Ah, but remember, faint hearts never won fair lady! My Mud, Sweat, and Tears Journey. (Bring on the comments!)

[ColoradoLime]

(Changed my journey title theme - Robin Hood is more my Disney style)

So I guess I'm starting a journal. I have a lot planned for this year and need to get on it. Do people still read these? Will I be talking to myself?

Let me say this from the start. I am not a runner. I don't plan to be a runner. I have no desire to run. But I'm a kick *** walker and a sometimes jogger. I'm creating this journal to get back into workout mode to complete for all the races I have on my schedule but also because I want to actually complete a live runDisney event in either 2023 or 2024. (Anyone ever do a race and NOT tell the kids??)

About Me: I'm 47, live in Colorado. Married, two kids, a cat and a dog, and a very busy and stressful job. The stressful job leads to stress eating and not doing any races has led to a bunch of unwanted pounds.



I've completed over 30 road, trail, and obstacle course races. But then covid hit and all the races were canceled so all I could do was sign up for virtual races except I was already lazy at that point so now I just have this pile of medals I need to work for. (See LONG list below!)

In 2016 my family and I traveled to Paris for vacation and went to DL Paris. I had signed up to do the runDisney Castle to Castle Challenge but I got injured while sightseeing in Paris so I couldn't do the half marathon there. I was heartbroken. I really wanted that medal! Maybe someday I'll get the chance again.

My goal this year is to increase my pace and endurance. I'm going to get back to using C25k method on my race training days. I'm trying to determine exactly what other exercise plan I want to get back to. I have Planet Fitness membership but I don't like going on my own. There's a HIIT gym nearby that I'm considering joining but I'm thinking about just getting back to the Beachbody workouts I already have. Decisions, decisions. More to come!

 

[ColoradoLime]

Full 2022 Schedule
(Subject to change as I cannot control my impulse buying of virtual races)

Race	Distance	Date Complete
Beast Mode Bunny Series 3k	1.9 Miles	4/07/2022​
Beast Mode Bunny Series 5k	3.1 Miles	4/17/2022​
Beast Mode Bunny Series 10k	6.2 Miles	4/09/2022​
Solar System Series - Mars	3.1 Miles	4/20/2022​
Earth Day Turtle 5k	3.1 Miles	4/22/2022​
Panda Run 5k	3.1 Miles	5/08/2022​
Chase The Moon 5k	3.1 Miles	5/15/2022​
Puerto Rico 5k	3.1 Miles	5/23/2022​
BolderBoulder 10k (Live Event!)	6.2 Miles	5/30/2022​
runDisney Frozen Classic 5k	3.1 Miles	June​
Ragnar Trail Relay (Live Event!)	15.1 Miles	6/10/2022​
Murder Hornet 5k	3.1 Miles
Big Dog Brag (Live Event!)	3.1 Miles/OCR	6/25/2022​
Solar System Series - Jupiter	6.2 Miles
Solar System Series - Saturn	6.2 Miles
Team Sloth 10k	6.2 Miles
Dragonfly 10k	6.2 Miles
Rugged Maniac (Live Event!)	3.1 Miles/OCR	8/8/2022​
Solar System Series - Uranus	9.3 Miles
Terrain Race	3.1 Miles/OCR	8/20/2022​
Spartan Virtual Trifecta Series 3k	1.9 Miles/OCR
Spartan Virtual Trifecta Series 5k	3.1 Miles/OCR
Spartan Virtual Trifecta Series 10k	6.2 Miles/OCR
Solar System Series - Neptune	13 Miles
Solar System Series - Pluto	13 Miles
Mt Everest Challenge (Only using miles not counted towards other races)	39.9 Miles	5/10/2022​
Flight of the Dragonfly Challenge Only using miles not counted towards other races)	53.3 Miles	49.5% complete​
Santa Sleigh 5k	3.1 Miles

 

[ColoradoLime]

Proof of my completion for today. Took the dog out for a long walk to kick off my Beast Bunny series with a quick 3k. It was chilllllyyyy tonight!

 

[Naomeri]

Welcome to the training journals!! I’m happy to see I’m not the only one with a virtual medal addiction!

 

[ColoradoLime]

Welcome to the training journals!! I’m happy to see I’m not the only one with a virtual medal addiction!

