blown off, all while we desperately try not to be carried off by Florida's state bird,

 the mosquito!

 

 

This year my family and I decided to do thing a little differently. Instead of sitting around, eating and being generally lazy,  my day started with the Firecracker 5k! I headed off to the town of North Port as the sun was rising to run this 3.1 mile race. It was in a nice area of town and if it hadn't been so wet from all the rain we had the night before, I am sure the course would of been better. Never the less everyone was out in their red, white and blue and proudly displaying their patriotic spirit. I even was lucky enough to run into some new friends from a running group I just recently joined, Run For God, and it was very nice to get to spend some time before and after the race with them. Overall, it was a good way to start the day and a good run for me. I finished in 30 minutes 19 seconds, which was a new PR!

 

That afternoon my family and I adventured out to swim across our local harbor (about two miles) in the Annual Charlotte Harbor Freedom Swim. It took almost two hours to get across and it was an adventure we will always remember.

 

You can imagine after spending a morning/afternoon burning off more than 1,500 calories, it was time to finally enjoy some All-American Forth of July food and the night wouldn't of been complete without a spectacular firework show, mosquitos included, put on by my favorite men who still have all ten fingers and toes (because of me)!

 

What did you do for the Forth of July? Did you run a race? If so, which one and how did you do?