The 2014 NYC Half Expo!

The NYC Half Expo is being held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street (between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue) today from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 15, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (if you need an easy way to remember, download the app!)

I went after work last night and it was a tad crowded, which was to be expected. Somehow I forgot to bring my waiver (even though it's been printed and sitting on my desk for weeks!). As I looked at the ginormous line to look up your bib number and print, I got nervous. I still had a ton of errands to run and I didn't have a lot of time. Good news: A volunteer announced, I just had to pull it up on my phone and that worked! Phew, crisis averted.

FYI: Race shirts run small. The women's XL was a joke and I just couldn't stomach not being able to wear the shirt (bc I LOVE the design!) so I settled for a Men's Large. But no worries, the $25 XL women's cut shirt I could BUY fit perfectly. Go figure ;) The merchandise is super cute but I couldn't justify buying the same exact shirt design in a different color.

I really wanted this adorable pink zip up, but after careful consideration, I decided I didn't need it. It would be a GREAT fleece-lined winter training jacket though. Hopefully, if I change my mind NYRR will put the leftovers on their site (which they're pretty good about doing. IN FACT, they even had all of this stuff on sale before the expo, which was nice!) and it will still be available in my size. Again, I noticed the merchandise to buy ran a little big.

I didn't spend too much time will the vendors, but it looked like a lot of the usual suspects were there. I took advantage of Nuun's expo promotion- buy 2 tubes for $10 and get a free water bottle. I was just on their website trying to justify needing 4 tubes of the iced tea flavor. This worked out perfectly, and I even got another water bottle (much to B's chagrin since my water bottle collection is a tad obnoxious).

I also took advantage of the Sparkly Soul expo promotion- most of their green headbands (thin or thick) for $10. I forget how much I love their headbands- they really are the most comfortable and do not give me a headache. 

Can't leave an NYRR expo without replenishing the lip balm supply!

PS- wouldn't that rectangular branding look AMAZING as the actual medal?! 

I'm sure it will get crowded later today and tomorrow, so I suggest going early if you can. There's not a lot of room in there, but there are a ton of awesome volunteers who can help point you to where you need to go.

(3Things) I'm late to the party on: Salted Caramel, Compression and the internet.

I'm clearly late to the party on:

It's about time to get a new pair of shoes. I was in between these and the Berry color, but went with the yellow (courtesy of B's vote. I should've known- whichever one is more obnoxious go with that)- I love them! Can't wait to break them in. I also finally stocked up on the salted caramel. I'm excited to have them during the Half this weekend.

When CW-X tights went up on Zulilly, I jumped at the chance to try them. I've been hearing great things but that price tag was scary! So, I got 2 pair and I cannot wait to try them out post- race this weekend. I tried them out after my long run on Saturday and holy wow! Those suckers are tight! I have no idea how anyone would be able to run a race in them- I cannot imagine using a portapotty and trying to pull them back up. Yikes! I have no idea how I'd get them on in the summer time either, so good thing I won't be training ;) 

Things I learned about the internet this week:

ZocDoc, where have you been these past 6(ish) years?! Type in your city, your insurance and what kind of doctor you need and BAM! There's a list all in your area, that takes your insurance, and that might even have an appointment today. No more waiting 2 weeks to get an appointment with a dermatologist- because seriously (seriously, a dermatologist?!), it's annoying.

Did anyone else know that Pintrest will notify you when you pin something from a retailer and it goes on sale?! Thanks, Pin! You ROCK! and so do those pants (they're my favorite non-lululemon, they're that amazing) This can be very very dangerous. 

Sorry if I'm late to the game on all of this :)

NYC Half Marathon App

NYRR's new app for the NYC Half is ready for you to download!

 

 

There's tons of useful information for runners AND spectators. I really loved the FAQ section and that you could get local race day weather (although, it never loaded for me) You can even link your social media accounts and I'm assuming tweet/ instagram directly from the app. 

On top of that, there are also continuing with the Run the City Pass- which has a ton of participating businesses offering discounts and special deals for runners and those involved in the race.

I really appreciate having all the race information beforehand and all in one place. It's very similar to the one they had for the marathon in November. Having the race guide mailed out ahead of time, instead of receiving it at the expo, has always been my favorite thing about The New York City Marathon (or the ONLY race I've ever participated in that's done it) and I love that they have figured out a way to do it digitally. It's a great alternative.
 

I'd love to suggest adding the expo's vendor list somewhere. It would also be nice to have all of the NYRR races that offer the app in one. I hardly have enough space on my phone as it is, so I had to delete the NYCM app (with all my race data) to install this one.

