This vlog is a bit late, about … 6 months late. I wasn’t going to post it originally because as you will see, my race weekend didn’t go as planned. I had a change of heart when I was browsing through some old footage recently and realized that even though I didn’t get the weekend I had planned, I still had a great weekend celebrating with my family.
Flanigan’s Rockin’ Rib Run 10K
This year was the 6th annual Rockin’ Rib Run presented by Runners Depot. This is a race I had heard about, but never registered for because of the price. It’s just a bit more expensive than other local runs in my area.
SPOILER ALERT: It’s worth it!
The reason I participated this year was because of my friend Monica.
She was supposed to run this race with her whole family but someone couldn’t make it, so she asked me to take their place. Free race? I’m there! Lol
Race Price
Adult early registration: $40
Summer registration: $45
Fall registration: $50
Last Chance: $60
Kids: $10
Packet Pick Up
Although I didn’t make it to packet pick up, Monica said her experience was excellent. There was no wait time and they were very organized.
The goodie bag was by far the most exciting bag I have ever received for a race. Not only was it an actual backpack instead of the usual drawstring bag, but it also came loaded; The most impressive item being a $10 Flanigan’s gift card & free drink voucher.
Course
This course was surprisingly enjoyable. There were small hills and water views which made it nicer than a lot of other races with only green fields and roads. The course also had plenty of shade and was wide enough to allow runners to pass one another easily.Post Race
As soon as you cross the finish line, there are volunteers handing out medals and water. The best part of the post race events are the free beer and ribs included with your race entry. The food truck and beer stand were right by the finish line and there was plenty of food to go around.
Medal
GIANT. This is a pretty big medal and goes well with the race. The kids medals were also really nice. I give them a 8/10.
Race Rating
Personally, I would give this race an 8/10. I had an amazing time and I will definitely be participating again in years to come. The only thing missing from this race would be some sort of entertainment throughout the course, but that is something you don’t usually see in smaller local races so it’s not a deal breaker in any way.
Have you participated in this race before? If not, would you? Let me know down below and let me know which races you recommend!
Dopey Training Update 2
I don’t pretend to be a perfect runner, and I want to document my process during my Dopey training as honestly as possible. The truth of the matter is that I fell out of my running groove for a couple of weeks. I went on vacation for two weeks and even though I did intend on running (I packed all of my workout clothes and shoes), I only ran once while I was away.
I have a lot of respect for people who can get out there and do this without any hesitation, but In my case, bad habits die hard. I am not a natural runner by any means, and this doesn’t come easy for me, because of that, I find myself quite literally dragging my feet sometimes.
All of that aside, I finally got back out there yesterday and my run wasn’t a complete fail. I expected to end up walking most of it but surprisingly, I maintained my overall avg pace of 14 m/m. The only thing concerning me at the moment is that I am concentrating more on speed training than distance training.
I’ve been obsessing on getting faster and honestly I think its doing more harm than good. I’m getting extremely fatigued after my runs and they’re feeling more like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) runs that endurance runs. Personally, I don’t do these races to break any records, I just want to make sure I finish them and enjoy them along the way. So I’m going to be tweaking the plan a little…
New training objective:
I’m going to continue following the Jeff Galloway program so that I can base my training runs on the distances they recommended, but I’m no longer focusing on pace. As long as I finish my runs at a 16 m/m pace (the accepted pace for runDisney) I’ll be happy.
I’m not sure how well this will turn out, but running isn’t a “one size fits all” sport. You have to experiment and see what works for you, and that’s what I plan to do.
I’m always open to any advice from fellow runners so PLEASE feel free to share what works for you, or what you think I should try.
2019 Dopey Challenge Training Program With Dates
Dopey Training: 1st Month recap
First month? Easy enough. When I first saw the Dopey training program, I almost talked myself out of doing this race. I’ve done quite a few half marathons already, but I have never stuck to a training program for more than a month or two. It’s not to say that I don’t train for my races, I just end up doing what feels right instead of following a plan.
This time I hope to follow the plan completely through. Dopey is an intimidating challenge and I want to be assured that I am as prepared as possible. I plan to share a monthly recap as I go along, not only to keep me accountable but to highlight and progress on my part.
I am following the Jeff Galloway Dopey Program and so far, the first month has been, dare I say… easy. I’m sure that won’t last though. My body is definitely hurting; it’s been over a year since I ran consistently and it’s going to take time to for my body to adjust.
Monthly Averages
|
TOTAL RUNS |
TOTAL MILES |
AVG PACE |
|
14 |
36.48 |
14’27 |
Notes: The last 5.5-mile long run was by far the hardest. I struggled to maintain my 1:30/30 interval and had to switch to 1/1 interval by mile 3. I’m happy with my finishing time but I’m also extremely anxious about all my future long runs seeing as how challenging this one turned out to be.
Disney with an infant
Here it is, plain and simple…
Can you do Disney with an infant? Definitely.
Should you do Disney with an infant? Probably not.
This past weekend, we took our two month old on a quick trip to Disney World. We were staying at a beach apartment for a week and because we were only an hour and a half away, we thought it would be fun. Please keep in mind that this trip was only a one day, one park trip and we didn’t pack anything the we would need for an overnight stay at a hotel.
The plan
We planned an easy day at Epcot. No major rides, no real schedule to follow, just a “go with the flow” kind of day. Luckily the weather was amazing; cloudy and breezy the entire time we were there. We also planned for a late lunch/early dinner as soon as we fed the baby so that she would sleep while we ate.
What we packed:
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Change of clothes
- Formula & bottles
- Hand sanitizer
- Baby carrier
The Reality
Having no schedule made everything 100 times easier. We only went on two rides with the baby: Gran Fiesta Tour and The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Both of these rides were baby friendly but after two attempts of going on with a calm baby and exiting with a fussy baby, we decided to end it there.
(Living with the Land & Spaceship Earth would have been good rides to consider too)
During dinner, our hopes of a full and sleepy baby were completed crushed. We both took turns stepping out to calm the baby so that we wouldn’t disturb others. Once the food was ready, I went outside with the baby while Eman ate and then we swapped.
Simply put; yes it can be done, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a lot of work and you won’t be able to enjoy much. Disney is expensive, even if you have annual passes. There’s the price of gas/flights, hotel, food, etc.
If you plan on going anyway, here’s a few tips:
- Pay attention to the weather and plan accordingly
- A baby carrier will be your best friend
- Bring a change of clothes for you & baby
- BE FLEXIBLE
See ya’ real soon!
*Check out StorybookErin ! She gave me a lot of tips before my trip & was extremely helpful*
1st Month | Baby Update
Adjusting
So here it is, one month postpartum and my life is almost unrecognizable… in the best way possible. My daughter was born on Jan 31, 2018 at 2:08 pm after a long 14 hours in labor. Everything went smoothly and we stayed the following two days at the hospital.
The first two weeks were exhausting to say the least. Emma would spend all night screaming and all day sleeping. Luckily, somewhere around week 3, her routine started to shift. We now have something that somewhat resembles a schedule and she’s sleeping somewhere around 5 hours a night.
Sleep deprivation was basically all I thought about the first two weeks. I know everyone tells you to sleep whenever the baby is sleeping, but I just couldn’t. My mom came by to help one day and it was the first time I got more than an hour of sleep.
PS: So far I haven’t really dealt with postpartum depression. I did have days where I would cry for absolutely no reason but I believe that was more of a hormonal thing.
Feeding
Breastfeeding is something I knew I wanted to do even before I got pregnant. From the moment I got to the hospital, I made it known that I planned to exclusively breastfeed. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a lot harder than expected.
After my daughter was born, she latched on right away and I was able to breastfeed for a while. About two hours later, the nurse came in and reminded me to try again. My daughter would latch, but wouldn’t stay on longer than 5 minutes. Sometime later, my nurse started to get concerned about my daughters blood sugar levels because we were going on 4 hours without feeding. Because I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy (diet controlled), the doctor was concerned it would affect the baby. Long story short, I ended up supplementing with formula.
Its been a month now and she is mostly on formula, with a couple OZ of breastmilk here and there. I have had a hard time producing milk but I rather get whatever she can. Breastfeeding has been a challenge but I don’t plan on giving up just yet.
Even though I’ve had plenty of experience with children, nothing can truly prepare you for being a mom. Its been hard and testing but it has also been the best month of my life. I cant wait to see what’s to come…
See Ya Soon’
