I'm IN for the #GlassSlipperChallenge!

Wahoo!

The Coast 2 Coast Medal will be mine in 2015!

***

That's right folks.Thanks to my lovely wife I am registered for the Princess 5k and Glass Slipper Challenge during Princess Weekend at Disney World February 19-22, 2015!

I am beyond excited! The Glass Slipper Challenge first occurred earlier this year so we will be part of the 2nd time. :) Oh yes I meant to write "we." The wife signed up for the Glass Slipper Challenge too. :)

The Princess 5k takes place Friday, February 19, while the Enchanted 10k is February 20 and the Princess Half is on Sunday, February 21.

It will be a blast experiencing a new race weekend at Disney. The only race weekend we have taken part in is the Marathon Weekend in 2013 and 2014.

***

On June 10th, the wife and I signed up for the Run Disney Rebel Challenge. Annnddd I may have fallen on the keyboard a second time and added the 5k to the mix as well.

For those that don't know, the Rebel Challenge is happening in Disneyland January 15-18 and is a Star Wars themed race weekend.

The inaugural Rebel Challenge is a 10k on the Saturday and Half Marathon on the Sunday. The 5k which I will also be doing will be Friday morning. So I am a marathon short of the Dopey Challenge. ;)

I am wicked excited. This will be our first trip to Disneyland. My wife is a HUGE Star Wars fan so it was an easy thing to get her to sign up for.

***

Since the trigger is pulled the only thing left to worry about are the 6 costumes - my favorite part of the Disney races.

Here are the four costumes I used during the Dopey Challenge in January.

***

Now I will have two coasts, six races, six costumes and nine medals!!

Are you signed up for the Disney Princess Weekend too?

Dani Dishes 7-14-14

On this episode of #DaniDishes, I'm showing off my latest bling, talking about the pre-race jitters and dealing with the constant struggle with comparing myself to others!

Monday Musings: Another Amazing New England Weekend

Living in New England in the Summer leads to amazing opportunities and glorious scenery. This past weekend highlighted Portland, Maine, where my BFF and her family lives.

I kicked Friday off by attending my weekly Weight Watchers meeting before heading out for a morning run.

I was psyched to test out my newest pair of Asics GT-2000s. Can you see them or are they too subtle? ;)

These sweet beauties were paired with my new obsession - the New Balance Momentum Raceback Tank!

It is light and airy - just how a running tank should be.

After stopping by Sports Authority to pick up GUs and Boy Glide for the wife, it was time for a relaxing walk with my friend Susan and a hunt for the perfect birthday gift for my niece Joanna.

The goal of the gift was to balance something loud and noisy with educational ... and thankfully Target was there to save me! :)

Friday night was perfect: Boboli pizza, Door County Peninsula Winery Sunset Splash wine, Orange is The New Black Season 2 and snuggling in bed with the wife and pups.

Find this wine glass here!

It was a great day of activity and relaxation.

We had to be up early on Saturday to see the dogs off. They were spending the weekend at the Cape with my parents as we headed to Maine.

After bidding adieu to the pups as they gleefully headed out the door with my parents, the wife and I took advantage of the morning to walk to Dunkin Donuts.

I really wanted to hit 10k steps on my Fitbit before getting in the car for Portland, so I jumped on the bike trainer. I know I needed a decent ride in before the half marathon on Sunday so I told myself I would stay on the bike trainer for an hour.

It was an absolute sweatfest, which I actually enjoyed. :) I think the bike is growing on me.

I enjoyed a yummy Weight Watchers smoothie as recovery since I was out of Chocolate Milk. Fail on my part I know.

We stopped by the grocery store to stock up on healthy snacks to bring to the birthday BBQ we were headed to before heading to the highway.

Aannddd traffic!

Oh the downside of living in New England in the summer. :P

While traffic is thoroughly boring, the wife and I enjoyed some Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on the radio and just thought about the fun we would have once we made it to Portland.

We decided to head straight to the Old Port Half Marathon Expo to pick up our bib and swag.

I want to thank the Race Director Erick Boucher for the race entry and swag. I will share my full race recap in a separate post.

The Expo was actually outside on a pier with a band and beer (for sale). The Maine folk know how to throw an Expo party. ;)

Once our swag was collected and our beer wristbands acquired, it was time for a certain 2-year olds birthday party.

