Disney Day

Let's be real, I was feeling a little left out with so many of my friends heading to Disneyland for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend. Obviously I have an AMAZING "excuse"... I'll be in Oregon for the Eugene Marathon, but still... runDisney events are ALL about the people for me - and I've got some AWESOME ones I consider friends, so I was a bit bummed. [PS I wrote a blog post about my favorite parts of Disneyland races, if you haven't read it yet, check it out here.]

Super sweet Jillian and I had been texting a couple weeks ago. She would be out for the event (she works with runDisney) and was kind enough to invite me to come up and hang out with her Wednesday night before I flew out for my race. She mentioned she was excited about seeing World of Color for like the 26th time before it was updated for the Diamond Anniversary. I meekly told her that I had only seen it once. For the sake of our friendship I knew we would be hitting up the show :)

I had to work until 4pm Wednesday afternoon, so once I got off, walked the pup, and filled up my gas tank, I was on the road. There was a bit of traffic, but I finally got up to Disney around 5:30pm. After parking my car in the Buzz & Woody lot (we pay monthly for our annual passes and my pass has parking added to it) I jumped on the bus and was headed towards the parks. Although I was meeting Jillian and a couple of her friends at Trader Sam's I made a quick pit stop in the Disney entrance area to grab my picture #WITHOUTSHOES (Have you posted yours yet?! If you don't know what I am talking about, check out my blog from Wednesday.).

Trader Sam's was fun; I got to meet some of Jillian's friends who she had worked with in the past. After they finished their drinks we decided we would head over to the parks. Disneyland was closing at 7:30pm and DCA was closing at 8pm so we made the executive decision to go to DCA since we wanted to watch World of Color at 8:30pm. We had 3 things on our list - 1. Ride Screamin', 2. Get cones for dinner, 3. Watch World of Color.

Screamin' closes fairly early because they have to get the water area ready for the show. We decided we would jump in line for the ride before we grabbed food. Screamin' is one of my favorite rides in DCA (the swings are a close second) so I was totally fine with this plan.

Yes, Jillian told me to bring my ears - so we both rocked them!

Snapped this before BLAST OFF! Was surprised how well it turned out.

We made our way over to Cars Land for Cozy Cones. I saw they had a beef chili, bacon mac and cheese, or chicken verde, so I opted for the pretzel bites in a cone (after I got them I did see they offered a veggie chili option - NEXT TIME!). When we were walking over to grab our dinner, we noticed it was just about time for the neon to light up down Route 66. Neither Jillian or I had watched it turn on before, so we hung out for an extra few minutes (this is how Ivie and AJ got engaged and now I TOTALLY get the magic of it all).

We are BEYOND BLESSED!

Radiator Springs!

Flo's Cafe once the neon turned on

Radiator Springs once it started getting a little darker

The Cozy Cone Motel!

Once our bellies were full we made our way over to the World of Color. One of Jillian's friends had the hook up (they worked for the parks and knew one of the girls in the VIP area so got us in a great section) which meant we didn't have to worry about not having fast passes. The show was good (honestly, fireworks are more my jam, but I it is still a sight to be seen!) and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Think Bellagio in Vegas mixed with Disney

They even project clips of the movies onto the water

Photo Credit: @JillianKMF's Instagram

Who doesn't love colorful lights?!

Mickey's Fun Wheel is FUN!

Like I mentioned, the parks were closing early (something to do with the big wigs wanting to see all of the new 60th anniversary stuff) so since we weren't able to go into Disneyland to watch the fireworks we decided on the next best thing... Watching them from Jillian's hotel room! We couldn't hear the sound for the show, but we were able to see the fireworks. Let me just tell you - THE SHOW LOOKS AWESOMESAUCE!

SO PRETTY!

It's funny to see how far away from the castle the fireworks really are...
I've only ever watched them from Main Street, so the different
perspective was definitely cool to experience!

There are even fireworks in the headboards at the Disneyland Hotel!

After the fireworks were done, Jillian's friends left and we got ready for bed. YAY for sleepovers! No, there weren't any pillow fights but there was plenty of chatting about boys, traveling, cooties, and the like ;) Jillian had to work at 9am on Thursday morning, but we still wanted to try and get in a run before then, so we got up and moving around 6:30am.

The sky was awake so WE were awake!

