Leave it to Disney to Make Me a Runner (Comments Welcome)

Training (Or Just Exercise I Guess...Not Really "Training" Anymore...) Update: March 29 - April 4

Sunday 3/29 - Walk 2.02 miles
Monday 3/30 - Run 3.1 miles (Virtual 5K for the week)
Tuesday 3/31- Walk 2.69 miles
Wednesday 4/1 - Run 6.2 miles (Virtual 10K), then later walk 4.37 miles
Thursday 4/2 - Walk 3.32 miles
Friday 4/3 - Run 2.74 miles, then later walk 3.08 miles
Saturday 4/4 - Walk 4.7 miles

There really hasn't been much structure to my workouts this week. Looking back in this journal, I used to be very "I need exactly 30 minutes during the week, then the exact weekend distance". Now through the Stay at Home order, it has basically become just start running and see how far I want to go today. That's exactly what happened on Wednesday - I was so frustrated and anxious about work and everything going on that I just closed my laptop, started running, and before I knew it I was 5 miles in and just pushed to finish up the 10K. I know I probably should eventually get on some kind of schedule, but right now running has been a major stress reliever for me so I'm going to let the focus be on that versus actually training.

In terms of all the walking, it was definitely a fun week of going out with my sister. We explored an area of town that we have never walked to and I got to do a lot of reminiscing of my softball days as I passed by all of the old fields that I used to play and/or umpire at. There was even one day that the weather was nice enough that I managed to get my mom to go out for a quick little walk with me. It's definitely a case of making the most of what we have right now, but I am happy that it has at least allowed me to stay nice and active during this otherwise sit at home time.

So far, I'm on track for all of my April goals so I'm ready for another week of keeping it up.
 
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Update: April 5 - April 11

Sunday 4/5 - Walk 6.43 miles
Monday 4/6 - Run 3.1 miles
Tuesday 4/7- Walk 3.33 miles
Wednesday 4/8 - Run 2.52 miles (Rained for most of that...)
Thursday 4/9 - Off Day (It was snowing...I draw the line at running in the snow)
Friday 4/10 - Off Day (No snow today, but the cold was fierce)
Saturday 4/11 - Walk 4.7 miles (Virtual 5K for the week - beat Monday's time by 6 seconds!)

Sunday was a crazy walking adventure with my sister. We ended up walking to our local beer garden (and took sad pictures of how closed it is), walked through a few new neighborhoods, and past a couple of our favorite restaurants (more sad pictures taken). The rest of this week was pretty standard. I was sad to have missed two days since they are the first "off days" I've had since March 20th but the weather just forced my hand. I'm still on track with my goals for the month though so I'm feeling good there.

I think this next week and next weekend in particular is going to be a little rough mentally and emotionally since it was supposed to be Star Wars Half - my original plans had me getting on an airplane after work on Friday. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to do an at home celebration for Rival Weekend, but you can bet I'm going to come up with something.
 
Update: April 12 - April 18

Sunday 4/12 - Walk 6.52 miles
Monday 4/13 - Off Day
Tuesday 4/14- Off Day
Wednesday 4/15 - Run 3.1 miles
Thursday 4/16 - Walk 2.03 miles
Friday 4/17 - Run 3.1 miles (Star Wars 5K AND a new 5K PR...28:50)
Saturday 4/18 - Walk 7.32 miles (Star Wars 10K...included climbing the local ski hill)

It was definitely quite the week. It started off with especially nasty weather that kept me inside but things definitely improved by the time we got to the weekend. Since I was meant to be in WDW for the Star Wars Half Marathon, I decided to celebrate the weekend alongside others in the RunDisney community and make my own Rival Run weekend at home (highlights in next post). The highlight of the weekend was definitely Saturday's walk with my sister. We ended up heading over to a local ski hill that has paths that you can use to climb to the top. It was quite the hike getting up but once we made it to the top and took in the views (we could even see Downtown Milwaukee from the top!) it was definitely worth it.

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The view from the top - you can see the Downtown skyline in the distance
 
Star Wars (Virtual) Rival Run Weekend:

I figured I would do a quick recap of how I celebrated Rival Run Weekend at home. I was originally signed up for the Kessel Run Challenge so I was just going down to WDW to run the Half Marathon. Since I was at home, I decided that instead I was going to do the entire weekend worth of races which is something I had never even come close to doing before.