Happy to report that Joanna loved the baby laptop and her parents loved the noises it made. :)

It was great to be with friends and this little lady for the afternoon.

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With a 5am wakeup call the next day, we all called it an early night. After watching part of the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family. Cool kids, I know!

Ugh the alarm on Sunday was just so early. The joys of a 7am start time. Okay I snoozed a couple of times while Tori got ready.

Old Port Half deserves its own post, but here are a few pics to tide you over.

Double-fisting at a young age ... double water that is!

The upside of the 7am start is we were all done, partied and headed back to my friend's house by about 11am. With a pit stop for some post-race Dunkin' Donuts of course.

We had some nice decompression time at my friend's house - showering, icing, eating, baby hugs, etc - before Tori and I packed it up and headed home.

It was a tough decision to head home before 1, but it paid off with a lack of traffic on the highway. #Winning

I had already decided that we would enjoy a lazy afternoon when we got home so that is exactly what we did.

Ordered in lunch/dinner, Orange Is The New Black on TV and snuggling in bed with the wife and pups.

Why yes the weekend pretty much ended as it started ... and I was happy with that!

***

How was your weekend? Did you race?

Face It Friday: Feelin' Good 7/11/14

Livin' La Vida ... balanced! Okay that doesn't really flow like Livin' La Vida Loca, but work with me.

I hit the massive reset button on June 13! I faced the scale and realized I was up 15.8 lbs from the week before I started the temp job (Feb 20).

Not okay! There are plenty of excuses I could throw out there, but the blame lies on me.

It is the most amount of weight I had gained back since hitting goal in January 2012.

But it took that shock to snap me back to reality. To reassess what was working and what wasn't.

So I have gotten back to basics.

I've refocused and am holding myself accountable.

And it has helped 11.8 lbs to be gone. Now the first week of being "back on plan" resulted in a 6+ lb loss, which was mainly bloating and water weight.

***

How did it start?

Getting back into the meeting room!

Sitting my butt back into the green chair has been exactly what I have been looking for. Since becoming a WW leader, I didn't have the time to get to a meeting since I was mainly leading all the convenient times. ;) But now I am making it a priority and it feels nice to put the member hat back on.

It was my Success Story that really sparked that for me. Since I went on and on about my love of meetings.

I got over attending a meeting I used to lead and it's been worth it.

After refocusing the meeting room, it has been tracking.

Novel concept I know. ;0)

Has it been perfect tracking? Absolutely not, but guesstimating - especially on the weekend - is a form of accountability.

My food scale and measuring cups are back out on the counters. Oh portion control!

Especially chips!! I love throwing broken pieces of chips on the food scale to get myself spot on with the serving size. Grams are easy for me to work with than "about 6 chips."

Oh hey Good Health Guidelines! Allowing the WW Healthy Checks to shape my day has made me feel healthier overall.

But at the heart of it all, I had to remind myself that I am worth it as well as my fitness goals. Eating for training and my activity goals has reframed my choices.

Still asking myself that question:

“Will X help me achieve my goal?”

And yes pizza and sangria sometimes do help! ;)

Balance!

So limiting my indulgences to the weekend or a special occasion during the week has actually been easier than I thought. Sometimes climbing back on the wagon is tough, but it has felt easy. You know that means my body and mind were ready for it.

During this time, I felt ashamed of the weight gain, but life happens - which can be an excuse. But it has been a learning experience, there are things I have learned from WW that I must continue to relearn and keep as a priority if I want to have success with weight maintenance. :)

Some people don't have to keep tracking, but this girl needs to. It keeps me accountable and my portion sizes in control.

***

It was funny after indulging on Saturday with the wife in Ogunquit, Maine, I was ready to get back to "normal" on Sunday. I think that is a good sign.

***

How was your week?

My Fourth Of July Weekend

Hurricane Arthur rolled into town during the Fourth of July weekend here in Boston, which altered the non-existent plans I had for the weekend. Ha! This year the wife and I had zero invites for BBQs. Not sure if I need to take that personally or count it as a blessing.

For my little ego, I will go with the latter. ;)

The weekend started Thursday with the Finish At the 50 10k.

While the race wasn't what I expected, I still love starting a long weekend off with a run.