Jillian is still rehabbing her hip, so I left everything up to her (pace, distance, etc). We ran passed the start line for the Tinker Bell 10K and Half, which was fun (I ran the half in 2013, my first sub-2 half marathon). We took a couple short walk breaks and stopped to say hi to a couple folks along the route, but in total we were able to get in a little over 2 miles.

I will take running with friends over running fast ANY DAY!

As we were running by the park gates we saw a family taking a photo in front of DCA. We offered to take their picture and in exchange asked if they would grab one of us - obviously Jillian and I had to document our run together!

Just the adventure I needed!

Another Mickey head, this time WITH SHOES :)

On the way back to the hotel we just HAD to stop and grab a Jamba Juice! I had seen on their Twitter earlier in the week that they had just released Colada Fruit Refreshers (with coconut water) and I was stoked to give one a try. I ended up deciding on the Tropical Colada and it was DELISH!

It tasted like summer in a cup!

Since Jillian had to get to work, I grabbed my bag, gave her a hug, and made my way back towards the park to catch the bus to my car. We have already decided we will be scheduling some sort of race-cation for 2016 (Megan and Krissy - you in on that?!).

Oh yeah, how could I forget this part of the story... After the fireworks ended the night before, I asked Jillian what I should do with my car (it was still in the Toy Story parking lot). One of her friends was friends with someone who works in security. He texted his friend and the friend said that obviously they don't prefer cars left overnight, but realize that it happens (for example, someone gets a little too tipsy in the parks or at Downtown Disney and has to take a cab home). He said my car should be fine for the night (but in the future I should give someone the heads up when I am parking if I know it will happen again).

On the way back to my car I was the ONLY ONE on the bus. I think it was because at 7:30am everyone is heading TO the parks, not AWAY from them. (Although Jillian joked and thought it was because I turned down the offer to use her shower and everyone was staying away from my stench.)

It was like a princess carriage ride all for ME!

Didn't have a problem finding my car in the parking lot... 

I had a BLAST at Disney with Jillian (and her awesome friends), but coming home to this wiggly butt also put a smile on my face. Even though I won't be at Disney for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend I am super grateful I was able to go up and experience some of the magic and enjoy a few hours with an amazing friend!

Do you suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)? How do you combat it?

Thursday Triumph: 4 Marathons In 1 Year

Welcome to the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW Thursday Triumph Link Up. Two amazing blends (bloggers + friends) and I felt like there seemed to be a void of Link Ups on Thursday, so why not start our own?! A BIG THANKS to Smitha and Linzie for including me in this!

Anyway, here's the dealio - Every Thursday, write a post about one way you are TRIUMPHING (whether it is during training, in life, etc) and then LINK IT UP (meaning add your link at the bottom of this post so we can all read about one another's successes). {Complete "rules" are listed at the end of my post.}

Today's Triumph:

Tomorrow I will get on a plane and head to Eugene for my FOURTH Full Marathon in less than a year! Sure, sure, I know this doesn't sound like a ton when compared to some other runners who do this in a span of a month, but for me, this is HUGE!

I only started running about 3 years ago to begin with! And even then I was someone who said "I will NEVER run a full marathon". Lo and behold I will be running my fourth come Sunday morning. Not only that, I have done them each in a different state. How cool is that?! 1: Santa Cruz, CA, 2: Orlando, FL, 3: Phoenix, AZ, 4: Eugene, OR.

As of right now (because now I know never to say never), after this one I am planning on hanging up my marathon shoes for a while. Don't get me wrong, I still have a ton of races on my calendar (I even have 3 more before the end of May), but I think my body needs a bit of a break from the marathon distance (and especially those 20 mile training runs).

I am so proud of what I have been able to accomplish thus far. I will NEVER be an elite runner, but I am actually starting to see myself as an athlete which is kind of a BIG DEAL for me! Praise the Lord that He has given me the ability to continue putting one foot in front of the other, all with a smile on my face and enjoying this new found passion!