Friday - 5K:

The day of the 5K race, it was nice and chilly here. I honestly wasn't sure when I was going to be able to go out for a run thanks to the weather, so I found the one moment of semi-okay weather I could. That time just happened to be about 75 minutes before I had a math department meeting. So I raced out the door and ran over to a little lake that is right by my house. After a couple of laps around the lake (1 lap being about 0.5 miles) I made my way back home, wiggling around the neighborhood until I reached 3.1. Once I finished, I had like 20 minutes to shower, shove some food in my mouth and be in time for the meeting. Quite the rush, but I suppose the good side to that was I ended up with a new PR (that has since been broken) for the 5K - amazing what being in a hurry does for your speeds!

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Saturday - 10K:

I had no plans for running on Saturday. I knew that I was not trained enough to run back to back days, so I decided that the 10K was going to be walked. My sister and I have been going for long walks on the weekends anyways, so it fit right in. Plus, it kind of felt like practice for Wine and Dine when we will be (likely) walking most of the 10K together. For this walk, we decided to venture over to the local ski complex. There are a few paths that take you around the complex, past one of our favorite outdoor bars (sigh...we miss it) and up the ski hill itself.

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Sigh...wishing it was open...

Not going to lie, it was a lot more work getting up the hill than either of us expected! But once we did, it was so worth it. We could see all the towns around us and could even see the Downtown Milwaukee skyline in the distance!
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Downtown Milwaukee Skyline - if you look close

After taking a bunch of pictures at the top (how could I not force push while up there in my Star Wars shirt?) we made our way back down the hill and continued walking through the park right by it.
By the end, we were definitely getting a bit tired (we aren't used to climbing hills while we walk) but it was definitely worth it. My sister and I are both excited for the next nice, clear day so we can go back and climb it again.
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Sunday - Half Marathon:

Now like I have already said, I was not fully trained for this weekend. While I had been keeping active, I was nowhere near the mileage I would have been if the race weekend was actually happening. So I knew that I was not going to be able to run the entire half marathon. Plus, I knew my sister would want to go on a walk again so I decided that I would break up my half into two pieces - running a 10K and then finishing out the remaining 6.9 miles by walking.

My biggest takeaways from the running portion were 1) wow do I need to do some serious training before Wine and Dine and 2) maybe hiking up a giant hill and then trying to run long distance the next day is not the best idea. I was getting SO tired through this run, it was crazy. My pace was so much slower than it usually is and I was just really feeling it. I definitely will be sticking pretty tight to my training schedule for Wine and Dine so I can feel strong for both days of the Two Course Challenge. Plus, I don't think I'll be climbing any ski hills at Disney so that will probably help too.

After finishing my run, I came home to change my shirt into something cooler and pick up my sister for another hike. We went the other direction in our neighborhood this time and basically just kept walking around until I reached 6.9 miles. I was SO tired and getting sore by the end of it - definitely not like I was at the end of the Princess Half just two months ago! But regardless, I managed to finish all the miles and then celebrate when I got home with a cider (sadly not Pineapple though) in my Run Disney cup.

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I was not one of the lucky ones whose Virtual Half medal arrived in time for the actual race weekend, so I had to wait an extra week to receive my bling for the miles put in. But once it came...talk about gorgeous. It was a lot of mixed emotions when I opened that box - I was proud of myself for what I had accomplished to earn that medal but on the other hand, looking at it just reminded me of what could have been.

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Such a gorgeous medal - might need to keep it socially distanced from the rest of my collection though :laughing:

Regardless, I am still super proud of myself for my Virtual Rival Run weekend. Even though it was EXHAUSTING, I love that I can say I did the full 22.4 miles. Hopefully someday I'll be able to say the same thing at a real event in WDW.
 


Great job with your challenge weekend! I've never been motivated by virtual runs, but the lack of events is making me reconsider.

Thanks! I've been so-so with them in the past - I have done 3 of the Virtual Running Series from Run Disney and a handful of Virtual Pi Day Runs, but most of that happened before I was really into running. Now I just have found ways to fit some of the random virtual 5Ks I've found online in with my regular running schedule. I think the only reason I was motivated enough to do the entire half virtually was because I knew I was supposed to be doing it in person that day - otherwise I think I would have lacked all motivation :laughing:
 
April Training Recap:

Total Run Mileage (Run/Walk): 40.26 mi
Total Walk Mileage: 70.73 mi
Total Mileage: 110.99 mi
Total Time: 36.36 hours

Year to Date:
Total Run Mileage (Run/Walk): 138.71 mi
Total Walk Mileage: 120.87 mi
Total Mileage: 259.58 mi
Total Time: 56.25 hours
New Years Resolution Progress: 417K/1000K

April Goal Success:
1. Exercise (walk and/or run) 20 days this month - 23/30 days had a walk and/or run, and a few of those "off" days I did indoor core work
2. Get back into weekly updates of this training journal at some point during each weekend - first three weeks were great, then I fell off
3. Run at least three times a week - I managed at least two runs per week and did have some weeks of three runs

Overall, I would say that April was a pretty successful month for me with quite a few highlights. I completed the entire Rival Run Weekend of races virtually, I had my first ever month of 100+ mileage, I crossed over the 392K threshold (my total mileage from all of 2019), and I managed a 5K PR...and then beat it again a couple weeks later (28:14 is the current PR). Clearly I did not do as great of a job on my April goals that I set last month as I would have hoped for, but at least the one I did reach was the one that was most important to me.