There really should be a support group for us. lol

 

[ColoradoLime]

Saturday, April 9 2022

10k complete! I'm so exhausted. It's been a long time since I've this distance at one time. Today was all about distance rather than pace. This completes 2 of the 3 distances in my Beast Mode Bunny challenge. Will be doing the 5k next Sunday to end on Easter.

I now have a new focus. Today I caught myself several time hunching over. Not sure if that's new or something I'm just now aware of. Need to figure out how to correct that.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Sunday, April 17, 2022. Happy Easter!

Third distance complete to earn this 2nd Annual Beast Mode Bunny medal! And man did I earn this. This may not have been my fastest 5k, but it's the fastest I've done in several years. My goal today was to get under 60 mins and I pushed myself to get there. I count this as a big win because when I woke up this morning I did not want to get out of bed let alone do a 5k. I even went back to bed after Easter festivities and took at nap at 8am. lol But I forced myself to get out there and am happy that I did.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

What a run/walk/jog! Decided to do a 5k last night after dinner even though I wasn't really feeling up to it. I did a route around my neighborhood which was not ideal because it's really hilly. I wasn't thinking through the path because I ended up with all the uphill at the end! lol

But it turned out to be my fastest 5k ever! I jogged on the downhills and some of the flat areas and did walking to recover. Had to walk on the uphill portion. Not sure if running downhill is cheating but there was a lot of uphill to make up for it so maybe it evens out???

I used this 5k to earn the Mars medal in my Planet Virtual Race Series. Not sure why my eyes are so weird in the photo my hubby took. They must have been tired too!

 

[Naomeri]

Running downhill is never cheating! Work smart, not hard (well, I guess we still have to work hard, but there’s no reason not to be smart about it)

 

[ColoradoLime]

Running downhill is never cheating! Work smart, not hard (well, I guess we still have to work hard, but there’s no reason not to be smart about it)

Very true - I love being efficient but didn't even think about it that way.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Friday, April 22, 2022
Earth Day!!

It was WINDY today! I managed to get my distance in to earn my Earth Day medal. But it was slllooooowwwww.

Here's a fun video I took on my walk with my attempt at an artsy shot of the medal. lol

https://imgur.com/a/z6G0bjC

And while we're talking about turtles and Earth Day, I'll do my part of spreading the word on how precious Sea Turtles are. One of the highlights of my life was seriously the time I got to help sea turtle hatchlings make their way to the ocean. It was such an incredicle experience. Going from birth to swimming against strong waves in a matter of minutes is an amazing feat. I mean if they can do that, I can run a 5k right?!

https://imgur.com/x4MFa4n

 

[ColoradoLime]

Have some exciting news to share!

First up - I registered for the WDW Marathon Virtual 5k & 10k. Excited for those!! Hubby and son are doing the 5k with me so that will be a lot of fun. We might come up with our own 90's costumes to wear on the trail.



Secondly - I've been working on getting my son to do more races with me so I showed him the Springtime Surprise 10k Ratatouille medal because he LOVES Remy. He was so excited about it. I managed to snag a few off eBay and I convinced him to do the BolderBoulder 10k with me in May and we'll use that to earn our medals. It's such a fun race I can't wait for him to experience it. He's never done a 10k so we'll be training over the next month.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Ok it's been a minute since I've been able to post!

On Mother's Day my son and I walked our Panda Run 5k. This was a warm up for him as we prepare for our 10k on Memorial Day. The wind here has still not died down so we were completely windblown but I was so proud of him for not complaining or wanting to just quit and go home (because if he had asked I would have been on board! lol) We took it slow because of the wind which was great because we got some good mother son bonding time in.





I have time for another full 5k (or two) before I head out to Puerto Rico. The lunar eclipse is happening Sunday night and also happens to be a full moon which is what I need to do my Chase The Moon 5k. So that's planned for Sunday! I might also have time to squeeze in my Jupiter 10k. We'll see how these next two weeks go.

When I get back from Puerto Rico I plan to formally start my Galloway training plan.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Finished my Mt Everest Challenge the other day. I completed the distance on 5/10 and had my medal in my hands on 5/13. That was some crazy fast shipping!!



This challenge took me longer to complete because I was so lazy last fall and winter and literally did nothing for months! I have a renewed sense of motivation now for sure.

My next long distance challenge is called the Flight of the Dragonfly. It's a total of 53.3 miles and I'll officially start that on 5/25. Since I'm only counting non race miles (and none of the daily walk around the office and to the bathroom type steps) I'm setting a goal of finishing by 11/25, my birthday!