I know some other races have tried to create apps, but I've noticed those mainly focus on social media aspect. This informational app is definitely a trend I'd love to see go viral.

If you are participating in any of the NYC Half events this weekend, and haven't downloaded it yet, I highly suggest you do. It's free and an amazing resource for all things NYC Half!

What's your favorite way to get race event details?

NYCHalf Training: It's Taper Time!

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 3.5M (2 lower loops of Central Park)

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 2M

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5M

Sunday: Rest

Hey! Look at that, it's already taper time. Fastest training ever :) Nothing to report last week because there was nothing active going on. 

Tuesday, Pam and I decided to go to the park to run together. Since neither of us had run since Princess, we needed motivation. I don't think we were planning for it to be as cold as it was- I was seriously worried about frostbite with just a fleece lines UA long sleeve and a short sleeved race shirt. Neither one of us had a garmin or a gymboss either. I swear we made plans. But it's all good. We survived. It was nice running outside. We're going to try to make this a weekly thing and even incorporate workouts in- because when left to our own devices we clearly aren't getting it done. 

Dinner was a gigantic salad from the Whole Foods buffet. In case you're in the market for a healthy active partner, that's where it's at. Everyone grabs dinner there after the gym or the park- and I do mean everyone. The 20 people deep express line proved it. But the line was totally worth it- the salad was amazing. I even went back on Saturday after my long run for another one. 

Friday night, I attended a social for my running club and swore I was going to meet up on Saturday for the fun run. 4 drinks later, I remembered I had brunch plans (saved by the bell!). I knew if I didn't run with them on Saturday,  I wasn't going to have another chance for a couple of weeks. 

On the way to brunch, I got some serious runner envy- the weather was a gorgeous 50 degrees and everyone was out. I was really excited to run in perfect weather. By the time I got to the park, it was predictably crowded, my legs were heavy and I just wasn't in the mood. Bummer. But I still got a good 5 mile taper run in AND a delicious salad from Whole Foods. 

The game plan for next week is to roll and stretch as much as possible to get ready for Race Day. The NYCHalf makes me a little nervous because life got in the way of getting faster. So, we'll see! 

(3 Things) Another fast race sellout, future races this year and tv shows

Oh, hai! Guess what today is?

The Princess Half marathon weekend was my last trip to Florida until Tower of Terror weekend. In other runDisney related news: Wine and Dine sold out in a day, which is a ton faster than it ever has. I think this has a lot to do with the announcement of the Avengers race (last minute chance to coast-to-coast if you got shut out of Tink/DL) and the fact that it's an anniversary year, which means special medal which means people lost their minds. One year I'd like to run Wine and Dine, but until then, I'm excited that Tower of Terror is the only thing on my plate.

That does not mean that's it for other races! The schedule calls for a half marathon every 3 weeks or so and then a couple of 10ks and a 5miler in June. . . then I want a break. Someone hold me to that, ok? 

When the time came to sign up for NYRR races, I decided no races shorter than 10ks without worthy swag. Especially since I don't need to worry about 9+1 anymore (but will continue to +1 because I think all runners should volunteer more). I love that NYRR has such a myriad of race distances, but honestly how many times do I need to pay to run the middle loop of Central Park and get a white cotton t-shirt that's just going to take up space in my already insanely full closet? 

So, that's been decided and I'm very excited about the month of June- The Oakley Mini10k, The Queens 10k and the FRNY 5M Pride Run. All have awesome non-cotton shirts, 2 have medals and one has popsicles at the finish line. What's not to love about that?! The best part? None cost over $30. 

In all honesty, I probably will still end up signing up for 9 races this year (I've always wanted to run The Dash to the Finish Line 5k and I need to run the Bronx 10miler to qualify for the NYCHalf 2015) but it's nice not to have the pressure to have to. PS- did anyone else get a phone call from NYRR today reminding you to accept your guaranteed entry? Talk about thorough! Thanks, but no thanks, NYRR. Not this year.

2 Things I'm excited about watching since regular TV is taking it's sweet time getting back on a regular schedule:

Couples Therapy. What? It was on at my gym and I got sucked in. Don't judge. VH-1 has all the full episodes online, so now I'll know what I'll be doing post- long run this weekend.

Why we did it- The Rachel Maddow special documentary about The Iraq War. It's on MSNBC tonight at 9ET.

2 completely opposite ends of the spectrum, I KNOW. That's how I roll. Also, did you know National Geographic has stuff on Netflix?! I know it's the most exciting thing ever- to just me, I'm sure. 

What are you excited about watching lately? 

The Princess Half Marathon (Glass Slipper Challenge COMPLETE!)