Moving forward, it's going to be another month at home for me so I'm going to continue to rely on running and walking as my chance to get out of the house. I signed up for the Virtual Short Series from Run Disney and a couple other virtual challenges, so those will keep me going.

May Goals:
1. Exercise (walk and/or run) 20 days this month
2. Run at least three times a week - hopefully I can settle into a more consistent schedule and get this done
3. Run 50+ miles - I signed up for a 50 mile challenge (only runs count) so I want to reach that point
4. Get my training schedules planned out for the summer - I'm going to train for Brewers 10K/Wine and Dine like they are happening
5. Figure out some fun way to celebrate my birthday at the end of the month
 


Update: April 26 - May 2

Sunday 4/26 - Run 3.1 miles, then walk 4.85 miles
Monday 4/27 - Walk 2.17 miles
Tuesday 4/28- Run 3.1 miles
Wednesday 4/29 - Off Day
Thursday 4/30 - Walk 3.42 miles
Friday 5/1 - Run 5 miles
Saturday 5/2 - Walk 3.15 miles (and then probably another 1-2 miles but I never turned the tracker on)

Not too much to say about this week. That five mile run on Friday was far more exhausting than I thought it would be, but I did get to run through a park near me which I have really loved doing during this time so that was a positive. Saturday's walk was also part of a scavenger hunt my town was doing this weekend and my mom even came along! She has not been doing more than a mile at a time during our stay at home time, so I was super proud of her for getting the full 3+ miles in - she definitely earned her Mad Tea Party medal yesterday!
 
May Training Recap:

Total Run Mileage (Run/Walk): 45.16 mi
Total Walk Mileage: 63.16 mi
Total Mileage: 109.34 mi
Total Time: 26.06 hours

Year to Date:
Total Run Mileage (Run/Walk): 183.87 mi
Total Walk Mileage: 184.03 mi
Total Mileage: 368.92 mi
Total Time: 82.31 hours
New Years Resolution Progress: 592K/1000K

May Goal Success:
1. Exercise (walk and/or run) 20 days this month - I got out there for 22/31 days
2. Run at least three times a week - once again I ended up with a two day a week run schedule except the last week when I ran four times
3. Run 50+ miles - I ended up just shy of this one...a long hike with my sister on 5/30 killed my legs so I couldn't finish on 5/31 like planned
4. Get my training schedules planned out for the summer - the Google calendar is filled...official training plan kicks off 7/7
5. Figure out some fun way to celebrate my birthday at the end of the month - 2.6 miles for my 26th birthday was pretty good :)

Three out of five goals (and so close on a fourth) isn't too bad for me. I was definitely disappointed that I wasn't able to make my 50 mile mark, but that last day of walking with my sister involved hiking though the woods and climbing our local ski hill so I just knew it was smarter to give my legs a break than push them too far. Highlight of the month was probably when I got a new unofficial 10K PR of 1:00:26 - I'm so close to breaking that 60 minute mark! That's one of the goals I'm going into my Brewers Mini Marathon 10K at the end of August with.

Looking ahead to June, I am officially one student day and five teacher work days away from summer and the end of Distance Learning. Once that happens, I foresee myself doing a lot of walking and running because, honestly, there isn't much else to do this summer while the rest of my house is still full of others working. I am definitely going to designate a day as my Mad Tea Party 5K Day for the Virtual Short Series and do that. I also joined the 50 mile challenge again this month as well as a streak challenge - run or walk at least a mile every day in June. I think the combo of all of that will keep me going for June.

June Goals:
1. Exercise (walk and/or run) all 30 days this month for my Streak Challenge
2. Run at least three times a week - barring knee soreness I think I can really make this happen
3. Run 50+ miles - I'm totally finishing this challenge this time around!
4. Incorporate more cross training - I've found a few ab/core workouts on YouTube that I want to add in to what I'm already doing in the week
 
Good luck with your June goals for 50 miles I have just started my journal and that is my target also for June 6 down 44 to go !!
 

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