***

On July 4th itself, I met my friend Darcie for a long bike ride outside. It was my first 30+ mile bike ride and we had the pleasure of experiencing sun, cold and rain while out on the bike. But I made it through...

... even when we had to carry our bikes over trees that were down on the path.

The rest of the day was spent snuggling in bed with the wife and pups. It was raining, thundering and blistering outside so it was great to hide away inside catching up on Netflix. I needed a serious chill day and it was perfect.

***

Saturday proved to be a nicer day so the wife and I took the dogs for a little walk so that we could get coffee.

After attempting to tire the dogs out, the wife and I piled into the car and headed to Ogunquit for the day. It is one of our favorite places in Maine. Plus, it is a decent 80-90 min ride from Boston, which is doable for a day trip.

Once we parked the car, it was time to get some steps in before lunch.

Marginal Way spans about a mile from Ogunquit Beach to Perkins Cove and is a great way to see the ocean.

Plus it helps to work up an appetite. Even though I ate my grapes while on the walk, I was ready for pizza.

Every trip to Ogunquit includes a trip to Corner Stone Pizza, our favorite restaurant in town.

I mean YUMMM!!

And yes I tracked every single delicious bite of pizza and sangria. :)

Following lunch, we popped down to Ogunquit Beach to walk along the ocean. I mean is there anything better than walking along the ocean, hand-in-hand with the person you love?

The beach was full of families, friends playing games and of course the occasional seagull eating a dead fish. The wife attempted to skip rocks, while I opted to just dip my toes in the ocean.

Looking at the water made us wish we were there for a full vacation, but I will take an afternoon whenever I can.

When I arrived home from a perfect New England Saturday, I was met with a great gift from my cousin Jen - a wine glass asking me to be one of her bridesmaids. :)

Jen on the left & me on the right

How creative? But, she forgot to include the wine. Silly girl.

***

All weekend I was looking forward to Sunday.

"But Dani, why? Sunday just means Monday is the next day?"

I know I know. On this Sunday however, I would be running with my girl Sarah from Mom Running On Empty and her husband Rob. I picked them up from their hotel at 7:15am and we headed to the Charles River for a fun 10-mile run.

Thankfully I know the Charles River pretty well from endless training runs so I mapped out a two loop run so we could stash water at my car for a mid-run pitstop.

Oh hey, mid-run selfie masters

It was a great way to catch up with out-of-town friends and took care of the indulging I had done the day before. :)

I <3 balance!

The rest of Sunday was designated for meal prep, blog catch up and prepping the launch of the F.A.S.T. virtual 5k and 10k.

The F.A.S.T. virtual 5k and 10k is taking place July 27-August 3 to benefit Tedy's Team and the American Stroke Association.

If you want more info on the virtual race, please read more here.

***

All in all it was one amazing long weekend with my wife and friends. :)

How was your Fourth of July weekend?

Ladies, have you run with the Boston Luna Chix? You should!

Are you a Boston area lady runner? Have you been looking for a new running buddy? Or two? Or 10?

Do you need some extra accountability to get out at least once a week and log some miles?

Is having fun during a run a priority?

If you answered yes to any - and hopefully all - of these questions then the Boston Luna Chix are for you!

LUNA Chix Local Teams bring together women interested in learning new sports, staying active and inspiring others to do the same.

The Boston Luna Chix runs out of the Athleta on Newbury Street on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm. The group meets in the back of the Athleta store, where there is a bathroom to use, a water fountain and a place to store your bag during the run (yes someone is watching it while you are out on the town).

The Team LUNA Chix Boston Run team seeks to invite, inspire and encourage women to get outside and play, while raising money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Fund.

Once you are signed in, the group meets outside of the store to stretch, share names, catch up on what the Boston Luna Chix have on the social schedule and celebrate any participants hitting a Luna Chix milestone. Milestones include 5 runs attended, 10 runs attended, etc.

And I snap a pic of my sweet Sparkle. ;)

The group offers a 3 or 4 mile run.

I had heard a lot of great things about the group from a couple of my former Weight Watchers members, who are both on the Team Luna Chix team and participants of the group run.

But heading in to a new group of folks I didn't know made me nervous. I don't really know why, but I was. So I talked my friend and fellow WW Leader Susan to come with me. :)

Yay peer pressure. ;)

I don't know WHY I was so nervous the group was SUPER inviting and a great group of women.

