Run Disney Atlanta Meet Up (aka- The Running Of The Disney Nerds) *LONG and Photo Heavy*

Yesterday morning was THE morning! I woke up at 4:45 and I only wake up that early when absolutely necessary, but for runDisney, I woke up without any complaints. I had been looking forward to this meet up since I found out that I was selected. When I got to Turner field and pulled into the lot and was greeted by all the other runDisney nerds, I was with my people. We headed into the stadium to check in, get our shirts, take an excessive amount of pictures and got ready to run. It was really foggy Saturday morning, so I wasn't exactly sure if I'd be able to get many pictures until the sun came up. You can see for yourself.

Can't wait to earn this one!

I even made some new friends while I was waiting in line for my shirt, check in, and also while I was waiting for everything to get going. It's always great to meet some fellow Disney lovers to geek out with, one of the ladies was telling me all about her upcoming trip. I'm not even going to lie to you, I was so jealous listening to her plans. I really want to make a weekend trip to Disney World before Christmas, I'll explain why in a different post. Anyways, after a while of waiting in the cold and chatting, the festivities got underway.

 Then Mickey made his appearance because it can't be magical if Mickey isn't there, that's just a fact. ºoº

We were split into two groups for the run. The first group would run straight through, and the second group would run 20/20 intervals with Jeff Galloway. Also part of the Galloway group but not pictured here was Olympian Barbara Parker. I obviously went into the Galloway group with what seemed to be a large part of the group. We got our directions from Jeff, and then waited for the all clear to get started.

And away we went! 

The course was a simple two mile run, from Turner Field to the Capitol building, around it and back. I knew that I would be bringing up the back because I always do, but I tried to keep the group in my sights for as long as possible. I even toyed with the idea of cutting the course short and coming back early, I DID NOT and I am really glad that I made that decision. To be perfectly honest, I was worried that I would miss something on the course if I turned around. As I reached the Capitol, the Galloway group was finishing their run around the building and heading back. I waddled along at a pace that was quasi-decent for the first mile, but that second mile, oh heavens. That second mile was magic, but I expected nothing less because this was a runDisney run after all. I managed to eek out that second mile faster than any mile I have run in years! I had a 2 mile PR earlier in the week at Crossfit, but this mile was even faster. Ok, faster for me, which may not be much to some but it is HUGE for me. I even got high fives from the lovely Atlanta Police Officers manning the course! Being last isn't always a bad thing, and this time it was definitely not a bad thing. When I got back to Turner Field, I was directed to a ramp that lead to field level. I was so excited because I really do love the Braves, and getting a chance to run on the warning track, was so cool. But wait, there's more! None other than Minnie Mouse was waiting for us. I waited in line for my photo op and took the opportunity to get some from the field.

I had my picture taken with Minnie, and headed out for my trot around the field, it was just so stinking cool!

When I got back, we were served breakfast. The whole sugar detox thing I've been doing this week went out the window because they had my favorite pineapple chobani yogurt. I tried to take the tiny side track and keep the rest of the day on track but I failed. That's ok though, because it's back to it today.

Then came the informational sessions....

1. Michael Cane from ESPN

2. Tammy Jenkins from runDisney, who announced the new hashtag #whyirundisney. You can share your story in a 15 second video on instagram using the hashtag #whyirundisney. You might be chosen to have your reason and a follow up featured via runDisney. I am trying to come up with a great way to share my story within the 15 second time frame.

3. Then it was time to hear from none other than local Jeff Galloway, he really is such a nice guy. He gave away some swag and debuted his trail running book.

4. Next up was Tara Gidus, The Diet Diva. She had some great pre and post run nutrition advice, you can find her articles for runDisney here. When I spoke with her afterwards, she told me that she has a new book out called Flat Belly Cookbook For Dummies.

5. Ali from New Balance, who announced that they will have more shoes available. It seems that they were not really ready for the huge response the shoes generated. They did present the second teaser video https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1432093300338235. The 2014 shoes will have Sorcerer Mickey for the men and will be pink with Minnie. Also, in 2014 they will be offering the shoes in children's sizes as well. Barbara Parker also spoke but I don't know why I don't have pictures. She shocked the audience when she told us that she has never been to Disney World. The entire audience gasped, and it was pretty funny. Her poor husband was pretty much told that he has to take her to Disney World.

6. Warren Green from Runner's World talked about the Runner's World Challenge group that they are training for the Marathon Weekend, and that they will be training more groups for future events.

All in all it was a great event, and I feel so honored to have been a part of it. Now, I couldn't leave without getting a picture with Minnie and Mickey because that would just be very un-Disney. While we waited in line runLinzey had the group in line do her famous jazz hands picture.

Got to chat with Jeff Galloway and Tara Gidus before I left and got my swag bag.

Here's the swag bag, it was pretty cool.

A Puma gift card

runDisney water bottle

runDisney tech hat

A new runDisney magnet for my new car! 

This carabiner water bottle thingy. What are these actually called anyways?

runDisney band

runDisney pen, which Bella is sure to steal

Luna and Clif bars!

Thoughts On The Run

On Tuesday morning, runDisney posted this teaser tweet.

They then posted this tweet.

I sent my email RSVP, and then the freak out attack started. I was going a little bit crazy waiting to hear whether or not I got in. 

Then, runDisney posted this. 

