Well, I can't say that I've been very good at blogging lately. I haven't been doing much traveling or anything exciting lately, so it's been hard for me to pull motivation to the keyboard. Until a couple of weeks ago, when my husband came out to visit me, and we participated in our very first half marathon together!

Us ladies with our Michaels' before race day

  Not a lot of people know, but I've been training up for my big race day in November, and this half marathon was my check point to see if I had the mentality to get through it. I've been so busy with work and going straight to the gym afterwards to get some good miles and cross-training in. I don't think I have ever been so aware of my body's capabilities until now. When I first signed up for these races, the thought of having to run more than 5 miles was extremely daunting. I could only imagine how my husband felt when he got suckered into signing up for it a month and a half before the race! Now, I run three to five miles as a warm up to my workouts, and my longer runs are going above 8-10 miles.

Me & my guy during our run!

  Running at Disneyland with my husband was probably the best "more than halfway" point ever. I honestly think his presence in the race is what kept me moving. We hadn't trained at all together, and we would keep each other in check by sending screenshots of our runs to each other via GPS apps like Nike Run Club. I had it in my head that I had to prove to him that I was working just as hard as I said I was. I didn't want to look like a weenie in front of him. That, my friends, is true motivation. Not looking like a weenie.

  Side comment, we were lucky enough to spend our six month "anniversary" as a married couple together in Chessy. You know we're all about the Disney Life! I'll write an entirely different blog about our experience in Disney Paris later.

So proud of my husband for working so hard

  Run Disney made the marathon quite simple to move through, from the Expo the day before when we picked up our bibs, shirts, and gear bags, to the actual race. There were tons of people running for different medals. We really regret not doing the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo Challenge, but we are definitely looking into going back to Los Angeles or Orlando to complete our Castle to Chateau and Coast to Coast challenges. I want all the medals from Disney, seriously. They're so cute.

  My husband dressed up like SpiderMan, and I'm pretty sure he was the only SpiderMan I saw. Everyone loved his costume, they all would yell out to him as he passed. Unfortunately my husband's choice of shoe was not appropriate for the run, and his costume ended up tearing a giant blister into his foot. My poor bubs.

Our finisher medals - great job babe

  I, on the other hand, played the role of Rey from Star Wars, and you're damn right I ran with my blue lightsaber the entire race! I was very nervous at first, because the first thing to get sore when I run is my shoulder, but I actually hadn't gotten sore throughout the race (that's a first...) We saw Storm Troopers on the route, and you know that I gave them the business! I loved the cheering from the crowd as they yelled "May the Force Be With You" or "The Force is strong in this one!"

Twinning with Mariel before race day

  We met up with Mariel and her Michael at the Expo, and we got ready for the run. We stood in the corral for about thirty minutes before we actually started. In the beginning, we ran at a pretty slow pace, and we had frequent stops with characters, pictures to be updated when they're released. The race started out near the Expo where we dropped our gear off. It went through both Disneyland and Disney Studios. As you ran through, there were various characters to include SpiderMan (I was so excited for my husband), The Emperor's New Groove, Rapunzel, Alice in Wonderland, Storm Troopers, and more!

It wasn't until we had left the park when the running got serious. I stopped talking a lot, I zoned in on my breathing and my cadence, and just forgot about everything. Seeing my husband in the corner of my eye was the one thing that kept pushing me forward. We went from slowing down to take in a drink and snack, to just grabbing and going. By the last four miles when we re-entered the park, I was in my zone. I even yelled out to my husband who was trying to hold a conversation with me to tell me to slow down, I told him that "I just want to focus on running!" So I did. I picked up my pace, from an 11 minute pace, to an 8 minute pace (per my husband's report) and I was gliding.

The crowd got heavier, runners that had already finished were cheering you on with their medals and bananas in the air, and we found ourselves on the home stretch in Disney Studios.

Ninja and I sporting our post-race swag

  I want to say, that I waited for husband to catch up to me at the Finish Line so I could hold his hand while we crossed - BY THE WAY. Don't let him tell you differently, haha! I yelled at him to hurry up and sprint, I grabbed his hand, and we threw our hands up because we finished our half marathon in 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 11 seconds (10 for husband, freaking ridiculous...) I was a good wife, and I waited to finish *bah dum tss*

The best part? Getting interviewed by the Disney Paris News Crew because my dope costume and  telling them that the real best part of the marathon was having my husband come out and run it with me.

Pictures to be updated whenever Disney decides to give a real deadline, :)