Personally, I have only done the 3-ish mile loop because it has worked into my training plans that way. But both loops take you along the gorgeous Charles River.

Thankfully the Charles has water fountains along the path so during the 3-miles we have two-three places to stop if needed.

The group heads out from Newbury St and safely (of course) makes our way through the few blocks to the bridge to the Charles.

There is a water stop at the half way mark, which really works out half way at 1.55 miles. Nice work ladies! ;)

After making sure all participants have hit the half way mark and refueled, the ladies of Team Luna Chix lead us back to the Athleta store.

It is a great time to chat and meet new folks. This group actually gave me the chance to meet a few of my Twitter/online friends in real life. How amazing is that?

Plus, I use it as an excuse to hang out with my friends as well. :) Want to hang out? Well come meet me at Athleta at 6:30 on Wednesday. Done!

Many folks worry about not finding someone in their pace at a group run - not a problem here at the Luna Chix. The ladies of Team Luna really do run the gamut of paces. There are speedsters, run/walk method, middle-of-the-packers, back-of-the-packers, folks that like to take pictures while running, selfies, etc.

When the run is done, the group meets back at Athleta to stretch, rehydrate, snap pics and snack on a mini Luna bar or two (2 PPV each).

Can you see the phone in the right corner? Selfie of a selfie baby with Catie!

This past Wednesday marked my fifth Luna Chix run club which meant??? I got the gift. Yay!

I love mini Luna bars. Thanks for the gift ladies.

In addition to the run itself, the group has a great Facebook page for support and sharing opportunities to meet with other members outside of the weekly run. The Luna Chix also have a monthly mixer following the last run of the month. June's mixer took place at UNO's and a portion of the money spent went to the Breast Cancer Fund.

The Boston Luna Chix sum themselves up pretty well:

The women on our team share a passion for tying our laces and hitting the road, trails, and anything else in our way. By teaming-up with LUNA, we’re able to promote our commitment to healthy living and increase the participation of women in sports.

And they do it well.

So if you are free on a Wednesday night and you are feeling like you want to run 3 or 4 miles with laughs and smiles, head to Athleta and tell the Boston Luna Chix I sent ya! ;)

Photo Courtesy Boston Luna Chix

Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Festival Part 5: Final Thoughts

The Heartbreak Hill Festival was just one month ago. What's amazing is that I have thought fondly of the festival, races, experiences, drinks and laughs every day since then!

If you missed the first four parts of this series ;) please check 'em out: Selfies & More, Kids & Dogs Running, Five & Dime, & the Half Marathon.

***

How could I not relive one amazing weekend when I had the pleasure of spending it with these fine - ummm serious - folks?

In case you don't know, the bloggers I had the honor of spending the weekend with were:

• Katie of Runs For Cookies
• Sarah of Sarah Fit
• Jason of  Strength Running
• Matt of No Meat Athlete
• Anne of Fannetastic Food
• Amanda of Run To The Finish
• Katy of Katy Widrick
• Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point 
• Charlene of Fab Running
• Theodora of Preppy Runner
• Presley of Run Pretty
• Karla of Run Karla Run
• Heather of Relentless Forward Commotion
• Marnie of Run Street
• Sarah of Picky Runner
• Larisa of Larisa Dixon
• Jessica of Keeping Mommy Sane
• Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers

If you have free time, please check out their blogs as all are amazing, motivating and inspiring people.

Plus, there are even a few of them that will allow me to lead them on a seemingly endless walk  - at night - in Boston - to find the closest liquor store just so we can sit around a dorm room common area and talk running and blogging.

Never in a million years would this sound like an amazingly fun night/adventure ... but it was!

***

During the four days, we had the honor of meeting my BFF Shalane Flanagan (PS she might not be in the loop on the whole BFF thing) and the outstanding Sarah Reinertsen.

While we had the good fortune to have a private meet and greet with both (Thanks Runner's World), the ladies could be found all weekend at various Festival events. Every time I saw them they were happily chatting with participants and posing for selfies left and right. These two women are gracious and down-to-earth ... just as I thought they would be.

***

I am still not sure how I got on Runner's World's radar to be invited to the event as a blogger, but I am wicked thankful I was.