I woke up half marathon morning to find my anxiety had skyrocketed. Honestly, thinking about running a half marathon wasn't high on my list of priorities for the past 2 weeks, so when 13.1 miles are on the agenda for the day, it's pretty scary. Luckily, I met up with Jaime pretty quickly and having her there helped a ton.

I finally met the fabulous couple behind The Running Happily Ever After Blog. Monica was also my inspiration for my Eve costume the day before; she went as Eve for the WDW 10k and it was adorable! I won their X race wear contest (ps- they always have the best giveaways!) and ever since, I  picked her brain about all kinds of stuff and every time she is always so sweet! Walt has family in my part of the country, so it was fun comparing notes. Hopefully next time, we'll have more time to hang out! 

While we waited for Pam to get to the start, (sidenote: Transportation from Port Orleans seems to take forever considering it's one of the closer hotels. I noticed that last year as well), we ran into Emily! My favorite thing awesome thing about runDisney races is running into friends and that definitely what made the difference for me.

Once we got to the corrals, Emily and Jaime parted ways with Pam and I as we set out to finish. I had pretty much given up on this race at about .02 in. Neither one of us were really in the mood to be running. I knew it was going to take me a couple of miles to get into the groove after my extended taper, so I didn't worry too much. I conveniently forgot how narrow the course gets on the road to the Magic Kingdom. The fact that the course was SUPER crowded, which was SUPER frustrating, which made me SUPER not in the mood to deal didn't help matters . . . so we walked a lot because even if we wanted to run, we couldn't. 

If you're not a fast runner, you need to be prepared for the crowds at this race. I have never experienced course crowds like this. That can definitely make or break your experience. Knowing ahead of time what you're getting into is always a good thing. You can mentally prepare for it and not let the frustration ruin your time. Anyone who is willing to train and register for a race should have a magical time. Shame on me for not remembering all this.

Princess Half Sign Winner, hands down.

This sign really lifted my spirits and I felt better for awhile.

Hey, everyone waiting in that long line to take your photo by the castle: 

There's no line on the other side! 

Early on, I decided I wanted to stop for Woody because I don't think I've ever stopped for him before. He would be our only character in Magic Kingdom. One day I'm going to brave the 30 minute stop for Royal Mickey and Minnie (who they moved to the other side by new Fantasyland), but this race was not it.

At this point, I got a text from Jaime that she was at the medical tent outside of Magic Kingdom (nothing serious, but enough to make her willing to join the slowpokes), so we picked her up along the way. Running through the park was a perfect boost and I was starting to enjoy running. . . then the course got narrow again. 

RANT ALERT:

Not sure if you remember the story about the runner who got HIT BY A CAR running outside of the cones last year, but I do. Apparently, the extremely ACTIVE ROADWAY was not a concern for a LOT of Princesses. Why should I care what they're doing? Well, because jumping back on course RIGHT in front of me started to become the trend. After about the 6th time, I said something. Why? Because it's rude, inconsiderate and just terrible running etiquette (which I was following, hence walking on the right side of the road). This particular "princess" had the nerve to tell me "Chill out, it's a race"- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! EXACTLY, ASSHAT and you just nearly tripped me! At about this point, this story was about to become a lot less Disney and a lot more season finale of Orange is the New Black. SERIOUSLY?! Seriously. Dude, I get it. I called you out for bad behavior and it embarrassed you, but to have the nerve to get pissed at me because you're the entitled jerk?

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why The Princess Half Marathon gets a bad rap. 

Moral of the story: Don't be an impatient D-Bag. It's bad karma.

THE END.

Sadly, it was not the end for me because I let that imbecile bother me more than I should have. No one likes bad energy, but I just could not shake it. This is about when we decided to entertain ourselves with being snarky. Not gonna lie, it helped. Don't have anything nice to say, come run a half marathon with us!

Luckily, it was time to stop for the heroes photo. 

and we caught up with Emily! 

Oh hey, Sarge. I'd LOVE to run up that hill, but. . .

We hung out and walked some more, because honestly it wasn't worth the fight anymore. Once we got on top of the overpass, the crowd of people behind us was shockingly large, even for a Disney race and especially because we were walking a ton and stopping for photos. 

Hey Sophia the first.

Hey Fairy Godmother wannabe. 

Indiana Jones and the bolder ran past us and I decided to run after them paparazzi style to try to get a pic. 

I should not give up my day job.

I noticed runDisney moved a lot of the characters away from the end of the course. Those were the best character spots because there was no lines! Last year, everyone was either too tired or focused on finishing at that point. It's where I ended up stopping a lot, hence why I forgot about how miserable the overcrowded course was and only remember enjoying it. That's exactly where the Disney magic happened for me last year and I was bummed it didn't happen again. 
 