Then I really went crazy, seriously, cuckoo pants. So much so, that I just had to head out for my run to try to get my mind off this Disney induced insanity. First of all, I ran my fastest mile that I've been able to eek out in a long time (like over a year), even though I was running on the heinous hills behind my apartments. Secondly, I wore my awesome My Race Ragz tee, can we talk about how awesome this shirt is?! Anyways, the brain was working overtime during this run. Here's what I realized

• Pandora and I have a love/hate relationship. The last few runs, I've been listening to Pandora and it's really like playing musical roulette. During one run, I played the No Doubt station and it played No Doubt but then started playing some of the most depressing music from my high school and college (the first time) days. Then yesterday, the music was all perfect, seriously, every single song was perfect.  
• Wearing the wrong pants makes it so I clap for myself during the run...horrifying. I was thinking about the running clinic I attended last week where I was wearing the WRONG pants and panties, and as we were doing the drills my fatty bits and pieces were clapping. I even turned around during the group run because of the clapping, I was mortified.
• My eating needs some cleaning up so that I don't clap for myself anymore while I run. The good thing is that I made an appointment with one of my crossfit coaches to chat about nutrition.
• I have an unhealthy obsession with chocolate because all I wanted to eat all day Tuesday was CHOCOLATE! 
• I was thinking about my fundraising efforts and I decided that fundraising is tough but so worthwhile. There are days when the goal feels overwhelming, and I wonder how I am going to make it work. I only have until January 31st to raise the funds. 
• My brain sure is a busy place. 

After the run, I still hadn't heard back about the runDisney meet up. It wasn't until sometime around 5 that runDisney finally posted the list. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/rundisney-atlanta-meet-up-attendees/

There it was, MY NAME! I was thrilled, heck, I'm still thrilled. I can't wait! I felt a little like this...

After One Month Of Crossfit

Technically speaking, my first month crossfit anniversary was actually last week, but you know how I get. Shiny things are distracting, plus, there are all sorts of other distracting distractions. This first month of crossfit was interesting, challenging, frustrating, and dare I say...fun. Fun? Yeah, it's not always fun but there have been fun moments. For example, I sort of love the olympic weight lifting stuff, mainly because it makes me feel like a bad ass, and you know how I love feeling like a bad ass. There's a WOD called Lynne which involves bench presses and pull ups, now I didn't go heavy on this and my pull ups are not pull ups but actually ring rows; but I totally loved this one. The coach even told me that next time I needed a heavier barbell because the weight I picked was too light. That particular WOD was made for me, they should rename it the Lucy.

(By the way, I love Gravity Falls. There, I said it)

It has been challenging, there have been some days that have been humbling, because even with my scaling (modifications), keeping up was a struggle. There have been some days when it's so frustrating and I have asked myself mid-workout why exactly I am stupid/crazy enough to be doing this. OK, there have been lots of days when I question my sanity, but as we all know, I am the mayor of Crazy Town, so it's all good. I will say that I can already see improvements in my fitness, the only issue now is improving my nutrition. For the next month, I'm going to pick one or two weekly nutrition goals per week to focus on. It's time to suck less and be more awesome.

If you haven't "liked" my FB page, head over there and give me a like. https://www.facebook.com/runchunky

Also, my raffle to benefit Give Kids The World is still going on, with lots of awesome running gear! DETAILS HERE 

Running Gear Raffle UPDATE

First things first, I can announce that SPIbelt is sending me one of their original belts to add to the raffle.  Secondly, I think we're going to shake it up a little with the entries. I haven't had anyone enter to win any of these awesome prizes. There will be three winners for the running swag and one local winner for the photography session.

We've got...

1. A gift certificate from Handana. So you can wipe the sweat from your brow as you are doing awesome things.

Photo Source: http://vimeo.com/51244536

2. An original SPIbelt in black (nice and neutral for the guys and the ladies)

3. Some awesome knee socks and 13.1 and 26.2 decals from Proud Runner. Great knee socks make you faster... it's a fact...it's worth a google.

4. Paper Shower packets from Paper Shower because we shouldn't stink up the world all the time. 

5. This super cute t-shirt from One More Mile Apparel. (By the way, if you go to their site, you might see yours truly scroll across the top...I'm kind of a big deal)

6. This awesome prize pack from Lift Your Sole.

7. These cute headbands from BIC Bands

8. These awesome sweat wicking headbands from Bondi Band.

9. Arm sleeves from Gypsy Runner.

10. A "I love to run" wrap bracelet from Momentum.  

11. A custom tech tee from My Race Ragz.

12. Some wipes from Fresh Feet Wipes, because we need to get those feet smelling right too.

13. A Galloway prize pack from yours truly including this book and a brand spanking new gymboss.

14. Plus, each winner will receive a custom vinyl decal from myself. (Think car bling)

Additional prize for Atlanta area people. I will be giving one local winner a free photo session with me.  To see some of my work, just go to https://www.facebook.com/LucyMPhotography.

$5 = 1 entry

$10 = 2 entries

$20 = 5 entries

$30 = 8 entries

$40 = 15 entries

$50 = 20 entries

To enter:

Donate Here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/LucyMcCullough/disneyprincessweekend2014 

Fill This Out: http://bit.ly/15Gw028

Wanna know what your donation can do? 

$25 says YES to unlimited ice cream served in our Ice Cream Palace for an entire week for one family. Imagine; ice cream for breakfast! And the only hard part is choosing between a cone, cup, sundae, or banana split!

$50 says YES to a welcome basket for one family. Each basket includes milk, juice, and snacks in the fridge and gifts including an autograph book for the kids to capture signatures of their favorite characters.

$75 says YES to our Gift-giving Fairy who delivers gifts to each child in the family, every day of their stay. Stuffed animals, DVD’s, games, souvenirs, and more – all the things that make a child’s face light up with joy.

$100 says YES to Christmas every Thursday, complete with visits from Santa, horse-drawn carriage 

rides, and yes, even snow in Florida!

You can read my friend's experience at Give Kids The World 365awesomedays.blogspot.com/2012/07/gabs-wish-trip-part-1-give-kids-world.html