They offered a Scavenger Hunt for the bloggers to fight to the death over have fun with during the weekend. Can we guess that I took it rather seriously? Did I know what the prize was? Not at all, but I wanted to win. :o)

It gave me the opportunity to take obnoxious photos for a purpose. ;)

And trying to thank the sponsors all in one photo.

Sexy, right?

The Scavenger Hunt took my love of an Expo to the next level as some of the sponsors were kind enough to hook bloggers up.

Like The Stick!

That's Patrick, the brains behind The Stick, working out my knots with the Trigger Wheel. I already own a Stick, which I use on a daily basis, so I was interested in hearing about the other products he has.

The Trigger Wheel is easier to use on smaller muscle groups, close to the bone areas or on your head, as demonstrated.

Working the smaller muscle groups it does! I've had trouble with my neck since a college rugby injury and the wheel got deeper into the knots than I can on my own. I would HIGHLY recommend the Trigger Wheel if you need help in the neck and shoulder region. But, I was even using it on my legs since I had forgotten my Stick at home.

If you are looking for some pre and post race stretching, I highly recommend checking out The Stick. Plus they offer free shipping!

***

Beyond the physical accomplishments, there were a couple of emotional lessons learned.

1) I am still working on inner confidence. During a portion of the weekend, I felt extremely self-conscious and hid from an activity in the bathroom. Umm yeah not normal. But I just had to remove myself as I could feel the anxiety building up inside. However, hiding in the bathroom with some tears, is not the answer. I need to learn to remain in a tough situation and find the positive. Instead of immediately telling myself I was not worthy to be there I needed to think of all the reasons why I most certainly did.

2) "Never take a finish line for granted." Courtesy Sarah Reinertsen. There are times I can get caught up in the training, the poor Finish times and the races where I felt like I failed myself. But, I need to take it back, to the days before I even considered toeing up to the Start Line. Recharge. Plus, you never know what can happen in life in both fitness journeys and life in general. This phrase crosses many phases of life.

***

Finally, the life of the back-of-the-pack runner. In my first marathon, I finished third to last. I remember the race director driving up to me and letting me know the course would be closing in a couple minutes so I had to finish within 6 hours or the course would be done. I crossed the line in 5:59:27 with zero fan fair, no food, massage chairs deserted and a pretty lonely Finish Area.

But as my journey has progressed, I've slowly but surely moved to the front-ish middle-ish part of the pack. I normally don;t have problems with water stops or a lack of crowd support.

So I was drawn to a post by fellow blogger Heather about her experience in the back-of-the-pack at Heartbreak Hill Half. I'm proud of Heather for sharing her thoughts and the discussions that happened among runners and race directors as a result.

Everyone deserves the same race experience and I applaud Runner's World for addressing the issues brought up in the blog posts.

I hope this only enhances the next Heartbreak Hill Festival. If you are interested in participating in this event next year (you know I will), be sure to sign up for email notifications.

***

So once again I thank Runner's World and my fellow bloggers for a weekend that I will never forget... the laughs and medals will live on.

Just watch out for the RA when drinking in a dorm - even if you are over 21! ;)

Dani Dishes 7-7-14

On this episode of Dani Dishes, it is time to do a life/job update, share about Half Ironman worries, talk about getting Back On Track & a F.A.S.T. virtual 5k/10k announcement! More F.A.S.T. race info!

T-minus 2 months 'til that little Half Ironman

Soooo remember when I decided to go waaayyyy out of my comfort zone and sign up for that teeny tiny race they call a Half Ironman? Yeah that teeny tiny race is just 2 months away.

Ahhhhh ... commence freak out!

Prior to signing up, I have completed two Sprint Triathlons. Yup - that's it. I guess I was going for a go big or go home type situation there.

I felt lost at the beginning of training. I wished I could afford a coach, but it wasn't in the cards.

Thankfully NYC Running Mama suggested the book pictured above.

This book offers a ton of different training plans from the beginner to someone trying to land on the podium at their next Sprint to Full Ironman. All levels and distances are covered. Phew!

I'm not really sure what level I am at so I went with intermediate for now. I thought it was a decent guess. Right?

Can you tell I am getting wicked scientific in this training cycle? :)

So let's break down the different parts of the Half Ironman?

