From One Princess to Another.. :)

Well, here I am again! Except, this time, we're even closer to the Princess! It's unbelievable that there is less than 90 days until we're in Disney World, walking around, and showing off our new bling! The time went by so quickly, and it brings on the feeling of excitement. But for some of us, it brings on an additional, uneasy feeling... that feeling of "Only 90 days?! Crap!"

For me, it's more excitement, and a little bit of nervousness. This is my first half, after all. And I want to enjoy every moment of it, but I also want to be completely prepared in being able to finish it. I think we all put stresses on ourselves to make sure we have good time, and good intervals. But this is training- we're all going to be hard on ourselves. We want to be our best. It's going to be different when we're all there, at the starting line in our corrals. The actual moment we've spent hours, days, weeks, and months training and preparing for. And right there, right at that moment, we'll know that we got this. 13.1 miles is nothing. It's a nice run down the road, characters included. It's pictures, friends, smiles, and fun. All of those torturous runs, those freezing cold runs, the pains and aches, and the injuries will then prove that it's all been worth it.

I am beyond grateful for my fellow Princesses, and my newfound friendships I've developed over these last few months. I am running this race solo, if you want to be specific about it. And I will admit that though I'm very active on the Princess page, I still felt alone. But in the last few weeks, that's changed. I know I won't be alone. I know I'll have my fellow Princesses next to me, ready to have fun, and earn new bling. We'll be there to support each other to the finish line, just we have been all of this time. It's nice to not feel alone in this. To know that we're all in this together, for the same thing. Some of us are quicker, some of us are slower. There are beginner runners, intermediate, and the ones who seem to do every half imaginable (at least in the eyes of the beginners lol), and that doesn't matter. We're all the same. We're Princesses. Whether we're running for ourselves, for a friend, a charity, or whatever.. at the end of the day, we're all Princesses. And at the end of the day, I'm blessed to call you all my friends.

I thank you for every piece of advice, every smile, every sprinkle of Pixie Dust, and every word of encouragement you all have given me. I know I wouldn't have been able to do this without any of you. I'm so happy to share this experience with you all, and I can't wait for the day we blow up the Princess page with pictures of ourselves finally rockin our bling!

As I sit here, 7 miles under my belt - the farthest I've ever gone.. I say Here's to Us - May we continue to have kick ass runs. May we always find comfort and encouragement in one another, and may we all have an amazing time earning our most wanted, most deserved bling!

Keep kicking butt, Princesses!

Love, hugs, and Pixie Dust!

oxoxoxoxo.

A bump in my Fairytale..

Happy November all!

It's been a crazy week here on the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy hit the coast pretty hard, and recovery is long and painful. And the fact that there is another Noreaster headed this way, it's not looking good. Seeing pictures and video of it really puts a damper on everything. And it really hasn't helped my running.

I know I shouldn't make excuses, or blame the storm for my blahness.. but I really have been just.. blah. I hate this feeling. Ever since I had my wisdom teeth pulled and I took off those 2 weeks, getting back into the swing of things has been a lot harder than I thought. I haven't been able to complete my short runs whatsoever, and I only had one really good long run - which was the Saturday that I cleared myself to run again. Since then, it's gone downill. I really hope this is just a temporary bump in the road.

I want to be positive again. I can get excited like there's no tomorrow over Disney, and thinking about the race. But when it comes to training.. its like a black cloud finds me and makes me so unmotivated. I know I'm harder on myself than I should be, because regardless, I'm doing it. I'm out and up and doing what I need to. But at the end of it all, I always get down on myself and saying that I could've done better. Ah, the mindset of an athlete. It's really awesome lol.

There is 106 days until Jeff and I leave for Princess weekend. That's crazy! I can't believe it's just a little over 3 months to go! I'm just hoping that as it gets closer, and more things are revealed for the race, I'll get even more excited and that'll prompt me to get my motivation back! I need to find my groove again.. I had a really good one going before my stupid surgery lol. Though I did run today, and get 33 minutes in. But I wanted to get at least 4 miles in, and I only got in 2.. so eh. But I haven't been able to complete my 30 min runs.. so getting to 33 minutes was good. I ran on the treadmill, and actually ran at least 4-5 minutes before power walking. And my breathing was really good. So I'm wondering if I should just do my short runs on the treadmill knowing that I'll get it done, and then do my long runs outside. But I realized today that I really dislike treadmills now.. though it helped me breathe better, and I ran longer.. it's not the same. I like going outside, and training on actual terrain and whatnot. I don't know.. I guess we'll find out Thursday on my next short run.. looking to get 2 more miles in.

Ah well.. off to watch some more Big Bang Theory, and snuggle with my sick puppy. <3

Until next time, Princesses!

PS - If you have some extra motivating Pixie Dust, please send some my way! :)