Once I saw the finish line, I saw Jester Goofy and Donald and I got excited! Maybe the magic wasn't gone! But the handlers weren't letting people stop for photos. Granted, logically I get it, but getting a photo with Donald at the finish line might have completely changed my view on this race. Just saying. I crossed the finish line and saw B, which made life a lot better. I proceeded to tell her where they could stick this race and then went to medical to get ice. This "Princess" was over it. 

I REALLY wanted to enjoy this race again. It had the potential to be a really great life distraction. Sadly, neither my head nor my heart were in it, which didn't help matters when there are way too many outside negative factors going on as well. Thank goodness for running friends! I don't know what I would've done without them. Next time we all end up running a race together, let's make it a GREAT one!

Win all the medals!

This race does fall on a convenient weekend for us to travel to Florida, so I can't say that it's completely out for next year. Maybe just the 10k and spend the rest of the time with family? Sounds like a good plan to me!  

The 2014 Inaugural Enchanted 10k (Glass Slipper Challenge part 1)

Thanks to a serious flight delay, the morning of the Enchanted 10k was deja vu from the WDW 10k- an hour of sleep to kick off a challenge weekend. I specifically got an earlier flight, so I wouldn't have to deal with the sleep deprivation, but apparently that wasn't in the cards for me. It looks like I'm going to have to start getting to race weekends earlier, but I'd much rather have more time post-race(s) to enjoy myself. Thankfully, I already had Jaime pick up my bib for me. Here we go! 

 

But the real awesome part, is I got to see these ladies:

Go Corral C!!

I see these ladies more in Orlando than the actual city we live in.

We all stuck together for awhile, but half the group was run/walking and the other half was stopping for character photos- and in the end, we all ended up finishing around the same time. I'm sure you can guess which group I was in. 

Good news: I'm pretty sure runDisney listened to the feedback from the WDW 10k and added entertainment! Either that, or it was more entertainment that I was actually interested in. Either way, I was really excited about it and it made running sleep deprived that much easier. 

Instead of a random DJ, Elsa was on the overpass making it snow in Florida. Kudos for incorporating Frozen into the weekend, especially considering that was the most popular costumes I saw all weekend. It would've been awesome to have her and Anna meeting and greeting somewhere, but I completely understand the utter madness that would've entailed. 

The white rabbit was the first official character stop kicking off the fun and much sooner on the course as well.  

Sadly, I forgot my camera charger in NOLA, and went into the entire race weekend relying on my iphone camera. Verdict? Never again. The majority of the photos were blurry and not worth wasting your time in line for character stops. I have no idea how anyone uses only a phone for pictures during these races. 

Case in point:

What. The. Hell. and thank you for making me waste 5 minutes of my life for this. Granted, none of us were heartbroken over it, but it was still annoying. 

LOVED that the toy soldiers were out! I was hoping for some reindeer after they showed up on the WDW Half Marathon course, but I'm cool with this.

Once we got into Epcot, we were having fun running to and from character stops. Hello Speedwork! That was pretty much the only time we really pushed ourselves. The consensus was just to enjoy this race because we had another one to get through the next day.

Emily and I jumped in line for Jiminy Cricket while Pam stopped in the bathroom, we met back up as soon as we were at the front of the line. Talk about perfect timing!

When Louis was out without Tiana, I had to stop!

I was really excited to meet Marie! 

and we even stood in line for Baseball Goofy! 

The puppets from the 20 mile spectacular were out as well, but I already got a photo there last month. 

and last but not least, Donald! 

Then it was time for the finish!

I got my favorite medal of the weekend and since our dining reservation wasn't until 9:30, we got in line to meet Rapunzel. I love that there are characters to meet at the finish line with your medals. 

Excited to see Punzie!

I'm really glad they stepped up the on-course entertainment for this one. I love that the 10k course has the boardwalk addition, but the 3 miles of highway in the beginning is a little rough. I do agree with the point that it spreads the crowds out well, but again, even with the additional entertainment, you're pretty bored for half of the race. Now, if they could get rid of that and then some how loop in Hollywood Studios (maybe a point to point course like Wine and Dine?). . . now that would be pretty awesome :) While we're at it, can we please boycott the white shirt trend, runDisney? Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a tad more merch for the shorter races at the expo. Yes, half marathons are awesome accomplishments, but so are 5/10ks. Granted, the one 10k shirt you could buy was cute, I'm just not a fan of cotton. But I digress.  

Either way, I really enjoyed this race and was glad I got to be a part of it.