***

SWIMMING

I owe a HUGE thanks to my parents for starting my swim lessons as a baby. I may not be fast in the water, but I feel comfortable there. I love getting into the water, tuning out the world and feeling light as a feather. There is no weight issues in the pool or ocean. Now, I know weight, etc affects the speed and outcome, but I don't feel self-conscious when I am in the water. It takes that anxiety away from me ... even just for that small period of time.

I am quite the sophisticated swimmer as I jot down the workout on a sweet post-it note that is usually soaked through by the cool down. ;) The book does a great job of breaking down the purpose and benefit of each type of swim exercise. Am I 100% sure I am doing it correctly? Nope. But I am trying my hardest and I know that the meters adding up is the most important thing I can do.

Trying to condition my body to get ready to swim 1.2 miles before doing those other two little sections.

While at the Heartbreak Hill Running Festival, Sarah Reinertsen - one of the most inspirational athletes around - shared how she exhausts her arms on the swim during her Ironman because you don't really use them the rest of the race. I am trying to take that to heart during practice swims by using the arms as much as possible and resting the legs. It is giving me something to focus on and improve.

So far in training I have swum at least 1 mile straight and felt comfortable. On race day, I will need to swim the 1.2 miles in less than 1 hour to continue on in the race. Those time limits are always looming in the back of my head.

BUT, I know pool swimming and open water swimming are very different so I am working on putting on my big girl pants and getting out into the open waters...

***

BIKING

By FAR my weakest portion of the triathlon. Well it is also my least favorite so those two things could go hand in hand. :0)

I made a pledge to work on my biking this winter so I set up the free-to-me (thanks old tenant) bike trainer. :)

It was a great way to cross train for the marathons when I didn't want to leave the house. Or a way to watch a show I wanted to watch, but be productive while doing it.

I am working on following the training plan, but tweaking to fit my needs and plans on the weekend. But in May I started taking the bike outside.

I get very worried about falling off the bike and getting a flat tire. I am still not used to shifting the gears and now clip pedals. Last month, I purchased new pedals that have clips on one side and are flat on the other so you can still bike in sneakers if you want. I want to have the options. Ya know?

Thankfully my friend Darcie is a more experienced biker than I so she and I have gone out on some long rides together.

On July 4th came the biggest bike ride of my career, over 30 miles while working on clipping, hills, shifting, riding in traffic and inclement weather. And you know what? I survived.

Now I know for the race I will need to up the speed. I think we figured that we will need to keep at least a 15.0 mph. Now on this day, we were dealing with stoplights and people on the bike path so I think we were going an appropriate speed outside of those moments. But, speed is something I need to work on.

Hey, I am happy with the progress I have made thus far.

I tested out the camelback on the ride and it was perfect. I am not comfortable enough taking my hands off the handlebars to take a drink - damn balance - so the camelback allowed me to stay steady and hydrated.

I also knocked off my first fall. Now it wasn't a huge fall. Okay it happened while I was at a stop, but I got it over with. :) I successfully clipped the right shoe out, but forgot about the left and over I went into a nice piled of mulch. Ha. Darcie was the only person who got to witness it.

It felt great to tackle such a big ride. I know I have a long ways to go, but I am going in the right direction.

***

RUNNING

Let's just say I never thought I would be least worried about running. ;) I have been battling a left hamstring injury for a while so the running hasn't been my main focus. I think my body is pretty conditioned right now and I am trying to focus on the swimming and biking as much as possible to keep the cardio up.

I know once the leg feels better I will need to get back into the BRICK workouts - 2 parts of the triathlon back-to-back.

I'm hoping by now no matter how tired I will be I can make it through a half marathon. (Again never thought I would write something like that)

***

The timing scares me the most. You must be out of the water in 1 hour and done with the course in 8. So when my music died in the water the other day, I spent the entire time working out "worst case scenarios" in my head.

Okay if it takes me 1 hour to swim and 3 hours to run that gives me 4 hours to bike. Etc Etc.

While I work on the physical training, I know the mental needs even more help. The confidence needs to be there on race day since there is no music allowed in triathlons. So for most of this it will be me and my thoughts together ... alone ... for hours. I will need to stay positive and focused. Oh and singing to myself. That is a given.

So with two months to go, I will continue to improve, to study, to learn and to push my limits.

Adios comfort zone ... hello Half Ironman!

Finish At The 50 10k Recap

The Finish Line of any race is a sweet and special spot... ... but imagine it was moved to the 50 yard line of your favorite Football team.

Yeah, exactly!

That would be freakin' sweet.

Well the Finish At The 50 race did just that.

The Finish Line was at the 50 yard line of Gillette Stadium, aka the home of the New England Patriots.

Sign me up.

Oh it's the 5th anniversary of the race so you are going to add a kick ass medal on top of it all.

Where do I hand over my $$$$???

:)

On July 3rd, the wife and I took the drive down to Foxboro. With it being the day before a holiday weekend we got wicked nervous about traffic and proceeded to leave Boston at 1pm. The wife's 5k was taking place at 5:30, while my 10k went off at 6:30. Expecting hours of traffic and bib pick-up, we hoped we had plenty of time to head South.

It took us about an hour. Well then...

I'd rather spend a few hours at the race site, which had stores, restaurants and Dunkin' than cutting it close to race time.

We quickly picked up our numbers and shirts and proceeded to find coffee and air conditioning. Other racers had the same idea we had and Patriot Place (the shopping area next to Gillette Stadium) was bumping. Especially with families as there was a Kids Race prior to the 5k-10k.

Now normally there are fireworks after the races, but with a Hurricane heading our way it was canceled. Boo, but understandable.

There were plenty of booths set up so we had enough to entertain us.

After finding the wife a place to change, having a few snacks, hiding in the Patriots Pro Shop for air-conditioning and catching up with Molly, CEO of Blue Trailer Mobile Lockers, it was time for the wife to stretch and line up for her 5k.

Molly, brains behind the operations, and I

The weather was hot so we both made sure to take the race easy. I was hoping to find lots of water on the course as the race had warned folks to stay hydrated. They also offered 10k runners the choice to drop to the 5k if they needed to due to temps.

I waved to the wife as she headed out and met up with Erin and Kelsey,who were both running the 10k as well. I dropped my stuff in my Blue Trailer locker and we all headed to the Start Line.

Thanks for the pic Erin!

(Note: if you squint, you can see the 5k runners running up and down the ramps behind us)

Thankfully the corrals were in the shade. I was trying to soak up as much shade as possible because I could only guess how hot and sunny the course would be.

While hanging out around the 9 min/mile pace, Cat and her fiance Chris joined us. Cat and I run on Tedy's Team together. :) She was the one that got me to sign up for this crazy race with a promise of sweet sweet bling. (This race doesn't normally have bling, but being the 5th anniversary they decided to have one.)

After some more chatting and stretching, it was finally time for everyone to squish forward to start the pre-race ceremonies. The wheelchair group went off a couple minutes before the rest of us. The announcer gave us a 30 second warning before the horn went off, which I sort of missed because I was only half listening. ;) Because all of a sudden the horn went off and we started the awkward pre-race run, jog, wog, walk to the actual Start Line. Everyone know what I am talking about?

As I crossed the Start Line, I clicked Start on my Garmin and we were off.

Tori had finished the 5k in 42:56 and had warned me that her course was lacking adequate water and to be careful.

Well too late for me to do anything about that so I just hoped for the best.

Less than half a mile into the race I spotted my friend John and fellow Team Chocolate Milk running mate. :) I love seeing familiar faces out on the course.

After passing John, I came up to the most inspirational duo in sports - the Hoyts.

If you don't know anything about the Hoyts please run to Google now and get yourself caught up. I'll wait.

Moved to tears? Yeah, I always get that way when thinking of this father-son team. It is an honor to run in races alongside them.

I had to grab a quick selfie.

Once I saw the Hoyts, I was motivated to keep moving myself forward to the best of my ability. If they would be giving it 100%, I would to.

Mile 1: 7:59

Umm yeah that first mile was on Team Hoyt high! I knew I wouldn't be keeping that for the whole race.

I was already feeling hot, sweaty and thirsty. This would be a looong 6.2 miles.

After the first water stop, we took a right and entered a quiet neighborhood where we would spend most of the race.

I want to thank the residents that stood outside with hoses trying to keep the racers cool. The ones out enjoying their evening cocktail cheering us on.

But they were few and far between. The course was unfortunately boring and for the most part quiet.

Mile 2: 8:23

The uphills started early and I learned would be constant. It felt as if we kept going up with very little down. Ha.

I thought the race committee would've added additional water stops due to the high temperature, but unfortunately that didn't happen. :/

I was happy to see at least one ambulance along the course.

Mile 3: 8:35

It was around the 5k mark that I focused my attention on smiling. I learned from Sarah Reinertsen at Heartbreak Hill Festival that when she is feeling down or any pain in a race, she smiles and it fakes her body into thinking everything is fine.

So I tried to put that motto into practice.

I could tell I needed new shoes - there was little to no support left in my sneakers - and I was thirsty. The entire time. There just needed to be a water stop per mile or some music out on the course somewhere. Just a little action to keep the spirits up. At least the spirits of the people around me. We all tried to cheer each other on in the moment.

Mile 4: 8:35

There was finally a decent downhill. I wanted it to last forever, but it felt like maybe 1/10th of a mile. Hehe. We had a decent flat leading back into the Gillette Stadium campus.

The spectator of the day went to the woman during Mile 4 offering a hose for relief and watermelon slices. While I didn't take a watermelon slice, I really did appreciate the creativity.

Just after seeing Ms. Watermelon we took a right to re-enter the Gillette Stadium campus. We would be wrapping around the outside of the Stadium before entering.

It was just before the Mile 5 marker that I took this sexy mid-run selfie and pleaded to my social media friends for an extra boost of support.

I was hot, tired and really felt exactly how I looked. :P I wondered if I would make it through the final mile. Granted the final mile is what I endured the whole race for ... to FINALLY be inside the Stadium.

Mile 5: 8:40

And there it was Gillette. Just after a water stop we headed to the ramps. In the 10k, we only had to go down ramps not up like the 5k. ;) We ran down two ramps, along the concourse, down two more ramps and back out of the Stadium ... to the parking lot. :/ Womp womp! We clearly had to make up some more distance so we did a zig zag through the parking lot before we headed back into the Stadium and onto the field.

Mile 6: 9:18

Not sure how the Garmin did in the Stadium since we were covered and satellite was lost briefly. But as soon as we re-entered the Stadium, I dug deep to finish strong!

I felt like I had endured really the first 6 miles of boring course for the final .2 on the field. It was a thrill running on the same field as so many Hall of Famers including Tedy Bruschi, the captain and founder of that very charity team I am honored to be a part of.

It was crazy to come to the Finish Line and see yourself on the large Jumbotrons in the Stadium.

Official Finish Time: 53:01 ... 267th out of 1,609 overall and 31st out of 304 in my division

The medal is soooo sweet. The football is made out of the same material as a real football. Amazing right?

It was great having the wife at the Finish Line. She had plenty of time to roam around and snap pics, while I was out sweating my booty off. ;)

Since the fireworks were canceled, we snapped some additional pics, grabbed extra water and headed back to the Lockers to pick up our bag.

Funny thing is Garmin said 53:03, first email from Granite State results said 53:02 and official website said 53:01. Haha. At least the time was getting faster. ;)

Since the fireworks were canceled, we got back in the car to head home and take care of the pups.

Oh and enjoy a celebratory drink of course.

***

Overall, the race was a huge disappointment and I don't think I will sign up for it again:

*90 percent of the 10k was out in the neighborhood, while about half of the 5k was on the ramps inside the Stadium.

*There wasn't enough water, especially for the weather. My wife said there were 2 water stops during the 5k, but 1) the first wasn't until halfway through the race and 2) they weren't ready with water. She actually had to wait for the volunteers to fill water up.

Now I know that they probably didn't expect as many 5k runners since people at the last minute dropped down, but still. It is a crucial aspect of the race to keep the runners hydrated.

*The shirt was cotton, which is tough because they aren't as useful as tech shirts.

*No one policed the corrals meaning there was chaos and it seemed no one lined up properly except the "elites," which caused for bottlenecking and tripping at the Start.

*The course really was pretty blah. It had rolling hills, but no entertainment outside of some scattered residents.

*The residents and volunteers ROCKED. They did the best they could with what they had.

*The medal is off the hook, but it isn't a yearly feature.

*I expected a flawless race as it was headed by DMSE, which is run by Dave McGillvray - who is the Race Director for the Boston Marathon and other great races.

***

Did you take part in the Finish At the 50 5k or 10k?