"A warm welcome back to those of you who made it..

.. and a friendly word of warning, something you won't find in any guidebook. The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident.. of the Twilight Zone."

Man, I am AWESOME at the whole not writing a blog for months thing! If only I had a dime for every month I didn't post, I could probably at least afford a pack of gum by now. I'd love to say I've been so busy running every day that I haven't had time to post but that's a flat out lie. For what it's worth, I do have the Jersey Shore Color Me Rad 5k coming up on the 19th, so that's kinda cool, right?

Whatever. I'm back, and I've got a new thing to train for. I don't know what I was thinking signing up for the Princess Half Marathon and I sure as hell don't know what I was thinking signing up for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler but here we are again. I guess I really like a challenge or I'm a glutton for punishment. Maybe a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B.

Dun dun DUNNNN!

I'm actually really, really looking forward to this one. When I signed up for the Princess Half Marathon, I had absolutely NO idea what to expect. My Princess Half medal is staring at me as I type this and I'm still amazed that I earned it. When I'm asked about the half, it still feels like one big, sweaty blur. Somewhere in the 12th mile, my mom asked me if we would do another one soon. I told her no. I know it was probably just my sore feet, swollen hands and dry throat influencing that answer. That was, hmm, 2 and a half months ago. There goes my conviction.

I was just back in Disney for a few days for a business trip (I know, you're jealous that your business trips don't take you to Walt Disney World) and I could feel myself cringe every time we drove over the various highway paths of the Princess Half Marathon. It was too soon to see the Magic Kingdom entrance (I'll not soon forget the automated warning telling us there was a speed bump and to watch our step playing over and over and over and over again) and go down and up the first steep hill. Anytime I walked over the bridge connecting the hub and Tomorrowland, I remembered my near break down and the very kind Tink girl who gave me renewed strength. I think the Princess Half Marathon has forever changed how I look at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, for better or worse, and now I'm about to have Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios take a turn in making my life a magical, living hell, and I'm paying $150 in registration fees for the privilege.

It's like a light, night time stroll of the Walt Disney World resort!

I make it sound all dramatic, but like I said, I really am looking forward to it this time around. Why? List time!

1. It's 10 miles. That's 3.1 miles less than a half marathon! My longest walk/run during training was 12 miles. I don't know why, but the 10 miles seems a lot more doable now that I've had a go at 13.1 miles in Florida humidity. I am not resting on my laurels by any means here. Not whatsoever. I will train the hell out of this one using Jeff Galloway's program like it's my job. But, I'm happy it's 3 miles less, that's for sure.
2. It's late in the evening instead of painfully early in the morning. I am a night owl, through and through. When I woke up at 2:30 AM to prepare for the Princess Half, my mind was blown. 2:30 is not an unusual time for me to start falling asleep. No one should ever have to wake up at 2:30 AM. Not ever. If I become president, that's the first law I'm passing.
3. It's Tower of Terror themed. Growing up, I was a tomboy and not a princess by any stretch of the imagination. I'm still pushing it. It felt odd running among the girliest girls in their tutus. Now the Tower of Terror, THAT'S more my style. It's one of my favorite attractions, ever. The cast members are among my most favorite. Did you know they have the most expensive park costumes (employee attire, for the non-Disney freaks) reaching over $1000 each because each costume is custom made for the cast member? That's what I've been told, anyway.
4. Have you SEEN the medal? It glows in the dark! Uh, AWESOME!
   
5. I've learned from my mistakes. BIG TIME. This deserves a list all its own. A list within a list. List-ception. This time around I will NOT do the following: 

• eat at Splitsville as my last big meal before the race. Delicious. Glorious atmosphere. Wonderful waiters. But not then.
• wear my wedding band and engagement ring. I love my husband but never again.
• not have a cool running gear belt that could rival Batman's. I also did not know that the volunteers would fill an entire bottle for you if you had one, and not just give you cups.
• bring a long sleeved running jacket and take it off by like, the .3rd mile. It just added extra weight.
• wear compression shorts underneath yoga pants (this worked in training but not in the half - I'll have to see how it goes this time around, but I'm definitely going to try other methods to see what feels best)
• not train outside as much. I read a quote on running that there is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people. I will not be a soft person.
• not lube up EVERYWHERE. I didn't know my under arms would chafe so much, but I paid for it the next couple days.
• not try out various energy boosters. I didn't know Cliff made decaf gels. The gel was nasty, but not having to worry about an allergic reaction to caffeine really helped and the carbs no doubt helped, too.

There's probably more that I'll harp on as the months go by. I just feel like now that I've done the half marathon, a runDisney event, and have done it in Florida no less, I'll be more prepared this time around. There SHOULD be less first time jitters and nerves (and sickness, let's not go there again) and while I haven't done this particular course before, I have a feeling there will be some familiarity to it all, like visiting an old friend that you kind of hate and it's really expensive to hang out with them but you get a medal if you last the whole time without killing anyone or yourself. Bit of a stretch of a comparison there? Yeah. But you know what I mean.

I am also going to be doing this with a very dear friend of mine, Melissa! She was there in my corner for the Princess Half to cheer on myself and her friend, Brittany, who's also going to be running in this, too! We're already in the planning process of thinking about a doable costume for the run. It's going to be amazing. I'm feeling confident and not scared out of my mind this time, although I probably should be.

Because it's a scary themed race.

Get it?

I crack myself up.