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Here are all the RULES you need to know to participate in the Thursday Triumph LinkUp!
     1. Linzie, Smitha and I will start the LinkUp Post every Wednesday night by 11:59 EST. It will be hosted here, on Sharp Endurance and on Running With SD Mom. You can link up your posts any day of the week but the most common day to do so is Thursday. The post can be about any TRIUMPH in your life! Each linkup will be open for one week only.
     2. Entries that are not associated with a POST or just linked to your homepage will be deleted.
     3. Link back to Running With SD Mom, Sharp Endurance & Carlee McDot so others can add their link up and find others too! You can use the above graphic if you'd like!
     4. MOST IMPORTANT: You MUST visit the person's blog who linked up directly before you and leave them a motivating comment and share their POST. This is the most important part of the linkup. We want lots of links and we want to help each other out. This is MANDATORY!
     5. Void where prohibited.

An InLinkz Link-up

Discounts, Art & Shoes

Don't you just hate it when you have random blog post ideas but you can't come up with a catchy title?! If only I could have thrown this post together YESTERDAY (oh Three Things Thursday Tuesday). Oh well, here are some of the ramblings going on in my head right now.

Discounts! WHO DOESN'T LOVE SAVING MONEY?! 

• Momentum Jewelry - use my ambassador link (http://www.designsthatmoveyou.com/friend/carlee) before May 15th (next Friday) and save 25% [starting May 16th the discount code will be back to the normal 10% - so stock up NOW!].

• Sparkly Soul - I know our moms shine in our minds no matter what they do, but now you can order yours a Sparkly Soul headband to help her REALLY sparkle and save 15%. PS You can totally use the SPARKLYMOM code and buy the headbands for yourself, no one will tell on you ;)

• Pro Compression - yesterday the Sock of the Month was released for May. To save 40% (and get a FREE GIFT {while supplies last}) use code PLAY when ordering.

• PROBAR - I don't know if you read my PROBAR Blogger Network post from last week, but in case you didn't (shame on you), if you use code "MCCLURGC15" you can save 15% on your order through their website (including variety packs and gear). 

Talented Hubby! If you haven't noticed, my blog got a recent update thanks to my main man Ryan ;) He helped to update my header {and even created business cards around it} and I LOVE IT (not as much as I love him, obviously, but it is pretty high up there ;)). Anywho, Ry started a new "project" the other night and I thought I'd share it in case any one is interested in following along. He is a night owl (I am an early bird) so I normally go to bed before him. In the past, once I would go to bed he would watch some weird movie he found on Amazon Prime that he knew I wouldn't want to watch with him. Last week he decided that instead of "wasting" his time, he would throw on a record and draw something new every night. He is posting the majority of them on his Instagram, so if you want to keep up with them make sure to follow him there @Ruggedwoodsman. 

One Day Without Shoes! I have participated in Toms' One Day Without Shoes project since the beginning. I love what Toms does and bringing awareness to that in any way I can is something I will always try to do. This year, Toms is taking the project one step further (Get it?! I'm so punny...). From May 5th until May 21st, Instagram a picture of your bare feet with the hashtag #WITHOUTSHOES to give a new pair of shoes to a child in need. Yes, it is THAT easy.... SO GO DO IT! (PS I HATE feet, so normally would NOT ask people to post pictures of theirs, but this is for a good cause! With that being said, please don't be offended if I quickly scroll past your image ;))

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Got any catchy titles I could have used for today's post?

REVIEW: Garmin vívofit® 2

A few weeks ago (honestly though, it has been over 6 weeks and I don't even really know where the time went... sure is FLYIN') I was asked to be a Garmin Ambassador (Um, can you say FLOORED?! I mean Garmin is an AMAZING company and for little ol' me to even be noticed by them is FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC!).

Not only did they want me to be an ambassador for them, they also wanted me to test out their new activity tracker, the vívofit® 2. You know me, I am never one to turn down free (well, I guess if it was meat... or drugs... or cucumbers I would pass on that grass...). I had been wanting to try an activity tracker for a while but hadn't taken the plunge because I couldn't justify "needing" one.

My overall feelings on the vívofit® 2 - IT'S IS GREAT! It gives real data on my steps throughout the day (obviously we would all like to tell ourselves we are super active, but the numbers don't lie), tracks my sleep (or lack there of) and really causes me to MOVE MORE!

I am the type of person who wants to read the manual before putting something together. I want to know the in's and out's before I use something so I know I am using all of the features (and using them correctly). Maybe it's because I'm not very tech savvy so if I don't read the instructions I won't know what I am doing or maybe it's the nerd in me... Anywho, whatever the reason, there wasn't much to read with this little bugger. The only instructions that came in the box were how to put the little "brain" into the wrist band (it came with two sizes and obviously with my tiny wrists I selected the smaller one).

Thankfully I was able to Google how to get everything ready (I mean seriously, what did we do before Google?!). I downloaded the Garmin Connect app on my phone, paired the tracker to my phone (there is also an option to do it to your computer with a little USB do-jab-y, but I opted the smart phone route), and we were up and running (yes, the pun is TOTALLY intended).

If you follow me on social media, you have probably seen my vívofit® 2 in a large portion of my pictures for the past month and a half (and if you don't follow me on social media, what the heck?! Instagram: @CarleeMcDot / Twitter: @CarleeMcDot / Pinterest: @CarleeMcDot... I mean I make it as easy as possible, come on now ;)). Wanna know why it is in all of my wrist shots?! BECAUSE I HAVEN'T TAKEN IT OFF SINCE I FIRST PUT IT ON!

One of the super nice things about the vívofit® 2 is the durability and wear-ability. It is water resistant (up to 50 meters) so I don't have to take it off when I jump in the shower {I could see myself taking it off to get in the shower and forgetting to put it back on}. It can be used to tell time (I changed my settings so instead of the default screen being the step counter it is actually the clock so I can use it as a watch). I also don't have to take it off to charge the battery frequently (Garmin says the battery lasts 1+ year). All that and I haven't even gotten to the ACTIVITY TRACKER portion of the thang!

I mentioned earlier, but it is worth repeating... I truly believe this has caused me to be more active. Sure, sure, on days where I am running 5+ miles, I hit my 10,000 step count easily, but on my rest days, cross training days and strength training days, my count is much lower so this forces me to get up and MOVE. Okay, maybe "forces" is a strong word.

If you haven't realized yet, I am a Type A personality. I like having a list and crossing things off said list (I have even been known to add tasks such as "wake up" on a to-do list just so I can cross it off... I know, it's bad... I might need to talk to someone about it). If I have something on my list - such as hitting my goal of 10,000 steps - you better believe I am going to do my darndest to reach it. I have no shame in walking/dragging the dog around our complex three times instead of my normal one loop just to get in more steps.

Another super cool feature is the "Time To Move" alarm. If you are stationary for too long, the tracker will beep at you to get up and add some steps. Once the alarm has buzzed, every 15 minutes of non-movement will give you an extra piece on the movement bar. NO ONE WANTS A RED BAR! It seems as though at work is when I become most stationary. I have had to find ways to try and combat this - whether it is getting up to refill my water (I also find the more you drink the more often you need to get up to use the restroom), pace around the office while waiting for a document to scan or print, walk in place at your desk while on a conference call, etc.

I think the feature I was most excited about was tracking my sleep. See, I have fibromyalgia (was diagnosed back around 9th grade). With that, I tend not to fall into a deep enough sleep to let my joints/ muscles/ body get fully rested. Although I have been told that (and obviously feel the ramifications of it on a daily basis), I was interested to see how it would translate on the tracker. Well, just one look and you can see what I am dealing with... For some reason I don't think "sleep" is supposed to look like this.

One "issue" I sort of had with the vívofit® 2 was how it seems to calculate steps. Obviously since it is on your wrist, it is more of an "arm swinging motion" that it is using to figure out how many steps you are taking throughout the day. I noticed when I was grocery shopping and pushing the cart it wasn't calculating my activity (it actually buzzed at me saying I hadn't moved in the last little while, yet I had been huffin' my grocery cart all about the store). If you often do things such as push a stroller, mow the lawn, etc, there is a possibility your daily counts will be off (thankfully I only grocery shop once a week so it isn't a big deal, but did want to mention it so you are aware if this tracker fits your lifestyle). {It also doesn't track my biking unless I am really moving my handle bars a lot. I guess most of you are probably saying "DUH" right about now, but when I hear "activity tracker" I am thinking all around activity, not just physical steps on the ground.} I also noticed that if I am drying my hair or doing similar activities my step count goes up because of my arm movement - but figure it evens out for times I am walking and not swinging my arms (like if I am carrying something or trying to pull Walt on his leash).

As I am sure you could see from the plethora of photos with me wearing the tracker, when I run or bike I also wear a GPS watch (currently I am using the Garmin Forerunner 110, but just last night I ordered the 220 as an upgrade). I noticed that although the vívofit® 2 is tracking my steps, it tends to be off a bit when calculating overall distance. When I am walking it seems to be pretty precise, but if I am running it isn't 100% accurate (probably to do with my stride or something). I wouldn't have purchased the vívofit® 2 as an alternative to a GPS watch, so wasn't expecting it to be as exact as my Forerunner, but did want to throw it out there in case some folks thought it could be used for both.

Garmin does offer a heart rate monitor for the vívofit® 2. Although I am sure heart rate tracking is muy importante (I have a friend who must keep track of her heart rate and cannot let it exceed a specific limit for health purposes and others who use their heart rate as a gauge for their workouts), I have never actually looked at mine. You can pair the vívofit® 2 with a heart rate monitor (you can buy a package with the tracker and monitor or buy them separately) to record your heart rate and zone data which helps to accurately determine calories burned during fitness activities. If you have a heart rate monitor attached, when you are syncing your tracker with the Garmin Connect app your information will be transferred.

Although I would consider myself to be an active girl, I definitely see the draw of these trackers (and much appreciate having one on my wrist at all times now). I totally believe having the constant reminder is a nudge in the right direction. As I mentioned, I have never had an activity tracker before so I can't completely compare the vívofit® 2 to other trackers but I know that this seems to have all of the features I would be looking for when it comes to an activity tracker.

Do you have an activity tracker? If so, do you think it helps you to become more active? If not, have you ever considered getting one?

Jeff Galloway Blogger Tips - Training & Motivation #6

Seeing as I just posted my goals for the Eugene Marathon (which I will be running on Sunday - EEKS!), I thought this was a GREAT post from Mr. Jeff Galloway... I am hoping to run this race faster than previous ones, so tips on WAYS TO GET FASTER are always much appreciated (although I don't think they will be much help 5 days before the race, but I will definitely give them a go for my next goal race FO SHO!)!

Jeff Galloway Blogger Tips

FIVE WAYS TO GET FASTER

by Olympian Jeff Galloway

Longer Long Runs

Increasing the length of the longest long run has produced the greatest amount of improvement that I've seen among my coaching clients. Several surveys have shown more than 13 minutes of time improvement when runners increase their longest long run from 20 miles to 26 miles before a marathon. Comparable time improvements are experienced in 10K runners and half marathoners when they increase their long runs above race distance as noted in my YEAR ROUND PLAN book that covers all the distances. Long runs must be at least 2 min/mi slower than current ability, with liberal walk breaks. The slower the pace, the quicker the recovery. I suggest doing the long runs every 2-3 weeks.

Speed Repetitions—increasing the number

My runners have improved by an average of over 6 minutes in a marathon (3+ minutes in a half marathon) by increasing the number of speed repetitions to 14 x 1 mile for the marathon, and 14 x 800 meter for the half marathon. I recommend that each of these be run 30 sec/mi faster than goal pace. The recovery interval is a 5 min walk between miles and a 3 minute walk between 800's. These workouts prepare one to maintain or pick up pace at the end of the goal race, instead of slowing down. See GALLOWAY TRAINING PROGRAMS & HALF MARATHON books for details (www.RunInjuryFree.com).

Improve Running Form

Most runners I've monitored have improved several minutes in a marathon by fine-tuning their running form. As the mechanics become smoother and within one's limits, there is a significant reduction in aches, pains and injuries. The two best ways to improve form are water running and cadence drills.

• Water running uses the same basic motion as when running on land, using a flotation device so that the feet don't touch the bottom of the pool. When done for at least 15 minutes, once a week, the legs find a more efficient path through the water—eliminating extraneous motion.
• The cadence drill is done for 30 seconds, counting the number of times the foot touches the ground. This drill is detailed in most of my books. I've found the key to improving speed on the mechanical side is quicker turnover.

Race in Shorter Events

Dropping down a standard distance or two can improve your mechanics for running faster and your ability to handle a higher level of oxygen debt. On non-long-run weekends, during a half marathon program, try some 5K or 10K races. When training for a marathon, race at the 10K or half marathon distance. At first, the faster pace of the shorter distance may seem awkward. But after several short races, you will adapt—especially if you do some speed training for the shorter/faster event. These performance improvements can translate into faster times in the longer distances. My book 5K/10K details the training and the racing strategies for these events.

Hill Training

The only way I've found to build strength for running is to run hill repeats. On a moderate grade hill, start at a jog and pick up the turnover rate of the feet and legs as you go up the hill, shortening your stride. Walk down the hill for recovery. Don't sprint, and follow the other hill training guidelines in my books and at www.RunInjuryFree.com. The strength from hill training will allow you to perform better in speed sessions which will help you improve in your goal race. You'll also run faster on hilly courses, during your races.

What do you do to get faster?

Workout Recap - Week 18

Sunday, April 26th – 4 mile run with the hubby, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Monday, April 27th – 5 mile run, Foam Rolled & Stretched

Tuesday, April 28th –  Strength Training (abs, back, arms and legs), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Wednesday, April 29th –  4 mile run on the treadmill, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Thursday, April 30th – 19.5 mile bike ride, Foam Rolled & Stretched

Friday, May 1st– 8 mile run, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Saturday, May 2nd – REST DAY, Foam Rolled, & Stretched

TAPER TIME. My mileage is at an all time low right now - "only" a total of 21 running miles ALL WEEK! I am starting to pack and figure out my marathon outfit (harder said than done since I have so many choices!). I might be freaking out a bit lot, but only one more week before I am toeing the starting line of my fourth full marathon!

How were your workouts this past week? 

Eugene Marathon Goals

A week from today I will be on a plane heading to Eugene to tackle my FOURTH Full Marathon (in less than a year). Seeing as the race is so close I figured I would throw my goals out there for anyone who cares (and also as a way to hold myself accountable).

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{I waver back and forth as to whether I should even make these public. My worry is that if I don't hit my goals I will let folks down - they will be disappointed in me. I know, I know, it may be silly for me to think that, since I know I am not disappointed if others don't hit their goals, but it's just something internal I guess.}

Goal A - 3:3X

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it is runners in general, but we always want to better our best, right?! I would have NEVER thought a 3:3X marathon was a reality, but when Michael mentioned shooting for it at Phoenix I thought I'd give it a go. Although neither of us hit that time, it put a little fire under me to push for something I would have never thought possible. (And if I am completely honest with you {and myself} sub-3:35 would be a Boston Qualifying time and I would be OVER THE MOON if I could do it!) To hit this I would need to average approximately a 8:23/mile split time (which would land me right around 3:39:59).

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Goal B - Sub 3:46:50

This is my current PR. I hit this time at the Phoenix Marathon in February. Although the course is advertised as super downhill, it seemed to be a bit misleading. The first few miles were downhill, but after that it sort of flattened out. The Eugene Marathon course is advertised as a flat course, so I am wondering if the lack of pounding from the downhills at the beginning of the race will help me save a little juice in my legs for the last few miles. To hit this I would need to average approximately a 8:39/mile split time.

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Goal C - Sub 4:00

The four hour mark seems to hold some sort of magic, although I don't really know what it is. When I was training for my first full, even though everyone says "don't have a time goal for your first, just finish" I really wanted to hit sub-4. The course wasn't quite what I was expecting or had trained for (consistent rolling hills the first half and trails the second half), so when I didn't hit that goal I was a bit bummed. Also, I want to make sure Phoenix wasn't just a fluke and I can hit a sub-4 marathon for a second time. To hit this I would need to average approximately a 9:09/mile split time.

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Goal D - Finish With A Smile

This is always a goal of mine. The bigger picture, outside of paces and mileage and everything else, is that RUNNING IS SOMETHING I ENJOY! I never want to lose that. I also never want to push myself so hard that I hurt something and can't run in the future. If for some reason next Sunday is not "my" day, I want to still be able to enjoy the race, the city, and the experience!

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You never know what will happen on race day - what the weather will be like, which body will show up, what extenuating circumstances might pop up. Obviously I want to try my hardest (or else I would have put in all of the work) and I will probably be a bit disappointed if I don't hit my goals, but I also know running is MUCH MORE than just a single race. Honestly (which I NEED to continually remind myself) the training was the hard part, the race is just the celebration. I am forever grateful and thankful for every step I can take!

Do your goals ever scare you?