In other race news - back in 2015 I completed the Ragnar Trail Relay. It's a total of 15.1 miles over the course of 24 hours in a relay format. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had and always said someday I'd do it again. This week I had the opportunity present itself to join this year's event as team in town had a member drop out. In a moment of over exuberance I jumped on it and joined the team. But the race is less than 30 days away so I have a lot of training to fit in! It's not easy to race on limited sleep and hyped up adrenaline and exhaustion. But the scenery and experience are well worth it. I'm excited but definitely have to get serious. I'll be starting my training tonight once the heat dissipates a bit. Probably after dinner.

Tomorrow is the full moon lunar eclipse. I'll be completing a 5k in the moon light to finally finish my Ragnar Chase The Moon virtual series. My son has decided he wants to join me. I'm so excited he continues to be interested in racing with me. (I got him started young a 5 years old doing a kid's Spartan race!) Looking forward to tomorrow night for sure! Hoping I can get some good moon shots to share.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Wow - if you have never run during a full moon or lunar eclipse, I highly recommend it. What beautiful views I had! Finished my Chase The Moon 5k and while it was supposed to have been completed in 2019, I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to do it yesterday. The weather was perfect, the moon was brilliant and huge, and the eclipse made for just the most serene mood.

Forgot to grab a pic of my medal so I'll add that later tonight.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Back from a weekend getaway in Puerto Rico! I am so proud of myself - I got up early Monday morning and did a 5k on the beach to earn my Puerto Rico/Jamaica medal (more on that later). I have never once in my life exercised on vacation. And I certainly don't ever wake up early on vacation. lol But I did it. I had a goal and was determined. And of course when it was done I was so glad I did it. And the scenery didn't hurt either!

We were on a peninsula in PR with a long beach so I was able to do two laps to complete a 5k. Even early in the morning it was HOT! Guess it was a sneak peek to what it might kind of be like in Florida if I do ever get down to WDW for a race.



Pic of my medal. So, why do I have a Jamaica medal in Puerto Rico? I'm glad you asked. In 2019 we went to Jamaica. I bought this medal so I could do my own virtual race on the beach. I'd never done a beach race before and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But then day one on the trip I broke my toe! I didn't want to just do any old virtual race at home for this medal as the whole point was to do it on the beach in a tropical setting. So I've saved it ever since. Then the opportunity to go to PR came up and I figured this is my chance! So my PR 5k earned me a Jamaican medal.

This company does actually sell a PR medal so I've decided if I get back to Jamaica I'll buy the PR medal and complete that one there. lol



Just for fun, here's the iguana that greeted me at the end of my run. The resort refers to him as Iggy.

 

[GollyGadget]

I love Puerto Rico! I hope you had a great vacation!

Also, running on the beach is no joke. It always sounds like a good idea but the sand makes it so much harder and the sun can be relentless. Great job on getting it done!

 

[ColoradoLime]

I love Puerto Rico! I hope you had a great vacation!

Also, running on the beach is no joke. It always sounds like a good idea but the sand makes it so much harder and the sun can be relentless. Great job on getting it done!

The sand was tough for sure. I'm glad I went out first thing in the morning before it got crazy hot.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Completed the BolderBoulder 10k yesterday. My son did awesome. He had a hard time in the last 1/2 mile (thus the tears in the pic) but he never gave up! We took a slow pace because this race has so much to offer along the course. My son did a slip n slide, jumped in a pool of ice cold water, and danced with Elvis. So much fun!

We used this race for our Race For The Taste 10k virtual race and brought the medals with us. We went home and changed into our jammies and watched Ratatoullie.

 

[ColoradoLime]

I am WAY overdue for an update.

Time travel back to June with me for a moment. I completed my Ragnar Trail Relay. It's one of those races that gives severe anxiety about my capabilities as I don't want to ever let my team down or be the reason we're so slow. But then I do it and I realize I'm capable of more than my mind believes and this race is SO much fun!

The race involves three separate courses, 2.79 miles, 4.4 miles, and a 6.5 mile course that are completed with a team of 8 over a period of 24-36 hours. It was incredibly hot the day of the race - 95 degrees at 8,000 ft elevation is unheard of! But fortunately my 6.5 mile course ended up being at night so the weather was perfect and I even got to hear the coyotes howling - I'd like to think they were cheering me on. The elevation gains on each course were brutal!

Pictures from the race: